Rapture #11

Shall we pray?

Heavenly Father, we are again happy to be in Your Presence and in Your house here that has been dedicated to Your great Name, to Your Word, Lord.

We believe that it has been acceptable in Your sight.

And we thank you, therefore, that Your Word will have free course and be glorified in our midst, that the things said will be those things that are right, O God, that our faith then will be built upon a true revelation, making us a part of a true Church.

We thank you, Lord, for this, and we cannot praise You enough. There is no way we can exalt You as we should.

As being worthy, Lord, in ourselves we only trust that we will be given the light of understanding, the measure of strength necessary to proclaim Thy greatness, Lord, and to magnify Your Name.

In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated.

[Brother Vayle goes through some local announcements]

Now we are into the study of the “Rapture” and this study of the “Rapture” as is and has been delivered by Brother Branham in Yuma, Arizona, December 4, 1965.

His exact words are, “I want to speak on the subject of the ‘Rapture.’ I want to speak on the subject of the Rapture.” And that is exactly what he did. And this sermon that he preached is doctrinal.

It is the exact teaching on exactly what the Rapture is and exactly how is takes place, and it is placed of course also in the seventh church age. We read therefore on Page 6, paragraph 30:

[30] … The Bible teaches there will be a Rapture of the Church. A catching away of the church. There will be a catching away. 

Page 27, paragraph 128 [1 Thessalonians 4:16:]

[128] … The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 

Page 32, paragraph 152:

[152] … The Shout. A message getting the people ready. The second is the voice of the resurrection. 

Paragraph 153, the same page:

[153] … The third thing is a trumpet…calling the people to the feast. That will be the Bride’s supper, the Lamb’s supper with the Bride in the sky.

So all right, the definition is that there is going to be a catching away. The Scripture used is over in 1 Thessalonians 4.

The delineation or the explanation or the revelation is that the Rapture is in three parts, one of which is the Shout: a messenger, repeat: a messenger, getting the people ready. He also said, “It’s a message.”

There is no messenger without a message, and there is no message without a messenger. 

The second portion is the Voice of the Resurrection, which of course, is the raising of the dead.

The third is the Trumpet calling the people to a feast, which is the Bride and Groom’s, the Bride and Lamb’s feast – the Wedding Supper in the sky.

The Rapture that is coming is not something that has not occurred before.

The Rapture is not something that has not occurred before, that is there have been Raptures, and after this takes place, there will still be another Rapture.

We can begin reading on Page 35, and paragraph 169: “One Rapture is passed…”   And he had just read concerning Matthew 27:52-53

[169] One Rapture is passed. Three’s happened in the Old Testament of them prepared who the Word of the Lord came to. See? The Word of the Lord came to Enoch.

The Word of the Lord came to Elijah. He was a prophet. See? The Word of the Lord was Jesus – Pillar of Fire. 

[170] Watch in the Old Testament, them Old Testament saints now when this Rapture first taken place.

Notice verse 50: A loud voice that awakened the Old Testament saints just exactly like the loud voice awakened Jesus – or awakened Lazarus, rather.

The loud voice awakened. The second is fulfilled in Thessalonians 4. We read it a minute ago. ”I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep.”

That will be the second Rapture. The second Rapture will be the catching away of the Bride. Now you notice he places it as number two. And he has already said, “There is Old Testament Raptures.”

So let’s keep reading. 

[171] The Old Testament saints have gone into His presence, paradise has been done away with.

The Old Testament… That is why when you read the Scripture, “Who alone hath immortality,” don’t go running around the country and telling, “Nobody is resurrected in their glorified bodies.”

To say that you would be perverting Scripture. What he is telling you is nobody has immortality to give.

The Old Testament saints ascended up at His Voice when He screamed and gave up the Ghost. Because why?

The sacrifice the perpetuation of their sins that they had waited on believing that perfect Lamb was coming they had offered the sacrifice of the Lamb.

When He died and yielded up the Ghost He screamed in a loud voice the Old Testament saints awoke. Watch the shout and the voice over here, the same thing at His coming. See?

Yielded up the Ghost and when He did the sacrifice was perfect, paradise emptied out, the Old Testament saints came to earth again, walked around on earth, entered into His Rapture, entered in with Him at His Rapture.

Now you notice he said, “The Old Testament saints entered in at His Rapture.” So you had Enoch, number one; Elijah, number two; Old Testament saints number three.

Three in a row. Then starting at the same time, Jesus, and we will go on from there. 

[172] David said, “Lift up you everlasting gates be lifted up.” 

[173] He lead captive captivity and gave gifts unto men. When the Old Testament saints went into them they said, “ Who is this King of righteousness?”

[174] “The Lord of glory, mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts.” Here they come in marching. Jesus led captivity captive.

Here He come with the Old Testament saints and went into the new gates up there and said, “Lift ye up ye everlasting… lift up everlasting gates, be ye lifted up, the King of glory shall come in.”

He said, “Paradise was moved.”

The voice came from inside and said, “Who is the King of Glory?” 

[175] “The Lord, mighty in battle.” The gates flew open. And Jesus the Conqueror lead captivity captive, them that had believed on Him, the Word had come to them.

They are the Old Testament saints laying in there waiting, He lead captivity captive, ascended on high, took the Old Testament saints and went in. There is one Rapture already passed.

Now, you see, there are already two before that. So what he is trying to tell you here: this is the first half of the First Resurrection.

So don’t get worried about numbers, because Brother Branham seemingly didn’t have any – I don’t know what you’d call it – just didn’t deal with chronologies and certain connective tissue to get the body of truth flowing smoothly.

It is all in there. You just have to watch what he says and realize what he is saying.

Now he said:

[176] The next Rapture takes place in 1 Thessalonians: for the Church, the Bride to be resurrected, to be Raptured.

Now he is talking about the fact of the continuity of the Rapture. He is not talking about the trumpet sounding, and then there is going to be a resurrection.

He is not saying that. He is saying the Voice takes care of the dead that come forth. Then the Trumpet brings up the first group ahead of us, and then we are caught up after them.

Now what we are actually looking at here, and we better just get this lined up here. We will look at and watch paragraph 169 again. “One Rapture is passed.”

