PARADOX #4
The Great Commission for This Hour
The Proclamation at This Epocal Season
Bro. Lee Vayle
March 15, 1984
Shall we
pray? Heavenly Father, again we commend ourselves unto You and the Word of Your
grace, especially Lord, that It be our portion today. Help us, Lord, for the
sake of the people, we might be able to say those things, that are truly
correct, Lord, knowing that we have one who was here ahead of us, who gave us
that which was very correct. And we pray, that there won't be one word of It
twisted or changed, but it shall be exactly as he said It, Lord. Let our
understanding, thoroughly aware of what lies there for us in this hour. Father,
we commend ourselves to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated.
1. Now
we're still continuing with the message, the Paradox, and we'll go back to begin
with, again recapping paragraph 40 to 42 on page 6.
(40) A few years ago, I would take a Bible, let
you hand me the Bible, when I first started my ministry; and just take your
Bible, and many of you've seen me do it, just hold it open like that, and say,
"Lord, where is the message to me?" In other words anybody could
hand him a closed Bible. It didn't matter, upside down or any way at all. And
he would say, "Lord, where is the message to m e? Where in the Scripture is this what I am into?" And
always he'd just flip it open at Joshua 1. It never, ever changed; never
missed.
(40) It
opened at Joshua the fourth chapter, any Bible that you would hand me.
(41) Then
until one night a vision came, with which you are familiar, he told a
vision of course, and I saw that Bible come down from Heaven, and a hand with a collar and cuff, it
went right up to the shoulder but, didn't go beyond, and down to the hand, and the first nine verses of Joshua.
(42) That's
what it's pointed to, and that's where I am reading from, this Joshua chapter
one, this afternoon, for my reading, or my Scripture reading. And then my text,
(that's the text for the people), the
message is found in Joshua chapter ten, verses twelve to fourteen.
(47) Now,
lets just read what is in the scripture; Joshua chapter one.
(1)
Now after the death of Moses, the
servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spoke unto Joshua the son
of Nun, Moses' minister saying.
(2)
Moses my servant is dead; now
therefore rise and go over this Jordan, thou and all this people unto the land
which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
(3)
Every place that the sole of thy
foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
(4)
From the wilderness and this
Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates and all the land the
Hittites, to the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
(5)
There shall not any man be able to
stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be
with you, I will not fail you nor forsake you.
(6)
Be strong and of a good courage for
unto this people shall thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear
unto your fathers to give them.
(7)
Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe do according to all the law, which Moses
my servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right nor to the left hand
that thou mayest prosper wherever thou goest.
(8)
This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe do according to all that is written therein; then thou
shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.
(9)
Have I not commanded thee? Be
strong and of a good courage; be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the
Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Now you'll
notice in there, the literal commission is: "Be of good courage; for unto
this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance, the land, which I swear unto
their fathers to give them." Now, that was to Bro. Branham of course,
personally, the great commission. And we understand that, because It is the
Message. It is the Word.
2. We
can read first from Titus 1:3. "But hath in due times manifested His Word
through preaching which is committed unto me according to the commandment of
God our Savior." And a liberalized translation is: "But in His own
private and strategic seasons, He made known His Word in a proclamation with
which I was entrusted."
3. Now
remember, we took up in Luke, where Christ was quoting from the Book of Isaiah,
that it was a proclamation. And there would be a proclamation at the end time.
There was a proclamation that was given concerning grace and the closing of the
book. And there was to be a proclamation at the end time, when grace runs out
and an opening of the book. And this would be in His own private and strategic
season. And you'll recall that Jesus Himself said, "It was not given for
the people to know the times or the seasons, when that kingdom would come into
an order, but God had reserved it unto His own strategic times." And
therefore, there would be a proclamation come according to a strategic time,
[and the strategic time would be God's Own time and His Own strategy revealed.]
4. Now
we read to you already, in the Book of 1 Peter, when I discussed this with you
concerning the Rapture, where 2 Peter says, I have already written you an epistle
concerning this very thing we're talking about which is the literal coming of
the kingdom: a prophet revealing the Word; teachers rising up to destroy it;
the earth held and reserved for judgment; the people of the bride aware of it,
the rest not aware of it, and judgment coming.
5. All
right, It says here; "Now concerning which salvation (again we're reading
a very liberal translation which is literalized for our benefit), prophets
conducted an exhaustive inquiry in search, those who prophesied concerning the
peculiar grace destined for you, searching as to what season, or character of
season, the Spirit of Christ, who was in them was making plain, when He was
testifying before hand, concerning the sufferings of Christ, and the glories
that should come after these sufferings. To whom it was revealed, that not
for themselves were they ministering
these things, which now have been reported to you, through those who have
announced the glad tidings to you, by the Holy Ghost, Who was sent down on a
commission from Heaven, which things angels have a passion and desire, to stoop
way down, and look into, (like the cherubims of the mercy seat). Wherefore
having put out of the way, once for all, everything that would impede the free
action of your mind, be calm and collected in spirit, and set your hope
perfectly holy, unchangeable, without doubt and despondency, upon the grace
that is being brought to you, upon the occasion of the revelation of Jesus
Christ."
That was not
the crucifixion. And that was not the revelation they had at that minute. The
very prophets that understood, the grace that would be revealed, concerning
Jesus Christ's death, and resurrection, have entered into it. They are already
in the first resurrection. This is something different. This is those ones, who
were looking down the road, still don't know, because they can't know what
we're into. They looked at it. But what's coming now was not unto them. This is
ours. Do you follow? Okay.
6. "As
obedient children, not assuming an outward expression, which does not come from
your inner being." So therefore, don't try to be holier than Moses or
holier than Paul or holier than William Branham or holier than anybody else,
because you're already tagged. You've been discerned. Everybody knows what
you're like, so don't try to put a show on. It won't do you any good anyway, so
relax. Fan is in His hand, the garner is purged, and He is separating. Now, I
know what I am talking about. I hope you're understanding. We are talking about
a message of grace. See?
7. "...Your
inner being, and it is not represented about an expression patterned, after the
expression which you formally had, in the ignorance of your past and desires,
but, after the pattern of One who called you, the Holy One; you yourselves also
become holy persons, in every kind of behavior, because it is written; it is on
record: be ye holy individuals, because for myself I am holy."
Now this is
something here, that you're absolutely not going to attain by anything that you
ever had in any other generation, any church or anything else. Now remember,
we're going to talk about Bro. Branham saying, "Everybody always wants to
put something into it." Everybody wants to climb the rungs of the ladder.
Now this is one time, where you're going to have to find yourself left to the
mercy of God.
Now he tells
you here: "And in view of the fact that you call on Him, on Father, a
call, that you call on as Father, Him who judges, not with the partiality based
upon outward appearance, a mirrored appearance, but with an impartiality in
accordance to each individual's work, with a wholesome serious caution, order
your behavior during the time of your residence as foreigners" and so on.
