And I'm Brother Anthony, welcoming you to 'Bible Believers', where we focus on the PRESENT Truth - what Jesus is doing in OUR day.
Thank's for inviting me into your home.
There were more earthquakes in the news last week. Increasingly in Australia. Last month, I read an NRMA magazine, describing a study prepared for their insurance company, on the nature and extent of damage that might be expected from an earthquake whose epicenter was in Sydney.
We learn from Isaiah, Hebrews, Revelation and other Books that the Gentile dispensation ENDS with a massive earthquake. One notable Sign Jesus foretold in Matthew 24, said there'd be 'earthquakes in different places around the earth'.
Even the NRMA can see something is happening. If sinners can see the natural signs, surely if we're Christ's Bride, we'll see the spiritual Sign. Be warned, and be prepared.
Both Old and New Testament compare this cataclysmic event with the birth pains of a woman. 'For when they shall say, "Peace and safety;" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape' (I Thess. 5:3).
Now the pains of a woman become more frequent, and more severe, as the time for the birth of her baby draws closer. And this earth is trying to renew itself, to bring forth anew for the Millennium. It is in travail, like the woman. And as We draw closer to the First Resurrection, earth's birth pains, the earthquakes, are becoming more frequent, and more severe.
God never changes His ways. If you turn to Matthew 27 you'll find the dispensation of the Law ended with an earthquake. Three days later, Jesus Christ and the Old Testament saints resurrected in glorified bodies and appeared to many in Jerusalem - those under the blood of the natural lamb. Now notice, not everybody, only the elected saw these resurrected saints. Those with faith, under the blood, looking for Messiah to pay the price of Adam's redemption.
Did you catch what I just said? I said the Old Testament saints were waiting for their Messiah, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, to redeem the first Adam. Whom did Jesus redeem? The first Adam! And when Adam was redeemed, Eve was redeemed, because the two were one flesh through the marriage union. And when Jesus redeemed Adam, He potentially redeemed all of Adam's children. 'Whomsoever will'. Of course, most will not. But potentially, all of Adam's children were redeemed because we were all in Adam.
Now I've digressed from what I was saying about the earthquakes in order to make two points. First of all, Jesus died only for Adam and his seed. He did not die for Cain and the Serpent's seed. Cain was not in Adam. Adam was 'the son of God', His first son. Adam was not the father of Cain. 'Cain was begotten of that wicked one', the Devil-incarnate Serpent (I John 3:12). IF we could trace our family tree back to the very start, it would begin with Adam. For many others, whose origin began with the Serpent and Eve, this would not be so.
Secondly, just as all of Adam's race were in him at the start, all of Christ's Seed, the New Testament saints were accounted as being in Jesus when He died on Calvary. When Jesus rose again, we rose in Him and are even now seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
How's that, Brother Anthony?
Because Christ was the Word made flesh, the FULLNESS of the nature and character of God were manifested bodily in Christ. Those same Attributes are now manifested in portion in the individual members of Christ's Body, the true Church.
Now we're looking forward to the resurrection of the NEW Testament saints. We're anticipating an earthquake. The Bible tells us that this will be 'the mightiest earthquake since men were upon earth' (Revelation 16:18). It will be followed by the resurrection of the Church Age saints. Nobody will see them, but the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, the City of the living God, New Jerusalem - the end-time Bride of Christ.
I get a little carried-away sometimes, when I start talking about the Bible and the promises Jesus Christ has for us in this day. Oh praise the Lord!!!
Birth pains. Earthquakes in divers places. More, MORE - M-O-R-E. Stronger, STRONGER, S-T-R-O-N-G-E-R... until Los Angeles and 1,100 X 4-500 miles of California sink beneath the Pacific, and the Mount of Olives in Israel splits in two, destroying the Mosque of Omar.
Now, how do we know these things are so? Because God has sent a prophet in our day as Jesus promised: 'In the days of the Voice of the seventh angel, the messenger to the Laodicean Church Age, the mystery of God spoken by the mouth of ALL his holy prophets since the world began should be finished' (Revelation 10:7; Acts 3:21). And Peter said, 'Every soul which that will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people' (Acts 3:23). Malachi, Jesus and Paul said they'd be 'accursed'.
