Unveiling
of God no 29
There'll
be just a handful
June
14, 2-18
Brian
Kocourek, Pastor
1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness'
sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their
terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give
an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas
they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely
accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17 For it is
better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil
doing. 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while
the ark was a preparing, wherein
few, that is, eight souls
were saved by water.
Let us pray... Dear Father, we just read from Thy Word that
in Noah's day only 8 souls were saved. You also said as it was in the days of
Noah so shall it be in the days when the son of Man returns. Therefore knowing
that in a day where we have nearly 7 billion people and the potential for only
8 to be saved from the end time destruction, we ask Father to be among that few
in number, and we pray that you would "work in us oh God to will and to do thy will"
in preparing our homes for that great day that we are now at that juncture of
time. Help us in our study of Thy Word this morning as we prepare ourselves to
hear from you in Jesus Christ's name we pray. You may be seated.
Notice Peter
said " wherein few, that
is, eight souls were saved
by water ".
So by this we
see that the same water that God sent to deliver Noah and his family is the
same water that destroyed the world. And Since the Apostle Paul tells us that
"we are washed by the washing of water by the
Word". Therefore we see that it was your word that you gave
to Noah, and by that Word his family lived, and by that same word that wqas
rejected the world perished.
So by God's Word
of promise (the rain) washed and cleansed the earth thus saving Noah and his
family from the filth and debauchery that was prevalent in the world in his
day.
And of course
water types the Word, as Rain types God's doctrine as we see in Deuteronomy 32.
Deuteronomy 32:2 "My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and
as the showers upon the grass:"
Now, during the
time that Noah was preparing the ark he was also preaching a Message of Grace
to the people of his day, "Come into the ark and live, stay away and
perish". Now, here is the strange
thing. Only his family entered into that ark. Out of perhaps 7 billion people
on earth at the time of the great flood, only 8 were saved.
Therefore we
know by Scripture that there will be very few who make it in the rapture my
brothers and sisters, and this morning we are going to look at that very small
group.
In
fact Jesus said in Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: 14 Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Again
we read in Luke
17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noe, so
shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they
drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 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.
Now, let's move
forward to br. Branham's sermon The Unveiling of God and pick up at paragraph 57 Before, if any
man walked in behind that veil, it was sudden death. Amen. Oh, we're going to
get a lesson here in a minute (See?), if you can receive It. To walk behind them skins, even one of
the priest's sons tried to do it one time and died. Don't go behind that veil. The
man that walked behind... Why? There's
no redemption yet in that. It was potentially; it was just potential; and anything potential's not the real thing
yet (See?), just potentially. It was redemption. Sin was covered, not
remitted, not remitted. "Remitted" is "divorced and put
away." And so the blood of sheep and goats could not do that, so Jehovah was hid behind a veil. Now, back behind this veil where He was hid,
to enter into that, a man dropped dead to try to enter there into it.
Now,
I want you to notice the serious nature of what brother Branham is telling us.
It's about Life and death. Back in the Old Testament days, to enter into God's
presence without the Holy Ghost it was death, and since they didn't have the
Holy Ghost back then, only the High Priest was allowed to enter in. But now, to
not enter into His Presence is death, and His Presence is His Parousia, the
Great Appearing, which is His Token, He is the Token. That is what
Brother Branham
taught us in his sermon called Desperation 63-0901E P:16 he said,
The Token is Christ.
Token the 64-0308 P:24 "The
blood," you say, "well, I killed the lamb and I put it in a jar.
I've set it back here." (just
like a lot of people do the tapes and their Bibles).
Then brother
Branham says, "That's not what He said. It must be on the lintel and on the
door place. It's got to be displayed. And your life has got to display the
Token is in
you. Oh, you Pentecostals, what's wrong with you? Bobbed hair, painted
faces; men, dirty jokes and things, where's that display the Blood of my Lord Jesus Christ is
the Token of the Holy Ghost? You,
having a form of godliness and calling
witchcraft and everything else, the works of God (And I'd like to add, that's John 14:12, and he says and you call it) a witchcraft, how do you display a token?
