Rising of the Son no 19
The Purpose of God in The Cloud
November 23, 2016
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Sunday we began looking at the Cloud that God sent over Flagstaff
Arizona, in which brother Branham had previewed in a vision more than 2 months
before it took place.
Now, Sunday we just focused on the Cloud itself and the fact there was a
second Cloud that was caused by a missile blast about somewhere 20-40 miles
west of the main Cloud. We went through Dr. James McDonald's seven page letter
concerning the two clouds and showed there are always twins whenever God does
anything. There is always a genuine and always a counterfeit, and that is
because Satan is good at doing what he does best and that is to try and copy
the genuine Word of God as it comes to pass.
This evening I wish to run through the Scriptural purpose of the cloud,
and show what God says concerning it.
But to do so, let's begin to read what brother Branham himself had to
say as he ties the cloud to Scripture Himself.
To do this we need only look to the next paragraph in his sermon the Rising of the Sun (Son)
and paragraph number 9 Now, I want
you to turn in your Bibles, as we always believe that the Word must come first,
of the reading of the Word. I always read That, because It... My words is the word of a man;
it will fail, but the Word of God can never fail.
Now, you must say what is on the tapes and only what is on the tapes. And
if you can not say what he just said then you do not
believe him.
It's just like brother Vayle said of himself in his sermon See Christ Magnified P:48
"Now you see, you either believe the prophet
or you don’t believe the prophet. Not believing Lee Vayle. I got nothing to do with this.
Except preach it. See?"
And brother Branham said, My
words is the word of a man; it will fail, but the Word of God can never fail.... So
say what he said, and don't add your own two bits to it. And when you come to
the place where you understand what he said is when you will be able to hear
what he says, and identify what Scripture he referring too, then you understand
what he said, and not until.
Then he goes on to say, "Now, we're going to read from the Holy Scriptures, a
text. And we want you to turn first to three places in the Bible
that I have chosen to read from. One of them is in Revelations the 1st chapter and the 17th and 18th verse. This is
where He appeared with His hair white as wool, and His feet was like brass. And then I want you also to
get in your Bibles, Romans 8:11. And I've chosen,
this morning, three places to read from the Holy Scriptures for my message
today, that the Lord has placed upon my heart for the resurrection. And then I
want you to also, Mark 16:1 and 2, and there I will
draw my context.
10 Now, in Revelation
1:18, we read these words: 17 and 18: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as
dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; for I
am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of death
and hell."
And
in Romans the 8th chapter and
the 11th verse we read this: "But if the
Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit
that dwelleth in you."
And
now in Mark the 16th chapter (the chapter of the resurrection)
the 16th chapter, the 1st and 2nd verses: "And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, the mother, and Mary the
mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and
anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came
unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun."
11 Now, my
text this morning, I want to take for a text: "It Is The Rising Of The Sun," and for a subject I want to use the
Quickening Power. Now, you know, you perhaps have been hearing
the radio and the different ministers speak, and our noble Brother Neville this
morning speaking his Easter subject on the resurrection. And I thought maybe I
would take it a little different path, not to be different, but just to add a
little more, maybe in another angle. For you... The Scriptures, every angle
you go with the Scriptures It always declares Jesus Christ. You cannot get
away from it any way, It always declares Him.
Now, I want to focus our thoughts the entire series on what brother
Branham told us he was going to do. He said, "My subject is the quickening power."
Now, we know that The
Lord has descended with a Shout, and we associate this cloud that was over
flagstaff with the Voice of God in the Shout.
Therefore I would like
to find this in Scripture so we can see the pattern for ourselves.
Matthew 3:13-17 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan
unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John
forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest
thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
This scene shows Jesus coming up out of the
water and we see a
Light descending which has the
appearance of a dove, and then we hear a voice coming from the heavens, which
is to say from above, and this voice we hear is the Father speaking to the
people about His relationship with His
Son. The scripture does not
say that only Jesus heard this voice, because if it did, then the voice of God
would not have said, “This
is my beloved Son”, but would have said, “You are my beloved Son.”
So we understand here that this voice of God was
speaking to the people. Now, it may be true that only John heard the voice, but
if that were the case, why did Matthew, Mark, Luke and John make reference to
it. Let’s turn now to the Book of Luke and examine this scene a little closer.
