Stewardship #03
Set In An Office#0497
Shall we pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Presence and Your guiding life through the Word, Lord that You have given to us, and we pray that tonight when You may saturate Your Word, or Your Word be saturated in our bodies, Lord, that bring forth the life that lies within us.
Help us to understand the truth as it has been set before us by the prophet, to know it, Lord, and not just know it in an understanding way, but to really rely upon it as THUS SAITH THE LORD, and the truth that is here before us this hour.
Help us to accept responsibility in our lives, as never before, and to realize that we are responsible to You, even as You are responsible to us, that it’s as we might say, the road goes in both directions, it’s a two way street, and although we travel together arm in arm as it were, there is also the fact that there is a conduct that we must partake of, and we trust Lord that we shall not just walk in the light, in the sense of realizing this truth tonight, but as Paul said, “If you live in the spirit, be sure that you also walk in the spirit.”
Help us to be fully aware of that Lord, and thereby discharge all those duties incumbent upon us, hopefully and trusting that Your Name might be glorified. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
You may be seated.
Now, we’re going to look at Stewardship again tonight, and as we do, we’re going to kind of go back over what we talked about in the first two services, and then combined with what we brought in, the fact of the two spirits being so close together, and of course that has to do with the church, and the understanding of that within the church.
Now, we looked the word ‘steward’ or ‘stewardship’, and of course we have in there that in looking at the word ‘steward’, we understand that a steward is a person that is in management actually, and he has to be responsible for and take care of what somebody else owns
And we found that as we looked in the scripture, and we looked in many scripture the first night, that’s when we studied, we looked at a lot of the scripture, in fact, just about all the scripture concerning stewardship in the New Testament, and also we looked at the word ‘servant’.
And as we looked at the word ‘steward’ and ‘servant’, we found that there was a great responsibility that devolved upon the servant and the steward.
And we found that not only was there a responsibility, but there were certain goals that were supposed to be achieved by stewards, who were also called servants, and if they did not achieve those goals, at least in some measure, there was a judgment, which was very much against the one who did not achieve anything.
And we saw the parables concerning the stewards where the lord of the estate called his servants, and he gave them certain amounts of money to work with.
And when he came back, the one with the largest amount had doubled his, and he said, “That’s a well good and faithful servant.”
He said, “You’ve been faithful over a few things, so I’m going to make you ruler and governor over many things.” He said, “Enter into the joy and the rest of your master.”
The second one did very well also. And he said, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or steward, whatever you want to call him.
He was a steward actually in this case, although he’s basically a servant also, which we take a look at. And he said, “Very well.” And he said, “Now you’re going to be made master over many things.”
But the last one, he said, “I knew that you were a very austere person,” and he said, “you reap where you didn’t sow,” and he said, “so I took the one pound you gave me,” or dollar, whatever you want to call it, “and I put it in a napkin and I hid it.”
And the master said, “Oh,” he said, “you unfaithful wretched servant.” And he said, “We’re going to take from you and give it to the one who has the most, and you’re cast into outer darkness where there’s weeping, and wailing, gnashing of teeth.”
Now Brother Branham always took that last part of the casting into outer darkness as the Great Tribulation.
And you can never take any parable, or any scripture, that has to do with fire, or the gathering of wheat, or the cutting down, except at the end time, because it just doesn’t work.
You simply cannot have a harvest till the end time, you can’t have a cutting down, you can’t have a burning, until it’s the end; it just doesn’t work.
And that’s why Brother Branham said, “There could have been a Rapture in the first Church Age.”
And sure there could have been as far as the conditions of that little Bride was concerned, but the Bride wasn’t in.
And of course, things begin to creep in, and creep in, until at the end time you find a judgment.
So every single time you look at the prospect of being a steward, it means that you have been given something by somebody.
In this particular case, the church has been given things by God, and they are to take those things, and I’m going to revise that statement shortly, you’ll see more.
To take those things, and you are to use them, and you are responsible for them, and you are supposed to use them in such a manner as to glorify God, and actually increase that field of endeavor in which you have been placed with these particular gifts that have been given you.
You are accountable to God, you are accountable to use what has been given you in a manner, which will glorify God, and actually glorify yourself.
Because the point is, the glorification of yourself is when God says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
You’ve been faithful over a few things, I’m going to make you master over many things.”
Now remember the promise in the Garden of Eden was master over everything. And so therefore, it is not what you might call strange for us to find Jesus on earth giving these parables, and announcing down the road that which was lost by Adam can be gained back, so that those in the Millennium and I don’t understand it all, and I don’t pretend to and down further down the road, they will be in certain positions which are open to them, and favors, and blessings, and glory, which simply means honor bestowed upon those people.
Now, when you look at the word ‘servant’, that word is a little different. Actually it means ‘bond-slave’. It’s a bondservant; it’s a slave. Now a slave really is somebody that has been taken either in war, mostly in not mostly.
You go back to your Old Testament, you’re going to find that they were taken in war, and it should have been mostly in war, but there was also a place where people got themselves in debt, and they couldn’t pay their debt, so the man to whom was owed the debt could go to the law, and he could say, “Now this person owes me a certain amount of money and he hasn’t got it.”
And the judge would say, “Well, we’re going to enter him into servitude. So he’s got to serve you until that has all been paid back by service.”
Now, it may be that that person actually at that time, could also have children. And it could be that you would find that the children perhaps were already born, or not yet born, would be born in that time of servitude.
Well now, until that man’s period was exhausted or ran out, the children also would be in bond slavery to the person who had lent them the money, or to whom they were in debt.
Now, also, you will find at that particular time, that there’ll be some people that found it easier to just live in a place of servitude and as slaves, rather than try to go out and earn their own living.
And the master was and actually the Bible laid down laws, where the master was supposed to treat the servants very well, and to treat the slaves very well. But the laws were there. Whether they were taken in war, or taken by debt.
But we’re looking mostly at the thought of taken by debt, and born into slavery by grounds of the fact that their predecessors had, or their you know, their forbearers, had already got them into this bondage.
Now, he said, if the slave comes and he says, “I love my master, and I’m very happy with the conditions there,” the Bible said then that man, instead of being liberated, because he liked the condition in which he lived, and he doesn’t want to get away from it, it’s a wonderful relationship.
And so he would take him to the door, against the frame of the door, and he would put the earlobe against that, and take an awl, and run it through. Now of course it would heal, and it would hardly be recognizable, but it would be there just the same.
And also they would also perhaps mark them. And many cases there was a tattoo mark, which would usually be upon the wrist or the forehead.
And you can tell right there what I’m going to talk about. Brother Branham talked about the man that’s an organization, and he loves it so much, he puts his ear against the door so the priest and the organizational system can punch a hole in it, and he said, “They’ll never, ever hear the Word again.”
Why? Because he simply loves his master. And he sells his children and everybody into bondage by turning the ear to the word of iniquity, which is a perverted word.
And you’ll never get him to hear the Word of God ever again, when they turn.
Be it in age number one, age number two, age number three, four, five, six, seven. It does not matter. It doesn’t matter. They can never hear again.
That’s why you have in Hebrews 6, the understanding, when you see the miracles, you see God’s prophet, you see the very ministry of Jesus Christ returned to this earth, you see God Himself fully manifested once more in human flesh, you see this very thing, greater works than were ever done before are now being done and fully manifested, and that’s all done in order to attract you to the Word.
At that time you can say, “All right. I’m going to be a bond slave to Christ.” You go to that door, and you can put your
“Behold I stand at the door and knock.”
