What is the Message to Us? Part 2

1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV 1900

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Introduction.

Congressman Upshaw.

…Branham said, “The Congressman is healed.” I said, “It’s the voice of God.” And I’ve been the happiest man since I threw away my crutches and started out to witness to His healing as well as His saving power.     51-0923 - The Principles Of Divine Healing

The congressman, Brother Upshaw here, who was crippled for sixty-six years. I never even touched the man in no way. I just stood here. I did see a vision of the man; that is true. And then he just accepted what I said. That was all. There he is; he’s walking. See? I never had nothing to do with it. His faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what made him whole. 51-0503 - As I Was With Moses

If you receive a prophet, in the name of a prophet, you get a prophet’s reward. When you receive this Message for what it is, you get the reward for believing Christ.

1. Prophet-Messengers

When you study the church ages you find that Paul was the Pattern for every other Messenger that followed.

I said, “I’ve preached the same Message he did.” And them millions raised their hands and said, “We are resting on that!” 60-1211M - The Ten Virgins, And The Hundred And Forty-Four Thousand Jews

Paul and Bro. Branham had the same responsibility, and the same authority, but in different roles. Paul’s to introduce the Gospel to the Gentiles and reveal the Message of Grace, Bro. Branham to tie up the loose ends left by the reformers and restore the church back to it’s original condition.

Paul is starting something, Bro. Branham is finishing it. Paul is planting, Bro. Branham is harvesting.

1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV 1900

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

This is restoration time, which is harvest time. Matthew 17:11 time.

What is the Message to Us? What authority does the Message have? How should we receive it? Is it another Gospel? Is it our Absolute?

119 We’re not to come together to talk about the Message. We are come together to get in the Message.

And the Message is Christ, He is the Word. That’s right. We’re to get into It, get beneath It. Yes, sir. That’s what we’re supposed to do.     63-1128E - The Token

The Message is not Books or Tapes, it is not Sacred Places, It is not a family or a church, the Message is Christ.

There were three “pulls” or phases to Bro. Branham’s ministry. We call this progressive revelation.

262 Notice, the very day when this messenger…Not when he starts on, but when he begins to declare his Message.

The First Pull, healing; Second Pull, prophesying; Third Pull, the opening of the Word, the mysteries revealed.

No more, there is no more higher order to reveal the Word, than prophets. But the only way the prophet can be vindicated is by the Word.

And, remember, the Third Pull was the opening of them Seven Seals, to reveal the hidden Truth that’s been sealed in the Word. 65-0725M - The Anointed Ones At The End Time

Bro. Branham had the same authority that Paul and Moses had, but he did not have the same job to do.

The scripture was complete when John wrote Revelations.

Revelation 22:18 KJV 1900

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

Revelation 22:19 KJV 1900

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The scriptures were complete. Every mystery lay in there, but the revelation of some of it was held back until the time of the end.

Daniel 12:4 KJV 1900

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Revelation 10:7 KJV 1900

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

The loose ends will be tied up.

Now, he has no certain mystery.

But he gathers up all that’s been lost in them other ages, all the Truths that wasn’t truly revealed yet, see, as the revelation come, then he reveals those things in his day. 63-0318 - The First Seal

They were building on the foundation, but he would complete the house, ready for the capstone.

And He sent me back, said that the time was at hand for these Seven Seals which held the seven mysteries of the entire Bible, was sealed in with these Seven Seals.

And how these angels down along the road, messengers of the Church Ages, opened to a certain part of that. But in the seventh hour, the seventh messenger, that all these mysteries should be finished.     64-0112 - Shalom

274 Now someone has been, many has been saying to me, and theologians said, “Brother Branham, if the Lord God…” Said, “If…With your experience, that the Lord has given you for His people,” humbly saying this, said, “you would be eligible to write a Bible yourself, your Word, if God has manifested.”

275 I said “That might be true.” See, he was trying to catch me. See? I said, “But, you see, I couldn’t do that.” He said, “Why couldn’t you? You have all the qualifications.”

276 I said, “But, you look, one word cannot be added or taken away.” See?

277 And he said, “Well, then, them seven thunders, you see,” said, “wouldn’t them seven thunders blasting out, won’t that be a Revelation be give to some man?”

