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WE WOULD HAVE HEALED BABYLON
As known, there are two kinds of healing – physical healing and spiritual healing. Both are good, but one is more imperative, which is spiritual healing. In this subject, we want to consider why Babylon has refused healing, despite the availability of healing.
There is always balm in Gilead, but that doesn’t depict that those who need healing will be healed, in fact, their proximity to balm sometimes, is the reason they don’t get healed, they are too familiar with God.
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Matthew 13:14-15
Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
that made all the earth drunken:
the nations have drunken of her wine;
therefore the nations are mad.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed:
howl for her;
take balm for her pain,
if so be she may be healed.
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed:
forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country:
for her judgment reacheth unto heaven,
and is lifted up even to the skies. Jeremiah 51:7-9
The plan of God, in the beginning, was for the earth to be replenished and filled, but it got to a time that the people came together to conspire against God’s paradigm, determining to build a city whose tower will reach heaven, such that they would be in one place and not be scattered. It sounds good, an attempt to bring unity and harmony amongst the people, but this is ludicrous to God’s plan. He came down and confounded them, and laid waste their evil conspiracy. This is where Babylon gets its meaning -Confusion! Babylon was the first world empire, ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar, but God destroyed Babylon. Well, there are two Babylon, physical and spiritual. And perhaps, we can behold ourselves in the mirror of God’s word considering physical Babylon to see where we are standing, because God is just.
First, the Bible says that Babylon had been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand. “Had been” as emphasis showed that she lost this position. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon was a proud king, always daring God, and would not learn until God rendered him into an animal.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? Daniel 4:28-30
God gives gifts, and He gives wealth, but you have to be careful and ensure that ‘self’ doesn’t rise inside of you because of what you received. Actually, there is nothing you have that you didn’t receive. How humble are you when God answers your prayer? Trust me, without God, you are nothing. Do not let pride kill you like this king. God looked at him and meted his judgment quite all right. A proud man is nearing an utter fall (such fall that without remedy). Nebuchadnezzar forgot that it was God that made him an emperor. Self, rose up in him so much that he began to show contempt of God. God proved to him that He made him no matter what he is or becomes.
While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:31-33
You and I need to be careful that God will not take the good thing He gave us because of pride. Should you despise your Creator because of what you become -that He made you? May God not useless us, Amen!
The good thing is, Nebuchadnezzar repented and was restored because he typed something. He was cast out for “seven times” according to the bible, which is a type of Gentile time that will span seven dispensations. At the seventh, a message of restoration will take the church back to what she lost.
And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: Daniel 4:34
Meanwhile, Babylon did another evil that made God wipe her out completely. Yes, God used Nebuchadnezzar to deal with the children of Israel, she went beyond and devoured God.
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me,
he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel,
he hath swallowed me up like a dragon,
he hath filled his belly with my delicates,
he hath cast me out.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,
shall the inhabitant of Zion say;
and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,
shall Jerusalem say. Jeremiah 51:34-35
And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 51:63-64
Let’s look at the second Babylon, the spiritual one.
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:1-6
Obviously, both physical Babylon and the spiritual have a golden cup. Guess what? You have that cup as well, everyone does. The question is, what do you fill inside? If the world should come drinking from you, what will they become? Spiritual Babylon today is the Roman Catholic Church, but I must tell you that she did not start like that, just like you. You started with the fear of the Lord, and wouldn’t give yourself to debauchery, but now, you’re beginning to show contempt for God.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
Babylon the great is fallen,
is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Revelation 18:2
The Catholic church was originally a Pentecostal church, an extension of what happened in the upper room. They don’t baptize children, and they don’t worship images and all evil that is in her today. Those who started the church of Rome are those that experienced Pentecost, it wasn’t even Paul that established the church. Let’s see those who started the church in Acts 2.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Romans 1:8-15
Of course, Rome was a pagan nation, and when the gospel gets there, we can say that the gospel was thriving in the midst of their paganism. That spirit could not enter the church because the true servants of God were there, ministering to them. They were guiding the church of Christ to uphold the true world of God and not mix it with the traditions of the land. The Spirit of Lion was on the ground, roaring against lawlessness. Paul spoke about them in his book to them.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:18-32
How did the church in Rome get corrupted? There was a separation made by the government of the land that caused this. There was a law that every Jew should leave the land of Italy, and this separation caused men without the Spirit of God to mount their pulpits and begin to dish falsehood. If there is a warning, here is it: when you think you are sufficient, you have already fallen. Do not separate yourself from the church of Christ. Before the devil will get you, the first thing he will do is separate you, then he can get you cheaply.
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. Acts 18:1-2
Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh
and intermeddleth with all wisdom. Proverbs 18:1
The degradation of the Catholic church was gradual, till it became terrible as we see today. The devil is smart, he won’t spoil you in a day, but once he gains access, it will take God for you to be delivered.
Men and brethren, when God corrects you, no matter how harsh it is, it is for your healing. Take it with humility. God knows us more than we know ourselves, let us not argue with God’s authority. There is a balm in Gilead, there are physicians, but you need humility and obedience to be healed. If we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us in due season. Don’t reject what will heal you, otherwise, you will die.
