Unveiling of God no 98
Two Vines - both receive
a mark in their forehead and in their hand
June 2, 2019 Morning service
Brian
Kocourek, Pastor
This morning we will conclude our
study of the shared attributes that both the True Vine and the False Vine share
in common being that they are both birthed by the same revival, same Rain, same
doctrine, same move of God.
From also in his sermon The Ephesian Church Age 60-1205 pp.
113 brother Branham tells us even this end time revival of God,
this end time Message will produce twins as well. "Now,
as I said to begin, 'fore we start off on this again, every
revival produces a pair of twins. One is a spiritual man; the
other one is a natural man of the earth, "I joined the
church; I'm just as good as anybody." And that's what
this revival produced. That's
what, every revival. That's what Luther's produced; that's
what Irenaeus' produced; that's what Saint Martin's produced; that's
what Columba's produced; that's what Wesley's produced; and that's
what Pentecost produced. Just exactly. You see how they've gone to
seed,
As you are well aware by this time that every revival comes
by a move of God upon His Word, and that Word goes forth as Doctrine. The
revival of Martin Luther's day and his Message was the doctrine of
Justification. The revival of John Wesley's day and his Message was the
doctrine of Sanctification. The revival of William Branham's day and His
Message was declaring the doctrine of Christ and understanding that the
Presence of Christ is here.
He
said in his sermon , From that time 62-0713 P:102 How many knows there's a difference
between the appearing of Christ and the coming of Christ? It's two different words.
Now's the appearing, the coming will soon be.
He's appearing in the midst of us, doing the works that He once did, in His
church. Now, you're a part of that church, and by grace you believe. I am a
member of that church. Now, I'm not a preacher. You know I'm not. I have not
the education to do it. Sometimes I feel reluctant standing here by men of God,
who's called to that office. There
are apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists. Not all are
apostles, not all are prophets, not all are teachers, not all evangelists. I'm
standing here...But my ministry is a different ministry from a pastor or
teacher. I'mnot. And if I say things wrong, brethren, forgive me. I
don't mean it. But this
is my ministry (See?) to declare Him, that He's here.
Now it is
essential for every believer who believes in the Coming of the Lord and the Rapture
of the church to understand that there is an Appearing of the Lord first, and
remember there is only One Lord. Paul said Ephesians
4:5 "There is one Lord, One Faith and therefore one
Baptism (That's Holy Ghost Baptism).
Then in 1 Thessalonians 4 the Apostle Paul tells us 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.
And he even
tells us in the next verse 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Now, brother
Branham who said " this is my ministry
(See?) to declare Him, that He's here," also tells us that this
descent of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4
is to bring with His presence a Shout which is the Message, and then the voice
is the Resurrection and the trump will be the catching away of the Bride to go
to meet the Son of God in the air.
He said in his
sermon The Rapture 65-1204 P:82 which he
preached just before God took him home, his ministry was finished. Now, notice
he explains what the Shout Voice and Trump are, and then he ties that with
Matthew 25 the parable of the ten Virgins.
The Rapture 65-1204 P:82 "The
first thing come when He starts descending from the heaven, there's a
shout. What is it? It's a Message to get the people together.
A Message comes forth first. Now, "Lamp trimming time. Rise and trim your lamps." What watch was that? The seventh, not the sixth, the
seventh. "Behold the Bridegroom cometh.
Rise and trim your lamps." And they did.
Some of them found they didn't even have any oil in their lamp. See? But it's
lamp trimming time. It's Malachi 4 time when you come... It's Luke 17. It's Isaiah... All those
prophecies that it can perfectly set in order for this day in the Scriptures,
we see it living right there.
Now, why did he name Isaiah? Well, we
are told in Isaiah that the people will see and not perceive and hear and not
understand.
Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and
see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Again from his
sermon The Rapture 65-1204 P:75 brother
Branham explains "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.
Ok, so here he tells us it will Be God
coming down with a message but he will use a prophet to declare that Message
according to Amos
3:7.
And what is
that Message to do? he tells us further in The Rapture
65-1204 P:93 "Therefore, the Message calls the Bride together.
See? The shout and the trumpet, the same morning with a loud voice He screamed
out with that shout, and voice and woke Lazarus. With a loud
voice He cried, "Lazarus, come forth." See? And the voice wakes up the sleeping Bride, the sleeping dead.
And the trumpet, with the sound of the trumpet, and when it does, it calls... Always a trumpet called Israel
to the Feast of the Trumpets (See?), which was the Pentecostal
feast, the great feast in the sky and the Feast of the
Trumpets... And now, a trumpet denounced a calling together, calling
to the feast. And now that is the Lamb's supper in the sky (Now, watch.,)the
assembling together in the Bride, the Feast of the Trumpets, the Wedding
Supper. We have seen it in types. Now, watch just a moment before we
close.
