Matthew 11 - I will give you rest

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The First Coming of Jesus was just to the Jews

MATTHEW 11:1   And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

At His First Coming, Jesus sent the disciples to preach to the Jews only, not to the Gentiles.

MATTHEW 10:5   These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

:6   But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

God deals with the Jews and Gentiles separately.

We see this from the seven-branched candlestick representing the seven church ages in the Old Testament Tabernacle.

This was separate from the 12 loaves of shewbread on a table, representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

Today the Jewish people claim to be Jews. They regard their land as Israel but feel that Israel refers to the historical land of their ancestors. They are a modern nation with its roots deep in the past.

MATTHEW 10:5   These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles,

As His Second Coming approaches, things are in reverse.

Jesus sends His end-time prophet only to the Gentiles, not to the Jews.

Only when God catches up His Bride to the Wedding Feast in Heaven will God literally turn back to His people the Jews.

During the First Coming of Jesus, the Jews had every chance to hear the truth. Many were happy to accept Jesus and what He taught.

But the Jewish leaders saw Him as a threat to their exalted place or position of power over the people.

Deep down, the Jewish leaders wanted money, not Truth

They preferred the money and power of their lives on earth rather than the rewards of eternity.

JOHN 11:47   Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

:48   If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Jesus was also a threat to the Jewish religious money-makers.

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

: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;

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

This was near the start of His ministry and by attacking their money-corruption Jesus made sure that the Jewish religious leaders would hate Him.

Religious leaders thrive on making money out of God's Word.

Today, the church world has become Big Business.

The Roman Catholic Vatican church organization is the richest organization on earth.

Then at the end of His ministry, Jesus did the same thing again.

LUKE 19:45   And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;

:46   Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

The Jewish leaders decided that this second cleansing of the Temple from the-love-of-money was one step too far.

They killed Jesus in the same week.

Never interfere with a pastor’s income.

Jesus is the First and the Last. In John's Gospel, He cleared out the money-makers at the beginning of His ministry. In Luke's Gospel, He again cleared out the money-makers at the end of his ministry.

This teaches us that from the beginning to the end of His ministry, Jesus had no time for people who make money out of God’s Word.

The biggest single problem today is that the church has become Big Business.

Rich and increased in goods and need nothing. No church will accept that they need correction.

REVELATION 3:14   And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
:17   Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The prosperity gospel prevails, especially in today's world of TV evangelism.

As long as you are making lots of money, you think that is proof that God is blessing you and that you are right with God

John the Baptist's disciples believed his wrong quote rather than follow Jesus, the Word

MATTHEW 11:2   Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

John the Baptist was the great prophet and forerunner of the First Coming of Jesus. He stood up for marriage and divorce. A legal marriage only ceases in death. He rebuked Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. Herod put him in jail for daring to say that divorce and re-marriage were wrong.

The penalty for telling the truth was to earn much hatred.

John was such a great prophet that certain believers became his disciples and followed him, rather than following Jesus.

What John said was more important to them than Scripture.

MATTHEW 11:3   And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

John thought that Messiah would immediately set up His Kingdom, the 1000 years of peace - what we call the Millennium.

But Jesus did not seem to be doing anything like that.

So, John made a serious mistake by looking at the circumstances rather than the Scriptures.

John did not realize that the seven church ages and the 3.5 years of great Tribulation had to happen first.

He was a great prophet, but he was also human. Human beings make mistakes.

John was shut up in prison on the false accusation that he could not correct king Herod. This unfair treatment became the circumstance that caused John's eagle eye to grow dim or dull.

Message preachers, as their eagle eye dims, make the false accusation that nobody can correct brother Branham.

John began to doubt if Jesus was the Messiah. So, the prophet’s disciples also doubted Jesus.

They should have corrected John with Scripture, but they mistakenly believed that it was a sin to try to correct the prophet.

They were prepared to stop believing in Jesus because they preferred to focus on a quote of John, that was unfortunately very wrong.

John’s disciples had missed the vital point. John had come to point them to Jesus. John did not come to replace Jesus.

The next verses explain what effect John’s ministry should have had on his disciples.

JOHN 1:35   Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

John had to point out Jesus as a Man to his disciples.

