Presence #13
'The Scriptural History of His Presence'#2781
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of being here where You are Present, we are very, very grateful. It’s beginning to dawn upon our consciousness Lord, and may making Itself felt, the reality of Your Presence which is so wonderful.
And we look around at ourselves and we marvel that these things could be, and yet we know that this is what is to be, it is a matter of Your grace and Your goodness.
And we thank you, Lord, that we can share in it, and we pray, Lord, that we shall always conscious of it, and in no wise despair or in no wise despise it, but always honor and glory in it as of Thee, from Thee and we’re a part of it only by grace.
Illuminate our hearts and minds, Lord, we pray in the things pertaining to this hour, that we might know that which we are a part of. That Lord, in this hour Your Word is coming into manifestation, and particularly manifested in human flesh.
For there is a promise at this end-time that we shall not all sleep, but we’re all going to be changed. And there’s that which lies in accord with it, that without one the other cannot be, and we’re glad that we are sharing in that also.
So that we not only know the hour, we do literally know the deep mysterious and secret things of Almighty God. Knowing Him in a way that we are a part of that revelation, knowing it experientially.
And we are not ashamed, Lord to say this, and to believe it and confess you before men in a realization of our union with Thee, and Your union with us.
We know therefore Lord, that You are not ashamed of us, because that means that it is all part of the Parousia. All part of Your Presence, Lord God, which we are aware of tonight.
And we do thank You for that Lord, we commend ourselves unto You now in further study, and we’ll be careful to give You the praise in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
You may be seated.
Well, it’s certainly nice to be here. We got to apologize for the dust, I plumb forgot to come down myself this afternoon to say something, got home late from having to be lain a little bit of personal business.
And I guess it won’t be the first time you’re a bit dusty, and you’re made out of dust anyway and so was I. And so we’re sort of sticks, no harm done. Not at all.
Now, we’re going to continue with number 13 of the ‘Presence’, and I’m not going into the Seventh Seal as of yet, because I still want to look at the subject before we start reading in that chapter of the Seals.
And the topic tonight is ‘The Scriptural History of His Presence’. Now, I hope I get fairly clear, I may ramble a bit and sort of look at different things, but somehow I hope they all come together for you, as we think of ‘The Scriptural History of His Presence’.
Now, there are certain little things that I’ve sort of tried to get across to you in the last while and that has to do with understanding the Scriptures, so It becomes more pertinent and relevant to you as an individual. Especially in your studies.
Number one: The Alpha and Omega principle. There’s hardly a principle greater than that, that the Book of Genesis and the Book of Revelation. What He was at the beginning He is at the end, He has never changed.
And when you see a repeat at any era of time of what it was in the beginning you know that it is the end. The end can positively be distinguished by the study of the beginning.
This is why Brother Branham always went to Genesis and then he would go to Revelation, and this is what I try to do as a faithful follower of this Message.
Secondly: There is One God and He had a Son. And the Name of the Father and the Son is identical. They have one Name, and we’ll talk about that, maybe get into it by next Sunday.
And then the third thing to remember is: That this is the hour when this Book for the first time is written in the present tense. Every other age had It in the future.
And Paul wrote It in the present tense, believing that there would be a Resurrection and a Rapture in his day if certain things would obtain. But those things could not obtain, because it’s taken roughly two thousand years for the Bride to be completed and world events to fall into place.
So, even read the gospel with the present tense in mind or you will never even begin to get into an understanding chronologically of such chapters as Luke 17:30.
Now, you keep that in mind and you should be able to… I get quite a bit of help as you study.
Now, the reason I said this is because we’re going to be talking tonight more than perhaps some other times relative to the Parousia, the Presence, as we look at the Alpha and the Omega Presence. A Principle.
Now, what we want to do at this time is to look at the word where in it actually says, “God is present.” Or we know by context that He most certainly is present to something whether it be persons of men, of angels, governments or somewhat, because that Scripture will have to do with Him personally.
So, I want you to just sort of get that in your mind that we’re going to look at Scripture that deals with God personally by direct reference, or context, or by the sense of it, wherein God is Present, with, or amongst.
Two: angels, men, government, because that Scripture deals with Him personally.
Now, it can also deal with the inanimate. God could be in the mountains, and God could be in the desert, well He would be present in that particular locale. In fact, God even associates Himself with events, by context. We won’t go into that, but we’re looking at His Presence.
Now, now since we understand what we’re looking at, we go immediately to Genesis 1:1, just the first part.
(01) In the beginning God…
That’s the first time you’ll notice that something is said about God in reference to being somewhere.
Now, without arguing as to which beginning this is, in relation to the history of creation, and creation’s continuing history, we are simply going to use this as the expression that lets us know that at one time there was nothing outside of God. That’s all there was. Before all beginnings as we understand beginnings, God was and He had no beginning.
Now, let’s just sort of consider beginnings superficially. Beginnings as we consider material things. Their beginning. As a being supernatural, cherubim, archangels, angels and so on, spirits.
As a being’s material, such as a… well, anything that would have a material sense to it in the realm of… or things out here in nature. Beginnings as of human beings, and even the beginning when God began to manifest Himself in flesh.
Now, so before all these beginnings which we’re not trying to study tonight, because we couldn’t have time to do it in this short of time.
Before all these beginnings He was there. Even if there was no environment to call there, but He was there. Thus we use the word ‘there’ as signifying tangibility, reality, substance.
Something that was in the realm of… well just tangibility you might say. He was Present. We use the word ‘present’ at this time as defining living. Capable of being realized, even though, He was the only One there to recognize Himself.
Ever stop to think of that? This is introspection of recognition and evaluation. Ever stop to think that God sat back and took a look at Himself? You think you do.
God beat you to it by trillions and trillions and trillions of years. He was all by Himself. That’s why He said, “With whom took I counsel?” Nobody. God was there all by Himself, and an introspection of recognizing and evaluating.
Now, this sense of God recognition within Himself is where we take our next step. See, He was there, don’t ask me how long I don’t know.
But the Scripture leads us to understand quite conclusively that God went through a process of self-recognition, evaluation within Himself after being there. Because He couldn’t have done it if He hadn’t been there. See?
