John chapter 02 - Money men chased from Temple

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John Chapter 2

Jesus, being God in the flesh, looks at human events as a type or shadow or symbol of a much deeper spiritual reality. Thus John's Gospel enables us to see how God views our small earthly events in terms of His Big Picture that He alone can see.

The first miracle Jesus did was in Cana of Galilee when He turned water into wine.

Jesus lived in Nazareth after He came back from Egypt as a 12-year old boy. That is where He grew to Manhood. Then He moved to Capernaum.

MATTHEW 4:13   And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

Mary, who lived in Nazareth, got to Cana before Jesus Who came from Capernaum.

JOHN 2:1    And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

“Galilee” can be derived from the word for “circle”.

Drawing a circle allows one’s pen to go around the same path more than once. Thus a physical event in the Old Testament can also illustrate some characteristics of Christ's ministry and of His future church.

Jesus began at Nazareth. He ends, right next door at Megiddo at the end of the Tribulation for the battle of Armageddon.

Remember, the physical actions of a woman represent the spiritual state of the church. Since a woman is symbolic of a church. Christ sees His church as His Bride.

Adam's bride was called Woman ( because she was taken out of the man ) until she fell into sin and became the mother of all living. Then she took on a man-made name Eve.

What does this represent in the Big Picture of God?

The believers in the early New Testament church were called Christians because they belonged to Christ and His Word only. The Bible is the Word. Then in 325 AD the emperor Constantine gave political power to the Roman Catholic church. The man-made name "Roman Catholic" showed that they had fallen away from Scripture.

This denominational church rose in power and authority as it combined religious deception, political power and enormous wealth until she called herself the mother church as she gave birth to the Protestant and non-Protestant denominations and non-denominational churches. The Roman Catholics put a man in charge of a church.  They introduced words and ideas that are not in the Bible.  Denomination is unscriptural. So is Trinity. So is Christmas and the Christmas tree. So is archbishop, cardinal, and Pope. The early New Testament believers never had a pastor in charge of a church. The word pastor is only mentioned once in the New Testament, although it is condemned six times in the Old Testament. The New Testament never says that a shepherd is a pastor. That is a man-made idea.

So, by taking on man-made names like Methodist, Baptist, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, etc. the churches were just indicating that they had fallen into sin and unbelief because they believe in unscriptural words and ideas.

REVELATION 17:5    And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

A harlot is a woman who is unfaithful to her husband. This is a symbol of a church that does not stay strictly with the Bible. Jesus, the Word of God is the church's Husband. He is the Bible. Just the way it is written. We belong to Him as Christians and we must stay faithful only to Him. Roman Catholics refer to themselves as the mother church.

The Catholic Church developed a business-orientated money-making focus based on religious profits.  For efficiency, they developed a priest or pastor-dominated church.  They went outside the Bible to introduce an unscriptural Trinity. Thus they have no single name for their God as He consists of three separate People. Political involvement made the Catholic Church famous. These are just an example of some of the beliefs and methods of the Roman Catholic Church that other churches follow, making them the copy-cat daughter churches of Rome. Rome has a supreme church image as a worldwide, wealthy, and politically important survivor that has endured endless turmoil for about 1 900 years.  Thus her business and marketing skills and methods set the example that other churches are keen to copy, even when there are doctrinal differences. Business is based on name brands like Coke, Apple, Google, Nike. Rome has developed Saint Peter as the doorkeeper to Heaven, Mary as the sympathetic mother you can pray to as well as other saints. Pope John Paul II, Mother Theresa, and Pope Francis have become world-wide respected and famous name brands for the Roman church. The combined wealth of all the Catholics is staggering. Non-Catholics are now also pushing their famous religious name brands like TD Jakes, Joseph Prince, Oprah Winfrey, and Joel Osteen. As is the mother, so is the daughter. These name brands are worth billions of dollars.

EZEKIEL 16:44   Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

Knowing that the churches would fall away from the Bible, Jesus begins His ministry by establishing certain key requirements that the church must follow in order not to be led astray by clever man-made ideas and lucrative business practices.

In Revelation Chapter 1  Jesus calls Himself Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.

The first miracle Jesus did was to transform water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana.

The last miracle involving the true church which will be performed by Jesus will be the transforming of the mortal bodies of His living church into glorified bodies so that they can be caught up to Heaven to go to the wedding feast in Heaven.

JOHN 2:1    And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

Cana is sometimes taken to mean “a place of reeds” as there are nearby marshy places with reeds growing.

REVELATION 11:1   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.

:2   But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

The reed speaks of measurement.

Here the measurements of length are not mentioned but the emphasis is placed on a time measurement of three and a half years. The reed which is a symbol of measurement now indicates that God has measured out a specific time span for the Jews.

What is symbolized by not measuring the outer court of the Gentiles?

We do not know the length of time allocated to the Gentiles. We do not know when the Lord will come to end the Laodicean church age.

Various Christians have guessed 1844, 1914, 1975, 2013, and always got it wrong. Message believers guessed 1970,  1977, 2000, and also always got it wrong. Dating is not a marriage.  Christians who are obsessed with dates are obviously not married to Jesus.

The holy city of Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. “Holy” implies that God is helping them (because only God is holy) when they are trodden under in this three and a half year Tribulation.

So when the church is caught up to Heaven for the marriage of the Lamb, then the three and a half year Tribulation starts for the Jews ( and all the Gentiles who stay behind ).

REVELATION 11:3   And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

The witnesses are the Jewish prophets, Moses and Elijah. To enable these two prophecies to cover the same length of time, Bible prophecy has to work in months of 30 days.

Compare this with the dates of Noah’s Flood.

GENESIS 7:24   And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

GENESIS 7:11   In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

GENESIS 8: 4   And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

From the 17^th of the second to the 17^th of the seventh month is five months. That is equal to 150 days. Again, 30 days make one prophetic month.

So "Cana", which implies measurement with "reeds", is used to measure the time length of an important prophecy concerning Messiah's ministry.

Jesus should have had a seven-year ministry with the Jews.

Around the start of His ministry, Jesus is called to a marriage in Cana. So the clock starts ticking and history records that in three and a half years time he will be crucified at Calvary. Thus, because He is rejected by the Jews, who are God’s stopwatch, prophetic time stops for Israel at Calvary. So the Jews only received half the time they were promised.

When the church is caught up to the Marriage supper of the Lamb, the stop watch clicks again and prophetic time continues as God turns back to the Jews for the final three and a half years of the great Tribulation (that is then added to the three and a half years of the ministry of Jesus).

This explains a vital prophecy that the churches really get wrong today.

DANIEL 9:27   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,

Jesus should have had a seven-year ministry. His ministry was actually three and a half years because He was rejected and killed in the midst of the seven years. When He died on the cross, God tore up the Temple veil. That ended the Jewish Law and its sacrifices.

Unwilling to admit this, the Jews sewed up the veil and limped on with meaningless ceremonies because God had left the Temple in AD 33 when Jesus died. Then God got the Romans to destroy the Temple in AD 70. Now everyone realized that the sacrifices had stopped.

John the Baptist was the messenger of the Covenant. God made the Covenant with Abraham and confirmed it in Christ at Calvary.  So John introduced Jesus as the One Who would confirm the Covenant.

MALACHI 3:1   Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

A week can be used to describe seven years.

GENESIS 29:27   Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

The churches claim that the antichrist will make a seven-year covenant with Israel. Not true. Fake news.

The covenant is confirmed, so when was it made?

A covenant must be made before it is confirmed.

And what is the covenant, in Scripture, that this prophecy refers to?

GALATIANS 3:17     And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ,

It is not the antichrist who confirms the covenant, it is God Who confirms the covenant.

A covenant that is confirmed cannot be broken.

So when did God make the covenant?

God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis Chapter 15.

At first, it seemed that the covenant was just to give Abraham the Promised Land of Israel.

GENESIS 15:18   In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

GENESIS 17:19   And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

God intended the Promised Land to pass to Isaac and then to his descendants, the Jews.

The river of Egypt is difficult to track down accurately. It is not the Nile because Goshen was between the Nile and the Sinai desert. If the Nile was the river of Egypt, then the Jews in Goshen were already in the Promised Land when Moses came.

Gaza, the west bank, part of Jordan,  and a big chunk of Syria are all part of God’s gift to Abraham.

But the covenant had much deeper implications than that.

Paul makes a big distinction by stating that the covenant actually refers to Jesus, rather than to the Jews.

GALATIANS 3:16    Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

But Jesus is the Word of God.  So God is making a covenant according to His Word.

Galilee brings up the idea of a circle that repeats.

Going around once with the 2 000 years of history of the Jews in the Promised Land and then going around again with the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary which then leads on to another cycle that is the history of the born again believers in the church ages that lasted 2 000 years. Then the Gospel cycles around to Israel again as the 144000 are pulled out during the Great Tribulation.

DANIEL 9:27   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,

The middle of seven years is three and a half years. Jesus had a ministry of three and a half years. His death ended the value of the Temple sacrifices. The blood of those animals could cover sin by getting it forgiven. But those sacrifices could not take away the desire to sin.

His death produced Blood that could wash away sin and released the Holy Ghost that was in His veins so that the Holy Ghost could come back to dwell in repentant human hearts and take away our desire to sin.

So the Old Testament sacrifices stopped. But how did this confirm the Covenant that God made with Abraham?