8. Now,
he says here, and this is what I want to look at. "Let the God and Father
of your Lord Jesus Christ, be eulogized, who impelled by His abundant mercy,
caused us to be born again, so that we have a hope which is alive. This living
hope, having been made actual through the intermedient instrumentality of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ out from among those who are dead." Remember
it's the first resurrection, the first part, the first resurrection is over and
the Old Testament saints are in it. "...resulting in an inheritance,
imperishable, and undefiled, that does not pay the way, which inheritance has
been laid up for you, and is now kept guard in safe deposit in heaven, for
those who are constantly being kept guarded by the power of God, through faith,
for a salvation, ready to be revealed in the last season, which is epochal, and
strategic in it's significance. Which last season, you ought to be constantly
rejoicing, with the joy, that expresses itself, in triumphant exuberance.
Although for a little while, the present time of per chance, there is a need of
it, you have been made sorrowful in the midst of many kinds of testings, in
order that you prove with your faith, which faith was examined by testing, for
the purpose of being approved. That approval being much more precious than
approval of gold, which perishes, even though that gold be approved by fire
attesting, may be discovered after scrutiny, to result in praise and glory and
honor at the time of the revelation of Jesus Christ."
It's not
back there in the old day. That's now. See? And this is what Bro. Branham said,
"The revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ was the day of the judge.” Remember there it is right there. This is
that hour, proving the judge is here by the fact he could read every single
heart. It takes a prophet to know the Word of God, to reveal the Word of God,
and to explain the Word of God, and then to pass on the Word of God. From that
time on the Word of God goes right down the road, and It just separates and
takes in everything. There's no way that you can stop It.
9. All
right. We're looking at these things then, which is what Bro. Branham was
supposed to have, the strategic Word of the season. He was to have the Word of
the hour, and he was to divide It to us. [He was to proclaim It], because
that's what It's all about. All right, we go a little further here. Now verse
six we read.
(6)
Be strong and of good courage for
unto you shall thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto your
fathers to give them.
All right,
remember there are seven messages, and Seven Church ages, and if we are going
to parallel, then remember there is a message. Okay? Verse six, is paragraph
40. He said;
(40) Every
time I would hold a Bible and said, "Lord, what is the message to me? What
have you got to tell me? He said, "I've got to tell you something, I have
given you a Word for a season. I have given you a message. See?
Now, that's
exactly what It is. He is to take and divide the food in due season, the food
convenient. He is to take the Word, and to place It, for this hour. That was
his job. All right? Now, we take that to page twelve, which you haven't read
before, 87 to 90. Now this is where he is.
(87) We're
taught in Revelation the sixth chapter, I believe, yes sixth chapter and Seven
Seals. The Book to be sealed up with seven mysteries, or Seven Seals,
Revelation six. And the last day, Revelation ten, in Revelation ten, we find
that Laodicea, last messenger of the age, and during the time of his prophecy,
the Seven Seals would be open, seven mysteries, seven mysteries have been left
off.
(88) In
every age there has been some left, some of It left off. The reformers didn't
have time to take care of It. Sure, they didn't live long enough. The days of Luther, he only preached justification
by faith. He was gone, they made a church. After come Wesley, he preached
sanctification. There it was. Long came Pentecostals.
(89) But
we're promised, according to Revelation ten, and according to Malachi four,
now Revelation 10, is according to Malachi 4, and Saint Luke seventeen and thirty, or twenty-two, and so forth,
there has got to come an Ephesians. There is promised it friends. There must
come an Ephesians, that these sevenfold mysteries, of the Word of God, must be
unfolded. And it's in the Laodicean age that this takes place. I believe we're
there.
All right.
Now he tells you It's in Ephesians. So therefore, there's something here in
Joshua, that we've got to discover, the commission given him, in order to see
where we are going. Which we will see.
10. Now,
we return to page 6. And again we'll look at 45 to 46. He's praying.
(45) And
we realize we're closing the time, time is running out. Now watch. We're closing the time, time is running out.
Now I want
you to listen carefully and get where we are, because look, I've had a very
poor week this week, because of my own folly. And I've let things upset me,
because of other things that are folly. And I'm going to have a hard time this
morning, and this message is ultra, ultra important; it is a plateau. Now you
know I don't tell you these things, if I don't mean them; because I'm
responsible for what I tell you. And I'm very responsible, because of what goes
out of here. And it's a pity, but people are hanging on my words. Now, so I
want you to listen, and I'm trying to be right in what I'm giving you. Here's
what he said;
(45) We're closing the time, time is running
out.
He allotted
time. You say, "I just don't believe a prophet came down here." You
don't believe the Word of God. Go on home. You're already dead sick. You
already missed the boat. You don't believe anything anyway. You say, "Bro.
Vayle..." "Fact is, I'd preach to the four corners or to my
wife." Now let's get the next thing.
(45) And
it's blending with Eternity. (That's what I have been preaching. You can't
get people to believe it.) And we're at
the west coast.
11. Now
time doesn't run out completely until after the White Throne. But you're
already into eternity. Now that's concerning the Word and the conditions.
Whether you're there or not, and I'm there or not, depends on election, which
is forerunning predestination. And this is where you and I don't have a
representation; you either are a son of God, or you are not a son of God. And
you always were that. But fallen is fallen. Then when you get to the raising up
to redemption, there's where you've got your representation. See?
12. (45) It's blending it with Eternity.
We're at the west coast. Then there's only one place where this message can
go, and that's back east. And when it goes back east, it goes back to a nation.
You know something? I want to find one nation that's not represented here in
America. I believe you'll even find the Bushman, from Africa somewhere, he's
got his blood here somewhere. And you'll find the Maori, you'll find everybody,
because America is the melting pot. And the sun is going down. And the Son came
over here to America (Now I am typing), and this is the Message of the kingdom.
And remember the ends of the earth have to come upon It; you can't go back to
the first age, second age, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, and you
can't go back where the sun came from. You've got to follow it right through.
Then in a type, the Message of the kingdom has been heard, when It struck
America. That's where the blood lines are. You say, "I don't know if I
believe that." Then you don't believe Jesus Christ, because He pinned
everything on the children, what their parent's had. And we're falling here at
everything Luther had, and Wesley had, and Pentecost had, and everybody else
had, because we're the end time children that are being turned back. That's the
thought.
(45) As
civilization has travelled, East to West, so has the gospel travelled with it.
And now there is no place to go but East again. It's completed.
(45) Now
he says this right in his prayer. And we
pray, Heavenly Father, that this will be a great hour for all of us, that we
might sense the Presence of the Holy Spirit, the Writer of this Book back in
the building of the tabernacle of flesh.
Now, if that
is the baptism with the Holy Ghost, then He always was tabernacling in flesh.
This is different. This is William Branham talking. "When you see God descend from the heavens, stand before groups of
men and declare Himself as ever He did.” That's God in the prophet. You
say, "How much of God?" In this case all of God. You say, "I
don't know if I believe it." You don't have to believe anything. Nobody
asked you to.