So we see that
Brother Branham is very definitive concerning what these three things are that
Paul tells us the Lord does in His descent, and consequent presence.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:89 The next is
what? was a trumpet. A voice--a shout, a voice, a trumpet. Now, the third
thing is a trumpet, which always at the Feast of Trumpets is calling the people
to the feast; and that'll be the Bride's supper, the Lamb's supper with the
Bride in the sky. See, the first things comes forth is His Message
calling the Bride
together. The next thing is a resurrection of the sleeping
Bride, the one that's died back in the other ages. They're caught
together, and the trumpet, the feast in the heavens, in the
sky. Why, that's the thing that takes place, friends. We're right
there ready now.
The only thing, the church coming out has got to lay before the sun to ripen.
The great combine will come by after while. The wheat will be burned, the
stalks, but the grain will be gathered into it's garner. See?
so it is later
than you think and if you go back to my sermon in the faith series no 38 and 39
you will see a definitive study of all the promises of God associated with the
Presence of God in this last hour, and all the things he does during the time
of the Shout,
Voice and Trump. And in Faith number 39 I showed
you specific proof that 79 of the 84 events, sign, and
characteristics that are prophesied to take place during this time have already
come to pass.
I challenge
you to go back and study those two sermons,. if you are going on a trip you get
yourself a road map for your travel, and yet my brothers and sisters we are
about to take of in a journey no man has ever gone before and I have laid out
the road map for you and you should be studying it every opportunity you have.
Br. Branham
told us of the parable of the ten virgins
that all heard
the midnight cry. So the Doctrine
of Twins in this hour involves an understanding of the Two Vines and
how they either "hear, recognize and act upon" this midnight cry
(this
Shout which he said is the Message) or else we see in this
parable those who heard the midnight cry, the Shout-The Message that He is here
come out to
meet Him, but somehow they do not understand what the Message
is.
Now, remember,
the Foolish virgin were without excuse. They had been awoken from their sleep
by the Midnight Cry (Shout-which is the Message) just like the wise virgin
were. But they did not understand what that cry was all about. It was "come out to meet Him",
so it is all about Him.
And brother
Branham said himself from his sermon, From that
time 62-0713 P:102 How many knows there's a difference between the appearing
of Christ and the coming of Christ? It's two different words. Now's the appearing,
the coming will soon be. He's
appearing in the midst of us, (that's Matthew 25) doing the works that He once did, (that
is understanding that The Alpha must repeat in the Omega) in His church.
Now, you're a part of that church, and by grace you believe. I am
a member of that church. Now, I'm not a preacher. You know I'm
not. I have not the education to do it. Sometimes I feel reluctant standing
here by men of God, who's called to that office. There are apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and
evangelists. Not all are apostles, not all
are prophets, not all are teachers, not all evangelists. I'm standing
here...But my ministry is a different ministry from a pastor or teacher. I'm not.
And if I say things wrong, brethren, forgive me. I don't mean it. But this is my ministry
(See?) to declare
Him, that
He's here.
Notice he
tells us He is not a five-fold minister. he says, "my ministry is a different ministry from a
pastor or teacher." So when we hear people say that William
Branham was all of the five fold ministry, his own words tells us he was not. God
never told him he was an Evangelist, he just told him to do the work of an
Evangelist. "doing the works of Christ does not make you Christ, nor doing
the works of an Evangelist make you an evangelist. A true Five-fold minister is
born to his office. And Br. Branham was not born to be a five-fold minister. He
was born to be a Messenger prophet.
From Questions and Answers on the Seals 63-0324M P:111 22. brother
Branham was asked the question, "Would the Bride of Christ have a ministry before the rapture?
Now, listen to his reply. Sure! That's what's going on right now! See? The
Bride of Christ... Certainly. "It is the Message of the hour"
(See?), the Bride of Christ. Sure! She's consist of
apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors. Is that right? That's
the Bride of Christ. Sure, She's got a ministry, great ministry;
it's the ministry of the hour; it'll be so humble...
But that is
not what he told us his ministry was. He said, "this
is my ministry (See?) to declare Him, that He's here."
But how many
people who claim to believe William Branham was the end time prophet of God to
this age know that, understand that. And when the
Midnight Cry went forth in Matthew 25,
which was "Behold, He is here, come out to meet Him",
that is the same as the shout of 1
Thessalonians 4 which was to declare the Presence of the Lord who
had descended with a Shout. "Behold I am here, my presence is here".