GALATIANS 3:29   And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

"The promise". The Jews were given a Promised Land. The promise of the Christians is the Holy Ghost.

ACTS 2:38    Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

:39   For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The land of the Christians is the Word of God.

Christian only believes and lives by the Bible. The Bible puts limits on our behaviour and our thinking in the same way that God put limits on the territory of the Promised Land of Israel.

GENESIS 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

The stars cannot be numbered. There are too many of them. So there will be millions of Jews during human history.

But this sentence has a much deeper meaning for the born again church. This means that Abraham’s seed cannot be numbered with the mark of the beast. This number is 666.

What does it basically mean? We get a clue from John Chapter 6: 66.

That is when many of His disciples stopped following Jesus.

JOHN 6:66    From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Rejecting the revealed Word of God is the basic step that leads to people taking on the mark of the beast. Do not argue with or contradict the Bible. Just believe what is written in the Word.

Speaking of the belief of Abraham, God called his faith righteousness.

GENESIS 15:6    And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

ROMANS 1:17   : as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Believing in God by having faith in Him is what God requires of us, as that will make us believe the written Bible.

GALATIANS 3:16   Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

So the deeper meaning of the covenant involves Jesus the faith Son of Abraham, rather than Isaac who was the natural son of Abraham.

GENESIS 15:7  And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

So God called Abraham out of the Babylonian territory that occupied the area around the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

The Babylonians and Egyptians were the nations where the trinity doctrine started and then spread to the east in India. The diagram shows the Hindu attempt to describe one god in three persons.

This diagram shows the Egyptian attempt to illustrate the trinity of three persons.

Not very different to modern-day church beliefs.

GENESIS 15:8   And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

Now God was going to make His covenant.

GENESIS 15:9   And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

54-1212  HE SWORE BY HIMSELF

He said, "Go get me a heifer of three years old." Watch, three. Everything in the Bible is a three. Three blends to a one. See? Father, Son, Holy Spirit, not three Gods: One. Faith, hope, and charity, not three different things, but all the essence of one: love.

Now, then there was justification, sanctification, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, not three different dispensations, not three works of grace, but one work in three different manifestations. Same Holy Spirit was with Luther, under justification was under Wesley with sanctification; in the Church now, in the baptism of the Holy Ghost: the same Holy Spirit, not two Holy Spirits, the same Holy Spirit.

…….. everything must be three years old, the three different dispensations: fatherhood, sonship, Holy Spirit.

GENESIS 15:10   And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

He cut each animal in half, representing the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The turtle dove and the pigeon were not cut in half or separated into two parts. They represent salvation and healing. These are two benefits from Calvary that cannot be separated. If you can get salvation, you can also get healing.

God was making the Covenant with Abraham but He was going to confirm the covenant on Calvary where the covenant came to reality. Not just the Promised Land of Israel but eternal Life in a New Heaven and a New Earth.

The spiritual seed of Abraham is the born again Christians. Our Promise is the Holy Ghost. Our Land that we dwell in is the revealed Word of God.

54 12 12  HE SWORE TO HIMSELF

Now, he cut the heifer, and the goats, and things apart, and laid the pieces, one against another one, showing that they'd dovetail from one dispensation to another.

The two pieces of each beast represent that the Old Testament and the New Testament which combine together to tell the same story.

They also represent the Physical and Spiritual manifestations of God.
I Timothy 3: 16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh,

At Calvary, the Holy Spirit was torn out of the sacrificial Body of Jesus.

56-0815  FAITH

The Bible becomes a new Book to you if you're ever in Palestine and in the Orient, the eastern country. It's a eastern Book. It's just a new Book when you see it in the light of the eastern people.

And in this day how a covenant was made, what they did, they they taken a beast and killed it. They killed the beast, and they wrote the covenant out on paper or a lamb's skin, wrote it out on here, and they took that, tore it apart up over this dead beast's body. One men took one piece, one men took the other one, and took an oath to God, that if they broke this covenant between them, let their body be like this dead beast. What a binding covenant. And that's how that God confirmed the oath to Abraham.

……..     Now, look, when Christ was on earth, the Son of God, which Isaac the promised one of the child, how'd he know he was going to have it? He was speaking to him what He was going to do by the killing of these sacrificial beasts, speaking of Christ.

And what did God do at Calvary to confirm the covenant? He took His own Son to Calvary; and on Calvary's cross He tore Him apart. He said, "Father, into Thy hand, I commend My Spirit." And He--God rent the Spirit from the body, and He took the body up to glory (You believe that?), setting at the right hand of His majesty, and sent the Holy Spirit that was in Him, down to the church to confirm and to do the same things that He did when He was here on earth, to write the covenant on this and to that...

56-0815  FAITH

And brother, the only way in the world that the covenant will ever be keeped, or be kept, is when you and I receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost that God tore Christ apart and sent the Holy Ghost down for you and I. The only way we'll be able to go up in the rapture is when that body comes to receive the Spirit again, the raptured people that's in the covenant. And the covenant is the circumcision by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that's Abraham's seed. Amen. Whew. I feel like shouting myself. My.

God made the promise, and He tore Christ apart at Calvary. And on Pentecost, He sent the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit that was in Christ is in you and you're a new creature. "And the works," Christ said, "that I do shall you do also; even to the end of the world I'll be with you." Hallelujah.

And at Calvary, several hundred years later, He took His Son, and tore His body apart, His soul and body, and lifted up His body and set it on His right hand, and sent the Holy Spirit to the Church to continue the works of the Lord Jesus till He come.

56-0816  THE WORKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

And He writes the covenant... In the Old Testament back in the holiest of holies, the commandments was wrote on tables of stone. But He said, "After these days that I will pour out My Spirit, and I'll write My covenant upon the tables of their heart, and in their mind." Amen. You see It?

Then God, by the Holy Spirit, confessed faith in Christ, brings the Holy Spirit that writes the covenant of peace across your heart. Then the Spirit that was in Christ dwells in you, and It makes you act the Christ-like life. And in there, God has placed in this group of people, which is called his Body: apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, pastors.

HEBREWS 8:10    For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The real aim of the Covenant was to take the Holy Spirit that was torn out of Christ at Calvary and send that Holy Spirit back down into the hearts of repentant men and women so that they could live Christ-like lives.

GENESIS 15:11   And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

What do the fowls mean?

MARK 4:3   Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

:4     And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

MARK 4:15   And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

So Satan causes people to reject the Word of God. This is the same principle that leads to the mark of the beast.

But Abram was a believer in the Word of God. That is why he could not tolerate the fowls who were people that rejected parts of the Bible as being unimportant or irrelevant or wrong.

MATTHEW 24: 28     For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Fresh meat or doctrine is presented to each age.

HEBREWS 6:6   If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Those who fall away and reject the revealed Scripture actually re-crucify Jesus. But the true believers, the eagles, want that rejected, revealed Word of our day that the others are condemning.

We are warned. There is a hatred toward the revelation of the true Word for our day. Believe the truth and you are not wanted.

God now puts Abraham to sleep to show that he has got nothing to do with the covenant. It is a covenant of Grace. The covenant depends entirely on what God does. Boaz redeemed Ruth. All Ruth could do was sleep at his feet and wait until Boaz acted out the part of the kinsman-redeemer. He had to kick off his shoe. Jesus had to kick off all His glory in Heaven and come down to be born to an obscure mother in a smelly stable. He even had to carry the tag of being illegitimate as Mary went to Elizabeth for three months before getting married to Joseph. The true path is not necessarily the easiest path.

GENESIS 15:12   And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

GENESIS 15:17   And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

56-0815  FAITH

Now, notice what he did. Then He said, "Abraham, I'm taking you out of the picture. You have no more to do with this at all." And Abraham went to sleep. And when he did, the first thing he saw before him was a real black darkness: death that faces every person. "It was once appointed unto men to die and after this the judgment." A hard darkness, hard, shaky, he had a horror. A darkness come before Abraham.

PSALM 23:4   Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

But after that, he looked and he saw a smoking furnace. Every sinner deserves to go to hell. God's confirming His covenant now... Watch. And then after the smoking furnace, he saw a little white Light: salvation. And this little white Light went up to these beasts and went right in between each one of these beasts, making the confirmation of the covenant with Abraham, this little white Light. What was he speaking of?

In a symbol if you're spiritual minded, you'll pick it up right quick. It was Christ he was speaking of. Every one of those animals, every one of those birds, them beasts, everything spoke of Christ at Calvary. Now, let me get it to you a little bit so you can understand it.

56-1209E  JEHOVAH JIREH

So death comes first. Then hell was the next, the smoking furnace. Then he saw a burning Lamp, a Light. Now, watch. And this Lamp went between each one of those pieces, making a covenant, that God, someday through the promised seed would raise up the Lord Jesus Christ to confirm the covenant with all the peoples of the earth, which Abraham was a father of nations.

Notice, He changed his name after that from Abram to Abraham.

The two halves of the animals represent the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jesus came between the two Testaments. The four Gospels act as a link between the two Testaments. When He died He went down to the dark regions of Hell and His Holy Ghost was the burning Lamp that took the keys of death and hell from Satan. He dumped our sin on Satan and passed between the two Testaments to make sure that all was Scriptural and thus ensured that our salvation from hell was confirmed.

