Bringing Back the Ark Part 2 "Who Can Stand Before the Ark?"
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2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
2nd Scripture
20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
Introduction
Introduction
Bro Alan at 1:3
What a terrible time in Israel. The tabernacle at Shiloh set empty, Ichabod was written across the door. The Word was gone, and with it the glory, the visible presence of God.
The Angel of the Lord accompanies the message always. 59-0611 - "The Time Of Decision"
Do you want the glory? Stay in the Word. Make no attempt to leave the Message to have more signs and wonders, it will never work.
The Message of the hour is in the middle of the road. If you leave it you’ll end up in a ditch.
After the ark had been lost, the Philistines made an attempt to incorporate it into their religions.
This parallels what happened during the church ages.
The ark was lost, Ichabod was written over the church, and then Constantine took Christianity and tried to mix it with paganism.
He had to bring his pagan ideas and take Christian ideas, and someway consolidate them together, to weld this together and make an empire.
He set up worldly entertainment to attract the people to church. The bride is attracted by the Word.
Nothing can stand before the true Word.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
He destroyed Dagon’s house, just by being there. He destroys cancer, lust, sickness, depression. All the gods of Laodicea.
The ark went from city to city, and everywhere it went there was a plague.
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
1 And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
The Philistines finally got tired of dying so they devised plan to send the ark back to Israel.
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
The ark would begin its journey home on a new cart.
God never judged them for this, it was done in ignorance.
8 And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
If it returns to the land of Israel.
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
Did you ever notice when the cattle was bringing the ark down the road, the calves back behind, bawling for their mother, but the cows went down the road, lowing, not bawling. Lowing isn’t bawling; lowing’s singing.
Them old cows pulling that, though going to the rock to be crucified, going down the road, singing, “I am coming, Lord, coming now to Thee,” lowing as they’re going.
That’s the way you come. If it’s crucifixion, whatever it is, self-denial, go anyhow. The Spirit of God’s pulling them down…There it is. 55-0223 - "Job"
Bro. Branham talking about missionaries:
Something pulling, tugging at these brethren’s heart. Leaving their homes, their loved ones, not caring for the pleasures and good times of this world, but going out in the barren lands yonder; under the opposer, trying to stop the work.
But just like the ox who brought the cart back, with the commandments on it, and the ark of the covenant, they left their little ones bawling, and they went down the road, lowing, singing, going down to the Rock. 56-1230 - "Joseph Meeting His Brethren"
13 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.
The Israelites didn’t do any better than the Philistines. They were not worthy to look in the ark.
19 And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
Another slaughter.
20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
1 And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.
While the ark was at Kirjath-jearim the effect of the Word was lost on the people.
2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
How can the ark be more than a historical object? Who can stand before the ark?
The ark represented the Word.
Obedience to the Word entitles you to the glory.
Who can stand before the full Word of God, in all of its glory, and not be condemned?
In the Exodus Aaron was appointed to be one who could go in to the Holy place behind the veil, and look into the ark of the covenant.
1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
To do this he had to wear very specific garments.
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
These had to be made very special to go in to see the ark.
3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
The next verses describe the garments in detail, including the breastplate, urim and thummim.
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.
Also the outer robe, of blue:
33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Now, then once a year the high priest (Oh, my!) had to be dressed in a certain way. He had to be anointed a certain way. He had to be anointed with the perfume of the Rose of Sharon. They put it upon Aaron’s beard, and it run all the way down to the hems of his garment.
He had to have a certain-made clothes. And another thing, he had to walk a certain way. And on his end of his garment he had a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate.
And he had to walk a certain way to make that play “Holy, holy, holy, unto the Lord; Holy, holy, holy, unto the Lord.” What’s he doing? He’s approaching the Shekinah Glory, the real fellowship. Hallelujah!
Now, you see, he had…and he had to make a noise. The only way the congregation could tell he wasn’t dead is because they could hear that noise.
I tell you when church lets off its noise there’s something happens, right, as sure as the world, ’cause everywhere the Shekinah Glory is, there is a noise.
