Son of Man, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David
I'd rather be living right now than at any other time in human history. We are grateful to the Lord to be living at the climax of human history, looking forward to the manifestation of the Sons of God, the greatest time of all just before the Lord takes His Church Home.
While grace remains we should be checking up on our faith and examining our lives in the mirror of God's unchanging Word, asking "What do people see when they look at me? Does my life point to Christ the revealed Word, or to a creed? Is my life worthy of the Gospel, do my actions reflect Christ and His Word, or myself and the world?" As the preacher once said, "Your life speaks so loud, I can't hear your testimony".
If you believe, yet know you have not received the earnest of the Spirit which is the new birth, and you would like to be remembered in prayer now, so everything will be made right between you and God tonight, just raise your hand or say in your heart, "Remember me, Lord".
Lord Jesus, we stand tonight between the living and the dead, knowing the lateness of the hour and seeing social conditions foretold manifest before our eyes; we pray that you will bless every one of those requests. Tonight may their hearts go beyond belief to faith in your Word. Make "the present Truth" a reality to them Lord, and quicken their souls to obedience that you may live through their hearts and rule in their lives by love. In your dear Name we pray, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Christians stand in confidence before the very throne of God without condemnation, knowing we are the sinless, spotless Bride Jesus died to redeem to Himself, resting in what He did for us who were justified when He raised Christ from the dead and set Him above all principality and power, might and dominion, and every name that is named, and put all things under our feet because by the Marriage union we are one (Romans 8:28-30; II Corinthians 5:14-21). I Corinthians 6:17: "God and the soul that is joined together with God is one Spirit".
God has such confidence in the believer He told His enemy, "My servant Job is so perfect, there's not another man on earth like him." Oh! If we could only be that kind of a man! That He can place such confidence in us, knowing we will not misplace or misuse His Word or His Being to justify ourselves. Christ's end-time Bride is growing into the stature of the perfect Man whom He can trust to operate His Word, and we are not alone, two Hebrew prophets are being groomed to speak His Word with national and global repercussions.
Job was a man who carried out God's commandments to the letter—Satan knew that but said, "If You'll just let me have him, I'll make him curse You to Your face." So God told Satan, "He's in your hands, but don't you take his life." Satan went as far as he could. He could not take his life, but he took every friend, his children and everything he had. Still Job held right on; there was no turning back.
When a person once comes in contact with the reality of God by genuine revealed faith that "God is," nothing, no time or circumstance can ever separate that man from his God. Paul said, "There's no strife, no hunger, no perils, neither living creatures, death, or anything that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus." Peter said, "You have been born again, not by the perishable seed of your parents, but through the imperishable Seed of the Message of God, which lives and abides forever" (I Peter 1:23). Once married to Christ, there is no divorce, we are Word of His Word—securely anchored in Him because we were ordained to that Life (Genesis 2:23-24).
Satan thought he could provoke Job to curse God. But Job with his perfect revelation of who God is and how God loved him, waited. No matter what the circumstances Job waited for his faith to be confirmed. Faith waits with patience for the promised Word to be fulfilled: Job held to God by revelation as Jacob wrestled with Him in the flesh. When you have the revelation you are "justified" in asking your request and believing "He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him" nothing can separate you from faith anchored in your soul. But it has to be revealed to you first and your motive and objective must absolutely be the will of God with no hint of selfishness.
Intellectual faith is not sufficient, genuine faith is neither psychology nor emotions but absolute confidence in revelation. "If our heart condemns us not we have confidence towards God. And whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (I John 3:21-22).
In all of his trials Job was searching for the mind of the Lord. He was a prophet to whom the Word of the Lord comes and was sure he had followed every Word, instruction and revelation, certain he was walking in the Light as God was in it; the one thing he needed was for the inspiration to strike him. Notice, Job did not move from his revelation but waited for God to reveal the next step—further Light on the Word. If we prepare our hearts by walking in all the Light God has revealed to us in this day, follow Him in baptism according to Acts 2:38-39; follow Him in observing foot washing and the Lord's Supper—not "His breakfast or lunch," follow every Word He has revealed, leaving nothing aside; then we are ready for the quickening power of God.