GENESIS 15:13

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Abraham’s literal seed were the Jews who would be slaves in Egypt until released by Moses.

Abraham’s spiritual seed, the born again believers in the church ages, would be captive in the denominational traditions of the churches until the seventh angel came to reveal the written mysteries of the Bible.
REVELATION 10:7   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.

57-0106  JEHOVAH JIREH

Dad, you may be old, and mother, you may be old, but I'll give you the promise out of God's Word, in the resurrection you'll be young again. And I'll give you the promise of God's Word, you'll never be an Angel. You're going to be a human. God made you a human, not to destroy you, but to raise you up. Sin made the destruction, but Life makes you eternal. You'll never be an Angel. You'll... If God had wanted you to be an Angel, He'd have made you an Angel. He wanted you a man and woman, so He made you one.

So He took His son, made Him a form of sinful flesh and took Him up to Calvary (Listen close now.), Took Him to Calvary and there God wrote His covenant with the human race. Oh, brother, see it. He took the Lord Jesus, the Emancipator of this proclamation, and He took Him to Calvary, and He ripped Him apart. He took the body up to heaven, set it on the throne and sent the other part down, which is the Holy Ghost. And that same Holy Ghost is here on the earth, making up the body of Christ. And at the resurrection, they'll have to be the same genuine Holy Ghost that fell on the day of Pentecost, that was in Christ Jesus will have to be in the church to come into that covenant, and then you're Abraham's seed and are heirs of all things! Amen. God swore that He would do it. He made His promise He would do it. He gave a covenant He would do it. He raised Christ from the dead to prove He would do it. He sent the Holy Ghost down to continue the same work that Jesus did when He was on earth to prove to you that we have nothing to be scared about.

Cana seems to be a place where events occur that have significant spiritual value.

The sign of the Messiah is to reveal the thoughts of the hearts and thus be able to see across space and time.

I KINGS 8:39   Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

Jesus first demonstrated this Messianic sign to Nathanael, who was a Jew, and who came from Cana.

John 21: 2   Nathanael of Cana in Galilee

JOHN 1:47   Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

:48    Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

:49     Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

Jesus knew Nathanael’s motives and saw him far away in the past and knew that Philip would call him later. Nathanael then acknowledged that Jesus was the promised King because He could see across a big distance and also see back in time. He could even see the motives of the heart.

The third day.

John presents Jesus as the flying Eagle, which represents God. Thus John looks at the current events in terms of the Big Picture which is the 2 000 years of Church history. In the first church age, the apostles set up the church in the way that God wanted. The knowledge of the early church was mainly lost in the Dark Ages as domineering human leadership took over. Then came three church ages of restoration. In 1520 Martin Luther in Germany led the Reformation of the Sardis church age by restoring the doctrine that we are saved by faith and not by works. This was the first age or the first “day”  of restoration.

Around 1750 John Wesley in England led the Philadelphian church age when he restored the need to live a holy life and do outreach. This led to the famous missionary age that began about 1790. This was the second age ( or the second “day” ) of restoration back to the beliefs of the original New Testament church.

The third age of restoration, the Laodicean church age, had two stages. In 1904 there was a Welsh revival and then in 1906, there was the famous four-year Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles that restored back the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost baptism. Then between 1947 and 1965 William Branham in America sought to restore us back to the written mysteries that had been revealed to the first church age but lost during the Dark Ages. These mysteries had not been properly understood by the earlier reformers.

Thus, being now at the end of the Laodicean church age, we are in the third “day” of the restoration of the New Testament truths. Our responsibility is to get the revelation of the mysteries that are written in the Bible.

JOHN 16:13   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:

The final evidence of the Holy Ghost baptism is to reveal the written mysteries in the Bible as we are restored back to the early church.

Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. The three ages of restoration back to the New Testament church. At the end of the third age of restoration ( the third “day”) the church will be called up to Heaven for the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride.

The Roman Catholic church is described as being the mother of harlots, which are the Protestant and non-Catholic denominations and non-denominational churches. The very word denomination is unscriptural and disqualifies them from being Scriptural. All the rest of the churches, who do not take brother Branham's quotes back to Scripture, will not understand the revealed mysteries. Those Christians will dismiss the deeper revelations as irrelevant or not important. They will thus not be able to understand many Scriptures, like why Jesus twice wrote with His finger in the ground when questioned about a sinful woman who was to be stoned. Therefore they will continue to cling to their wrong doctrines and their ignorance.

The true Bride, the wise virgins, will be restored to the early church that was born on the Day of Pentecost.

The foolish virgins will be restored to the man-made denominational beliefs of the organized churches, that are based on the Roman Catholic traditions of a human leader.

JOHN 2:1    And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

A woman symbolizes a church as the true church is called the Bride of Christ.

Mary symbolizes the early church of the New Testament in the Ephesian church age that ended around 170 AD. This early church would carry the Word of God, even as Mary had once carried Jesus. John never calls her by her name. Why? John always has a deeply spiritual viewpoint. The true church should just be called disciples or Christians. No church should take on a man-made name like Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Message-believers, etc. The first church never did this. They were simply Christians, Christ-like.

The first woman only got her name Eve after she had sinned. As soon as Christians take on some church name, it means that they have fallen into sin or unbelief.

Knowing that the first church would only be called Christians, John does not call the mother of Jesus by a name. At the beginning of the first church age, no church had a name. This also indicates that the first age church is the mother church that later Christians should try to imitate. The Roman Catholic church claims to be the mother church but they only began to acquire their power and wealth after the Nicene Council in 325 AD.

The first church that started with the apostles is actually the mother church.

EXODUS 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

This fifth commandment tells children to honour their parents. But it also has a deeper spiritual meaning.

We must turn back to the apostolic fathers who wrote the New Testament. We must be restored to the beliefs of the first church which is the true mother church. This will give us a long life as the dead Christians will rise in the resurrection and the living will be given glorified bodies that will never die. Together we will live for eternity on planet earth with Jesus. That is certainly a long life.

The end-time church must thus be restored back to the Bible beliefs and behaviour of the early church.

Corn seed is planted and then, after going through certain stages produces an identical seed for the harvest.

The last miracle that Jesus performs is to change His Bride into glorified bodies and summon them to the wedding supper in Heaven. So His first miracle was also performed at a wedding.

REVELATION 19:7   Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

:8     And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

:9     And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

A woman is the symbol of a church. The end-time Bride, the true church, has to prepare herself for the marriage to Jesus in Heaven. No-one can just go to that wedding. Each individual has to be called. We all wait for that midnight cry. Until then, all the churches, the wise and foolish virgins, are asleep in their human traditions. Virgins are clean women, representing saved Christians. Fast asleep in their complacency and self-justifying church systems.

MATTHEW 25:5   While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

:6     And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

A cry from outside the churches is needed to wake the churches up to reality and force them to cast off all their human traditions that so engross them.

"Go ye out"".  Whatever church you are in is not going to get you prepared. You will have to go out to meet the Lord.

The resurrection will occur with the voice of the archangel. This cry of this voice will wake up the churches.

I THESSALONIANS 4:16    For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

William Branham’s message was the shout to reveal the written mysteries in the Bible that will enable the Bride to prepare herself for the Coming of the Lord by being restored back to the first church.

MATTHEW 17:11   And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

But even that will not wake the church up.

63-0320  THE THIRD SEAL

Now, that's what's the reason today that the revivals that we're supposed to have.  We have denominational revivals; we haven't had a real stirring. No, no, no, no. No, sir. Don't think we got revivals. We haven't. Oh, they've got millions and millions and millions of church members, but not a revival nowhere. No, no.

The Bride hasn't had a revival yet. See? There's been no revival there, no manifestation of God to stir the Bride yet. See? We're looking for it. It will take those seven unknown thunders back there to wake her up again. He will send it. He promised it. Now, now, watch. Now, she was dead.

After the shout, which is the message going forth so that the Bride can understand the written Bible, then we have the voice of the archangel as He comes down to stand on land and sea and claim the dead that have been buried there.

He holds an open Book.

The Bride has finally learned how to read and interpret the mysteries of the written Word with understanding.

But it is a little Book. Few people are interested in interpreting their beliefs only from Scripture.

REVELATION 10:1   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:

REVELATION 10: 2   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,

This happens when the Book has been opened. It is after the mysteries have been revealed.

REVELATION 10: 3     And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

Both expressions “cried with a loud voice” and “when he had cried”  refer to the resurrection of the dead.

JOHN 11: 43     And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

MATTHEW 27:50   Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

:51     And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

:52     And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

64-0119  SHALOM    But, remember, if it goes plumb into the shadows of death, "I am the resurrection and Life; I'll raise him up again." And when the great Director comes down and bears that stick down, then, "time shall be no more." When that Angel, of Revelation the 10th chapter, puts one foot on land and one on the sea, and a rainbow over His head, He swore, "time shall be no more." When that time comes, you'll rise up from among the dead. While the rest of them lay there, you'll go in.

So the mighty Angel of Revelation Chapter 10 is the Archangel that raises the dead. The lion’s roar of triumph as the Lion of Judah raises the dead to win that great victory over Satan.

Then seven Thunders utter which will show the Bride how to receive rapturing faith.