278 I said, “No, sir, it would be adding something to It or taking Something from It.”

279 It’s all revealed in There, and the Seven Seals opened up the revelation of what That was. That’s what it was. See, it’s still in the Word. You see, you can’t get out of that Word. It won’t leave the Word. 64-0614M - The Unveiling Of God

2. How Should we Receive a Prophet-Messenger’s Words?

Everything a Prophet says matters, but you must take everything back to the Word.

Not everything a prophet says is Thus Saith the Lord. Not even everything a prophet said that was recorded in scripture was Thus Saith the Lord.

When Moses is at the burning bush listing his weaknesses, if his words which are recorded were Thus Saith the Lord his excuses would have kept him from delivering the people. He was still a prophet though.

32 And to Joshua, the new commander of the army, after Moses had passed on, seeing that God stayed with him in his mistakes, he held his commission up.

33 No matter what Moses done, it was Moses’ office that God respected. He was a prophet. He was above all the prophets. He was really more than any prophet they had. 60-0911M - As I Was With Moses, So I Will Be With Thee

Touch not mine anointed. Do my prophets no harm.

That ought to give us confidence.

There is no mistake in what God shows the Prophet. The Word is perfect, but sometimes the Prophet isn’t in the right place at the right time. Prophets are men.

And, I find out, if God has spoken anything, then we must go with that Word in order to make It be fulfilled.

We seen that, as I told you last night, of a vision just recently, see, that it…I had to be there, and warning to be there, and telling me six months before to be on that spot, and stand there and saying, “Go down there” (three times) “with them.”

And I just walked on with the other men. And the vision passed right through exactly, God’s part, and I was left standing.

So we want to remember, you’ve got to stay on the Word, just stay right with the Word. And where the Word leads, you go right with the Word, and It’ll bring you out all right, I’m sure.    62-0909M - Countdown

A prophet can get in the flesh, and God still honors the office.

Elijah and the She-Bear. that was not the Spirit of Christ, it was a Prophet getting in the flesh. But God honored it. Bro. Branham was faced with a similar situation. The Holy Spirit warned him a trap was set.

86 And the Holy Spirit said, “Now he’s…They are in your hands. What will you do with them?”

88 Then I remember, if it hadn’t been the warning of the Holy Spirit, two days before. I said, “I’ll forgive you.” Now, that was what He wanted me to say.     62-1223 - The Reproach For The Cause Of The Word

Prophets can disobey God. Jonah did, but even when they do, it’s still for a sign to the people.

Bro. Branham’s Africa trip.

You see, when I was over there, I disobeyed God, and I picked up amoeba. Any man know what amoeba is, a parasite that gets…nearly kills you. And because I done something God told me not to do.

God told me to go a place, and to stay away from this place, and to go back over to another place. And I let the preachers talk me out of it. Now, preachers are wonderful, and they’re my brothers, but you mind what God tells you. That’s right. See? You got one mission.

6 How many remembers one time there was two prophets in the Bible? And one of them, the Lord told him, said, “You go to a certain place. And don’t you come the…You go back another way,” and so forth. And said, “Don’t you eat or drink while you’re there.”

7 And another true prophet met him, and said, “The Lord met me after He met you.” And said, “Come by my house.” And the prophet listened to what the other one said, and lost his life by it. See, you do what God tells you to do regardless of what anybody else says. 53-0609A - Demonology, Religious Realm

You don’t disrespect a prophet, but take your understanding of what a prophet says back to the Word.

49 In Hebrews 1:1, the Bible said, “God, in sundry times,” that’s, “old times and in divers manners wrote the Bible by the prophets.”

Now notice, He wrote the Bible by His Own chosen way. See? Now, He didn’t have to write It that way, neither did He have to save man by Blood.

He didn’t have to preach the Gospel by man; He could let the sun or the moon or the stars preach the Gospel, He could let the winds hum the Gospel. But He chose man!

And He chose the way His Word came, and that was by His prophets which were predestinated and foreordained, being a part of God’s Word, declaring the revelation of His Word to that age and that time.

“For the Word of God came to the prophets only.” Never does It come to a theologian. Show me the Scripture. It comes only to prophets. God cannot lie.