Just before the going-away God will pour out a latter rain that will quicken His little flock, then what we say He will do! Yes sir, there'll be a new wave offering. Not another sheaf but the finished Bride as represented in Leviticus 23 by two loaves—those who fell asleep and we who are alive and remain. The sleeping saints will resurrect by rank Church Age Church Age, and after a short and powerful demonstration of the Spirit in His end-time Bride we will be changed in the atoms, then our little hunted and persecuted group will go to be with Jesus. How will this come about? By overcoming the world through faith in His Word. Revelation will wash away all unbelief, carnality and uncleanliness, and then Christ will have pre-eminence in His saints.
Job had the gift of bypassing the ten senses of his flesh and mortal spirit for a clear channel of communication with God; hereby reasoning, imagination, selfishness, pride, the world and the flesh could not impede inspiration. Having offered the burnt offering and fully obeyed in all things Job knew he was righteous and without condemnation, yet God was silent so he was also without inspiration. Even so, the Devil could not move Job from faith and trusting obedience in God's revealed Word.
Let us not deceive ourselves. Have you relied upon some sensation like speaking in tongues or something you can do and Satan can impersonate? Maybe you have drawn strength from pleasing men by conforming to the line of a denominational or Message church. Satan is the sum of wisdom and beauty; he can impersonate all manner of works but he is without faith and fails the Word test. The genuine Holy Ghost is the present Truth manifest in your life. If Christ is in you, you will understand and receive the inspiration of the Message for your hour. Only the elected can recognize and live the present Truth whose revelation will pass right over the head of the non-elect. Election is simply God's foreknowledge of our free choice. Jesus thanked the Father that the inspiration is hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes as will learn (Matthew 11:25).
When the inspiration struck Job, He knew and was sure it was God. Nobody could persuade him otherwise. It agreed with the rest of the Word and was his permanent possession.
Job's inspiration came in a time of crisis such as we live in today. We should be in desperation to know the mind of Christ and that our lives are written epistles of the Word prophesied for this hour. That's the only way we can serve our Lord and the only way we will escape the tribulation that will destroy our world by fire as it destroyed the Gentile world of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I was speaking today with an old minister. He follows the teaching of the late Dr. Ironside, who represented some of the many Brethren sects. He told me that the 144,000 elect Israelites will preach salvation to the Gentiles during the Great Tribulation and they will go into the millennium. However, no one will receive but multitudes will lose their salvation in those days, while 144,000 and all who are "saved" will be martyred. The old minister has not recognized that Redemption is Over, and according to the types of Noah or Sodom, all flesh will be destroyed, "leaving neither root nor branch" when Christ and the saints of all Ages "step out on the ashes of the wicked" (Malachi 4:1-3). John the Baptist's prophecy in Matthew 3:12 agrees, and the seventh angel prophesied those Gentiles who do not receive his Message of restoration will remain in unbelief (Daniel 12:10; Acts 3:21; Revelation 19:20; 20:5; 22:9-11, 17-19).
God will not turn to Israel until the last elect Gentile is born-again (Romans 11:25). The 144,000 elect Israelites will all be re-born in one day in the land of the Covenant, then martyred by Jewry and the Judaeo-Roman church; they will not preach salvation to the Gentiles. When the Seventh Trumpet signals the end of the Gentile dispensation, an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude will send Los Angeles to the bottom of the ocean. The foolish virgin, Fifth Seal Israelites and others whose names remain in the Book of Life are already "saved," having made their decision during the day of grace to walk in all the Light they knew, but not being born-again they will enter the Great Tribulation and be martyred for their testimony.