Last time we were talking together, we fixed the Seven Church Ages historically and named the seven angels or messengers. And I said we should deal with the Messenger to the last, or Laodicean Church Age, because he was to be a prophet.
I've hardly said 'hello', and already we've discussed earthquakes, resurrections, and tribulation. So how about pouring a cup of tea, and relax with a little music, before we speak about this prophet. And grab a pencil and paper, so you can write down an address I'll give you after the music.
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Thanks for the cuppa. I enjoyed that. Now do you have that pencil and paper handy? I'm looking for feedback and suggestions from listeners. So I invite you to write to me with any Bible questions you might have, whatever they are. I'll answer your questions on-air, and give away the mammoth 381-page book, by William Branham - 'An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages' - to the first three listeners who write to me this week with questions and suggestions for Bible Believers program. Address your letters: Bible Believers Program,
Last week we said that the Seven Church Ages were represented in the Old Testament by the Pentecostal Feast of Leviticus 23. We saw how the Pentecostal Feast commenced with a sabbath or rest, ended with a rest, and contained within it seven sabbaths. Jesus called them, 'Seven Church Ages'.
We learned that the rest for a Christian is our new birth. One and only one Thing can give the new birth, and that's a life lived by the revealed Word for your day. God is only making saints by the manifestation of the present Truth. And the Message which gave the rest, or new birth to the saints of each age, was revealed only to the Messenger God ordained and sent to that Age. They're called 'letters' in Revelation chapters two and three: written in symbols and addressed to the angel, or major apostle God sent to each Age.
The saints of each Age were born again by the Message God revealed through His messenger to that Age. 'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches'. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God delivered by the messenger inspired with the Words of Life for that Age.
Those seven messengers or angels were Paul, Irenaeus, St. Martin, St. Columba, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and William Branham. The FIRST angel, Paul was a PROPHET. He expounded the Old Testament shadows and types into what we understand as the New Testament. And the LAST angel was the PROPHET William Branham, whose ministry RESTORED the faith once delivered unto the apostolic fathers, and FINISHED the mystery of God, to call a Bride OUT from creed and man-made religion for the manifestation of the Sons of God and the translation.
Now most who call themselves Christians are not in fact members of the Body of Christ. They're without faith, and not Christians, but members of institutionalized religion, believing what they've been taught to presume to be the truth. To these good people, the very idea that God could send us a prophet in this day, is unthinkable. They don't care what the Bible teaches, they'll only believe their man-made religion. Why? Because they're unthinking people. Unthinking that is, about God and eternal Life. Like the rich young ruler, they're GOOD people who love God; but they love the world and the things of the world more than they love God.
They're religious. Very religious. And intellectual geniuses when it comes to thinking about business, pleasure, or raising money to build a new church or hospital. But when it comes to relationship with God by faith, they can't face up to thinking. It'd bring them under condemnation, because they love the world, and the things of the world too dearly, to face the decisions thinking would place upon them. Besides, they have a kind old priest, some 'Father McKenzie' darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there. Nobody cares.... they PAY their tithes to this nice man, and place offerings in the plate for church expenses. They feel they've bought his services as a surrogate. He can do their religion for them. Whatever he studies and teaches, they believe - so long as he plays by the rules and doesn't preach anything which might make them feel uncomfortable. Their kind old priest will see them through.
Unfortunately, God does not work this way. The only thing that will see us through is a personal relationship with Him by faith, or understanding of His Word. We must each study to show ourselves approved of God, as the kind old priest must study to show himself approved of god, not to please his congregation. You must study to show yourself approved of God, not to please your kind old priest.
The Bible says, 'Study to show yourself approved of God by rightly dividing the Word to know the age in which you are living'. We must recognize OUR day and ITS Message before we can be partakers of the Bible promises for THIS day.
One of the promises for this day, as we've seen, is an increase in the frequency, magnitude and spread of earthquakes. Another is the certain end of the Gentile dispensation, marked by a catastrophic earthquake, and tidal waves. The Bible says so!