They say, "I'm Pentecostal..." I don't care what you are. "I'm Baptist.
I'm Presbyterian..." I don't care what you are. That Token's
got to be there. God requires It, and nothing else but that.
And I have news
for you, the token is not the tapes, it is the Holy Ghost, His personal Presence
here and reflecting in you the life of that presence.
You say, Well,
I've got the Word... but brother Branham in The
Token 64-0208 P:60 said, We read in Ephesians
2nd chapter and 12th verse, about what God said about it when we applied this Token.
Notice, serving the living God with living
works, and with living signs, with a
living Token; not dead works, and carnal, not dead works. Hebrews 9:11-14 tells us again the
same thing, not dead creeds, but a living
Token. They... These creeds deny that there
is such a thing as a Token. They don't even believe there is such a thing as a
Token, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But we who believe the Word know better, know it.
And it's His living Presence for us in this day. We separated from dead works, and the Holy Ghost comes in to confirm the Word and make it so.
Hebrews 13:8 proves that to us,
proves that God has raised Him up for us according to His promised Word.
Thousands of years has passed; two thousand years almost has passed. But what
is it? The Token still holds that God raised Him up on the third day. If you just got the Word, that's
all you got. But when the Token is applied, then Christ is
reality to you. And He does today like He
did then. (And that is John 14:12 which is also Hebrews 13:8) So it throws it right back in their lap again. They can't
get around it. God promised it, and here it is that the Token's got to
be applied. He takes the Token and when...
Token the 64-0208 P:73 He expects us now to display the Token over
our faith, to Satan's group, the unbelievers, and cults, and
so forth, that don't believe in it, that we, believing what He has said of His
promises, and that Jesus Christ has raised up from the dead, showing Himself alive...
And that is the badge, the Token of identification, because it's Christ's own Life in you
identifying the Word. It doesn't need anything else. That's the Token.
Without the Token...Shows the fare is paid, shows that you're a subject for the
resurrection, that God, that
same power that raised up Jesus from the grave, you're holding within yourself as a
Token. The Holy Ghost in
you is the Token that brings you from the grave, because the Token is God,
the Holy Spirit,
which is Eternal Life, coming from the Greek word
"Zoe," which means "God's own Life," in you. That's
the only thing that paid the price. If that Token isn't there, how are you
going to raise?
And he can say
that because that is what God's own words says in Romans 8:11 And
if the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead is living
in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of] his Spirit
who lives in you.
Now let me read this from the Message Version of Romans 8:9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in
your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him.
Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the
Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who
welcome him, in whom he dwells, even though you still experience all the
limitations of sin, you yourself experience
life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the
dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus,
bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you
(and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead
life. With his Spirit
living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!
Token the 64-0308 P:26 If it was
not displayed, the covenant wasn't even in effect. A Jew could
absolutely say and prove himself to be a circumcised Jew. He could take the
brethren out and say, "Look here, I am circumcised." That
didn't mean one thing. You say, "I'm Methodist. I'm Baptist. I'm
Pentecostal. I'm this. I'm that." That don't mean one thing. You've
got to have the Token. And when the Token comes, it testifies of Christ.
He said it would. And Christ
is the Word. And how can you deny that the Bible's true, part
of It, and still say you have the Token, when the Token is the testimony of Jesus Christ?
There's what I wonder."Oh," say, "I don't believe; I believe the
days of miracle..." Oh, look out, there's no Token there. The
Token punctuates every Word with an "amen," everything,
'cause it's God Itself. See? All right.
Token the 63-1128E P:67 Oh, God, let us
open our hearts and receive the message, that Jesus is alive tonight. He's
right here among us. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Open up your
house and let the
Messenger, the Holy Ghost, come in and identify you by His Own Presence, the
Token that's upon you. Then you don't have to take anybody
else's word for it; He's there to speak for Himself. And He is the Word. That's right.