Now that one Rapture passed… You’ve got to watch. There are three that happened in the Old Testament. So there is evidently Raptures that took place before them. 

Enoch was taken up. Elijah was taken up. Then comes your Old Testament Bride taken up, of which that is literally the first half of the First Resurrection.

The word ‘First Resurrection’ meaning ‘first fruits’, meaning ‘Bride’, meaning ‘immortal’. You follow me? All right. There’s two of them: Enoch and Elijah.

Page 36, paragraph 171:

[171] The Old Testament saints have gone into His presence. 

So that is number three. See? Enoch, Elijah, Old Testament. So that is three of them.

Yet the Old Testament, comprising those other two in there, would be comprising a part of the Bride… signifies the first half of the First Resurrection is over.

Now that is not hard. I know it is for some people, but we are not some people. 

Page 35, going back to paragraph 170. Now he says:

[170] 1 Thessalonians 4:12-18. Now he says, That will be the second Rapture. Well, 1 Thessalonians 4:12-18 – that is us or that is we. I say ‘wee’, meaning ‘w-e-e’, just a ‘wee’ number going up.

Might as well, you know. So that is the Second. All right.

Page 37, paragraph 180. Now watch. Now he says:

[179] Looky… The second resurrection, all – the first one’s past. The second one is right at hand now. 

[180] Now, the third one are the two witnesses of Revelation 11 and 12, which these are the ones that turn back with the Spirit of Christ to witness to the Jews like Joseph did to his brethren.

And you remember their dead bodies lay in the street for three days and a half; then the spirit of life came into them and they were Raptured, taken unto the heaven.

Now there is your three Raptures of the New Testament.

Three Raptures of the old, all of them past. 

Now one is already passed in the New Testament. Enoch, Elijah, Old Testament dead.

Now with that you correlate Jesus, the Christ, rising from the dead, and going up with them – making number one of the New Testament.

Because remember, He is New Testament, having fulfilled all the law required.

Number two is at hand, and we are into it. Number three are the two witnesses coming up. Now there’s your Raptures. So that makes Enoch, Elijah, Old Testament saints, Jesus, Bride, and the two witnesses.

Now we must not be confused here by the fact of so many Raptures that we get a little bit disturbed about 1 John 3:1-2.

Now you know that there is no such thing as being caught up into the air without a change.

There is no place you can find that in Scripture – that we ourselves will have to be changed – unless I thoroughly misunderstand the Word of God.

Now the New Testament saints will come out of the ground. Afterward we will get our change. Then we will all go up together.

Now there never has been a group of people ever changed on earth and get out of it, even to this moment, but it is in process as of this hour. 

So what he is saying here is – and we must not get confused with all these other Raptures in there. You cannot find one place… Enoch was one man; Elijah was one man.

Now according to Brother Branham, Elijah is going to come back. Is it possible that he has been kept in reserve as a human being all this age? Absolutely; absolutely. What about Moses?

Well Brother Branham made two thoughts concerning him: one, he said that when he appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration his body had molded for hundreds of years.

And in another place, he brought out the thought that that is why the devil was contending for his body, because God was going to let Moses die and then take the body over and he could bring it back, and absolutely then that person could go through death.

Now this is very logical in the human mind. But let us understand this flat: God at any time can do what God wants. And He could glorify a man and de-glorify a man.

Don’t ever sell God short. This is where people are always going to get messed up, unless you can let your thinking go and just let God mind His Own business, while you mind yours.

Oh, what a day that will be! Forget it, until the Resurrection and the Rapture.

But in the meantime, we have enough understanding, especially through the ministry of the prophet, that it is stupid to think you know anything for sure, unless it has been vindicated to you.

And is more than stupid to try to double-guess Almighty God. It just won’t work. 

Now we are going to be like Him on the grounds of His Appearing – His definitive revelation of Himself.

And we are going to be like Him and taken away. So don’t get the Raptures confused in there concerning this verse, because someone would say, “Well, it must mean so and so.”

Now we go back to 1 Corinthians 15:50 in order for you to see this. Verse 50 says:

Now this is at the end of the treatise on the Resurrection, and after He has said a Resurrection demands a death. It would be very patent to those who are initiates rather than fully matured believers to say, “Oh, I get it.

We are all going to die, and then there will be a Resurrection.” And Paul forestalls that by saying:

Now this goes with 1 Thessalonians 4, when He said, “I am going to tell you about the living and the dead.” Now this goes to the living, because He has already covered the dead. He said here:

So therefore, the Appearing that causes our change has to be here at the time of the Resurrection – to pigeon hole it in the last notch of where it could possibly happen. It has to be this side of the going away. And it has to be right with the Rapture. 

 So,

So when this corruptibility – says speaks of, “Wearing away.”

Now this is different in my understanding from those that have gone to the grave, because they have worn away. And many will have gone back to the gases – just simply to gases. There will be no trace at all.

1 Corinthians 15:

Now there again you will notice that this particular sentence, “Death is swallowed up in victory,” depends upon the literal fulfillment of it, that is, corruptible becoming incorruptible, which positively aggrandizes and clarifies the prophet’s statement, that God interprets His Word by bringing It to pass.

[portion of tape missing] Interpretation is based upon a manifestation.

It is either going on or there is nothing to it. That puts it in the Word in season. Do you understand how clear it is? All right. Then he says,

Do you realize at this moment we are passing from death unto life in the sense of John 11? “He that liveth and believeth on Me shall never die, if you believe this.”

Well, if you don’t believe that, you don’t believe this Message. If you don’t believe that, you haven’t entered the Spirit of the Lord’s day. 

Now John stood there, and he saw the whole thing, and he was a part of it by vision. Took the Spirit to get him there. It takes the Spirit of God to place us there.

And this is no longer something which stands in the line of the pedantic or the theoretical. It is in the Spirit, and therefore, it has nothing to do with man’s wisdom.

It has to do with the sovereignty and the power of God, which is now performing that which He said would be performed – which is the Word of the hour which is the Word of the season which has been manifested, and thereby clearly revealed to us.

And being a part of the revelation, we are a part of the Bride of Jesus Christ, and we are going there. People can do what they want. As I say, I am just tired. What they do, they want. I do what I want.

It is hoped that we have noticed, and are noticing, that this Rapture is not taught as a reward or has one thing to do with works, but is part of the purpose and plan of God, begotten in sovereignty, and sovereignly carried out. 

By now you ought to know what I’m saying. Just in case you don’t, I am going to read it again.

I’m not insulting you, but you better be insulted now than to miss it, if you need insulting, and I hope I’m not insulting anybody. 

It is hoped, and the word ‘hope’ I’m using as a human being, which means: I don’t know which way you are going. If I was using it as the Scripture, the word ‘hope’ would mean ‘earnestly expected’, so I’ll use it both ways.

Now don’t feel insulted, because look, we haven’t got time to worry about whether you’re insulted or not. 

Look, it is hoped that we have noticed and are noticing, that this Rapture ‘is not for the legalist’. I threw that in. I will take it back in this respect.

It is hoped that we have noticed and are noticing that this Rapture is not taught as a reward, or has one thing to do with works but is part of the purpose and plan of God, begotten in sovereignty and sovereignly carried out.

It simply means this: there is going to be a Rapture, period! – because God said so.

And if God has to take and beat a bunch of heads in… That’s right! If He has got to curse the earth in doing it and dissolve it, there will be a Rapture.

And there isn’t anybody can foment it. There is nobody can stop it. There is going to be one, and it is going to be made up of a Bride. Now we talk of sovereignty.

Now we are going to read the “Rapture,” page 32, and we’ll read quite a few paragraphs here, about nine of them.

[153] And next is what? Was… Oh, I will read a little further.

[154] See, the first things comes forth is His message calling the Bride together. Now watch… the first thing comes forth is His message calling the Bride together.

The next thing is a resurrection of the sleeping Bride, the one that has died back in the other ages. They are caught together and the trumpet, the feast in the heavens, in the sky. Why? That’s the thing that takes place, friends. 

Now you notice here, the first thing to come forth is His Message. Now who asked God to bring a Message? Now who is the Message to? It is to a Bride.

So therefore, she is already Bride. And who is Bride? A gene of God. Now how much did you have to do with your birth? Nothing. So you see, we are talking ‘sovereignty’.

Now remember in this “Rapture” tape which we’ve got into, Brother Branham went into the genes and laid out who a Bride was. See? Starting from the beginning.

[156] Now, You’re not blind people. He wishes they were, because the blind can be forgiven for even falling over a cigarette paper but a man with both eyes open could not be forgiven for that.

Blind man fall over a fence post; it would not matter. You’re sensible people. 

So God is not getting His Bride out of the insane institution or the feeble minded. Ha! Does everybody know that two and two make four? Does anybody know what an exponential curve is?

You don’t have to know that one. Anybody can know it. You’re dealing with exponents, you’re dealing with algebra, and there is hardly anybody here that doesn’t have a tenth grade education.

So you would know a little bit, if you just tossed your mind back.

Now if you’re getting into genes and chromosomes, we all know they are there, but from then on I blank out. I’m not interested. I’m not breaking things down. 

[156] … But you are sensible people. You read right, you listen, you can understand. If I stood here and said those things for prejudice… I say it because it is Life, because I am responsible to God for saying it.

Now he is just talking about a Rapture, that is in three parts: Message, Resurrection, Catching Up. And I must say it. And my Message, the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a Shout… My message…

Oh, I don’t know if I have enough quotes here or not. Well, I can read this one here which we always read. He said: [“Anointed Ones at the End Time”]

[269] … You might have thought that I was trying to say this about myself seeing I was preaching this message, packing it. I have no more to do with it than nothing, no more than just a voice.

In other words he didn’t speak his own thoughts… and my voice, all the best judgment I had was to be a trapper… I was not the one that appeared down on the river; I was only one standing there when He appeared. Now who appeared down there?

Pillar of Fire appeared. I am not the one that performs these things and foretells these things that happen as perfect as they are, I am only one that is near when He does it.

I was only a voice that He used to say it. It was not what I knew; it is what I just surrendered myself to, and He spoke through. It is not me, it was not the seventh messenger, the angel, oh no; it was the manifestation of the Son of man. 

Now he is telling you right there what the manifestation was. Telling you that the Son of Man is in the form of the Spirit.

It is neither William Branham nor Pillar of Fire, see? what we showed you on the board here.

“The messenger was not the Son of man he was the messenger from the Son of man. The Son of man is Christ.”

See? In the form of the Spirit. Now he says, “My message,” and yet it is not his Message; it was God’s Word.

[156] … All the time knowing back there under healing and so forth like that, was just to catch the people’s attention, knowing the message would come. And here it is. The first thing comes forth is His Message, calling the Bride together, “my Message” – here it is. Now listen: 

[157] And them Seven Seals opened, those mysteries and showing those things is what’s happened.

I didn’t know it, but there is a man standing right here now was standing right with me when you all heard me preach that sermon, “Sirs, What Is The Time?”

That morning exactly where It said it would be, there stood seven Angels standing right from Heaven.

And as they went up, and that whirlwind took them up, we standing, watching as they went away, science took the picture of it all way across the nations down to Mexico. And there when I was watching… 

[158] One day I started to preach those seven church ages, I called Jack Moore, a great theologian; I said, “Jack, Who is this person that is standing there, There is One like the Son of man standing there, hair white as wool.”

I said, “A young man; Now how could He have been white as wool?” 

[159] And he said, “Brother Branham, that was His glorified body.” That didn’t ring a bell.

Now did you hear what he said? That was not the Glorified Body. Then why do people make it that?

Why does it come to my mind and your mind all the time? We say, “Oh, Glorified Body! That’s the One. That’s the One. That’s the One.” 

Why can’t we shut up? And get rid of our thinking? Now let’s get the broom out this morning and do some sweeping. That was not the Glorified One. That was not the Glorified One. That was not the Glorified One. That was not the Body. 

“Well,” you say, “Brother Vayle, I read an awful lot and read the things that Brother Branham said that sure confused me then.” 

You are forgetting that when this Spirit that is amongst us becomes incarnate to us, we will crown Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Then He will be Son of God, Son of man, Son of David, Lily of the Valley, All together Lovely, Everlasting Father, the Son, and the whole bit. Do we have a bunch of Jesus-Only here? 

Now, look, this is serious. There’s a lot of ways you can go down the drain. You will go down the drain, number one, from wrong theology. Number one – wrong theology.

Only the Bride has the right understanding.

[159] … That didn’t ring a bell. I went in the room and started praying he let me know what it was. 

What was what? What was what? We, standing out in Arizona, saw a whirlwind, a sssshhh like that. And it went down to Mexico. What went down to Mexico?

What looked like a cloud, which were seven Angels surrounding This One… twenty-six miles high and thirty miles across. 

Now Brother Branham said, I read to you in the “Third Exodus,” I think it was, “It has been thoroughly identified even with, by science, with cameras.”

That’s one. [Brother Vayle points to picture of the Pillar of Fire.] Where is the other? Is it out there? The Cloud of Angels? If we haven’t got a picture, we’d better bring one in. Got one?

Okay, that’s fine. All right… Thoroughly identified that that [picture of Pillar of Fire] is the same as that [picture of Cloud of Angels]. Now you do what you want with it.

You can let your thinking go and believe, or you can just say, “Nyaa.” I am not making faces at you, I am just telling you the truth.

Now he said, “Across the nation, and there I was watching. And he tells you… and Brother Branham… I remember the morning that Allen Vandenberg gave me the picture, enlarged.

He said, “See, Brother Vayle,” he said, “if you hold it this way,” he said, “notice you can literally see a face in there.” I waited and met Brother Branham and said, “Brother Branham, have you seen this picture blown up.”

And he looked at it, and he saw everything and a whole lot more.

He was able to point things out, which I couldn’t point to this day. And he said, “Do you mind if I have this?”

And you will find that that one, if it is still in Branham tabernacle, I think, is the best and clearest shot of the whole bunch. Now he said, “That is that One.”

Now that was not a human structure. It would be a theophany of another structure.

[160] See, I’ve always preached that He was Deity, now watch where you can get all messed up, not just a man. 

Now this wasn’t glorified body. Now he is talking about the one that is the man. He was God manifest in flesh. But what if It is not flesh? What if It’s the Pillar of Fire?

What if It’s the cloud? What if It looks like a rock? What if It’s the whirlwind? What if It’s bright like a sun? What if It’s a star? What if It’s anything?

That’s God’s business. Leave God minding His business, and we’ll mind ours. And just believe Him.

Now:

[160] I’ve always preached He was Deity, not just a man; He was God manifest in flesh. Now notice how: God, the Attribute of God of love, the great Attributes that came down displayed here on earth…

Jesus was God’s love, which built a body that Jehovah lived in. Now He is not living in the body. 

Now listen: I’ve told you time and again, and I can be very sensitive, because everybody thinks I’m insensitive, so I am. I’m very crass, very crude and I’m X-rated. It’s all right.

I admit to all those things. But when even Brother Branham used the term ‘just a body’, I shuddered. I shuddered. Queen Esther… Now she must have been built like Marilyn Monroe, maybe four times as good.

And I can imagine her saying, “The body! Ha, ha, ha! The body!” She was a woman, every inch a woman… She stood there as a savior of Israel.

Now maybe old Ahasuerus thought that she was the body. But to her uncle and Israel, she was a savior. 

Now Brother Branham was not derogatory using the term ‘body,’ but it makes me shudder. And yet it should open the other door that makes us realize, what does God think of a body?

And he said, “God raised the body.” Then the body is not God. Yet it came from God by reason of a Logos turned into a sperm and egg.

Why not? Putting it into a chamber, surrogate mother. That’s what it amounted to. 

And notice what you’ve got today: they’re doing it. They’re reproducing everything back there, and nobody pays any attention to all the types and shadows.

Who cares anyway? I don’t; I have the Word. But you can see it.

[160] … He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. What God was, He manifested through that body. That body had to die so He could wash the Bride with His blood. 

[161] Notice, not only is the Bride washed, forgiven, but she’s justified. See? Did you ever try the word ‘justify’ to see what it means?

Now for instance, if Brother Green heard that I’d been drinking, I’d been doing bad things, then he found out I didn’t, then he come and say, “I forgive you, Brother Branham.” 

[162] “You forgive me? I never done it. What are you forgiving me about?” See? But if I am guilty, then I can be forgiven, but watch now, But I’m still not just, because I did it.

But the word ‘justified’ is “though you never did it at all” – justified. Then the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from sins until it puts in the book of God’s forgetfulness.

He’s the only One that can do it. We can’t. We can forgive, but not forget. 

[163] I could forgive you, but always remember you did those evil things. Then you are not just. You’re just forgiven. But in the sight of God the Bride is justified. 

Now you try to get that by works. You try, your own mind condemns you.

You look back, and if my wife died tonight, I would think of every rotten thing I have said to her and done to her, and I would die the rest of my life… and the same with her.

And she has not done hardly anything – which doesn’t make her to cotton picking good at that – in Christ. 

You just try to figure that one out. You just try to figure it, that you can work your Rapture in some way. Because thems the only ones going.

Now I used that word perfectly, ‘them’ instead of ‘they’, because I wanted the objective ‘them.’ We are looking at them. Them’s the one. Not they, them.

Language means something… not your cotton picking junk you learn in school. I like old Doc Coffin. Old Doc Coffin said, “Look,” he said, “Grammar is the ability to make yourself understood.

But,” he said, “Seeing I’ve got to teach them laws, I’ll teach them.” One of the most brilliant men ever lived. And could he make grammar and everything else just fold like a beauty… He was born-again.

If I had half that he had, spiritually speaking, I would be the most wonderful teacher since the Apostle Paul died. So forget it; I ain’t. Coffin was smart. See?

[163] … But in the sight of God the Bride is justified. She never did it in the first place. Standing there married to the virtuous Son of God, never sinned in the first place. 

Now you figure that. You can say, “Well, bless God, I never sinned in the first place. Then I didn’t sin in the second place. Hallelujah! Let’s go out and have a good time.” 

That’s your ‘eternal security’ hogwash. Ah, come on. There is only one spirit, and that is the spirit of hell, outside of the Spirit of God. [Pfap?] They’ll pull everything in the book.

[163] … Why? She was foreordained; she was trapped into this. And now when she heard the Truth, she came forth, the Blood cleansed her. 

No Blood outside of Light! I never could stand those phrases, not as though I’m ahead of anybody. No, don’t think that. Don’t try to out-prophet the prophet or out-Paul Paul.

But phrases such as ‘Blood on the mercy seat’ and ‘off’ simply don’t do anything for me. I’ll tell you why: you could have Blood piled on the mercy seat, and if you’re not in the Light, it won’t do you a bit of good.

And when the Blood comes off the mercy seat, if you’re in the Light, you’re gone anyway!

What I’m looking at here is: the Blood justifies the Bride, period! and the Bride will always be in the truth and always be the Word.

Then if she is foreordained to both, the fall and the rising again, then it’s grace. It hasn’t got one thing to do outside the sovereignty of Almighty God.  Now I should preach like that down in Memphis. Well the truth is that’s part of it. I never thought of it that way until now, it wasn’t really the same thing. Maybe I read it, I don’t know. Alright let’s go on..

This teaching of the doctrine of the Rapture as of December 4, 1965, came as a distinct revelation previously unknown to the Bride. Now a lot of people will think that Paul the Apostle had the true revelation back there.

There is no way that he did. There is no way. If he had it, he had to keep it to himself. It was that which was unlawful. He couldn’t utter it.

For as Brother Branham said, “If Satan gets a hold of it, he can do great damage.” So if he had it, he had it to himself. Put it this way: in Paul’s day, it was not made public.

In John’s day, it was not made public. But in this day, it has got to be made public. 

Are you thinking? Now come on. Your mind should be spinning like wheels now.

Not in the sand, but in the beautiful Word of God, fluid Word of God, that tells you he said the same thing about the Seventh Seal. We’ll show you the words are identical. 

We go to page 14. You’ll know where some of these things are said. Right? 

[65] But to the Church, the Bride, the Rapture is a revelation to her. It’s revealed to her, that the revelation, the true Bride of Christ will be waiting for that revelation, the Rapture. 

Kind of mixed up English, but it just means one thing: unless someone gives it to her, she hasn’t got a revelation. Unless somebody tells her, she doesn’t know the truth of it.

All she knows: that there is a truth, but she hasn’t got it. It is just like anybody out being a complete fool, and I use the term Scripturally, because it’s Scriptural.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” 

Only a fool would say there is no God. But you tell me what kind of God? How many? Where did He come from? Where is He going? What is He doing?

What does He demand? What are His conditions? Does He have any? You would have to find out from somebody – somebody in touch with that Person.

So we have to know, there is something here, that we have to know from somebody that’s in touch with Whoever is in charge of, and directing the Rapture.

And the Lord descends with a military Shout. So we better get in touch with the Director, through somebody who already knows Him. 

Now Brother Branham categorically said he spoke face to face with God. Either Brother Branham is categorically a prophet like Moses, or he is categorically a liar.

I mean there is no middle of the road in this one. This skunk is either all white or black. It doesn’t have a black body with a white stripe. 

Now it’s just that simple. But people don’t believe that.

How can Du Plessis, Gordon Lindsay, and others say they believed him as a prophet and then say, “Well now, Brother Branham is a prophet when he tells you your diseases and tells you things to come, but when he comes to the Word, he ain’t no prophet.”

I thought a prophet is a prophet. Now a man that rapes is a rapist, but he’s still a man. Isn’t it funny? When you come to the Word, the guy’s suddenly…

“Uh.” Here’s a sensible fine person, so-called. Maybe God still has to go to the insane institutions to find somebody. I might have to take that back.

Because here is a so-called intelligent person, suddenly ‘uh’, when it comes to the Word. But the Bible said it would be that way.

Now he says, “It is going to be revealed to her.” And in another place he said, “Only to the Bride.” So we know that. 

[66] Now it, that is, the Rapture is a revelation, or the doctrine of the Rapture, the teaching of the Rapture… The process of the Rapture is a revelation. 

… Because the revelation is the manifestation of what is going on of the Word. Now look: the prophet could have said, “Now, now people listen. Please don’t take me seriously here.

You see, when I said the interpretation of the Word is God manifesting the Word, and thereby interpreting, like I said, ‘Let there be light and there was light,’ I really didn’t mean it all the way.” Cause he knows he didn’t pull a boo-boo. There is a thing called a platypus – and he must of got his words mixed up on that one. Right? That’s a funny kind of a duck billed creature, don’t they lay eggs or something? Merciful heavens! (inaudible) come on! At least you see what I’m talking about. 

But Brother Branham meant what he said, because God doesn’t change His mind about His Word.

[66] … It is a revelation for the revelation is faith. 

Now John the Baptist had to tell them what was going on. Moses had to tell them what was going on.

The very things that Moses did led Israel to a place of high hopes – instantly dashed their hopes, rebuilt their hopes – then led them out as a mixed multitude, and they died by the millions. 

Are you thinking? Joshua and Caleb were the only two that understood being over twenty years of age. The rest perished. 

How many people that were in denominations can believe this Message? Isn’t it true, that the majority that we see that have an understanding, are those that came out of a heathenism?

The renewing of the mind is a difficult process, but it can be done. 

“Now it,” the Rapture, the doctrine, the teaching of it, the Rapture itself, which is going on, requires a revelation. In order for you to have faith, in order for you to be one of those. Let’s go back to:

There is only one way you can be sure, and that is: you have the revelation of what you’re into, and what is going on.

Now I don’t care what anybody says: Pentecostal people say they believe this Message. Believe this the way I believe it. I’m going to teach it this way. You can do what you want about it.

You are invited to believe like me. If you are crazy as I am, that’s fine. If you’re willing to take the risk and stand up… I’ve already taken my risk and my calculated chance. I believe It exactly as I preach It or would not preach It.

Now:

Now It tells you right there the law has got to peter out and change. It tells you flat: there comes a time when you cannot depend upon what you knew and, thereby, acted accordingly.

You’re entering into something of over which you have no control. And your entering in is by faith. I am going to prove it to you.

In other words he took a promise that was a hundred percent against nature.

Man’s natural understanding against theological understanding, against scientific understanding, against every understanding, put every thought out of his mind and he said, “Sarah and I are going to have that baby.” 

And they said, “Well, there is no way you can work it.” 

And he said, “It has nothing to do with that. It’ll be worked. Don’t worry.” 

They say, “Well, how you going to get out of here?” 

“I don’t give a rip how I get out, but I’m getting out of here. I’m being changed right now. It’s going on right now.” 

“Oh,” they say, “No way it’s going on!” 

They’ll tell you that. They’re looking down the road. You do what you want.

Romans 4:

Now this follows the first part which is the  illustration to make clear exactly what is being said in the first part:

We’re looking over here on Page 14: 

[66] …This is a revelation… you cannot have a revelation without it being faith.

He tells you flat: if you get a revelation, everything moves in that direction of the revelation. and that’s your faith, and that’s all you’ve got. 

Now somebody else comes along, and he says, “Well, I’m doing these works.” 

Well you haven’t got my revelation. Mine’s a lazy man’s revelation. Mine’s a revelation that lets God do it. I’ve got a revelation of sovereignty.

Now if they’ve got a revelation whereby works is going to get them out of here. That is fine by me. I want them to stand up and tell me how they can tell lies and feel justified! 

I can’t even have my hand in a cookie jar and not be rebuked. But these guys can tell deliberate lies. What about the time Brother Branham jumped outside the house and he said, “Tell them I’m not in.” 

That’s a hand-in-the-cookie-jar lie, because he was in the house. But everything stood still from that minute on. It was a lie brought under duress and pressure and God will overlook it. He will hold you back and say, “Now, hold it. That’s wrong.”

But when men can tell deliberate lies, knowing they’re deliberately lying. If they’ve got a revelation, brother/sister, it came from hell. It didn’t come from God.

I can tell you that. Because I want to ask one question: what works will they do to cover that one? They already did their rotten work now. 

I know what it is. It’s legalism. I can’t spit on the floor, without you saying I’ll go to hell. But you commit adultery like a dog out there, and think you’re going to heaven because… Hallelujah! that’s you. 

They’re always glad to bring about David with his adultery and murders, but they shy clear about those lies, about the lies… because they are doing it. I know those legalists. 

You talk to Terry Sproule. He’ll tell you. You talk to the boys out West. They’ll tell you what is going on. They have no problem at all telling lies.

Oh, I can name a lot of names, and I’m a liar myself. In fact, I always tell people: if you’re less truthful than me, you’re a liar. So you can tell there’s a lot of liars in the country.

If you’re less honest, you’re a crook. There’s a lot of crooks in the country. 

It’s true, Bill Graham. You bet your life it’s “Amen.” You want to look at my books and my records? I’ll pull them out anytime you want. I’m not ashamed.

I am not proud either, but neither am I ashamed. Let’s get this: this is sovereignty. This is a revelation. I am just challenging the legalists. 

[66] … Faith is a revelation, because it’s something that’s revealed to you. Faith is a revelation.

Faith is something that has been revealed to you like it was to Abraham, that could call anything contrary to what had been revealed to him as though it wasn’t so. 

Now you can take every argument you want about the Rapture. Oh, I can hear people pour it on me about the Parousia. Oh, they’ve got all the great students. 

Up to this date, I have not written Harvard, but I really should. I have not written Princeton, but I should. Nor the theological seminary up in Chicago, but I should.

I want to find what the modern theologians say about that word ‘Parousia’, because it’s not supposed to mean what Vine says, and what Dr. Rotherham says, and Vincent says, and the rest of those people say.

Or Dr. Ivan Panon, the greatest of all – the pure genius. Oh, suddenly now, there are authorities rising up with a big snear. Yeah. 

I don’t know, sometimes I can find things, sometimes I can’t. This could be one of the times. All right.

Now what is drink? Now what is the wine? The stimulation of revelation. The revelation is completely messed up, and they’re running like madmen to the slaughter – the priest and prophet, the whole bunch.

Isaiah 28:

Now you say, “Well, Brother Branham, he just stooged himself. He just pawned himself.” 

We have another one of those deals like Schoenfeld, who came on the scene and said, “It was a fake crucifixion.” You know, “Knoweth it not.” It was a fake, William Branham was a fake.

He saw that in the Bible so he said, “I will preach on Melchisedec. That will make them to know, at least I’ll fool some of these jerks down here that I know something about the Word.

This is the time Elijah comes, and I’m going to tell about Melchisedec, and this will make me Elijah.” 

Oh, yeah. You think these people don’t believe that? Come on, come on, come on, come on, brother/sister. The whole Word of God is one book and comes together.

We’re not playing little tiddlywinks anymore. You have to get off the breasts and milk and feed on the strong meat of the Word.

Isaiah 28:

That’s the great tribulation. This is the time when the Reaper overtakes the sower. This is the time He said, “I’ll have them in derision.” Laugh at them.

Why? Because what God was doing, He manifested the Word of the hour. He brought the interpretation right in front of our noses. Time after time.

If He is risen from the dead, and the same yesterday, today and forever, He will do here in the Spirit what He did in the Body. 

Say, “Well, ask Him to come.” 

Well if He’s here, why ask Him to come? Why do you say His ministers let us know that He was here? I thought He already was here. 

“Well,” they say, “that…”

I don’t care what they say. They can say what they want.

[66] … Anything contrary, that’s what faith is. Is the revelation of God. And the church is built upon a revelation. The whole entire bod

Revelation is not what you and I do. It’s what you and I receive, through the Holy Spirit. A bunch of cruddy vessels, conceived in sin, shaped in iniquity, come out, and the Holy Ghost comes in. Sealing a man in.

Even going to take your cruddy body and raise it up make it good a good one out of it. Tell you: you didn’t do it in the first place, you were trapped. Well, come on, that’s what the Scripture says.

This was previously unknown. Page 6:

[30] … Now some of you may differ from the avenues that I take. 

He said, “It’s not that it wasn’t preached to you. I’m going to preach it different.” And he said, “The Bride is waiting for it.” So therefore he is going to tell you what the Bride is waiting for.

This Bride, because she didn’t have it, and the others, grabbed as though it was the right thing. It didn’t matter, because it wasn’t the hour. You can only walk in the light, brother/sister, if you’re here to walk. 

Luther can’t walk in this light. He didn’t live long enough. Old Luther back there in 1550 or so? what, 500 and something years old now? 400 hundred and something, 400 years. Well he’d be great walking around 400 years old. 

What about Wesley? He’d be great walking around. Even Charles Parnam, the father of Pentecost – which means nothing… less than nothing because he was all wrong.

What about if he was walking around? He’s not walking around. If they were walking around, which those men wouldn’t, but the phonies were walking around they’d be only twice dead.

They’d have the death of the past age and the death of this age.

Let’s go further. Page 7: 

[35] And then, if this Rapture which is coming to pass… And anything that God has in the line of His Word, there’s always something to come out to upset that if they can. It’s Satan’s purpose to do that. 

Now he’s telling you that this revelation is such that, it couldn’t be before, and it’s something that Satan could do great damage with, if he could get a hold of it. Now he said:

[35] … Rapture which is coming to pass… and anything that God has lined in His Word, there is always something to come up that upsets the people if they can. It’s Satan’s purpose to do it. 

Now he tells you right here that Satan is going to do his dead level best to get this doctrine which he’s preaching, and make it a big you know, a big mess, a big shamosle, some big crazy thing out of it.

And he is letting you know also that that’s exactly what is going to happen. There is going to be a… Satan will get a hold of it just like a… 

Now remember, what he got a hold of, of the doctrine, that woman in that trance speaking in tongues and said, “There’s a secret Rapture.” That didn’t disturb him one little bit.

The people went around telling the world that, you know, Satan’s upset… It’s going to be secret Rapture, and Satan just had them in his hand and was laughing up his sleeve. Yeah!

Let’s go little further now. I might as well read these portions here. We’ve got a few minutes left. Page 32: 

[154] See, the first thing comes forth is His Message [We already looked at this.] calling a bride together.

Next is resurrection… sleeping bride, the one that has died in other ages. They’re caught up together, trumpet, feast in heavens. 

[155] We’re ready now. The only thing, the Church coming out has got to lay before the sun to ripen. The great combine will come after awhile. The stocks will be burned, but the grain gathered in the garner. 

[156] You’re not blind people. You’re sensible people. If I stood and said these things for prejudice… I don’t… It’s because it is Life. I’m responsible to God for saying it.

I must say it. And my Message… And all the time knowing back there under healing and so forth, was to catch the people’s attention, knowing the Message would come. And here it is. 

He tells you, “Here it is: the Message to come. And here it is.” Therefore, he’s talking about what? The Rapture. He’s talking about the Shout. Now watch:

[157] And them Seven Seals opened, those mysteries and showing those things is what happened. I didn’t know it, but there’s a man standing right here was standing right with me when you heard me preach that sermon “What Is the Time, Sirs?”

That morning exactly where it said it would be, there stood seven Angels standing right up from the Heaven.

As they went up, and the whirlwind took them up, we standing, watching, they went away, science took the picture of it all way across the nations, down to Mexico. And there I was watching… 

[158] And one day I started to preach and those seven church ages, I called Jack Moore, a great theologian; and said, “Jack, Who is that Person standing there, One like the Son of man standing there, hair white as wool.

A young man,” I said, “He was a young man; how could He have white hair?” [And of course, Jack said, “He was in His glorified body.”]

Now from what I read here concerning what Brother Branham said about the Rapture message – the doctrine – and what he said about the Seven Seals, it is my considered opinion that the doctrinal message of the Rapture is the last part of the Shout, and the last of the revelations of the Seventh Seal and Seven Thunders, as is given to the Gentiles.

Now let’s just watch a second here in the Book of Romans. Now just pay attention, because this is terribly, terribly, important, what I’m teaching here. 

Now he’s talking to the Gentiles at the time of the cutting off, when God will graft back in Israel. Now remember: The Bride Tree is made up true branches.

He said, “If God ever grafts another branch and another branch ever comes forth rather it is going to be a genuine branch.” Now the genuine branches are expiring, they’ll be no more, the old ones have been pruned off.

Now let’s watch, let’s go to:

Now he tells them right now, he said, “Your faith is good, and you are standing by faith.” Now what if their faith is no good anymore? Then it’s shot.

Now you try to get that across to the people today. They are not going to say, “Oh, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe.” 

They don’t believe. They don’t believe, because they don’t believe doctrine. They don’t believe the precept. They don’t believe what’s in the precept.

They don’t believe every word concerning the precept. It only takes one word to throw your whole doctrine back to hell. You correct every word, you throw it plumb back to heaven.

See? Now he tells them here: unbelief.

Romans 11:

What goodness? Faith! to apprehend the promises of God. What did you do to receive Christ? Come on and tell me. Nothing. You had a power of choice.

That’s all. You have a power of choice now. And that is a great battle. Do what you want with it. Now:

Now It tells you there is coming a period when every single solitary Gentile is going to make it – that’s suppose to make it. Now when the last Gentile is in, that branch of this hour is completely filled up.

There’s no more. It’s all over. See? So what I’m saying is this: what is to take place when the last Gentile is in? Resurrection!

See? Now what about Resurrection? Rapture! Now he said, “There is a danger of faith at this moment.”

Now what is the danger of the faith? Unrevealed Rapture – that’s what hasn’t been revealed.

That’s what she is waiting for. So therefore, the revelation of the Rapture – if it has been revealed to you – makes you a part of the Rapture.

And that’s the last thing. And remember, the whole thing was building to the Rapture. That is why it is the same Message.

There is only one Message. That’s why they screamed at Brother Branham, “We’re resting on that.” 

He said, “I preached what Paul preached.” 

“We’re resting on that.”

Now they had the revelation for their hour, but they couldn’t have it for the Rapture, or there would have been a Rapture. And the Bride cannot be aborted. 

So we see at the end time, there is to come in a completely finished Gentile Bride, which we know that she is. All right. 

It’s my considered opinion that the doctrinal message of the Rapture is the last part of the Shout and the last part of the entire revelation of Christ for seven solid church ages – put it that way, put it any way you want – of the Seven Seals and the Seven Thunders given to the Gentiles.

We can further see that the Rapture doctrine is a part of the Seventh Seal and the Seven Thunders.

Page 16, paragraph 74:

[74] The Book of Revelation is the last Book of the Bible. It’s sealed to the unbelievers. And there the Bible says in the 22 chapter, “Who will take one word or add one word, I will take his part from the Book of Life.” 

Now he’s telling you something. This is the Rapture tape. This is the doctrine. So this has to do with this subject. You change this doctrine – good-bye!

Now look. I stand here and preach that, and I’m blasted around the world, people saying I call them ‘serpent seed.’ When did you ever hear me in this pulpit say anybody was serpent seed? Go and get the tapes.

Now you have heard me say right with the prophet, “If I am adding, by mocking His Presence, I’ll be here for the plagues. If they have taken away, denying His Presence – and He is present – their name goes out of the Book, and they’re here for the plagues.”

Now how more fair can I be? Oh, they will sit back and tell lies though, and that covers them.

I am going to tell you: their lies are ripped aside with the flaming sword of William Branham the prophet of God! Not Lee Vayle’s. I’m just taking a little part in it. 

I have a letter sitting on my desk right now. That’s why all this goes on tape. I don’t give a rip. After this meeting, I hope there’ll be no more tapes go anywhere, no more preaching go anywhere.

I’ll just stay home. It’s all over anyway. I don’t believe if I blast… Well, you cannot blame anybody for blasting.

The more I blast my wife, the more nervous she gets, the more she doesn’t listen to me anyway.

And she is much… I’m not saying she doesn’t listen, but she is just a little type. I use her as a type. I’m not going to use anybody here. You’d get mad at me, but I can use my wife as an example.

I believe she’s a thorough-going Bride. I believe I’m thorough-going Bride, and it just makes people nervous. Just blast (and) they just get nervous; they’re worse than ever.

I’m not going to try to blast anybody but, I’m just going to stand here with this Word of God, and I can’t change my way. I went to Brother Branham.

No way. You pray to God, if you want to change. If you want a change, I’ll tell you one thing: you better pray that the Resurrection get here in a hurry, because that’s when it’s going to change.

That’s when the Sweet Spirit comes, and it’s going to be too late.

You think I don’t know? I know that much. Now we realize then that it was all together given for believers.

I know if you’re a real believer, you’re not going to miss this. If you’re a hoodoo, then you’re going to miss it.

[74] … And it opens the book of revelation and reveals Who the Author of this entire Book is.

He is to look upon as Alpha and Omega.

I’m not positive now.] from Genesis to Revelation, Jesus Christ the same right through, and reveals His complete mystery of Himself and His plan for the church ages that’s to come, and was sealed in there by Seven Seals. 

And notice in every single time he talked about a Rapture, there has got to be prophets! Now where are you going? That’s the end of the tape. Who needs two minutes, we need two hours. We’ll let it go we will try to remember where it is now, its ummm, I’ll put a little note here. Start here which means I won’t start there. Next time I preach we will loose ground again, which will be Saturday night December the 3rd.

Now we got to the place where we showed you we’re talking about the Seals. What he said on the “Rapture” is what he said on the Seals – the revelation.

And it’s all heading up to a the Rapture, and this is it. Now people are going to say, “Well I don’t know.” 

Well I do know, as far as I know anything. Now if I’m wrong, it was nice knowing you. Just shake my hand as we go by. No use lighting a candle or praying, it’ll be too late.

And I’m not trying to be extra facetious. I’m very cynical and very sarcastic and you understand that. And except for my perverted sense of humor, I think I’d go insane – if I’m not that way already.

I want to tell you something, brother/sister: either this is true, or forget it.

Either the prophet told us the truth and this is the first phase, the Seals is the Message, and this is the Capstone, this is it or else, brother/sister, I don’t know what he talked about.

I don’t even know why we need a prophet. I don’t know why we need anything. In other words all he came with and was put me in bondage. Forget it, merciful God, enough bondage without him. 

I believe Christ was unveiled. He took us out of the miry clay. He set us on the solid rock of revelation in Christ Jesus. I believe we’re on our way.

I don’t believe for one minute we’re marching to Zion. I believe we’re the remnant of Marching Zion, and we’re going to stand right here and march right through. Bless God. 

And though we won’t be extra unique, we will be. 

You say, “Why Brother Vayle?” 

Because look, you see my foot? Take a good look. It’s not my hand. The first age is not the second. The second is not the third. The third is not the fourth.

The fourth is not the fifth. The sixth is not the seventh. And the seventh is none of them, but they’re all one together. 

Everyone is unique. Every portion is unique, because it’s identified. But it all makes one glorious body to show His resplendent glory by reflection.

So all right. It’s all one Word and been working from the time up, until right in this hour, there isn’t anything left. So there is no more Bride left, no more revelation left.

There is no more nothing left. It has all run out. Where are we going? We are going up. How are you going to get there? Prophet came on the scene. 

You say it, brother/sister, right down the line: Enoch, a prophet, absolutely; Noah, typing those going over. There is a prophet right there. They rose above it.

You go to Elijah – absolutely a prophet. You go to Jesus – absolutely a prophet. You go to this age – absolutely a prophet. You go to the last bunch – absolutely prophets, two of them.

I don’t care which way you turn, brother/sister, you cannot get away from the Word of Almighty God running in continuity. There is no way that this is not what Brother Branham spoke of. Let’s rise.

Heavenly Father, we are very grateful again for Your kindness.

Lord, we know that although we do have a certain amount of sobriety, we do have a certain amount of that which is part of this Message in a mechanical way, we know that the full depth of it has not yet struck home as it is going to.

And there again though, Lord, it could be there’s certain changes You’re going to have to do in us, by Your matchless grace, before we absolutely then would be satisfied with what we know to be a certainly more licit and legitimate and everything else, right down the line.

We know that and…

But we do thank you for as far as we have gone, and we can’t believe for one minute that You took us this far to cast us away. We don’t believe for one minute, Lord, that you led Israel out so You wouldn’t take them in.

In fact, we know all through Scripture the sign is there that God’s people can rebel, and God’s people do many strange things. We know that. But You always bring them in line to where Your glory is worked out.

And we praise You, Lord, that in this hour that there is in us that great desire to be fully submissive to a revealed Word and every Word of that Word, Lord…