And there He is, you come out and put the earlobe there, He rams the awl through with the sword of the living God, you will never ever hear another word of the devil, you can’t do it, but if you put your ear with organization, you’ll never hear the Word of God!
You can’t do it, because you’ll notice in Hebrews 6, fire falls on the briars. So it’s an end time revelation we’re talking about.
So all right now, you’ve got these slaves. Now every one of us is a slave. Unto Jesus Christ. There isn’t one of us that is not a slave. Why? It tells you over here in Romans 14.
And it also tells you in Romans, in other parts, but I’m going to go to the 14th chapter, because of course Romans 14 is almost the very end of the Book, is only 16 chapters. And it says here in verse 7:
(07) For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
(08) For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
(09) For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and [the] living.
It tells you right there, saint or sinner, hog, sheep, or goat, you’ve been bought by the Lord. And God actually owns you, Jesus Christ owns every single person.
Even as the scripture said, ““All souls are Mine,” saith the Lord. “The soul of the father, the soul of the mother, the soul of the children, the soul of the slaves, bond or free, it doesn’t matter, they’re all Mine.”
And you’ll notice at the end time, they all get gathered to the antichrist, because they don’t have the souls, which came from God. See? Remember the Bible also says that He’s able to destroy body and soul in hell. And we’ll get to that a little later on.
But the thing is I wanted you to notice here, that you have a complete picture now of the whole world in servitude and bondage to God, and it’s going to be proven so, because the Bible tells us there’s a day coming, when every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now that’s the Father and the Son, and the Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son, and the Son isn’t God!
And God is God. I just don’t understand how people get so mixed up, but oh, yes I do. Oh, yes, really if you just let your thinking go.
All right. So what we’re looking at then is this: every single born one, every single one of us, has been bought from the dead. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ every one is made alive, that died in Adam.
Now if you weren’t in Adam, you aren’t going to come back to life. That’s wise virgin, and that’s foolish virgin. Because remember, virgin is virgin.
And there’s the whole piece of cloth laid out, and the Bride pattern is put upon it, and all the rest is the same cloth, because virgins are virgins.
But you see one of them didn’t have oil in the vessel! Now you couldn’t possibly not have oil in your vessel, which is the Word, if you are wise virgin! And that makes the difference!
See? The life goes out of the Word. The goatskin becomes dry and hard. You can’t put new wine in old bottles, which are goatskins, because the rich fermentation, the rich wine, would immediately destroy the old bottle.
You cannot put a new patch on an old garment. And if you do you’re in trouble, because when you get there, the garment will fall to pieces, as being old, and the new garment puts you in a very bad light.
They say, “Just a minute, what have you got this patch for? Why didn’t you come all the way?” You see?
So we find every single person, bar none, has been bought. But particularly the children of God have been bought, because the word ‘redeemed’ means ‘to buy back’.
And I don’t go into those words, but you can go into them right here in the… say a Scofield edition, it’s very good. And it tells you how that when you use those words in the Greek to buy, they’re in the marketplace, and they’re right in there, all bound in there, solid under a barrier, like in the stocks and in jail, they’re right in there.
And so they’re bound in there. The man goes in the marketplace, and he buys them. Then he takes them out of the marketplace, and that’s the second thing. And the third step, they’re into freedom.
And so you’re looking at that over here in… oh, where are we going to go to? Well, I know somewhere down I got it written down here. If we go to Romans 6.
My eyesight’s so bad I can’t see my notes even too good, and if I do it they don’t do much good, because they’re so messed up I can’t read them.
But anyway it says here in,
(16) Know ye not, that whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness?
There you see you’re putting your ear to the door. So you’ve got the chance, the opportunity of being one with the living Word of God, or being one with the non-living Word of God.
I mean that’s all there is to it. And of course, there’s only one Word, and that is the Word of God.
“Why,” you say, “there’s only one Word?” Because God’s Word doesn’t fail, and His Word is forever, and His Word is pure! And His Word has been tried.
I’ll explain that from the Hebrew. So if you have that Word, you know you’re in good shape. If you have that Word, you know you’re full of the Holy Ghost.
Because there’s only one conduit of the Holy Ghost, concerning humanity, that’s the human body. And then concerning how you get it, because you don’t have a right to it to begin with, is by that Word.
So God has bought us out of the marketplace, and He’s set us free, in order now that we come to the Word, and in that Word we’re going to have all the help that we have need of.
Now,
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But God be thanked, ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart [now watch,] that form of doctrine which was delivered [unto] you.
So, freedom comes with the Word of God. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it’s the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth!
And you’ll notice as I said a while ago, and I’ll be widely criticized around the world because I dare to make this statement, I am not here to preach morals, and stand in the defense of morals.
Forget it. I stand here in defense of the gospel! And if you’ve got the gospel, you will have morals!
So don’t tell me these guys that believe in polygamy and all this sin and degradation, that they’ve got the gospel I’ve got!
Because my gospel leads me away from sin, and I can certainly be away from sin, if I yield myself to the Word of God!
I hope you understand a few things, because Paul the Apostle did not stand in defense of morals! He stood in defense of the gospel.
That’s why I quoted a while ago, and quoted the other Sunday, when Paul said to the Jews, he said, “Shame on you, you that are children of God and have the law, and don’t obey it.
These fellows out here don’t have the law and they are obeying it!” He wasn’t defending morals; he didn’t have to defend morals!
He said, “Such were some of you. Abused yourself with mankind, you were this, you were that.” But he said, “Now in Christ you’re made free.” He didn’t have to defend morals.
It’s like an old teacher we had many years ago, and he said how when he was a boy, you know, getting into teenage, he began picking up some trashy books.
And so one day his dad just didn’t say one word. He just hitched up the old wagon and went to town with his boy, and he brought a whole library of excellent books! Never said a word.
The boy got with the excellent books. I’m going to tell you something; I’ve never heard anybody able to use the art of elocution, and the power of words, outside of Charles Laughton, as that man did.
How many of you ever heard the Ancient Mariner? The Ancient Mariner [Inaudible]
Listen, I’m going to tell you something. You don’t have a clue to the Ancient Mariner unless Dr. Loux would recite it for you. And you don’t know ‘If’, written by Kipling, one is by Collier, other by Kipling, ‘If’, unless you heard Charles Laughton recite it.
That man’s life was completely transformed by proper literature. No wonder the kids haven’t got brains today and they live like dogs and devils.
They don’t have literature, they don’t have language, they have nothing. See? Forget the moral angle.
If that’s all you’ve got to go by, you’ll never get it. Get the Word of God in your heart. Through the mind and the spirit, down to the soul, feed the Christ within you.
You watch those people’s morals. See? Made free from the bondage of sin. Now, from one bondage slave of the devil, bondage and slavery to Christ.
Now, everyone then is a bond slave of Jesus, which is a love slave. Because who of us want to desert Jesus? You go to the world out there, the Fundamentalists…
Let me tell you a cute little trick that’s happening out here. I never knew till the other day, I listened to the radio coming home, and I like to tune in to the public radio.
And lo and behold there was a man on there, and he was being asked questions, and he was touting orthodoxy, which broke away from Catholicism.
I did not know that the Orthodox believe more truth in the Godhead than the Roman Catholic Church. But here’s what dismayed me.
There has been a real resurgence in orthodoxy, and it’s coming by Fundamental believers who were converted under Billy Graham and his like, are becoming Greek Orthodox Christians.
And they’re saying, “We’ve looked into the faith, and we’ve traced it back historically. We can’t accept fundamentalism anymore, we are orthodox.”
That’s the situation in the world out there. See, they always have been pawns of the devil.
They weren’t liberated, although they talk sweet about Jesus, and they talk all about Him and His love. Like I told you this woman in Florida years ago, “Brother Vayle,” she said.
“The trouble is they’re arguing over the Word and the Word driving them apart, when we ought to come around Jesus.” I said, “Hogwash! That’s the trouble!”
You can talk about Jesus all you want, but if you get away from Jesus the Word, you are nothing, because Paul already knew they had another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit.
How in the world can you go further astray? Already they were turning back to their beggarly elements. Already they were turning back to a form of worship.
Already they were turning away from the true gospel, in the day of Paul. We’ll show you that.
Now all of us then that are truly born again were servants in sin. As Brother Branham said, “Come into the world speaking lies.”
As David said in Psalm 51, “Shaped in iniquity, conceived in sin, my mother conceived me in sin.”
As far as I know he really wasn’t conceived in sin, as far as the actual act was concerned, she was the legitimate wife of David’s father. Jesse. No problem there, the history traces it right through.
What was it? It tells you right there, the Garden of Eden had wrong sex to begin with. The old serpent got in there, from that time on, the whole thing was defiled and run down.
We came under the thralldom of sin, and now you’re under the thralldom of Jesus Christ. Which means they’ve completely enthralled and taken over by one, completely enthralled and taken over by the other.
Now wherein then lies the difference between servants as bond slaves and servants as stewards? Simply this: both are identical except in one way. Every single bond slave steps up into a steward by an office that God gives him.
And in that office lie the possibility, and not just the possibility or probability, but the actual necessities to make that office a hundred percent functional. You get what I’m saying? I’ll go over it again.
Every single born again Christian. And I believe even you got… that could extend to the foolish virgin. And then it goes beyond that, we’ll show you how it goes to the world church.
But primarily, basically, every single born again person is a bond slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. And every single one also has an office. And the office is what makes you a steward.
The first one where you’re bought, and joined back to God, truly born again, baptized into Jesus Christ, makes you a love slave unto Christ. That’s why you hear so much about Jesus.
But the world has got it in a perversion. It’s only the true Bride that can really talk about the love slavery and the love slave that the saints are to Christ.
You’ll even find that perverted in your filthy magazines where they talk about a movie star movie star, star my foot, movie crud.
Don’t put him up there with the stars and the prostitute woman he’s living with. And what do they do? They call it a love child, until Madonna has a child, which is… well, it isn’t a bastard, I’ve got to admit it. Because they’re both free to marry.
The parents are bastards, but not the baby. And then she goes to a priest. Which is fine, kid doesn’t have any problem.
But it’s not going to help the baby to get baptized with a bit of water. Anymore than nothing. But you see that’s what the world goes at right there.
Now okay. We have these love slaves through the Word of God. And remember the Songs of Solomon is the love between the Bride and the Groom, and it’s very specific in its contents.
Till Brother Branham even came to the place where he said, “Have a sexual spiritual affair at the end time in order to bring forth the Son manifest in flesh.” Right?
All right. He talked about the conception being in the womb of the mind. Okay. These are bond slaves. Everyone. But everyone has an office.
Now here’s where Pentecostals go haywire, as I told you, they go to the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians. And that’s a very, very fine chapter, and it tells you here:
(01) Now concerning spiritual [energies], brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
(02) [You] know [you] were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols,
In other words, they went into the whipping themselves up, and smoking themselves up, maybe eating mushrooms that gave them delusions, and dancing and dancing in a frenzy, until they just get caught up, and don’t think it can’t be done.
It can be done in hypnotism. You can go right into a trance, absolutely caught up into trances, and don’t try to tell me, because I know all about it.
You can get absolutely caught away in your whirling dervish shenanigans, or anything else you want to pull off. It can be done.
And then he goes on:
(04) Now there are diversities of gifts, [but watch: diversities of gifts] but the same Spirit.
(05) [Different ways they operate], but the same Lord [doing it].
(06) Diversities of operations, [I beg your pardon administrations where they are administered and utilized. They operate different. It’s one God doing it. But notice,]
(07) The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
(08) One is given by the Spirit [of knowledge and right down the line, self-same Spirit, individually giving these offices to people and these gifts.]
(12) For as the body is one, many members, all members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
(13) One Spirit baptized into one body, Jew or Gentile… made to drink [of] one Spirit.
(14) …body is not one member, but many.
(15) [And the] foot [and the ear, and everything else is important to Almighty God.]
In other words, everybody doesn’t have the very same thing. And everybody has need of each other, every thing that God gives us; we have need of each other. And then it says here:
(29) Are all apostles? are all prophets? [No they’re not.] are all teachers? [No way.]
(30) [Do] all [have] gifts of healing? [No way. No way.]
Now go to Romans the 12th chapter and find some more goodies. And it tells you there, verse 3:
(03) For I say, the grace given [to] me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Now here’s where Satan fell flat. We’ll show you shortly.
(04) For as we have many members in one body, all members have not the same office: [there it is.]
(05) So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every member one of another.
(06) Having then gifts differing [and makes the office, see?] according to the grace given, prophecy, [we have it by] the proportion of faith;
Now to each one of these is operated by the proportion of faith, which means your ability given to you by God, you have everything you need for all of these gifts, all of these offices.
There isn’t one that God has denied anything from, whatsoever, every single one a member of Christ, member of each other, helping each other, everyone endued by God, endowed by God, there is no lack, period. It’s a perfect thing that God has done.
Now just keep reading. Now,
(07) Or ministry, wait on our ministering: he that teacheth, on teaching; [Now he’s getting the five-fold caught up in this, see?]
(08) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that [gives], do with simplicity; he that rule[s], with diligence; [shows] mercy, with cheerfulness.
(09) [Loving] without [hypocrisy. And so on.]
So as Irenaeus said, “There are hundreds of gifts or offices in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now are you thoroughly saturated what I’ve been telling you? Any questions, or can you get it? Every single one. Every single one from the blueprint of God.
Even as God said to Moses, “See thou make all things according to the pattern that I’ve showed thee in the mount.” An absolute pattern. It’s there.
So none of us lack in anything. And the Bride does not lack in anything. And standing around could say, “Well, just a minute. I wonder if the Bride’s going to make it.” Don’t be ridiculous; the Bride is going to make it!
Because God’s over the Bride, and given every single person in that Bride, and even in the foolish virgin, every single thing requisite to put them in that Kingdom and have God’s complete fulfillment for that person, for His Bride, and for God Himself, because God will be completely fulfilled.
Don’t you doubt that He won’t be, because He will.
All right. Now, we got a blackboard here. And I’m not a very good artist. But we’re going to go right back to where the whole thing started, which is way up in the heavens.
Now, up in here, we have this area here, [1] and we will call that God. The inscrutable God, Who is above all, over all, all knowing, and omnipotent.
Now, before there was a speck of stardust, God was there all by Himself.
So what we see coming down from there, we find that as Brother Branham said, “Before there was an atom, a light formed.” And a light can only form if there’s something there to form from it, because that’s what it means to form.
To give a shape to, an outline, to do something with what is there. Now this light formed, and of course this light came down here, [2] and we know that that was the Son of God.
Now Brother Branham tells how that everything from that point on, there began creation. Now he doesn’t go into it very strong at that particular time he talks about all creation, concerning the fact of the worship of things in heaven.
Now it would be my understanding at this time then, that soon as creation began to set in well, we’ll use another one here. Creation sets in, the first thing then we’re going to find up here then, is creation sets in.
This is my own feeling now here, my thinking, that if you are going to have government in heaven, that you are going to have kings, and retinue, and all those things that are vital to a great Kingdom, you have to start somewhere, and the first One with is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He’s going to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.
