Rapture #12

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we’re very grateful that You’ve given us freedom of religion, freedom of belief, and faith to trust in You at this hour, to have a special place of worship that we can come to, and that’s granted to us by the virtue of Yourself, Lord, that You have kept the hand of the enemy away that we can come here.

We pray now, Lord, that you’ll keep the enemy away from us, relative to our thoughts and minds – all those things, Lord, which might hinder us.

We pray that we’ll have a free access in this hour to know the things of God, they might be very real to us to increase our knowledge and understanding so that our faith becomes more and more revealed as we know where we stand: no errors, Lord, but strength given to us from Your revealed Word in this hour.

We commend ourselves to You, for whatever You might give us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated.

Now the subject relative still to the “Rapture,” but not going into the reading of it at this point is: “The Day of the Lord and the Lord’s Day.”

And because it’s very relative to this subject, we want to try to get the difference between the two of them.

We’ll read first of all in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, “the day of the Lord,” and then get to Revelations, “the Lord’s Day.” It says then in:

And then in 2 Peter 3:10, that Brother Branham connected to the Rapture, as part of the reading:

And in Revelation 1:10 It says:

Now according to the theologians and the students of Scripture, there is a difference between ‘the day of the Lord’ and ‘the Lord’s Day’, although you might not think that, because both would be in the genitive case showing possession.

But there is a difference, and it appears that ‘the Lord’s Day’, which used over in here in Revelation 1:10, is used in contradistinction to ‘man’s day’. ‘The Lord’s Day’, then, is that which is no doubt a period of time in contradistinction to ‘man’s day’. 

Now man has had his day which, of course, is roughly six thousand years, and that same period of time Brother Branham called Satan’s Eden, wherein He was fashioning man and has brought man to this point, where he is today in his culture, and his religion, and all those things pertaining to him, especially in the spiritual.

And, of course, God has to have His day later on.

Now it’s time for ‘the Lord’s Day’ to begin, which will last at least one thousand years, which is the Millennium, which has been called the honeymoon or the ‘getting-acquainted’ period of the Bride and Groom, which of course, will not last only that one thousand years but will continue on.

It goes much further. However that one thousand years is the starting point actually.

Now in “Patmos Vision,” Page 95, paragraph 131, Brother Branham says:

[131] Now John was transmitted from the Isle of Patmos, in the Spirit, over into the Lord’s Day. This is the day of man. So he agrees with the theologians and students.

Men are fighting, but the day of the Lord will come when these kingdoms will become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, then there’ll be the great Millennium.

The Lord’s Day, the day of His coming, His judgment, that’ll be the Lord’s Day.

Now, from what he said there, it is quite easy to see that what Brother Branham said on Page 95 is literally Revelation 19:11 to Revelation 20:15, and that would be the Lord’s Day.

And in reading it you’ll find that it is very, very, sure that man’s day is over, and the Lord’s Day has set in. And so reading, beginning at:

Then he goes on, seeing the new heaven and the new earth, the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down, which is the Bride, the Lamb’s wife.

And then, the setting shows that this goes on into the eternal ages, where nothing of a nature which we know today, such as abominations, sin, or whatsoever, will ever be able to enter in to it.

Now further reading in Page 95, paragraph 132, Brother Branham said:

[132] This is the day of man, that’s the reason they slam you around and do what they want with you, but there’ll come a time… They call you now “holy roller and fanatic,” but there’ll come a time, see, that they won’t do that.

They’ll scream and wail, and fall at your feet. The Bible said in Malachi 4: you’ll even walk out on the ashes after they’re burned up; and leaving them neither root nor branch.

Exactly what the Bible says, “The righteous shall walk upon the ashes of the wicked.” That’s exactly. They’ll not be left root nor branch, nothing to come back to. They’ll be done. Now this is man’s day, man’s doing, man’s work, man’s church, man’s idea’s, but the day of the Lord is coming.

You can see he’s talking there in terms of the literal start of it, when He begins to take over, so there will be a complete consummation of everything as we know it now.

Now the day of the Lord is spoken of in many verses. We’ve looked at the Lord’s Day.

Now the day of the Lord is spoken of in many more verses than is the Lord’s Day, because – except for an allusion to the first day of the week, which would be symbolic of the Resurrection, and death giving way to life, coming into the Lord’s Day.

There’s only really one place the Lord’s Day is spoken of, and that’s in Revelation 1:10. But the day of the Lord is spoken of in many places, in actually many verses.

Now among the references to that – we’ll just go to the New Testament to begin with, and get to the Old Testament – is Acts 2:20; and It says:

Now we took that, because that take us instantly back to:

Now with that we’re going to look at:

Now we’ll have to turn instantly to Malachi 4, though we could run these in sequence of chapters, but you’ll notice in:

Now going back to:

Ezekiel 13:

Now that’s a lot like Micaiah back there, in the days of old Ahab, when the four hundred prophets of Baal were against him.

So no matter how many people purport to be prophets and there’s going to be a slew of them, whenever there’s a genuine prophet – there’s always somebody that is the real prophet to rise up and bring the Word of the Lord.

In other words these prophets have got to stand together and bunch together, and sort of prove to each other that they’ve got something, but the prophet of God doesn’t have anybody but God.