That is the Same One who stands at the door to the Laodicean church crying out,
"Behold I
stand outside the door knocking, if any man hear my Voice, and open the door we
will eat together, dine together." And that is the same
voice in James 5 that says, "behold the Judge
Standeth at the door."
And that is
what the ministry of William Branham vindicated prophet of God is to the
Laodicean church age, "come out, He is here" is all about. But how many of the Message Believers
so-called have heard the midnight cry,
and understood what it is all about.
They
understood enough "to come out", but did not understand enough
where he said "the purpose of your coming out is because He is here".
So when they came out of the church, if they had understood the part of the
midnight cry, "He is here" they would not have run off
to the sellers to find oil, they would have stayed in His Presence with Him who
is here.
But the fact
that they ran after the seller of oil, showed they didn't understand He was
there and they knew it not.
Now, the difference is that the True Vine had the oil, which
is the Holy Ghost and therefore they not only heard the midnight cry, but they recognized
what it was about, It is all about "Him who is Here",
and the proof that they recognized what they heard is that they acted upon the
Word of God, and went in with the One that is here.
But we see the foolish Virgin, the false Vine, she did not hear and recognize, or she would
have stayed in the presence of the One Who came down. And therefore when they
were told to go buy for themselves the oil, they left the Presence of the One
Who was standing outside the door.
Now, the sellers were sellers of the Word for that is where
the oil is. Jesus said, "My Words are spirit
and they are life." And these people ran to the sellers the
Word seeking to get the Holy Ghost, but they had to leave the Parousia Presence
of the One who came down to do so. And the Bible said they were left behind Matthew
25:10 And
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to
the marriage: and the door (Christ the Word, he
said he is the door) was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins,
saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. (open up what?
Open up the door, the Word to us) 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the
day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Now, Dr. Hoyer who was America's finest Greek Scholar back
in the 50-60's said the original says "I used to
now you as my wife, but I know you so no more." and he said
that was the great divorcement. and notice it is not to the denominational
church that the great divorcement comes, it is the foolish virgin, who went to
the sellers and left the Presence of the bride Groom to do so.
So we see the importance of knowing and recognizing your day
and God's visitation to us with The midnight Shout or message, "Behold He is here come out to meet him."
Now, this leads us to the last of the shared attributes, and
that is number 10. Both True Vine and False Vine will receive a mark in their forehead and in their right
hand.
Now, for the rest of this sermon this morning we're going to
cover what those marks represent.
To begin we will go back to the Book of Genesis to see the mark
of the beast and who
received, why he received it, and what was the outcome or receiving
it. Genesis 4:3 And in
process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground
an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto
Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very
wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy
countenance fallen? 7 If
thou doest right, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not right, sin
lieth at the door. And
unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt
rule over him.
Notice
God showed Cain his offering was not acceptable but then gave him opportunity
to repent and do over but he refused. The Septuagint reading of this says, "thou didst rightly
offer but thou did not rightly divide", And because Cain's
sacrifice was out of season, it was not acceptable to God. He did rightly
offer, for it was the first fruit offering of the harvest season a illustrated
in Deuteronomy
26. You can read this for yourself as we just don't have time to go
into this at this time.
Now,
to this point we have seen that Cain and Abel offered to God a sacrifice, but
God had respect to Abel's and not to Cain's. This is because Cain's offering was
out of season. But Abel's was based upon the Revelation that God enacted upon
His parents when God threw the skins of innocent lambs at the feet of Adam and
Eve. So basically Abel offered back to God what God had offered to Adam and
Eve. Remember, the definition of revelation is "manifestation of Divine truth."
And
God interprets His own word by bringing it to pass. So when God sought out Adam
And Eve, and then brought them lambs skins to replace the fig leaves, that was
God saying this is what I want you to wear, an innocent lamb had to die because
of your transgression. And so when God says something and then does what he
said, that is the interpretation of His Word.
And
Cain instead of just accepting the correction, and redoing his sacrifice
according to God's Word revealed? He just pouted and complained and then notice
what happened next. 8 "And Cain talked
with Abel his brother: (now, what do you suppose they talked about that
would cause Cain to raise up in jealousy and slay his brother?) and it came to pass,
when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and
slew him. 9 And the LORD said
unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he
said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of
thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou
cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's
blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest
the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive
and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is
greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the
face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be
a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the LORD said
unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon
Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Now, we
mentioned before reading that there were three questions we want to ask and
find answers for. 1. who received the mark? Cain received the mark. 2. why did he received the mark?