William Branham has to point out Jesus in the hidden mysteries of the Bible by explaining to us the meaning of these difficult verses.

JOHN 1:36   And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

John gave no glory to himself. He pointed to Jesus Who we know is the Word of God.

JOHN 1:37   And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

When you follow Jesus through the revealed Word by proving your beliefs from Scripture, only then have you understood what brother Branham was speaking about.

JOHN 1:40   One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

Others heard John speaking but did not understand, so they stayed with what John said and never followed Jesus.

Andrew heard with understanding.  He realized that John's ministry was to teach him to follow Jesus.

You have not heard brother Branham speak until you can track your beliefs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

It seems that Andrew was the only disciple of John the Baptist who became one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus.

So being a friend and follower of brother Branham, the second forerunner, does not imply that you will be a disciple of Jesus Who today is pointed out as the revealed Word of God.

Very few will make the transition from listening to brother Branham’s revelations and then following Jesus as He walks through the pages of the revealed Bible.

Can you prove your beliefs from the Bible?

MATTHEW 11:4   Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

Jesus, the Word of God, gave the disciples of John the Baptist the authority to correct John by referring to Scripture.

John was wrong when he looked at the unusual circumstances of no new Kingdom being set up instead of looking at Scripture.

So, even the great prophet and forerunner of the First Coming could make a mistake.

Jesus answered the error of John the Baptist and his disciples by simply referring to the Scriptures.

ISAIAH 35:5   Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

:6     Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Jesus stated the fulfillment of Scripture. The Bible was proving what He did.

As He preached,  waters of Life flowed from Jesus to the Jews who were living in a dried-up spiritual desert.

MATTHEW 11:5   The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Brother Branham must also point his disciples to the revealed mysteries of Scripture as a vindication of his ministry.

64-0614  THE  ODDBALL

That's what the Angel told me, "Get the people to believe you."

And if I tell the Word of God, it ain't "believe me," it's "believe the Word."

63-1110  HE  THAT   IS  IN  YOU

Believe all the Message. Believe That. If it isn't written in the Bible, then don't you believe it.

Brother Branham also pointed to Scripture to justify his ministry. He kept proving his revelations from the Bible.

64-0823  QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS.1

But those who can accept the Word in Its fullness, not me preaching It, because It's the Bible says so. Those who accept that is free, because they--the Word's already been judged.

62-0318 THE  SPOKEN  WORD  IS  THE  ORIGINAL  SEED.2
Now, all these things I've said, if they don't jive with the Bible, or dovetail with God's Word, they're wrong, they're wrong,

John the Baptist pointed his followers to Jesus as a Man and expected them to follow Jesus, not Himself.

Brother Branham pointed his followers to Jesus as the revealed Word of God.  He then expected us to follow the revealed Word, not follow William Branham.

MATTHEW 11:6   And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Blessed are those who are not offended when the Word of God corrects them.

Today, when a Scripture contradicts a quote, then many message believers hang onto the quote and ignore the Scripture.

That is the wrong attitude.

Notice how the disciples of John walked away from Jesus instead of staying and listening to Him.

Message people today also prefer quotes to Scripture.

MATTHEW 11:7   And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Walking away from Jesus to go back to John was the exact opposite of what John’s ministry was about.

We never read of those two disciples of John the Baptist again.

Brother Branham brought us out of unscriptural churches to believe the revealed Word. Now message churches are taking people away from Scripture back to unscriptural ideas. Such as:

“The seven Thunders have uttered”.

“The mighty Angel of Revelation Chapter 10 came down when brother Branham was on earth”.

“The supernatural cloud of 1963 was the coming of the Lord”.

“Brother Branham is the Absolute and infallible Voice of God”.

Try proving these ideas just from Scripture. You cannot.

Brother Branham never made these statements.

The first church age never believed those ideas, and we, as the children, have to be restored back to the first church age fathers.

MATTHEW 11:8   But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

John had made a serious mistake. Yet he was a great prophet

John doubted that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus just corrected his mistake and did not use that as an excuse to say that John was a false prophet.

Instead, Jesus was very complimentary to the tough and rugged John who had given up a normal life in order to burn up his life by giving a brief and spectacular introduction to the Messiah.