Watch, the man that’s anointed, and Aaron went in, packing the blood before him, going in, “Holy, holy, holy, unto the Lord. Holy, holy, holy, unto the Lord,” them bells chiming out, anointed, going into the holiest of holies.
(Aaron’s rod that budded)
I tell you, it’ll do it as sure as the world. It’ll take an old dead church that comes into that Shekinah Glory and bloom it out into a church of faith and signs and wonders. Yes, sir.
Notice what taken place. Here he was, anointed, went in behind that place, and they could just listen, hear them bells.
Aaron standing in the Shekinah Glory by the mercy seat where the cherubims had their wings tipped over it, the guards of the mercy seat.
And they could listen in there. Oh, how their hearts longed to go in there; “Holy, holy, holy, unto the Lord.” And know that what it did to Aaron. Oh, he lived from year to year to go in.
And how the regular congregation couldn’t go in, yet they were living under the blood, but yet not into the Shekinah Glory.
But when the true Blood came, the Blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, He broke down the middle wall of partition, He tore down the curtain from top to the bottom. And now the believer, whosoever will, let him come into the Shekinah Glory.
And a man through justification, believing the Word, sanctification, clean him from his sins, he’s a subject to enter into the Pentecostal Shekinah. 61-0214 - "The Basis Of Fellowship"
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
There was a veil between the people and the ark. They could not go in.
38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
And when He died at Calvary, God sent fire and lightning, and ripped that veil from top to the bottom, that the whole mercy seat was in plain view. But they were too blind to see It. 64-0614M - "The Unveiling Of God"
During the church ages the ark was lost. Mercy was veiled from the people because mercy is only unveiled by the fulness of the Word.
Notice, the ark was the Word. We know that’s right. Cause, the ark is Christ, and Christ is the Word. 65-0718M - "Trying To Do God A Service Without Being The Will Of God"
There has been a promise that the full Word would return.
But at the opening of the Seven Seals, Revelation 10, the full Word is to be born into manifestation again, and vindicated by the Spirit of God, in the full strength as It was when He was here on earth;
manifested in the same way, doing the same things that It did when It was here on earth. 65-0218 - "The Seed Is Not Heir With The Shuck"
Justification, Sanctification, Restoration, are stalk, tassel and shuck:
But when you come to say, “I and My Father are One,” and these other things, then the shuck pulls away from It. But the real, genuine Bride Church will bring forth the entire Word of God, in Its fullness and in Its strength, for He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. 65-0218 - "The Seed Is Not Heir With The Shuck"
As Christ was the first One to raise, from all the prophets, and so forth; although typed in many places, He was the Firstfruits of those that slept. In the Bride, coming of Christ, coming out of the church, there’ll have to be a Sheaf waved again in the last days. Oh, my!
And the first time there will come forth, for the Bride age, for a resurrection out of dark denominationalism, will be a Message, that the full maturity of the Word has turned back again in Its full Power, and being waved over the people, by the same signs and wonders that He did back there.
“Because I live, ye live also,” speaking to His Wife. “Because I live, ye live also.” What a resurrection that that was! And what a resurrection this is, to be quickened from the dead, “to be made alive in Christ Jesus,” by God’s quickening Power! 65-0418M - "It Is The Rising Of The Sun"
Who can stand before the full Word? The Bride will.
Now, and one time, if a man walked through that veil, it was sudden death. Now it’s death not to go through It! Amen.
If you can’t break that veil of tradition, break through that wall of denomination, to see God in His power, it’s death.
Once where it was death to go in, now it’s death to stay out. The whole Mercy Seat is setting in plain view, anybody can see It, the veil is rent. Glory to God! The whole Mercy Seat comes into plain view.
How God could have mercy on foul sinners as us, when He hid Himself, was a mystery. And now It’s in plain view, or in full view, revealed by His Word.
It’s always the Word, constantly, that is God. It’s the Word that opens it up. 64-0614M - "The Unveiling Of God"
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
We’ve been justified, sanctified, we make noise when we come into the house. We can stand before the ark. Washed by the bleeding Word. Justified as though we had never done it in first place. No denomination can stand, only those washed by the bleeding Word.
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The gods of this world will not stand before the full Word of the True and Living God.
All I want to see is Jesus