It's God's Token, to identify His Own-self. She used her house for the
messengers. Then she got all the city that would believe under the same token.
And that's the way the church should be doing today, getting everything that
will believe under the Token. The Token is the Holy Ghost. Just remember; they
must get under the Holy Ghost.
And how can you
get under the Holy Ghost if his presence is not here?
Token the 63-0901M P:84 Oh, little
people, my brother, sister, get under that Token quickly. See?
Don't, don't take no substitute. Don't, don't, don't, don't do
that. See? Don't just imagine it. You stay there until you know that the Token is applied,
until your whole--the mind that was in Christ is in you; until all the nonsense
of the world is gone, until the whole heart's desire is Him.
See? Then you know, then you know something's happening. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe," not
make-believers, but believers. See?
Token the 63-0901M P:49
"Now, the very Spirit Itself is
the Token. The Holy Spirit Itself is the Token", not the
Blood. ... and then later on in this paragraph he says, "But the Token is the Holy Ghost upon
the church, that they see Christ."
Jehovah Jireh 2 64-0403 P:29 Now, the token
is not the Blood; it
is the Life that was in the Blood, the Holy Spirit. And that's
the... I don't care how religious you are, unless you've received the
Holy Ghost, you'll perish. It's the only way. There's not another
Scripture to do anything, only that alone. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby
you are sealed until the day of your redemption," Ephesians
4:30.
Token the 64-0308 P:62 The Token is the Word identified in you, living Itself
out. That's God being His Own interpreter. You don't have
to say, "Well now, you interpret my tongue." That ain't it. He interprets your life by the
Word. When He takes your word, what you are, and identify His
Word through there, it don't need any interpretation; it's already there. God
does His Own interpretation, and we've had these promises for the day.
Voice of the sign 64-0214
P:13 And the token, that's the only thing God recognizes. And the token
must be there, or the covenant's even annulled. Just the token, and the Token is the Holy Spirit.
Notice he just
said the
Token is the Holy Spirit in you, and then he tells us it must be there
displayed, and then he tells us what the Token is, He says the token is the Holy Spirit in you.
Therefore the
token is not a tape.
How do you think you can just set the tapes out on display and some say that is
the ribbon (the tape) that God saw over Rahab's window that saved her household. That is wrong. Her faith in the
promise is what saved her house.
And The Token is the
Holy Ghost in you displayed in your life, yes on display in your
life, "living as Christ lived", "talking as Christ talked",
and "doing the works that Christ did", which is John 14:12 and Mark 16
and various other Scriptures.
Token the 64-0208 P:77 The Token is a
confirmation of His Word, that shows He is the Word. Now, the Word
said He raised up from the dead, and He's alive forevermore. He lives in His
people, the
same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe that? If you believe
that, then you have a right if you have that Token, the Holy Spirit in
you, you have a right to everything that His death purchased for you.
Won't you believe it? Now, look. So it...
And then
notice carefully what he says in The Token 63-0901M
P:54 "It's yourself gone. You are no more... You're, reckon yourself
dead, and the Token
is what lives in you, and it's not your life; it's Him. Paul said, "The life that I now live..."
He lived a different life from what he once did. "It's not me, but Christ liveth in me." There is the identified Token that God required.
Identified with our, identification with our sacrifice. The Life of our Saviour in us,
the Holy Spirit... Oh what a... A positive Token. There cannot be any
more Token. Oh, my, if you'd only could catch the thought of it. If I
had the power this morning with words to express and place into your soul
that's on the in, not your ears, but your soul. If you could see the guarantee of it. It
takes... It makes you so relaxed.