Because he chose "to not rightly
divide the Word of Truth" as God had told him. And God
said, "if you do right you will be accepted."
. But he chose not to do right.
Now, God had already shown them what He required by throwing
the skins of an innocent lamb at the feet of their parents, and Abel received
this by revelation and offered it back to God, while Cain made his own sin
offering, and God rejected it. Then when God offered to Cain to show him the
right way he rejected it again.
And so Cain received the mark of the beast and that leads us
to question number 3 what was the outcome of his receiving
it. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land
of Nod, on the east of Eden. Cain went out from the presence of the
Lord, Separation is what resulted. He was separated from the presence of the
Lord.
The
first time we hear of the mark being set is in the Book of Genesis. God set a
mark upon Cain, who was the son of the beast, making this then, "the mark of the beast". Now, in the book
of Genesis we do not see where on Cain's body this mark was placed, but we do
see his reaction to this mark. He goes out from the
Presence of the Lord.
Now, this mark of the beast which we see in the Book of
Genesis is mentioned many times in the book of Revelations, so let's just take
these in the order they are seen in Scripture.
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand,
or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for
it is the number of a man; and his number is Six
hundred threescore and six.
Now, notice that the mark is in the forehead, the
thoughts, and in the right hand which in Scripture right hand always represents
power or actions.
Seal of God 54-0514 P:44 Both marks are spiritual. And I'll prove
it to you by the Bible. Both marks are spiritual marks. A lot of people
thought, "They're going to go around and tattoo something in your
forehead, and tattoo something in your hand." We found out, last
night, that was a lie. Yes, sir. That's wrong. It's a spiritual
mark. It's just so hid. And look, many times...
Now, if the mark of God is a Spiritual mark
then the mark of the beast is also a spiritual mark.
And notice it is in the forehead, not on it. And in the right hand,
not on it. So all of this talk amongst the denominational churches about RFID
chips and tattoos, or bar codes on your hand is just a
distraction from the real thing which is now already in the minds and actions
of the people and they don't even know it.
Revelation 14:11 And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest
day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the
mark of his name.
Revelation 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass
mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and
over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on
the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Revelation 16:2 And
the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a
noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and
upon them which worshipped his image.
Revelation 19:20 And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a
lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation 20:4 And I
saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived
and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Lamb's Book of Life 56-0603
42
Now watch. And he caused all, both small, great (That's rich
or poor.), bond or free, male or female, man or a woman, child, or
whoever who it was. He caused all, both small and great, to receive a
mark in their forehead, and are sealed into the kingdom of darkness. Now, there's
two seals a going on today. And you don't know just what time... Oh,
brother, let this go way down deep. You don't know what time, that you that's
on the borderline today is going to make your final decision. That's right. You
can't totter too long. "My Spirit will not always strive with man." So you
may toddle along for a while, but, "My Spirit will not always strive with men
being on the borderline." Notice, the mark of the beast is the
mark of an apostasy, the devil, the works of the devil. Jesus said,
"By their church membership, by their theology, by their seminary
experience? By
their fruit you shall know them."
Ezekiel 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the
midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the
foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be
done in the midst thereof.
Seal of God 54-0514 P:97 Watch, he saw
four Angels standing on the four corners, holding the four winds. Quickly now.
My time's up, but let me get this point to you before closing. Look, he saw the
four Angels. You seen the closing of the Jewish church, how he saw them come
the same way: coming with his slaughtering weapons, that army. Now watch. What
kind of a mark did the Holy Ghost church receive, for a mark in their forehead?
It was a spiritual
sign. The
Holy Ghost marked them. Is that right? He never tattooed
nothing on their head, did He? No. They wasn't condemned by some
anti-religious country. They were condemned by their own. See what I
mean? The real Church of the living God will be condemned by Catholic and
Protestant, 'cause they'll unite together. They're already together
as one, as mother and daughter. But these here wasn't. Then watch what He done.
He said, "Put a
Mark on their forehead." What kind of a Mark was it? I'll read it to
you, Acts 2. "They were all
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound, the Angel,
coming from heaven."
Mark of the beast 54-0513
P:74 Now, you see what the mark of the beast is? It's the mark of apostasy.
It's a person who just thinks that, "Well, I belong to church, and I'm
just as good as the next fellow. Am not I belonging to this church?"
And you realize where your church organization that you're depending on, where
it come from? Do your realize? The Bible said, "He that worships
the beast, receives his mark, or the letter of his name (Now, watch.) in forehead or hand." That's knowledge or deed.
That don't mean you got a big tattoo on your face. It don't have to be that.