THE UNBROKEN SEVENTH SEAL
The review you are about to read combines the topics preached on the seventh seal titled: The Seventh Seal and the Unbroken Seventh Seal.
We are privileged to be numbered amongst those who would be in God’s program at this end of time. More than ever before, the Holy Spirit is insistent on His children having an accurate understanding of His plans for the end time, the essence is so that we will be furnished unto every good work, established in the truth, and ready for the full salvation that lays ahead of us -the redeemed. Hitherto, there is a longing for that redemption of the purchased possession that is to the praise of God’s glory, and the church of the firstborn is marching forward to burst out in the glory that Jesus saw ahead of himself and endured the cross. In light of this glorious hope, we want to understudy this subject, because it holds the mystery of God’s full redemption for mankind. Hallelujah!
When John was summoned up hither, he saw a great number of things, the majesty of the Supreme One that sits on the throne, the orderliness of the angels and elders that surround the throne, bowing in awe, worshipping, the four living creatures with eyes all over them and gird about with six wings, chanting holy, holy to the Highest. No one would be in that atmosphere and would not revere God; John indeed would have been in awe, wide-eyed and mystified, gazing at the glowing majestic processions, truly as verse 11 of Revelation 4 says thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, they were created. After this, another scene flips into view, and John saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, which none was worthy to look upon.
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. Revelation 5:1-3
Sovereignly, God who is answerable to no one encrypts His Book in symbols (especially the book of Revelation). God didn’t write the scriptures to acclimatize to the ideologies of scientists, God was neither hungry for recognition nor vulnerable to please a man with information to prove that He exists. Whether you believe or not, He cannot deny Himself. He wrote every word with signatures of His authority; He encrypts lots in symbols, others, He wrote them literally, as it pleases Him. Whether in symbols or in plainness of writing, any man that carries the book cannot by education interpret it. As unequivocal as they are, you will need the Spirit of the Living God to interpret them for you. The greatness of God is that He hides in simplicity, you need to be a babe if He must unhide His mysteries to you.
There is no literal book in heaven written within and on the backside, God revealed it to John in symbol, since that was what was relatable to John. The question therefore should be what is this book sealed with seven seals?
THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK
It is the title deed of the earth that Adam lost when he reasoned with the knowledge of good and evil. That is the book of redemption. God created man to have dominion over the earth.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26-28
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:16-17
When God created man and put him in the garden, he covenanted with him, having made him in his image and likeness to be the god of the earth, he was to keep it for the One who put it in his care. But to keep having dominion and authority over the earth, He was to operate by the tree of life, and the law of mixture of good and evil. Paul explained what these two trees are, he called it the Law of Life in Christ Jesus, which has made him free from the Law of Sin and Death. The day Adam eats of that tree (partake of that law of sin), he will die. Right and wrong will always be placed before everyone, this was placed before Adam in the garden. This was what Adam and his wife disobeyed -they disobeyed the Law of Life that would have given them the dominion of the earth forever, and partook of the Law of Sin (which had an element of good in it, but evil also). Because of this, God banished them from His Presence and they lost the RIGHT to TRUE WORSHIP OF JEHOVAH.
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Genesis 3:23-24
Because their true relationship with God was lost, their rulership over the earth was lost as well. Satan became the god of this world and made it his Eden, man was stripped, and since then, the true worship of God is being sought after. The title deed (right of ownership) of the earth went back to God, and He sealed it up such that no one could dare to look at it or open it. Anyone who wants to do this must pass through the flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of life, not just that but have to be qualified to redeem man. This was why John saw that no man was worthy because sin had contaminated everyone from Adam. And according to the law of God, a kinsman redeemer had to pay the price for this redemption. The man had sinned; angels cannot redeem him back to God. Let’s see what the prophet said concerning this title deed:
154 Now we find out. Where is the Book at now? To Its original Owner, because It has been forfeited by a son, the first son of God, in a human race. And when he forfeit his rights, to listen to Satan, he give up…What did he do? He accepted Satan’s wisdom instead of God’s Word. Now, couldn’t we stop here a while! Sons of God will take a seminary’s idea about It, instead of the Word of God. See, same thing Adam did, forfeited his rights. And when it did, it went right straight back. Can’t you see where those ages has been? See? Went right straight back to the original holder.
63-0317E – The Breach Between The Seven Church Ages And The Seven Seals
Rev. William Marrion Branham
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 5:4-5
It pleased God to release unto us, His only begotten son, who was our kinsman to redeem us back to God and restore to us the right to God’s true worship. The redemption that this Lion of the tribe of Judah would do is not only for man but even for the earth. He prevailed because he wasn’t produced by the mating of man and woman. He was immaculately conceived. (This should let you know that the sin in the garden of Eden is not eating any fruit that grew out of the ground).