Not the soft, pampered life of the comfortable churches and their fashionable clothes.

MATTHEW 11:9   But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

Prophets prophesied of the Coming of the Messiah.

John also did this as a prophet. But then he became the greatest of these prophets by actually introducing the Messiah that the other prophets only spoke about.

John was the forerunner of the First Coming. That was an incredible responsibility.

MATTHEW 11:10   For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

But even more impressive. There were Scriptures that prophesied of John’s ministry.

Very few prophets had that great vindication.

MATTHEW 11:11   Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John had been prophesied about. And he saw Messiah in the flesh. Thus, John was the last prophet of the Old Testament. The Old Testament covenant ended at Calvary when God tore up the Temple veil.

But only those who got saved and Spirit-filled after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus would be able to be part of His Bride. A man's wife is the closest person to the man.

Thus the least member of the Bride would be closer to Jesus than what John the Baptist could be.

MATTHEW 11:12   And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

The Jewish leaders had no Scriptures to vindicate them. So king Herod used force and political violence to imprison John who was vindicated by Scripture. Violence, the last refuge of the desperate.

Then the Jewish leaders would force the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to put Jesus to a violent death.

MATTHEW 11:13   For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

What did they prophesy about? The main character of the Old Testament Who was the Messiah.

I PETER 1:11   Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

The life of each prophet indicated a part of the ministry of Christ as a preview.

David was anointed as king but only became king when his enemy Saul died in battle.

Jesus was anointed King by the Holy Spirit on Jordan's banks but will only become King in the Millennium after the Roman beast, the main enemy of the truth, is destroyed at Armageddon.

Why did it all stop with John?

Because Christ came when John was on the scene.

The Law ended when the animal sacrifices stopped because God tore up the Temple veil when Jesus died. No animal sacrifice could compare with His great sacrifice.

After Calvary, there would be a new covenant of grace, a New Testament.

Greek, the language of the New Testament, would replace the Hebrew of the Old Testament.

Then between 1604 and 1769, the King James Version of the English Bible would replace the Greek and the missionaries would spread English around the globe.

The Americans would invent the internet and spread English to the remotest places.

There are two forerunners, two Elijah ministries

MATTHEW 11:14    And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Jesus says that John had the spirit of Elijah.

Elias is the Greek for Elijah.

Elijah was promised to come? Where?

MALACHI 4:5   Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Jesus said that this prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist.

But there is something strange here. Elijah would come before the Tribulation, that dreadful day of the Lord when His wrath sweeps this earth. But John the Baptist came 2000 years before the Tribulation.

Why refer to an event that will be so far in the future?

MALACHI 4:6   And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Another strange reference. John only fulfilled the first half of this verse.

The "curse" is something that lingers. The awful radiation of an atomic or nuclear bomb. Nothing like that happened in John the Baptist’s day.

LUKE 1:17   And he [John] shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

The fathers were the older generation of Jews. Their children were the young men, Jesus, and the apostles. The older Jews were disobedient and could not see how Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah. The younger apostles, taught by Jesus, had the wisdom to see how just and suitable the sacrifice on Calvary was. How it paid the price for sin. How that sacrifice ended the Law and began the Gospel of Grace.

But the second half of Malachi’s prophecy was not fulfilled.

MALACHI 4:6   And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The young apostles grew up to become the fathers of the early church. We, who live in the time of the seventh or last church age of the Laodiceans, are the children who need to be restored back to the beliefs of the early apostles who are the father's of the church.

The apostles planted the true seed of God’s Word as the New Testament.

The seed had to be buried and die in the dirt of the Dark Ages.

Then the leaves of the Reformation of Martin Luther germinated as he restored salvation by faith in Christ alone.

The pollen of holiness and the translation of the King James Bible led to the missionary age that scattered eternal Life across the earth.

The harvest is when the seed is pulled off the plant.

The Bride can only be pulled off this earth when it is caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

That will only happen when the harvested seed Word is identical to the seed Word that the apostles planted.

How is that to happen?

There must be seven church ages where the first truth is lost and then finally restored in the last age.

MATTHEW 17:10    And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

The scribes had written down the prophecy of Malachi. Malachi said Elijah would come before the Messiah.