Manifesting
Himself to us. How is He doing it? Why He said, "I'm going to manifest
Myself to you, but not to the world." And Judas said, "Well how in
the world you going to manifest to us and not to the world?" Well he said,
"It's a good thing you asked that question." So I'm going to tell you
how it is. It is over here in Heb 11:14. "And they that say such things
declare plainly." Because that word means 'manifest.' How You going to
manifest? How You going to declare Yourself plainly to us and not to the world?
It's very simple. It's like those Hebrews. It's over here in the Book of 1 John
4.
(4)
They are of the world therefore
speak they of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God and He that
knoweth God heareth us, and he that is not of God does not here us. Hereby we
know, the Spirit of truth and error.
Hereby you
know if you've got the Holy Ghost or not. How are You going to be manifested?
How are You going to be declared plainly? It's going to take the Word.
13. And
remember in Malachi, "They spake often one to another." They weren't
talking to God. They were talking to each other. You say, "What profiteth
us Bro. Vayle if we talk this Message?" Shows who we are. [] Now notice:
(46) In
the pardoning of our sins, the forgiving of our iniquity, and with the
assurance He will not impute to the believer, with the assurance of that.
She's
blameless, without sin, the perfect will of Almighty God. All right, God always
has manifested Himself. He never has had any way, but what He always has had.
He attracts the people first by the signs, the wonders, the miracles, and those
things that are genuine. Then He brings them to a message; which is the
complete revealing and the unveiling.
14. Well,
let's go back now to page 8. And in page 8, he says here, reading the portion
to us as the text.
(12)
Then spake Joshua unto the Lord in
the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel,
and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; thou, Moon,
the valley of Ajalon.
(13)
The sun stood still, the moon stayed,
until the people avenged themselves upon their enemies.
Now
remember, there's a day of avenging at the end of our age too. The widow says,
"Avenge me of mine adversaries. I want my inheritance." I've been
beat out of my inheritance, by that corrupt bunch of Roman Catholics and
Protestants out there. Because as long as they stand there, and I don't have my
inheritance, the Word divided to me, I can't get anywhere. So he said,
"Sun stand still, moon stand still." In other words let nature, let
everything stand still positively, until the saints of God are avenged. You
say, "Do you believe that?" I wouldn't have said it if I didn't
believe it.
"Seeing it's a righteous thing with God to
recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. And you who are troubled relax
with us when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels and flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not
God."
15. There
it is right there. So you see a parallel. Things of God are in order. All
right.
(13)
Is it not written in the book of
Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go
down for a whole day.
(14)
There was no day like that before it
or after it, that the Lord harkened unto the of a voice of a man; for the Lord
fought for Israel.
Now notice.
He's harkened to the voice of a man. We'll get in that just a minute. You know,
there is a promise that said; if you say to this mountain, "Be thou
moved," it will move. Do you know it's got to repeat? It doesn't say the
sun is going to stand still, moon stand still. It says God never harkened to a
man, from that time until the time indicated through Jesus; when you say to
this mountain, "You be moved," it will be moved. God is going to
listen to the voice of a man. Now how much of a man is He going to listen to?
You understand right now, that isn't a carte blanche statement so that you can
say anything you want. That would have to be God in the man, the same as Jesus
said, "The only the works I do are what He tells me to do, and what I see
Him do."
16.
All right, now, Paradox. The word
'paradox' means 'something incredible.' Something though it doesn't look like
it's true, is true. Looks like two forces coming against each other. So it's
impossible for them to be reconciled. But it's got to be true, because the
prophet said so, and the Bible says so.
17. All
right now; (57) “Joshua here is a book,
actually, it's a Book of redemption. Now Joshua is a book.” Now watch, he
doesn't say the person. He says the book. I told you how Bro. Branham corrected
me. He said, "Lee, it is neither me
nor my ministry. It's my message.” I said, "Let me understand this. As
there was John the Baptist, nobody but John the Baptist, then it isn't William
Branham specifically. It's the message of the individual. It's the message that
comes." He said, "That's it.”
All right, you'll notice then, it's a book. Now;
(57) We have to consider it, it's a Book of
redemption. It has two parts. Redemption anywhere has two parts. It's "out
of" and "in to." It
takes two parts to make redemption, "out of" and "in to." All
right just a minute now; they already came up, but they didn't go in. They died
off, so it looks like it's a coming out of a coming out. Then they'll be going
in. Out of death into life.
(58) Moses represented the law which brought
them out of Egypt, whereas, Joshua represented grace that took them into the
promised land. Another way, was, the law and grace were two different aspects
of God's command or God's Word. See, it's one Word. That's why Paul said,
"The law is holy." He said, "Trouble is with me." Now what
could a commandment that condemns you do any thing for you? You better have
something that doesn't condemn you. See? So, now the law brought them out
(Moses) and Joshua took them in. So you see we are not involved with
personalities here, Joshua, and Moses; we're involved with two types of Word.
See? Now;
(59)
It, (that's Joshua) also represents something for our day. Now
it, (Joshua), represents as they were in the journey, coming from Egypt into a
promised land, so that we have come out of the world of Egypt, that's chaos,
the abyss, on our road to a promised
Land. "In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it weren't so, I
would have told you," Coming "out," going "in to." Okay?
(60) It's
the law that brings us to recognize we're wrong, but it's grace that forgives
us.
In other
words there's got to be a diagnostic word before there can be a prognostic
word. And the diagnosis is, if people accept It, there will be a satisfactory
prognosis. Now you've come to this Pentecostal age: "You're wretched, you're miserable, you're naked, you're
blind," and they say, "Who do you think you are, you [ignorant]
slob." "Me. I'm wonderful." But the diagnosis is, "wretched,
miserable, blind, naked." The [prescription] is, change your stinking mind
about yourself. That's the prognosis [that will correct the problem].
18. Now,
how are you going to get a people that are blind, and don't know it, that are
deaf and don't know it, in adultery and don't know it, completely sealed in to
their wickedness, and think they're wonderful; and like Cain, they'll kill to
prove it; "We're in the Bible, bless God. It's the Bible, Bible,
Bible." But they haven't got the Word of the hour. And remember Pentecost
never did have a leader. They're the tail end of the face of a man; that's why
they go to seed. And they pride themselves on never having had a leader. Then
what kind of a mess are they? The worse mess of any age, because there is a
leader, and they don't know it, because every age has a messenger.
19. All
right, the law--diagnosis. Grace is the prognosis. The law has no hope. A
diagnosis never cured anybody; but it sure smartens you up that you needed a
cure, if you could take it. And they couldn't do it. Now, and remember the law
of this hour is, the diagnosis: "You're wretched, you're miserable, you're
blind, you're naked, and you haven't got a thing." Now the prognosis is:
Repent, and I'm standing at the door, and you [can] get in touch with Me."
And this hour, in other words, at the Seventh Church Age along with the
messenger, God Himself comes down to give him a hand. All right?
(60) This
law has no grace in it, because law only points you're a sinner, but grace
tells you how to get out of it. Law is the policeman that put you in jail, redemption
is the One that came and paid your fine; put you out of jail, but redemption is
what got you "out of," and "in to" grace.