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:6-10
BREAKING THE SEALS
For this book of redemption to be accessed, that is, to be restored back to the garden of Eden, into the glorious presence of God that Adam and Eve once enjoyed, the seven seals must be opened. These seals are not like our own seals. They are mysteries to redemption that must be fulfilled before the full redemption of the earth and man. At the opening of each seal, there is usually an occurrence. Interestingly, only six of those seals were opened, the seventh wasn’t. Let’s find out in this chapter that contains these seals, Revelation 6.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Vs.1
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. Vs.3
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. Vs.5
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. Vs.7
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: vs.9
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; vs.12
The chapter ended without the opening of the seventh seal. The next chapter talked about the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish manservants (this is when the gospel returns to the Jews). Nothing was said about the seventh seal until the 8th chapter of Revelation, and there is a reason for this.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. Revelation 8:1
John saw in the spirit the opening of these six seals. And when their meaning was to come to us, seven angels appeared to William Marrion Branham, the messenger of the seventh church age. This happened in 1963, and through him, we understood the meaning of the seals and their fulfillment. The prophet revealed six of those seals to us, but not the seventh as well. He merely talked about the seventh but did not say what it was. We will please ourselves with scriptures and also quotes from the sermon books to understand that truly the seventh seal is unbroken.
145 And the whole thing Here is Seven Seals, got the mysteries of God from the foundation of the world all sealed up in There, and revealed by seven different Seals, that, if God willing, let Him let us pull back these Seals and look down through the Book and find out what’s It all about. See? Oh, I hope we have a great time! There the mystery of redemption is sealed until…This Book could not be broken until the last angel’s Message.
146 The scroll is there. We knowed It was there. We know that It was redemption. We believed It was redemption. Jeremiah said, “This scroll must be kept…” As you read it there, he’ll say. He must be kept in an earthly vessel. See? Oh, what a beautiful thing there I could talk about, a while. This scroll was kept in an earthly vessel, a vessel that once became flesh (glory!), died, rose again, and kept in an earthly vessel until the time of the purchase. Oh, my! Beautifully! All right.
63-0317E – The Breach Between The Seven Church Ages And The Seven Seals
Rev. William Marrion Branham
The Prophet is saying here that this scroll is kept in Jesus Christ -an earthly vessel, but had to be revealed in John as a book just so he could have an understanding. This means therefore that the seal in heaven is a spiritual seal, same is the scroll. There is an opinion that the whole seal has to be opened before the prophet could see the contents because they believe the seal is like the literal seal we have on earth, for you to see the content of the book, you have to loose the seven seals. But this is a natural way of interpreting it. The seal is spiritual, and the way it was opened to John and revealed to Bro Branham, a seal carries its own message. When the first seal is broken, there is a revelation and fulfillment, but the book still has six seals left. When another one is broken, you have five left, and so on
152 Notice. Now, the Book, remember, is sealed. Here is one, here It is, this seal. Then another One is wrapped, a Seal. Another One is wrapped, a Seal. It’s a Book of Redemption. And the whole thing, together, makes the Book, and It’s sealed with Seven Seals. And, then, it’s on the backside, is because it’s wound up. The Seal mystery is on the inside. And It only says, “The white-horse rider,” or, “The black-horse rider,” and what-more, on the outside. But the mystery of the whole Book is in them Seals, from Genesis to Revelation. The complete plan of redemption is revealed in these Seven Seals. Oh, it’s an important time. God help us to get It! See?
63-0317E – The Breach Between The Seven Church Ages And The Seven Seals
Rev. William Marrion Branham
There is another school of thought that if the seals must be opened at the last times, and Bro Branham is the last church-age messenger, then he has revealed it anyhow. They just want to believe this anyhow without solid scriptural understanding thinking that if Bro Branham did not open it, no one can. But we know according to scriptures that it was Jesus Christ that opened the book, Bro Branham only revealed it, and he said himself that the seventh seal is not opened.
176 The Seventh Seal hasn’t opened yet, you know. That’s His Coming.
64-0719M – The Feast Of The Trumpets
Rev. William Marrion Branham
The seventh seal will be opened at the coming of Christ Himself. It holds the names of the redeemed ones that’ll be raptured, and the seven thunders that’ll bring about their transformation and other things even is the end of the earth.
231 We must remember that this Seventh Seal is the end of time, of all things. That’s right. The things written in the Seven-Seal Book, sealed up, of the plan of redemption from before the foundation of the world, it every bit ends. It is the end; it is the end of the struggling world. It’s the end of struggling nature. It’s the end of everything. In there, it’s the end of the Trumpets. It’s the end of the Vials. It’s the end of the earth. It’s the…It’s even the end of time.
63-0324E – The Seventh Seal
Rev. William Marrion Branham
238 Notice, the breaking of this Seal was so great, that, Heaven was hushed by It, “in silence, for the space of a half hour.” Now, is It great! What is It? It was hushed, Heavens. There wasn’t a thing moved, for a half hour.
63-0324E – The Seventh Seal
Rev. William Marrion Branham
Jesus Christ was the One that paid the price for redemption, the book which is the title deed was given to Him, and like earlier said, there was glory ahead of Him after the cross. He will rise one day to claim His possession according to the bible, this is when the seventh seal will be opened.