Now, this sense of recognition within Himself is where we take our next step with Scripture, “In the beginning was the Word, [See?] and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Now, this in the beginning was the Word. Now this to me, is the second beginning pertaining to God as He is mentioned concerning beginning. See He, doesn’t want to leave you spun way out in errant space, so he uses the word ‘beginning’.
In other words, there’s a starting point to every, and a starting point is God. And within God there are starting points. So, as Brother Branham said, “First God all alone, but within Him attributes that were to be expressed.”
So then we see, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That was all there.
In the beginning, the Word, all that which had to do with Him, which would come forth in expression. It was Present living in real. And never forget, He was also unchanging to the infinite.
So, when the evaluating process was over, there was no way that God could ever change His mind, or add one thought, you see, or change one thought pertaining to what He evaluated from self-recognition and put into manifestation.
And now, about as good as any Scripture on this period of divine solitude is Job 38:1-7. So we’ll look at It.
(01) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
(02) Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? [Who is that puffed up theologian?]
(03) Gird up thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. [Now listen,]
(04) Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
(05) Who hath laid the [treasures] thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
(06) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone…
Why the astronaut got up there and these boob idiots from Russia said, “We didn’t see any God up there.” They couldn’t see God if He stopped through their porridge at breakfast time. See? But the American astronauts saw God, and they recognized the world was hanging upon nothing.
As the prophet said, “Which end is up?” What is the north pole, is that up, is the south pole down? Who’s to say so? See? Oh, here’s God talking to Job, He said,
(07) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Now, He took him through the period of universal creation of any type of universal creation into the morning stars, the son’s of God singing for joy.
Now, you’ll notice in there, there are foundations, this period of divine solitude when there’s nothing known about God, except, “In the beginning God…” Then in that second beginning was the Word, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
That same God in that period that brought forth this ‘Great Master Plan’ which cannot change, and we know it was there because He mentions it to Job.
Now this solitude of God alone in introspection has begun to end, or began to end when He created foundations, because He couldn’t create a foundation unless He was prepared and able to create the foundation. Which a foundation is a base for a super-structure of any form.
Something started for a continuing and finally finished product for presentation unto Himself. Now, this should give you… start you’re thinking right now on predestination.
And every single thing that’s in the Scripture that the prophet taught that we’re looking at now. It started way back there in that period of introspection and He laid a foundation for it. See?
Now, at this point it would be a material physical basis prior to a living substance. Now we use physical and material in the sense of tangibility also.
In other words, I mention the thought that this physical creation, it wasn’t necessary for God, but it was necessary for what was to come afterward which was a living creation as it were, and it would have to have something to rest upon.
As Brother Branham said, “Before God ever created a fish with a fin, He made the water for the fish to swim in.”
So, God created a place for Himself and others to be around Him. And that’s like over here in the Book of Revelation when you get into chapter 4 and 5.
(01) …I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will [show] thee things which must be hereafter.
(02) And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
(03) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
(04) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. [Now you notice what was there. And you notice what they were sitting on. See, the material foundation was laid for the blessed super-structure of the animate. Now,]
(05) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Sure, seven times the light came in the seven ages. Seven great mysteries revealed during that time. Seven spirits, which actually is the measure of the Holy Ghost given by the Word for every age, there It was there.
Notice, in figure representing that which was to come. And this was all in the preexistent form, an introspection where God dealing with His attributes knew what had to come out. And here the attributes are appearing.
Now,
(06) …before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
(07) …the first beast was like a lion, [next] a calf, [a] third… face [of] a man, the fourth like a flying eagle.
(08) …four beasts had six wings… and full of eyes within: rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and [which] is, and is to come.
Now notice, he’s been telling you here that there is something about God the way He presents Himself, it never changes. See, because he says, “Which was, and which is, and is to come.”
Now, you’re not going to tell me that God Almighty was and is and is to come in the sense of an evolution? He’s to come in the sense of a manifestation. And It’s the same One.
(09) And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
(10) The four and twenty elders fall down… and worship him… [and] cast their [thrones down they screamed,]
(11) [You’re] worthy, to receive [honour] and [glory] and power: for thou hast created all things, [even us,] and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 5:
(01) And I saw in the right hand… a book written within the backside, [voice and so on, get to verse 8.]
(08) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
(09) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
(10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
(11) And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne… the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; [just billions of them.]
(12) Saying… Worthy is the Lamb was slain to receive power, and riches, [and so on.]
Now, what we’re looking at here of course is, is what God created this certain aura of the physical inanimate in order to have the animate. Now, then from this exalted position of the Throne in the heavens, He created the universe with special emphasis on the earth.
Now, over here in Isaiah 45:18, It tells you:
(18) For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. [Now, you notice what He said there.]
Okay, He created it to be inhabited. And He made the universes to have a very special influence upon it as Job talks in there. The Book of Job of the sweet influences of the Pleiades. We know how the moon and the sun, the moon affects the tides, the sun affects the earth and so on.
Now then, He created this earth with a… and formed it with a special emphasis that it would be populated. Now this was fulfilled over here, God dealing with the earth in Genesis 1:1-25. Here,
(01) [God] in the beginning [then] created the heaven and the earth.
(02) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [You notice, the period of creation goes into a void, then God forming, creating, so on.]
(03) …said, Let there be light: and there was light.
(04) And God saw [and so on right on down the line.]
I won’t bother reading It, but you can see for yourself how He was doing all this in Genesis 1:1-25, then 26 to 28.
(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
(28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And also in,
(07) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [And 21-24.]
(21) And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
(22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
(23) And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of [the] Man.
Now you see here, we’re up to the point now of God from solitude, introspection, an assessment, the great One Who in the beginning God, Word, you have to leave It sit right there, Logos. You can’t go any further.
Now He is right here. At this point where He has done all of this according to what was with in Him.
Now, we want to stop a moment to recap and get our thoughts. Our subject is ‘Presence’, or ‘Parousia’. “In the beginning God,” Presence.
This is the original ‘Parousia’. For It has nothing to do with how or when God got there. Now that’s the thing you’ve got to understand about the Parousia.