Now that's
the great paradox there, because he's talking about this hour. And people say,
"Now just a minute; if I'm born again, how am I locked into something I
can't get out of?" And they're talking now about any condition. Or they're
saying, "I'm locked into the Holy Ghost. I am locked into God. How am I
out of it?" Because they don't have the Holy Ghost. Because why? They've
got a tongues evidence. They've got a false [teaching]. You can't tell them
that. There's no way they're going to do it. How are you going to make anybody
believe Mal 4:6, except it's for the Jews or somebody else? How are you going
to make a people believe these things? There's no way you can make them believe
these things.
20. Now;
(61) The
Ephesus. Now we find the same thing, the Old Testament, I think this Book of
Joshua fits. A fitting word for it, would, be the book of Ephesus of the Old
Testament. The Book of Ephesians of the Old Testament, would be a good thing to
title this Book of Joshua, because it's certainly fitting to this.
All right?
Then Ephesus has to be a repeat, at least in a measure, if not the entire
measure, of what was back there in the days of Joshua. Now we know the Book of
Ephesians runs out with the Rapture. So therefore, we are looking for something
that is going to put us into the many mansions, which is an eventual thing.
21. All
right.
(62) Now
we find Joshua representing grace, or some propitiation, that it could not
exist in the same time the law was in existence. Now watch that. I'll read
it again.
(62) Now
we find Joshua representing grace.
Now this is
the Book, not so much the man, although the man's there, or some propitiation.
So therefore, grace is a propitiatory act on the part of the offended one, not
on the offender.
Here's an
example: you've got a dog, you know, that sucks eggs. And so you finally wait
one day, and you catch him, and you smack him around the snout a bit. And so
you peek again one time, and the dog is grabbing an egg again, and he looks up
and sees you, and he kind of grins at you, wiggles his tail. Ain't no good.
You're going to bust him. That's the way a lot of people are. They think they
can pull a propitiatory against God. There ain't no way; it's got to be from
God's side. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
and a mediator is not of one. When there are two people involved, and they've
got trouble, you bring in a third person. Now the Bible distinctly says,
"That God was His own mediator and delivered His own propitiatory
act." So that's God doing everything. So all you got to do is agree
with what God did [and agreeing means believing.]
(62) Now
Joshua representing grace, or some propitiation, that could not exist in the
same time that law was in existence.
Because law
said, "Do something." Grace and propitiation says, "Do
nothing." Yet it is a paradox too, and I'll show why a little later on.
22. Now
listen, let's read the next part.
(63) Neither
does any message, that forwards the people on, ever coincide with the past
message.
Now nobody
believes that. Now basically down inside they understand to this end, that God
said, "Ah, in My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go prepare a place for you. I'm going to come and get
you." Wonderful. God said certain things at the end time, "There's
going to be fire fall upon the earth, there is going to be earth quakes, this,
that, and the other thing. There is going to be this thing, that thing
spiritual, this thing, that thing negative." They look down the road and
they said, "Now that's fine." But because the Word was already given,
they failed to understand, that starting with the apostle Paul, there was a
measure of Word for every hour, that began bringing the church closer, and
closer, and closer; until one day, it would arrive at a place, which would take
them over, into the Millennium. In other words, forwarding the people.
23.
23.
Now Bro. Branham being a prophet, showed us how the church, being in the
image of Christ, must die, and go in the ground; which was a spiritual and a
physical thing. And it went in there under the dark ages, for four hundred
years, and began to come back in a resurrection, under Luther, forwarding the
church, not down, but forwarding the church up, until it could go in. Now Bro.
Branham categorically said, and it's true: "The message will not coincide
with the last one, if it's going to forward you."
What message
did the Roman Catholic church have? Oh they say, "Well you see Bro. Vayle,
there was nothing there." Hogwash there wasn't, then there was nobody born
again. There was a whole bunch born again. They had some saints. They fought
the pope, and everything else, and they died. Now Luther came, and it was so
distinct, that the church took it magnificently, and it went into seed. And
Wesley came on the scene, and the church began going, going onward. And
Pentecost came on the scene, and the church went onward. And each time there
was a radical stepping away. Then won't this be a radical stepping away? []
24. Now,
he said:
(63) Neither
does any message, that forwards the people on, ever coincide with the past
message. It will not do it. There's where you have trouble today. Jesus said,
"Does any person take a new piece of garment put it on an old? Or put the
new wine into old bottles? They perish. It bursts them open." They can't
stand it.
That's
exactly true. They can't stand It. Let's see what it's like. This is the time
to shake people. This is that time that God said, "There would come a
time," He shook Mount Sinai one time, but said, "There would come a
shaking again; wouldn't only shake Mount Sinai, but He'd shake everything that
could be moved. Now that's Hebrews 12. But did you notice the rest of the
Scripture? But we receive a kingdom that can't be moved, hallejuah. Now if that
doesn't forward you, what does? Now Sinai was the shaking by the Word. And It
tells you, He is going to speak again, and the speaking is going to be a
shaking.
You know,
something like a little kid, maybe not so little comes by, and maybe twelve,
thirteen years old; he thinks he can really kid his dad. So he tells him a big
whopper, thinking his dad will take and tell another whopper. The dad just
hauls off and slaps him across the chops, and knocks his head around. He learns
right now. He's shaken down. Well, God by grace brought miracles, signs, and
wonders and showed the people they're shaken down, but they didn't take it.
25. Now,
everything that can be shook down, will be shaken. The heavens will shake. That
is, we're in that time right now. The earth will shake. We are in that time
right now; California is going to go down. Heaven and earth will pass away, but
that Word shall never pass away. For upon this rock, I'll build My church, and
the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Everything that can be shaken,
will be shaken, but we receive a Kingdom, which is the Word of God, Himself,
and God is His Word. He doesn't shake Himself, but we receive a Kingdom that
can't be moved. "It's unshakable," said Paul, the Hebrew writer,
(Hebrews 12.)
26. Now
he's talking about way back there, on Mount Sinai, and he is talking about
William Branham, comparing to Moses. You say, "The guy's got a
nerve." Well thank God he's got a nerve. Somebody's got to have guts.
You've got to have the thing repeat at the end time.
We saw the Glory of God like these
men did, sure, we saw it. We saw the Glory of God, like Abraham saw it. Jesus
stood there one day, and He said, "I spoke with Abraham, and he saw my
day, and we were happy, got along just good." [Jn 8:56]
Now William
Branham comes along, and he says, "Say,”
he said, "I was back there with
Abraham. I was the one with Abraham.” He wasn't back there, except in
Christ, but he said, now he said, "I
can see Abraham.”
We saw the Glory of God like Moses saw it; the same Pillar of
Fire, the same power of God, the same Christ, unveiling Himself, revealing
Himself, showing Himself, keeping His Word, in the last days. How come? How can
we come by then, and walk, and treat it so lightly? How can we walk around and
hold our creeds, denominations, and not take the Word of God? What will it be
for us in that day? What will happen to us, when they've seen the Glory of God?
27. Now
we're talking about Joshua, and law and grace. We're talking about getting
there. Now;
Some
people will stand off and make fun of it, some laugh at it, some call it
fanaticism, some call it mental telepathy, some call it Beelzebub, some call it
one thing and another. An old proverb said, "Fool who walk with hob nailed
shoes where angels fear to tread", that's right. The fool has said, in his
heart, "There is no God". A man that looks right today and cannot
identify the Pillar of Fire, and cannot see Christ manifested, to us, and not to
the world, that man is just as good as a fool, an atheist. [End of the
first side of the tape.] (Now watch), He
said, "There's no God;" when he sees God manifested, so perfectly, by
His own Word, not a creed, but His Word, and then walk right over it, and make
fun of it, he's a fool.
Now that's
what Judas said, not Iscariot. Now Bro. Branham said, "He's right here, and manifested, a conscienceness of guilt that
no longer is present with a true bride.” That's why Abraham didn't look at
his own actions and his own thoughts on this and that.
28. (62) Now,
he says here, Joshua representing grace,
or some propitiation, that could not exist in the same time the law was in
existence.
Now, every
period of grace goes to law. Ours does too.
Now It says,
"There is no propitiation under an old message." That's why It
distinctly says in John 3, that there is no blood apart from light. The blood
does not avail. That's why when you speak of this hour of our covenant, this is
the only place where the blood is. There is a big misunderstanding, because too
many people couch their words wrong. We don't have time to make mistakes
anymore and fool around. Here is the propitiation. Here is the
blood. It's the only place it is. It isn't any place else. Otherwise there
couldn't be a judgment.
29. Now,
Joshua could not at all become into his ministry until after Moses was gone.
Now Moses had to go. The law had to go before grace could become. In other
words, as Bro. Branham shows you here, grace always was there, but it couldn't
become. Elohim stands here to become, and He's becoming. That's why people do
not understand my preaching. They couldn't understand Bro. Branham. His very
language is biblical. They don't know the Bible. They act like they do, but they
don't. His language is Scripture, 'becoming.' He illustrated it: Elohim, He
illustrated Himself. And when He did, He came right to the church, 'becoming.'
Seven steps, 'becoming.' A message of virtue, until you come right to Love
Himself, where grace is manifested.
30. Now,
"Moses my servant is dead, arise and take this people to the promised
land." Moses representing law, it served it's time. It's the law, had
served it's time.
"Invisible
Union, the prophet Paul See, and
that's in Romans 7 here is saying,
"A woman cannot re-marry until her first husband is dead." She cannot
re-marry--now the subject is re-marriage. Now evidently she's had a problem
here. She can't re-marry as long as the
first husband is living. By no circumstances at all. She must remain single, as long as a her first husband is living, and
if she do such a sin, she'll be called an adulteress. I'm speaking of natural
now, to type it with the spiritual. If this woman commits such a sin, she is
marked an adulteress, if she has two living husbands at the same time.
Therefore she's forfeited her right. She has forfeited, by doing this, her
rights to God and the Kingdom by doing so. She sure has. She become an outcast in the economy of
God, according to Scripture that I've just read.
So is
the church, when she tries to mix creed and denomination with the Word of God.
You can't have law and grace, you can't have this either. She can't be married
to a denomination, and, be the bride of Christ at the same time. She can't
be Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian...She can't be any of those, she's lost.
She's got to ditch it. She has got to be
dead to one or the other. The law says so here. There's plenty of laws in God's
Word, and that is His law. Paul speaking the same thing here, she cannot be married
to a church, or worldly creeds, and be the bride of Christ, because one is
contrary to the other.
Now I
remember you say, "Well we believe this, we don't believe that." If
you are married to Christ, Christ is the Word of God. 1 John says, "In the
beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God, the same
was made flesh and dwell among us." Christ was the living Word, He was
also the Word, He was always the Word, He is still the Word, He will always be
the Word.
Now, she
is the woman, if she is married to the Christ the Word. She cannot be married
to a church denomination at the same time, for she is bound by it. That's
right. She cannot live with both husbands
at the same time, because they are contrary one to another. One is God sent,
the other is man made. So they are contrary. He said, "Let every man's
word be a lie, and Mine be the truth." God said that. Just as much
contrary to one another, as law was to grace. Paul speaking here, "One
must be dead to have the other." If she tries to mix them, she'll be
called an adulteress.
How many
adulterers do we have in this message? Plenty of them. Bunch of Pentecostal
adulterers. Might have Roman Catholic adulterers, Baptist adulterers,
Methodist, God knows what. I don't know. See they can't shake it. And remember
the cause of the whole trouble is teachers. See?
One
must be dead to have the other and if she tries to mix them she will be called
an adulteress. Oh think of it New York, Arizona, across the nation.
Interesting. God said if she tried to be
married with two at the same time she would be called an adulteress. What
adulteress can enter heaven? Would God marry an adulteress? Certainly not, He
asked us not to do it. She will be called an adulteress.
Then her children if she is an adulteress,
her children are illegitimate. Illegitimate to what? Not the church, but to the
Word, because she is illegitimate.
What a picture is this of Revelation 3, here
in the last Laodicean age. What an illegitimate group. What denominational mix
up, luke warm.
31. The
church doesn't dare stand for anything today; neither does the law. Nothing
dares to take a stand anymore. Nobody does, except a bride. You say, "Well
I believe this politician took a stand." Ha, fap, everybody thought that
Goldwater took a stand. Look where he is. The people thought Reagan took a
stand; took a hot dog stand. Tried to sell us a bunch of wieners stuffed with
sawdust, trying to make us believe Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles will be
dyed-in-the-wool, square, conservative Republicans, if they were here. They'd
be more socialistic. Now they wouldn't be Democrat, but they would understand
that people need help; but also understand if you didn't work, you didn't eat
either. Let's understand a few things… Bro. Branham… I agree when he said, "If I wouldn't be a Christian, I would
lean toward Communism.” That's exactly where I stood, because you want to
help people. But there is only so much you can help, only so much, and no more.
32. Now
he said, "Carry on lukewarm
denominations, having a form of Godliness." And they can be some of
the most lovely people in all the world you can't put a finger on. But you just
say, "Now here's what the Word teaches." They say, "Now just
hold it right there, our church don't go for that." You just show them,
that they haven't got proper worship, because they don't have a proper
revelation. They say, "Now just a minute, I talk to God; He answers my
prayers. We speak in tongues; yes siree. We got people healed in our church,
everything else." Oh, there's no trouble there. You bet they do. [You]
can't fight that.
33. Now,
they started out...All right, the law of the husband; all laws and creeds must
go, otherwise it is adultery. Okay?
(65) They
started out, really, with grace, to begin with. Before they had law, they had
grace. Now watch this. Now watch this carefully, see just where you are
today. Because the promise was, "I want to get you out. I'm going to take
you in." Now watch, all right down there, there was grace.
(65) Before
they had law, they had grace. While they were in Egypt, without law; no one
down there, just the priests, and so forth, they didn't have any laws. The law
had not yet been given. Grace provided them a prophet. All right, now you
got a prophet. Now what's he going to do?
Grace provided an atonement the prophet came, and the atonement came into
view: sacrificial lamb. If the Lamb
opened the seals, what are you going to see? Redemption by blood. Okay?
(65) We're
getting into that, to the sacrifice, the blood. There's where your healing
lays. Now the atonement. The
atonement had been provided before there was any law. Grace was before law,
during law, and after law. Oh certainly. Revelation 13:8.
(8)
And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the Lamb book of Life, slain
from the foundation of the world, even before the foundation.
Grace
always was there, because grace and propitiation go together. Propitiation is
God turning away His wrath from us by His Own means. That's grace.
Now;
(65) Grace
was before law, during law and after law.
Galatians
3:16-29.
(16) Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as
of many; but as of one, to thy seed which is Christ. (God made a promise to
Christ. All right now, we were in Him. He is our representative, we're sons of
God. What is going to happen? Well He's supposed to see His seed, the travail
of His soul. I'll raise Him up at the last day. Okay? Now;)
(17)
This I say, the covenant that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years after, cannot disanull that it should make the promise of non-effect. (So
It tells you right there, law was in the land as a diagnostic measure.)
(18)
And if the inheritance be of the law,
it is no more promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
(19)
Wherefore, then, serveth the law? It was
added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise
was made; it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
(20)
Now a mediator, is not a mediator of
one, but God is one.
It tells you right there, it usually takes
three people, and the mediator stands between. But God come right down and did
it all.
He said,
"I have made a way for you. You are forgiven. Everything is fine. Come on
back home." Now people don't want that.
They say,
"Now just a minute. I'm going to tell you something. It's very true that
you say that, but I should do so and so and so and so."
You say,
"Oh, good-bye Charlie. You never were called in the first place. You never
had it in the first place."
That's why
this church stands on one thing--believing. And if you believe, you'll do a lot
of other things with it, which are the right things. But you've got to believe.
(21)
Is the law, then, against the promise
of God? God forbid; for if there had been a law given which could have given
life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (But it doesn't come by
the law.)
(22)
But the scripture hath concluded all
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe. (Showing everybody is a sinner, the elect come out of the sin.)
(23)
But before faith came, we were kept
under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. (Now
notice) And before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto faith that
should after be revealed.
34.
All right? Every denomination went
to seed and went to a law. And you're shut up there, until God comes on the
scene and burst the doors through a covenant of grace, and the propitiation
stands there, and they come out. Now, we're doing the same thing. See? All
right.
(24)
Wherefore, the law was a school
master to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
(25)
But after faith is come, we're no
longer under a school master (and so on).
Now watch,
(66) So
there was Joshua, representing grace, was right along with law, but could not
be enforced as long as law was in it's proper place. Now I'm going to read
that again, then I got to go on to the next paragraph, so you will understand
it.
(66) So
there was Joshua, representing grace. (So therefore, what Joshua enters
into, is to bring the people into grace),
was right along with law, but, could not be enforced as long as law was in its
proper place.
(67) And
so has the church world in this last day! "Its in it's right place. It's
where it belongs. Everything is going just right. It's come along, it's played
its part, but there is coming a time when it must cease. It must do it. There
has got to be an Ephesians, also, of this journey, just as there was of other
journeys. There has to be an Ephesians in Ephesus, an Ephesian of this journey.
(Now keep reading).
(68) Wherein
that law, wherein that law could never save a sinner, as I have pointed out. It
could not. Therefore the promised land represented a day of grace.
That's why
it's a Book of Joshua. The promised land represents a day of grace. Ephesians
is the Book of Grace. The whole Seven Church Ages, of people being filled with
the Holy Ghost, now come to the Holy Ghost Himself. And He's Joshua of this
day, and He's leading us into grace.
Now that's
what it's all about. Now don't forget it. As I have told you before, this
Message will stumble you, because you're so used to thinking every thought but
the right thought.
35. Now
let me tell you something. I was there when Bro. Branham preached this. There
was a bunch of people in the front of me and around me. In those days, I had to
learn how to get around their spirits by just using my mind, which you can do
it and get right around anything, because you're a spiritual person. So when I
heard, "Seed of Discrepancy" and this one ["Paradox"], he
said, "Which did you like?" Well, I said, "I preferred the
"Seed of Discrepancy." And his face fell. He thought I might have
caught what he was saying. No more caught it than nothing, any more than
anybody else was catching it. Because your mind will trick you. Now manure is
great for growing mushrooms. Shall we open skulls? But it doesn't know the
first thing about grace. You've got to rid your mind of every incumberance, and
bring every thought down and realize what he is talking about.
36. Joshua
the Book; Ephesians the Book. And he's talking about a promised land. He's
talking about a place where law does not exist. Where it's nothing but grace,
and because of grace, you make it. And grace is a propitiation, and God in His
Own propitiatory [or Mercy's Seat]. And God is His Own mediator. God is His Own
prophet. God is His Own everything. And He is waiting for a people who give Him
enough pre-eminence where God is everything, so they have a true repentance
that brings them a true knowledge of God.
37. I
know you're a little bit buffaloed. Let your thinking go. Like I said the other
day, I'm glad you're confused. Now you'll let your stupid thinking go and
listen. Well, I know some of you. You just say, "Well, I can't get
it," and you'll buzz off. Well, go ahead, if that's all you come to church
for, go ahead. Now I'm rough, and I'm tough, and I'm going to hang rough and
tough, because unless you do, you'll miss it. Blood has been shed. It costs
somebody blood!
38. Oh,
Jesus walked a true life, hallejuah. He said, "Trippy, trippy, toe; to
Gethsemane I will go. Isn't it nice, isn't nice, lovely. Let the scourges fly.
Let the sin fall. Oh beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful." It was agony. He sweat blood. He sweat blood. Yes, to much
hogwash Pentecost today. Too much unsoundness from the top of the head to the
sole of the feet. Too much vomit on the table. Too much manure in the head. Too
much corruption in the heart. And there is only one cure--God. You ain't
getting there. I don't care if you are a son. I don't care if you're a son.
Evidently God didn't care either, in this limited sense; you've got to fall, and
you've got to come back, and He made a way. We're not serious and sober enough
to let our own stupid thinking go. See? But it's got to go. So the church world
in this last day, it's come along. It's played it's part. The life has [passed]
on, until there is no life anywhere except in a bride, who is going to walk in
to immortality.
39. Now
It said:
(67) It's
got to cease, it's got to do it. There has got to be an Ephesians, of this
journey.
We're in a journey, and Ephesians takes you
right into the Rapture. Ephesians takes you by the Word to the headship of
Christ, growing up to manhood. That's right. Where the appreciation lies in not
what you and I think we're doing, but an understanding of Who He is and what He
has done. To see His love.
Everybody's got this love backwards. We're
trying to put on an act with our love. Herein is love, not that we loved God,
but the God that loved us; and people turning down His love in this hour.
"Oh, I love, I love." Oh you shut up, for God's sake, and your own
sake. You love nothing. You have the love of a hypocrite, and it stinks. That's
why, I'm trying to preach this series, and trying to get the people swung to
where they belong. Million miles away yet. Sure I'm a million miles off. I want
to find somebody who's not. Not that I'm any kind of a leader, but I want to
see it. Where have I every tried to take you but to His Presence? My God, I
scare everybody off the way I preach. I scare you all off, which is good. You
bet your life it's good. There's got to be an Ephesians, for chapter one and
chapter four.
40. Now:
(67) There's
got to come an Ephesians, an Ephesus, an Ephesian of this journey. Watch.
(68) Wherein
that law could never save a sinner, as I have pointed out. It could not.
Therefore the promised land represented a day of grace.
Not Millenium. Do you understand what I am
saying? See, because you get the idea of coming out, going in. "In my
Father's house there are many mansions," so on, and so on, and so on. We're
not talking about that. All right, the promised land is a day of grace. In
plain English then, this is the hour of promise. This is what the prophet
divided to us. The Word of promise, the promise for this hour--time and
eternity blending. Don't you know that's true? I believe that the living ones
of Christ are all around us now. I see a church that's indissoluable,
indivisible, and she's one. I see no space and no time any more.
41.
[The main thought centers on the
statement: "I don't know time and space any more, when it comes to the
bride."]
42.
People come in here, especially
women. You've got to watch women. I don't think you got any more. It's a good
thing you don't. With their emotion, trying to run things with some emotion.
Hogwash. What's that go to do with it? It's the hour of eyeballing with
eyeball, and honesty to honesty. There's where your love is. Not some junk out
here that anybody can perpetrate and call God.
(69) Now
if you've noticed, in that journey, they had three stages of their journey.
Just a minute, I want to go back to, let me see, yes.
(66) So
there was Joshua, representing grace, was right along with law, but could not
been enforced. The great Sovereign God, can't do one thing about His grace,
unless you get rid of the other stuff. Grace is enforced, and it is a force to
be reckoned with.
(69) And
if you noticed, in that first journey, they had three stages to their journey. Now
watch, he is only going to mention two.
First there was the preparation by faith, down in Egypt, under the sacrificial
lamb, one. Then they crossed the Red Sea, to the wilderness, a separating,
which represented another stage of the journey. Well, I thought there was
three. It only mentions two.
(70) Cause,
after the preparation, when they all got ready, then they, when they came to
the Red Sea, there was a failure again. The people did not believe, after
seeing the things that God did. They still did not believe. And God opened up
the Red Sea and took them forth, which we're taught that all the people were
baptised unto Moses, under the Cloud and sea.
Now, you've got a baptism under
Pentecostalism. That's the reason we can have a thousand baptisms in the Holy Ghost,
for days speaking in tongues and still miss it, because it's not a true
baptism. It's a church baptism. And the church baptism under Pentecost is a
false anointing. The anointing is true, but the person is a phoney. You bet.
They still rebel. They still want their law. They still want their church. They
still want their creeds. They still want their dogmas, and they're going to
tell you, bless God. Blind, blind Laodicea. You can't tell them that. No way
shape and form. How can you?
(70) The
people did not believe, after seeing the things of God. They still did not
believe. God opened up the Red Sea and took them forth, so on.
43. Now
listen, in Egypt, where the sacrifice was, formally see, down there, there was
a sacrifice. Every time, under grace, the preparation lies there, God brought
them out. How can there be a failure any time? When they failed at the Red Sea,
proved that they didn't have the real thing. See? It isn't God that fails.
We're trying to show you it isn't that Word. It's people. They won't believe
Him.
(71) Now
they were baptized, repented and were baptized, and came out to walk in a new
life, in a new land, in a newness journey, amongst a new people and the hand of
God upon them.
Same right
today. Ephesians the same way. Nothing old about it at all. Now, you can't come
smelling of leaks and garlics in this journey here. You don't have the smell of
the earth upon you like old Esau. You got the smell of manna on you. Your
breath smells like [manna], not like eating a bunch of carrion, like a bunch of
crows got into. Now:
(71) But
it finally came to a place, in this walk that they had, they were not satisfied
with the walk of grace. They had to come to something that they could do
themselves. It's that same thing now. Same problem right today.
(72) Now
that's where people think, today, of Divine healing, or some other work of
grace, of God, there is something you have to do. There is nothing you have to
do but believe, just believe God. Now that's the paradox. That's the paradox.
Leave it alone. He'll know what to do, but nothing to do with this. Now, that's
Hebrews 6. See?
(73) And
if they would have continued on! The promise wasn't given them under law. The
promise was given before the law, without any conditions to it.
44. Now,
this same Word was given to us, for this hour, before the church ever got
anywhere near where it is. And all the while, while the church was dying in
sin, this Word stood right there--this promise of grace, waiting for the people
to come out of the church, to come into a promise, which is the promised land,
where we're already getting ourselves placed positionally and the inheritance.
45. Now
don't think I'm giving you a bunch of hogwash. Let me tell you right there.
When the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him comes in to
the church, the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, and you will know what
the hope of His calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints are. You'll know it. You already know you're Mrs. Jesus, the queen.
See? If they had continued on, but they would not do it. He said;
(73) "I've
given you this land, go over into it!" But before they got to that
promise, they decided there was something they must do themselves. What do
you need to do yourself? Well let's find out.
(74) And,
that, we still find among human beings. We're prone to be that way, "There
is something we've got to do." We feel that we've got to have something
into it also. Now listen, paradox.
(75) You
do have something into it, that's your surrender of your own will, your own
ideas, to the will and idea of Almighty God, and it's finished. That's all
there is. Just take His promise, don't think of nothing else. Walk by it, and
God does the rest of it. In other words, eat for the journey. That's the
one thing that God said, "Eat, eat, eat." He took Elijah, eat, eat,
and He went the forty days. Israel had food for forty years, clothes didn't
wear out. See? Paradox. Now remember, Bro. Branham said, "This is what He told me. The only input we've got in this program
is to eat, to receive it."
(76) They
wanted a law. But God always gives you the desire of your heart; He promised
to. But we find out, when they turned one step from the side of what God
originally promised, then they became a thorn in the flesh until the law was
taken away, until Jesus Christ came crucified to take away the law. It was as a
thorn in the flesh.
46. Let's
go to Psalm 106, and let's read about It, because This has to do with your
thorn in the flesh, that is God giving you the promise rather.
(1) Praise ye the Lord, Oh, give thanks to
the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever.
(2) Who can utter the acts of the Lord? Who
can show forth all His praise?
(3) Blessed are they that keep His
judgments, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
(4) Remember me, O Lord with the favor, with
the favor, that thou bearest unto thy people; visit me with thy salvation.
(5) That I may see the good of thy chosen (that's
the elected), I may rejoice in the goodness of thy nation (holy nation), that I
may glory with thine inheritance. (We're getting it.)
(6) We have sinned with our fathers, we have
committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt; remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, provoked Him at
the sea, even the Red Sea. (Just what Bro. Branham said.)
(8) Nevertheless, He saved them for His
name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known.