The fearful and the abominable and those who know not God will not like to talk about these impending terrors. Oh, their kind old priest would be kicked out of the pulpit if he preached like this. But perfect love casts out fear. These things must come to pass, and true Christians have been longing for this day for 2,000 years because it heralds the First Resurrection and the manifestation of the Sons of God.
Paul said, the whole creation has been groaning and travailing together in pain, from the Fall until now, waiting for these things. Even the earth itself is travailing in great spasms, to bring forth and renew itself for the Millennium. Tens and tens of millions will die in one day, but not one hair of your head will suffer harm - if you're the Bride of Christ.
Now what mother or father among us doesn't love and protect their children, such that they teach them of good and safety, and warn them from evil and danger. You'd build a forty-foot wall around your home, if you thought it necessary to protect your precious ones. 'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him' (Matthew 7:11)?
God has only good things in store for His children. But we're living among the children of the evil one, upon whom he's about to pour his wrath. God, rich in mercy, never sends judgment without first warning his people and providing a way of escape.
Amos 3:6-8, 'Shall a trumpet sound an alarm, and the people not be afraid? shall there be judgment in a city, and the Lord hath not sent it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret unto His servants the prophets. The lion has roared, who will not fear? the Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy'?
God has sent us a prophet in these last days, as Jesus promised in Matthew 17:11, 'Elijah will truly come, before My physical return, and before the two witnesses to Israel, and he'll restore all things spoken by the mouth of all God's holy prophets since the world began'. In other words, His Message will be the FULLNESS of the Word. It will be Christ in WORD Form.
Peter said, 'Jesus Christ must remain in heaven UNTIL the restoration of the FULLNESS of the Word'. This will bring His Bride under pre-eminence, separated from man-made creed and tradition, for the manifestation of the Sons of God. After the translation, a remnant from Israel will receive the FULLNESS, then after Armageddon, the world will restore itself for the Millennium.
Most churches can't preach the coming of a prophet in this day for the same reason most ministers can't preach the whole Word of God. They'd condemn themselves and their organization, which would kick them out. They're not anticipating a restoration of the Word today or of the world for the Millennium. They have their own plans that exclude God, for they exclude His Word, and the Bible IS God in the form of paper and ink. They're trying to build Satan's Eden.
We know Jesus called His Church a 'LITTLE Flock'. That sure lets a billion plus denominational Christians out of the Gospel Net. He said, 'STRAIT is the gate and NARROW the way, and but FEW there be that find It'. The prophets God sent BEFORE Calvary - from Abel to John the Baptist were ALL rejected; many were killed. Jesus said He'd send prophets AFTER Pentecost, and they'd also be rejected. Many, such as Peter, Jude and Paul, would be killed.
So it's little wonder that the LAST Word prophet God promised to the Gentiles before the end of our dispensation should be rejected WITH His Message. For His Message calls God's people OUT from ALL man-made religion. Revelation 18:4, 'Come out of MYSTERY Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, or YOU'LL be punished WITH her, during the tribulation'.
The effect of this Message is seen in Matthew 25:5-7, 'ALL the virgins slumbered and slept through the Seven Church Ages, while the Bridegroom delayed His return. At midnight there was the SHOUT of I Thessalonians 4:16 and Revelation 18:4, It was the MESSAGE of OUR prophet in THIS day: "Behold the Bridegroom, Come OUT of Babylon and be FILLED with the Spirit"! Then ALL of those virgins, BOTH wise AND foolish, arose and trimmed their lamps'.
We SEE by faith or Spiritual revelation of the Word, NOT by sight. Their 'lamps' signified their faith. These virgins had been trying to walk by the glow of denominational creeds, instead of the pure Light of God's unchanging Word. Repenting of this ERROR which kept them from SEEING the Word, they received the RESTORATION Message by William Branham, the PROPHET God sent in OUR day.