So the disciples, who had missed the significance of John the Baptist, asked, "Why has the Messiah come but Elijah has not?"

John the Baptist was past tense by this time. He was already dead.

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

But, Jesus talks about a future event.

But knowing that half of Malachi’s prophecy was unfulfilled, Jesus refers to the future events that will fulfill the portion of turning the hearts of the end-time children to their apostolic fathers.

He speaks of an Elijah who will come in the future to reveal the hidden mysteries of the written Bible. This would enable the Bride to finally get an understanding of the symbols and patterns of Scripture.

That will happen in the future.

Then Jesus refers to the past ministry of John.

Thus, it would take two men to fulfill this prophecy of Malachi.

MATTHEW 17:12   But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

:13     Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

John was killed for preaching the truth. The Jewish leaders had never realized that he fulfilled the first half of the prophecy of Malachi.

Even the disciples had missed that fact.

MATTHEW 11:15   He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This statement is repeated to every church age.

REVELATION 2:7   He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;

Thus, Jesus is telling us that seven church ages are coming which will see the original truth lost and then restored.

This is the whole plan and purpose of God for the New Testament history of the church.

Brother Branham as the end-time Elijah has to restore us to the doctrines of the apostles.

MATTHEW 11:16   But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

The weakness of religious people, both Jewish and Christian, is that they make up their minds how they think God should be served. Then they spread the propaganda of their own man-made beliefs that contradict the Scriptures.

They think that God must respond to their emotions and opinions.

They think that God will agree with how they see things at that time.

MATTHEW 11:17   And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

They want the truth to fit in with their way of thinking. Their current emotional state.

If we are happy, God must make everyone happy.

If we are sad, everyone must be sad.

MATTHEW 11:18   For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

John the Baptist lived a tough and austere life. So they claimed he was a kill-joy, a bad guy.

MATTHEW 11:19   The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Jesus was more relaxed. He drank wine and shared meals with people. So instead of appreciating this after John’s Spartan-type lifestyle, they criticized Jesus as if he was a drunkard or glutton.

It made no difference. Whatever God did, the religious people complained and opposed Him.

They simply did not want to accept what was Scriptural.

They just wanted to be left in the complacent comfort of their church traditions.

The supernatural attracts attention but does not hold attention for long

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

This is the problem with the supernatural. The crowds in the cities took no real notice.

TV producers have discovered that beauty attracts attention but does not hold attention for long.

The supernatural seems to have a similar effect. It attracts and excites attention for a while. But it does not have a long-term effect on most people.

MATTHEW 11:21   Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Chorazin and Bethsaida are near the Sea of Galilee.

Chorazin is mentioned only in the woe that Christ pronounced against it.

Chorazin means "secrets".

At His First Coming the people of Chorazin ignored the supernatural miracles of Jesus.

At His Second Coming the people will ignore the revelations of the secrets of the Bible by William Branham.

Bethsaida means "house of hunting".

Revealing the Bible mysteries is more important as they are eternal truths

By ignoring the revelations of the Seven Seals and the other Bible mysteries that opened up, the churches are unable to return to the beliefs of the apostles in the first church age.

Thus, they become a target for the many antichrist spirits that have ridden the white horse of religious deception through the seven church ages. Then the red horse of power and the black horse of religious Big Business.

REVELATION 6:2   And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The rider has a bow and no arrow. Which speaks of deception.

This spirit of organized religion has conquered the people by building up a spiritual house of denominational churches as they hunt for souls to follow their unscriptural beliefs.

The Pope received a triple crown or tiara by 1315 making him ruler of heaven, earth, and purgatory which is the realm of the demons.

The main church house that hunts for souls is the Vatican which rules 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.

They claim that the succession of Popes is descended from Saint Peter, making it the longest line of rulers on earth.

One of their fatal claims is that Peter is the Rock that the church is built on.

They claim that there is the so-called succession of Popes that followed Peter.

But it was only around the year AD 400 that the Bishop of Rome was called the Pope and only in AD 382 was he called the successor of Peter.

The succession of Popes fulfilled the conquering progress of the antichrist spirits symbolized by the white horse rider of religious deception.