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. Revelation 10:1-4
Since it is not time yet for the seven thunders to sound, and the seventh seal contains the seven thunders, it pleased Him to seal it still until He comes to claim His possession. It is the message of these seven thunders that will transform our vile bodies. That is why it is kept secret, until the time of its fulfillment. The little book in the hand of this Mighty Angel is the seventh seal.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Philippians 3:20-22
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1Corinthians 15:51-52
The transformation of this vile body is feasible only for those who have the earnest of salvation in their heart. For such, what they wait for is the redemption of their body because their soul has been redeemed. You cannot be expecting the redemption of the body when you do not have the Holy Spirit that is supposed to transform your soul. The Bible says those who have the first fruit of the Spirit are groaning, eagerly waiting for the redemption of this body. The subject of the Holy Spirit should be emphasized here, with power, with much stress. In fact, do you know that the seal of God is the Holy Spirit?
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Ephesians 1:13
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
You’re still vulnerable to the devil when you don’t have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what seals you into Christ and seals the devil out of you. Just so you know, The Holy Spirit is God Himself, not the third person of the Trinity. God is Spirit, and if Spirit, He must be Holy. When you have the Holy Spirit, you have God inside you. Apparently, it is different from morals, it is different from the spirit of your church. The proof that you have Him will be seen in your life, not how you jump or dance in the spirit, but the transformation of your life. The Holy Spirit in itself is a seal, this is the token that every redeemed of God gets as proof that they have been baptized into the body of Christ, these are the cadre of people waiting for the adoption of their bodies. The seventh chapter of Revelation further expounds on the seal.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Revelation 7:1-4
The seal that God is going to seal these servants with is nothing but the Holy Spirit. There are four wicked spirits that are tied down at River Euphrates, they will not be able to hurt the earth, nor the sea according to God’s command. But after the hundred and forty-four thousand are sealed, and at God’s predetermined time, at the sounding of the sixth trumpeting angel, another phase of woe will fall on the earth again.
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. Revelation 9:13-16
Blessed are you if you’re sealed!
244 All the host of Heaven was silent for this half hour, when this Seventh-Seal mystery in the Book of Redemption was broke open. Think of it. But, It’s broke. The Lamb breaks It. You know what? They were awed by It, I believe. They didn’t know; there It was! They just stopped.
63-0324E – The Seventh Seal
Rev. William Marrion Branham
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. Revelation 8:1
What will bring about the silence is this: the seventh seal holds the mystery of Jesus’ mystical appearance for the rapture of the bride. Now, he is on the mercy seat interceding for you and me, until the last member of the body comes in. The five-fold ministry will continue with their work until this is accomplished, then Christ rises from His mediatorial seat to claim His possession, this will be so revered that the whole angel will be awed, for they have not seen Him out of that seat before; they know that something is about to take place. At this point, grace has ended for the Gentiles, Christ is risen to take His possession.
My appeal to you is that you should ensure that you are baptized into the body, it’s no guesswork. Do thy diligence to make your calling and election sure.
THE SEALS
Hello friends, welcome again to our newest sermon review, we believe this will bless you as usual. Today, we took our bible reading today from the book of revelation 8:1, expounding on the seventh seal and its event. First, we need to establish that the seventh seal is not, fulfilled, revealed, or opened opposed to what some sects in the message claim; a progressive read from revelation 6:1-17 gave instances where the first six seals were opened, and nothing about the 7th seal was projected and this is because it contains the 7 thunders, and we must know that the 7 thunder has nothing to do with the Jews, instead the gentile is sole players here because it is an event that will transform the gentile before the rapture.
Text: Revelation 8:1, Revelation 6:1-17, Revelation 5:1, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 3:1, Revelation 4:1
And that is why in our previous series we have been able to establish that before the 7 thunders manifest, the fivefold ministry must have led the church towards perfection, and it’s not any man that will define this perfecting time or perfection, anyone claiming this emits nothing but pride. Brethren we need to know that there is a reason why God decided not to reveal the content of the seventh seal. We have people raising a contention that if the 7th seal were not broken or revealed by God, then brother Branham wouldn’t have seen anything, and this is because they are interpreting the word of God using human understanding, comparing the seal in the book of revelation with our humankind of seal. Anyone using human knowledge to interpret the book of revelation will always miss it.
The seal in context, with God, it’s not a natural book with authentication or a watermark, but a secret that God chose to reveal, it’s a spiritual thing with God and cannot be compared with the worldly kind of seal. You need to know that the book that contains the 7 seals is what Adam lost in the garden of Eden, and if God had not sent the Lord Jesus Christ to retrieve this book on our behalf we would have been lost forever (Revelation 5:1 – End). Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ for redemption, he was the only one without sin worthy to open the book of redemption. Your salvation is more than anything, make sure not to gamble it, if not you’ll regret your life spent here on earth.
We can take a journey to Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3 to study how Adam lost the title deed of this earth by the act of fornication introduced to him by the woman. You can check our previous posts on this explanation. This act led him to lose the title deed and it went back to the original owner in Revelation 5:1 (God), then it was left for someone to come claim it back and that was what our Lord Jesus Christ came to claim – you need to ask why God had to go through all this process for redemption? It is because God is a God that follows due process, blood brought sin and blood had to remit sin, and not just any blood it has to be perfect blood, and that we saw with the blood of Christ. And Christ brought to us restoration, his blood brought us back to our position. (What a blessing)
So, brethren, we just gave a background of why the opening of book that contains the 7 seals had to be opened by Christ, and why the revelation of the same was revealed to brother Branham for our understanding. Saint of God let us appreciate What Christ came to do for us. He has come to justify us from our past and we are set free from the bondage of sin (Hallelujah) – Appreciate your salvation.
