Millennium, part 1 - The prelude, The Bride

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A quick overview of the main events

We live in an unstable world of economic uncertainty, natural disasters, weather disturbances, poverty, fear, threats of war, and terrorism.

The COVID-19 pandemic threatened both the physical and mental health as well as the finances of people.

So the promise of 1000 years of peace is fascinating. Something to be looked forward to.

“Mille” is the Latin for 1000. “Annum” is the Latin for a year.

These combine to make the word “Millennium” which means 1000 years.

A 1000 years enter the study as the length of one of God’s days.

II PETER 3:8   But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Some vital questions are:

What events come just before the Millennium?

Who will be in the Millennium?

What will they do in the Millennium?

What is the purpose of the Millennium?

What comes after the Millennium?

GENESIS 1:1   In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Create means to produce something out of nothing.

We do not know how long it took God to create the universe out of nothing. It could have been billions of years.

62-0318  THE  SPOKEN  WORD  IS  THE  ORIGINAL  SEED.1

If you'll notice, God telling Moses about the Bible, He said, "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth." Period! How long it took, that's none of our business. Then He goes ahead and begins to bring in His time of putting seed in the earth.

But, "In the beginning," might have been hundreds of billions of trillions of years,

aeons of time, but, "God created the heavens and the earth." Period! That settles that. That's the first step.

But when God decided to make the created earth suitable to sustain life, He took 6000 years to do that. That was 6 of God’s days. Until day 6 there were no humans around, so there was no need to use human days of 24 hours. God used His own days, each of which was 1000 years.

So in 6000 years, God turned the raw created earth into a Paradise, the garden of Eden.

Then on the seventh day, God left the son of God, Adam, and his bride, to rule the earth for 1000 years.

But during that 7^th day they messed up and sin entered.

Since then Satan has ruled the earth for 6000 years and turned the original Paradise into the very unpleasant Satan’s Eden of today.

So after Satan's 6000 years of ruling the earth comes the battle of Armageddon, when Jesus smashes the final antichrist Pope, and his unbelieving armies. Then Jesus and His Bride, who are the true church, set up His new kingdom for 1000 years of peace.

REVELATION 20:4    … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

PSALM 37:11   But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

This will be the final fulfillment of the seventh day. The Son of God Jesus and His Bride, the true Bible believers, will then rule on earth for the seventh day.

We need the Millennium to complete God’s original week

so that God can fix up His original plan that Satan wrecked.

From this, we learn that Satan can interrupt and postpone God’s plan but he cannot stop God’s plan from finally being achieved. Satan ultimately loses.

The final penalty of sin was death.

GENESIS 2:17   But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

A day is 1000 years. No sinner can live for 1000 years. The oldest man was Methuselah who made 969 years.

At the Coming of Jesus (which many people call the Rapture) the dead Christians from the 2000 years of the church ages, will be raised up in the resurrection and the living will be changed into new immortal bodies.

I CORINTHIANS 15:52   In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

:53   For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

The living Bride will be changed into new immortal bodies so that they can be taken up to Heaven for the Wedding Supper as the world and the foolish virgins, who are the saved but deceived church-goers,  go into the 3½ year great Tribulation. The foolish virgins are sincere Christians who have been fooled by unscriptural church beliefs and traditions.

The Bride returns with Jesus for the battle of Armageddon against the armies of Gog at the end of the 3.5 years of great Tribulation. This will be a massive blood bath as the corpses and blood are stacked up as high as a horse's bridle for 200 miles.

EZEKIEL 38:2   Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

Here Magog refers to land, not to a person. Only Gog refers to a person.

REVELATION 14:20   And the winepress was trodden without the city,

and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles,

by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

There are eight furlongs in a mile.

After the battle of Armageddon,  Jesus and His Bride will set up the kingdom where they will rule for 1000 years.

When this thousand years is over, the New Testament saints known as the Bride or wise virgins, will have lived for 1000 years in their new glorified bodies.

That will be their proof that they are free from the curse that God placed on sin.

If you can survive for literally 1000 years, then you will live for eternity.

This is not a parable or an allegory as the Catholic church claims, it is a literal 1000 years.

Where does the Millennium fit into the rest of the events?

This is a general overview of the main events.

After the Millennium Satan gathers up the people to attack Christ. This gathering is referred to as Gog and Magog.

REVELATION 20:8      And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

:8   And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,

Gog and Magog,

to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

:9     And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

But fire from Heaven destroys them.

REVELATION 20:11   And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Then comes Judgement Day for the foolish virgins and the unsaved.

REVELATION 20:12   And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

The dead stand before God so the general resurrection has happened.

JOHN 12:48   He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,

hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken,

the same shall judge him in the last day.

We will be judged by the Bible.

So we must believe everything that is in the Bible.

Jesus is the Word. So our attitude to the Bible is our attitude to Jesus. If we find faults and contradictions in the Bible then we are finding faults and contradictions in Jesus. That is a serious mistake.

If we are not really interested in reading and studying the Bible then we are not really interested in Jesus. Will He then want us in His Bride? A wife who is not that interested in her Husband?

REVELATION 21:1   And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

The first earth, our present earth has gone. There is no sea because the sea has exploded and ripped off the entire surface of the earth with all signs of man's cleverness and inventions. Germs and sickness destroyed.

The first taste of Heaven on earth is the Millennium when Jesus rules for 1000 years. That is the first Heaven.

65-0829 SATAN'S EDEN

"There was no more sea; the first heaven and first earth was passed away."

What was our first heavens? Was the Millennium.

What's the first earth? Was this.

It'll be renovated. Just like it was baptized by Noah, in the days of his preaching; was sanctified by Christ, as He sprinkled His Blood upon it; and be renovated, take all the germs and everything off of it, in the renovation at the end, with a Fire baptism that'll kill every germ, every sickness, every disease, every filth that was ever on the earth.

The most significant Person in human history was Jesus Christ. He was God in the Flesh.

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

His death on the cross in the year AD 33 purchased our salvation from sin.

Then the Gospel of grace swept around the world for the next 2000 years, a period of time known as the seven church ages, represented by seven candlesticks. Each church age faced different challenges and opposition. The Spirit of Christ had to walk through each age as He guided and protected His church.

REVELATION 1:13   And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man,

The seventh or final church age of the Laodiceans will end when the resurrection of the dead Christian saints occurs. The living believers will then be changed into immortal bodies. Then all those who are in immortal bodies will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The Coming of the Lord is an event that many call the Rapture.

Time no more is a state of Being rather than Becoming

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:

:17   Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

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:

: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,

:6   ...  that there should be time no longer:

In 1964 brother Branham was looking for the Angel of Revelation 10 to come down to perform the resurrection.

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.

The resurrection of the dead saints from the seven church ages.

That will be real supernatural power on an unimaginable scale.

This is also a critical event as “time shall be no more”.

Time only stops for you when you step into your immortal body. Then you will never age or get sick. You remain young.

Time is where change occurs. When time is no more you will never change or grow older.

Stepping out of time into eternity is going to be a supremely powerful supernatural event.

Unimaginable power is compressed into those 7 Thunders

63-0321 THE  FOURTH  SEAL

And at the time of those thunders, we find Christ, or the Angel come down with a rainbow,

and put His feet on the land and sea and

swore that time had run out at that time.

We live in space of three dimensions, length, breadth, and height.

Time is in the fourth dimension.

We can only get out of time by stepping into an even higher dimension. That will require enormous power to move from the mortal to the immortal.

When Elijah was caught up to Heaven he needed a chariot of fire, horses of fire, as well as a whirlwind. That was no simple translation. Great supernatural power was needed.

So the Thunders are associated with great power.

But great power must not fall into the wrong hands.

Thus they are protected by great secrecy.

So they were never written in the Bible. That leaves everybody, including Satan, guessing.

The most powerful American weapon is their nuclear submarines which are hidden out of sight under the oceans so that nobody is sure where they are. Real power is never revealed until the last minute. Otherwise, it becomes a target for the enemy.

63-0321 THE  FOURTH  SEAL

Then the seven thunders utter their strange voices, and John was going to write... It was... John knew what it was, but he didn't write it, 'cause he was forbidden to write it.

That's absolutely and altogether a mystery.