In AD 754 Pope Stephen 2 falsely claimed the authority to crown Pepin as king of the Franks if Pepin defeated the Lombards and gave some of their territories to the Pope. He then claimed that Peter would reward Pepin by opening the door to Heaven for Pepin when he died. Making Peter the doorkeeper to Heaven. This enabled the Pope to get political power over the barbarian tribes by becoming a king-maker that they must serve and protect in order to get into Heaven.

Politics involves war and bloodshed.

Tens of millions were killed in the Dark Ages as the Pope rose to dominate Europe.

Bible truth almost died out completely.

REVELATION 6:4   And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Another horse but not another rider. The same antichrist spirits were the rider that was now involving the religious deception of the church with the brutality of politics. This gave the church the power to kill their opponents.

MATTHEW 11:22   But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Tyre and Sidon were pagan cities but they were never guilty of corrupting the Bible truths.

Tyre means Rock.

But the Catholics claiming that Peter was the Rock that the church was built on has stopped so many people from finding the truth.

Sidon means to hunt.

The pagans hunted for souls.

But those churches who corrupt the truth and reject the revealed mysteries of the Bible will face a worse punishment than those pagans who never accepted the Bible.

The modern churches rejected the revelation of the Bible mysteries that should restore the apostolic truths. Thus, with doctrines like the nameless Trinity God, they continue to corrupt the Bible truth.

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.

Jesus left Nazareth and then lived in Capernaum. There He performed many miracles.

But, sadly, the supernatural did not produce lasting faith in the people. As time rolled by, they forgot.

Capernaum can mean "protected by being sorry".

Basically, we gain comfort from being repentant. Repentance humbles us, but the city instead chose to exalt itself.

Since then, the city has totally perished. Even its original site is a matter of dispute.

MATTHEW 11:24   But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Once again, Capernaum was a city that saw the power of God but exalted itself as the way to Heaven and then fell hard.

The churches, like Capernaum, exalt themselves to Heaven

The Catholic church exalted itself up as the way to heaven by claiming that they got their power from Saint Peter, the only person who has the keys to open the Door to Heaven.

In 1302 they passed the law called Unam Sanctam which means that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic church. They claim that you can only be saved by being subject to the Roman Pope.

Protestant churches picked up that same spirit. They claim that if you leave their church, you are doomed. As if their church is the exalted way to Heaven.

65-0220  GOD'S  CHOSEN  PLACE  OF  WORSHIP

They say, today. I've had people to tell me. A man called me not long ago, in Beaumont, Texas. 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.

Sodom corrupted people into a homosexual lifestyle. That was bad.

But by corrupting people's beliefs that a church, or a church leader, or Saint Peter could get them into Heaven was far worse.

Jesus warns that those who corrupt Bible truths are far bigger sinners than those who reject Bible truths.

REVELATION 3:15   I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Either be cold and reject every Scripture and be a complete pagan.

Or be hot and believe every Scripture as being the Absolute truth.

REVELATION 3:16   So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

A mixture of hot and cold. Believing some Scriptures and ignoring or rejecting others. Corrupting Scriptures by changing them.

Most Christians today believe that the King James Bible has faults and flaws. They cannot believe that the King James Bible is infallible.

That is the worst attitude towards Scripture.

God's Word comes out of His mouth. So if we claim that there are faults in His Word then He vomits us out of His mouth in disgust.

MATTHEW 11:25   At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Human wisdom will neither unfold nor explain the mysteries of Scripture.

Graduates with University degrees and Theological College degrees will not be able to understand the truth of Scripture.

Babies are keen to learn about this strange world that they have been born into. Thus they copy what their parents say and do.

This applies to the spiritual children at the end time as they are restored back to the apostolic fathers who wrote the New Testament.

The true Bride will be keen to learn from and copy the beliefs of their apostolic fathers.

MATTHEW 11:26   Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Everything must fit into God’s Big Picture.

The true seed Word was planted by the first church age before it died and got buried in the Dark Ages.

Then it germinated in Luther’s Reformation as God restored the plant back until it could produce the original seed once again, for the harvest.

Only the Christians who are involved with this process can be part of the Bride of Christ.