(9) He rebuked the Red Sea also, it dried
up; led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
(10) And He saved them from the hand of him
that hated them, redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
(11) The waters covered their enemies, there's
not one of them left.
(12)
Then believed they His words, they
sang His praise.
(13) And they soon forgot His works; they
waited not for His counsel,
(14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness
and tempted God in the desert.
(15) And He gave them their request but sent
leanness into their souls. (Now watch.)
(16) They envied Moses also in the camp and
Aaron, the saint of the Lord.
(17) The earth opened up and swallowed up
Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
(18) And a fire was kindled in their company,
and the flame burned up the wicked.
47. I
told you, if William Branham is right, there's going to be people right today
that are going to get burned. That's right. I don't have to read any more. He
gave them the desire of their heart. They want gifts, they get more. Bro.
Branham went off the scene, everybody discerns tremendously, wonderfully. Bro.
Branham told a few people some dreams. You got a guy, tell anybody his dreams
day and night, but he gets it wrong, but he'll tell you a dream. Interpreted
and everything else. Oh, he does it all the time. Well, he tells you, Bro.
Branham came to his room at two o'clock in the morning and gave him his mantle.
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Bro. Branham did. Bro. Branham's mantle is no
good. Fap. A bunch of hogwash they try to pull off.
(77) And
anything that you try to do within yourself, it always works to your dishonor.
It'll work to your disadvantage. Now listen, here's the prophet talking. Just simply believe God, that settles it.
What God promised, "I'm the Lord Thy God who heals all thy diseases."
Take in see to. Is there anything
among you is sick, call the church, the elders, they'll pray." He
promised, "The works that He did, will be done in the church.”
Okay? Let's go to Rom 11:6.
(6) And if it be by grace, then is it no
more works; other wise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is
it no more grace; otherwise works is no more works. (Well, if it's a chicken
rabbit, it's no more chicken, it's no more rabbit. Can't mix them.)
(7) What then? Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it and the rest were
blinded.
(8) (According as it is written, God has
given the spirit of slumber, eyes that they see not, ears that they should not
hear;) unto this day.
(9) And David said, let their table be made
a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them;
(10) Let their eyes be darkened, that they see
not, and bow their back always. (In other words, they're slaves.)
(11) I say, then, Have they stumbled that they
should fall? God forbid; rather through their fall salvation is come unto the
Gentile to provoke them to jealousy. (Just the theme we want to read there that
grace is not grace, if it's mixed with works. It cannot be.)
(78) Why
do we have to accept organizations, and so forth that will write that off of
the Book? See? See it becomes a thorn in the flesh. And here at the end time,
we meet the thing, face to face, it's up to Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterians,
and whatevermore. You, you can't go on; you've got to come back to the full
gospel.
Now that's exactly where Ephesians is,
Ephesians the fourth chapter. Every measure, through Seven Church Ages, through
an ordained messenger and a five-fold minister brings you right up, until the
last one is in, to full maturity where Melchisedec appears on the scene, and
the revelation. Now, in the presence of the enemy, the table is prepared, and
communion with Melchisedec by the Holy Ghost.
(78) Now
the entire full gospel. It's made for the full man, by complete God Who was
made flesh and dwelt among us. See, not a creed, not anything there
(79)
(79)
Now if we notice, then, their journey in the wilderness is where they
made their greatest mistake that Israel ever made, until calvary, was when in
Exodus 19 they accepted law instead of
grace. They had grace. They had a prophet. They had a sacrificial lamb. They
had redemption. See? They'd been brought through the Red Sea. Healed of their
diseases. They had, had water from the smitten rock. They had manna out of
heaven. Everything they had need of had been supplied, and still they wanted
something else. And we've got our spiritual resurrection, see, but
everybody wants Hebrews 6.
48. Now,
let's get this third thing he's talking about.
(80) Now
that's a perfect type of our Ephesians today, exactly. We came out under
Luther, went through sanctification, under Methodist; came to restoration under
Pentecost. Exactly like it was, in the wilderness journey. Exactly like it was,
in the wilderness journey. And when God brought us out, we did very well. What
did we do? We wanted like the rest of them, to be like them. Now we find that
grace is the only thing that takes us through, never law. Now you're
getting to the third thing. See, the third was grace. It was the message.
(81) Joshua
here is a type of the last-day ministry. See? Now remember those three stages.
You had one, in Egypt at the Red Sea, and now
they turned down grace. Yes, because they brought the fruit of it, and said,
"Here it is," and they turned it down. They turned down the Word,
this is ours, what was demonstrated. And they thought it went to an old, dead
time message. Time was running out. Time and eternity blending, but they didn't
get it.
49. Now notice. First, preparation by faith,
Egypt. Second, sacrificial lamb. Pardon me, first sacrificial lamb,
preparation, then, the second was the separation at the Red Sea. Now what?
Here's the Message. Here's what they missed. Now;
(82) And
I don't want to disagree with the scholars, but many hold that the promised
land represents Heaven. It could not represent Heaven. It could not, because
they had wars, and troubles, and flustrations, and everything in the promised
land. It does not represent the promised land.
In other
words, he's telling you, the promised land they're talking about, is not what
scholars were talking about. It’s two different things involved here. Now, what
it is, we are in a promised land right now, with the flustrations and all these
things.
(85) But you notice, just before the end of the
promised land, all of them, the difference at that, arose up among them. One of
the great things was Korah. He didn't want one man leadership.
50. Now, you can't be in the promised land,
of grace this morning as long as you listen to anybody outside of a prophet. As
long as you believe in a Korah, Dathan, Abiram, that rose up, and say,
"Well, bless God, we've got gifts too, we got something too." See?
(83) They
came up before Moses and tried to tell him that "the message had to mean
this," and put a different interpretation on it, their own ideas what it
was.
And they said, "Moses, you're not the
only guy that's got something. We've got something too." And Moses said,
"We'll see. If you die the death common to men, I never had it in the
first place." Now you've got the same thing right now. If there is not a
great tribulation, and the fire sweeps this world, then William Branham had
nothing. He fooled the whole bunch of us. Well, he didn't fool very many, so
that took care of that. All right.
(83) Jesus
said, "There was not one of them, but what perished."
51. Okay. That's enough for today. Is that
as far as you've got? Okay, we'll turn it right down here. We'll start over
again then on Wednesday and go into the, into this portion right here. He's
talking of the promised land and exactly what happened before the people got to
the place where promise was effective. And the first thing happens, the pussy
cats come by to mix with the rest of the cats, pardon the expression, but these
pussy cats got a stripe down their back. It's exactly so. Let me tell you something.
As far as the blood lines were concerned, Korah, and Dathan and Abiram, I
believe, were just the same as Moses was any day of the week. Let's rise.
Kind heavenly Father, we look at Your Word
today, realizing that we are in a promised land. We are in the hour of a
promise, where time and eternity is mingling together. A promise of grace,
Lord, that the Lord Himself shall decend from heaven with a shout, to get a
bride gathered together and ready. To bring a people out of the ground. To
change us, and take us all up. Lord, we believe that you are here doing it. We
believe that already You are gaining the...[tape runs out].