Stay tuned with our subsequent reviews as we seek to expound more on the revelation of the seven seals.
THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS IN THE SEVEN TRUMPETS AND SEVEN VIALS
You are welcome to today’s service, and we hope that the review is a blessing to you. Amen. The Holy Spirit through His servant has been preaching on the subject; the Ministry of Angels, and today, we are considering a very critical sub-topic which is the Ministry of Angels in the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Vials, and our text would be taken from the book of Revelation 8:2,6.
Text: Revelation 8:2,6, Romans 9:22-23, Numbers 10:1, 1Corinthians 14:8, Revelation 15:7, Revelation 16:1, Revelation 1:4,16, Revelation 5:6
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Trumpets in the Old Testament have a number of significances; there are trumpets for gathering. This we see in Numbers 10;
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
The children of Israel were trained to recognize the sound of trumpets because, for each of the trumpet’s significance, there is a sound. That is why Paul said in I Corinthians 14:8: For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
There is a trumpet for war and when the war is over, there is a trumpet as well, there is a trumpet for warning and there is a trumpet for a feast.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Leviticus 23:24-25
And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God. Numbers 10:9-10
A vial is like a bow with something inside. These vials in our text will interweave with the trumpet, they will both operate at the same time. these vials are full of the wrath of God that He will pour on the earth during the Great Tribulation.
And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. Revelation 15:7
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. Revelation 16:1-2
When Cain and Abel sacrificed unto God, and unto Abel and his sacrifice God had respect, but not to Cain. God tried helping him, telling him if he does well, he would be accepted, but Cain refused, he believed his sacrifice was excellent enough for God not to correct. Why will a man refuse God when grace is presented to him? It shows the kind of person he was. Friends, no matter how weak you are, you must be partakers of the divine nature of God, otherwise, there is no proof that you are of God. Cain fulfilled the words of Paul in Romans 9:22; a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction, and though the longsuffering of God lasted on him, there was nothing in him to respond to God’s grace. There are many ‘Cains’ today, who upon hearing the word of God and behold themselves in the mirror of God’s word forget the manner of man they are -they hear the word of God but would not be doers. Upon such is the wrath of God coming in the Great Tribulation. The seven angels would pour out the wrath of God out of the vials. May we be vessels of mercy prepared for glory. Because, if in the time of grace, you wouldn’t deny the flesh to please the Lord, how will you when He pours out His wrath upon the earth?
To see God’s power, you must put faith to the test. The three Hebrew men took the risk called faith and stood for the word of God, and God who would not disgrace faith shew forth His power, and because these men refused to compromise with sin, they caused a revival in the land of Babylon. Same with Daniel and Joseph. If you take that same step of faith, despite the risk it may cost you, you will never be put to shame. Grace has been given to us, but we need to take the risk of Faith to see the power of God in front of sin and rebellion. You will never see the power of God to save you whatsoever if you do not take the step of faith. You should not hear the word of God and remain the same. Amen. We should be wise virgins who will not be partakers of the wrath of God when that will come.
Let’s talk about the seven angels with these trumpets:
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
As we have been discussing, God has seven Spirits before His throne who are Seven special angels identified with several things in the Bible. These seven angels are working with God’s earthly messengers to carry out God’s special assignment-especially with God’s assignment for this last day. They are
- They are the Seven Eyes and Seven Horns of God. (Revelation 5:6). And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
- They are the Seven Seals of God (Revelation 5:1). And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
- They are the Seven Stars of God (Revelation 3:1). And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
- They are the Seven lamps of fire (Revelation 4:5). And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
- They are the Seven Thunders with the Mighty Angel (Revelation 10:3). And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices
- They are the Seven Trumpets which will sound after the rapture of the wise virgins (Revelation 8:2). And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
- They are the Seven Vials of God’s wrath (Revelation 15:7). And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
The responsibilities of these seven angels in the seven trumpets would be fulfilled immediately after the rapture because they are going to work with Moses and Elijah -the servants of God that will return the gospel to the Jews. Revelation 8:2-6
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
If you read carefully, there are seven angels given seven trumpets to blow, but before they blew, there is another angel that came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints. Who are these saints? They are the bride of Christ on earth before the rapture. The bride, because of the rebellious condition of the earth would have no greater hunger than for Jesus, their bridegroom to come. The condition of the world would have become unbearable to those that have the Holy Spirit of God in them. This is the prayer of the saints and it will take place before the trumpets will sound. The seven angels with the seven trumpets in verse 6 prepared themselves to sound, but will not sound until this angel with the golden censer offer the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. The prayers of the saints will be brought to effect when 2 Thessalonians 2 fulfills.
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20. This then will be the prayers of the saints, and then the rapture will take place.