Everybody has an idea that I suppose that you’d have to understand something about this subject in the sense that no way could God suddenly appear outside of a Rapture. But He doesn’t appear at the Rapture. See? The Presence.
Now, you notice we’ve said here that there’s nothing said concerning the Presence of God. He’s there. Now that’s the Alpha. God coming on the scene is literally God on the scene period.
And let’s face it, there isn’t even any scene to begin with. It’s God creating His Own scene. That’s your original.
Now, materialist’s can’t figure out God, that He’s present, He just is. That’s where you get your evolutionist, your fools in their folly, but then neither can theologians.
How did He get there? He was there even if there was not one thing at that time to be aware of Him except Himself. That’s Omega. Now you can try to change the Omega of the Alpha of the Parousia. And to do so you will die on the vine.
Now the Alpha, Omega principle to me is the most important principle in the whole Bible. And you change It you’re finished. See? You’ve got to adapt, or adopt this formula, you have to adapt to It, or adopt It, to everything in the Scripture, because God is sovereign.
Now, number two: Next we saw that Whoever God was, was also Whatever God was. In fact, even now we actually know more about Him then we do know Him. Now that’s Scripture. See?
Now, all through Scripture you can even find dead theologians who can tell you a tremendous amount about God. You can get a St. Augustine, that if he’s not a hell bound sinner, I don’t know who is. And he knew an awful lot about God, but he sure didn’t know God.
Now, we’re looking at the end-time. God begin to… in the Scripture talk about Himself, See? at Revelation.
Now in Ephesians at the end-time, “The God of Our Lord Jesus, the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
Now, that’s what we’ve got at the end-time. And I know that, that this is where we differ from Pentecostals. And differ from people in this Message who want to hippo-rah good time of feeling.
“Oh I feel Him, hallelujah, He’s here, I’ve got goose-bumps.” I can give you goose-bumps other ways. It’s your knowledge of Him that’s a criterion. See? The knowledge of Him and the rebirth is entirely different from this knowledge at the end-time. Given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Now, we saw God. He was. He was Present. He was there. And in His solitude only God knew about God. If anything He ever made was going to know about Him, God would have to tell him.
And all the telling in the world will never make you to really know God, would make you know more about Him to know Him. He’s knowable in many ways, but He’s also inscrutable. But we’ve had a beginning way back there, whatever God was, or whatever God was, was whatever God was.
Now all right, so we had the beginning God, He was Present there. That’s number one. Then in the beginning was the Word, the attributes. Whatever He was He still is.
Then we go to the fact that there has to be a revelation of what it is all about, because He has to transmit it. See? This is the thing here where Brother Branham was so correct. Without revelation you go no place at all.
People cannot accept revelation, they’re ridiculous, you have got to receive a revelation somehow, somewhere, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere with God.
Now, It is in the original Parousia, or Present, whatever It was that constituted God as God so as to define Him which the prophet called ‘attributes’, now demanded that that which would recognize the Presence Himself.
In other words, God demanded of Himself that in this beginning’s and creations and foundations there would have to be somebody who would be able to recognize the attributes.
See there had to be somebody there that would recognize the Presence of Himself. An Intelligence capable of receiving revelation, so He began to create.
Now, you follow what I’m saying? I know that I would have had to study this a whole lot harder than I did, and write it all down and just repeat it by note, by note, then back track, and back track. But I’m trying to get a picture across to you.
In the beginning God was there. That’s Presence. I don’t care if there was any there to identify what there is, God. Then He begin to make the ‘there’, an environment, but He didn’t do it until first of all there was a period of solitude and introspection. See?
Now, we know that’s true by the very fact over here because we look at one of the beginnings according to the Book of Ephesians 1:3. You know jolly well what I’m going to read.
(03) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(04) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,…
Now, there’s a foundation there, but there was a foundation before that. And there were foundations before that. See? Now where did it come from? It came from the introspection.
In other words, the assessment of the attribute of what God really was within Himself.
So therefore, there was God… then God in solitude consulting attributes and from the attributes God creating environment and then an environment which could not apprehend God, He had to create that which would apprehend God. You see?
Now that’s what He did. So He was there. Now He was there doing it.
Okay. He created. One A: He created foundations, especially of concepts based on His attributes. That was the first bunch of foundation, it was concept based on attributes.
And from there He created a heavenly kingdom. And from there He created a universe to affect the earth which would house sons and daughters. He said He created it to be inhabited.
Now, when people try to tell you that God is going to destroy the world they’re using their lips wrong. They haven’t got their brain in gear, because this world will be dissolved, but it won’t be destroyed because He made it to be inhabited and this is where we’re going to come back to.
And New Jerusalem is going to come down upon it when it is dissolved and recreated. So that anybody tell you that God ever changes anything.
All right. The earth is ready to be inhabited. So He creates two spirit beings in one with the ultimate of bringing them to a place of reproduction.
He does this in Genesis 2:7, 21-22. Now, we’re still in the Parousia, don’t you forget it, because I sure haven’t.
(07) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [An effect that soul. Sou-kay in the Greek.]
(21) …the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
(22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from [him], made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
All right. Now, according to Genesis 1:26-27, we’ll read It.
(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Now, you notice in here there’s two things He’s going to do after the image and after the likeness. And then He created them in His Own image, not after His likeness, but only an image, and He made them male and female.
Now, it was not necessary for God to personally be present except by attributes of omniscience and omnipotence.
Now when you’ve got the savvy and the power to do it, you don’t even have to be there when you’re talking about God, because that way, all things are present to God as the Presbyterian theologians put it which is very good.
But God is not present to all things, in the sense of God being universally present, because that would make it then when I breathe in the air I breathe in God, and when I wave my arms, I wave my arms through God. That’s pantheism, which is hogwash.
But God did not need to be literally Present here, all He had to do was to stand back or sit on His Throne. And He could have if He wanted to, and I suppose He did produce this creation, the same as He didn’t have to come down and create whales and things, He just spoke the Word.
So, there could have been a speaking of the Word at this particular point. But in Genesis 2:7, and 21-22, there is no way that He was not Present. No way that He was not Present, because he literally formed man from the dust of the earth.