It's not even in symbol or nothing. We just know it thundered; that's all.

The Bride's bodies change so that they can defy the gravity force and be caught up to Heaven. That will take tremendous power. The 7 Thunders then trigger the awesome power of the two prophets to Israel.

The seven Thunders launch the ministry of Moses and Elijah to interrupt nature and rescue the 144000 Jews from the armies of the final man of sin, the last Pope.
63-0321 THE  FOURTH  SEAL
 Wait till them seven thunders utter their voices to that group who really can take the Word of God and hand it there. It'll slice and cut. And they can close the heavens;

they can shut this or do that, whatever they want to. Glory.
He will be slayed by the Word that proceeds from His mouth; it's sharper than a two-edged sword.

They could call for a hundred billion tons of flies if they wanted to. Amen. Whatever they say's going to happen,

because it's the Word of God coming from the mouth of God. Amen.
God always... It's His Word, but He always uses man to work it. God could call for them flies down in Egypt, but He said, "Moses, that's your job. I'll just tell you what to do, and you go do it."

As the final Pope's air force flies in, Moses fills the air with flies that choke the jet engines. The planes will fall out of the sky. Israel is protected by America now and will be protected supernaturally in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation when Russian nuclear missiles destroy America.

The seven Thunders unleash great supernatural power on both the Bride and the Jews.

63-0320  THE  THIRD  SEAL

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.

Seven Thunders that will wake up the Bride.

Brother Branham describes the Bride as dead.

But the events will not just wake up the sleeping Bride, they will also wake up the sleeping foolish virgins in the denominations and churches. It will take a worldwide very dramatic event or set of events to wake up everyone including the saved Christians in the denominations.

A virgin represents a clean, saved church. All the churches, whether wise or foolish, are fast asleep.

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.

:7     Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

They had to go out. A woman represents a church. All the virgins, wise and foolish, were in the wrong place as they had to go out. Whatever church you are in, it is the wrong one.

There is no parable or prophecy concerning the end-time church that says anything good about the church.

The biggest single problem at the end time is deception.

Wise and foolish churches are deceived and lulled into being asleep.

But a wake-up call is coming.

The wise will be caught up to Heaven and the foolish or fooled will go into great Tribulation.

When the disciples asked Jesus about the end-time events, His first statement  was:

MATTHEW 24:4   And Jesus answered and said unto them,

Take heed that no man deceive you.

His biggest concern was that the end-time church would be fooled.

MATTHEW 24:5   For many shall come in my name, saying,

I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Christ means anointed. So the churches are full of impressively anointed preachers.

But the churches have been infiltrated by the spirits of the successors of the mystery Babylonian priesthood. Daniel tracked them in his visions from Babylon to Persia to Pergamos and then to pagan Rome. These spirits were experts in attracting human interest with their unscriptural beliefs like Trinity, celebrating the 25^th of December with a decorated tree, Ishtar eggs, and Ishtar rabbits, Horoscopes, and the elevation of a priest to be the head of each religious pagan temple group (Nicolaitanism). Then, one man, the Pontiff was put in overall charge as the head of all the churches, to tell people what to believe. The Pontiff was the successor of a long line of Pontiffs who descended from Nimrod, the original pagan head, and rebel against God.

These mystery Babylonian spirits then entered the Roman Catholic church to pervert the original Gospel with their unscriptural Christmas (we were never asked in the Bible to celebrate Christ’s birthday) and Easter eggs and rabbits, and Eve eating an apple, etc.  The Trinity made the church lose the fact that God’s name is Jesus Christ as they replaced His name with three titles, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Pontiff or Pope is claimed to be the successor of a long line of Pontiffs that started with Peter who they claim opens the door of Heaven for you only if you are in obedience to the Pope.

Martin Luther in Germany began the Reformation but it was not too long before the mystery Babylonian spirits infiltrated into the Protestant churches with their unscriptural ideas. As a result, the non-Catholic churches have split up into over 45000 different kinds of churches and denominations. A real spiritual swamp. Not to mention that there are now over 100 different versions of the English Bible to further confuse the people. Plus about 450 versions of the New Testament.

A mysterious single Thunder has to happen

63-0319 THE  SECOND  SEAL
God, help our unbelief. Take it away from us, Lord. We want to receive rapturing grace. We want to be able

when that mysterious thunder thunders out yonder, and the Church is taken up,

we want to be ready to receive it, Lord. Grant it. Try us, Lord, by Thy Word.

Brother Branham was looking into the future for a single Thunder. But he describes it as a mysterious Thunder so he did not know what it was.

REVELATION 6:1   And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals,

and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder,

one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

One Thunder and then six Seals opened after that.

In 1965, one month before he died, brother Branham was

still looking for a clap of thunder, a shout,

the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God sometime in the future. All of these are involved with the Coming of the Lord.

1965-1127  I  HAVE  HEARD  BUT  NOW  I  SEE

Dear God, in this solemn moment, it's going to be a time like this when there really will be a clap of thunder someday, and the Son of God shall descend from the heavens

with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel,

and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise.

One month before he died he was still looking for the "shout" or "message" which were still in the future.

Brother Branham brought his message (the shout) which was to reveal the mysteries of Scripture.

The message "shout" was not complete when brother Branham understood the mysteries.

His ministry was to make the Bride able to understand the mysteries of Scripturer.

But the "shout" of the message will not be finished until we have become Scriptural.

Only when the Bride is finally able to prove their beliefs from Scripture will the "shout" occur.

Thus Jesus tarries, waiting for us to obey the Bible.

The Message was not complete in 1965 when brother Branham finished revealing the written mysteries of the Bible. The Message will only be complete when we can prove that what he taught is Scriptural. When the Bride can establish their beliefs by linking up the Bible verses.

The success of brother Branham's ministry will be when the Bride becomes strictly Scriptural.

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.

Not in the days of the seventh angel which ended in 1965 when brother Branham died.

Brother Branham is no longer on earth so we live in the days of his voice.

Thus the emphasis is on his recorded Message, not on William Branham as a man.

54-0515 QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS
... right on the Ohio River that Light, Angel, come right down to where we was at, and said, "As John the Baptist was sent for a forerunner of the first coming of Jesus Christ,

your Message will bring the second coming of Jesus Christ."

We now learn from his recorded sermons.

We use his quotes to interpret and understand the mysteries of the Bible.

His quotes teach us how to prove our beliefs by joining the various verses of the Bible together.

His quotes enable us to understand the Bible.

His quotes EXPLAIN the Bible and they do not REPLACE the Bible.

The King James Version of the Bible is our Absolute.

63-1226 CHURCH  ORDER
Because you get two man, you got two opinions. It's got to come to one final absolute,

and my absolute is the Word, the Bible.

51-0413 THE  WORKS  THAT  I  DO  BEAR  WITNESS  OF  ME
We believe it because the Bible says so.

63-1216 WE  HAVE  SEEN  HIS  STAR  AND  HAVE  COME  TO  WORSHIP  HIM
It means just what It says. The Bible said, "It's of no private interpretation." If It says, if It says, "black is black, and white is white," that's just what it is.

It's the Ultimate. It's the Absolute. And every man that's born of the Spirit of God is tied to That,

no matter, nothing will separate him from It. He's tied to that Word, because it's Christ. Christ is the Word. And Christ cannot lie about His Word, for He is the Word.

The aim of the last church is to be restored back to the beliefs of the apostles and the New Testament church.

59-0823 PALMERWORM  LOCUST  CANKERWORM  CATERPILLAR
"But I will restore to you all that the caterpillar has eaten, all that the cankerworm has eaten, all that the palmerworm has eaten. I will restore, saith the Lord." So help me, I make this prophecy. Before the coming of the Lord,

the true apostolic faith, the true apostolic teaching, the true Bible Spirit,

the true, It's on Its road now, trying to eat Its way up, grow out again.

61-0806 THE  SEVENTIETH  WEEK  OF  DANIEL
We have a star messenger; we have a person, a message that goes forth to the age, a people to reject it, a people to receive it. And the messenger of this age was to come in the power of Elias. That's right. And he was to

restore the faith of the children back to the fathers,

bring the Pentecostal remnant that's left

back to the true apostolic faith.