It is after the rapture that the seventieth week of Daniel’s seventy weeks will be fulfilled. The trumpets will not sound all at once, these trumpets, of course, will not sound literal, it is a spiritual heralding, when these seven angels will blow the trumpets up there, Elijah and Moses will echo their message to the world will carry it out on earth.
The temple would have been restored before the fulfillment of these trumpets because that is where the Anti-Christ will sit as God.
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. Revelation 11:1
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. Micah 4:1
When Moses and Elijah will start their ministry, it will be a message of warning, and they will only preach in the middle east to the Jews. God will vindicate their ministry with signs and wonders but these signs are not for healing, they are devastating signs. That is when the first trumpet will sound and signs will follow on earth.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. Revelation 8.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. Exodus 7
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. Revelation 11.
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 1King 17:1
The Anti-Christ in pretense will come as one that can make peace to the world and will make a covenant with the world, and many nations will sign an agreement with him. Well, things will look like what he promised in the first three and half years, this is why people will not listen to the warning of Moses and Elijah when they will be preaching against him. The message of the two witnesses will be to tell the Jews not to sign that covenant with him, but the political Jews would refuse; Moses and Elijah will be seen as agents of trouble because they are preaching against the man of peace so-called. This will continue until the beast (the European Community -the kingdom upon which the Anti-Christ will reign) will make war with them and kill them.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. Revelation 11.
The world would think they have eradicated the people who are agents of trouble when they kill these two witnesses of God, but before they are killed, the two witnesses would have sealed one hundred and forty-four thousand manservants who will witness the gospel preached to them to the world, because these servants would heed the gospel, and it will not be possible for the anti-Christ to kill them –for a place has been prepared by God for her to flee. The world would rejoice at their death, and send gifts to one another -that’s how much they believed in the fake peace of this Man of Sin. But after three and half days, their dead bodies will resurrect and they will ascend up to heaven. No sooner than this is passed, the anti-Christ unleashes his terror on the Jews first before escalating to the world. It is at this point which is the last three and half years that the Great Tribulation will start.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. Revelations 11.
This is when the vials will be poured on the earth, and the wrath of God will be poured on the inhabitants of the world. God is going to prove to the world that He is the Lord of the earth; because they choose the devil, God will give them the devil to drink. This is the time of repentance for us all to escape the wrath that is to come. You and I need to enter into Christ now before it is too late.
May the Lord help us. We will continue from here. Shalom.
ANGELS AND THEIR MINISTRY
Angels are supernatural beings saddled with ministerial responsibilities for heirs of salvation. They are God’s servants created to assist God in the prosecution of His work. We have the heavenly angels (ministering spirits) and the earthly angels (messengers). Especially in these last times, they are working hand in hand with God to see that His purposes ripen fast. Angels (spirit beings) were created in Genesis 1:1 (the pre-historic world). This was the world Lucifer was heading before rebellion set in him. You can refer to our previous posts where we explained this in detail. In this subject, we want to examine some angelic ministrations and also show the position of Jesus Christ personified as the Mighty Angel.
Text: 2Peter 2;4, Isaiah 14:12, Exodus 23:20, Hebrew 9:14, Ephesians 4:6, Hebrew 1:13,8, Isaiah 63:9, Exodus 23:25, Matthew 18:9, Genesis 24:7, Acts 10:1-8, Exodus 14:10
When we talk about Eternity, we are talking about God Himself. Embedded in Him are qualities that may be inexpressible until there exists an occasion that will bring forth that attributes. While God was alone in eternity, He was Elohim -Self Existing. He is Creator, Father, Friend, Savior, Provider, Healer, and all that are enshrined in Him, but until there is an occasion to display these attributes, there is no way we would know Him as such. Just like a male child is a potential father but cannot be referred to as such until he marries and gives birth to a child; the same is God. So, when He displayed His Providing Power to Abraham, He became Jehovah-Jireh. Thus, we can say that God wasn’t God until He began creating, because there was no one to worship Him.
We may not explicitly know when He created the angels, however, we know that nothing exists before Him, therefore, He created angels. He created them as ministering spirits, to assist Him.
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. Hebrews 1:7
In comparison to Jesus Christ, who would you say is greater? Let me show you two scriptures before you respond to that question.
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:4
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Hebrews 2:7
Don’t be confused, the Bible cannot contradict itself, “thou madest him a little lower than the angels” speaks regarding the body Jesus came with because he must taste death for everyone who will be saved, he came with a body that can die. He was born by a woman and not as an angel who is in spirit form.
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippian 2:6-8
But in position and authority, he is “made much better than the angels”. For God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every other name. Thus, in position, Jesus Christ is greater than the angels, but because he should taste death for us, he was made a little lower.
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Hebrews 1:13:14
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
More so, the Bible tells us that there are seven spirits of God. It isn’t that God is seven, but these seven spirits are special angels that are before the throne of God.
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Revelation 3:1
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; Revelation 1:4
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9
These are the spirits of God sent forth into the earth, it will interest you to know that everyone including you have one angel. Angels, as the Bible has said, are ministering spirits. When Jesus died, the angels came and provided solutions to the women who came to the sepulcher of Jesus. But then before we see the message of comfort the angels gave these women; we can learn something here.