So we know settled right there, this is that important One in heaven. This is that One that every knee must bow, and every tongue confess. And this is that One that is set apart for the great plan of Almighty God.
And you’ll notice in there, Brother Branham calls Him Michael, and at the same time we have over here, [S] which is Satan. And I can bring this red down here, to show you over here. [M]
Now, Satan at that particular time, I believe, was set up in order that there’d be worship in heaven, the worship of Almighty God.
So all right, down through here we don’t have enough pencils and things, but it really doesn’t matter we have in here, [C] after this then, we will have in here all of these angelic creation.
In here [C] will be cherubs, archangels, angels, whatever you want to call it. They will be in there. And they are in there. See?
Now after that has been established, now my understanding is this would have to precede the formation of Adam and Eve.
Now of course after this, you find coming down from here after all this is going on, “Let Us make man in Our image.”
Now this is coming down through here, [Connects M – S, C and GR together with a line] see? “Let Us make man in Our image.”
And over here [GR] now, we’re going to have coming down the race, the God race, over here. Which is fine. Now all of these… [C] these are just creations.
Now, you will find as we come down here [GR] in the human race, all the way down, we’re going to leave this for the time being, we came down here, [J] and we find down here, afterward, Jesus takes on flesh. Right?
Now, when Jesus takes on flesh according to the Book of Acts 10, Peter speaking said, “God anointed of Jesus with the Holy Ghost Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.”
So here [J] we have an anointing. Now remember the seed is right in here, [SE] of course. So there’s an anointing.
Now, remember the word ‘Christ’ is the same word ‘Messiah’ which means ‘the anointed One’. So here [J] we have, this is the anointed One. Now what is this anointed One?
He is the Prophet, He’s Messiah, which He is, He’s the Son of God. He’s God manifest in flesh; He’s all of these things. [Writes the underlined on the board]
Now you notice in here, [J] if the anointing was down here, [J] and remember as He comes on down, [HP] really He goes up. But I’m talking concerning history, now. What is He now?
He becomes High Priest. Right? Now you can’t be High Priest unless you’re anointed for it. Now He didn’t come out of the Aaronic priesthood, He comes out of Judea.
Of which there’s no line. So of necessity, the priesthood changes, and this now becomes Melchisedec. So you have a Melchisedec priesthood.
And a Melchisedec priesthood now, again notice it is a source of worship unto God, because no man can come except through Him.
He is the mediator, [MD] and He is the intercessor. [IN] So here He is. He’s in there. Thoroughly anointed.
Now let’s look at this. We have over here [AC] in the book of Ezekiel: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth.” Okay. Here’s [M] an office; here’s [S] an office.
Michael leading in the service; Satan leading in the service. Now this word ‘anointed’ as I pointed out last time is a strange word.
Because it comes from the very root word of ‘this anointing.’ [J] But it’s not that. But there’s something in here, [J] intrinsically from here, [J] that gives this over here. [AC] Do you follow me?
Like I mentioned how we look at insulin. You got insulin, you got anything, you can take anything you want to take.
That is some type of a compound that you can change or break down, and yet it has its root within that very specific that is here.
Now let’s look at what we are talking about. When we talk about this [J] anointing. The Word is the conduit. This Spirit is life. The life is in the Word.
The life also is that same life within all the souls, these genes of God. They’re all in here. [GG] Up here [AC] you don’t have that. You got up here [AC] creations.
Now these creations up there, this fellow up here [AC] created, “Thou was perfect in all thy ways,” till iniquity was found in him, he was anointed.
What then is happening? The Holy Ghost is giving him an office. That’s what he has, is an office. Now Jesus was that Son of God coming down here [J] with an office.
We are sons of God, coming down here, with offices. Not just children. Up there, [AC] that is not a child of God. That [AC] is not a son of God.
That [AC] is a creation of God, but he is anointed. In other words, the Holy Ghost has positioned him. Do you follow me now? But he doesn’t have intrinsically that life to make the complete that you and I have, or the Son of God have, [Points to J] which we are heir to.
Do you follow me so far? You better, or I’ll lose you, and I don’t want to lose you. I want you to understand just exactly where I’m coming from, because this is particularly necessary, and I can’t even follow my notes, because I get ahead of myself, and back and forth, it doesn’t really matter that much.
Okay. Well, we’ll go to the Bible. And that’s the best place to go.
Ezekiel 28. Now it says here:
(11) Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
(12) Son of man, take up a lamentation [against] the king of Tyrus, and say [to] him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. [See?]
(13) Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, [the] topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper… [so on. That’s like the ephod that the high priest wore. But there’s some of the stones were missing.] the workmanship of thy tabrets thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day thou wast created.
They were prepared. In other words, this was a prepared vessel. But not a prepared vessel as the vessels of God, which are Bride. This is not prepared vessels of Romans. Remember in there, the vessels were prepared to forerun to glory?
They were the elect ones? This was simply a vessel prepared, but it wasn’t in Christ, no way, shape and form. Never was in God, a creation of God.
Now,
(14) Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;
That means this anointing was an extension, but it wasn’t the reality, of the definitive anointing. It was an extension and came out of it.
Something that could be given. See? You follow me? Something that could be given, and was given. Now,
(14) …I have set thee so:
Set him right up. Are you following me now? Are you referring now as I go along to the Bride, everyone set in the body?
Now, you should be able to follow me by now. I mean this is really quite simple.
(14) …thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
(15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity [that is the perversion of the Word] was found in thee.
So therefore, this man, this creation, un-programmed himself from the program of God. Because the Word was the program. Now there’s nothing that has any value or sense without Word.
That’s why Michener so tremendously said, and I almost fell over in my soup to know that man, that Jew writer could say it. He said, “When language loses it’s meaning, there is nothing left.”
It’s all gone. What does he think about this age in which we live? When people use language, which no longer has any meaning?
(16) By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
(17) Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:
Now in here it says here that “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty.” In other words then, God gave him a brightness, an office, that simply overwhelmed him! He got puffed up.
He got egotistical. He got carried away. “Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom.” In other words, what he had, corruption means ‘to rot’ because it’s death oriented!
Notice where death came in? It came in through the perverted Word, right up there with Satan. Well, come on. What are you going to do about it? You got to find a source someplace.
And the whole thing started in heaven; you got to trace it right back to get the alpha. Here’s the alpha.
Death settled in Satan right there, in creation of God. Couldn’t settle in Jesus, couldn’t settle in sons. You can’t kill life.
Can’t kill God. Can’t get rid of God. Can’t destroy a part of God. Can’t make a part of God sin. Can’t make a part of God have unbelief.
It’s impossible. Because God’s God. And whether you got a drop of God or ten cubic feet of God, it doesn’t make any difference; it’s all God.
See? How do you think they’re taking DNA and things like that today and finding things out? Through science [Inaudible]
Now,
(17) …corrupted thy wisdom [that’s his ability, his smartness] by reason of thy brightness:
In other words, the office was really too big for him. Without coming under God. The minute he decided to move away from God, the Word, he got too big. Just too big entirely.
(17) …by reason of thy [splendor, thy] brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, [and] lay thee before kings,
(18) Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries [in] the multitude of thine iniquities, [that’s his perversion of the Word,] by the iniquity of thy traffic;
He perverted that too, and that’s in Revelation 18, when the church takes over all the whole commerce of the world. The whole thing perverted! Because he’s not run by the Word.
(18) …therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, [and] devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
(19) [And] they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. [In other words, he’s a terror at that time, but he’s not anymore.]