Beware of kindly old men who love the Lord, know the "letter" of His Word like the back of their hand but preach against the revelation. Paul called them spiritual bastards who prove God is not their Father when they refuse correction by His Word (Hebrews 12:8). Like the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked in John 8 these sincerely misguided nominal Christians, are angels of a false light—fallen angels, reprobate concerning the faith, deluding themselves they are Christians and ministers when in fact they are religious seducers. Don't imagine you can reject today's Message and hope for a second chance in the Great Tribulation (John 3:18; Acts 3:23). If you hear this Message and reject it you have rejected the Holy Spirit. Curse these false ministries and get into Christ now.
Don't dare believe old ministers who look you in the eye and quote God's Word but deny the faith; the ole minister wrote a tract scoffing at the gifts of the Spirit, notably speaking with other tongues. He gave no Scripture but the tongue of bad report in support of his 'revelation.' He may have scorned the Giver rather than the Gifts (II Peter 3:1-7). Certainly much of what we see is flesh and not of God, but those Gifts will be in the Church so long as she is on earth.
There is a dearth of righteousness in the world: greed and self-seeking rather than service and the commonweal are the motivation of far too many public faces; laws are framed to favour the guilty, morals are perverted, churches are apostate and know it not, there is no certainty even in preparing for a career; knowledge is often superseded as it is taught and employment opportunities may be expatriated tomorrow. Material security is threatened as inflation, predicted to become hyperinflation, devalues fiat currencies and depression threatens to devalue real property. Instead of measures to protect the commonweal, our puppet governments strive to preserve banking interests whose fraudulent fractional reserve system is the root of all evil. Society has rejected the Absolute; their only constant seems to be more change. Isaiah said, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." In this gloomy hour in which there is no clear distinction between day and night, right or wrong, in either church or society, God sent the certain Light of THUS SAITH THE LORD in the evening time (Zechariah 14:7).
We are at the end of the Gentile dispensation—no one will be "saved" during the tribulation. Jesus said when the Seven Seals were opened there would be no further delay for intercession as all seven Church Ages of PART Word would be fulfilled (Matthew 25:1-13; I Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 10:6; 18:4). Let us have our lamps trimmed and filled with oil so we can see where we are walking in the Word. In response to the midnight cry of Matthew 25:6 all ten virgins will "come out" of Rome and her harlot (once) Protestant daughters, whose destiny is the lake of Fire (Revelation 2:21-23; 19:20; 20:5, 15). All ten virgins are "saved"; the five wise are born again and will be translated before the tribulation, while the "foolish" will be cast into "outer darkness" but granted into eternal Life at the White Throne Judgment. Like Christ's end-time Bride, the elect 144,000 of Israel were fully redeemed in Christ on Calvary.
Luke 17:30: "As it was in the days of Lot, so will it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." To reveal is to make known a secret, and Jesus promised the mystery of God should be finished by the seventh angel's Message calling His Bride out of Babylon (Matthew 25:6; Revelation 18:4). Not in the days of Luther's Message, or Wesley's, or what the Pentecostals had (in remembrance of the Gifts). At every dispensation change the majority is so bound by church traditions it is impossible for them to recognize the Light for the new Age, being convinced that their denomination has all of God. It has always been that way and only the elect minority will see it. Paul saw this at the very start of the age of grace; he said the Israel nation was spiritually blind but according to the election of grace a remnant of individuals would catch the revelation and enter into Christ (Romans 10-11). Isaiah foresaw Israel at the end of their dispensation with "eyes that see not, and ears which hear not," and Jesus foretold the Pentecostal or Laodicean Church Age they would be "blind and know it not," and like Israel God will conclude them in apostasy (Isaiah 6:10; Romans 11:32; Revelation 3:14-22).
"When Jesus was in the world the world which was made by the Word knew Him not. He came to His own and His own received Him not; but as many as received the faith were transformed or born again by God's creative Word" for their day (John 1:10-13). Manifest in flesh the Creator said, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." He spoke of the regeneration of the Church Age saints through understanding the Word for their day and by virtue of His intercession in behalf of their ignorance of its fullness. Intercession ceased "in the days of the Voice of the seventh angel when the Seals were opened and the mystery of God was finished" (John 5:19-26).