And for Him to do it as Job said concerning the Resurrection, “Thou shalt have a desire for the works of thy hand.” And as the Scripture says, “Jesus is waiting for the first-fruit of the earth.” He’s waiting for the precious fruit of the earth.
All right, He was Present dealing with the flesh and dominion and there was no way He could not be Present when He dealt with the flesh bringing it out of the earth.
That’s the Alpha of the Parousia to clothe man in flesh, bringing him out of the ground and it demands the same Parousia, God manifested, not in flesh. Bringing man out of the ground in 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, so let’s look at It for the skeptics out there.
Let me tell you something, let’s get this straight, I’m a pretty rough preacher up here, but I’m not so stupid though I’m a gutter preacher not to know something’s happening in our midst, because we’re preaching His Presence.
And Brother Branham said, “God would send His Spirit to anoint sons of God to bring them into to a Resurrection.” See?
And we’ll preach this and God will answer back to His Word. There’ll be a Bride of sorts in this place don’t worry. I don’t care if there’s three kinds of believers. Make believers, unbelievers and true believers. I say this place will have believers that are going to go into the Rapture. See?
You say, “You’re getting bold.” Why shouldn’t I? You show me one reason why I shouldn’t be.
1 Corinthians 15:
(21) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [In other Words, the first man died in sin bringing death. The next one He died, and He couldn’t be held, because He didn’t sin.]
(22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
(23) But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his [presence].
Now, that’s the Holy Spirit. See? Now the first was an act of pure creation that did not demand the Presence, so I believe He was there.
But there is no way you can disassociate God forming those bodies out of the ground. See? Putting the spirit into it. Which is literally what you see in Ezekiel, “Can these dry bones live?”
He said, “Breathe oh wind, come and breathe on those bones.” They began to come together and the wind is a [inaudible] symbol of the Holy Spirit. And It says right here the same, this is the Omega.
God was there as the Alpha to bring the bodies out of the ground and His Holy Spirit, because at that time He had not become flesh. Then the same reason tonight holds good, He will not be flesh when He stands here and rises the dead. See?
That’s why you’ve got these churches here in Ohio making the same mistake as Bobby Lambert did, they don’t realize that this is not the baptism with the Holy Ghost in Ephesians 1, it is the Spirit of God Himself coming into the Church to do these things.
Setting Himself at the head of the Church to raise the dead, that’s the whole trouble brother, you know what I’m talking about. Right? Stick around here and you’ll learn. Not that we’re smart or anything, but I know what the prophet taught.
Now It says,
(23) …they that are Christ’s at his [presence].
Not the Rapture. Not the coming back to earth, See? but there positively that God that dealt with the flesh in the first, and that same God that set them in the Garden, that same God is going to set a Bride back here on earth in the same Edenic condition.
Now, this God Who did this is that God of attributes of Whom It is said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, all things were made by Him exclusively. See?
Now notice, He created man in His image. That was a spirit. Non physical being in the image. Then He formed man out of the ground, but that was not His image. See? That was likeness.
Now let’s go over here to the book of Genesis 5, in the first few verses.
(01) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Now, this is Adam, and Adam is clay. Red clay. Holy Ghost is not red clay. Notice that God will say a thing projecting the future. See?
Now, in the day that God created man the likeness of God made he him. Now, he was in the image to begin, now he’s in likeness. Image is just as it sounds. It’s like an idol. Likeness has to do with a phantom or a shadow. See?
In other words, the reality is nowhere near as great.
(02) Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, [now] in the day when they were created.
(03) And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image;…
Now, you can’t say for one minute that Seth was in the image and likeness of Almighty God, he was in the image and likeness of Adam. You’re completely into another realm entirely here. See?
Now, there are two things that man, has to do, or have done for him by God since this has taken place. And Adam went into sin and brought the human race into bondage. To get back to the image of God and to be in the resurrection unto Eden.
Now you notice that he was in the image of God, then he was put into the likeness of God, and then he was put into the Garden.
Now, man has got to get back to the image, in order to get back to the likeness, in order to get back to Eden. Now there’s no way he can do it himself.
For It says, “As in Adam this happened, it’s going to take God through Christ, which beginning was that Word.” In other words, His dealing with mankind unto redemption.
All right, both of these are attainable. In other words, to get to the image of God, and to get back to Eden, and so on. We go to,
(18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Now, we know that says that’s possible to get all the way back to the very image of Almighty God.
Now,
(20) For our [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
(21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Now, It tells you right there that you can go through the process of image and likeness. See? Because one is a fashioning. They seem to be the same thing, but they’re not really.
Now, with 2 Corinthians 3:18, getting back to the image of God we go to, [short repeat]
(01) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
(02) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
(03) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
(04) For we that are in this tabernacle [this thing that’s fashioned] do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
(05) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. [Now you will notice in here… we read a little further:]
(07) …we walk by faith, not by sight:
(08) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
(09) Wherefore we labour, [or not, and so on.]
Now, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 which we just read proves out,
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Now, this body in 2 Corinthians 5 is our Word body that we bypassed. Now there’s a body eternal waiting in the heavens for every single born again believer that dies on this earth, and the Holy Spirit that he’s filled with is the witness that he’s got this tabernacle to go to.
He doesn’t float around like some cloud or some disembodied spirit, he goes to that which was eternal.
In other words, what he bypassed, that we seek in a figure of Adam in the image of God with Eve in a spirit form. See? That is waiting but is far greater I suppose then what Adam had and Eve had; that one spirit body.
We are going to get it as we die we will go into that sixth dimension, a paradise where that spirit body, “that Word body” as Brother Branham called it.
He also called it “theophany.” Which is… it’s all right it’s not the best expression. It’s a spirit body is what it really is. And he called it “the Word body,” that we bypassed. See?
Now, I’m going to show you that we actually did bypass that body. Now we go to Scripture…
(10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. [Now that’s God that’s doing this.]
(11) For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: [Jesus and every son of God is from one Source.] for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Because they are brethren. See? I’m trying to show you “He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Pretty hard to understand the grace of God.
(12) Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. [Now listen, as far as I’m concerned that’s really going on today is not perfectly in a figure.]
(13) And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
(14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might [bring to nothing] him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Now notice, It says here, “That he hath given children.”
In other words, they had to be there in order to be given. Then It says concerning those children they partook of flesh and blood. Now how can you partake of anything unless you’re there to partake of it? That’s preexistence.
See? “Where were you?” As He said to Job, “and all the morning stars sang together. I’ll tell you,” He said, “before we had got to the place of this foundation of man building a super structure, a pebble unto God, there was a precept, every single one was in God, part of His attribute.” You see?
And because they were to be made flesh they were called in Christ, Who became the embodiment, the whole body. Not in a figure, but the whole body of God. One body. Today there’s many members, not just one.
Now, these children of God were predestinated to become flesh. See? Now, you weren’t where Jesus was, that’s logical when it comes to manifestation, because He was fully manifested, see? before there was ever one person, or ever one single solitary thing ever made. Because He was the attributes of Almighty God.
Now, and all things were made by Him.
Now, “You,” as Brother Branham said, we know “we bypassed this body, this word body, we came down to become flesh.” But there is a time when men will have to get that same body.
Now remember, Genesis 5 was the image of Adam.
Now, let’s go to Genesis 15: [1 Corinthians 15:] 49, and just check some images out here.
(49) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now, he’s already told you the promise of the image lies in the Word of God that we’re going to have it. We saw the image back there in a spirit creation. That image is restored when the born again dies, they go to pick it up. See.
Now, what about those that are born again and they don’t die?
(50) Now this I say, brethren, [he’s talking about the image] flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
(51) …I [show] you a mystery; all [are going to] sleep [in him,]…
(52) In a moment, …at the last trump: [corruptibility puts on incorruptibility and so on.]
Now, that it’s that period that’s a living receives the image of God, but they don’t die, so they get immortalized. And they get their image of God when they raise in the Rapture.
But you see, the dead already have it, because they are in that place called the Presence. They’re in the sixth dimension.
Number four: Many people reach into four, intuitively.
Five: I think that’s where Brother Branham said the unregenerate go.
Number six: Is where the righteous go waiting for God.
Now alright, men die to receive 2 Corinthians 5: but it’s in the Parousia men are changed to receive it. You see? And it’s…
Now notice, it takes the Presence of God to give the physical body, and at the end-time of course it’ll take the Presence of God to give that spiritual too, because we’ll get it going up in the very Rapture by the power of Almighty God, meaning Jesus Christ.
Now, I want you to notice something here.
In,
(01) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(02) The same was in the beginning with God.
(03) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
(04) In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
(05) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness [didn’t know… wouldn’t do anything about it, didn’t even know what to do about it. They couldn’t stop it, and they didn’t know what to do with it.]
(14) [But] the Word [became] flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Now, we know that that wasn’t the beginning in the sense of the literal first beginning. But it’s the beginning of God forming, or becoming flesh in order to redeem mankind.
Now, this One the Logos God, who created and formed man first into spirit and into flesh Himself became flesh. It is like an evolution if we can stand the illustration. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Only in this case it is as it were the butterfly becomes a caterpillar.
Now, we going to look at man in contradistinction to God. See, where God could become flesh. Now we’re talking about God and man. Now, man could not have or do what this One has done.
All right.
A: Man was created. He had a starting point. God cannot be created, there’s no beginning. He the beginning of all creation by virtue of the fact that He was there and He did it all. No way out.
B: Man was formed from a created substance. But God’s Own Spirit formed Itself into flesh. Now when you talk of forming something, it’s not a creation, there’s something already created there. For God created man and He formed man.
There was a part that was created, there was a part that was formed. And as I look at this and understand that the Spirit became flesh it was a transmutation. Not a mutation, but a transmutation as it were down, but It literally became. See? Now, that part that lay within God to bring forth sons. All right.
C: Man was in the image of God, and that’s wonderful, but Jesus was the expressed image of God.
D: Man was a manifestation of the creativity and plan of God and showed the attribute. Jesus was the very out raying, or expression of God, for He was the attributes of God.
E: Man was given life. Jesus was the life.
So, we’re seeing here, what I’m trying to bring across to you at this point in these great beginnings where God is doing things for us, that we can see Jesus was more than, and different from a man and He still is.
Now He is of the order of man, only it is likeness unto physical men, but see what Paul says about him in 1 Corinthians 15:45, so we get a better picture.
Now,
(45) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. [But there was a tremendous difference. We could read on.]
(46) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; afterward that which is spiritual.
In other words, the first One coming had Its Own order. The second One had another order.
(47) The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
(48) As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
(49) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. [Now we’re told that we are going to bear that image.]
Now, that Logos that was God that formed Itself into flesh, a tent for the sake of visibility and redemption left the tent at Gethsemane and then raised up the tent to place It at His Own right hand, because that’s what happened.
Now, I want to ask a question. Can the same One be here and visible without the flesh? Now you see we’re talking about man being manifested in flesh, see, he started up there bypassing the Word body, going into the physical in order for the attributes of God especially in redemption to be manifested.
We see Jesus Who did not bypass the Word body, which is the reason He could remember the glory He had, which is the reason He could remember everything which is the same reason we remember nothing. Because we bypass the body.
But don’t think there doesn’t lie within there that intelligence. See? That intelligence lies right within there as long as that germ of God is there. That whole intelligence lies there, and just waits to be quickened, then the Intelligence of God anoints that.
Now listen, if the knowledge of good and evil can take a man to the lowest depths then the knowledge of God will take him right back. That’s what we’re looking at tonight. See?
All right. Question comes: Can the same one be here invisible without the flesh? See?
Now, this is where all the folks like us stumble. But why stumble? See? Now, what I’m trying to tell you is why is everybody but us is missing the Appearing? Because they all wanted a Rapture when He appears in the flesh. I want to show you that’s not true.
Now you will be there, that is part of the Parousia, but it’s way up on the rungs of a ladder. You got to get down here. But everybody’s convinced about Jesus in the flesh.
I’m trying to show you before He was flesh He was there in Spirit. Then when He left the flesh, He rose it up and put it to the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Now, let’s watch it a little closer. Why do people stumble, they can’t see… understand that you don’t have a thing to do with that flesh.
Okay, we go to 2 Corinthians 5:16, we read what Paul said,
(16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
Now, let’s read the preceding verses that stumbles you.
(14) For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
(15) And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
(16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, [we don’t know Him that way anymore.]
Then why do they keep squawking about His flesh? “Oh I’m going to know Him by the nail prints.” You’re goofier than a hoot-owl. You can get some Judas in here with the devil upon him to have nail prints in his hands.
“Oh, that’s my Jesus.” Oh, go ahead and go to hell. You don’t know Him after the flesh. The Scripture proves they didn’t know Him after the flesh.
“Who do they say that I Son of man am?”
“Oh, bless God old Rabbi Ben Jones down there he says, ‘You just got to be Isaiah’. Well, I don’t know the other Rabbi says, ‘You could be Jeremiah’. I think he’s nearer home, I think he’s John the Baptist come back from the dead.”
“Well, he said, for heaven sakes. Well who do you say that I am?”
He said, “Thou art the Christ.”
He said, “Flesh and blood has not revealed It.”
There wasn’t one single solitary thing that they saw or thought they saw that brought about a revelation. See?
All right, now we don’t know Him after the flesh. We don’t know Him anymore since He died and rose after the flesh, you have got to know Him in the Spirit of the Resurrection.
That’s why Brother Branham said, “If He is here tonight in the Holy Spirit, He will do the same things He did when He was here in the flesh, because It’s the same Spirit that did it.”
Now, let’s go to Hebrews 5: if you don’t like that one, we’ll get another one. This is not like one of my rubber checks, if one bounces, I’ll give you one more just like it. Not like this, this is the genuine Scripture I’m giving.
(07) Who in the days of his flesh,…
That’s all over. See, it’s gone. That’s what’s called flesh. It’s all over. You don’t know Him after those days anymore. It’s accomplished. You know Him in the power of His Resurrection, Son of God.
Now those days are over. Gone until the Rapture of 1 John 3:
(02) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear… [it’s never come into proven manifestation of] what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, [proven, that He is that One Who should appear,] we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
You’re going to get your change when you see Him in that proven manifestation, and He proves Who He is. And that’s exactly what the prophetic ministry did of Brother Branham showing that He’s here.
Now, when He’s here, what’s He going to do? He’s Omega, He’s here to raise the dead. And He’s here to bring the rest back to the image of God. He’s here to bring a Bride and set Her right down here upon earth. He’s here to get a Rapture and take us to the Wedding Supper.
Now, we know Him after the Spirit, or by the revealed Word. Now stop a minute, why do people always talk about the flesh as though it solved every problem in manifesting God? Because it certainly did not.
You get people, “Oh He’s always coming back, I’m going to see Him, hallelujah, going to hold Him.” Blab this and that.
All the time they talk about the flesh. Did the flesh ever solve anything back there in the days of Jesus? No way! They tried to kill Him, even in the face of…
(24) If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
And He said, “You seek to kill me, because I identified Myself.” And they did kill Him.
Now, they could not accept the flesh then when He appeared in it. They couldn’t accept the flesh then. The flesh never ever did it.
Now to die upon Calvary that’s good. That was for Redemption, but if you didn’t get a revelation you still stayed in your sins. You were still gone, see? Now, it takes a Spirit to reveal Him.
All right. John 14:12. There’s a promise for this day, which is our hour.
(12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [That’s in the singular, not the plural, the Elijah ministry.] [Again, 16 and 17.]
(16) [I’ll] pray the Father, and [he’ll] give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
(17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but [you] know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
In other words, He could be absolutely right here in the Spirit as He was in the flesh and He goes to a hundred percent non recognition, except to the Elect.
He said, “Why don’t you receive Me?” He said, “There’s no place in you for My Word.” No way can you have It. It is by spiritual revelation. And then in verse 26.
(26) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
And there’s a promise for this hour, see? Right down the line, because this is written for this day.
Now, yet as Israel turned on the flesh, so the Gentiles refuse the Spirit. Just back in the days when Jesus was upon earth, He healed a blind man, healed a deaf man. The deaf heard, the dumb spoke, and the people screamed, “Is not this the Son of David?”
They said, “Ha, that ain’t the anointed One, He’s the other one.” Sure, they wouldn’t accept for one minute that God would come in a human flesh. But they were willing to accept that He was the devil in human flesh. See?
Now, that’s just like it is in serpent seed today. People all the time talk about the fact that… they say, “Oh, we got Jesus, and we got the Holy Spirit.”
And they recognize the Spirit, so they try to make the serpent seed spirit, and they don’t recognize the fact that He’s flesh. It’s as bad as Israel.
Now, you’ve got the same thing right today going on with the Holy Spirit. All they can do is talk about “Jesus come back, Jesus come back.”
He says, “Here I am.”
“Who you are, who you talking to, you think You’re going to fool us?”
And they call Brother Branham a false prophet, when he had absolutely Deuteronomy 18 proven right to the core. Showed who he was. See? All right. It takes God to reveal It.
Now, then what is the revelation of 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 all about? Let’s go and take a look at It. Paul the apostle speaking to that Church and he said,
(07) So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the [parousia, the presence] of [the] Lord Jesus Christ:
(08) Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that [you] may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What’s that all about? Now that’s His Presence. Now what’s the confirmation going to be? The confirmation is unto the end that you may be confirmed, established, no way can be turned aside.
No way, that you may be absolutely without guilt. And in no way can anybody bring a charge against you. When? At the Presence.
Now, anybody in his right mind knows that if you make the Resurrection my brother, my sister there ain’t nobody can do a thing about you. This is before the Resurrection. This is when you get there.
See, this is that place where corruptibility can put on incorruptibility, and mortality can put on immortality. This is that place where we’re looking at a perfection when perfection comes, God Himself. What’s It done by?
He said, “Are you now, he said, begun in the Spirit? Are you now made perfect by the flesh?”
He’s telling you flat, it’s going to take the Spirit of God Himself to wind up this program. Not Jesus! The program is being wound up by God for Jesus! I’ve showed you that in 1 Corinthians 15, verse after verse. See?
All right. What is Luke 17:30 all about? Let’s go back and take a look.
(30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
That’s the Apocalypses. And what is he talking about… that great Apocalypses when He’s revealed?
(31) In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and… not come down…
(32) Remember Lot’s wife. [It takes the time of Lot.]
(33) Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
(34) I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,… [that’s the Rapture.]
(35) Two [men] women shall be grinding… one taken, [one] left. [That’s the other side of the world.]
(36) Two men shall be in the field; the one taken, the other left.
(37) And they answered and said… [They answered and said, now listen, It says,] Where, Lord? [That’s a funny thing to say, “Where Lord?”] And he said…, Wheresoever the body is, thither will [be] the eagles gathered together.
In other words, where ever that Message is, where ever that food is, He said, “There will the people be gathered on this side of the world, that side of the world. Any place it’s going to take a body which is ‘soma’ to get them there.” There’s going to be a gathering.
That’s what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians: “By the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together.” And so therefore where the Presence of Jesus Christ is, that spiritual One, God Himself, there is going to be a gathering of the people together.
That’s what Matthew 24 is all about. “In that day when the lightning comes out of the east, the light comes out of the east and shines on the west.”
It is once more 1 Thessalonians 4: this is the very one Brother Branham used, this is the one we stick to more than any other one.
(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that [you] sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. [Now, he’s talking about the living in relationship to the dead.]
(14) For if we believe [us who stand here now believe] that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which [have already died in our midst, in Jesus they died in Him, they’ve been part of the body of Christ,] God [will] bring [forth] with him. [He’s got to. Why? Because He brought the head forth, the body’s got to follow. See?]
(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the [Parousia, the Presence] of the Lord shall not [assume, or take a preeminence above those that] are asleep. [No way, see?]
(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,..
He’s telling you why that there is no preeminence of those standing here, because God stands here to get the preeminence. See?
That’s why I decry all this top men running around, “Oh I was certain associated here and certain thing over there and you’ve got to listen to me. You’ve got to hear me.” Hot stuff!
You better listen to the prophet and the Word of God. And this is what the prophet taught, because I know it’s what he taught.
He said, “When you see God descend and them that stand in groups and declare Himself as He ever did.” And then he said, “He comes, [he said,] God Jesus.”
Then he said, “Holy Ghost comes down sets Himself as Head of the Church, being His body…” How he put it? I usually cut it off and say, “To raise the dead.”
But he said, he said concerning the Resurrection, “being His body to raise It.” Showing positively.
Now, what is a body today? A body is that which is baptized into Christ by the Holy Ghost, so who’s going to do the raising? God is going to do the raising. Holy Spirit.
(16) …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:
Now, you can see your picture here perfectly. It follows the absolute Omega of the Alpha.
Now we thank God for Matthew 11:27 and way back there that’s a good that we know 11:28 I guess. And I suppose that is what everybody can quote but not 11:27.
(27) All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Now, let’s go to,
(01) Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, [no way] but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead; [Notice he puts the two together there.]
(02) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
(03) Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and [my] Lord Jesus Christ,
(04) Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
(05) To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(06) I marvel that [you] are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
(07) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
(08) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
(09) As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that [you] have received, let him be accursed.
(10) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
(11) But I certify you, brethren, [listen, here’s what he said,] that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
(12) For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
In other words, it was absolutely a revelation given to him by the Holy Spirit. And that is based upon Acts 9:4-5, wherein the literal experience of this which happened to him is based.
Now in Acts 9, he said: now he said, he was struck to the earth, a light from heaven smote him down, and he heard a Voice that said in 9:4,
(04) …Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
(05) And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord [notice, He answered back, Paul recognized,] I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
In other words, there is no revelation of the Father. There is no revelation of the Son. There is no revelation period, except by the Holy Ghost. There’s no way.
The same Logos, that same Logos without the flesh is here today revealing Himself Who is God dealing with sons. He’s anointing sons.
Now, let’s go to Hebrews 12: Now you see, there’s no way you’re going to know the Son outside the Spirit.
That’s why Brother Branham talked all the time, he said, “If I saw Jesus Christ stand here with holes in his hands and in His side, I knew it wasn’t Jesus no way.” No way.
(01) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, [what about those seven mighty Angles that came down?] let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, run with patience the race that is set before us,
(02) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(03) For consider him [See, that’s consider. Mean ‘look at Him’ and keep looking.] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
(04) [You’ve] not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
(05) And have [you] forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. [That’s Revelation 3:19.]
(06) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
(07) If [you] endure chastening, [that means the fact of training, that you can take the teaching of God to learn the ways of God.] God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
That doesn’t mean you’ve got a son you beat his can off. You treat him like the farmer treats his pigs. Every time he saw the pig he kicked him. They said, “Why do you do that?”
“Well, he said, he’s either going into mischief or coming out of it.”
You don’t treat kids that way. It’s not some place where God just bangs you over the head for the sake of banging it. This talks about training. The Greeks had a word of it. “To suffer is to learn.” And then God does, causes to study, to not to do certain things that are detrimental.
(08) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then [you’re] bastards, and not sons.
(09) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
(10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now you see, there’s a program going on right now that is contingent to 1 Corinthians 1:7-8. See? This contingence with the program of Romans 8, which is the time of the restoration, the manifestation of the sons of God.
In other words, there’s a training, there’s a pressure that we are coming into at this hour and we’re into it. But I’ll tell you from my own experience what I’ve gone through.
And there again, I don’t want anybody to try to make me some kind of a clock, or some kind of person that knows things, I’m just trying to tell you to encourage you, that God is in those pressures in such a way that that Word will mean more to you and do more for you and enlighten you more, and help you as nothing else ever will.
Now I don’t have to talk any plainer than that, but I think by now some of you ought to know what I’m talking about.
(12) Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; [Now, first of all he said,]
(11) Now no chastening [seems] joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. [Now, exercise make you strong, flexible, and so on.]