Luke 3:21-23 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the
Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou
art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23 And
Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed)
the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Now, notice that the Light that descended was
called the Holy Ghost. Then the voice came forth,
and Jesus was about thirty years old when He received the Holy Ghost. We see the same thing in John 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I
knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending,
and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record
that this is the Son of God.
Now, the thing I want to point out here is that The Voice of God which we hear
speaking from Heaven, is speaking of His Relationship between
Himself (God) and His son, Jesus, Whom He has now anointed as the
Christ. Keep this in mind as we further search the scriptures
concerning God’s Voice
speaking from Heaven.
Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And
was transfigured before them: and
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking
with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto
Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three
tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While
he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them: and behold a voice out of the cloud,
which said, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And
when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
Notice this voice which Spake
was the voice of God and it came from a Cloud, and it's message for all to hear
spoke of the Revelation of Jesus Christ how that He was the son of God and how
that God indwelt Him. That is the Message that the voice spoke from the cloud
in the alpha, and as we know that the alpha must become omega.
And brother Branham said the message in the
alpha must repeat in the Omega. So the Message out from the cloud was God Himself identifying Himself with and in His
Son. He was proclaiming the doctrine of Christ that there is one God and He had
a Son.
Notice, we hear a voice from out of a Cloud
speaking of the Relationship of the Father to the Son. Now, bear in
mind here that we are studying a sermon "Rising of the Sun and it is
actually speaking of the resurrection of the (Son of God). And also
bear in mind, that Alpha must repeat in Omega.
Let's turn once more to the
scriptures and read from John 12:14And Jesus, when he had found a young ass,
sat thereon; as it is written, 15 Fear not,
daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on
an ass's colt. 16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered
they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus
out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. 18 For
this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among
themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after
him. 20 And there were certain Greeks among them
that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same
came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him,
saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh
and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that
the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall
lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve
me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any
man serve me, him will my Father honour. 27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me
from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify
thy name. Then came there a voice
from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will
glorify it again. 29 The people therefore, that
stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An
angel spake to him. 30 Jesus
answered and said, This
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Here We see a scene in which a cloud overshadows
Jesus, (because it doesn't thunder unless there are clouds, right?) and out from the midst of that Cloud
we hear a voice speak again. Now, the people heard thunder, but Jesus Heard the voice of His
Father. I hope you also caught what Jesus said in verse 30. Let’s read it again... This
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes
Now, let’s continue and read until verse 50 and let’s insert William Branham instead of
Jesus into this scene to see whether Alpha has become Omega.
31 Now is the judgment of
this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he
should die. 34 The people answered him, We have
heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever:
and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted
up? who is this Son of man? 35 Then Jesus said
unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness
come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have
light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These
things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide
himself from them. 37 But though he
had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying
of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our
report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not
believe, because that Esaias said again,
40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened
their heart; that they should not see with their
eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be
converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake
of him. 42 Nevertheless
among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees
they did not confess him, lest they should be put
out of the synagogue: 43 For they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God. 44 Jesus cried
and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And
he that seeth me seeth him
that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me
should not abide in darkness. 47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not:
for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not
my words, hath one that judgeth him: the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.(there's your
omega) 49 For I have not spoken
of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I
should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his
commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the
Father said unto me, so I speak.
Now, let's turn in our
Bibles to Acts 9:1-7 And
Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And
desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of
this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And
as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about
him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick
against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished
said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said
unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be
told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men
which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
In this scene, we see Paul struck down by a Light and a
voice speaks to him giving him
instruction.
Now, if Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever, as He declares to be in His Word, then if each
time the cloud bearing the presence of God comes down to earth, we hear His voice
and when His voice speaks,
it is pertaining to the
relationship of the Father to the Son.
In Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
We hear about Christ coming in clouds, Himself. Now, this verse of Scripture does not
tell us that it is Jesus who comes, but Christ and there is a difference. Christ is
the Anointing or the anointed One. The Spirit's Presence. Now, in
order to see Him when He comes again, we must know how He left, because we are
told that as he left, so in like manner, in similar manner He
would return again,
to us.
Acts 1:1-11 1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after
that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the
apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And,
being assembled together with them, commanded
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait
for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly
baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days
hence. 6 When
they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And
he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or
the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received
him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
So in what manner did he go up? In
a Cloud, then in what manner shall he return? In a cloud.