Brethren, it is evident, God must prove you, God will shake you to see what is in you. Shouldn’t it be a thing of discouragement and an end to the faith of the followers of Jesus Christ when he was arrested, killed, and buried? This was the man that gave them hope, and they all came out of whatever Jesus called them out of. For someone who only believes in God for earthly things, that would be the end of faith. But because these people loved Jesus, not even the death of Jesus could repel their faith. They were convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt, convinced beyond mere words, they had the anchor that will keep them while the billows roll. Should God prove your faith, what side will you fall on? Can you even at His death, still rush with spices to honor Him with?
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 24:1-3
Considering the writings of this scripture, you can check yourself if truly you love Him. Jesus had died, yet they prepared spices and went to his sepulchre very early in the morning of the first day of the week. You can’t get anything from God in hurry, if you must get what God gives to those that love Him, God must prove you. It isn’t by mouth; it isn’t by making the speech. God’s hands are not shortened that He cannot bless, but for Him to separate you for angelic ministration, you must prove to Him that you love Him. When God saw their undying zeal, he sent angels to minister to them.
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. Luke 24:4-9
Truly, there are angelic ministries that God sends to His people, to empower what the vessels God wants to do through men on the earth. You have an angel, it’s provable in Matthew 18:10 and many other scriptures.
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
When Abraham was to get a wife for his son, Isaac, here are the words of Abraham: The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. Genesis 24:7
God sent an angel to Cornelius in Acts 10, There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
People that have served God and have seen Him didn’t serve Him nonchalantly, they were diligent about seeking God. The Bible tells us to be diligent to make our calling and election sure. Again, you can check the characteristics of this man, Cornelius before God sent Him an angel to minister to him.
And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. Acts 10:4-8
Behind every message that God would herald, there will be an angel, behind every messenger, there will be an angel. These angels of God are the ones guiding the ministry that God has given.
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Exodus 23:20-23
We saw a star leading the wise men who came from the east. This is nothing but the heavenly angel responsible for that herald. And that star led them till they got to where Jesus was. At this time, Jesus had become a young child, because the star led them from the east to Jerusalem for almost 2 years.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2
Need we call ourselves into diligence, we cannot over-emphasize this. Diligence! Diligence!! Diligence!!!
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
There is a man who cannot fall, it is that man that gives the diligence to make his calling and election sure. Should men pay a two-year price to see Jesus, you can’t get the same result with a two-hour price.
And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. Exodus 23:25
Refusal to serve one’s Creator is acceptance to serve the devil. There is no neutrality. May the Lord help us. Amen.
THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS
One vital topic we should consider as we understudy the subject: From Malachi to Rapture is the “Restitution of All Things”. This will help us grasp God’s way of restoring His church and then His entire program from creation. The devil did not begin his treachery when the church began, he has been fighting every plan of God, and God must restore both His church and His entire plan for creation. His will must eventually be done on earth as it is in heaven. The church is not the only entity that God must restore, in fact, the restoration of the church is a part of the restoration He began when the Devil thwarted everything from Genesis. It’s like molding blocks for the purpose of building a house. Before you can erect a building, you must have an adequate number of blocks, but the blocks were also a finished product of sand, cement, and water. You cannot pile sand upon sand upon cement upon water and have a structure, you have to mold the blocks, then mold the structure. Similarly, there is a great picture God has in His mind, and restoration must happen to each section that is necessary to make the great picture come to the perfect view.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:19-21
God is eternal, and His restitution is back to eternity, thus, the restitution of all things is from eternity to eternity. In eternity past (if we should borrow that word), concealed in God are all the mysteries of His will, purposes, and intentions which He determined to express gradually until all comes to pass. In eternity, He had the mind to be a father, a savior, a redeemer, and so on. He had the plan to have a family who will be named after Him, without spots without wrinkles. Then He created the heaven and the earth (the then earth which was the world of angels), and everything was perfect. After “God knows” years, Lucifer came up with a rebellion that rendered the earth void and void, and darkness was thriving upon the face of the earth. God froze that world and recreated it by commanding Light to prevail, then placed man as the head. But the doer of evil, Satan was not about to give up on his treachery. He overcame man also and became the prince of this world, rendering the earth Satan’s Eden. Then God sent His son, Jesus Christ for His redemption plan which he fulfilled and was taken up to heaven. God did not deem it fit to restore everything then because the price of the cross should bring many sons to glory. Thus, God planted His church in His Holy Name and released His Spirit upon her, raising Jesus Christ up to sit on His right hand until all enemies bow at His footstool. Known to God are all His works from the beginning! Amen! The devil as usual came for the church and was able to overthrow the church into outer darkness, however, the God that commanded the light to shine out of the darkness was shining in the hearts of His elected ones to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. By this, God was having witnesses in the midst of the gross darkness that the church was going through until God sent the seventh church-age messenger to restore the church back to what He established her to be.