And here is
the best thing, notice he says in his sermon The
Token the 63-1128E P:77 When they seen that wonderful display of the power of a
resurrection, he (Peter) got up there and quoted the Scriptures of Joel, and so
forth, give the promise for that age, and showed the requirements of that
age had been met in Jesus Christ, and that He had sent back a Token of His
death. And that Token was upon them. And He said, "The Token is to you,
and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our
God shall call will have to have this Token." Amen. It's not they "may ought to"
have It. "They shall have It. You shall receive the Holy Ghost."
And that is why in Isaiah 65 he can tell us, "and all of thine offspring with them."
Token the 63-0901M P:58 The Token was God's Life, ...
Token the 63-1128E P:28 "And these signs shall follow them that
believe," not just professors, but identified believers.
"They may not follow. They probably will, and perhaps they will"?
Jesus said, "They
shall follow them
that believe." Just absolutely impossible for it not to happen.
"The
works that I do shall you do also." That's the identification. Jesus'
identification was to manifest the Word of God, which He was. And the
Church's identification today is to manifest the promised Word of this day by the same Spirit
that manifested and quickened the Word then. The same Spirit quickens
the Word to the believer today and manifests the same thing, showing that the Token is on
this person, which is the resurrected Life of Jesus Christ living in His
believer. Oh, that ought to set a church afire. And
that's true, just as true as it could be.
Desperation 63-0901E P:11 Now, we have
sometimes allowed It... The Lutherans allowed It to accepting the Word,
accepting Christ as personal Saviour. The Methodists said, "When you get
happy enough to shout, that's It." The Pentecostals says, "Speak in
tongues, and you got It." And we find out that all of it was wrong. See? The
Token is the Token. It's you and Christ as persons together. See? It's the Holy Spirit, His Life
in you working His own Life through you. And it's for the rich,
the poor, or for whosoever will receive It.
Token the 63-0901M P:122 while you're
under the anointing of it, it'd be better to get it right now. Only when the
token is displayed... Then the whole family must be under that token blood.
Papa, mama, I know how you feel. I've got children too. I got to see them
saved. I'm talking to myself today. See? I got brothers; I got sister; I got
loved ones. I want to see them saved too; but remember, without the display
of the Token, they'll perish. There's no resurrection for them. That's
right. They're gone. Only when the Token's displayed...
Token the 64-0208 P:67 A minister said
to me one time, said, "Brother Branham, Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness."And I
said, "That's true."Said, "What more can a man do but
believe?"I said, "That's exactly right.""Then where do you
get this Holy Ghost outside of believing?"I said, "But He give him
the seal of circumcision as a confirmation of his faith." Amen. And
if He's never give you the baptism of the Holy Ghost yet, then He hasn't
confirmed your faith that you say you have. But the Token is a confirmation.
I say, "I got the money. I paid it in the office down there." But you've got to show the Token.
That's right.
That is why John 14:12
is so important, because that shows the very Life of Christ is on display in
your life. It shows that "you are dead and
your life is hid with Christ in God,".
It shows that
"when he appears you appear with him",
because "you are dead and your life is hid with Christ
in God", and what people see in you is him.
In fact you
become Him. That is what the Token does for you. You become him.
Identification 63-0123 P:28 You cannot no
way ever produce a Character like that, only accepting that Character in you. A
church cannot do that. A creed cannot do that. A denomination cannot do that.
An education cannot do that. It must be a birth. It's got to be a dying
out, and let God in it. By the grace of Christ, mold this type of
character in you, that
you become Him. And your life and His is the same.
Then you are sons and daughters of God.
And when your
life and his life are the same then you are manifested as a son of God, then
you are conformed to his image, then you are ready for adoption, and that is
when John
14:12 is fully on display in your life.
Now, does that
mean you will be politically correct? Nope. Does that mean that you will always
be sweet and pleasant? Nope. But it does mean that you will live, die, swim or
sink, standing with God and His Word, no matter if it takes the hide right off
your back.