From the day of Pentecost and in each succeeding Age, the evidence of the new birth has been "hearing" with anointed ears what the Spirit was saying to the elect in that Age—not "speaking with tongues of men and of angels" (Acts 2:41; Romans 10:13-21; I Corinthians 13:1; Galatians 3:2; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). How else can we receive God's Word except by the understanding of faith which comes by "hearing" what He is saying? Like Samuel and Elijah we need to be quiet, escape the noise of the world and listen for the still small Voice of inspiration.
Notice Jesus has been speaking of the Son of God dispensation. It is essential we recognize Jesus has three Offices: Son of Man, Son of God, and Son of David. In other words, He is Prophet, Priest, and King. To this all denominations agree, but like Israel, the teachers fail to understand that He does not, indeed CANNOT exercise all three offices simultaneously.
When the Canaanite woman implored Jesus, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, You Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon." He replied, "I am only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." As a Gentile she had no claim on Him as Son of David; besides, His Office then was Son of man the Prophet. After the Gentile dispensation Israel will recognize His 'parousia' Coming as Son of man as He will not be crowned Son of David until the Kingdom is restored to Israel in the millennium (Acts 1:6). When the woman persisted, crying "Lord, help me!" her claim had standing for He was her Lord, and He replied "great is your faith, be it unto you even as you wish. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour" (Matthew 15:21-28)!
We must say the right thing to God for there will be no answer if our words are not mixed with faith. For instance, there is no promise of remission of past sins and new birth for those who are baptized in the Titles Father, Son and Holy Ghost for their testimony is not mixed with faith. Concerning water baptism Peter said, "It is not the washing of the body that saves us, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the revelation that we are justified by grace through faith without works" (I Peter 3:21). We have no reason to expect an answer from God when we pray in the Titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, because Jesus commanded us to pray in His Name, and the Name (singular) of those three Titles is Lord Jesus Christ. When that woman became desperate and said the right thing to God, faith answered her request.
Son of Man, Son of God and Son of David are three different and distinct Offices or dispensation claims of one Lord Jesus Christ. This does not make Him three persons anymore than the Titles, Offices, or dispensation claims Father, Son, and Holy Ghost make God three persons. Three people in one god make three gods or language has lost its meaning, making Christians infidels as Muslims and "Jews" suppose. These three Titles Father, Son and Holy Ghost refer to God above His people under the Law, God with His people in the days of His flesh and God in His people since Pentecost.
Both Isaiah 9:6 and Matthew 28:19 said Messiah would be known by three major Titles, Offices, or dispensation claims: "Wonderful Counsellor," the Holy Ghost (Gk.) 'parakletos' or Advocate; "Mighty God, the Everlasting Father;" and "Prince of Peace" or Son. But the compound redemptive NAME (singular) of these three Titles, Offices, or dispensation claims is Lord Jesus Christ. That is why we baptize, pray, marry, praise, bury, and live in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38-39; 4:12; Colossians 3:17). In the days of His flesh Jesus was not Priest, neither was He Judge, nor King; He was Son of man "the Prophet of Nazareth," the Sacrifice Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Matthew 21:11; Hebrews 1:1-2).
The Levites were ministers of the earthly sanctuary under the temporary covering of the blood of bulls and goats. There could be no intercession without blood on the Mercy Seat above the Ark in the Holy of Holies which was built after Moses' vision of the pattern God showed Him on the mount. As Christ Himself was to be the Sacrifice, His precious Blood an atonement and cleansing for sin, He could not possibly have been a Priest in the days of His flesh before His Blood had been shed to cleanse the heavenly tabernacle of the sins of the Old Testament saints, for "without shedding of blood is no remission of sins," thus there could be no priestly ministration and no resurrection of the Old Testament saints prior to Calvary.