The Restoration of the Seventh Messenger
The prophet of this age did not restore all things. The restoration of Malachi 4:6 is not the same as the restoration of Acts 3:21.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5-6
Of course, there are two ministries in the above scripture (which we have taken the time to explain in our previous reviews), however, the fulfillment of this scripture is not the restitution of all things. At the beginning of the Gentile church age, the Son of Man sowed the good seed in His field. The good seed is the word of God. That was the age with broader light, the Spirit of Lion was roaring in Paul, disdaining anyone that came to spy on the liberty the church has in Christ. This time, the doctrines of devils we have like the trinity, women’s ministry, and others could not surface at all. The church had their first love for the word of God, intact and bold enough to confront any enemy that wants to sow tares.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. Galatians 2:4-5
In this age, the apostles were bold to declare their faith in the face of persecution and trials, the church was in its original state. But when these men slept, enemies came and began to sow tares. And God was not so bothered because He reserved the end of the church age for the separation of the two. The fan in His hand is for purging and He will thoroughly purge His church. So, as the church continued, heresies were mixing up with the truth till there was gross darkness about the fourth church age. The devil rode on a black horse and substituted the word of God for dogmas and creed of men, leavened the whole lump of God. The church which is the body of Christ must then be restored to the head, so God sent reformers in the fifth and sixth church age, who began discovering true treasures and costly pearls in God’s word and paid the price for the church to have them. This continued until God saw that the Philadelphia church with their little strength upheld His name and did not deny Him -He set before her an open door.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Revelation 3:7-8
This open door is the true revelation of God’s word that the church will be restored back to. The revelation that the first church had. Thus, the messenger restored to the church what the church lost and what the church needed.
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. Mathew 13:52
This is the restoration of the church, yet this is not the restitution of all things. This then means that William Marrion Branham did not restore all things. The restoration of all things is from the garden of Eden to the garden of Eden. Just as it was in the beginning at the perfect creation of God, thus will it be when the restitution of all things is accomplished.
If you are part of that restoration, it means that you have been in God in eternity. Everyone that will have eternal life in the gospel of Jesus Christ had been in God in eternity and because they came from eternity, they will return to eternity.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Ephesians 1:3-4
The proof that you came from eternity is that when the world that should restore you back to eternity is preached to you, you will not disdain it, because those God chose before the foundation of the world, He chose them to be holy and without blame, to conform to the image of His dear son. The word of God is what will separate the good seed from the evil ones. That is the plumb line that will test what seed is domiciled in you. What is your reaction to the world of God, it will tell evidently where you came from.
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1Peter 1:17-23
The Restitution of All Things
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 1Corinthians 15:25-28
Restoration cannot happen at once, God does it gradually. The intention of God to have us live eternally when He created Adam was destroyed. Sin came in and man fell short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death, so before death can be taken away, sin has to be dealt with. If Jesus must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet, it showed that sin must have been dealt with, then death, before eternity can reign. This means that the rapture is neither the end of everything nor the restitution of all things.
When Jesus was resurrected, the disciples questioned him about the kingdom of Israel and whether he would restore it then. He told them that it is not for them to know the times and the seasons that the Father has put in His own care (Acts 1:6). But they will receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon them to be witnesses of Him throughout the world. The reason is that the restitution of all things is not limited to the land of Israel alone, God’s scope span across the world as a whole, and all things must be reconciled in Christ to be restored to eternity, therefore the mandate to witness Him throughout the world. For those who would be alive and ready when Christ will appear mystically in heaven, they will be raptured. But the world will continue. It is after the rapture that the Jews will have the two witnesses preach to them. This is when the seventieth week of Israel will be accomplished, for they have 7 years left according to the timing of God. After this, Jesus comes in his second coming to rule the earth with the rod of iron in the millennium. The millennium is also not the restitution of all things, because there will still be death.
The Millennium
But in the last days it shall come to pass,
that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and it shall be exalted above the hills;
and people shall flow unto it.
And many nations shall come, and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths:
for the law shall go forth of Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among many people,
and rebuke strong nations afar off;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree;
and none shall make them afraid:
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
For all people will walk every one in the name of his god,
and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth,
and I will gather her that is driven out,
and her that I have afflicted;
And I will make her that halted a remnant,
and her that was cast far off a strong nation:
and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion
from henceforth, even for ever. Micah 4:1-7
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people:
and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
There shall be no more thence an infant of days,
nor an old man that hath not filled his days:
for the child shall die an hundred years old;
but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them;
and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit;
they shall not plant, and another eat:
for as the days of a tree are the days of my people,
and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Isaiah 65:19-22
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Revelation 20:1-3
The devil must be bound before there can be peace in the Millennium. There would be the immortals and the mortals in the millennium. These mortals would marry and give birth, which was captured in Isaiah 65. The immortals are the saints that have been tested and approved here on earth, upon these, the devil has no power again, but as we know, nobody will enter into rest without tests. After the thousand years are accomplished, the devil will be loosed to tempt these mortals, and there will be death in the millennium.
But in eternity, death would have been swallowed up. That is when Revelation 21 will fulfill;
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Brethren, to this end, will our faith anchor on God, for He that had all things in Himself will bring all things to pass to the glory of His Name.