People get the
wrong understanding of what the Holy Ghost life is. They think you will be
sweet all the time, and that you will just go with the flow, but that's not the
Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost manifested in Jesus as a man who got
beside himself with rage when he saw men using the temple to make merchandize of
the people, selling in the temple, and he braided a rope and whipped them out.
The Holy Ghost in the Apostle John called Marcus for
what he was and spoke of his evil handling of the Word right in his face.
The Holy Ghost in Martin of Tours burnt down the
groves where the people worshipped Satan.
The Holy Ghost in Martin Luther made mockery of the
Pope and his false doctrine, and battled him on the Word and withstood the
savage attempts at his life, but he stood defiant.
The Holy Ghost upon Shadrack, Meshack and Abednigo
stood defiant of the kings laws.
The Holy Ghost in Elijah mocked the 400 prophets of
Baal and called down fire upon the soldiers that came to kill him.
The Holy Ghost in Paul rebuked Peter before everyone
not worrying what people would think of him.
The Holy Ghost in Moses called for the waves to come
crashing down and wiping out the entire army of Egypt.
The Holy Ghost upon Samson slew 10,000 soldiers with
so much power and savagery that a brittle dried out jawbone of a mule cut
through the brass helmets of the enemy and he slew ten thousand of them.
So the Holy
Ghost is not passive to anything but God's Word. And It is not timid to
anything except to the Will of God. But when called into action The Holy Ghost in
men has shown Himself to the a fearless warrior. A mighty conqueror.
Yet the Holy
Ghost when it comes to Itself, showed the spirit of a lamb, and a dove.
In 1 Corinthians 13
the apostle Paul said the following concerning the Holy Ghost in your life:
The Holy Ghost never
gives up.
The Holy Ghost cares more for others
than for self.
The Holy Ghost doesn’t
want what it doesn’t have.
The Holy Ghost doesn’t
strut,
The Holy Ghost doesn’t have a swelled head,
The Holy Ghost doesn’t
force itself on others,
The Holy Ghost Is never “me first,”
The Holy Ghost doesn’t fly off the handle,
The Holy Ghost doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
The Holy Ghost doesn’t
revel when others grovel,
The Holy Ghost takes
pleasure in the flowering of truth,
The Holy Ghost puts up with anything,
The Holy Ghost trusts
God always,
The Holy Ghost always
looks for the best,
and The Holy Ghost never looks back,
But The Holy Ghost keeps going to the end.
The Holy Ghost never dies.
Now, in getting
back to our text sermon The Unveiling of God, brother Branham said in pp. 58 But since
Pentecost, since the crucifixion, when that veil was rent from the top to the
bottom, for that generation... Jesus was
that God, veiled. And when He
died at Calvary, God sent fire and lightning and ripped that veil from top to
the bottom, that the whole mercy seat was in plain view. But they were too blind to see it.
As Moses said here, Paul said, reading of Moses, "When Moses is read
yet, that veil is still on their heart."
Oh, brother, sister, that's what the
Jews did when the veil was rent and brought God into plain view,
hanging on the cross. He was in plain view, but they
couldn't see It.
So
the mercy seat which was the presence of God's Life in the man Jesus, they
couldn't even see it. And when Jesus died that God life came out of him, and
rent the curtain in the temple that contained the ark of the covenant wherein
the mercy seat had been for Israel, and that curtain was rent in two revealing
that He had become the Mercy seat.
Now, listen? If
you have the Token, then you have the mercy seat in you as well, because it is
the same God life in you as was in Him.
But how many people reject the "Christ in you which is their only Hope of Glory"
Let's read on
with pp. 59 Could it be possible that the Gentiles
has hit the same thing? (Oh, God.) When they've had the church ages of
the Son of God, but when now the veil of this denominations and things, this
veil of tradition that we've got since Pentecost, when the church traditions
has been rent, the things that the people said, "Days of miracles is
past," and these things, and God has took the veil off of it
and brought It in plain view, and they're ready to crucify It again. Just exactly right.