63-0318  THE FIRST SEAL

And then there's coming forth seven mysterious thunders that's not even written at all. That's right. And I believe that through those seven thunders will be revealed in the last days in order to get the Bride together for rapturing faith;

First the resurrection. Then the bodies of the living Bride change into immortal bodies at the time of the seven Thunders. Then the Trump of God to call them up to the wedding feast.

( Having Trump as president means everyone is talking about Trump.  This is a sign of the times and is a warning to us that the time of the Trump of God is at hand. President Trump has spread a lot of alarm and things are very different from what people expected. This is a warning that we must learn to expect the unexpected ).

At His First Coming, Jesus came in a very different way to what people expected of the Messiah. Joseph and Mary were unknown people. Nazareth was a bad place. People claimed Jesus was illegitimate because Mary conceived and then went to Elizabeth for 3 months before getting married.

So the Second Coming of Jesus is going to be very different from what we imagine. We need to be on our toes and searching the Bible.

Let us look at the first marriage in Cana to get some clues that we can expect for the last marriage of the Lamb in Heaven.

JOHN 2:2    And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

The disciples of John the Baptist were not invited, only the disciples of Jesus.

The disciples of William Branham will not be invited, only the disciples of Jesus Who is the Word of God.

No one went to the marriage unless they were called by the written Word of God, the King James Version of the Bible.

REVELATION 4:1    After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,

"After this".  After the church ages were over John was called up to Heaven at the end of the church ages. We only go up if God calls us.

Jesus is the full Word of God. Only those who believe in the fully restored Word will be invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. These are the true disciples who base their beliefs on Scripture.

We must be careful. God calls us through His Word. If we do not understand the Bible we will simply stay with our church traditions and opinions and ignore the revealed Scriptures. Then we will not be invited to the wedding supper.

In a parable in Luke's Gospel, a man prepared a supper and invited all the good guests ( saved Christians ). None responded to his invitation (they stayed with their church traditions and opinions) so he rejected them all and chose the riff-raff instead.

People say Trump is riff-raff. Is this a sign that God is leaving the righteous and turning to the riff-raff?

LUKE 14:24   For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

So the wedding supper of the Lamb will be very different from what we think. It is not for faithful church members who love their church more than they love Jesus. It is for individuals who believe the revealed Word for the end time.

JOHN 2:3    And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

Wine represents the stimulation of revelation. Natural wine makes one happy. But that happiness soon fades. Spiritual wine is to be made happy when you get a revelation of what a Scripture means. This deeper insight stimulates us to study the Bible more and spend more time discussing and thinking about the Word in order to get an even deeper understanding. This happiness remains and grows deeper as the mystery of the Word unfolds.

Mary, as a woman, symbolizes the mother church or the apostolic church of the first church age. This first church was supposed to be the church that all later churches would be born from. All the later churches were supposed to be like the first church of the Book of Acts.

Nazareth was close to Cana so Mary was already at the wedding.

Jesus and the disciples asked her for wine but she said to Jesus that there was none.

Mary, as a woman, symbolizes the church that has no wine, no stimulation of revelation of the truth.

Jesus then makes a statement that sounds totally out of context.

JOHN 2:4   Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

In John’s Gospel Jesus is presented as the all-seeing high-flying Eagle which is a symbol of God.

So Jesus looks at a local event and sees it as a symbol of a deep spiritual truth.

He calls her woman. He never calls her Mother. Why not?  His physical Body was entirely created by God. There was not one scrap of Mary in Jesus. Mary was just the incubator in which His Body grew. Only God is holy.

He is also stating that she is not the mother of that Spirit which is within Him which worketh miracles.

LUKE 1:35   And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The foetus in Mary was holy. Thus it was entirely created by God as God alone is holy. And the Spirit of God hid inside that holy Foetus.

Jesus looks at the Big Picture.

The woman Mary represents the Jewish church of that day. She is saying that there is no wine, no stimulation of revelation.

TheJews could not produce the revelation of the truth because revelation can only be given by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in the veins of Jesus would only be released on Calvary when He died. Then it would return upon the church on the Day of Pentecost. That stimulated the disciples so much that they spoke in other tongues that different nations could understand. They staggered around like drunk men.

The apostle Peter had to explain to the crowd that the disciples were not drunk on natural wine, they were simply highly stimulated by the Holy Ghost baptism which had given them a deep revelation of the Gospel plan of salvation. The disciples had undergone a complete transformation in their thinking.

They had changed from emphasizing the Law and their own ability to keep the Law. Now the Holy Spirit transformed their mindset until they focused on Jesus and what He had done for them.

ACTS 2:15   For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

So when Jesus spoke to Mary, He was thinking of the Big Picture that the true church would only get the stimulating spiritual wine of revelation after He had died on the cross and the Holy Ghost had descended on the Day of Pentecost.  Mary, at that time, had no idea what Jesus was talking about.

We must never dare say that a Scripture is unimportant just because we do not understand it.

Completely baffled by His reply, nevertheless, Mary knew that only Jesus could perform the miracle. She proved her faith by telling the servants to obey Him. We must always obey what the Word says we must do. Even if He tells us to do something that is very unexpected. Do not get the idea that God thinks the way we think. Do not expect God to line up with your thinking.

JOHN 2:5   His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

To get ready for the supernatural transformation, the servants had to obey Jesus. If we want to be transformed into new bodies we must be careful to obey the Word. Follow a human leader and you lose out. Follow a church tradition and you lose out. Do only what the Word says. The true church, like Mary, tells the servants of God to only obey the Bible, which is Jesus in Word form.

JOHN 2:6   And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

Six is the number of man. Man was created on the sixth day. Seven is the number of completion, like seven days in a week. Six is one short of completion. Man fails to be complete because of sin in his life.

Six water pots puts the emphasis on man.

The pots were made of stone.

This symbolizes the hard-hearted attitude of man against God’s Word. We simply do not want to obey what is written in the Bible. We prefer to make up our own rules and doctrines.

ZECHARIAH 7:12    Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

Adamant means a stubborn refusal to change. Before modern geologists listed the hardness of stones, adamant was thought of to be an extremely hard stone, similar to diamond which is the hardest natural substance.

Zechariah says that our human hearts become unbelievably hard when we selfishly desire to reject God’s Word so that we can continue in our self will.

As the Father, God wrote the ten commandments on two tables of stone to symbolize how hard the human heart is.

II CORINTHIANS 3:3   Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

The whole salvation plan depends on two key points.

First, Jesus had to pay the necessary price for our salvation. He did this perfectly at Calvary.

As the Son, God lived bodily in Jesus Christ and paid the supreme price on Calvary.

As His human Body died, the Holy Spirit was ripped out of Him so that He could take our sins down to hell and dump them on the Devil.

Secondly, we have to allow Jesus to soften our hearts by surrendering our self-will and pride to Him.

As the Holy Spirit, God can only write His Law into the soft portions of a broken and repentant heart. Then we obey His commandments because we want to, not because we have to. The Holy Spirit changes our mindset.

We find it more blessed to give rather than to take.

We desire to love all, including our enemies.

God has to do three basic steps in our to prepare us for His service.

First He must save us as we accept Him as our personal Saviour. He is then our Saviour but not yet our Lord. People want Jesus to save them but He must not tell them how to dress,  behave, or believe.

The second step is sanctification when we surrender enough of our self will to allow Jesus to clean up our lives and make us live holy.

The third step is the Holy Ghost baptism where we allow Him to fully control our lives and reveal the Scriptures to us. We then surrender our self will to Him. Only at that stage are we ready to perform God's Will.

But when God uses a person and blesses that person with spiritual gifts and material success, it is almost impossible for that person not to start thinking that they are something and that they are above others.

54-0306  THE UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT THAT GOD MADE WITH HIS PEOPLE

"Well, you're overdrawn so much in the bank." I put that in to fill that up. Then I find out how much it'll be approximately to live on till the next meeting. Then what's left over of that, I put it in foreign missions. That's true. For myself, I keep nothing. And most of my clothes and things are give to me. People give it to me. We live like ordinary people, when God in heaven knows I'd be a multi-millionaire if I wanted to be.

But far be it from me to ever take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to commercialize it. Never in my life will I ever want to be guilty of such a thing as that. And I never want to be.

One thing for a minister is money, and the next thing is immoral living, which when I was a sinner, I tried to live clean and decent. And then the next thing is popularity.

Usually when God blesses a man, gives him a little ministry, he begins to think he's above everybody else. And that's just the time he's on his road out.

Then comes the fourth step, the most difficult step, where we allow God to place us in His perfect Will, in His Big Picture.

This will always be very different from what we planned or expected because we forget that God’s ways are not our ways. Subjection to church traditions, following a man, self-importance, the lure of wealth, the desire to be considered as clever, the herd instinct to belong to a group that produces an intense fear of rejection, and the lust for power over others, cause born-again Christians to forsake the narrow Scriptural path.

ISAIAH 55:8   For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Thus there are very few Christians who base their beliefs purely on the King James Version of the Bible as the Absolute Word of God.

LUKE 12:32   Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

MATTHEW 7:14   Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

It does not sound like Jesus is talking about the mega-churches and big denominations or about big congregations.

JOHN 2:6   And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

Purifying means cleaning up. This is symbolic of holiness. But only God is holy. So this indicates the Holy Ghost baptism that enables us to live holy lives and also clears out the unbelief in our thinking so that we can grasp the revelation of the revealed Scriptures.

A firkin was a quarter of a 34-gallon barrel, thus about 9 gallons.