Matthew 26:63-65 63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high
priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus
saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto
you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of
man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He
hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye
have heard his blasphemy.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 15 For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another
with these words.
Now you notice that He will bring forth His
presence that will catch us up together in a cloud. We
know that the Shout is the message heralding His Parousia which is His appearing.
And we know that we are to be
gathered together which happens
under the shout.
Then what does the cloud have to do with it all.
Remember, the Clouds represented seven angels which brought the mysteries of the seven
seals. And remember in Revelations 10:1-7 The
Angel of the Covenant comes with hair white like wool which is the clouds that
we see form the Hoffman’s Head of Christ, showing headship is here.
Revelations
10:1-7 And I saw another mighty angel come down
from heaven, clothed with a cloud: (And we know
that the white wig was a piece of clothing that the judge placed upon his head
showing supreme authority) and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and
he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3 And cried with a loud voice, (a
loud voice is a shout) as when a lion roareth: (and
this is directly from the book of Amos which speaks of God as Prophet)
Amos 3:7 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?
"and when he had
cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And
when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I
heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven
thunders uttered, and write them not. 5 And the
angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him
that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven,
and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein
are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there
should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Psalm 104:1-4 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God,
thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with
a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the
beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who
maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
In Job 38:9 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof,
and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, we hear God tell us that He made the
clouds for a covering and a garment.
Lamentations 3:44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud,
...
Now, as we mentioned Sunday when we read where a
certain person upon hearing the requests for more photos by the article in Life
Magazine responded and he sent a picture to Dr. McDonald that was very clear
and exceptionally detailed. From James McDonald's testimony:
"So
far, only a few good photos have been turned up as a direct result of the Life appeal; but one of those (taken by F. H. Carver of Page, Ariz.) is of such quality as to repay
all of the effort that went into getting the plea for more photos into Life."
I had mentioned Sunday morning concerning the
cloud, that br. Bill Caldwell of Oregon who is a long time friend of Br. Vayle,
that he called and then wrote to the
science library because they had a box with 80 some pictures, and he requested
from them the most scientific picture and the one they sent, he could see with
a magnifying glass thousands of people in that cloud. he described to me in
much detail many, many people standing in that cloud.
Lamentations 2:1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a
cloud....
In Hebrews 12:1
We see that the cloud is actually typed as being a gathering of many
witnesses. 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us,
Could there be a parallel here?
Again in 2 Peter 2:17 in speaking of the unjust he says, These (plural)
are wells without
water, clouds (plural) that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist
of darkness is reserved for ever.
We see clouds representing people, although in this example they’re false
witnesses. But in all these examples a cloud is given for a witness
whether good or bad.
We read in Jude 1:12 These (plural) are spots in your
feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves (plural)
without fear: clouds (plural) they are without water, (not rain clouds, because no rain,
without water, and God said my Doctrine is as the rain) carried about of winds; trees whose fruit
withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Again we see the use of the cloud as a type of a people,
yet these are waterless clouds,
meaning they do not have the spirit of God in them. And since the rain is God's
doctrine according to Deuteronomy 32:1 these are witnesses without doctrine. Yet they
are still referred to as clouds.
Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Notice how Lucifer wanted to ascend up even above the Glory
of God.
Revelation 1:7 7 Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they also which pierced him:
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of
him. Even so, Amen. Notice we are told He
will come with clouds, Therefore, the clouds then are a witness to His coming.
And yet these clouds are not clouds as a thunderhead, but these clouds are actually
clouds of Glory.
Revelation
Chapter One PP 304 60-1204M Now, let's take the veil off
just for a few minutes now, the Lord helping us, take the veil from our eyes,
and get. Behold,
he cometh with clouds;... Now, how is He coming? "With clouds." What kind of clouds? Clouds of glory,
not one of these thunderheads, rain clouds, but clouds of glory. If you'll
watch what kind of a cloud He was enshrouded in when Peter and them saw His
vision on Mount Transfiguration... A cloud overshadowed Him; His raiment
shined. He was
enshrouded with a cloud, the power of God.
Seven
Church .Ages PP. 92 54-0512 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 is
sitting here somewhere... When I was a little boy, she used to set and tell me,
said, "He's coming on. A great big cloud's going to raise someday, and
God's going to come." And now, the clouds that He is coming... If
we just had the time to get all this back, and get the real background of 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, 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 thunderhead, but a cloud of glory.