60 The unveiled God, plain view, they
should've seen Him standing there. Yet He was too common; He was an
ordinary Man. They
couldn't see It. See, there stood a
Man. "Well," they said, "this guy, what school did He come from?" But remember, when that
spear struck His body, that Spirit
left Him, the temple of sacrifice blocks turned over, and the lightning
whipped down through the temple and rent the veil. What was it? There was their God hanging on Calvary,
and they were too blind to see it. Brought Him
in open view, and still they don't see It.
They're blinded. God, veiled in a
human being...
Now,
listen, when God has come in this hour and done greater in one man than he did
in his own son, and they still don't see it. Then God took that man off the
scene. But God in His mercy placed that mercy in you, His Spirit in you, His
presence in You, to go forth one last time like Samson, who cried out
"Once more Lord, Once more". And you as sons are to shine His
presence to the world and shine the light of Christ to them, and still they
don't see it. Then what will take place?
God
always shows mercy and then when they reject the mercy he sends, there is only
one thing left and that is judgment.
The
wave sheaf has been waved over the people, through a God ordained people and
the people have rejected His message even though 2 million claim to follow his
Prophet. And just as 2 million people left Egypt which Egypt represented or was
a type of the world in Moses day, and Moses was God's mercy to those people but
they rejected it and they all perished. So too in this hour God has raised up a
prophet to manifest His presence too, His mercy seat, God's presence, once more
to the people, and they've rejected it
and as Israel worshipped the brazen serpent that God sent them as a sign of
healing, but just as in Moses day, they rejected the Teaching. And they
worshipped the creature more than the creator. So what is left?
Then
God sends forth the same teaching by an anointed Five Fold ministry declaring
the same doctrine of Christ and the people reject God's mercy to them until the
2 million people again who claim to believe the Message are dying in the
wilderness of sin, of unbelief.
So
what is next? They have turned down the Shout that would have prepared them for
the Voice of the resurrection, and thus very few will actually make it.
In
closing, let me show you many quotes where the prophet of God said just that.
He said very few will make the resurrection and rapture.
World
again falling apart 63-1127 P:63- "I look for a rapture, for just a handful of people (That's right.), just a handful of people.
Perseverant P:16 There'll just be a very, very few in that rapture that'll be changed.
Now, in his
sermon the Rapture he defined the Rapture as three stages of God's Presence
among us at the end time. He said the Shout is the Message, the Voice is the resurrection,
and the trump is the catching away. And
the Lord does all three during his Parousia-Presence.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:75 Three things
happen, a shout, a voice, a trumpet,
has to happen before Jesus appears. Now, a shout. Jesus does all three
of them when He's descending. A "shout," what is a
"shout"? It's
the Message going forth first, the living Bread of Life
bringing forth the Bride. Now, God has a way of doing things, and He never
changes His policy. He never changes His... He's the unchanging God. In Amos 3:7 He said He would do nothing on the earth until
first He revealed it to His servants the prophets. And just as
certain as He promised it, He'll do it.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:74 Now, I want you
to notice a great thing taken place here now. Don't miss this.
See? Now, notice, the Word says here in I Thessalonians that there's three things... Notice, from the 13th to the 16th verse there's
three things that has to happen before the Lord Himself appears. (Quickly now
so we can close. See?) The first thing happened, notice: a shout, a voice, a trumpet. Let's read it
now and see if that's right. See? For the Lord himself... (16th verse)... shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with a voice of the
archangel, and... the trump of God:...
Rapture the 65-1204 P:88 No, it's... The
first thing is the sounding--or the first thing is the a shout, and then a voice, and then
a trumpet. Shout, a messenger getting the people ready... The
second is a voice of the resurrection. The same voice that, a loud
voice in St. John
11:38 and 44 that called
Lazarus from the grave. Getting the Bride together, and then the resurrection of the dead
(See?), to be caught up with it. Now, watch the three things take
place.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are
asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Now, Paul says I
don't want you to be ignorant brothers so I am going to tell you what things
are going to take place at the Parousia of Christ. That time of Gods great
presence when he comes down from heaven and he will come doing three things.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God
bring with him.