The pots were thus of different capacities. God grants different measures of His Spirit to different people in terms of what He wants them to do for Him.

If we are saved by grace through faith, that means we will not go to hell. Jesus is our Saviour.

That affects our final destination, Heaven rather than hell.

But having Jesus as Saviour does not mean that we regard Him as our Lord.

Because there are two routes to Heaven.

The catching up of the Scriptural Bride to meet our Lord in the air, if Jesus is the Lord that we fully obey.

For the rest, the saved foolish virgins, they have to be pardoned on Judgement Day if they are to make heaven.

So step one is to be saved from hell. This is essential. Having accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour, does not mean He is our Lord. We want Him to save us but He must not try to tell us how to dress and how to behave. We want to be saved and still be free to do our own thing with our elastic conscience that never convicts us.

We want to be free to believe whatever suits us.

But life is not quite so easy.

I CORINTHIANS 12:3 … and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

We also need our Saviour to be our Lord.

Jesus wants to be Boss of our lives, in all the details. We often fail to realize that there is this further step of salvation, not from hell, but from the Great Tribulation. Caught up to Heaven when the Lord Jesus comes.

We need to be saved from the foolish virgins, good women who live clean lives ( symbolizing saved churches ) but who lack oil which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Oil produces light. Light is used to see something. Without oil, they have insufficient light to read the Bible. They cannot see what the Bible means in many places. When asked, "Why are there four Gospels?" or "Why is it that in Matthew that the women hold Jesus by the feet after His resurrection but in John's Gospel  Jesus says to Mary, "Touch me not".  We mask our ignorance and evade the questions by dismissing these points as unimportant. We need enough light from the Holy Ghost oil in order to see what these hidden mysteries in the Bible mean.

Being saved is step one, then we need a Holy Spirit baptism where we hand control of our lives over to Jesus.

PHILIPPIANS 2:12   …….. work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

We cannot work out our own salvation from hell. That is a free gift of grace which we can only accept by faith as it does not depend in any way on our good works.

But what we do and believe after we have been saved from hell will affect our chances of being called to the marriage supper of the Lamb in Heaven. Like at Cana, we have to be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. So we need to know what we are supposed to be doing and believing.

At His first miracle during a marriage, Jesus establishes certain conditions. The six pots (symbolizing us sinful humans) must hold at least two or three firkins. Eighteen to twenty-seven gallons is a serious amount of liquid. Only Christians who take Jesus and the Bible very seriously will make it.

If you say that portions of the Bible are unimportant, or irrelevant, or are not going to affect your salvation from hell, then you are lazy, self-satisfied, and over-complacent. Bible-ignorance will affect our chances of being ready for the Second Coming. Jesus will not invite or call any sloppy qualities to His wedding. We are called to seek and search in the Scriptures. All Scripture is inspired and is important.

II TIMOTHY 3:16   All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We must search all Scripture.

JOHN 2:7   Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

So Jesus tells the servants to fill the pots to the brim. As much as they could hold. And they held a lot of water.

EPHESIANS 5:26   That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Water is symbolic of Scripture. Believing the Bible and obeying the Word cleanses us.

Only the revelation of the written Word of God can show us how to walk the way God wants us to walk. Not listening to the opinions and egotism of church leaders but rather listening to the Bible.

JOHN 16:13   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:

The evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism is when He is able to reveal the mystery of the Word to a believer.

The Holy Spirit performs miracles but that is secondary. His main function is to guide the church towards the truth by revealing the written Scriptures.

So we must fill up our vessels with the water of the Word.

Our task, just before the Second Coming of Jesus is to fill up with Scripture. Pack it into our minds and our memories. All Scripture is good and important, even if we do not understand it. Read it all and store it in your brain just like they stored up water in those pots.

Then a strange thing happened. With no obvious visible signs, the water turned into wine.

God suddenly, in a miraculous manner,  grants you a revelation that enables you to understand the revealed Word at the end time. But He can only work on the water that is in your pot. If your pot is not full to the brim it means that you have not taken the Bible seriously and He leaves you alone. But all those who have filled their minds to the brim by learning as much of the Bible as they could and by absorbing the end-time revelations of the deeper mysteries by tracking them down through the written Word. They will suddenly find their bodies transformed from mortal to immortal. Then they will be caught up to Heaven.

JOHN 2:8   And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

So the water turned to wine and the important governor of the feast was impressed.

JOHN 2:9   When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

The important man, the human ruler, did not know where this end-time revelation came from. But the servants who were nobodies knew.

MARK 10:42   But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

The biggest weakness of Christian leadership: being the boss and ordering people around.

The important guy was ignorant of what was going on, though he was in charge.

:43   But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

The only great thing that we can do is serve, and remember that servants are not important.

:44     And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

The most important Christian is the humblest servant.

What can you ride on that is lower than a donkey?

( Take note Message-pastors who ride in flashy cars and live in big luxury houses ).

The apostles established the early church and then left the scene. Jesus then wanted no important people in the early church. He just wanted servants who carried the water of the Word to the people.

The early church never had a pastor in charge of a church. The early churches were run by elders. They were there to serve, not to dominate. Important men do not know where the real wine, the stimulation of revelation, comes from as they are too busy establishing their own importance and subjecting the congregation to themselves.

Jesus calls us to be servants. He does not want us to lord it over the people.

The true servants are the elders who want no reputation, they merely wish to serve and obey Jesus and His Word.

Paul called the elders of the city of Ephesus to the city of Miletus.

ACTS 20:17     And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

ACTS 20:28   Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

:29     For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

:30     Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Grievous wolves are the ministers and pastors and bishops and modern-day apostles who force people to follow them. The original apostles were great. They established the early church on the basis of the written Word. Modern-day self-appointed apostles no longer stay with the written Bible as they delve into the unwritten mysteries. This makes people think that they are clever, but cleverness never saved anybody.

A group of elders was the proper way to run the church. No single person was to assume power over the people.

Today, at the end time, there is no important ruler of a church who knows where the truth comes from.

The important rulers of the churches today all rely on quotes and interpretations of quotes. If the important church leaders who rule the churches actually obeyed the Bible, then they would neither be important nor would they be rulers.

JOHN 2:10   And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

Each reformer like Martin Luther or John Wesley made a big impact but years later as their followers denominated over the quotes of their leaders, so the movement deteriorated. They could maintain numbers but the quality of the movement, and its impact on the world, got worse.

But the end-time mysteries are for those who take brother Branham’s quotes back to Scripture and establish his quotes by running them through the Bible. That becomes a far better revelation of the Bible’s symbols, patterns, and verses than anything that the reformers and the modern churches teach.

Each reformer broke free from the denominational system of his day, which was good wine as it was a good revelation, a good inspiration that stimulated new thoughts about the Bible. But when the reformer died, his followers built a new denomination around his quotes and the wine deteriorated. People could no longer read and understand the Bible for themselves, they had to be subject to the restrictions and limitations of their self-appointed church leaders who focused on interpreting quotes, not Scriptures. The ignorance and errors of these puffed-up leaders soured the wine.

REVELATION 10:7   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 revelation of the written mysteries that can be run through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the sweetest wine of all as it is the taste of eternal truth. The truth that unlocks the hidden truths that the early church once knew, but then lost in the Dark Ages. We are privileged to discover ancient truths because those deep revelations are now available.

But a word of caution. We must only believe what the first church believed. If you have a belief that they never had, then you are wrong!

MATTHEW 17:11   And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

The end-time church is to be restored and not renovated.

Elijah is not to bring new ideas, he is to take us back to the old ideas.

Restoration means returning to a former or original condition.

We must believe and act just like the early church of the New Testament.

Did the early church believe what you believe?  If the answer is, “No”.   Then your belief is wrong.

JOHN 2:11   This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

His first miracle at a wedding turned water into wine. If we can catch the revelation of the written Word from the quotes of the seventh angel, then we too will be part of the last church miracle where first our beliefs are changed to being strictly Scriptural. Only then will our bodies be changed so that they can move up into the air to meet Him.

The disciples believed in Jesus. We must also believe in Him. He is the Word.

We must believe and follow the revealed Word, not follow the prophet who revealed the mystery of the written Word.

JOHN 2:12   After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

From a human point of view, the mother and brothers would be most important to Jesus. The disciples are mentioned last, making them the least important. Here is a deep spiritual insight. The disciples, mentioned last as being the least important, are the ones who will do the hard work of establishing the church. Mary and the brothers of Jesus, though mentioned first as being more important, will play a very minor role,  except for James who was the son of Joseph and Mary.

What do we learn from this?

Importance in the eyes of man is irrelevant to God’s work. The real work is done by the unimportant. Family connections are completely unimportant.

Jesus chose outsiders for the main work, not His family.

Nepotism is favouritism based on family relationships.

This has always been a horrible sickness that has plagued humanity.   But Jesus never stooped that low.

Napoleon’s empire in Europe collapsed partly because he placed his incompetent family in power to rule over conquered countries. He was brilliant, they were not. Then came the deluge as it all collapsed.

MATTHEW 13:55   Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

These were the sons of Joseph and Mary who were born after Jesus was born.

One brother of Jesus was named James.

Two disciples chosen by Jesus were each named James. These were the only two who had their fathers mentioned by Matthew. In other words the Bible is establishing that who your father is, does not in any way make you important as other disciples were chosen without any reference to who their fathers were.