63-0317 THE  BREACH  BETWEEN  THE  SEVEN  CHURCH  AGES  AND  THE  SEVEN  SEALS
And we realize that in the Scriptures over in Malachi 4, there's to be a one like John, an Elijah, to whom the Word of God can come to, and he is to reveal by the Holy Spirit all the mysteries of God and

restore the faith of the children back to the faith of the apostolic fathers:

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

:6   And he shall turn ...  the heart of the children to their fathers,

lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

We are the children at the end time. The apostolic fathers wrote the New Testament and established the first Christian churches.

We learn the truth from them.

Praying for His disciples, who became the apostles, Jesus said:

JOHN 17:20   Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Thus we learn from the Scriptures that the apostles wrote.

The "day of the Lord" is the 3.5 years of great Tribulation.

The "curse" is the radioactivity from atomic and nuclear bombs. It is a curse because the radioactivity continues with its damaging and lethal effects for at least a week after the bomb explosions are finished. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were a preview of this future devastating destruction that is coming.

During the Second World War, the tape recorder was invented as a top-secret weapon to collect information sent in by spies. It was finally released to the public after the war.

In 1947 brother Branham began recording his taped messages. The tape recorders captured his voice.

This is also indicated by the fourth beast, the flying eagle, around the throne.

REVELATION 4:6   ...  and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

:7  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man,

and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

An eagle has brilliant eyesight and can see details and distant things that the rest of us miss.

The fourth beast, the eagle, is also referred to in verse 7 of Revelation Chapter 6 as "the VOICE of the fourth beast" that calls us to come out of our church so that we can see and thus understand the Bible mysteries.

Verse 7 of Chapter 6 symbolizes the 7th church age. Each of the first 7 verses of Revelation Chapter 6 represents a church age.

REVELATION 6:7    And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

65-0801M  THE  GOD  OF  THIS  EVIL  AGE

…   so that the peoples that has

believed the Message

that the Lord Jesus has given me for this hour, might know what's taking place, and

placing it in the Scripture.

64-0823M  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.

We do not believe something because brother Branham said it. We believe it because he proved his Message from the Bible. So thanks to his preaching, we end up believing what the Bible says.

63-1130E  GO  AWAKE  JESUS

Any minister here, that believes in

the Message of the Lord, that believes that the Bible has taught these things …

63-1110E  HE  THAT  IS  IN  YOU

Believe all the Message.

Believe That. If it isn't,

if it isn't written in the Bible, then don't you believe it.

So it is our responsibility to prove that what brother Branham taught is Scriptural.

Look how the disciples in Berea responded to Paul, the first messenger. They did not just accept what Paul said. They checked what he said with the Scriptures.

ACTS 17:10   And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

:11   These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,

in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

We are only noble if we receive brother Branham’s Message readily and then daily search the Bible to establish that what he taught is Scriptural.

MATTHEW 24:23   Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

:24   For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that,

if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Satan’s biggest trick is to lure the Bride away from being Scriptural in some way.

Daniel tracked the Babylonian priesthood to the city of Pergamos which became famous and flourished under the Greek empire.

The Greek influence was strongly based on self-glorification and a strong desire to be competitive and better than everyone.

Competitive Christianity undermines the whole church

There are 45000 different kinds of denominations and churches that are all competing for a bigger slice of the pie in terms of more money or more people.

Competitive Christianity is thus a major modern deception and error.

“My church is better than your church”.

1961 0730   SIXFOLD PURPOSE OF GABRIEL’S VISIT TO DANIEL

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,...

("We are the greatest church."

"We have this; we have this. All of you consolidate together." See? "We are the greatest.")

... lying wonders,

REVELATION 3:14   And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;

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

Revelation Chapter 3 says that God is actually vomiting the Laodicean church out of His mouth where His Word is.

Part of the mystery of God is God’s great plan of restoring the end-time church of the seventh age back to the New Testament beliefs of the first church age.

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

Elijah in the Hebrew is Elias in the Greek.

Brother Branham was to reveal the mysteries of the written Word. We must then only believe what the first church believed. He came to restore us to the first church age, not to bring in new doctrines that they never believed.

Jesus must always get all the pre-eminence.

63-0728  CHRIST  IS  THE  MYSTERY  OF  GOD  REVEALED

"He is the Head of the Church, which is His Body, and He wants the preeminences."

Listen now, listen close while we're going. What?

He is to be the Head of the Body,

His Bride's Body, which is taken from Him; flesh and bone, like in Adam, see, Bride.

Then, the Bride-Body must follow the Head, for it is part of His resurrection and part of the mystery. It's impossible for it not to go. Oh, my! It's part of God's mystery, how God revealed Himself here and raised it up by the Word,

so He reveals His Church and raising it up by the same Word.

It's a part of His threefold mystery.

Don't you fail this.

The Body, therefore, cannot recognize any other headship but the Word.

Cause, the  Head is connected with the Body,

and the Head is the Word,

and it's the same Word, one Headship! Therefore, denominations, and holy fathers, and everything else, is dead dung. There is one Headship, that's Christ.

The Body only recognizes one thing, the Word!

Brother Branham wanted the Message people to recognize the Headship of Scripture.

Once the Bride recognizes that the Word is their true Head. Once the Bride is restored to understanding the written Scripture,  then the mystery of God will be finished, and time for the world-shaking midnight cry that wakes up all the ten virgins, both wise and foolish.

Reveal written mysteries before the 7 Thunders utter

63 03 20  THE THIRD SEAL

... the seventh angel, when he sounds, all the mysteries of God should be finished up by his sounding.

Then after it's revealed, the Angel come down from heaven,

which was Christ

The 7 Thunders only utter after the Angel comes down.

1965-0429E  THE  CHOOSING  OF  A  BRIDE

While, the true Bride attracts the attention of God, by keeping His Word.

When the true Bride finally becomes Scriptural and looks just like the New Testament church in terms of their beliefs, then the Archangel descends for the resurrection.

So in these very confused and turbulent days there will be a resurrection of the New Testament saints when the Archangel’s voice is heard.

Then the unknown seven Thunders will utter their mysterious voices to show the living Bride how to change their mortal bodies into immortal bodies.

Only then can they be raptured.

1963 03 18   FIRST SEAL

Seven thunders of revelation... May He show the Bride how to prepare for the great translation faith.

…    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;

63-0324E  THE  SEVENTH  SEAL

The seven thunders in heaven will unfold this mystery.

It'll be right at the coming of Christ,

because Christ said no one knew when He would return.

…   One of the mystery of that Seal, the reason it wasn't revealed, it was

seven thunders that uttered

their voices, and there it is perfectly,

because nothing knows anything about it;

wasn't even written.

The seven Thunders are a total mystery

They will get the Bride into new bodies so that the Bride can be caught up. They also arm the two prophets to Israel with great power,

Then the trump of God will call us up to Heaven. That is the Second Coming of the Lord. That is the Seventh Seal. The greatest mystery in the universe.

(Notice the word Trump.  His name is a sign of the times that we are near the end).

1963 0320   THIRD SEAL

In the day just before these seven thunders,

all the mysteries here are revealed.

Brother Branham understood the mysteries of the written Word. But that did not finish God's plan. The Bride has to understand the written mysteries. Only then can we be ready for the unwritten Thunders.

62-1230  IS  THIS  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  END  SIR?

"And at the time that the seventh angel is sounding,

all the mysteries that are written in the Book is completed."

Brother Branham understood the mysteries that are written in Scripture by the end of his ministry.

Now we also have to be able to understand the mysteries of the written Word.

We cannot have rapturing faith in our present bodies because these bodies cannot go up to Heaven.

I CORINTHIANS 15:50   Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

As long as you have blood in your body you cannot go to Heaven in this body.

The seven Thunders will be Scriptural in their mysterious ways.

Only those who know the Bible well enough to recognize their Scriptural pattern will understand them and be guided by them. Those Bride members alone will have their bodies changed. The rest of the Christians will be the foolish virgins who have been fooled by the churches and thus have to go into the 3.5 years of great Tribulation.

That is the only destination for people who are still in this physical body when the Lord comes.

The group who are left behind.

The seven Thunders unleash enormous spiritual power.

The Bride is caught up to Heaven which will involve great power and then the two Jewish prophets, Moses and Elijah, receive the great supernatural power to interrupt nature.