So he begins by
telling us what God is going to do when he Comes.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming (Parousia
- Presence )of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep.
Now, remember he
is speaking here of the Parousia
which is the presence of "The Lord"
so he is not talking about the man Jesus but the God of the man Jesus. And
remember he tells us there is but One Lord.
That is God himself, Jehovah which in the Old Testament the Hebrew Word Jehovah is translated as "Lord."
16 For the
Lord himself (Jehovah
Elohim) shall descend from heaven
with a shout, (that's a
Message) with the
voice of the archangel,(that's the resurrection) and with the trump of God:(that
will be the catching away) 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.
So if we are to
comfort one another with these words he means we need to preach the Parousia
presence of God in which God is here to do these three things, and we should be
comforted by knowing this.
So when we read
the quote where brother Branham said, Perseverant P:16 There'll just be a very, very few in that rapture that'll be changed.
He is telling us
that the Shout will change very, very few who will then receive the voice which
will be the resurrection ministry of the same God who has come down. Because
let's face it, in Romans 12: 1 The Apostle Paul tells us that we
will receive our transformation by the renewing of the mind. So if the mind is
not renewed by the shout, the Message, then the body will never receive a
transformation. So he in essence is telling us here that very few will be
changed in the mind first by the Shout, in order to enter into the The
resurrection ministry.
Questions and answers COD P:56 It'll be one here and one there, it
will not be a bunch of people gathered together in a
little group, " They'll never be missed in the world. When they go, you'll
never know it's gone. That's
right. It'll come like a thief in the night." Not
them, but him, an individual: not
a group, an individual. All hell's against it. just one here, and one there, and one over
here.
Invisible union of the bride That's what the church is today everyone
disagreeing with the other. A big mess of just exactly what the Bible said: Babylon. The
Bride knows where She stands. She's very
few. There won't be many saved. Just a Very, very, very few.
God in simplicity.. I want to shock
you a little bit. The rapture will be... So few go in that Bride. There'll be just a handful.
Christ is the mystery P:229 Not say, "My church done..." My church has nothing to do with it. It's an individual, one person. All hell is against this teaching. All hell's against this truth,
but it is the truth. Jesus never said, "Now, Peter, you, and John, and all
the rest of the people, you've got the revelation (of who he is ) now; the whole church is saved." No, it was to him personally. Not them, but
him, an individual: not a group , an Individual. All hell's
against it.
Mighty God unveiled P:52 He never revealed It to a group; He revealed It to an individual. You say, "I belong to a church. I belong to this." But that won't work.
Doors in door P:92 [65-0206] Jesus
is knocking in this Laodicea age. See where they put Him out? He's trying to
get to individuals,
not organizations and groups of people. He's trying to get one here, and one there,
and one there, trying. "All that I love, I chasten."
How Can I Overcome Daniel,
a man, a prophet. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel was the prophet,
and that was the
size of the Church in that day, I mean, the Bride. There's lots of church, about two million
of them went down there. But there was... That was the size of the
over-comer. And them over-comers was put to the
test. And every over-comer has to be put
to the test. When they said, "You take back
what the Word says, or either be thrown in the fiery furnace."
They refused anything but the Word.
Mighty God unveiled It is an individual affair;
it's you and God. You have to go in, not your group, not your church,
not your pastor, ...
Identified Christ of all ages God never used a system, never did use
a organization, never
did use groups. He uses one single person. God deals with you as an
individual. It's you, not your
church. You are the one that's responsible, not what your
church says. What God
said to you, it must be with the Word. God deals with individuals. He's always did.
Let
us pray...