So what we’re looking at up here, is the fact is here where false worship started, here’s where all of this stuff that we have right today in the Seventh Church Age started.
It starts right up here. [AC] Now, notice. Came from the Holy Spirit. [Writes the underlined on the board] That’s what it came from.
But, what is there is not an evidence that the creature is of the Holy Spirit. Okay? You follow what I’m saying? Any questions? Can’t deny it.
The anointing comes from the root word of the very anointing of the Son, right down here. [Points to J to SO]
So all right, let’s now go to Acts the 2nd chapter. And by the way, I’m on Stewardship. He blew his stewardship. Jesus did not blow His stewardship. His stewardship was what?
He was in a contract and an oath that He agreed upon with His Father, which contract we are under.
So that therefore, what you and I have, and whatever you and I do, is superseded by the contract of “All that the Father giveth Me will come to Me, and him that cometh I will no wise cast out, and of all that He giveth Me, I will lose none, but raise him up at the last day.”
That’s Bride and non-Bride. Of the direct children of Adam, all that died in Adam. Through Eve, and him following Eve.
Type of the church; prostitute church. Absolutely these are the children, which are raised up.
And remember, when He rose again, that was the surety that there is no way that the promise of God given to us can fail at any time in any place.
That’s why I preach not morals but gospel. Because in the face of the gospel, your morals aren’t worth two bits. Because you never have lived it and never will live it.
As Brother Branham said, “You backslide a thousand times a day, or sin a thousand times a day,” and I think that’s mild.
By the way I see these starlings fly around, I think that’s a mild, mild expression.
Now Brother Peter is talking at Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came and they all began to speak with other tongues. And the people said, “That’s of the devil, they’re drunk,” and so on.
And Peter said, “It isn’t.” He said, “This is absolutely a manifestation of the Holy Ghost.” Now in verse 15:
(15) These are not drunken, as [you] suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. [That’s nine o’clock in the morning.]
(16) But this is that spoken by the prophet Joel;
(17) It [is] come to pass in the last days, [and there’s two last days of the three. We’re in the last part. But also it becomes very definitive as to what part of the last two days.] saith God, I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men [will] see visions, and your old men dream dreams:
(18) And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out my Spirit [in those days]; and [they’re going to] prophesy [also]: [And then what?]
(19) I will shew wonders in [the] heaven above, and signs in earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [And that’s what? The Great Tribulation.]
So right to the Great Tribulation, and the great signing off at the end time, is where you have these two spirits! Right there.
[M and S] So close they’re right before the throne of God, the cherub that covers… And remember, when he made the ark and all the pertinences, the accoutrements, from the pattern in the mount was in heaven.
And remember in the mercy seat, the mercy seat is where the angels spread forth their wings. So this is always a type right here [M and S] where mercy is allowed by God.
Now you wonder then the devil doesn’t talk mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, goodie, goodie, goodie, nicey-nicey, nice.
Huh? Why, he was started right with it up there. [S] He knows all about mercy. He’s not going to have it. He knows all about it; it’s all perverted, everything he has is perverted.
See, he exalted himself, raised himself up, because he had this [OF] office. And in the office there was an anointing granted and given by God Who is the Holy Spirit, and said, “You are that cherub that covers, you’re up there [S] leading in the worship, I’ve given you this position.”
And He made him a tremendous individual. And the office was one of such great exultation as to be called glorious and splendorous. Full of splendor. And so what happened?
He got carried away by his office! Plain and simple. So what happens? He perverts the Word. And in the perversion of the Word, he sets in line a whole great big church coming down here that’s perversion.
And Word [W] is the big thing. So you cannot doubt that the office was given by God. You cannot doubt whatever was in there was given by God. The devil didn’t conjure it up. The devil didn’t make it.
“Thou was perfect in all thy ways. Everything was just right. But until you began perverting the Word, and you began perverting the Word, because you got puffed up by your office that was granted unto you.”
Now what chapter in the Book of Acts are you beginning to think of? Huh? Somebody tell me. Come on, you certainly should know by now. Anyway, we’ll get to it, no doubt.
So therefore, you see here, right at the day of Pentecost, there is absolutely the definitive anointing of the Holy Ghost upon two groups of people, one of which is God’s people, and the other is not God’s people.
Absolutely not. One are the true sons of God, the others are not. They are merely sons, what you might call, by creation, and they claim to have what they do not have; it isn’t real.
Now listen, when Paul came on the scene, Corinth, as I mentioned before, already had the gospel according to Peter. See? And that gospel that he had was from Pentecost, and he went down to Corinth, because of an angel.
Now, let’s take a look at angels. We got angels, [A] and we got angels. [LA] Over here [Points to A] we have Michael the archangel, and various cherubim, we don’t know too much about them, there’s angels of great stature, lesser stature… I should put this over here, [LA] kind of like this here, because of the fact that those angels aren’t really so good.
Now remember, when there was a war in heaven, and Satan began perverting his word to a bunch of angels, there’s a whole bunch of these [LA] angels, Brother Branham goes along with Milton that about one-third of them fell.
And so now you got fallen angels, which are devils, and they’re cast down here on the earth, and you’ve got angels that are good angels, [Points to A] and you can find there was an angel that came to Zechariah, there was an angel that came to Mary, there was an angel that came to Peter, there was an angel that came to Philip, and they were mighty good angels. Right?
Now down here you got a bunch of angels that fell, and when Jesus went to Gadarene, there was this man in Gadarene, who was bound by about a thousand devils in there, and he called themselves, himself, legion.
And the devils were being cast out, and they said, “Let us go somewhere,” and there was a herd of hogs nearby, “let us go into those hogs.” And they went into the hogs, those fallen angels…
Now I believe I’m right on this respect. That those are angels positively, they’re called demons now, or devils, but I believe Brother Branham did equate them to angelic structure. Okay, what did they do? They inhabited hogs.
Now let’s read what the Bible says here, this is a more liberal translation. And it said, “Dearly beloved, loved ones, in giving every diligent writing to you concerning the salvation possessed in common by all of us, I had constraint laid upon me to write you, beseeching you to contend with intensity and determination for the faith, once for all entrusted into the safe-keeping of the saints.”
Now there you are, they’re stewards. Every single one of us is a steward of the grace of God, and what measure of Word each one of us has, or any office that God has given us. We’re stewards, and we’re accountable.
And we’ll be judged according to that. “For certain men entered surreptitiously who were of old predicted with reference to this.”
See they’re not predestinated like we are; they’re just referred to. “Men destitute of reverential law towards God, perverting the grace of our God into moral anarchy… ”
There you are. A lack of self-restraint. See, they went off the Word, that’s why they’re immoral. Off the Word, unbelief. Smoking, drinking, adultery, they’re not sins, that’s the evidence of sin.
The sin is unbelief. See, Brother Branham told us the truth. “And denying the only absolute master,” there you are, servants and stewards, “even our Lord Jesus Christ.
Moreover after mature consideration, I desired to remind you, though you know all these things once for all, that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt then destroyed those that did not believe.
And angels who did not carefully keep inviolate their original position of preeminent dignity, but abandoned once for all their own private dwelling place, with the view to the judgment of the great day, in everlasting bonds under darkness he has placed under careful guard.”
See, they had positions, they had offices, and those offices came out of the fact of God positioning them there, and they were anointed, or dedicated to it.
Now that’s why Brother Branham categorically said, “Don’t you ever dare say tongues, interpretations, and these gifts are of the devil, they are not! They are gifts of the Holy Ghost, but not the Holy Ghost Himself!”
Now there’s a lot of scripture I could read, but I’m not going to go into it. What we want to look at here is that this man, this creation, the devil, positively knowing what he was doing, he perverted the Word of God and brought it to a place it should not be.
Now Satan the great perverter was a servant, but he never was a bond slave of God. In the sense that he wanted to serve God and only God, and wanted only the knowledge of the most High.
He had all that sitting right there in front of him, and he turned the whole thing right down, as we know that he positively did.
Now Satan bent, as I said, or perverted the Word of God, took it away from what it originally was. Now let me go over here to Psalm 12:6, I think what I’m looking at. And it says:
(06) The words of the Lord are pure: as silver tried in [the] furnace of earth, purified seven times.
With that, we want to go to Proverbs 30:5. See if I can get what I want here.
(05) Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
In other words, every Word of God is pure, and if you believe every Word in its purity, and pure, He’ll be your shield. But don’t count on it if you don’t.
Because the Word of God says, “How am I going to hear your prayer, you that turn away your ear from hearing My Word?”
You’ve got to understand Brother Branham’s Message and I’m trying to make it very, very clear to you.
Now in,
(26) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord:
So women think that they [can] cut their hair and do this and do that, and their prayer not an abomination, they’re not an abomination?
Men think that homosexuality is all right, and it’s in the church? Abomination. I can talk about some of those things.
You’d be surprised what I learn by reading the newspapers and science. You’d be surprised. Science is telling on itself. The filth that’s in the world, just telling on itself.
(26) …but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
Now what I’m looking at here, are two thoughts on the word ‘pure’. The first word that we’re looking at, the word ‘pure’ in Psalm 12:6 means ‘chemically pure’. It’s an element.
What about that? Wonder where all elements come from? Elements are what? They’re single feature chemicals, or something. Right? Single feature.
The Word of God is a single solitary unit. Can’t add, can’t take, it’s chemically pure.
The next one we read was in Proverbs 30, which means ‘tested, infused by fire’. Can’t change it.
The immutable, tested, proven, vindicated, absolute, wonderful Word of God, as God Himself. Chemically pure One. Can’t be fooled with, endures eternal, never changes.
Now what was the last one I read to you?
(26) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure…
Who are they? Sons of God. Chemically perfect, tried by the fire, stand true. Set for the defense of the gospel. Brother Branham said we’re part of the Word, Bible tells us right here.
A hundred percent. See? Now the church, or body of Christ, had a great stewardship! Satan had a stewardship, Christ had a stewardship, down here there’s a stewardship amongst the saints.
Every one is a bond slave, every one is a steward, every one has something from God, every one has a position, nobody bigger than the other, and it just looks as though one person is bigger than another, but Paul said, “Upon the uncomely greater things are bestowed, so the lesser is as great as the bigger, or the greater.”
And he said, “There’s no great ones amongst us,” and he stood right there as the hand of God. He said, “If the hand does it, the body does it,” and he was doing it. Huh? Absolutely.
Hey now I could shout. And you see, if I ran shouting and screaming now, all my good brethren out there, they’d say, “Vayle really gone crazy. He’s shouting in the wrong places.”
I got news for you, they’re shouting in the wrong places. I kid you not. I’m serious. But I’m no sober side, so I mean I feel great. Because these things are so wonderful.
Now these down here, they got a perverted Word, and they’re religious, and they must worship. Now Satan doesn’t have a word of his own. So he takes every single thing and perverts it.
That’s why you find everybody thinks in religion, “All the roads lead to Rome now, and everybody’s got something, we’re all just fine now.”
And that’s the new thing going out now, you know, everybody’s got something good. Oh well, I’m not going to argue that, sure they all got hair and teeth until they lose them.
They’re going to lose their souls too. Now, the church or body of Christ had a great stewardship and responsibility to bring forth children unto God and mature them.
Now, and also remember to give great glory to God. So we go to Ephesians 3, to give you my understanding, 21.
(21) Unto him be glory in the church [that’s God] by Jesus [Christ] throughout all ages, world without end.
Satan cut his off! He said, “Forget about worshipping God, I’m going to get worship.”
The church says, “Forget about worshipping God, we’re going to worship ourselves, we become the gate, the door, everything else.”
The Catholic church says, “Come to us we’ll let you in.” Hogwash. Let you into hell! Then close the door on you. See?
To give glory to God by Jesus Christ in the church! The devil’s object is to take away glory from God through the same Jesus Christ. And he’s done it! He’s taken away the Word.
When you take away the Word, you take away Jesus; I don’t care what anybody says. Brother/sister, search your scripture; you’re going to find that Word is very, very important. As you well know it is.
Now we go to Ephesians 4. Now in Ephesians 4, I want you to notice something.
(04) There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
(05) One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
(06) One God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all.
(07) But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
There you are right there. Every single one has something from God. It even goes to the false church can get something from God.
But it doesn’t mean you got God or God’s got you, because you got something from God. And it can be genuine and real.
You can heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out devils, and it’s all done by gifts. It’s done by God’s bequeathing. Now let’s find out more about it.
(08) He [said], When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(09) (Now he [that] ascended, what is it but he that also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
(10) [And] he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above heaven, that he might fill all things [in all].)
(11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, [pastors]; and some, evangelists; [and so on, right down the line, to give the church its ability to grow and to fulfill the whole Word of God and come right up to Christ.]
Now what I’m looking at is this:
(08) Wherefore [when] he [said], When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and [he] gave gifts unto men.
That’s exactly what He did. He gave gifts unto men. Now if we go to reading Ephesians 4 a little further, He giveth five-fold ministry,
(12) [To perfect] the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
(13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, [to] a perfect man [and so on.]
(14) That we henceforth be no more children,
(15) But [holding] the truth in love, grow up into him…
And that’s what the church has to do, and giving glory to God by Jesus Christ the Spirit of God within the church. Now that’s what they were supposed to do. But look what happened over here in Revelation 3.
(14) And unto the [messenger] of the [church of the Seventh Church Age] write; These things saith the Amen, [the finisher upper,] the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
(15) I know [your] works, [you’re] neither hot [nor cold]: I would [you were] hot [or cold].
(16) Because [you are] lukewarm, neither hot [or cold], I will spue thee out of my mouth.
(17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not [you’re] wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked:
(18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, [and so on.]
Now, these people in the Laodicean Church Age, which are our age, should have been white hot in its faith for the works of God is to believe on Him Whom He hath sent.
Now remember in here, he said, “I know thy works. That you’re neither cold nor hot. And I’m going to spew you out of my mouth. You’re lukewarm.”
Now, let’s check it out. So where are we going to go? We’re going to go to John 6, aren’t we? That’s exactly where we’re going to go.
And we’re going to read in John 6, and where are we? We’re going to read verse 29 no verse 28 oh we can read verse 27:
(27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: [now notice Son of man. That’s Prophet. Give to you.] for him hath God the Father sealed. [Vindicated. And the word ‘sealed’ also means ‘put an end to it’. And it means also ‘the sum total’, the complete summation.]
(28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might [do] the works of God?
(29) [And] Jesus answered and said, This is the work of God, that [you] believe on him whom he hath sent.
(30) [And] they said therefore, What sign [do you show us], that we may see, and believe?
(31) Our fathers [ate] manna… [and they went right back to a dead issue. They forgot Deuteronomy 18. They deliberately put it out of their minds.]
In other words, when it came time for the works of God, which would be brought, and can be brought, and must be brought, primarily through a vindicated prophet, then through a true five-fold ministry.
Because that’s exactly what Paul taught in Ephesians 4. The five-fold ministry with the vindicated Word. Remember, Paul wrote it.
The same Paul that said, “If any man thinks he’s a prophet, or full of the Holy Ghost, he will admit that I have the Word of God and nobody else has it.”
Now come on, that’s what he said. “He will acknowledge the things that I say are the commandments of God.” The word ‘acknowledge’ means “He will superimpose my words over everybody else’s word. I’m it.”
“Oh, bless God, bless God” That’s what crucified Jesus Christ. “Oh bless God, bless God, bless God.” Over their unbelieving faith, they’re glorifying the Lord.
“Oh can’t be, oh can’t be, hallelujah, hallelujah. Can’t be, can’t be, hallelujah, hallelujah.”
That’s on tape; you should get the video. I’m not kidding. These guys are weird. They’re devil possessed not devil possessed, but they’re weird. See?
Now the contents of John 6 that I read over here, of course, are found in 28-40, which I won’t take time to read, because it is nothing more nor less than Deuteronomy 18, concerning the true prophet and Jesus was that Prophet! Isn’t that what Moses prophesied, a prophet?
Then all right, call Him a Prophet. This was a little different than all the prophets though. This wasn’t one where God appeared in a Pillar of Fire and talked lip to ear as the saying goes, this is where God was in the Man right straight.
This was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We’ll go into that in various angles too. Now the revealed Word of the Seventh Church Age was: you’re wretched, miserable, blind, and don’t know it.
These people said, “We’re rich, increased in goods, have need of nothing.” They thought they knew but they didn’t know. Their knowledge was a hundred percent opposite to the knowledge of God.
That shows you a little perversion that started way back there in Age One, now becomes a complete and final perversion that literally started in heaven when he was worshipping God, and got in his heart the idea to pervert the Word. He couldn’t help it of course, because he didn’t have the Holy Ghost to steer him straight, he just had a gift.
Now they were totally unaware that they are not what they should be, but believe that they are. They should have been Ephesians 1:15-23. Which was the Spirit of God comes into the church.
To make known to the church the hour in which it lives, and to reveal the deep secrets of God, bring back the true original Word of God, bring about a resurrection and a rapture!
And the Kingdom of God on earth! That’s what they should have been! Right! But they weren’t. But they say they are, right in this very hour.
They should be Ephesians 4:16. Which means a true five-fold ministry, with the true prophetic Word, acknowledging Paul as Paul stated Paul, by vindication that he knew and nobody else knew!
And every other thought was not just dung, it was worse than that, because dung doesn’t usually kill you unless you’re drowning in it, or your stomach is so full you’re bloating, and you finally die with gangrene and things.
Dung’s pretty good fertilizer. You don’t die from that. It’s worse than that. It’s total unbelief.
And the sentence of the second death has already been passed, because Brother Branham said Malachi 4:1-6, leaving neither root nor branch was the White Throne.
It had to be, because that’s the only place where you’re going to get it. So therefore, White Throne is already in existence today, and every single thing under the Seventh Seal is already coming to pass.
Every single thing that hinges on is for you and me, everything through Jesus Christ, everything that God wants is coming right now under the Seventh Seal.
Time and eternity mixing and blending and all these things come together. They should have been 4:16, but they weren’t.
But notice, in Age Four is where it started. He said,
(20) …Because [you have] that woman Jezebel, [the] prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants [servants, notice, servants.] to commit fornication, [just like old Balaam did.] to eat things sacrificed [to] idols.
(21) I gave her space to repent of her fornication; she repented not.
(22) Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
(23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he [that searches] the reins and hearts:
That only happened in the Seventh Church Age too. When the fullness of all organization, all churches, come to a head, and that’s Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12.
The discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It all started right in there, when they went into the death of the complete destruction of the faith in the scripture.
It died, and that death has come right down here, and second death started right there. See?
Now mother and daughters. The stewardship that God left with His church with Paul went into discard, and disregard, as they turned from the true Word, the true Jesus, and the true Spirit.
And the Galatians were a part of it. And every single church was a partaker of the original sin, and the Galatians who put all their faith and love in Paul and his Message, they would have given their eyes, they would have plucked out their eyes for him.
They turned on him, and they went into Gnosticism, which is not agnosticism, and is not atheism, because atheism says, “There is no God,” agnosticism says, “We don’t know,” but Gnosticism says, “We do know, and we know better!”
And that’s exactly what Satan was. He was a Gnostic. And the whole Branham message is full of Gnosticism or I’ll eat my shirt. Because they all went back to Pentecost, and Pentecost gnosticism today, based on the Word is: “Tongues is the evidence, we know it is, even though the prophet says not, even though people can deny it, and the scholars will prove it’s not the evidence, we know it anyway.
We know it, we know it, we’re fine, we’re not.” Have you had people just smile at you, “Brother Vayle, Sister so and so, yes, yes, yes,” and all the time, they’re just Gnostics. They got a better Word; they got a superior Word.
Oh, they’re not agnostics. Oh no. They don’t say, “Well, there’s maybe a God, I don’t know.” They’re not atheists, they’re Gnostics. The higher revelation, so-called.
Now, this which started back there at the day of Pentecost, got in the Corinthian church, which was not set in order, and the church began to unravel right there, over personalities, and over gifts!
As though gifts vindicated them! The same today in Pentecost, we come full circle, where Mark 16 has vindicated the Pentecostals, and they’re not vindicated!
You can’t take Mark 16, and make it vindication, that’s a lie from the pit of hell. And I’ll tell you why. Because Mark 16 is the outflowing of a previously vindicated ministry, which was Jesus’ Own ministry.
And He said they’ll speak with tongues, and so on. So all right. How many minutes? Why bother? We put it on tomorrow’s. Okay.
This which started there, comes at the end time in 2 Thessalonians, where the devil himself is revealed in human flesh, whom the Lord shall destroy when He comes back with His saints, and this working of Satan is with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.
The Pentecostals still cannot understand that Judas, though chosen and given an office, and he was given an office, that Judas could raise the dead and heal the sick with the best of them. But he himself was not of Almighty God, and he himself actually only had an office.
Now, if you want to see that, you come over here to the 1st chapter of Acts and the 15th verse.
(15) In those days Peter stood in the midst of the disciples, and said, [the number of names were about an hundred and twenty,]
(16) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
(17) For he was numbered with us, and had [received had received] part of this ministry.
(18) Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and his bowels gushed out. [This man was another Balaam.]
(19) And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that field is called in their proper [name], Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
(20) For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take.
All right. He had an office. He was a minister. He was religious. He was ordained. He was known of God. But he certainly was not a son of God. He had a bishopric.
Now, you want to know about that? Let’s take a look over here in Titus. I’ll finish up tonight and someone can preach tomorrow. All right. It says here in verse 6:
(06) If any [man] be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or [unruliness].
(07) For [the] bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God;
Right? Tells you that. Okay, in chapter 3 of 1 Timothy:
(01) This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, [a bishopric,] he desireth a good work.
He’s not in any five-fold ministry. Acts 20, who was it that came in Ephesus to Paul’s request and took upon themselves an office that they didn’t have from God? It was the elders!
See, what you’re looking at here, is the fact that Satan has his own line of worship which eventually exalts him above Almighty God, the people are completely fooled with the two spirits at the end time that started right up there, [Points to M & S] very close together, leading in worship, and Satan wanted to exalt himself above the most High, sits in the temple as though he’s God, forgiving sins, getting worship unto himself. And he is anointed!
But he’s not anointed as a child of God, and he’s only anointed in the sense that he’s consecrated to an office, and the office gives him the enablements, and the embellishments and those things, which are due to that great position.