Uncertain Sound PP
385 60-1218 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.
Gen 9:13-16 13 I do set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall
be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all
flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud;
and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is
upon the earth.
Now listen, we are looking t the voice of the cloud, and a
rainbow is like God's great Bar Code in the clouds. And each color represents
one of God's promises to mankind. The red color stands for the blood of the
everlasting covenant.
Revelation chapter 4 pt 2 24
elders 61-0101 P:78 Watch. Noah's composed of primarily... Noah's rainbow composed
primarily of seven colors. Anybody knows the rainbow's got seven
colors. Now, what are the colors? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
violet. That's the colors of the rainbow. Now, we got a deep thing
here, and I'm just going to have to hit the high spots of it, 'cause it's
getting too late, Now, remember, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,
and violet. Now, if you notice, seven... Watch. Seven rainbows... Seven
colors; I mean, seven-colored rainbow. That meant seven bows.
Seven bows, seven churches reflecting seven lights, each light
wrapped into the other one. It started off with red, red. After red come
orange, which is a reflection of red. After orange was... After orange come
yellow, which is red and orange mixed together, makes yellow. Then green. Green
and blue makes black. Then come indigo. And then from indigo comes violet,
which is part of blue. Oh, oh, oh. Hallelujah. Don't you see? God, in His
seven-colored rainbow, His covenant that He made, a covenant that
through Seven Church Ages, the seven colors He would save the earth.
Well, God's rainbow is a material manifestation
of all that He is and all that this Covenant expresses to you and me. It is all
written out in that rainbow. That is the Book. That is the expression of the
agreement. And He hangs it in the sky for all to see His Agreement with his
Seed, forever.
The first of the Lights to shine forth is given
by love (red), Red symbolizes not only Love, but how that Love is represented, by blood. For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son,
and without the shedding of Blood there is no remission of sin. And "No greater love can a man have than to lay down
his life for a friend".
So Red is the very first color we see in the rainbow and that
represents the Lamb slain before the foundations of the world and the means
whereby we are brought back into fellowship with God.
From his sermon, Hebrews Chapter 6 and 7 57-0915M 269-628 ... the forerunner is gone--has
for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec. This great Forerunner has gone before us, making a way. He's
become from a Spirit, the great fountains of the rainbow of God, Who had no
beginning or no end. He was forever God. This ray of light went forth; it
was a ray of love. That's the main one, red. The next color
follows, which
was blue: blue, the trueness. Next, followed after that was other colors to the seven
perfect colors, which is the seven Spirits of God, that went from that great
Fountain and that great Diamond that Jesus spoke of, that great Diamond that's
chipped to reflect these colors. God was made flesh and dwelled among us,
that He might reflect His goodness and mercy among us by gifts and signs and
wonders. That whole big rainbow had become in a theophany,
made in the image like man. Yet He wasn't a man; He didn't have flesh yet; He
was a theophany.
The seven colors, beginning with red and
ending with purple, God was displaying a natural miracle that
demonstrated the complete redemption of man.
Hebrews Chapter 7 PT 2 Church Order
57-092 345-329 The Bible said
in the Revelation, that the seven Spirits before the throne of God (Is that
right?), the seven manifold, seven Spirits. We find out there's seven colors;
there's seven church ages, there... Oh, it just runs... Seven is complete, and
God was complete in seven Spirits, and those Spirits were perfect. The first was a color of red, perfect love, redemption. And how if we had time to give those colors, and show that each one of those
colors represents God's purity. Amen. Those colors, there's seven
natural colors. Those colors represents the purity of God. And
the... Those
colors represent the motives of God, the attitude of God. Those seven colors, they represented seven church ages, seven stars, seven angels. All
through the Scripture, seven ministers, seven messengers, seven messages, all
in the sevens. Seven days; six days, and the seventh's the sabbath
(perfect, complete). Oh, it's beautiful. If we just had the time to dig into
it, and to bring it out, those colors...
Notice he said, Those colors represent the motives of God, the attitude
of God..
In other words they represented His Covenant Promise. Our motive is our purpose, and
plan, and the attitude shows the state of mind or the disposition that God had
towards His children. Therefore those colors spelled out the very covenant
between God and His Seed.
First let us look at color in the natural. In
the world of art, we have three primaries; red, yellow and blue.
These cannot be formulated by mixing. They come from the earth; but with these
three colors, and the addition of black and white, any shade of the spectrum
can be obtained. Herein lies a thought provoking, scriptural principle, for in
red, we have a Hebrew word "OUDEM" which means
"red clay."
The second primary is yellow. we also find
its counterpart in the principles of God. Yellow always speaks of trial and purging.
Fire which is always used in the purification
process comes in the category of yellow. So once again even though we cannot
make yellow,
in the same way man, has no control over trouble.
Yellow represents the trials and testing we are
purged and purified by. 1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be
found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
And so we see that God set His bow, the rainbow in the clouds for a
sign. It represents God’s covenant w/man.
Then as we continue to look upon the colors of the rainbow we see
the color Green which represents Life. Given Life, the evergreen, always
showing life. Revelations
Chapter 4 PT 2 24 Elders 61-0101 202 So
we see Him in the circle bow of green, amber color. This greenish, what does green represent? Life. Green is the
evergreen, always stays green, is life. What does it mean?
That God has promised, as He took a oath back there in Genesis, that He would
put the rainbow in the sky, that He would no more destroy this world by water.
He also takes His oath and swears by Himself, that all the Seed of Abraham
He'll raise up, and this world will stand all of its shaking judgments.
Eternal life (green), Through the vindicated Trueness of God's eternal Word (blue). We say he is true blue, showing that blue represents trueness and what is more true than
Gods Word. Did not Jesus say, I am the way, the Truth and the Life.
Then we have indigo which is a very deep blue which represents royalty and finally a (violet - purple)
which represents priesthood and intercession for our confession.
To save some time, if you wish to know more about these
colors of the rainbow, you can go to my series Who is the Melshisedec
and around 83 into the series I show these colors of the rainbow and what they
mean and then go into the stones int he breastplate
of Aaron and show what they mean as well.
In Exodus 13:21-22 we read, 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way;
and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by
day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people.
Here we see that the Cloud of God said here to be a theophanic cloud,
has a purpose, and that is to lead them and guide them in the way.
Exodus 14:19-24 19 And the angel of God, which went before
the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20 And
it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all
the night. 21 And Moses stretched out his hand
over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back
by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And
the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were
a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 23 And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And it came to pass, that in the morning
watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire
and of the cloud, and troubled the
host of the Egyptians,
The cloud was troubling to the Egyptians but meant
deliverance to the children of God. But notice how when the angel of God moved
the cloud moved with it. The Cloud then, was the manifested presence of he invisible One. That is why we see in chapter
16 that the Glory of God is associated with the Cloud of Glory.
Exodus 16:10-11
10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of
Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the
LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Here again we see the Glory of God in a cloud and His
Voice together.
Exodus 19:16 And it
came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a
thick cloud upon the mount, and the
voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
Here we see the cloud associated with the word of God
coming forth.
Exodus 24:15-25:1 And Moses went up into the
mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount
Sinai, and the cloud covered it six
days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And
the sight of the glory of the LORD was like
devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 And Moses
went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses
was in the mount forty days and forty nights. 5:1 And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Again we see the cloud of Glory and God speaking forth
from out of that Cloud. And notice Moses went intot
hat cloud to talk with God, and in the vision brother Branhm
was also caught up into that cloud of angels in the shape of a pyramid.
Now, it is interesting that the cloud of angels came in the
shape of a pyramid, because the Hebrew letter "B" which is stands for
Bar as in "Son", has a
pictogram which is a pyramid, and the pyramid stands for "Tent, or
house". he said what house will you build me" And he is speaking of
his son Jesus. The tent of God's
dwelling place.
So
when the cloud came down in 1963, it came like a pyramid, or tent of His
Presence. And in that tent a brother saw not only faces but people, thousands
of them. And brother Branham said, "what we are here is a reflection of
what we are somewhere else. And Paul said, " 2
Corinthians 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. "
Is that Cloud what Paul saw in the heavens? Is that where the dimension is
where the believers are waiting? I don't know but what if we are just that
close to being caught up together in the clouds to meet
them in the air?
Again we see in Exodus 34:5 a type of the Lord descending with a
shout, as we read, "And the LORD descended in the cloud,
and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD."
Then we have the same thing happen in this hour, The lord
Descends witha
shout, and a prophetic voce proclaims the name of the Lord. So here we
see the cloud associated with the Revelation of the Name of God.