The Message of the SEVENTH angel, or prophet-messenger to the LAST or Laodicean Church Age WAS the SHOUT of the Rapture, calling BOTH wise AND foolish virgins OUT from denominationalism. If YOU'RE one of these virgins, you'll RECEIVE the midnight shout and come out of Babylon. Obviously, the denominations WON'T recognize him.
Let's tie this Light in with a few more Scriptures. We know that God is Light, and that Jesus is that Light manifested in flesh. Jesus is the Light of the world. And if we're truly born-again, we are the children of Light. Those NOT born of God are the children of DARKNESS.
Speaking of His parousia in Matthew 24, Jesus said, 'Do NOT look for a Man, My Coming will be UNIVERSAL. Do NOT look for Me in some secret place, or in the desert, for as LIGHTNING comes out of the East, and shines even to the West; so shall the Coming or parousia of the Son of man be'. In other words, the SAME Spiritual Light or FAITH that was revealed to the Apostolic saints at Jerusalem in the East, will be RESTORED in the WEST.
Do we look for a MAN? No! ... no, NO, N-O!!! We look for LIGHT on the Word. What did Jesus say the virgins of Matthew 25 would see? A Man? NO! Light. Spiritual REVELATION: faith, or understanding of God's Word. Jesus said He would build His CHURCH upon the rock of Spiritual revelation, or LIGHT on the Word.
Now, the Gospel LIGHT arose in the EAST: the MORNING of the church was in Jerusalem. It traveled AROUND the world, and It sets in the EVENING time, or WEST. The Gentile world then enters the DARKNESS of APOSTASY for the Tribulation. God takes His LITTLE church Home, and turns to Israel.
First God must RESTORE the END-time Church BACK to the faith of their Pentecostal fathers. Peter said, the Word of God comes only to a prophet, so God must send us a prophet to restore the one and only faith, or understanding, once delivered unto the apostolic saints. Amos, Joel, Malachi, Jesus, Matthew, Peter, and John, all PROMISED us a PROPHET in the END-time.
The prophet Zechariah said, 'BEFORE the earthquake signals the end of the Gentile dispensation, the Gospel will be so perverted by reprobate teachers - ever learning but never able to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the Truth, (or the FAITH of Jesus Christ), that the Light shall not be CLEAR nor DARK. There'll just be a confusion of different denominations preaching their private interpretations of God's UNCHANGING Word, AGAINST the one and ONLY faith. But it shall come to pass that at the EVENING time it SHALL be Light'.
Glory! Praise God. That ties in EXACTLY with the Words of Jesus in Matthew 24. We're NOT to look for a Man. We're to look for LIGHT on the FULLNESS of the Word. Paul said in I Corinthians 13, 'When that which is PERFECT is come - the FULLNESS of the Word, Christ - part-Word and theological guesswork shall be done away.
The EVENING Messenger was the prophet to the Seventh, or Laodicean Church Age. He's going to do TWO things. ONE: According to Malachi 4 he will TURN the hearts of the children to their fathers. TWO: He'll REVEAL the mysteries of the seven thunders in Revelation 10 which are the revelations contained in the Seven Seals. It will be THESE Divinely revealed 'mystery-truths', that literally TURN the hearts of the children to the Pentecostal fathers. Exactly so.
The revelation of the Seventh Seal brought Christ BACK to earth in WORD Form. As John the Baptist foreran Christ's FIRST Coming, the COMMISSION of Brother Branham was to introduce His SECOND Coming, or parousia.
Oh, what a Message! No wonder we've had a dark world of theology. But in the EVENING time there SHALL be Light again. There will be a RESURRECTION in the evening time. It shall be LIGHT in the evening time, the SAME Light that shone in the morning time, the ORIGINAL Word, the ORIGINAL faith HAS been restored, to call out Christ's Bride - for the manifestation of the Sons of God, and the resurrection.
Where did the Light shine in THIS day? In the EVENING time, in the WEST, at the setting of the Gospel Age. Yes, It was revealed to a prophet in America, a humble little man educated only to seventh grade in primary school. His name was William Branham. You can read about him in books by his critics - available from any Bible Bookstore. Can any good thing come out of America? Why not do like Nathanael, 'Come and see for yourself'. radio017.html
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