MATTHEW 10:2   Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

:3     Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

So why were the fathers mentioned of the two men called James?

This is a key point. The two disciples named James have their fathers mentioned to make it clear that neither of them was the brother of Jesus.

So Jesus never chose any of His family as members of the original 12 disciples.

MARK 15:40    There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;   

James the son of Alphaeus is also called James the less. Thus he was an apostle of less influence amongst the 12 apostles. But he, as an apostle, still had authority over the ordinary people. But James the son of Zebedee was an influential apostle. Peter, James the son of Zebedee, and John were the main three apostles.

Joseph and Mary also had a son called James, a younger brother of Jesus.

This James, the son of Joseph, did not really believe in Jesus before His death and resurrection.
MARK 6:3   Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?

JOHN 7:5    For neither did his brethren believe in him. 

MATTHEW 12:46    While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
:47   Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
:48   But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
:49    And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
:50    For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

The brothers of Jesus did not yet believe in Him. They were outside but he pointed to His disciples who were with Him and called them His brothers.

Only those who believe are the family of Jesus.

When we get to the last supper, there were still the original 12 apostles.

LUKE 22:14   And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 

The Communion service at the Last Supper was the dividing point. Judas, the false believer, was separated from the group.

Then Judas fell and was replaced with Matthias.

ACTS 1:26   And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. 

This began a new trend of adding a person as an apostle to the original group that Jesus had chosen.

ACTS 14:14   Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 

Paul and Barnabus were now also accepted as apostles.

ACTS 12:1   Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
:2    And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 

The main three apostles had been Peter, James the son of Zebedee, and John.

After the death of James the son of Zebedee, there appears another James amongst the apostles.
ACTS 15:13    And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 

ACTS 15:19    Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

To speak like that, this new James obviously had authority. This was not James the less.

GALATIANS 1:19   But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. 

James, the brother of Jesus, had become an apostle to replace James the son of Zebedee who had been killed.

GALATIANS 2:9   And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, 

Cephas is Simon Peter. This new James was the brother of Jesus who only became a believer after the resurrection.

In today’s world, it is common for a famous man to build up a church organization and have it taken over by his son, whose main qualification for that leadership position is the accident of his birth. The real motive is obviously the desire to keep the money in the family. The pastor and his relatives run the show. But everyone averts their gaze and pretends that this is not the case.

In the Book of Genesis, three messengers came to Sodom just before the fire fell. The last century saw three outstanding ministries that stood head and shoulders above their peers.

Billy Graham, claimed by many to be the greatest evangelist of the age, as the messenger to the non-Pentecostal churches.

Oral Roberts with his tremendous supernatural ministry was the messenger to the Pentecostal age.

William Branham, supremely gifted in the supernatural realm, was actually sent to reveal the mysteries of the written Word that the early church once believed and then lost sight of in the Dark Ages. He was the messenger to the true Bride that takes his quotes back to the Bible and proves the truth by running their beliefs through the Bible. The power of his supernatural ministry shook the world. His teachings were largely ignored.

These three men were amazing. They hit the world with a real impact.

As a brief personal testimony. I grew up as a hardened sinner totally uninterested in the church world. But as much as I stayed away from religion, I kept hearing about this incredibly powerful evangelist called Billy Graham. It was not just his followers who made him famous. His campaigns just spread a ripple around the world. Even a heathen like myself, far away and totally uninterested, could not help but be impressed by the effect of his ministry that I kept hearing about.

Today the scene has changed. The family has taken over. The mantle went from father to son.

Oral Robert’s son Richard Roberts heads the organization.

Franklin Graham took over from Billy Graham.

Joseph Branham took over from William Branham long after his death and promoted his father from being the “voice of the seventh angel” to being the “Voice of God”. But the supernatural power of God that William Branham had, has faded.

None of these three children have the impact that their fathers, who were called of God, had.

Nepotism was the basis for securing power over the Roman empire for the first seven Roman rulers.

These are the seven kings that we are warned against in Revelation Chapter 17.  The family that produced the first Roman emperor and his descendants.

REVELATION 17:10  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

First was Julius Caesar, pitiless and predatory, who built up supreme dictatorial power over Rome. His sister's hypocritical, cowardly, and brutal grandson Augustus, became the first emperor. He pretended to honour the Roman Senate as he undermined it. The tyranny of these men and their depraved descendants Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius as they clung viciously to supreme power for almost 100 years produced a landscape of grief, ruthlessness, intrigue, murder, and excess wealth where ugly shadows lurked as the freedom of the fearful people decayed.

“One is” says John the Revelator of the paranoid sixth emperor Nero who exiled him to Patmos between AD 64  and AD 68. The supreme dictatorial power that was granted to Nero because of his family relationship with Caesar, had perverted him into a monster of nightmare proportions who instituted the first persecution of Christians. The decline in quality was ominous. When the emperor died, then all the political prisoners, including John, were released. The Jewish Temple was still standing during this first imprisonment that ended in AD 68 as it was only destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman General Titus.

This transfer of power in the first family of Roman emperors was shockingly corrupt.

Nero was replaced by a military usurper, General Galba, who was killed after 7 months.

The first seven pagan Roman rulers were a succession of family members who represented the succession of Popes during the seven church ages. This line of religious dictators will end when an outsider, the final antichrist Pope, usurps the papacy with the backing of ten military dictators.

Domitian became emperor in AD 81 and imprisoned John on Patmos island again. When Domitian died in AD 96 then John was again released. John thus served two prison sentences.

The Book of Revelation was thus written over two time periods. This symbolized the first and the last church ages which are the only two church age time periods where the full truth was revealed.

The church should have learned a harsh lesson from this first Roman family. Supreme power over a church cannot be transmitted successfully within a family. The church must never be run by one-man dictatorial power.

King David could pass his political kingdom to his son Solomon. But on the spiritual side, Solomon was undermined by all the wealth he collected, 666 talents of gold per year. This is the first obvious mention of the mark of the beast, which is linked to fading spirituality as people turn away from the written Word and embrace the horrible and insatiable lust for wealth.

I KINGS 10:14   Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

A score is twenty. Three score is sixty.

Then Solomon fell for strange women and their wrong beliefs. Spiritually this was not a good testimony.

But David's son Solomon impressed everyone with all the wealth that he hoarded up.

I TIMOTHY 6:5   Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Getting rich is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing. The richest men on earth are not necessarily Christians.

This is the list of disciples.

MATTHEW 10:2   Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

:3     Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

:4   Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

This is ominous. The list of disciples, hand-picked by Jesus, ends with Judas who betrayed Jesus, the Word. What was the downfall of Judas?  His love and greediness for money.

He believed in the gospel of gain. He turned away from the Word in order to make money.

Turning away from the Word takes us to the mark of the beast, 666.

JOHN 6:66   From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

A subtle hint as the 666 appears in the Chapter and Verse.

A harsh lesson.  The love of money drives us away from Scripture.

So who is the real family of Jesus?

MATTHEW 12:46    While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

:47   Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

:48     But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

:49     And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

: 50   For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Jesus gave no pre-eminence to His physical family. He would only live with them for a few years.

His true family are actually the genuine believers who follow the written Bible so that they can do the revealed will of God in their appointed church age.

This is a great lesson.

Putting family ahead of Scripture is a disaster.

LUKE 14:26   If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

You have to be totally sold out to Jesus and His Word. No family, no pastor, no human being must come between you and what the Bible teaches.

After the wedding at Cana they all went to Capernaum.

Capernaum means the “village of Nahum”.

Nahum prophesied of the downfall of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

NAHUM 1:1   The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

Nineveh had it all as it was the capital of the world’s strongest superpower. Jonah visited them and they once repented in his day. But unfortunately, they did not stay that way. Then Babylon would conquer them and they would fade away.

Capernaum had a similar fate. Jesus often lived here. He performed many miracles. Messiah was in their midst but the people later chose not to believe. A thousand years later Capernaum was just a heap of ruins.

Capernaum was a city where many miracles would be performed during His ministry. When Jesus left Nazareth He came to live in Capernaum. This was the home of Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

MATTHEW 4:12   Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

:13     And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

:14     That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

:15     The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

Greek spelling of Zebulun and Naphtali. The New Testament is written in Greek. The Old Testament in Hebrew.

:16     The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

:17   From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

So Capernaum was more or less where His ministry began.

Jesus did not move to where He wanted to go.

He moved to the place that was spoken of in the Bible. His whole life was lived in subjection to the written Word of God.

Many miracles occurred here during His ministry. Let us consider some of them.

MATTHEW 8:5   And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

His servant was very sick. But if Jesus just spoke the word, the servant would be healed at a distance.

MATTHEW 8:10   When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Then Jesus went to the house of Peter.

MATTHEW 8:14   And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
:15   And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

Jesus paid all the taxes that were due, unlike many Christians today who cheat the taxman.

MATTHEW 17:24   And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

Jesus told Peter to catch a fish that had a coin in its mouth. That coin was used to pay their taxes.

Even the fish paid tithes to Jesus. They had feasted well on drowned corpses in the days of the Flood of Noah. They owed Him.

MARK 1:21   And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

:22     And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus taught them truth and then cast an unclean demon out of a man.

MARK 2:1   And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

A huge crowd packed around Him. A paralysed man needing healing was lowered down through the roof.

Then one day as they came towards Capernaum, each disciple began to try to prove that he was more important than the others. Just like today's pastors and church leaders. "I am in charge. I am more important than you. I am an apostle. I am a bishop. I am most important. Admire me. Envy me. Hero worship me." Pride and self-glorification are a sickness that penetrates deep into the hearts of us human beings.

54-0306  THE UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT THAT GOD MADE WITH HIS PEOPLE

Usually when God blesses a man, gives him a little ministry, he begins to think he's above everybody else. And that's just the time he's on his road out.

Jesus was not impressed with their self-seeking attitude.

MARK 9:33   And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?

:34   But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

Among themselves they argued who was greatest. In the presence of Jesus they kept very quiet. Compared to Him they realized they were nothing.

We humans must not compare ourselves to each other because then we become puffed-up and run other people down. It is healthier to compare ourselves to Jesus because then we are aware that we are simply unprofitable servants.

LUKE 17:10   So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

The endless curse of self-obsession. I am better than you. Disciples who think themselves to be superior have missed the purpose of their calling.

While in Capernaum the problem of sectarianism arose. My church is better than your church.

MARK 9:38  And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

The next curse of self-obsession is that only my group is right. This guy should be silenced because he does not follow me or belong to my group. There can only be one church in a city, my church. If you do not follow me, you are lost.

A pastor’s motto:  everyone is entitled to my opinion.

65-0220  GOD'S  CHOSEN  PLACE  OF  WORSHIP

He said, "Mr. Branham, if your name is not on our church book, you cannot go to Heaven." Would you ever think of that? Don't you believe such a thing as that. They think you have to belong to that certain church or you cannot go to Heaven. That's wrong. To believe that, is antichrist. I'll say this: if you believe such a spirit, you're lost. That's a good sign you are lost, because it's taking away from what God did. God never put His Name in any church. He put It in His Son, Christ Jesus, when He and His Son became One. That's the genuine place of worship. No other foundations was laid, no other rock.

LUKE 4:23   And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

The fame of the many miracles done in Capernaum had spread around.

LUKE 4:24   And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

:25     But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

:26     But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

When Elijah the prophet needed a place to stay, God sent him to a Gentile home not to a Jewish home.

This is a subtle reminder that when the Jews do not appreciate what God has done, God will then turn to the Gentiles.

So despite the fame of all the miracles done to the Jews in Capernaum, Jesus reminds them that if they do not believe in Him then God is happy to turn to the Gentiles if need be.

Jesus here reveals a grim warning.

All the miracles done in Capernaum will not stop their unbelief and will not prevent the descent of these Jews into hell. Witnessing the supernatural exalted the people of Capernaum into the heavenly realms but this does not necessarily make one a believer. The mistake was that the people of Capernaum exalted themselves.

When God grants someone a supernatural ministry, that person easily ends up exalting himself as a supernatural showoff.

LUKE 10:15   And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

:20     Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Being able to manifest and demonstrate the supernatural does not make one a believer. Our names must be written in Heaven in the Lamb’s Book of Life. This is a record of those who believe the revealed written Word for their day.

MATTHEW 7:21   Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

:22     Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

:23     And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Displaying the supernatural is not evidence of being right with God.

Caiaphas and Balaam were both evil men, but they both made a true prophecy.

MATTHEW 5:45   … for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

God blesses people who believe the truth and people who believe in error. So the fact that God blesses you does not mean that you are believing the truth.

JOHN 4:46   So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Again, Jesus performs a long-range miracle from Cana that heals a nobleman’s son in Capernaum.

After feeding the 5000 on the right-hand side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus tells the disciples to sail towards Capernaum.

JOHN 6:17   And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

As they sailed towards Capernaum, Jesus walked on the water to meet them in a storm. This was one of His greatest supernatural feats.

When they got to Capernaum, Jesus then decided to put them to the acid test. They had seen much of the supernatural at Capernaum. Now He decided to let them hear some tough teaching.

JOHN 6:56   He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

JOHN 6:59   These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

:60   Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

:61   When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

JOHN 6:66    From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Preaching the truth from Scripture chases away the people who are attracted by the supernatural.

Believers who overemphasize the supernatural seem to be unable to stay with the written Bible and deviate off into their own clever speculations that are little more than froth and bubbles.

MATTHEW 11:20   Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

:21   Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!

MATTHEW 11:23  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Capernaum was spiritually exalted to see incredible supernatural miracles and to hear deep, Scriptural teaching.

People were impressed by the supernatural but had no desire to be Scriptural in what they believed.

LUKE 10:23   And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

:24     For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Old Testament saints who saw the future in visions would have loved to see Messiah in action. But the people of Capernaum were not really changed by the power of the supernatural and thus rejected the deeper teachings of Jesus. The Word of the age passed through their midst and they were too preoccupied with their own lives to notice. They had it all, but let it slip through their fingers.

Rejecting what God is doing in your day is a dangerous attitude.

Old Testament saints wished that they could understand the mysteries that Jesus was talking about. The revelation of the mysteries of Scripture made the disciples "blessed".

Today, God is revealing the hidden mysteries that the early church once knew. If we fail to realize how privileged we are to see such truths, then God will not be interested in us because we are not interested in what He is finally revealing. His thinking that is revealed in the Bible should fascinate us. But we seem to prefer the ignorance and limitations of our pastor-dominated churches that leave so much of the written Bible unexplained.

This concludes a brief summary of some of the recorded miracles and events that happened in Capernaum during the ministry of Jesus.

Going back to the start of His ministry. Jesus left Cana and went to His hometown of Capernaum.

JOHN 2:12   After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

Knowing that all the supernatural miracles in Capernaum would not produce many genuine believers in God’s Word, Jesus chose to cut His stay there short.

In a sense, Jesus was saying that the supernatural in Capernaum did not achieve its main goal because it never removed their unbelief that stopped them from believing the Word. The supernatural benefited individuals but did not encourage people to be Scriptural.

The supernatural was the style but the Word that He spoke was the substance.  Style is not as important as substance.

From this, we learn that the supernatural attracts attention but does not hold the attention of the person for long enough to make them a keen student of the Bible. Great and impressive though the supernatural is, it often only induces superficial attention to the Bible that skims the surface. Impressive supernatural displays stimulate the emotions but often do not give people the motivation to study the Bible, leaving them mostly Bible-illiterate. These are low-grade converts, if they are converts. Typical of the saved foolish virgins who go through the Great Tribulation.

But if it is a keen interest in the written Bible that attracts a person, despite everything else that may go wrong, then that person will be held permanently by the fascination of the revelation of the written mysteries. God's way of thinking is so brilliant to that person's mind that he or she is just completely hooked on God's Big Picture. The stunning overview of thousands of years of human history that are controlled and predicted despite the complications and flaws of our human self-will is mesmerizing. These people fall in love with an awesome Intellect that is far above and beyond human imagination. They simply want to know more and be part of the great climax of human history.

The disciples became fishers of men. The supernatural is a bait that attracts small fish near the surface. The revelation of the written Word is a bait that attracts big fish who swim in deep currents.

The small fish are the foolish virgins who are impressed with supernatural show-offs, musical entertainment, and classy showmanship. They believe some of the Word that is easy to understand and ignore the rest that requires hard thinking. They have too little oil to produce enough light to read the Bible. So, they cannot see or understand much of what is written.

The big fish that swim in the deep, hidden currents are the Bride. They are the real believers in all of the written Scriptures. They enjoy hard thinking. The challenge stimulates them as if it is good wine. They have enough oil to make a bright enough light so that they can read the written Word and see what it means. Their stimulation comes from joining the written Scriptures together so that God's great plan for their day can be revealed for their guidance.

Jesus now heads for Jerusalem. He was the Lord. He had to come to the Temple. Thus it was written.

MALACHI 3:1   Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,

JOHN 2:13   And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

He wanted to celebrate the Passover in the Temple as He followed all the Jewish festivals. He lived by the Law in order to set us free from the curse of the Law.

JOHN 2:14   And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

Then one thing made Him cross. Men who used religion in their insatiable greed to make money. Spiritual bloodsuckers.

JOHN 2:15   And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

A cord is a thin piece of woven string. A few of these cords will make an effective whip. That is what Jesus used at His First Coming. At the end time, the far more numerous religious money-makers who miss out on His Second Coming will be killed in the Tribulation. For them, the many cords will symbolize a hangman's noose.

JOHN 2:16   And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

He physically threw the men out of the Temple and disgustedly poured their ill-gotten money onto the floor. What provoked the wrath of Christ was men getting rich as they claimed to serve God.

They had items for sale. Just like today's churches. Every TV half-hour program ends with the sale of a book or a CD or DVD. The one constant in each program is the final pull for money.

When we look at today’s wealthy pastors with their big houses and bank balances we see the same greedy spirit that made Jesus so angry. When He returns there will be many rich church leaders who are thrown into the Great Tribulation.

LUKE 6:24   But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

This Scripture covers our modern-day pastors and church leaders. Bishops. Apostles. Archbishops. Cardinals. Popes.

"Woe" sounds like the Great Tribulation. It certainly does not sound like the wedding feast in Heaven.

JOHN 2:17   And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

There is no mention of what Jesus taught in the Temple, just his condemnation of those who got rich from their religious duties.

His zeal for the Temple was directed towards getting rid of those who served God for profit.

Business is based on creating a product that religious consumers will buy. They will change the product to suit the market.

Megachurches offer "religion lite" like a watered-down product that sells easily because it offends no-one.

Their religion is a product subject to the whims and changes of the market. They want to sell the product so they are not too concerned about modifying and changing the Bible beliefs.

Sales are more important than substance.

One critic claims that megachurches feed easy-to-digest "junk food" to the already spiritually overweight.

To them, their spiritual experiences are far more important than doctrine. Marketing consultants claim that people come back for more if you offer them stress reduction rather than salvation.

It is about feeling good rather than being good. This rakes in the money.

The pursuit of profit requires that you provide what people want not what they need, so as to have a bigger audience.

With every broadcast, there is a segment devoted to soliciting funds and the selling of religious or spiritual merchandise.

Business is built on marketing brand names like Apple, Google, and Coke.

The Roman church made Saint Peter the doorkeeper of Heaven and Mary as the sympathetic mother that you can always pray to. Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul 2, and Pope Francis give them three highly respected icons.

Now daughter churches are climbing on the "brand name" bandwagon. Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, Oprah Winfrey, and TD Jakes have become multi-million dollar organizations built on these famous names.

Jesus knew that despite the fact that He lived in poverty, His church would grow into a multi-multi-billion dollar business. Claiming to be preoccupied with the riches of Heaven, the church, in reality, has become one of the most formidable accumulators of the riches of the earth.

The Roman Catholic church alone controls about one-third of the total wealth of Europe and America.

Jesus threw out the money-makers. He became really angry.

What was He showing us when He threw the religious financial "fat cats" out of the Temple of God?

Where is the Temple of God today?
I CORINTHIANS 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

:17    If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

This has a double meaning. God puts His Holy Spirit into the hearts of born-again people and then He expects them to live holy lives, or else! This involves every single person being a living stone in the Temple of God.

I PETER 2:5    Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood

Then all the born again Christians over the 2 000 years of church history collectively form the vast spiritual Body of Christ or Temple of the living God.

So Jesus was telling us that He would expel all the church leaders who had polluted His spiritual Body or Temple, the true church, by turning it into a sordid money-making racket. Jesus would throw them out of His spiritual Temple. They will never be part of His Bride. They will never be caught up to Heaven when He comes again. Their immediate future is the Great Tribulation.

MATTHEW 19:24   And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Being rich does not get you closer to God.

It just makes it far harder for you to approach God as too many options distract and attract your self-will.

JOHN 2:18   Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

Jesus had just wrecked their lucrative money-making racket. They were so mad at His interference that was costing them money that they would eventually conspire to kill Him. There was a distant threat in their attitude. They had so much religious power and political power with the Romans that they could arrange to have Him killed if He kept interfering with their income. That is what they could do to Him.

The next time, three years later, when He again threw the money lenders out, they would arrange to have Him killed.

Jesus cleansed out the money-makers at the beginning and end of His ministry.

We are at the end time. Religious money-makers are the targets that Jesus will soon be aiming at when the Great Tribulation begins.

What sign could He show to scare them?

He told them of the greatest sign of all, the resurrection from the dead. Sure, they could arrange with the Romans to have Him killed, but He would rise again from the dead.

He would be killed and buried on a Thursday afternoon. Stay buried on Friday and Saturday and then rise up early on Sunday while it was yet dark. So three days would be associated with His death. Part of Thursday, all of Friday, and all of Saturday.

JOHN 20:1   The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

He would spend three nights in the tomb. Thursday night. Friday night, and Saturday night.

MATTHEW 12:40   For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

JOHN 2:19   Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

JOHN 2:20   Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

The Jews had no clue what He was talking about.

The Temple was the centre of their religious racketeering and greedy money-making. Their pay packets depended on the Temple. But they only had just less than 40 years left before it was their turn. Then the Temple and more than a million Jews would be destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. The Jews would never be able to raise up their Temple again.

Herod began rebuilding the Temple around 20 BC, making it bigger and better. Thus it was completed around AD 26, although some finishing touches continued to AD 63. So when Jesus attended His first Passover in the year AD 30, the Temple had only been reasonably completed for about four years. It was virtually a brand new and magnificent building that the Jews were very proud of. But that same Herod had killed the Jewish children up to the age of two years when he tried to destroy Jesus. Herod failed in that attempt. But the Temple he built at great personal expense was doomed to be destroyed in AD 70.

JOHN 2:21   But he spake of the temple of his body.

Jesus had no interest in rebuilding the Temple. Temple worship would cease when He died because God tore up the Temple veil. Then the Temple would be destroyed and never rebuilt. The Temple, as the centrepiece of the Jewish Law, was about to become redundant, replaced by the New Testament Gospel of Grace where the centrepiece is Christ crucified on the cross.

But the goal of Jesus was to die and resurrect from the dead.

The Temple of His body would be destroyed by the Roman crucifixion, but that bodily Temple would rise again at His resurrection from the dead. So Jesus would do what the Jewish Temple could not do. Be destroyed by the Romans and then come back to life again.

These Temple Jews and moneymakers would eventually demand His death and then refuse to believe in His resurrection.

They in turn would be killed in AD 70 when the Romans killed 1 100 000 Jews in Jerusalem. This was the first Holocaust of the Jews. The price they paid for killing Messiah.

(When God began to turn back to the Jews during the Second World War then the Jews suffered a Holocaust under Nazi Germany when 6 million were killed. Rejecting Jesus cost a fearful price. We Christians must not reject the revealed Word at the end or else we will also pay fearfully in the Tribulation).

The pagan Romans also destroyed the Temple that was never rebuilt.

The Temple Jews thought that they could kill Jesus. They had no idea what they were heaping on their own heads.

Today, both they and their Temple are dead and gone. Meanwhile, Jesus is alive and well.

So there was a sign that Jesus left them. His power to resurrect from a brutal Roman death which neither they nor their Temple could achieve.

The only problem is that the awful religion-for-profit spirit which they had would continue on and flourish in the end-time church. These money-making church leaders will be thrown out into the Tribulation.

JOHN 2:22   When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

It was only after the resurrection of Jesus that the disciples began to understand the whole Gospel plan.

Their Scripture was the Old Testament. The words of Jesus were written down as part of the New Testament. Everything that Jesus said and did would link the Old Testament with the New Testament.

JOHN 2:23   Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

The miracles attracted many people but Jesus was not too impressed. He wanted people to believe the Scripture, not just the supernatural signs. Believing the Bible truths and being impressed with these revelations requires a much deeper relationship with God than just being impressed with the supernatural.

Crafty enemies can profess to be sincere followers.

False friends who seek their own advantage. Faith that is based on the supernatural can easily become superficial as it stirs up emotions. People can become sign-seekers, rather than Scripture-seekers.

JOHN 2:24   But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

We can bluff others but we cannot bluff God.

The same men who cheered Him on Palm Sunday when He rode in on a donkey were the same people who demanded His crucifixion on the following Thursday.

Praise turned to hatred within a week.

The Passover lamb was publically chosen on the 10th day and killed on the 14th day.

Jesus was publically chosen when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday. That had to be the 10th day.

If Sunday was the 10th day then Thursday was the 14th day. So Jesus died on a Thursday.

These Jews were so used to following their religious leaders that they could not think for themselves.

(The same with modern-day churches that all claim that Jesus died on a Friday because the Pope spoke of Good Friday centuries ago).

The Jews would condemn their own Messiah because that is what their religious leaders told them to do.

They simply stopped thinking for themselves and followed the herd. Typical of today’s Christians. But if you follow the herd you eat dust. Dust is the food of the serpent.
GENESIS 3:14   And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Reasonably ignorant of the Bible, fearful of disagreeing with the church leader, and terrified of not being part of the church. This is the state of modern Christians who cannot give an opinion by themselves as they are forced to rattle off the official church doctrine. This is a hazardous process as today there are 45 000 different denominations, that all claim to be correct. Your church has a one in 45 000 chance of being right. That basically means no chance at all. All ten virgins  (saved churches)  were fast asleep in the parable.

MATTHEW 25:5   While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

The 2020 coronavirus caught the churches unaware and closed them down for many months. The churches were totally unprepared for this pandemic. "Caught unawares" is what happens to people who are fast asleep.

EZEKIEL 16:44   Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

Unfortunately, the modern churches chose to follow the man-made traditions of the Roman Catholic church, which calls herself the mother church, instead of the New Testament church. They put a pastor in charge of a church although this was never done in the New Testament where the word “pastor” is only mentioned once. He does the thinking for them and they are scared to disagree with him.

JOHN 2:25   And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Each person polishes up their own self-image to impress others. But when Jesus stood in the judgement hall of Pontius Pilate then everyone who was in the hall condemned Him and no-one supported Him. Such is the uselessness of us humans. We easily fail when the going gets very tough. Satan had spread a spirit of fear that made even the tough disciple Peter deny the Lord.

Jesus is the Word of God. When the whole world criticizes what is written in the Bible, are we prepared to endure the mockery and persecution that comes from standing up for the written Word. At the end we will all be scared to stand up for the unpopular Bible truths.

Even Simon of Cyrene only helped Jesus carry the cross because he was forced to do so.
MATTHEW 27:32   And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

How well do we stand when all the world turns against Bible truth?

When all the world rejects the King James Version of the Bible?