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; because what we got right now, we wouldn't be able to do it.

There's something we've got to step farther;

we can't have enough faith for Divine healing hardly.

We've got to have enough faith to be changed in a moment and be swept up out of this earth, and we'll find that after a while, the Lord willing, find where it's written.

63-0318 THE  FIRST  SEAL
Seven thunders of revelation... May He show the Bride how to prepare for the great translation faith.

When the Bride is caught up to Heaven then the world and the foolish virgins, who are the saved Christians in the various church systems, go into great Tribulation.

The Bride escapes great Tribulation by being in Heaven at the Wedding Supper.

They return with Jesus at the end of great Tribulation for the battle of Armageddon which will be a sea of blood.

The Holy Spirit is Life. When the Holy Spirit catches up the Bride and leaves the earth at the Rapture, then Life leaves and Death enters the world as Satan becomes incarnate in the final Pope.

The Bride or wise virgins have oil that can be lit to produce light. Thus they can see or understand what is written in the Bible.

The church or foolish virgins have no oil. Foolish means they have been fooled. Thus they cannot see without light and therefore they cannot understand much of the Bible.

Sadly, they loved their church more than the Bible.

They are saved but deceived about end-time events. Consequently, they will not be ready for the Coming of the Lord.

Their biggest mistake was believing that because they had repented and were saved from hell, they would automatically go in the Rapture.

Thus they never investigated the ministry of an end-time prophet.

Church leaders, unfortunately, put all the prophecies of the seven church ages into the 3.5 years of great Tribulation time, making a complete mess of these prophecies.

They also ignored Scriptures such as

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

MATTHEW 10:22   …   but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

These cannot refer to salvation from hell as that would mean that our salvation depends on our works.

These verses obviously apply to our need to be saved from the 3.5 years of great Tribulation that is coming.

We need to understand the written mysteries in the Bible, revealed by the end time prophet William Branham, if we are to know enough to escape the Tribulation.

Ignorance of the Bible is a huge mistake as it leaves us open to be deceived.

HOSEA 4:6   My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:

because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,

So the foolish virgins, saved but Bible-ignorant,  sadly end up in great Tribulation as the deceived church.

Let us now pretend that we have moved ahead in time to when the Bride has been raptured up to Heaven for the Wedding Supper.

We will now look at the people and events in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation and link them to Scripture as best we can.

I CORINTHIANS 13:12   For now we see through a glass, darkly;

Looking through a glass darkly will hopefully reveal some outlines, but not much in the way of details.

God told brother Branham to leave the seven Trumpets alone as it applied only to the Jews.

64-0719M  THE  FEAST  OF  THE  TRUMPETS

Now, I have been anticipating for some time to speak on the subject of the Seven Trumpets in the Book of Revelations. And now we are going to review this, just a moment, to bring out the real cause of me not speaking this time,

because the Holy Spirit would not let me speak at this time on these things.

Great Tribulation is not really the Bride’s territory as we escape it.

But let us try to detect some of the clues as we humans are naturally curious to know what the future holds.

The main actors on the stage will be the beast and the false prophet.

The false prophet is the spirit that jumps from Pope to Pope as he is the prophet of a false religion.

The beast is the power that makes people worship a man as God. The Pope is the figurehead of this Roman Catholic church system.

Thus the Pope has two spirits, the beast and the false prophet. Trinitarians cannot believe this as they are taught that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate Persons. Thus they will miss the man of sin, the final Pope as he will be one man, not two. But he will be opposed by the two Jewish prophets. So the Trinitarians will believe that Moses and Elijah are the beast and the false prophet. Thus they get things very wrong at the start of great Tribulation.

There will be ten military dictators scattered around the world. Their military power enables the final Pope to hunt down and wipe out the foolish virgins who were saved before the 3.5 years of great Tribulation started. Thus religious persecution combines with the deadly game of violent politics.

The foolish virgins are sincere, saved Christians who were fooled by their church leaders and denominational systems. They complacently accepted the lack of Bible insight of their churches as they believed that their safety lay in regular church attendance. Then to their unimaginable horror, they find themselves in great Tribulation. That will be an incredible wake-up call for them. They will then see through the subtle deceptions of their church systems. Rejecting their churches and church leaders who they had blindly followed, they will then refuse to take on the mark of the beast. That is their death sentence.

64-0719  GOING  BEYOND  THE  CAMP
And I say, in the Name of Jesus Christ! The very God that this nation claims to be, a religious nation, the very God that they claim to serve will destroy them in their iniquity.

He'll destroy every denomination off the face of the earth,

what they claim to serve.

There are also the make-believers and unbelievers in the church system. They attended church regularly but never got saved. These are typical church-goers. They happily accepted that there are mistakes in the Bible and also relied for their salvation on regular church attendance. Once in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation, they will take on the mark of the beast to try to save their own lives. Then they have to join in the mad persecution of those previously saved church Christians who refuse to take on the mark of the beast. Those with the mark of the beast mindset who reject Scripture will finally end up in the Lake of Fire.

There are also the heathen. Unbelievers in the Bible. Some heard and rejected the truth and others never heard the Gospel.

There are 18 million Jews who must all get back to Israel. Only about 9 million are in Israel at present. The seven Trumpets in the Book of Revelation are natural disasters that will call the Jews back to Israel. God has a special plan for 144000 of these. Two great prophets, Moses and Elijah, will be raised up to bring them to accept Jesus as their Messiah.

Let us start with the deceived church

A woman represents a church. A virgin represents a clean woman, a saved church.

II CORINTHIANS 11:2   For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

The saved foolish virgins were sincere but did not know enough Scripture as they never took the Bible seriously enough. They were lazy and complacent when it came to understanding Scripture.

They developed statements like, “Must I know?” or “That is not important as it is just a detail”, or “That was not correctly translated”, or “There are contradictions in the Bible”.

In order to be considered clever, they also believe scientific theories like Evolution or The Big Bang that contradict Scripture, unaware that these theories have many flaws.

I TIMOTHY 6:20   O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

:21   Which some professing have erred concerning the faith

Professor Alan Guth and Nobel Prize winner Steven Weinberg really gave credibility to the Big Bang theory for the creation of the universe. Then Dark Matter and Dark Energy were discovered that we cannot see nor can we understand what they are. They form 96% of the universe. The Big Bang never predicted them and cannot explain them. Of the visible 4 % of the universe that we can see, 3.6 % is intergalactic space. So at most, the Big Bang can try to explain 0.4 % of the universe. That is rather pitiful as there are other flaws in the theory. But the Big Bang theory leaves 96 % of the universe totally unexplained so even Professors Weinberg and Guth (who are top scientists) have now distanced themselves from the theory of the Big Bang.

When Science opposes the Bible, then those scientific theories are wrong. But many church-goers are fooled into thinking that the scientific theory is true and thus the Bible must be wrong.

But Jesus is the Word so whatever people were saying about the Bible, they were actually saying about Jesus.

But they see no faults in their church. That is why they stayed in the church.

Thus deep down they loved their church more than they loved the Bible.

In the church there are also unsaved make-believers and unbelievers.

In 2021 there were approximately 1,4 billion Catholics and 0,8 billion Protestants to make a total of 2,2 billion church-goers. That is approximately one quarter of the people on earth.

Very few will go up in the Rapture or the catching up of the church to meet the Lord in the air.

MATTHEW 7:14   Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,

which leadeth unto life,

and few there be that find it.

So what happens to the vast mass of church-goers who stay behind?

Consider the four beasts around God’s throne in Heaven.

The Lion, the calf or young Ox that had the 1200 years of Dark Ages to grow up in, the Man, and the Eagle.

REVELATION 4:7   And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

Let us look at the fourth seal.

This covers the seventh church age of the eagle in verse 7 and then moves on to great Tribulation in verse 8.

REVELATION 6:7   And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

REVELATION 6:8   And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

The Holy Spirit is Life and He left with the Bride at the Rapture at the end of the 7^th church age when the Bride is caught up to Heaven.

This is represented by verse 7 where the recorded voice of brother Branham gives us an eagle insight into the mysteries of Scripture so that we can see what is written and understand the Bible.

Life leaves the earth with the Bride and Death enters.

A quarter (the fourth part) of humanity are church-goers, both saved and unsaved. This is about 2 billion people which is approximately how many church people there are.

This seems to be the first target for the final antichrist Pope.

Satan will enter this man just like he entered Judas.

LUKE 22:3   Then entered Satan into Judas.

The final Pope will be Death incarnate. He kills a quarter of the world. But a quarter of the world claims to be Christians.

So it seems that the left-behind church will be his first target.

This also implies that very few will be ready for the Second Coming of the Lord.

Let us briefly consider this final Pope.

DANIEL 11:21   And in his estate shall stand up a vile person,

to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom:

but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

It seems that the final Pope will not be elected as Pope by the Council of Cardinals who always bestow the honour of that position on one of their fellow cardinals. Somehow he will flatter his way into that top position.

If the midnight cry that wakes up all the church people is a worldwide catastrophe, then the world will enter a state of unrest and financial depression. People will be desperate for someone who can provide stability, jobs, and money. Pretending to be a man who can make peace in a deeply troubled world he will flatter and deceive and usurp the position of Roman Catholic Pope or Pontiff of the Babylonian mysteries.

This position will give him great religious and political power to get started with. In addition, the enormous gold and financial reserves of the Roman Catholic church will gain him great influence with the world.

He will make a covenant with the Jews to take their Stock Exchange money.

A brief history of the beast

Let us take a brief look at the pagan Roman Empire that evolved into the Roman Catholic Church.

Caesar was the dictator who ruled the Roman empire. The barbarians destroyed the Roman Empire and 10 of those barbarian tribes helped the Roman Catholic church to rise upon the ruins of the Roman Empire until the Pope had taken over the power to rule that Caesar once had.

In the 3.5 years of great Tribulation, ten dictators will give their military might to the final Pope to enable him to rule the world.

A wilderness has few people. So if you want to know truth you will not be popular.

REVELATION 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

A woman represents a church. The true church is called the Bride. A beast is a power. The power to get people to worship a man as God. Roman emperors were called Caesars. Romans had to burn a pinch of incense to the emperor and say, “Caesar is Lord”. Cardinals, who rule the Roman Catholic church and wield power as  “Princes of the Church” under the Pope and they wear scarlet robes.

Here is a picture of a Pope dressed in a scarlet robe.

The beast had no color in Revelation 13 when it rose as the pagan Roman Empire under Julius Caesar.

But Revelation 17 sees it as a scarlet beast, the colour of the cardinals who rule the Roman Catholic church.

So the Western Roman Empire was destroyed in AD 476 by the barbarians and then resurrected to power on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire as the Roman Catholic church.

REVELATION 17:4

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Bishops wear purple.

The collection of gold and jewelry that has poured into the Vatican treasury over the centuries is staggering. They are the wealthiest organization on planet earth. A cup represents the doctrine that the church holds out to the world. In 1302 the Pope decreed that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic church. John sees this as an abomination.

In 1825 Pope Leo 12 produced a medal that showed the Catholic church as a woman holding out a cup.

She sits upon “the whole world” as if it “is her seat”.  This shows that the Popes always planned to rule the whole world. That is their final aim.

The Catholic church claims that Peter is the first Pope. But for salvation Peter said:

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.

When Peter saw a lame man he said,

ACTS 3:6     Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

The modern Catholic church cannot say, “Silver and gold have I none”.

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

The mysteries of Babylon entered the Roman Catholic church around AD 382 after the Roman emperor Gratian refused to be Pontiff because he was a Christian. In AD 382 the Roman emperors Theodosius and Gratian referred to Damasus as “Pontifex”, which was another word for Pontiff. Damasus the bishop of Rome from AD 366-384 took the title and placed the Babylonian priesthood into high positions in the church. Damasus killed over 300 protesters to secure the position of Pope in AD 366. Thus the mystery Babylon priesthood captured the Roman Catholic church when Damasus emerged as Pontiff.

Let us make a slight detour.

The seven parables of the kingdom of Heaven in Matthew describe the seven church ages.

The third church age was from about AD 312 when Constantine stopped killing Christians to about AD 606 when Pope Boniface 3 was proclaimed Universal Bishop over all the churches.

Politics forced the Trinity onto the church at Nicaea

In the 3rd age of Pergamos, Rome became the seat of Satan when Emperor Constantine gave the Pope the beautiful Lateran Palace.

The Pope became the Emperor's strong man in the West when Constantine went East to Constantinople. The Council of Nicaea forced the Trinity onto the Catholic church. Constantine's lavish money grants enabled the Bishop of Rome to become the leading Bishop in the Western Roman Empire.

Let us look at the third parable that describes the third church age.

MATTHEW 13:31   Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

:32     Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Because of persecution the early church mainly met in houses or the catacombs which were tunnels under the city of Rome. Christians were small groups initially. Now the Roman Catholic church, having been recognized by the Emperor, had grown into a big institution with vast wealth and buildings being given to them by the Emperors. Soon there were high-up positions in the church organization for Pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, etc. These were represented by the branches in the tree.

These positions were occupied by birds.

MATTHEW 13:4     And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

MATTHEW 13:19    When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

I JOHN 3:12   Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.

But the fowls or birds that flew up onto the branches were symbols of devils. The wicked one is Satan who entered the serpent and Judas, who was a church leader with the money bag.

So the rise of the Vatican as a centralized organization run on unscriptural business principles was very necessary for the Devil's plans so that the final Pope can take over a worldwide religious and political system. Do not forget the money bag of Judas.

Demonology flourishes where there is big money in the church system.

The Catholic church is the wealthiest church on earth.

The next key to the Pope’s worldwide influence, even over Protestants who think they are free from Rome, is the Trinity. This was invented by the Catholics and faithfully believed by the Protestants.

The fourth church age was from AD 606-1520 when the Reformation of Martin Luther started in Germany. The Roman Catholic church dominated Europe in those Dark Ages. The fourth church in Revelation Chapter 2 is called Thyatira which can mean a dominating woman.

MATTHEW 13:33   Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

In those days everybody thought that the Roman Catholic church was the kingdom of Heaven because they kept destroying all opposition so that they were the only church.

Leaven symbolizes rottenness. It is the yeast that decays and corrupts and in the process gives out carbon dioxide which puffs up the dough to make the bread rise. “Puffing up” is satanic. God works in humility, represented by unleavened flatbread.

The woman is the Catholic Church. Christ is the Bread of Life. So the meal is the Word of God that we feed our souls on. The Catholic church took the Bible and cleverly infiltrated the rottenness of pagan Trinity into the Scripture. This process took them hundreds of years. Then they used monasteries to infiltrate into Europe and their energetic missionaries were able to convince all the barbarian tribes that had taken over the Roman empire that there was a Trinity God. Thus God lost His name as they could not find one name for three Persons. So they kept repeating, “In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. Endless repetition deceived them that this was the name of God. Then they managed to fool the Protestants as well. Now they hate you if you claim that Jesus Christ is the name of God. But Jesus is God’s human name.

MATTHEW 24:9    and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Then they changed the water baptism to three titles. Even though baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and ironically the Father and the Holy Spirit never died nor were they ever buried.

REVELATION 17:6   And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Tens of millions of opponents were slaughtered by the Roman Catholic Church during the Dark Ages and the Counter-Reformation killings that opposed the Reformation. But John marveled at the beauty of the Vatican buildings and the impressive ceremonies that are conducted. The gorgeous robes and sparkling jewels on men and statues.

Julius Caesar was the man who destroyed the Roman republic and turned it into a dictatorship which then became the Roman Empire ruled by one man. Caesar bribed the Babylonian priesthood to elect him as Pontifex Maximus or supreme Pontiff in 63 BC. His family became the first emperors of the Roman Empire. Augustus. Tiberius. Caligula. Claudius. Then Nero burnt Rome in AD 64 and blamed and killed the Christians. Nero had John imprisoned on the prison island of Patmos. When he died in AD 68 all his political prisoners, including John, had to be released. [When Domitian was emperor from AD 81- 96 he also persecuted Christians. John was imprisoned on Patmos again and boiled in oil (which he survived!) before being released in AD 96 when Domitian died. So the Book of Revelation was written during two time periods. In Nero’s day the Temple was still standing as it was destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman general Titus, who was a Prince as his father Vespasian was declared Emperor in AD 69].

REVELATION 17:9   And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

These are the original 7 hills of Rome.

The Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill is the official headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

Wisdom is the main gift of the Spirit. The ability to link Scriptures together in a way that also reveals the past history of mankind. Rome is the city that was originally built on seven hills. Rome is dominated by a woman who symbolizes the Roman Catholic Church.

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.

Julius Caesar destroyed the Roman republic and founded a dictatorship that was ruled by him and five of his family members who ruled as emperors. Caesar. Augustus. Tiberius. Caligula. Claudius. These five had died. The ruling emperor at this time was Nero. He was to be the last of Caesar’s family. When he died a military general Galba usurped the throne as emperor. But he only lasted seven months before he was killed.

Beast that was and is not is the succession of Popes

REVELATION 17:11   And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

The real beast or power is the Roman Catholic Church. Eight is a new system. A church that grows up out of the ruins of the pagan Roman Empire but takes over that pagan spirit and is of the nature of the Roman Empire. Ruled by a dictator who was the Pontiff of the Babylonian mysteries as Caesar was. Persecuting Christians as Nero did. The Pope is the only modern-day dictator in Europe.

Elevating the Pope and declaring him to be infallible. Just like the Romans did to their emperors when they said, “Caesar is Lord”.

The Pope was declared infallible by the First Vatican Council in 1870. Infallible makes the Pope equal to God.

Now message people elevate William Branham to be the infallible Voice of God. The Protestant daughters return to the Catholic mother's beliefs instead of returning to the first church age beliefs of the apostles.

The success of the Roman church depended on the succession of Popes which they claimed began with Peter. This is the longest line of rulers in the Western world, going back about 2000 years.

The Protestants in 1948 began the World Council of Churches to make a worldwide Protestant church organization in the image of the worldwide Roman Catholic church.

63-1124 WHAT  SHALL  I  DO  WITH  JESUS  CALLED  CHRIST
 "And they formed a image unto the beast." Uniting the world denominations in one Protestant,

forming the mark of the beast, the image of the beast, according to Revelations 13:8. "And they made an image unto the beast."
The beast is "Rome."

REVELATION 17:11   And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

“The beast that was”.

Throughout church history, the Roman Catholics claim that there always was a Roman Catholic church that was started by Peter, who they falsely say was the first Pope. They claim to be the oldest church and thus the mother church.

This beast or power is the spirit that makes people worship a man as God.

The pagan Romans developed emperor worship.

This led to the elevation of the Pope “in the place of Christ”. “Vicarius Christi” is one of his official titles. Similar to the emperor worship that was developed by the Japanese.

The Roman Catholics claim that the Protestant churches are their daughters that came out of the mother church during the Reformation. But the Bible says her Protestant daughters are also harlots who leave their Husband, the Word, to fool around with man-made doctrines like Trinity, Christmas, water baptism in titles, and a centralized church organization with a human head.

Thus the denominational church systems are in a state of irremediable spiritual decay and decline.

“and is not”.

The Roman Catholic church will end. That will happen during the 3.5 years of great Tribulation when an atomic bomb is dropped on the Vatican.

The spirit of the Devil enters the last Pope in order to use the Roman Catholic Church to gain world power by uniting with the Protestants under him.  Then he will wipe out the foolish virgins and the make-believe church-goers. He will later destroy the Vatican as his real goal is Jerusalem where he then moves to next. Satan uses people and institutions and then destroys them. Betrayal is his game.

“The beast that was and is not” implies that the Vatican will ultimately end. Burned up in a nuclear fire.

Notice that there is no future tense in "was and is not". Thus there is no future for the Roman Catholic Church. It will be destroyed during great Tribulation.

Brother Branham saw the same fate for North America that built up the World Council of Churches as the Protestant image of the Roman beast.

Remember, in 1963 when brother Branham revealed the first six Seals, both the Pope and the Roman Catholic President of America, John Kennedy, died. The Light of those revelations was too bright for the rulers of darkness. The destruction of Rome and America are linked.

What has enabled the Roman Catholic church to survive so long? The original pagan mystery priesthood of Babylon had a leader, the Pontiff, who was part of a long succession of Pontiffs going back to Nimrod, the original rebel against God. This long line of ruling Pontiffs enabled the Mysteries of Babylon to survive.

The Roman Catholic church has an incredible survival record that claims that their Pontiffs or Popes have formed a long line of successors going back to Peter. They claim that only Peter has the keys to Heaven and he will only open Heaven’s door for you if you are in submission to the Pope. In 1302 they claimed that there was no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church.

Many Protestant churches also believe that if their members leave them, then those members are doomed. Thus the Catholic spirit spreads.

But the Roman Catholics build their beliefs on the bottomless pit of human and demonic opinion. They do not build on the foundation of joining Scripture verses together.

REVELATION 17:8   The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,

when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

But the world marvels at the Catholics' impressive ceremonies and buildings as well as their incredible ability to survive under all the changing conditions during the church ages.

A key to this majestic display is their unbroken line of Popes that claim to be the successors of Peter.

The Pope is the great figurehead that represents the Catholic church.

“The beast that was”.  If you believe the claim that Peter was the first Pope then there always was a Pope right from the beginning.

“And is not”. The Pope dies.

“And yet is”. A new Pope is elected. This way of endlessly electing a new leader has made them the longest line of rulers in the world.

This picture shows the Trail of the Serpent, as they await their final head, the man of sin who will be the last Pope.

The secret to their power lies in the title of “Pope”.  Not in their individual names.

The Vatican is Mystery Babylon the Great, the final home of the ancient priesthood of the Babylonian mysteries that the Vatican has spread amongst the Protestants to deceive the whole world.

REVELATION 18:2   And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

In the parable of the sower in Matthew Chapter 13, the birds took away the seeds of Bible truth from the hard ground (hard hearts of people).

Deception does two things wrong. It makes us believe error and then, worse than that, it makes us condemn truth.

We become defensive of our errors and dismissive of truth. A double tragedy.

ISAIAH 5:20   Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

These bad birds lodged high as church leaders in the huge centralized church organization.

REVELATION 18:8   Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

One day. Complete destruction by fire. We saw this with Hiroshima and Nagasaki where each city was destroyed by a single bomb. And those atomic bombs were hundreds or thousands of times less effective than our modern nuclear bombs.

REVELATION 18:9    And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

"Fornication" means unmarried sin. Thus Christ has never recognized the Roman Catholic Church as His Bride.

If the Catholic Church was His Bride then He would accuse her of adultery.

The people mourn but stand afar off. Why are they not putting out the fire? Because of the extreme radiation from the nuclear explosion. Get close to the powerful source of radiation and the radiation knocks you unconscious and then death follows shortly. You have to wait until the radiation finally subsides, which takes at least a week.

REVELATION 18:10   Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,

saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Radiation from a nuclear bomb is devastating. People have to stand helplessly far away. But a nuclear explosion is brutally final. It is the most deadly weapon of war. The Roman Catholic Church murdered tens of millions in the Dark Ages with swords and spears and other weapons. Now the most powerful weapon ever developed, a nuclear bomb, destroys the Vatican. What you sow, you finally reap.

60-1208 THE  THYATIREAN  CHURCH  AGE
God organized Communism just the same as He did King Nebuchadnezzar to chastise Israel. He raised up Communism, and someday she'll blow Rome plumb off the map.

That happens when the final Pope has used the Vatican to gain world power.

Then he destroys the Vatican and North America during great Tribulation. He then moves from Rome to Jerusalem. He, inspired by the indwelling Satan, imitates God. He knows that Jerusalem is God’s city and he wants to dwell there.

DANIEL 11:45   And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

The next map shows the blue Mediterranean Sea next to the coast of Israel.

The glorious holy mountain is Mount Zion in Jerusalem. This is between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.

Right from the beginning, Lucifer was imitating God.

ISAIAH 14:12   How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, 

:13    For thou hast said in thine heart,

:14    I will be like the most High.

LAODICEAN  CHURCH  AGE  -  CHURCH.AGE.BOOK  CPT.9

Then in the sixth vision there arose up in America a most beautiful, but cruel woman. She held the people in her complete power.

I believed that this was the rise of the Roman Catholic Church,

though I knew it could possibly be a vision of some woman rising in great power in America due to a popular vote by women.

The last and seventh vision was wherein I heard a most terrible explosion. As I turned to look I saw nothing but debris, craters, and smoke all over the land of America.

So it looks like the Catholic church will rule America, possibly because of natural disasters that wreck the economy.

Only the Roman Catholic church has enough money to take over America. Making a covenant with the Jews for their Stock Exchange money will enable the final Pope to rule the world.

But then comes the betrayal. The antichrist Pope used America in his rise to world domination. When he has no more use for America then he gets others like the Russians to drop nuclear bombs on America.

Let us return to the start of great Tribulation.

We return to that spirit of antichrist that enters a man in order to start this rise to power.

When Jesus was to be killed, Satan entered an apostle, a church leader, who held the money bag.

LUKE 22:2   And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

:3   Then entered Satan into Judas

surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Satan entered Judas in order to kill Jesus. When Satan murders Bible truth in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation, his spirit has to enter the most important and richest church leader who is the Pope or Babylonian Pontiff.

LUKE 22:4   And he [Judas]went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

The position of Pope gives the man of sin the open door to unite with the Protestant church leaders and betray the Word as they establish a man-made One World Church that is contrary to Scripture.

DANIEL 11:38   But in his estate shall he honour

the God of forces:

and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

He is going to come up with his own religion.

Ten dictators will give him their massive military power which will establish his God of forces (Satan).

But church-goers who never took the Bible very seriously will easily fall for anything.

1965  THYATIREAN  CHURCH  AGE - CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.6
This chapter shows the power of the Roman Catholic Church and what she will do through organization. Remember this is the false vine. Let it name the Name of the Lord, it does so only in a lie. Its headship is not of the Lord but of Satan. It finally ends up completely identified with the beast. The whore riding on the scarlet beast distinctly shows

her power is the god of force (Satan)

and not our God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 17, it emphatically shows that she will gain absolute control of the commerce of the earth, for no man can buy or sell apart from her. This is borne out in Revelation 18:9-17 which shows her involvement with kings, princes, merchants, all of whom have to do with Rome and commerce.

DANIEL 11:37   Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Women refer to churches.  He is not interested in the churches because his policy is all about self-exaltation.

The final Pope is the man who would be God.

He only uses the churches to gain power, but has no further interest in them.

LUKE 22:5   And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

The Protestant churches are happy to accept the last Pope as the head of the combined churches because there is no obvious Protestant church leader that people will accept as the head of the One World Church.

The obsession that denominations had to elevate a human head in order to enlarge the church now reaps a grim harvest.

The only sufficiently influential church leader to be head of the combined or united churches is the Pope. Thus the Protestants have to unite under the Catholic church.

The Medes co-ruled with the Persian Cyrus, but Cyrus was actually the main king. The Medes were under him. Similarly, the Protestant World Council of churches will co-rule briefly with the final Pope, but he will be the man who is in charge.

The united churches of 1.4 billion Catholics and the 0.8 billion Protestants enable the Pope to take control of all the Protestant church money as well, giving him even greater power. He takes the money of the Protestants but in order that he does not have to pay it back, he then determines to destroy the Protestant churches. Especially the saved foolish virgins who will soon recognize his evil plans and thus have to reject his mark of the beast.

Then he eyes out a financial covenant with the Jews. He has the church gold. They have the Stock Exchange money. The economic depression of 1929 led to the rapid rise of Hitler. He was mainly helped by Ernst Rohm who was in charge of the large SA army. Hitler gained power in 1933 and repaid Rohm by killing him and about 1000 top SA members in the massacre known as the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934.

Similarly, bad economic circumstances will boost the final Pope's rise to power as he takes over the world's economy. Then beware those who helped him.

Just as the Roman general Galba usurped the position of Emperor because he had the military power to back him up, so the man of sin (also called the son of perdition) will similarly usurp the position of Pope or Pontiff but he needs military backup. This will be supplied by 10 military dictators.

The final covenant with Jewish stock exchange money

DANIEL 11:22   And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea,

also the prince of the covenant.

The opposition will crumble before him and a flood of people will flock to his banner.

“Arms” speaks of the military. Like general Galba he needs the military force of ten dictators to back up his seizure of power.

"The covenant". The final Pope makes a covenant with the Jews for their Stock Exchange money.

REVELATION 17:12   And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

“Power as kings”.  They do not wear crowns but have a king’s authority. These are dictators. So ten dictators will rise up in the 3.5 years of great Tribulation with powerful military forces. If they are spread out across the world then they will not have to move far in order to impose military violence on any rebellion. The problem with America is that it takes about 6 months to move her army to distant parts of the world. Then there has to be an army of occupation to keep the invaded country under control. By the time America invaded and occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, her military force was stretched close to its limits.

America's chaotic retreat from Afghanistan indicates that her time as a world leader is ending.

So, a single military superpower is not that efficient for global control.

Ten separate military dictators could do the job more efficiently if they were all under the control of one man.

REVELATION 17:13   These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

"One mind". Ten dictators working together as one. The final Pope is somehow able to unite ten military dictators under his power. The finances of the churches and the Jew's Stock Exchange money will make him the wealthiest person on earth. The person who has the money is always the boss. Thus they give him their military power and strength. With their military strength, he overcomes all opposition.

REVELATION 17:14   These shall make war with the Lamb,

They now make war against Jesus.  Terror tactics. But who represents Jesus on earth? The church and the Jews. The ten military dictators have all the necessary military power that is needed to kill the church people first and then to attack the Jews.

The final Pope needs to control the world's industry.

For that he needs money. The Vatican has the gold and the Jews control the Stock Exchange money. The Pope also brings the wealthy Protestant churches into his system.

The wealth of the Protestant churches makes them an important target for the final Pope.

Thus the financial success of the churches which enabled them to collect so much money, becomes their downfall.

Then the last Pope makes his financial covenant with the Jews so that he can use their Stock Exchange money to finance the world’s industrial capacity.

Remember Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq. He borrowed billions of dollars from Kuwait to fight his pointless eight-year war against Iran. His army ended up where it started. Unable to repay his debts to Kuwait, he then decided to conquer Kuwait and declare it a province of Iraq. Then he would not have to repay Kuwait. That is how Satan works. Destroy the people to who you owe money, and then there is no need to pay off the debt.

Having made covenants to gain control of all the church money, both Protestant and Catholic, the final Pope has a strong motive to destroy them. He feels the same way about the Jews too,  because he will owe them a colossal amount of money.

DANIEL 8:23   And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

In the end, it is bad people who dominate the world. Sin has got as bad as what their perverted minds can imagine doing. The human race cannot sink much lower into depravity, violence, and treachery than what it is today. The final Pope will be the ultimate treacherous deceiver, the ultimate depraved and perverted sinner. Satan in the flesh. The ultimate man of dishonour who somehow flatters and deceives people into foolishly trusting him.

The fierce and frightening face of a savage, merciless, and brutal warlord.

"Dark sentences" speak of devilish inspiration to twist meanings that fool and conquer people.

"Dark sentences" speak of covenants that have the fine print that he will twist with demonic cunning into meanings that will justify him breaking them when it suits him.

DANIEL 8:24   And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

The military might of his power is not his own but comes from the military might of the ten dictators. With their backing, he sweeps through the nations of this world by destroying any opposition. His prosperity is startling. His financial power is not his own but comes from the churches and the Jews. His religious might is not his own but he gains it when he cunningly takes over the Vatican and then fools the Protestant churches into joining in under him.

One man with religious, political, and money power becomes unstoppable. The world falls for him. He has the influence and money to stabilize the economic chaos that led to his rise to power. But he has a hatred towards God. He hunts down the sleeping virgins and attacks the Jews. The bonus here is that he does not have to pay them back, because all the money that he has, he borrowed from them.

DANIEL 8:25   And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many:

“Craft” is handicraft or manufacturing. In a world struck by recession through natural disasters and war, he uses church gold and Jewish Stock Exchange money to build up an industrial manufacturing empire. This creates jobs for the unemployed which makes him so popular. He is their messiah. Nobody will dare to oppose him. He elevates himself in pride. On the surface he promotes peace but behind the scenes he is eliminating opposition and planning to take over the world and make everyone worship him.

63-0318 THE  FIRST  SEAL
Like this fellow down here in (What's his name?) Castro did. He done the only smart thing he ever did do then, when he destroyed the bonds: paid them off and destroyed them. Notice, but we can't do that. These guys won't let us.
The rich merchants of the earth hold it, and then there's only one thing to do: The Catholic church can pay it off. She's the only one that's got the money; she can do it, and she will do it.
And in doing this to get it, she'll compromise with the Jews and make a covenant, and when she makes this covenant with the Jews... Now, remember, I'm taking this from the Scriptures. And now, when she does this and makes this covenant, we notice in Daniel 8:23 and 25

he will cause craft to prosper (And craft is manufacturing.), in his hand.

 And he makes this covenant with the Jews, and in the midst of this three and a half years, he breaks his covenant as soon as he gets the thing wrapped up and gets the money of the Jews tied up.

And when he does that, oh, my, oh, my, he's called the antichrist until the end of the church age, for he and his children are against Christ and the Word. This man's called the antichrist. Now, he's going to hold the money. And that's where I think he'll come in. Just a minute, while I say this, then I want to go back to it in a minute.
He's called the antichrist and will be called the antichrist in the sight of God until the end time. Now, but then he'll be called something else.

Now, when he gets the money all under control, then he will break this covenant with the Jews,

as Daniel here said he would do it, in the midst of the last half of the seventy weeks of Daniel. And then, brother, what will he do?

He will have all of the world trade and the commerce, a pact with the world, 'cause he will hold the wealth of the world completely.

DANIEL 11:23   And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

But the antichrist Pope is the master of deception.

Never to be trusted.

The Vatican is a small community of less than 800 people. Yet it is a sovereign city-state. The smallest state in the world as it only covers less than one square kilometer. But from here the Pope will reach out to control the world. This is Daniel’s “little horn”. Small but deadly.

The Pope will be a supreme ruler but he will co-rule for a while with the Protestant World Council of Churches under him. These will be the “useful stooges” who help him to eliminate the foolish virgins.

The figurehead of the religious beast church organization is the final Pope who seeks to destroy all the saved church-goers who miss the Rapture when the Bride is caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That will be the overwhelmingly vast majority of the modern-day saved church-goers.

America helps Rome take over the world

REVELATION 13:15    And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

The life blood of the churches is money. America has the most money and thus takes the lead in the Protestant World Council of Churches. The Council of Churches, backed by the military might of the ten dictatorial governments then speaks with authority. The ten military dictators, spread around the world, set up an effective One World Government under the dictatorial rule of the final Pope. People have to listen when they speak. You obey the One World Church system or you die. Satan's Eden.

In the 3.5 years of great Tribulation the churches will simply be a death trap. You die spiritually if you stay in them as you will have to take on the mark of the beast. You are killed if you leave them. It is a hopeless time.

The previously saved foolish virgins will refuse to believe these blatant unscriptural church doctrines that become increasingly cruel and bloodthirsty (like Hitler's three-day massacre of his SA followers). The foolish virgins finally get the courage to reject the church systems and the charming and talented preachers that fooled them and kept them lulled fast asleep when they should have been searching the Scriptures to prepare for the Rapture. In the 3.5 years of great Tribulation, they make a brave stand for the portion of Bible truth that they know. They reject the mark of the beast. They lose their lives in the fiery persecution and brutal torment of the savage Tribulation. But their souls are saved because they were saved before the time of great Tribulation started. They keep their salvation by rejecting the churches and their mark of the beast during this time of great Tribulation.

But they pay the price with their own lives.

If only they had known more of the Bible truths.

HOSEA 4:6    My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:

because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,

They trusted their churches more than they trusted the Bible. They learned what their churches taught them but not what the Bible says. By rejecting parts of the Bible that they never bothered to understand, they were actually rejecting Jesus. Because He is the Word. Thus Jesus rejects them from the Wedding Supper.

American Televangelists spread the doctrinal errors of Trinity, Christmas, Good Friday, and a 7-year Tribulation.

They deny the end-time prophet and oppose baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.

American message-preachers claim that William Branham is the Voice of God and is thus infallible. They place his quotes above Scripture and claim that the supernatural Cloud of 1963 is either the Coming of the Lord or else the coming down of the mighty Angel in Revelation Chapter 10.

Either way they deceive the people.

Churches either ignore and reject William Branham or else they elevate him to the Godhead as the revealed Son of man.

Thus, American church leaders spread error very effectively around the world.

Believing any unscriptural doctrine places us in the Roman Catholic camp.

Invitations to the Wedding Supper are only sent to those who regard the Bible as the Absolute.

63-1226 CHURCH  ORDER
Because you get two man, you got two opinions. It's got to come to one final absolute,

and my absolute is the Word, the Bible.

It takes the fire of the Tribulation to shake them out of their church-going error and complacency.

In the fire of great Tribulation they learn to stand on their own feet and believe for themselves what the Bible says. They discover that it was wrong to play follow-my-leader and hide behind a human head of the church. Then they realize that they must only follow the Word. Not what some man says.

I CORINTHIANS 3:15   If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Their church works are going to burn to ashes as the churches are trampled by the antichrist Pope. The foolish virgins learn in a very harsh environment to focus on Jesus in the time of great Tribulation. But Jesus will get off the mercy seat when He comes to collect His Bride. Thus the foolish virgins turn to Him with great zeal in great Tribulation, but that cannot save them. They had to be saved before His Coming. But the fires of affliction and torture will galvanize the faith of those foolish virgins who got saved before great Tribulation started. They will wake up in that time of intense terror and believe in the King James Version of the Bible and die. If only they had been prepared to reject the church systems and popular preachers before the Rapture, they would have had the faith and courage to be ready for the Rapture. Thus it seems that the fire of great Tribulation saved them but all it did was to burn off their church-going traditions and unbelief and reveal the basic salvation faith that they already had.

63-0318  THE  FIRST  SEAL

For the dragon, Rome, spurted water out of his mouth to make war with the remnant of the woman's seed that was left upon the earth after the Bride had been selected and took out. And the dragon made war with the remnant that didn't want to come in, was hunted down.

REVELATION 12:17   And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed [the foolish virgins], which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ [They were saved by Jesus before great Tribulation started].

When God takes the Bride, the remnant of the saved Christians that are left behind is the foolish virgins. Being saved means they actually would have been able to produce enough faith for the Rapture but made the serious mistake of trusting their preachers who fooled them. That is what made them foolish. They never trusted the Bible for themselves. They were scared of their church leaders before the Rapture.

But what will they think of those leaders when they realize that they have missed the Rapture?

The fooled church-goers will be hunted down and killed with the help of the make-believers and unbelievers in the church system. These unsaved church-goers happily take on the mark of the beast because they think that they can thereby save their own lives. But Satan’s sting is betrayal. When the foolish virgins have been killed, he has no use for those who informed and plotted against the foolish virgins. So looking at the numbers involved, one-quarter of 8 billion people is 2 billion. This is about the number of Christians or church-goers on earth. The Devil thus finally turns against and destroys most of the church-going make-believers and unbelievers as well. They lose their lives and their souls. Satan killed them with death. This condemns their souls to the second death in the Lake of Fire.

Those who tried to save their lives by taking on the mark of the beast will be killed with death,  which is the spiritual death in the torments of hell.

MATTHEW 10:28   And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

REVELATION 14:11   And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Satan’s technique is to use a person as a “useful idiot” and then destroy that person when he or she is of no further use.

So a quarter of the world’s population is the original target of the antichrist. This is approximately the number of church-goers in the world.

Let us go back to just before the Rapture.

When it is too late, the foolish virgins, who are the saved Christians that have been fooled by the church systems, will wake up.  They will desperately try to learn the truth from the Bride. Their ignorance of Scripture will keep them out of the Rapture. There will be too much to learn in a short time. But they will learn enough to know that they must resist the church system that develops in great Tribulation.

MATTHEW 25:8   And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

:9     But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

:10     And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

:11   Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

:12   But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Jesus is the Word. The church-going sleeping virgins never took the Bible as seriously as they took their church and church leader.

Jesus only knows us when we search the Scriptures to see if what we heard is correct.

ACTS 17:11   These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.