God outlines His Plan in a revelation before He does it

AMOS 3:7   Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Over the 2000 years of church history, Jesus is preparing a Bride for Himself. He longs to catch her up to Heaven so that He can open the Seven Seals to her and provide an in-depth and thorough understanding of all the details and everything that happened during the seven church ages.

But, first He provided a revelation or outline of the opening of the Seven Seals.

That way, God could see who agreed with His thinking and who loved His Plan and Purpose.

Proving the truth of the revelations of William Branham by running them through the  Bible patterns from Genesis to Revelation is the filter that separates out the Bride.

Jesus is the Word. The Bride is part of the Bridegroom.

Thus the Bride will only believe what is written in the Scripture.

Eve was made from Adam and fell when she listened to God's Word being changed.

The other Christians who got saved, but then foolishly allowed themselves to be yoked to their church traditions and opinions, would be part of the foolish virgins who will miss the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

MATTHEW 11:27   All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

God the Father is the infinite Spirit that dwells bodily in Jesus.

COLOSSIANS 2:9   For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Jesus, as a Man is not God. Jesus is God because all of God’s Spirit dwells bodily in Him.

We cannot understand God the Father nor the Son of God unless we realize that Jesus is Almighty God.

Only Christ is the Head of the church. No man is the head of a church.

We cannot understand the Son of God unless we realize that His Body is made up of Christians who lived at different stages during the seven church ages.

Only the Spirit of God understands all the intricacies that are involved with the 2000 years of church history. The details of this huge Plan are far beyond what we can comprehend.

The church over 2000 years forms the Body of Christ.

This makes Christ the Head of the church.

Also, Christ is the Saviour of the church as nobody else could save us.

EPHESIANS 5:23   For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

God the Father knows who all make up the spiritual Body of Jesus.

Only Jesus knows and understands God’s Plan for His church.

The exceedingly complex coronavirus pandemic of 2020 proved that what is going on is too deep and complex for us to understand in the natural.

This symbolizes that what is going on in the spiritual world is also far too deep and complex for us humans to understand.

So, what can we do to escape the 3.5 years of great Tribulation and be right with God?

PHILIPPIANS 2:12   Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

The early church obeyed Paul when he was present.

We must obey Paul even though he is absent.

“Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling”.

This is not salvation from hell. We cannot be saved by works.

This is salvation from the years of great Tribulation that are coming upon the world. To avoid it, we must be Scriptural in all that we do or say.

Our refuge is in the Word of God.

But Jesus is the Word of God, so we must seek Him and follow Him through the pages of the Bible.

MATTHEW 11:28   Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

He invites us all to come to Him as He has been revealed in the pages of the Bible.

That was brother Branham’s real ministry. Revealing the truth of Jesus from the mysteries of Scripture.

63-0318  THE  FIRST  SEAL

Takes the Book of Seals and breaks them and shows the seventh angel, for this alone, the mysteries of God, is the ministry of the seventh angel. Now, we just come through the church ages with even history and prove that.

Understanding the mystery of God involves understanding that Jesus is God.

Jesus is the Father Who was above the Jews in the Old Testament.

Jesus is the Son Who was with the Jews during the four Gospels.

MATTHEW 1:23   Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Jesus is the Holy Ghost Who dwells by a measure in each born-again Christian.

JOHN 14:17   Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Spirit of God in the saints slowly built up the Body or Tabernacle of Jesus during the seven church ages.

Our only effective labour is to help to build up His Spiritual Body in our age.

Our rest from sin is the Holy Ghost baptism if we allow the Holy Ghost to guide us into all truth.

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

MATTHEW 11:29   Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

We must be yoked to Jesus, not to some man or some church.

When we are guided by Jesus and Scripture only, then we have true rest from unbelief and sin.

But Jesus is meek and lowly.

So, if we are yoked to Him then we will also be meek and lowly.

There is no room for pride or arrogance or complaining.

No place for a know-it-all. No desire to be noticed or elevated above another.

MATTHEW 11:30   For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Yoked to Jesus means that He carries the bulk of the burden. The bit He leaves for us is not that difficult.

Jesus was saying that any kind of law-keeping is a burdensome load of self-righteousness.

It amounts to a “heavy yoke” of oppression because no amount of law-keeping can bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness.