Spoken
Word no. 249
“Rejection our Crown of Glory”
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
May 11th,
2011
Revelation
2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold,
the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye
shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
2 Timothy
4:8 Henceforth there is
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day:
and not to me only, but unto all them
also that love his appearing.
James 1:12 Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive
the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Revelation 3:11
Behold, I come quickly: hold
that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Let us pray, Dear Beloved God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, we humbly and reverently approach Thee tonight under the shed
blood of the Lamb and by the conduit of thy Holy Word. Help us this evening to
understand these passages of Scripture that speak of our receiving a Crown after
we have endured and are found faithful. And help us to understand what this
crown is, and why we are to receive it, and what it is for, for we ask this in
Jesus Christ’s name, Thy Beloved Son, Amen… You may be seated…
This evening we will examine Paragraphs 187 and 188
from the Spoken Word is the original Seed where brother said, 187 Elijah's
behavior, Moses' behavior, John's behavior, leaving their field of service, many of the people didn't
understand them. It was because they was
rejected and their message. The Seed had been sown; judgment was next. And
they was a sign to the people from God that judgment was at hand. Planting was
over. 188 I believe someday the real Bride of Christ will be forced to
stop preaching the Word of God. The Bible prophesies of it in Revelations 13:16 (if you want to put it down). Denominations will force it
to stop or take its mark. Then when
the Lamb will take His Bride and judge the whore for this.
Present
stage of my ministry 62-0908 P:91 How many Christians are in
the Way tonight, in here, that are happy that you started a long time ago, done
made your start, and way down along the road, still coming down towards the
end; I pray that God will crown your
ministry, whatever it is. It may be a housewife. I pray that God will crown your ministry. It may be a preacher. It may be a deacon; it may be a lay member. It may be a farmer. I don't know what it is. Whatever it is, may God crown your life with the glory of His Word, at His second
coming rapture you and take you away into another land where you'll just be
like that little fish I talked about, out of that blackness down there. See,
you couldn't go up there with this kind of a body. Neither could you go up like
these astronauts (See?); you have to be in a pressurized tank. You're not
pressurized for it. But when God changes
you, you're pressurized then; you're going in the rapture then. When these
old earthly senses has been lost, and you're gone on in that glorious way of
the cross, going home with Jesus...
Present
stage of my ministry 62-0908 P:72 That dark hour... Mid
rendering rocks and darkening skies," said the poet, "my Saviour
bowed His head and died; the opening veil revealed the way to heaven's joys and
endless day." He had to do that in order to make a way for us. That's
right. But what did God do? He was true to the Word and He embraced the cross.
But was it the end of His ministry? Was
His ministry washed up? God crowned
it with the greatest crown that ever could been crowned. He crowned it on
Easter morning, on the resurrection. He
crowned the ministry of our Lord Jesus, He raised from the dead and is
alive forevermore. He wasn't washed up
because all men forsook Him; He was
crowned. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. He was
crowned because that He had been forsaken, and He must do that when He
raised Him from the dead.
Present stage of my ministry 62-0908 P:57 Now,
here's the thing I want to kind of exercise on for a few moments. Now, it's usually at such a time as this when
man has stayed true to the Word and all men has forsaken him until God steps in,
in defense of that person and crowns his ministry. See? That's right. What
a consolation. A consolation is built in the promise of God's Word. No matter
what the world says, what the world does, that's not our hopes, is not built in
what the world's a-doing.
Blasphemous
names 62-1104M P:110 I don't think Demas went out into the
world, 'cause Demas was of a... If you know his history, he was of a big, rich
family; and he wanted to go with the rest of the crowd. But Paul, poor little
Paul, what was it? God always lets a
ministry get like that and then crowns it. He let Jesus get to a place
(Look at there.), when He could raise the dead, when He could do anything He
wanted to, and let a Roman soldier jerk beard out of His face and spit in His
face. Hit Him on the... Put a rag around His face and said, "Now,
you know, they tell me you are a prophet..." All of them stood
around with their reeds and hit Him on
the head, and said, "Now tell us which one hit you."
He knowed which ones hit Him. Sure He did. See? But His ministry was fixing to be crowned. It always gets that spot where it seems like it's real, real weak, just
about gone, then God crowns it. Oh, Lord, let it happen. Let it happen,
Lord. Let's bow our heads.
Present
stage of my ministry 62-0908 P:74 Just the time that Daniel
stood so loyal to God, that he went in... They said, "That
man, you know, he was once a great fellow here in this kingdom. He's told all
kinds of things. And he's brought the soothsayers in; he taught them things
and--the Medes-O-Persians and how he done”. But under
the reign of Darius, it was Daniel that stayed true to God. It was Daniel that
stayed with the Word of God and wouldn't mingle with anything else. And he
said, "Well, his ministry's washed up,
because I seen it in the local paper, he's going to be thrown to the lions' den
in a few days." Going to federal prison,
or something. You see? "But we're going to
throw him into the lions' den." But what
did God do? God sealed His ministry
with a change of the king's heart, that Darius sent to every language, people
across the world, that every man should fear at the God of Daniel, because He
was a God that could deliver. Amen. So, you see, it's at that time when men
forsake man, God's servants that stay
true to the Word, that God seals their ministry with a crowning time.
So what is our crowing time, and what is it all about,
and with what does God crown us? For our answers let’s turn in our Bibles tonight
to 2 Peter 5: 4 And read, "And when the Chief Shepherd shall Appear,
you shall receive a Crown of Glory that shall never fade away."
Now we have already from the Apostle Paul for our text
tonight that this Crown also as pertaining to the Appearing. Now, this is
important for you to understand. Why would Paul and Peter and even James all
speak of this Crown of righteousness that is to be given to us at the Appearing
of Jesus Christ? Now, because I believe there is a great significance to this
scripture and the association of our receiving a Crown of righteousness at the
time of the Appearing or in association with the Appearing, I would like to
examine this thought this morning. What is this crown any way? What is any
Crown ? Just what exactly is a crown? WEBSTER
“CROWN” from the Latin word
Then I would
like to ask the question, what is this Crown of Right-Wise-ness, any way? And
why is it stated in several scriptures that we receive it at the Appearing of Christ?
What then does it have to do with the Appearing? Well,
First of all we know according to 1 Corinthians 9: 25
That we are not to receive a corruptible crown but an incorruptible One.
Now we find according to St. Peter 1: 4 and 1: 23 That
this incorruptible crown is actually part of our inheritance and if it is
incorruptible, it can only be one thing and that is the Word of God.
In fact we read in Isaiah 40: 8 tells us, The grass withers,
the flower fades: but the Word of the Lord shall stand forever."
In fact Jesus Himself said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot
or tittle of Gods Word shall fail." And so if this Crown according to 1 Peter 5: 4
is incorruptible and can not fade Away, then it must be One thing and One thing
only, The Word of God! In 1 Thes 2: 19 Paul tells us this Crown has to do with
the very Presence of the Lord Himself. And in James 1: 12 it is called the Crown of Life.
So here we have a crown that is promised to us and it
is called a Crown of Life, a Crown
of Glory and a Crown of Right-wise-ness. And in all
passages of scripture it is identified with the Appearing of the Lord. And in
examining these three Crowns, we must ask ourselves, since these are all three
associated with the Appearing of the Lord, are these three different Crowns? Or
are they these three actually the same Crown but called by different terms or
descriptions. A Crown of Life, a Crown of Glory and a Crown
of Right-wise-ness.
To find out we
must first ask ourselves "Now what is a crown any way?" A
crown is a head-piece that is worn on the head to bring preeminence to the
head. Now, let me repeat that. A crown is a head-piece that is worn on the head
to bring preeminence to the head. That is why we are called the jewels of His
Crown in Malachi
3: 16 - 18. So what we are looking at here is something that is to
happen to the Elect that will bring preeminence to the Head which is God. And
we find it in 2
Thessalonians 1: 10 where we are told that He will come to be
Glorified IN His Saints. Now we know that this word GLORY is the Greek word
DOXA which means "the opinion,
assessment or judgment of".
In fact we can
read of this Crown of Glory that was prophesied to come even back in the book
of Isaiah 28: 5
- 6 Notice that He will not only be our Crown, but The Spirit of the
Judge will be upon His People in that day. And why is that? Because as He is so
are we to be in this World. And if He is here as Judge, then if we are to come
into His Image and become reflectors of what He is, we too will become Judges,
or discerners of the Word of God. So we see then that the very mind of God is
to come into the Elect in this End-time because we believed Paul's Report in
that day which is this day. And didn't brother Branham tell us that He only
preached what Paul preached? And so we see that at the Appearing we are to be
like Him for we shall see Him as He really is and by seeing Him as He really is
we are to be changed to be like Him. Let's just follow this through in
scripture. 1 John 3: 1-3
But before we
actually get into that part of Brother Branham's prayer, I want to examine
further this thought of the Crown. Now Jesus received this same crown as we see
in Hebrews 2:9,
and also we see this prophesied in Psalm 8:5. That is why Jesus could say in
As he did for
Job, we see this crown that He places around her is a crown of Protection. Job 1: 10, Psalm 27:5 & Psalm 31: 20 He's here to seal us in and so after we receive the new heart
and new spirit, which is the new understanding and a new desire that results
from that new understanding, He then anoints that understanding in our mind,
and it then receives a sealing off to other seed. Just as when the male sperm
comes in contact with the egg, it causes a chemical reaction in the egg that
actually produces an outer coating around the egg sealing it off to further
insemination. Other-wise, an egg could begin to develop and every time the
woman received seed after that, the sperm would enter into the egg and then you
would receive in that egg many different lives that would also begin to develop
and what kind of a monster would you have? Fifty arms and legs and 25 heads and
whatever more. Just a mass of people all grown together, with 25 personalities
to boot. So what we see here is that this crown He gives her is for her
protection, to seal her off from further impregnation.
Perseverant
62-0623 38 And you know the ark was made out of
shittim wood. And if you ever know what that was, it's lighter than balsam.
It's nothing... It's just like a sponge, so light you could pick up a great big
beam of it and hold it in one hand. And wouldn't it seem strange that God would
construct His ark out of such a thing as that and pour it into this to fill up
the pores. And then it become harder
than steel. And that's the way we have to do, is empty out every creed, everything that's in us, and every nonsense, and
every ungodly unbelief, that the Holy Spirit might fill us, and seal every pore
of our believing, every pore of our minds, until you won't notice whether
it's your neighbor, or who it is setting around you. You're sealed into the
A Guide A 62-1014E
2 And then Ephesians 4:30 says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to
the day of your redemption." Sealed into
the
Hidden Life with Christ 56-021376 And if your heart isn't
tender before the Lord, if there isn't something in your heart that is
satisfied day and night, no matter what comes or goes, as Paul said, "I'm
now ready to be offered up. I fought a good fight; I finished the course; I've
kept the faith. And there's a crown of
righteous laid up for me, that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me
at that day: and not me only, but all
those who love His appearing." Did you ever think of that, "Love His appearing"?
Present
Stage of My Ministry 62-0908 111 "In that dark hour, mid rendering
rocks and darkening skies," said the poet, "my Saviour bowed His head
and died; the opening veil revealed the way to Heaven's joys and endless day.
He had to do that in order to make a way for us. That's right. But what did God
do? He was true to the Word and He embraced the cross. But was it the end of His ministry? Was His ministry washed up? God crowned it with the greatest crown that
ever could been crowned. He crowned it on Easter morning, on the
resurrection. He crowned the ministry of
our Lord Jesus, He raised from the dead and is alive forevermore. He wasn't washed up because all men forsook
Him, He was crowned! Yes, sir. Yes, sir. He was crowned because that He
was, had been forsaken, and He must do that when He raised Him from the dead.
Present
Stage of My Ministry 62-0908 112 The same was with Elijah. We spoke of him
a few moments ago. Elijah, that poor old broke down prophet laying out there in
the wilderness, and had to be fed by what the birds would bring him. And his
little old skinny drawn up, brown-looking body, little cruse of oil hanging on
his side, his whiskers all out, and head probably bald and sunburned, crippling
on down with a stick like this, but down beneath that little old heart beat the
Spirit of God. When God seen His little
old tired servant getting down to the end, everybody forsaking him, and
everything else, did He let him down? He sent a chariot down, picked up His
tired servant, "You don't even have to walk up like Enoch did, I will just
take you home in a chariot." That's right. He crowned his ministry with a chariot ride home. That's not so
bad, you know. Yeah. Yes, he didn't have to walk home, He just sent a chariot
and picked him up 'cause he was tired. I like that. Amen. Poor, little, old
tired servant, He picked him up and took him Home.
Present
Stage of My Ministry 62-0908 114 So,
you see, it's at that time when men
forsake man, God's servants that
stay true to the Word, that God seals their ministry with a crowning time.
Present Stage of My Ministry
62-0908 121
Well, all man has forsaken me, but there's one thing, He stood by me!...?...
I'm not, I wasn't disobedient to the
Heavenly vision that's happened down there on the river. I've stayed true
to it. He's been true to me. I'm trusting in Him, someday, I don't know when, for a crowning of my ministry. I will
stay just as true as I could be. I don't
know what it'll be, I don't know
when it'll be. And I... But when He's ready, I am. Now look here. I hope He will crown my ministry with this,
of letting me take the clothes of the Word, and dress His Bride in the cloth of
the Word, and for His righteousness. I hope He will crown me and let me
stand there on that day, and say, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world."
Present
Stage of My Ministry 62-0908129 I said, "Lord Jesus, with Your
grace I will stay true to the Word." And now I see it's produced just
exactly what it done in other times....Search me, Lord. I've made many
mistakes. I've done wrong, Lord. Many times I've failed You, as I just
testified a while ago about a failure. God, I, quick as I do it, I want
forgiveness. In my heart I love You. And I know You showed me recently about
that place we're going. And I don't know when You're through with me now, Lord.
I'm here tonight, by Your grace, and I don't know when You're through, but I
know this has to come to this. But when it comes that time, I don't want to be
a coward. I want to stand like the rest of them stood. But, God, if I have to
seal my testimony with my own life, or whatever it is to be done, Lord, crown
it then. Not crown me; crown the ministry that I've preached, Lord, it's Your
Word. And I know that Word is more than able to raise me up again at the
resurrection. And I'm not ashamed of the Word that I have preached, because
It's the power of God unto salvation to as many as believe.
Blasphemous
Names 62-1104.1M 4 I
don't think Demas went out into the world, 'cause Demas was of a... If you know
his history, he was of a big, rich family; and he wanted to go with the rest of
the crowd. But Paul, poor little Paul, what was it? God always lets a ministry
get like that and then crowns it. He let Jesus get to a place (look at there!),
when He could raise the dead, when He could do anything He wanted to, and let a
Roman soldier jerk beard out of His face and [Brother Branham makes a spitting
sound--Ed.] spit in His face. Hit Him on the... Put a rag around His face and
said, "Now, you know, they tell me you are a prophet..." All of them
stood around with their reeds and [Brother Branham illustrates hitting
Him--Ed.], hit Him on the head, and said, "Now tell us which one hit
you." He knowed which one hit Him. Sure He did! See? But His ministry was
fixing to be crowned. It always gets that spot where it seems like It's real,
real weak, just about gone, then God crowns it. Oh, Lord, let it happen. Let it
happen, Lord. Let's bow our heads.
The
Way Back - 62-1123 55
Here was Jesus standing there. What a wonderful example He was. What an example
Paul was. There he had power to smite a man blind, heal the sick, call the
cripples back to healing, all these things. And then, could you imagine the
last part of his ministry, when he stood there and let the coppersmith stop his
meeting and run him out of the country? I guess some of the critics says he
lost his power to smite blind. No, he didn't have a gimmick, he had the Holy
Ghost. He only minded God. I guess then... He left his friend sick up there,
Trophimus, up at a place sick, I guess he lost his power to heal. Also, he
packed a doctor along with him--a Divine healer, packing a doctor with him,
Luke. God was fixing to crown his ministry, 'cause Paul always wanted to suffer
for what he done to Stephen. It was his desire....He knowed he was going up to
die for Jesus. That was his heart's desire, to die for Him.
Go Awake Jesus 63-1130.2E
72 And then the make-believers is the ones that
hangs on, just sticking around until they can find something. They say,
"Uh-huh, there you are. That's what it is. Uh-huh, there, I thought there
was something. There you are!" But a real believer, that don't stagger him
at all. Nothing staggers him. What about Jesus standing there, spit over His
face, and blood on His face, and a crown of thorns upon Him, and--and all that
He had there, a mockery crowd, and so forth? Well, what would the unbeliever
think about that, or the make-believer? Just sold Him out. And, you find out,
the make-believer is the one who sells you out. He is the one that ruins your
ministry, is that make-believer.
I hope we can see how it is that this
crown of Righteousness also called the Crown of Glory and Crown of Life will be
rejected by all others but this only serves to identify the crowning itself.
What is foolishness to man is esteemed by God and visa versa.
Five Junctions
of Time 56-0122 94 And the
mark of the antichrist is to reject that Holy Ghost. Which you're sealed
outside of the Kingdom forever, with no, no way they'll ever be forgiven. He
that speaks against the Holy Ghost will never be forgiven in this world or the
world to come. There's your mark of the beast and the seal of God in one little
handful. The seal of God is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the mark of the
antichrist is to deny it. Now, you're marked one way or the other. Don't you
want to have the Holy Ghost today?
Mary’s
Belief 9-0409 49 The Holy Spirit's here now in Its
Fullness, in Its power. Be careful, All that didn't receive the Seal of God got
the mark of the beast. You know what the mark of the beast was to reject the
Seal of God. ... "Faith cometh by hearing." If you don't hear it and
receive it, then you're marked on the other side. Then you can't come in.
All
the Days of Our Life 59-0612 28 So you're a slave; you're marked. And the
Bible said in the last days, there would be two marks. And every person on the
earth would have one or the other. You just can't get out of it. One's the mark
of the beast, the other one was a Seal of God. And the Seal of God is the Holy
Spirit, God's provided way for His Church. Ephesians 4:30
said, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
you're sealed unto the day of your redemption." And to reject that
Holy Spirit is to take on the mark of the beast. All that didn't have the Mark
of God had the mark of the devil. So, you're marked. You're either marked a
bond slave in the love of God, or you're marked a slave to the things of the
world of the devil.
Questions
and Answers 59-0628E388-126 The mark of the beast is on today, and
the--the Seal of God is the Holy Spirit. To reject It is the mark of the beast.
Ever who sees the Holy Ghost, that you're supposed to receive It, and don't do
it, automatically you take the mark of the beast; because there's only two
classes to exist: all that didn't have the Seal of God had the mark of the
beast. So to receive the Seal of God is to receive the Holy Ghost. To reject It
is to have the mark of the beast. There's the whole thing. That's exactly
right.
HEAR RECOGNIZE ACT ON WORD 60-0221146
And Jesus predicts that this Holy Spirit, in the last days, would be the Seal
of God. Now, what would be the mark of the beast? Would be to reject the Seal
of God. For, all that didn't have the Seal of God had the mark of the beast.
And if it's two spiritual marks, one of them will be a true mark of God, the
other one will be apostasy. Can you see it?
19
Hearing Recognizing and Acting 60-06060 It's
heading up in two great things, coming to the end time: the mark of the beast,
and the seal of God. And the Seal of God--any minister knows--that the Seal of
God is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It's exactly right. Ephesians 4:30 says,
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day
of your redemption." Amen. Oh, I know you think I act funny, but maybe
I--I feel good. Oh, my, coming towards the end... Now, remember what is the
mark of the beast? The mark of the beast is a carnal Esau to reject that
birthright. Didn't Esau weep bitterly, trying to restore that birthright again,
but there was no place of repentance? When you reject the Holy Ghost you seal
yourself outside of God's mercy. Amen.
Jehovah
Jireh 60-080286 Ephesians 4:30 says, "Grieve not the
Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of your
redemption." How many knows that? God's Words says the Seal of God is the
Holy Ghost. Now, and then what is the mark of the beast? Is to reject the Holy
Ghost, a mark of apostasy. Remember, in the old days when the trumpet, the
jubilee year come, and the trumpet sounded, and every slave had a right to go
free? But if he didn't choose to go free, he was taken to the temple, and they
took a awl and bored a hole in his ear, and he was marked out for the rest of
his days. And what is it? On the ear, when God calls you to receive the Holy
Ghost, and you refuse It, then God marks your ear to where you'll never want to
try it anymore. See? Then that's the mark of apostasy. And in the Bible it
said, that these last days that there'd be two classes of people: One with the
Mark of God, the Seal of God, the other one was the mark of the beast. Is that
right? Now, you're wearing one of those marks tonight.
Ten
Virgins ROJC 425-492 60-1211M 319
Oh, I just love Him. Don't you? Yes, sir. Oh, the... What is the--what is the
Seal of God? Holy Ghost. What is the mark of the beast? Reject It. That's the
two. One is to see, and... Well, they're... And how many was on earth that
didn't get it? "All that was not sealed took the mark of the beast."
All that had not the Spirit of God had the mark of the beast. The Seal of God
is the Holy Spirit. The Bible said so. Every place in the Scripture speaks of
it, says it's the mark of God, the Seal of God. And all that did not have it,
was the one who reject it. And how did they reject it? By refusing to hear it.
Is that right?
So we see that she is not for His
protection as He is for hers, but rather she is for his beauty personified, in
which she, by her beauty, is to attract attention to the head, giving the head
the full preeminence. Thus we have a true picture of a bride and her groom and
how each compliments the other.
Malachi 3:16-18 gives us a better understanding then of this
protection he gives her and her giving back this revelation to Him which He has
given to her. 16"Then
those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and
heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who
feared the LORD and honored His name. 17 "They will be mine, "says
the LORD ALMIGHTY, "in the day when I make up My treasured possession. I
will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.18
And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked,
between those who serve God and those who do not."
Christ is the
Mystery of God Revealed 24-25 First,
to reveal Himself in Christ, the Fullness of the Godhead bodily, and then to
bring that Fullness of Godhead bodily into a people that He could have the
preeminence, the oversight, the leading ....When God gets you to be His
prisoner, then you can't do nothing but what the Spirit says do. Paul, with all
of his great intellects... He was taught by Gamaliel to be a great priest or
rabbi someday. And he had high ambitions. He was intellectually a great man:
great authority, great man in the nation. But he had to sacrifice every bit of
it (See?) to become part of the Word, to express Jesus Christ. He knew what it
was to say... He had a notion to go to some place (some brethren had called
him), but he was forbidden by the Spirit to do his own will. Oh, if people half
spiritual can pick that up... See? He was forbidden to do his own will. He only
could do... "The Spirit forbid me." See? He was a prisoner to Christ.
Moses: his intellectuals, he had to lose them in order to find Christ, to be a
prisoner. Then when God got all the world beat out of him and all the mighty
man that he was, and stand in the Presence of that Pillar of Fire that day, he
was found just speechless. He didn't even--he couldn't even talk, he said. God
had a prisoner then. See? You won't try after your own searching. Then God had
to endue this man--endow him with power enough that he could go down there. And
he said, "Lord, I told Pharaoh what You said, and he wouldn't do it."
Now, that's when He can express the preeminence. You see? He's got the man or
the person so that he knows nothing but Christ. You get what I mean? All right.
That's secondly. First, to express Himself completely: God in Christ. Second,
to have the preeminence by this in His Church (which is His Body, Bride) to...
He could have the preeminence to express Himself through them. All right. And
thirdly, to restore the Kingdom to its rightly position that fell by sin by the
first Adam, back to where He walked in the cool of the evening with His people,
talked with them, fellowshipped with them. And now sin and death had separated
them from His Presence and His entire expression. Do you read it? Before the
foundation of the world to express all of His attributes, what He was...
Now we see here
a beautiful picture of Bride and Groom. As she dresses to meet her mate, she
first puts on her shoes (which is the preparation of the Gospel).She is then
dressed in the Word and the last piece of apparel she puts on before she is
presented to her Groom is the crown or headpiece which consists of a head-band,
veil and train, representing God before her, GOD behind her, GOD over her and
all around her. She is then ready to proceed down the isle to meet her Groom.
As she walks toward her Husband she is veiled to all who happen to look on. She
then takes her place before Him and as she stands in His presence, He reaches
forward, removes her veil once and for all. He then kisses her and for the
first time she is purely face to face and mouth to mouth.( and the Bride will
have "Thus Saith the LORD," or she will keep still.)
Zephaniah 3:9-17 "9 For then will I turn to the people a pure
language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with
one consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for
all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no
more be haughty because of my holy mountain. 12 I
will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they
shall trust in the name of the LORD.13 The remnant
of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful
tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none
shall make them afraid.14 Sing, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments,
he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the
midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.16 In
that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not
thine hands be slack. 17 The LORD thy God in the
midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he
will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
1
Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of
rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming?
Let us pray…