(12) …lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
(13) And make straight paths…
All right, now what was John the Baptist to do? “Make the straight paths.” Now we at the same time have got the straight paths laid out by the prophet in order to be healed. “The Sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings.”
(14) [But] follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
(15) Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
And I want to tell you, there’s more bitterness coming up in this Message than almost any message that I’ve ever seen in my life, or any church I’ve seen in my life. The bitterness comes in, because a lot of times is what the preacher’s are pulling off.
And don’t think the pew is immune, because they’ll do their dirty work too. Because Satan doesn’t just pick a bunch of preachers up, anybody is open for things to go on. See?
Now, at the same time I don’t care if those things do go on, there’s another Spirit, the great Spirit of God that stands here to anoint sons of God, getting them ready for the Resurrection who positively will bring into play, and interplay what lies in Him.
So there’s going to be a Bride bless your heart, I don’t give a rip what anybody says.
Now,
(16) Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Didn’t Brother Branham tell you, “This is the age where preachers are going to love their pensions more than the Word of God, so they sell out to creeds and dogmas?”
I wonder when they are going to bring forth their creeds and dogmas? They are going to produce in human flesh the antichrist, like the Bride is going to produce in human flesh Jesus Christ the Son of God. Right on line brother/sister.
Now listen, I’ll prove it to you.
(18) For [we] are not come unto the mount [Sion, the mount] that might be touched, and that burned with fire, [and] blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
(19) And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
Why, the people that love this Message and go this way, that’s all they want to hear is the Word. Not a bunch of platitudes, a bunch of creeds and dogmas that comes out of somebody’s head.
But they want to know what’s in this hour as the prophet said, “Not looking back, not looking forward.” What’s in this hour? See?
They… did not looking back to… and say, “We don’t want any more Word.” Why that’s Pentecost. “Well,” they said, “we’re beyond the Word.” That’s Roman Catholicism.
You talk about antichrist they don’t even know they’re antichrist. They don’t know the Holy Spirit’s here in His fullness. They don’t know He’s come up through the Church, until He’s come to a Headship. It’s from feet to head.
The Capstone Message and the Capstone Holy Spirit Himself is here. How can you have a Capstone Message the last portion of the Word of God, the embodiment of the Holy Ghost without the Holy Ghost Himself? You just have a word. Who needs a word? Living Word. See?
(20) [Now] ( …they could not endure that which was commanded,… [There’s no commands at the end-time, it’s look and live.] And if a beast touch the [building], be stoned,… or thrust through…
(21) [And Moses… The disciples] so terrible they said, [they quake and they say “Hey I tremble exceedingly”…]) [Now that’s not it.]
(22) But [you’re] come unto mount Sion, [you’re right at the steps of New Jerusalem which you form a part.] unto the city of the living God,…
Why? Because we are the City of the Living God. God in the midst of His people, ready to be turned into immortal flesh.
(22) …the heavenly Jerusalem, an innumerable company of angels,
(23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
The just Judge is here right now. Brother Branham said, he said, “One in the field, [he said,] one taken, one left.? What, he told you flat, he said, “He’s a separating time.”
That’s the election going on. That’s the Message running right down the road. Now It says,
(24) [In] Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things that that of Abel.
(25) [Now then,] See that [you] refuse not him that speaketh. [See?] For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that [speaks] from heaven:
(26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Now, I want to tell you brother/sister, as far as I know that earthquake that happened at the death of Jesus Christ could not be compared to the earthquake that literally shook the world down.
As Brother Branham said it’s going to strike the West Coast. It’s hit all around the world. There’s you’re start right there. There’s your earthquake ready to start to shake things down.
Now, he said, “The next thing it’s going to start in the heaven.” Yes sir, that’s where your great tribulation really setting in.
(27) And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Now, I want to ask you one thing: You tell me, what one thing is going to remain unshaken, but God Who is in His Word? Because God promised Himself He’s going to shake this world down. There’s only one thing that can’t be shaken.
Now notice,
(27) And this word, [those Word’s, see?] Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. [The eternal things.]
In other word, that which is irrevocably came from God and is bound up in God. That’s right in this present era today. That’s the only thing brother/sister that’s not going to shaken down, It’s going to remain.
(28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom [see, where It puts it?] which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
(29) For our God is a consuming fire.
Pillar of Fire comes down at the end-time, speaks to the prophet. Prophet being a sounding board. Brings the last day Message, the Seal’s, which has everything to put us into the Rapture. The Presence which will make us perfect.
No way can the Church be touched, because He’s in the midst of Her. Nothing to do with the people themselves. It’s God doing it. Yes sir, brother/sister the Pillar of Fire’s here.
He is Present, the great day of sacrifice is here. Sure is. The great day of the feast is here. He’s Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever.
So we go back to our starting point. It is the Alpha and continuing way of God. First and always, it is God. It is always Romans 11:36, where It says,
(36) For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. [See?] [It is…]
(15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: [of the creation.]
(16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [Notice that’s what he said about His Presence.]
(17) And he is before all things,…
When He took counsel within Himself in that period of solitude of introspection when He laid the whole thing out, and He couldn’t add one more thought to it, or take one thought away. Infinite.
As Brother Branham told the infinite power… the omniscience of God, “Why,” he said, “He knew every flea, how many he’d bat his eyes and how many yards of fleas [he said,] would make a pound of tallow.”
That’s putting it right down the line.
(17) And he is before all things, and by him all things [are maintained.]
(18) …[he’s] the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
(19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Now, It tells you right there that it started with God, that He… had it so ordained way back there, that this One, that the attributes that laid within Him, should come into manifestation and in such a way perform amongst those to whom He would manifest Himself that they could not help but give God the glory.
And that’s exactly what’s going on today, and God receives glory by Jesus Christ, and there had not been God’s Spirit forming in Himself in a human flesh, It could not have happened. He would have been just a man. He was more than a man. See?
We did not have that privilege, we were not that way. We were in an image and a likeness, see? But He was the express image. He was the out raying, man wasn’t.
He was just a part of that which lay in the attributes of God of sons and daughters. Then God became Father through Son-ship, dying upon Calvary to bring all these seed in, see? There’s a difference there. That’s why…
[Tape recording ends]