He stands all alone. They always kick him out. They don’t want him. But these other fellows get together, and they form the little groups.

They’ve got to, because, you see, they’re prophesying lies out of their own spirit.

So they’ve got to have somebody like a man who had this vision that he saw the Bride being tied down, and just like myriads of spirits had got her under control, then like a mighty giant she rises.

And of course everybody got screaming, you know, with his prophecies, and they got this idea, you know, the great thing, and they’ve got to back each other up.

Well I’ve got news for them: they’re wrong.

The very time Cerrullo stood in there and told how the big revival is coming, and Brother Branham walked in that room, on that platform, and just like a hound dog scenting out an animal, stood there, head back, and he said, “There’s a wrong spirit in this room.

Somebody told you a lie.” Oh, that was like a lead balloon. Thank God for lead balloons, brother, if it came from God. He knows how to get His balloons rising.

See? God’s balloons are not full of hot air. They’re full of dynamite. He’ll get them off the ground. They’re rocks, in fact, to build on. Sure.

Well, we won’t read anymore there. We’ll go to Joel, and in there we’ll see:

Now you notice that word ‘destruction’ has been used previously. So these prophets, you know, they speak the same Word.

That’s where it takes you right to Revelation 19:11, and what follows it. Then we go to:

All right? Do you notice? There’s a connotation now, one of destruction, one of deliverance.

Then we’ll go to Amos 5:16-20 and read along:

In other words the desire is there, because they’re bringing it on. Now God prepares the vessels unto glory, but It says in the Book of Romans that those prepared unto destruction prepare themselves.

And these people are rushing headlong, because they know better. As Brother Branham said, “Iniquity is: you know better than to do it, and you do it anyway.”

And that’s also the same thing, you know to do better, and you won’t do it, even though you know it.

Now we go to:

Now you’ll notice back over there in:

Now there you are; you’re seeing your day of the Lord.

Let’s go to Zechariah 14, and that’s the Chapter we’re going to have to read quite a bit of it.

Now you may wonder about that; but remember, in the great tribulation the church is purged, the earth is purged, and Israel is purged. See? The destruction is coming.

Now many times people think some of these descriptions are in contradistinction to each other, or at least contradicting.

They are not. It is simply successive descriptions of what can happen in a chain of events, and they’ll all be carried out, just as It says here.

You notice there now that Enoch prophesied that, and that’s Revelation 19:6 again.

Now here you’re getting, not two days that are in contradistinction to each other, but you’re getting elements of an unfolding, and you put them all together. Now It says:

Now that’s going on right now.

So, you see, you have to understand what we’ve been teaching all along: everybody, but pretty well a few of us, are falling into the trap of looking forward or backward, and they cannot understand what is going on.

Now categorically, I’ve taken my stand that we do know what is going on. I’ve categorically said, “The Judge is here. He is here.” I’ve categorically said, “The King is here,” and He is here.

And Brother Branham says that in “World’s Falling Apart,” in 1963, in New York. I don’t remember him even saying it. I wasn’t there. I don’t remember the tape. I never got it. I never got the book until recently.

But we do know these things from the Word of God, because these things are revealed to us, and we’re walking in the light, because there is light at this hour.

And many of these things may be to a degree obscure to us, but we know positively what is going on, which is the unfolding, and we’re coming in to this great hour of the day of the Lord and the Lord’s Day.

We’re faced with it, and you’ll see how they come together. Now:

That’s when the light returns. When it goes as far as the west it stops, and it goes back east. So you’ve got the water now moving both ways. It’s moved from God, and it comes to a standstill. There’s only one place it can go, and that’s back. See? All right.

Now It tells you categorically there that this is the Lord’s Day, and you’ll see over here, the day of the Lord. You’ll see what is coming, the destruction.

In one time It signifies it only: there can be gloom and darkness, and then It turns around and tells you, that there is something in here for the Bride. Now this is what people always miss: “As it was in the days of Noah,” “As it was in the days of Lot.”

And all they can do it think of the negative, when there is a positive there. So you have to always keep those things in mind. Now:

And that’s exactly right, because they’re going to find at that time, there is nothing, nothing, nothing, that’s going to avail. Their money is going to go.

Their animals are going to go. Their lives are going to go. There’s nothing that is not going to go. It’s got to devolve back upon Almighty God Himself.

Now let’s go to the last Book, Malachi 4. You already read It:

In other words there’s nothing to come back to. That system is over. It’s all over. The day of man is finished. It’s gone. There’s nothing to commend it. It’s entirely eradicated. And then God’s going to start His Own with His Own Bride.

Now It tells you right there that you’re going to have a growth you never had before. You are going to have something that you’ll be able to do and accomplish that which was never previously within your reach. You’re going to attain a maximum growth for the first time. 

There’s none of us that don’t understand the stilting conditions that are forced upon us by the enemy. He has done nothing but circumvent and entrap us.

He has done nothing but to destroy us. But when God gets us free of all of this in His kingdom, there is a growth that will amaze us.

You talk about revelation, you talk about things beginning to move in a civilization, which is of faith by God that lies ahead, there is no comparison.