And you’ve got Pentecost right today. They got healers on every hand. They got people on every hand, with Mark 16. And they’ve risen up with the gifts of Almighty God, to pervert the very Word of Almighty God.
They don’t stand in awe of God and His prophet, no way, shape and form, in fact they come right against him, they wag their heads, they pronounce judgment, they pronounce everything as though they have it, and they have not what they think they have, thus like the Laodicean Church at the very end time.
Now let’s just go back here for a second. A Book of Revelation. I got to try to finish this up here. Notice what it says in,
(02) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience… [Then in verse 7,]
(07) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
What was said to church number one belongs to church number two, to number three, number four, number five, number six, and number seven.
And what started in number one has to go all the way through to number seven. Now, he says then in the second chapter, the church in Ephesus:
(02) I know [your] works, [your] labour, and patience, and can not bear them evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast them found liars:
And Brother Branham said these false apostles came by, and the people said, “You’re false.”
They said, “What do you mean we’re false?” Said, “Because you’re not saying what Paul said.” And they were able to do it at that particular time. But notice in verse 4.
(04) Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
They left their first love like the Galatians did. You see that was in the First Church Age. The leaving of the love. Because they knew, the same as we know today, that the church is built upon revelation.
And as Brother Branham said, “How you ought to love each other, you that love this Word.” And those people that think they love God apart from the Holy Spirit indwelling in the Word, I believe they have very serious problems.
You notice the next church age it says they knew those who claimed to be of Satan’s synagogue. They claim to be Jews but are not. In other words, claim to be true believers, but they were not true believers.
They had that tune in other words the Word of God was still cutting the ice for them, but it was still going down the drain. It wasn’t what they used to be.
The Third Church Age the same, right down the line, until you come to the last Church Age, number seven, and if there’s any indication that the Word of God is there, I want to know about it. It isn’t.
But all the wonders of Mark 16, and the miracles, and the ministries, and the offices, which are not of the true church, but of the false church, though they’re in the true church, there’s the imitation, there’s the mimicry, there’s the perversion, there’s the hypocrisy in the last Church Age coming to a complete full.
And he says here:
(20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, [and as Brother Branham brought out, any man, one man, that man was William Branham,] and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. [And at this time there’s an overcoming. And He said,]
(21) Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and set down with my Father in his throne.
Now then how do you overcome? By the Word of the Lamb. By the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. The overcoming.
So at the end time there will be an overcoming church, and that church you will find is one that has acknowledged her stewardship. See?
They’ve been servants unto God, bond slaves, and you’re only bond slaves according to a contract. And the contract is written in the Word of God.
We are bond slaves of Christ, but every single one is not just as it were, but every single one is a steward and he is responsible for whatever God has placed in his possession. And that person can use it.
And remember you’re not interested in nine spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. You’re interested in the whole complexity, whatever God has given you.
Not something that you and I have been taught, that we must have by some denomination. But what God Himself gives us.
And I tell you this, if we are sensitive to the Word of Almighty God, we will find that Word of God directing us within the very ministries that we have. Whatever those ministries are.
Giving, forgiving, whatever it is that God has placed in individuals, but every single one has something from God, and every single person is responsible for whatever God gives him.
To fulfill that office wherein he has been placed by God, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit by that Word.
And you will see that the end of the trail, as God begins to give out, as it were the crowns and the positions, which have been allotted, because it’s faithfulness, the faithfulness will always start where Paul started, and where did Paul start?
There was no service to God acceptable until Paul was right with the Word. It took God to knock him down. To make him realize that his worship of God was vain. And everything he had was vain.
But when he was really right with that Word, he could set the church in order. And Brother Branham came with the same Message and ministry of Paul. To set a church in order, and to see that there would be a Bride at the end time.
Where every single person is not worried about gifts and running around, trying to get gifts, and trying to get this and that, but as Brother Branham said at this end time, “We in the Bride will be living normal, as it were, natural lives.”
In other words, the spiritual life is congruent with the life that we are now living. As Paul himself said, he said, “The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,” Who actually is indwelling him and living through him.
And that’s the secret that we’re looking at today, every single one of us as a bond slave to Jesus Christ, are also God’s free men, wherein have been entrusted to us those things that we can show forth the praise unto Almighty God.
I cannot lay hands on anybody and tell what you are. There’s no way. But I know one thing, as surely as I was led by the Lord, against my own will as it were now you’re different, because the five-fold ministry’s always different from people sitting in a congregation.
Unless you’re a five-fold ministry, there’s no way you can understand what Brother Branham said. He said, “If you’re really called, you’ll fight it. You won’t want to go.”
But you will go, and the Lord will bless you, because He’ll take care if He sent you, He’s going to work it out for you. He will work it out.
He’s done it for me, He’s done it for everybody that’s called, there’s never a failure, there’s never one going down the drain, God does not lose any, it’s all there.
And just as a five-fold ministry can battle a call, the others can drift right into it. And you will find yourself, I don’t know.
If Irenaeus said there’s hundreds, and everyone has a portion, then brother/sister, I know that’s true.
But the major key of the whole thing is that Word, because that’s where Satan went off. “You were perfect. In you,” He said, “you sealed up the sum.”
He said, “You were absolutely everything, nothing could be added to you. You were absolutely a hundred percent fit and perfect as you stood there.
Until you made one little change in your heart of that Word. And you were gone.”
Now just a minute. Satan didn’t have one bit of trouble in that office, until he changed that Word. Neither do you and I. Every one has our position, our place.
Just keep on going naturally, keep on going, as the Spirit of God leads you in this Word.
If you see something in there, that you should be doing, and I should be doing, let’s go ahead and do it. If there’s something in there to be fulfilled, in our hearts we know, hey, this can be done, this is normal to a Christian, that’s what Brother Branham said. Just down the line, serving Him day by day.
But I want you to get your picture of Stewardship. Now we’re not finished on the subject yet. I wanted to show you, look it started way back there.
And it’s going to end way in the New Jerusalem, and maybe beyond, I don’t know. And it’s ending here on earth, right at this time.
There is a responsibility because God has gifted His people. And these others come right down the line with their false worship, and they will end in a predestinated place as spoken of.
You and I are going to end in the place where the Word of God is fulfilled in its purity. They’re going to be in a place merely where there’s a reference. Do you follow me?
Hell was created, the devil and his angels. That’s a reference. Huh? Certainly. That’s a reference. The other is the pure Word of God. Chemistry perfect.
It’s an element, tried, God standing behind it. Well, that’s what we have tonight.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father we thank You for the time we have together, looking at the scripture Lord, knowing many, many, many scriptures, even many more we could have gone into, but we know that wasn’t necessary, really.
But these things Lord we know to be true now, lest there be any confusion or anyone believing that there might be ministries of aggrandizement, or ministries, or failing, and Father I pray that they’ll never come to that conclusion, because we’re not going to fail to do the will of the Lord, because the will of the Lord we have come to tonight in a manner that has not been met within the last two thousand years except under Paul.
And now being met and progressing now from Ephesians 1:14, right through 15-23, to the very ascendancy, to the very heavens itself.
So we thank You for that Father, and we trust knowing that not one Word of God shall fail, neither shall we fail, and neither shall we fail, Lord.
We’re on the right track, and we’ll fulfill fill the position that You’ve brought us to, because we know that everyone of us in the Bride is a member in particular, everyone has a place, and everyone fulfilling the place, and everyone being beneficial, one to the other, in bringing up this beautiful body to the perfection where we come to the Wedding Supper, even as Paul said.
Unto You we give glory, in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
[Brother Vayle continues with the Communion Service]