Exodus 40:36-38 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children
of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day
that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it
by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Here we see the cloud associated with the progressive
movement of the called out people.
Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come
not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is
upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Leviticus 16:13 And he
shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense
may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony,
that he die not: Here we see the cloud associated with the mercy seat of God.
Numbers 9:15-22 15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. 16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. 18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. 19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. 20 And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. 21 And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. 22 Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed. When the cloud stayed put, so did the people, they rested.
Numbers 10:11-12 11 And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud
was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.
12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness
of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
Numbers 10:34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. When the cloud moved out the people did as
well.
Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and
gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came
to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. Again the cloud represents the presence of God.
Numbers 12:5-10 5 And the
LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6 And
he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision,
and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful
in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently,
and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold:
wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled
against them; and he departed. 10 And
the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow:
and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was
leprous. Here we see that
judgment is also associated with the cloud.
Deuteronomy 4:11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain;
and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. Again as a witness.
Deuteronomy 5:22 These
words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the
mount out of the midst of the fire, of
the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no
more. And he wrote them in two tables of
stone, and delivered them unto me. Again in judgment.
Deuteronomy 1:33 Who
went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in,
in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should
go, and in a cloud by day.
Again we see the cloud for direction.
Deuteronomy 31:15 And
the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of
the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. Notice, here that the Lord appeared IN the
Cloud.
I Kings 8:10-11 10 And it came to pass, when the priests were
come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled
the house of the LORD, 11 So that
the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of
the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. Notice the Cloud filling
the house of the Lord, said to be the Glory of the Lord.
II Chronicles 5:13-14 13 It
came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were
as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and
when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets
and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised
the LORD, saying, For he
is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:
that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14 So
that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of
the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God. The house of God was filled with a cloud, when
the people were praising Him.
Nehemiah 9:19 The Cloud was God’s way
of showing the people His ever abiding Presence, to show them light, and the
way wherein they should go. Therefore, the picture which we so covet, should be
a sign of His Promise to us, “ Lo, I will be with you even unto the end, I will
not leave you, nor will I forsake you.”
Psalms 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, [is] in
the heavens; [and] thy faithfulness [reacheth] unto
the clouds.
Psalms 57:10 For thy mercy [is] great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Psalms 68:34 Ascribe
ye strength unto God: his excellency [is] over
Israel, and his strength [is] in the clouds. Does not the scripture tell us that He will come with Power and
great Glory? And are not these attributes of the Great God’s presence both
associated with Clouds?
Psalms 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all
the night with a light of fire.
Psalms 104:3 Who layeth the beams of his
chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
Psalms 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give
light in the night.
Psalms 108:4 For thy mercy [is] great above the heavens: and thy
truth [reacheth] unto the clouds.
Proverbs 16:15 In the light of the king's countenance [is] life; and his
favor [is] as a
cloud of the latter rain. Here we see the favor which is the Grace of God
is associated with the Cloud of the later rain.
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty
[themselves] upon the earth: God therefore must have
this cloud full of the latter rain, and it’s purpose is to empty Himself upon
the earth.
[Isaiah 4:5] And the LORD will
create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a
cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire
by night: for upon all the glory [shall be] a defense. Now, why would
God’s Cloud be with us even in the Millennium and into New Jerusalem? Because
In Genesis, He said it would be an everlasting sign. Now, if it is an
everlasting sign, then it must last forever.
Isaiah 19:1] Behold, the LORD rideth upon a
swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved
at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. Notice the Lord again and His presence is associated with
the Cloud. It was even called his chariot in the scriptures.
Jeremiah 4:13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be]
as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles.
Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the
day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was]
the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I
fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Ezekiel 10:3-4 Now the cherubims stood on
the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the
inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, [and stood]
over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the
cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.
Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,
and they brought him near before him.
Joel 2: 1-2] Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy
mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD
cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of
clouds...
Now, what have we learned from this lesson? That
this Picture of God coming down in a Cloud of Glory is an everlasting sign of
God’s Covenant with His People.
Jeremiah 31:33 But this [shall be] the
covenant that I will make with thee; After those days, saith the LORD, I
will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ezekiel 37:26-27 Moreover
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be
an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and
multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them
for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. And what is the tabernacle of God? It is the place of His
Dwelling. His Presence! [Psalm
27:5 is Psalms 31:20]
Let’s bow our heads in prayer.