So God wrote the Bible by His chosen method, and His Own chosen prophets; not the prophets man had chose, but the prophets God had chose.

50 Then Its believers watch for the fulfillment of what their prophet said, and that’s identification that they are God’s prophets.

Because, first, they’re inspired. Next, they stay exactly with the Word of the hour. Then that’s his credentials.

51 See, the world and the people are watching for some little outlet, some little bypass, some little shortcut, but there is no shortcuts in the Word of God.

There’s one Pattern. You must cut yourself to fit that Pattern, not try to cut the Pattern to fit you. Everybody must do that. That’s the only way God has of doing it.    65-0801E - Events Made Clear By Prophecy

3. A Messenger of Fulfillment.

Micaiah could not change Elijah’s message, even though he was a prophet. Elijah prophesied it, Micaiah was there at the fulfilment.

Elijah said the dogs will lick Ahab’s blood, Micaiah said it will happen because a lying spirit got on Ahab’s school of theology.

Isaiah and John.

Isaiah 53:6 KJV 1900

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:7 KJV 1900

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth.

Isaiah was saying, Messiah will be a lamb! John said “here He is”. Isaiah prophesied it, John identified it.

John 1:29 KJV 1900

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

He tied up the Old Testament loose ends, and introduced Christ to the people.

John 3:29 KJV 1900

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

There were always two attendants at the wedding, one to introduce the Groom to the people and one to introduce the Bride to the Groom.

307 The seventh angel, messenger, say, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” Not, “behold my Methodist, my Baptist, my Pentecostal.”

But, “The Word, the Son of God, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” for no other foundations is there! You see?     64-0719M - The Feast Of The Trumpets

John 3:30 KJV 1900

He must increase, but I must decrease.

149 Look at John, no selfishness in him. He never took any glory. They tried to call him the Messiah; but he said, “I’m not worthy to loose His shoes.”

150 But as soon as Jesus appeared, He had a sign, a Pillar of Fire, a Light above Him, like a dove come down a Voice saying, “This is My beloved Son, Whom I’m well pleased.”

151 Notice, and John immediately said, “He must increase. I must decrease.” He presented the Church to Christ. Amen.

152 We are told that, in the last days, that will repeat again! There is going to be a Message come forth, that will introduce the Messiah to the people. And it’ll be in such a way, they’ll stand dumbfounded like they did then. He promised it. 64-0321E - The Voice Of The Sign

John made mistakes as a man, even wondering if Jesus was the Messiah after He introduced Him, but I’m not looking for mistakes, I’m listening for the identification, this is Him! In the eyes of God his Message was perfect. (Look how Jesus handled John’s mistake)

The Message to us is more than a doctrine, but it is the person of the Word back in the church again doing the same thing He did then.

John pointed to Christ on the Earth, William Branham pointed to Christ in you, restored to His full power. Not just to bring a doctrine, but to present a Bride to Jesus Christ.

55 God does His Own choosing, by predestination, chose the prophets for every age. Notice it. He fixes the nature of that prophet to fit that age.

See, He fits his style, whatever he does. He fits him whether he’s educated or not educated. He fits the gifts, the manner that he’ll preach in, the gifts he’ll have.

And the Message for that certain age, God’s predestinated that certain thing to happen and there’s not another thing can take its place.

Care what it is, how many man-made achievements, nothing can take its place. He predestinated the man, maybe a ignorant man.

He might have predestinated him another kind of a man. Whatever he is, He gives him his class, his gift, give him his nature, his style, and whatever it is, how he expresses himself, and whatever he does.

He makes the man of the hour to catch the people of the hour. 65-0801E - Events Made Clear By Prophecy

Conclusion.

This messenger caught my attention!

John was standing in the water, and when He cried out everyone looked at Him, to see what he was pointing to. Without John’s message they could never see Jesus in the crowd of denominations and theologians.

This Message did not point me to a theology, but to a person Jesus Christ, who wants to have the preeminence in His people. To do as He pleases, to be the absolute in my life. It was a perfect Message, just like John’s was, because It pointed to a perfect Word Christ.

Colossians 1:18 KJV 1900

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Give Him the preeminence now, in worship.