It is the most marvelous thing in all the world, and man cannot envision it. Man has no way at this time to even get a glimpse. There is simply no way.

There is no way, because you don’t have the capacity. You have a modicum of the Spirit in order to know something is there, but you haven’t got what it takes to enjoy it.

It’s just like the sinner, by himself, hasn’t got what it takes to enjoy the things of God. Now he can enjoy a fluke. He can enjoy a perversion.

He can enjoy something which is hypocritical, farcical, and certainly not anything but a hybridized condition. Now he can get that.

But for him to come in and dwell in the presence of the Lord, with the pure things of God, he has no more time for that than nothing. That’s why you hear people say, “He’s here. So what?” 

Well are you going to tell me that person is born again? and even claim they’ve got the Holy Ghost? That’s exactly right with the so-called ‘Holy Ghost that came into them’ so what? You’d better believe it. 

Now it’s not a time to be fooling around and not pulling your punches; not when men can come around and tell you that you’re going to listen to them.

No way. Try to make me some Nicolaitane. No way! I wouldn’t even tolerate this church for five minutes; we would disband it in five minutes from now.

If anybody thinks I’m going to take any undue authority, they’re wrong. I am so anti-religion, and anti-organization, at this point as I can be, and with the help of God, I’ll be even more so.

Malachi 4:

Now God’s going to do it, and we’re going to be doing it with Him, because I’ll tell you what: when you stand around and see something perpetrated, you become an accessory after the fact.

I hope that sunk in; I’m especially thinking of all these nice people. They’re just too nice for God. That’s right. Just too nice for God.

I’m not bloodthirsty, but I’d better tell you one thing: I don’t care what He does, as long as I’m there with Him, and He’s doing it.

I would be glad to be accessory after the fact. I’m an accessory after the fact by virtue of this: I am not identified with God. I am a part of God.

We’re through with all this hogwash people teach as the Word of God. The errors have been revealed. Life has come in. You bet. If that’s what He wants, I’m for it.

That doesn’t name any names or cause any fight. I’m just for it. You bet.

Now, let’s go back to Acts 2 again, where we started, which is taken from Joel, and he says in:

It tells you right there that the main thought of the great and notable day of the Lord is not the circumstances that precede it, because the circumstances have been going on for a long, long time and merely accelerate.

Then there’s got to be a sudden chopping off. All right?

With it we go to:

Now that’s a very strange way to say things. It’s coming as a thief. They’re going to say, “Peace and safety.” Then destruction will come “as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”

In other words, as a woman conceives, and gradually becomes larger and larger, showing the manifestation of that which is to be born, and issue out of her, and the pain comes suddenly, but she knows it’s there.

So it is that these people, in spite of all their talk, they know that something is coming, but they make no preparation for it. Therefore, they are caught at that time, when the destruction comes suddenly.

It is not the day of Christ. You might as well just take and rub that out or put a line through it. It’s “The day of the Lord is at hand.” Now that’s concerning the anti-christ and all those things that are coming. 

With that we go to 2 Peter 3:10. We read It:

Now when all these Scriptures are put together, and we re-read what Brother Branham said in paragraphs 131 and 132, it reads this way:

[131] Now John was transmitted from the Isle of Patmos, in the Spirit, over into the Lord’s day.

This is the day of man, men are fighting, but the day of the Lord will come when these kingdoms will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Then there’ll be the great Millennium.

The Lord’s day, the day of His coming, His judgment, that’ll be the Lord’s day. What? He’s taking over. This is the day of man.

That’s the reason they slam you around and do what they want with you. They call you now, holy rollers and fanatics, but there’ll come a time, see, that they won’t do that.

They won’t be able to do it. We won’t be even here to let them try it. They’ll scream, and wail, and fall at your feet.

Now you better believe he’s telling the truth. 

You say, “Well that kind of sounds like they’ll be saying, ‘I recognize you. Why don’t you do something?’” 

I recognize you, too. Why didn’t you do something? I don’t know; could be true.

The Bible said in Malachi 4, “You’ll even walk over out on the ashes [That’s their ashes] after they’re burnt up. Leave them neither root nor branch.”

[Now he’s putting that in our person, along with the great One, God.] Exactly what the Bible says, “The righteousness shall walk upon the ashes of the wicked.” That’s exactly. “They’ll not be left root or branch.”

Nothing to come back to. We do. Now this is man’s day, man’s doings, man’s works, man’s church, man’s idea, but the day of the Lord is coming.

Now from what we’ve read, it seems very apparent that the ‘day of the Lord’ and the ‘Lord’s Day’ are inseparable in that the day of the Lord is the literal foundation for the Lord’s Day, for it wipes out man and his day, and establishes the Lord, and His Day, in contradistinction to our day, His kingdom, His throne.

Let’s go to:

That tells you the things that are going to be going on – not necessarily chronologically, but putting the emphasis where they belong, and then telling you how the emphatic things come to pass. 

Revelation 5:8-10, after the opening of the Seals:

Now a look at Scripture seems to confirm this. So we go to the Book of Matthew. In other words the two days are irrevocably linked, and it’s certainly true that the day of the Lord wipes the slate clean for the Lord’s Day.

He’s going to get His Day back. He’s going to get His Kingdom back. 

That’s why it’s root and branch. Get rid of the root, and there aren’t any branches. [End of the first side of the tape.]

If you kill the spider, there aren’t any spider webs. You burn the seed, that’s one of the best ways to know there will not be any further manifestation. Every plant is going to be uprooted and destroyed. 

Let’s just check some of that out. Let’s go to:

Mark 12:1-9, this gives you the picture:

Now you say, “Well, that’s talking about the Jew.”

I’ve got news for you: even at the White Throne, Satan is going to deceive billions to come against God, and they’ll be destroyed. So just keep your wires straight.

Revelation 19:

And that of course is Malachi 4:1-6.

Now let’s also notice Revelation 20:7-15, and I read this:

This is not necessarily chronological, because over here he’s talking about Resurrection, and then tells what happens, and this is what happens after the Resurrection in order to cause them to do the things they did.

That’s as far as I understand this.

There’s no place there for anything other than the totally redeemed.

Now you can see that destruction follows a certain period of time, and in every instance when there must be a cleansing, there is a continuing of the uprooting of what God has not planted until there is nothing left, but only the plants of God.

All right?

Now let’s go back to:

Now you get this picture back in:

Now what he’s doing is tracing this whole thing down to this point here, which is the Ancient of Days and the White Throne Judgment.

In other words the kingdom, which God has on earth, is completely affiliated with Him and thoroughly dedicated to Him and His cause. Everything else is going to be burned up.

Now this lines up with:

Now you saw how that was done – destruction. First of all, they’re destroyed in physical sense, then they’re brought back to prove, then proven to them, that in the spiritual sense, they’ve got to go.

And that’s at your White Throne, and that’s the Lake of Fire, where body, soul, and spirit is all destroyed – it’s annihilated.

In other words God is doing this now in the person of the Holy Spirit, bringing everything so that Jesus Christ can come to the Millennial Throne, and then go into the Great White Throne, and then go on to the New Jerusalem and sit upon that throne.

And every single thing is under him, except God Himself, because God is doing all things, because God was in Christ. He’s doing it all.

Now that’s exactly right. So therefore, as Brother Branham said, “If there is no representation up there, you’ll not have representation down here.”

Now remember, the wise virgin and the foolish virgin are all one elected piece of cloth.

Now I talk of the general foreknowledge and election and predestination of the cloth, but when the great Designer puts the pattern on the cloth, then you speak of a Bride cut out of the cloth. So that’s the only difference.

“Every plant, that my Father hath not planted, is uprooted.” [Matthew 15:13] Then “every plant that my Father hath planted shall be established in its proper and divine order, because everything is in order.”

And God so loved the world, His Own order, that Jesus Christ died for that order. It’s all going to be established again so God can be All in all. It’s the most fantastic thing under heaven.

I’m going to preach on it some time to show you where these things are going because, believe me, it’s absolutely fantastic

All right. I’d say, “So far, so good.” We’ll go on. We’ve got to the place, the day of the Lord and the Lord’s day. They work in conjunction with each other.

We can see that God must take a terrible destruction upon everything, and wipe it all out, in order to establish what He wants established in His kingdom, which is a kingdom of priests and kings unto Almighty God.

All right. We’ll go on. To do so, we’re going to go back now to 1 Thessalonians 4, because we’re going to try to weave it into the present situation.

Now we’ll read from 1 Thessalonians 4:13 right into Chapter 5, because It’s all one piece. Ignore the division that says “Chapter 5.”

Now 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 is the Rapture. This is the treatise on the actual programming and carrying out of the catching up of the living, and the sleeping Bride to the Marriage Supper.

Do you understand what I said?

This is the treatise on the actual programming, what God has programmed, and the literal putting into the effect the program that is going to get the living and the dead both changed and up to the Wedding Supper.

All right. 

Now in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5, we are appraised of exactly when 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 takes place. Well, he’s talked about it, and then he said,

What times and seasons? When this is going to take place. Now he said, “Times and seasons.” So this is going to be in a period of time that people are bound to recognize, if they have anything to do with the living God that is really true.

Now they won’t be asleep. If they are, they’ll awake. They won’t be unaware. They will not be trapped. They are not appointed to wrath. They are vessels that are not fitted to destruction.

They are vessels fitted to glory. So therefore, they are not going to be trapped at the time that this takes place, which, according to Scripture, is the day of the Lord – the day of destruction.

Now, so 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5, we’re apprised of exactly when 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 takes place. It is an absolute conjunction somehow with the day of the Lord.

Now let’s take a look at the day of the Lord. Let’s go back to Matthew 3. Now, John speaking of this One, he said in verse 11.

Well look, you could read the whole thing, because It kind of repeats for our day, because we have our own John the Baptist, and we have the Christ appearing amongst us, proving Who He is in the Spirit.

And the kingdom is at hand.

Now they threw it down the drain at that time; but this is one time when it cannot be thrown down the drain, because this time it’s not based upon the will of man, it’s based upon God saying, “I’m going to get it back.”

In other words you and I don’t have a choice. Now:

Now let’s face it: John the Baptist came on the scene, and he said, “God could come on the scene if He wanted to.” And he was God’s Own representative, and he was speaking for God.

And he said, “God can just take those stones and turn them right now to children.” What do you think of them apples? You say, “I don’t think He’ll do it.” 

Well you don’t believe God then! When the human mind begins to falter and tell God what He can do, and not do, you’ve got something wrong with you. 

“Well,” you say, “I think John was talking about these other stones out there.” 

Human stones? Call it what you want. I don’t care how you look at it. That’s okay by me. But I tell you: you better read the next verse.

He said, “Don’t come here, unless you’ve really got your mind changed.” You don’t put a new patch on an old garment. You don’t come with some of your thoughts and say, “Well, I’ll just retain these because I like them.”

That’s what happened back there in the time of Adam and Eve. They saw the fruit was good, and they saw this, and they saw that, and they said, “Well, hey, I’ll just go for that.”

When the showdown comes, you don’t go for nothing, except what God says. It’s severance time. Let’s just face it now. I know people say, “People don’t like the idea.” Let’s just keep reading:

And when that’s over his fan will be in his hand. When the baptism with the Holy Ghost gives out… There it is right there, the same as Ephesians. That’s what the prophet said, “Temporary.”

Not while you’re back in another age, but in the seventh church age when the last ones are coming in, the same One that baptizes, is there with the fan, because it’s in that day the separation has got to take place.

We’re talking about living. We’re not talking about dead now. Because It says, “This is to the living.”

That is the day of the Lord: the burning of the chaff, after the grain is in the garner, at the time when the baptism with the Holy Ghost is running out, and does run out. Then, no more is coming in. There will be a separation.

We go back to:

Now he tells you categorically: the living and the dead will have the same power. He will come to get the dead, and they will live with Him. He is coming to get us living, and we will live with Him.

The gathering of the wheat into the garner. It makes no difference whether you sleep or not, you’re going to make it. As he said in:

Now the Same One in Matthew 3:12, “Whose fan is in His hand, thoroughly purging the floor.” Now Brother Branham mentions the kingdom, the judgment, the whole thing, and there won’t be a kingdom, unless there’s a separation.

God is not going to hopefully have a kingdom, wherein He induces His citizens. His citizens will be previous to the kingdom, that is, pertaining to the literal land masses that they walk upon and what they’re involved in physically.

Matthew 3:12 is carrying out 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

So the garner will be where the harvest is taken, which is up to the Wedding Supper. Why? Because it’s a firstfruits unto God, which is the living Bride. All right.

Now notice please: the burning in Matthew 3:12 of the chaff, has nothing to do with the dead as of Revelation 20:5, 11:15, Matthew 25:31-46. Now let’s just take a quick peek at that, so you know what we’re talking about.

It tells you that those who are not the planting of the Lord are now going to go to annihilation in the Lake of Fire, which in Matthew 3, was not annihilation; nor in Malachi.

It is the cleansing, the purging, the getting rid of those, and putting them in a suspended state until the White Throne Judgment. 

Matthew 25 is the same, because they all come before Him and the Books are opened. And you’ll notice a vast throng go into Eternal Life.

Everyone whose name is in the Book – not Lamb’s Book of Life, evidently, but Book of Life – comes before Him.

And even men’s names could be in there, because a life was granted to them; but they weren’t real in the first place. They were insinuated in there, just like Eve said, “I’ve gotten a man from the Lord,” 

Now you could have many names in there, but because they were not the seed of Adam, they will be taken out, and they will be literally destroyed in the Lake of Fire.

So therefore, in the first case we see the chaff is separated from the wheat. In the second case, it is the sheep from the goats.

Now notice: chaff from wheat: you will see in there that the same life that came up all the way had a carrier, and God destroys the carriers.  He pruned off the branches that had no life, and they wait for the White Throne.

But at the end time, He has to burn the people that are standing there in order to have a clean earth for the children of God to come back on.

Now then, you’ll notice, He separates the sheep from the goats. They’re two strains entirely. There’s no chaff and wheat here at all in that sense.

These are they who are of a wrong source. Oh, they may look like sheep. They may try to act like sheep, but they’re goats, and at the end time they’ll be literally destroyed in the Lake of Fire.

Now therefore, we see that Matthew 3:12 and Malachi 4:1-6 are literally the same except for Malachi has the compounded revelation which shows that these people, though they have nothing to come back to, they themselves will be destroyed.

It’s not as though they could come back and ever continue, but they themselves will be thoroughly destroyed.

Now let’s further note that in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 not a thing is said about the living getting a change to immortality – just the dead. Now that’s strange but it’s true.

You don’t find one thing said there. It just says the dead are going to come forth. It doesn’t say that the living are going to be changed.

Now, to immortality.

Notice what It says, however, in 2 Thessalonians 2, concerning that great advent which we know to have occurred: science has got its pictures, the great One Himself, the Judge, surrounded by seven mighty angels, came down to earth in order to open those Seals, and give us the revelation.

He becomes the standard of the church and anybody that believes in denominations, or puts any man at the head of it, that man is gone! He no more has the Holy Ghost.

I’ll say this without fear – well, I’ll keep it back. I have a little fear the odd time; I was going to say ‘dead hog,’ but I’ll say it anyway. How in the world, if He is here, can men be Nicolaitane, or Laodicean in their concepts? Organization.

No popes, no holy one, no district presbyter, no presidents, nobody running around taking authority – and they better not try to counsel me to take authority.

They get their hides blasted. And I’m not through yet blasting, and don’t think I ever will. No man will try to tell me to take authority.

“Oh, yes, Brother Vayle, you teach preachers.”

Do I? Drop dead! Get your own teaching. I teach – period, period, period, period; and by now you know it. It has nothing to do with personalities or anything else.

If I have the Word of God, I’m grateful. If I don’t, I’m sorry. I’m going to answer for it in the long run, but I’m not a fool to stick my head up and make myself somebody when I am not.

When He is here, He is everything, and our gathering together is unto Him, and we start it, then the dead gather with us. Yes! Because they’re there, and we’re here.

The gathering is with us on this earth, and maybe 45, 75, 95 – God knows how many days, and I care less – we get to know each other, and get it all over.

We know who isn’t missing. We know our loved ones and all these people. 

Then we go up, and He becomes the fullness of the full attraction, so we’re not in anyway looking around at anybody but Him. That’s what a real marriage is.

When the Bride and the Groom really get together, she’s not wondering if she missed the boat, and he’s not wondering if he could have got a better deal. Oh, come on! Merciful God.

[Pfap?] That’s okay for a bunch of crud out here; but we’re Sons of God. That’s the way to lay it down, boy.

Listen: the gathering together is unto Him. This is not in the Rapture ascent, because the Shout is first, and the Trumpet is third, which is the Catching Up.

It’s under the Message, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1, that we begin to find our places.

Then what is taking place exactly in 1 Thessalonians 4?

It is the Lord descended, in order that He take us up to be presented to our Head, which is a man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom God incarnates Himself.

It is the descended Lord of Revelation 10:1, and you’ll see Him over here.

And notice: when He swears by Him that created, there is only One that can swear by God and that is God Himself.

And remember, when He swore to Abraham that He would perform His oath, the same One here now is swearing to perform His oath, which is to make sure that we are going to be in that wonderful kingdom.

Now, so Revelation 10:1, and also Revelation 22:10, because at the time that scene takes place, John was way back there, and he saw that It was going to be sealed up, but in Revelation 22:10, It becomes unsealed.

Now remember: there is only One that can unseal the Book. Remember, Jesus gave the Book back. It was closed. He alone could open it. The Lamb opened It.

And so what you’ve got here is the opening of this Book down here on earth, which was closed, is now open, and at that time, It categorically says, “He that is unjust is unjust still. The fan is in His hand, and He’s separating the chaff from the wheat.”

So something is going on that precipitates the day of the Lord, and the Lord’s Day. And this is part of the whole thing. You see, we find a continuity.

We do not find a separation. God does not deal in separations except to separate what He’s supposed to separate.

But God deals in a continuity with both, because the vine of the earth is growing at the same time the vine of God is growing. “Why,” he said, “shall I pull these plants up with the Word?”

“No, let them grow together. I’ll separate them in due time. Let them grow until the end of the harvest.” 

And that’s what we’ve got here.

Now, so therefore, at this particular time of 1 Thessalonians 4, which is Revelation 10:1, Revelation 22, we find in the Book of Luke, Chapter 17. It’s funny, even Scofield can see these things, if you study him long enough.

It’s invisible to you. It’ll be there, and you won’t see it. And there He stood right with them, because He is the kingdom. Brother Branham also said that, and we know that, because it’s true.

Because if He is the Creator, let’s face it, then He can make a kingdom any day He wants. And the kingdom is already there waiting for visibility. We’re into that dimension now. “It cometh not with observation.”

Now that’s absolutely what the Bible says about the Gentiles, that He is a Name, and He is a Spirit to the Gentiles. He is a light. Now It tells you: He’s got to suffer before this takes place. Now He’s already in His day.

Already John the Baptist said, “The kingdom is at hand, here comes the One that is the King. Here’s your Messiah. Here’s your Redeemer. Here’s the whole thing. Here He is right here.” And they turn him down.

Now he said:

There again that’s a winding up. That’s not a beginning, that’s a winding up. Now It says:

Now what is He telling you about? He’s telling you exactly where the Body is. Now He said, “This Body has got to go into the ground and is going to be taken away from you in the Resurrection.”

But He said, “This Body is light.” He’s going to appear in the body of truth, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit in the form of the Word bringing us revelation, and that is where the eagles are going to be, which is exactly 2 Thessalonians 2:1.

Now, with Luke 17:20, which mentions the kingdom of God, we go to 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, which we were in already:

Now, he’s talking of the Resurrection here. Now watch: in this Resurrection, down later in:

So therefore, at the time of the revealing of the Son of man, at the time that Mighty One comes on down, at that time the gathering of the people are unto Him, and at that time He is going to see that the kingdom of God is in a position to come upon the earth, because It said, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit…”

What about us?

So It tells you right here, at this particular time the kingdom of God is in view.

So therefore, the man that’s the John the Baptist of this hour, can truly say, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Behold the Judge. Behold the King. Behold the Ruler. Behold it all. And behold the kingdom is already here”, going from the negative to the positive. 

Now the negative doesn’t mean, look, this fellow has a negative thought: “Oh, I’m going to get sick. Oh, I’m going to get sick.” It’s not that at all.

It means ‘as in a camera’ – that the foreknowledge and the principle of God is as a word – as a negative that comes out of a camera. Now you go from the negative to the real picture by developing processes.

So therefore, we have come from the embryonic, or the original Word of God into the manifestation, and we are about to look at it; and it’s going on now.

We’re coming closer and closer and closer, until the dead could come out of the ground in a not very distant time, and we are going to be changed, and the whole thing is going to go into the Rapture, and then the judgments of God are going to fall on this earth, although they already started back in 1964.

The Seals are already open. The Sixth Seal and the Seventh are all open. Everything is open to us: the Coming, everything. There is nothing that isn’t open.

The whole thing is in a progress. There’s no one needs to be deceived anymore. There’s no one needs to be taken unaware anymore. Everybody knows that he’s not ordained unto condemnation.

He’s ordained unto Eternal life.

The whole thing is in open view, and everybody that hasn’t entered into the Spirit of the Lord’s Day, the great take-over of Almighty God, and is not fearful concerning the day of the Lord, there’s something wrong with that person.

He’s missed it! He’s missed it. That’s all. [End of the first audio tape.]

Now we leave the earth after 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:51, and the great tribulation of three and a half years now comes on, which is the build up in the day of the Lord to Revelation 19:11, which goes right into the Lord’s Day, which is the complete sovereignty of Almighty God, so that nobody, but nobody misunderstands Who is boss, and Who is taking over.

And nobody, but nobody, misunderstands who the Bride is, and Who’s going to run the earth.

Now let’s look at the picture. Malachi 4, which we’ve gone into in a whole series of messages about two years ago. In Malachi 4:1-3 and 5-6, we’ll leave that one verse out if you like.

Now that’s the great day of the Lord. That day is going to come, and God is going to burn them up, and there’ll be nothing to come back to. No way, shape and form.

Not a house, not anything. Now of course, we understand what the Russians and the Americans are trying to do. They’re going to get a bomb out here that will kill everybody, and then let everybody come back and take over.

Hogwash! It isn’t going to happen. I’m not very smart, but they’re more stupid than I am.

Now he tells you right there: there were two commandments given: one was unto condemnation, one was unto grace.

Now condemnation is going to take those who are away from the light, and commendation is going to take those who are in the light – which is grace.

Now he tells you that right flat. That prophet is going to come, and It says here, because the first part has happened:

That’s why the Lord Himself can descend from heaven, with a Shout, with the Voice of the archangel, Trump of God, and we can be taken out of here by Him, and then we’re going to come back with Him.

Then you watch the sparks begin to fly. That’s exactly right.

Now it is very clearly set forth here, there are two things:

#1. “I am coming to destroy and make way for My Day.”

#2. “I am coming to bless and get My subjects ready for My kingdom on earth.”

Two things. That’s right. Now under those two things:

1. “I am here to gather the living.”

2. “I am here to raise and gather the dead.”

3. “I am here to change the living.”

4. “I am here to take both to the Wedding Supper.”

That’s exactly what He’s doing. So there, you see, the day of the Lord, it’s already started.

The Lord’s Day has already started. In the day of the Lord, which is going to end in that great slaughter, where the blood will flow right up like the horse’s bridle.

That’s atomic destruction again. The blood will not congeal, or their faces will be like a flame. They’ll consume away in the eye sockets. 

The whole thing, it’s been happened already. It’ll happen again. It happened in the days of Noah when the earth unleashed its power against each other.

You bet it did. It started way back there with Nimrod, the first great organizer. Yes, siree. 

Now then in closing, the day of the Lord and the Lord’s Day is simply this to me:

#1. The day of the Lord is to establish His sovereignty, preparing the final steps for His kingdom to take over.

#2. The Lord’s Day, sovereignty established. He has taken over. 

See? You’ve got to have a process, and we’re in it. You can see then all this is going on right now. Once this starts, there is no stopping of it.

The thing is to recognize it. Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” means there is a continuation; there is not a lull.

That’s why Peter warns, he says, “Since the fathers fell asleep, everything continues.” Why, there’s a big gap – the big gap theory.

Well there isn’t any gap from the day He sent the Holy Spirit – started a Bride, He has not ceased to work and is working, and will bring a Bride out of here.

Indeed if you want to recognize the truth as Brother Branham said, “The church, like its head, must fall in the ground and die”, which it did in Catholicism. But under Luther, it began to come back. 

Do you realize, really, the Shout literally started under Luther? It did. It literally started. That’s why Brother Branham said, “You potentially had the Holy Ghost, but all you were is baptized.”

But you began getting, and the Holy Spirit coming up through the church, until He came back to headship in this hour. Sure. And remember, when it comes to headship, it demands a Resurrection, because there’s nothing left.

Now people think I’m saying something wrong. Like one fellow said, “Well, Brother Vayle said, ‘That when you come to the Holy Ghost, that’s all.’” Well I say, “If the Holy Ghost is God, what else do you want?” 

There’s a lot of people aren’t half as smart as they think. It’s just like Lincoln said, you see, “It’s all right to keep your mouth shut and people think you’re a fool than to open it and prove you are one.” Quoting Lincoln as best I can.

Restoration is here. Perfection is come, and is only waiting to go through the proper order to manifest itself as it really is, under the proper condition, which is “all things now positive.”

There isn’t any negative left. That’s right. People think there is, but you’re wrong, because there isn’t one trick unturned, there isn’t one that hasn’t been done.

The seed sown is called forth into manifestation, and only the planting of God in its full reality will remain. All else is shaken down. The world is falling apart.

Now there’s only one place: that’s safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast. That’s where repose is.

Brother/sister, look, the day of the Lord – judgment, destruction, the day of battle, the day of anger, the day of wrath.

All of these things are here upon us now because in His full revelation the mighty God, fully in view, He is King, He is everything! There isn’t one thing He’s got to be.

He already is. Just like that flower of proper seed, the proper condition, will be absolutely a manifestation of that life within it.

So God is manifesting Himself, and bringing up a Bride to glory. The day of the Lord and the Lord’s Day, we’re anxious for, and that’s why Brother Branham said, “I don’t care what it costs. I want to be there.”

I’m going to tell you something: it cost Jesus Christ enough. He never asked you and me to pay a cost. There wasn’t a price we could pay.

That’s why the legalist isn’t going to be there. No, siree. That old circumcision ain’t going to be there. He’s too busy trying to do some kind of works, and showing in his flesh he’s somebody.

But just listen, just listen awhile. You’ll find he’s nothing but a bare faced liar.

That evil worker, he’s nothing but that sweet old guy, Cain, that can’t divide the Word of God, and stands back, and he’s all a tremble like a bowl of jelly: “Hallelujah, ain’t God nice!” 

How nice is God to the enemies? They weren’t nice to Him.

Nice is nice, brother/sister, but I’m going to tell you: Brother Branham said, “Love is doing the will of God.” He said, “Compassion is doing the will of God.”

Let’s get down to where the things are, not some crumbling cookie. Let’s get to where the rocks of salvation are, the grace of Almighty God manifested.

Sure, I’m for all these things: nice people, everything sweet, everything lovely. Why do you think we rise up around here? Because everything isn’t sweet and lovely.

I’m all for it, but I tell you that land of eternal bliss is breaking on us now. Look, brother/sister, let’s get this flat.

Quit looking back in the rear view mirror! You haven’t got time to look in a rear view mirror when you’re going down that narrow road. You watch both sides of the ditches.

If you don’t look out, you’ll go in the ditch. Go ahead. Be my guest. That’s right. Quit looking in the rear view mirror, and don’t look too far down the road.

Start looking at the road right now. Where are you? Where are you? Right in the Shout. The gathering together unto Him. He’s coming to give us safety and deliverance, and we’re out of here.

Then that great One incarnated comes down. He doesn’t even come down before all the wrath begins hitting the world.

It’s got to hit the world to cleanse it, got to hit the Jew, got to hit the church, got to come right down here and end it all up, and then start the whole thing over in divine program. 

So listen, you’re not looking down the road anymore. Brother Branham said so truly, “History will not be written.” But we are the eternal record of God. Let’s stand.

Heavenly Father, we thank You again for mercy, love and grace. What You’ve showed us in this last hour, we’re very grateful for, O God.

And we praise You, Lord, that these things that we know, we know them as we never knew them before, settles us right down, relaxes us right down. Lord, certainly it’s true that we’re beginning to know as we’re known.

All these things breaking open before us, and we know we don’t have to look down the road to try to figure a thing out; we can just stand still and see the glory of the Lord.

We can believe the great messenger, like Eliezer came to Rebekah, way back there with appropriate gifts to vindicate who he was, and then give her the message.

And we, like her, are of the appropriate character to stand still and listen, to view the manifestation and to know that this rings true and to say, “Yes, we’ll go.” We’re only too glad to go. 

Take us to that One and see that One in Whom the promise is revealed.

And we’re very glad, Lord, that this One, like our Isaac, signifying laughter, it is not the laughter of derision, but it is the laughter of pure joy, that we are not going to be of those that are here for destruction, but only by Your grace, Lord, are we here for a reconstruction.

Yes. Changed in the very atoms, and taken away with our loved ones. 

What a wonderful, beautiful, divine plan is laid before us, Lord, and now to see these things just going from grace to grace, is entirely thrilling and we praise You, Lord. 

Bless each one in divine Presence. May the sick among us be healed, Lord.

May there be a new vitalization in every front of this great Christian battle life as never before, because we know the Commander-in-Chief is here, and there isn’t going to be one of us fall, because there won’t be any Achans among us, looking for the Babylonish garment and the big wedges of silver and gold.

No way, shape and form, because we’ve been declared the righteous, pure Bride of Jesus Christ, and knowing these things, we have no affection and attachment for the world, but we have our affections and attachment for the great present now: God in the midst of her – His people.

She’ll not be ashamed. 

Lord, we praise You for these things, just thanking You from the bottom of our heart. Go with us as we go. Bring us together in love, and mercy, and grace. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

The Lord bless you. “Take the Name of Jesus with You.”