It's not talking of the outward. It's talking of spiritual. You watch
him and see what he knows about the Scripture. Listen to him and see where he
goes to. "If any man don't have this doctrine, there's no
Light in him," the Bible said. See?
Unity One God One Church
58-1221E 76 42 The Scripture says, "All that didn't
receive the Seal of God had the mark of the beast." There's only
two classes on the earth. One's got the Mark of God, the other one's got
the mark of the Devil. And all that didn't receive the Mark of God had
the mark of the Devil. That's what the Scripture said. So you're forced to
make a decision.
So we see that the mark in their heads is the Holy Ghost for
the true Vine and the mark of the beast which is the rejection of the Holy Spirit
in the false Vine. This evening I'll show you that the Seal of the Holy Spirit
is a crown of righteousness, or right-wiseness. And we are to receive this at
the time of the Parousia of Christ. And we also see that the mark of the beast
is the rejecting of the Holy Ghost upon the Word of the hour.
Notice at the midnight cry there was an action taken to come
into the presence of the One who came down but the wise and a running after
those that sell by the foolish virgin. That is what brought the separation
between the virgins. The Wise went out to see the One who was in their midst,
and the other went out and then ran to the ones selling. That is where the
separation of the ten virgins takes place. So in effect, the foolish virgin
were in darkness which means they were without light upon the Message of He is
here come out to meet him. And so they ran to the ones selling.
Jehovah Jireh 60-0802 86 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.
Hearing Recognizing and
Acting 60-060760 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 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.
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.
But Jesus said
in the Gospel of Luke 6:39, And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the
blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
And that is the
same condition we see in the end time church in Revelations chapter 3 where
we are told at the end time the people will be naked,
miserable and blind and won't even know it. So then we must ask
the question, "what good is light
if you are blind? What Good is the Midnight cry if you have no light on it?
What good is the Presence of the One who came down if you are not even aware He
is here? And so we see this blind condition at the end time and the gross darkness upon
the people.
In Luke 6:39
and then from verses 40-49 we find the end time condition of the people
and we also see that there are two kinds of people who hear the Message of the
hour.
Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the
ditch?
Now that is an
excellent question. And then a few verses later after speaking this parable in
a question format, Jesus continues to speak as we pick up at verse Luke 6:40
The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect
shall be as
his master. Now, this word perfect comes from a Greek word that
does not mean perfect as though you have reached some sort of a perfection in
your state where you make no error. But the word simply means to equip.
Therefore
we should read this statement that Jesus is making here as thus: Luke 6:40
The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is
equipped by His master shall be as his master. And why is that?
Because it really does matter what
teacher teaches you.
If you sit under
a false teacher, you will hear false teaching, and thus your mind will be
filled with error.
Brother Branham said in his sermon Israel at Kadesh Barnea 53-0328 P:26 God gave Abraham the
promise, and he believed the promise, and it was
reckoned to him for righteousness; but He give him the sign of
circumcision as a seal of the promise. Hallelujah. You believe God
by faith, that you are saved, and accept Him; and, whenever you
do, God gives you the Holy Ghost as the Seal of the promise that He promised
you. The Holy Ghost is a Gift of God (That's right.) that circumcises
the heart, cuts away the surplus flesh, and makes you a new creature in Christ
Jesus. Amen. All right. There you are. It's nothing you had to do in yourself;
it's a gift of God. And when you believe correctly, God gives It to you.
It's by faith.
And remember Faith is a revelation,
something God has revealed to you, And when you believe correctly, God
gives It to you. It's by faith. So you have to believe it correctly and then God gives it to you. In
other words, you cannot receive the Holy Ghost based on a false word. For words
are seeds, and a false word is a seed bearing a false life.
It's just like
what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:13-17 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. (so what if you don't know the name of the Lord? Can you be
saved by another name? No you cannot. His own Word said do.)
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
Now, back to Romans 10:14 How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith,
Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.
Now, Martin Luther in his commentary on the
Book of Romans quoted these verses and said, "Even though they say they hear, they boast in vain, unless they
hear true preachers; for to hear false prophets means as much as
not to hear. They hear and they do not hear. They have ears, but do
not hear, nor do they preach
The True Word of God. There are four statements which follow one
another is such as way that one leads to the other, but so that the last forms the foundation on which the others
rest. Thus, 1. It is impossible that
those preach who are not sent. 2. It is impossible that those hear who
are without a preacher. 3. It is impossible that they believe who do not
hear. 4. It is impossible that they call upon Him who do not believe.
To these must be added a fifth, it
is impossible that they who do not call upon the name of the lord shall be
saved. So, then, the entire source and origin of salvation rests on
this, that God sends out someone, (a true minister of the Word). If He
does not send out any, then they who
preach preach falsely,
and their preaching is no preaching
at all. In fact, it would be better for them not to preach. Then also,
they who hear, hear
error, and it would be better for them not to hear. Then also they who believe, would believe false doctrine, and it would be
better for them not to call. For such preachers do not preach; such hearers
do not hear; such believers do not believe; such callers do not call; they
will be damned because they would be saved
by falsehood. As we read in Proverbs 1:28 "Then shall they call
upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not
find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord".
Then only they can preach with certainty who
preach without error."
Now, we know
what Paul said in Romans 10, and we know what he said in 2 Corinthians
11,
and again in the book of Galatians, that if they
receive a wrong word, then they will receive a wrong spirit.
How then can we
think that anyone who sits under a wrong ministry and has a wrong conception of
the message has the right spirit, which is the Holy Spirit? A wrong conception
is a wrong quickening to life. Conception
means to quicken to life.
We know Peter
said, in 1 Peter
1:23 that "we are born again, not by a corruptible seed, but by an
incorruptible seed, by the Word of God which Lives and Abides forever."
Jesus told us
that the Sower sowed a seed which is the Word of God.
And that seed will produce a life according to the law of reproduction, which
states, "Ever
seed must bring forth after its own nature."
Then to receive a wrong Word is to receive a
wrong seed, and therefore must
produce a wrong spirit or a wrong life. How can it be any other way. We
just read where brother Branham said "we must have a right teaching in order to receive
the baptism of the Holy Spirit?" To receive the Seal of
God? And if you don't receive the seal of God there is only one seal left and
that is the seal of Satan, which is the mark of the beast.
In fact brother Branham said, Inter veil 56-0121 P:20 Now, that is what I
find around most Christian lives. Most, I hate to say it that way, but it's
true. The most people that can profess Christianity, they seem to have such
a hard struggling time to hold on. I believe it's because of a lack of
correct teaching of the Bible. There's no such a thing as holding on. He
done the holding on. The whole Christian principle is based upon
rest. "Come
unto Me all ye that labor and heavy laden. I will give you rest." Don't have to worry and
struggle. You're just resting; that's all. Given rest, you enter in peace,
that the whole thing's finished. "Them who He has called, He has justified. Those who
He has justified, He has already glorified," Scripture quoting.
Now notice that
Jesus up to this point in the parable in Luke chapter 6 has been speaking about not to follow blindly,
because you could be following someone who is as blind as you are. And then he
tells us that if your teacher has
rightfully equipped you, then you
will become as that teacher. In other words, you will think like him, and
speak like him, and act like him. Now that is not to say that you are to look
at the flesh, but we are guided by one thing and that is the Word of God.
Jesus said,
"The son can
do nothing but what He seeth the Father do, that doeth the Son likewise."
Then the son will do and act and speak and think as the Father thinks and speaks and acts.
Now, let's face
it, the Holy Ghost is the teacher, and if a man is yielded to the Spirit of God
and called to teach this Word then he will do as the Father has shown him to
do, and the people that look to that ministry will reflect the same principles
and will become in a fashion as the lord is to the disciple. 40 The disciple is not
above his master: but every one that is
equipped by His master shall be as his master.
Notice, catch
what Jesus says here next. Luke 6:41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's
eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst
thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,
when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou
hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou
see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Now, if you have
become one with your teacher, how is it that you are looking for fault in that
teacher. It makes no sense to me, but they did it to Moses. He led them by
following Christ and they followed Him as he followed Christ. And yet they
wanted to stone him. And Paul said, 'Follow me as I
follow Christ' and yet they wanted to stone Him. And the same
with William Branham and I've seen it with Brother Vayle and I've seen it even
with my own ministry. So we see Jesus warning the disciple about getting their
focus wrong.
Now notice the
very next thing Jesus tells us here. 43 For a good tree
bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is
known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble
bush gather they grapes.
And we know that
in the message "Anointed Ones at the end Time", William
Branham taught us that "the fruit is the
teaching for the season"., what they are teaching for the
season.
In other words, the fruit is what they are teaching. That
is the fruit of their ministry. And he
tells us that if you are a good tree, then you cannot teach
error concerning the Word for our season. Your teaching will be
right smack on target. For the word "sin"
means to miss the mark. But the word righteous means to be rightly
wise. And how could you be a righteous man if you are un-right
in our thinking.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth
that which is good;
(now remember the heart represents the understanding,) and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his
heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his
mouth speaketh.
Now in the light
of what Jesus is saying here he is saying if your
understanding is right you will bring forth right things, (which
is righteousness,
he that is righteous does that which is
right)and if your
understanding is evil then you will bring forth evil things.
If you recall,
Several years ago I preached a series on the
garden of your mind and showed that the
mind is like a garden, and in it are planted many seeds, and the seed that
are planted in your mind are those things that will become manifested in your
life.
Therefore whatsoever you sow, you will surely reap. And
therefore what things you are feeding your mind on will become manifested in
your life.
Now, this is the
end time and people must manifest what seed they are. And we know that whatsoever doth make manifest is manifested by the light.
That's Ephesians
5:13.
So then, we must
understanding that all seeds on earth must come to a manifestation of what they
are and the nature of the seed that they are, will manifest itself openly once
that Light strike the seed. and there is a seed for every season.
And
so Jesus continues as we read from verse 46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? And how can you call
yourself a believer of this message if you are not living this message? How can
you say you believe the token if you do not apply the token in your life?
Now,
we are going to get to the heart of this parable, as we pick up at verse 47. Whosoever cometh to
me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them,
I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: (now remember a rock
representd revelation, so this man built his house upon revelation) and when the flood
arose, (And remember the Bible tells us that the devil will come in
like a flood) the
stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it
was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without
a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did
beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Now, notice that
the only difference between the two houses is that one heard and did what he
heard, (he heard, recognized and acted upon the
word. And the other also heard but did not recognize what he heard and therefore he did not do what he heard. Thus the revelation that the
one had was to do and the revelation
of the other was that he did not have to do.
Look, what saved
Noah and his household? His believing God that it was going to rain? Or His actions which came as a result of his
believing God? In other words, his doing what God had instructed him to do ie:
to build the ark is what saved his household.
Now we have been
commanded to apply the token, and I just do not understand how people can think
that means to simply believe it. If I told you to apply the paint you would
find a roller or a paint brush and something to open the can if you are going
to apply it. And brother Branham said we must apply it.
The Token 63-0901M 34-9 5-3
Notice, they were not just yet come
together to talk about the message. They
come together to apply the blood, to apply the token. That's what you
must do. Pastor Neville,
and to this congregation, trustees, deacons, to you brethren, it's time that we
laid aside all the foolishness of the world, time we laid aside everything
else. We've seen enough now, that we're positive, sure, and the Token must be applied. Without it,
you're going to perish; you must perish. That is the only thing. Oh, don't come
together, say, "I believe it." Get beneath it. Get into it.
How to do it? By one Spirit we're baptized into the Body
of Jesus Christ.
Everybody believe with all your heart. See? He was not responsible for any out
from beneath it.
We find this
same parable in Matthew
7:24
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Now, if we want
to apply the symbols in this parable we must know what they mean first to
understand what this is all about.
Notice, he said the rain would descend, and we know according to Deuteronomy 32:2
God said "My Doctrine shall fall as the rain".
So we see here that the rain must come
before the floods.
Now, we know
that Satan comes in like a flood, but we also know
that a flood represents judgment by the
Word, as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be when the Son of Man is
Revealed. And as the doctrine begins to pour
forth upon the face of the earth, then the judgments that the doctrine bring
with it begin to take apart every house that is not founded upon the rock which
is revelation. You see the flood is the
waters of separation, and we know the waters of separation is the Word
itself.
Notice the rains
come first, then the flood which is the waters of separation which will take
away any house that has not been build upon a rock which Is Revelation. And not
just any revelation will do for Christ is that Rock.
And therefore there is one Faith
or one Revelation and that is the revelation of
Jesus Christ. And building your house upon that rock which is
Christ will weather any storms that will come.
So he says the rains will come, that's the doctrine, and then the floods will
rise which is the waters of separation that
will come as a result of that word, and then the winds will blow, which speaks
of every wind of doctrine, and
cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. And will
beat upon that house, and if it was not founded upon the Rock, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, then it will
not last.
If you just come
to church because you know you should, watch out? The rain is
falling, and the next thing will come is the
waters of separation! Then you will find out where your home was
built upon. If you receive the revelation of Jesus Christ you will be tested to
see whether you have it or not. That's the trial of your
faith, which is the trial of your revelation. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened
unto a foolish man, which built his
house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people
were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Now
the King James version uses the word astonished here, but the word astonished
is not a good translation of the word ekplesso
that Jesus used here, because it gives you a wrong idea of what was taking
place. The Greek word ekplesso
means to strike out, to expel by a blow, to drive out
or away; to cast off by a blow, or to drive out.
In others words,
they didn't want His doctrine. They
wanted to expel him, to get him to go away, for his doctrine was too hard for
them to hear. And they didn't want it. Why? Because they all liked to talk
about the Lord and to talk about the Word but he said with
their mouth they draw near but in actuality their hearts were far from God.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do
honour me, but have removed their
heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of
men:
And
that is what Jesus quoted to them in Matthew 15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart
is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.
Now, from his
sermon Jehovah
Jireh pt 1 62-0705 23 brother Branham said, "See, you can't go by emotions. See, your life that you live testifies what you
are. See? No matter what kind of a sensation, you cannot base Christianity on any sensation. It's a life.
Jesus said, "By their fruit you shall know them." Not by their profession, not by what they say. And Jesus also said, "You draw nigh unto Me with your lips, but your heart is far
from Me." That's their profession. See, your
life tells what. And if a man says that he believes God, and denies one Word of this Bible,
or changes It in any way, why it's
got to be wrong.
Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my
sayings, and doeth them, I will shew
you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the
stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was
founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like
a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which
the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that
house was great.
Now, let me read
Luke 21: 34-36 from
the NIV lets
read from verse 34
"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down
with (1) dissipation, (2)drunkenness and (3) the anxieties of
life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will
come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on
the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen,
and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Now, let's stop
here for a moment to see just exactly what this means. He told us to be careful
about three things that could weigh and close in on us like a trap.
Dissipation: which means Wasteful
expenditure or consumption. 3.
Dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure; intemperance.
4. An
amusement; a diversion. So we are warned to be careful not to
become too weighed down by these things which are rampant in our society today.
That's Laodicea full speed ahead. And then he said,
Drunkeness: which implies a losing of ones ability to rightly reason.
And to be resolute in our minds.
And then the Anxieties of this
Life: And we are told by Jesus to "be
anxious for nothing." You see, God is not pushy, and he
does not want us to get pushy about anything. He said we need to lay in the
presence of the Son to ripen. Not run, run, run, but lay in His presence until
we get mellow in our spirit and ripe in our soul.
Now, this scripture
tells us that if we are not focused
on Christ when that day comes, we are
going to miss Him, just like the foolish virgin. She heard the midnight cry
and went out but was focused on her lamp and missed His Presence, so she ran
after the ones selling the token.
Yet these three
things are what the entire world are focused on and they have missed Him
altogether. Notice he said, if you are caught up in these things, that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
35 For it will come upon all those who live on
the face of the whole earth. 36 Be
always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about
to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Now, brother Branham
said in Questions and answers COD 59-0628E 388-126 The mark of the
beast is on today,
and 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 and Act upon
the Word 60-0221 146 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?
Ten Virgins 60-1211M 319 Oh, I just
love Him. Don't you? Yes, sir. Oh, 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?
Now let's just stop here for a moment
and just think about this hand of faith. Now why did he say hand. What is there
about the hand that is so fitting about this Faith he is talking about. What
does the hand represent anyway? When you
receive the Mark of God, where does it mark you. In the right hand and in the forehead right? And the same with the
mark of the beast, right? So to have the faith just in the forehead doesn't
show yet a real belief and trust. But in the right hand is a sign that the actions bare witness of what is
revealed in the mind which is the womb to the soul. And before it can move
into the hand, it must first drop from the head down into the heart and then
out into the hand. Right?
Hear Recognize Act On Word 60-0221
30
First, faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word of God. Then the
believer hears It, recognizes It, and acts on It. The carnal man
will hear It, the sound of It, but never... "Hear" means to "understand" It. Look
at, is looking at something; but to see it, is to "understand" it.
"Except
a man be born again, he cannot see or understand the Kingdom of God." He cannot understand it.
Queen Of Sheba 61-0119E 32 He knowed God
was able to keep that which He had performed. And we're supposed to be children
of Abraham. We're children of Abraham if we have the faith of Abraham. Everything
else but God's Word is a lie. Look what God said. We look at the unseen.
You look what your mortal eyes don't see. You don't see with your eyes anyhow.
You only look with your eyes; you see with your heart. You look right at
it, say, "I don't see it"; you mean you don't understand it.
Your seeing is your understanding, so you understand with your
heart.
Mark Of The Beast 61-0217 73 But if you
hear the trumpet... See, hearing, faith cometh by what? Hearing. Now, not just listen with your
ear, but if you
hear that means you understand it, you accept it. "I hear
you; I believe it." See? It's hearing. Stephen said, "You
stiff-necked, uncircumcised in the heart and ears..." See,
uncircumcised... They could hear it with the ears but uncircumcised, they
couldn't believe it. See? Uncircumcised in the heart and ears, understand
it.
Let us pray