In His earthly walk Jesus could not have been Judge. He said, "I judge no man . . . I came not to judge but to save the world" (John 8:15; 12:47). Neither was He King but a Prince. After He overcome and ascended on high He was High Priest and Mediator for His elect (Matthew 26:36-42). He could not be King until He had completely redeemed the Church Age saints and claimed the Book of Redemption or Title Deed to all He had redeemed. Christ could not fully redeem the Church Age saints at Calvary because the Book was sealed and "the faith once delivered to the saints" was lost over almost a thousand years of Roman Catholic martyrdom. A king must have a kingdom and Christ had to intercede for His kingdom in order that the Church Age saints could be baptized into His Kingdom (John 14:1-4; Revelation 1:6; 11:15) and to secure salvation for the non-elect. Throughout the seven Church Ages His body lay on the sacrifice altar until His Mediatorial Work was finished. Once the last saint predestinated to Laodicea was baptized into the Body, the Mercy Seat became a Judgment Seat (Revelation 4), and when the elders advertised for a kinsman redeemer the bloody Lamb advanced from the outer court into the Holy of Holies, took the Book, tore open its Seven Seals, and as Lion of the Tribe of Judah He became King of kings and Judge when the saints crowned Him by their revelation (Revelation 5:8-14). Now there is a Man enthroned in heaven, but Christ's Throne and His Kingdom will be on earth: only then will He be Son of David.
Close your eyes and try to visualize Revelation 4 and 5 as we rehearse what we have covered thus far, but please study God's Word to prove these things for yourself. From the foundation of the world, the Book was closed and sealed with Seven Seals so that the Church Age saints had only PART-Word. Jewish fables and pagan myths began to be introduced by the non-elect; later the Universal Roman State Church was organized by Emperor Constantine and "them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" and martyred over 68 million Christians who refused her creeds. Since the Seals are loosed and the mystery of God is finished, the folly of Rome and her harlot (once) Protestant daughter churches is manifest. We now know that Son of man, Son of God, and Son of David are three different Offices, three separate Titles of One Lord Jesus Christ describing His Work in three dispensations over two thousand years and into Eternity.
Satan has blinded the eyes of 99% of churchgoers. Men who have spent a lifetime studying, teaching and writing on Scripture suppose Jesus somehow exercises these three Offices or dispensation claims simultaneously, and make Father, Son, and Holy Ghost three persons. They have not understood that these are three Offices or dispensation claims of the One Person of God. They have no understanding of the creation of God in which Jesus is firstborn of many sons in the new creation of God-men (Revelation 3:14). "But without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Israel has been apostate for two thousand years and knows it not. They worship God in the Office of the Father because they have been struck blind by theology contrary to God's prophetic Word, which they crucified when it manifest in flesh in the Office of Son of man. Jesus said to Israel, "In vain do you worship Me" (Matthew 15:9).
The church of this world still worships God in the Office of Son of God, the one Mediator and High Priest between God and men. However, since the opening of the Seals He has returned in the prophetic Office Son of man to reveal their mystery. As Son of man He is King of kings and Judge and has indicted the denominations in this day declaring, "You are naked of the Blood, Spiritually bankrupt, blind to My Word, wretched and miserable; [like Israel] you are apostate and know it not" (John 5:27; Revelation 3:17-20; Romans 11:32). Since the opening of the Seals God has been calling His people out from Rome and her daughters into "the unity of the faith for the manifestation of the Sons of God and the translation" (Matthew 25:6; Revelation 18:4).
We should realize that these different Offices and Titles describe distinct works of God. We must know and understand what Jesus is doing NOW, "for if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the Battle?" We can learn a great deal from an examination of some of His Old Testament Titles or Offices when we see them fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Testament to this day (Hebrews 13:8):
- The Name Jehovah describes God as the self-existent One.
- Jehovah Jireh describes God as the self-existent One who is your Provider (Genesis 22:13-19; Matthew 14:15-21).
- Jehovah Nissi describes God as the self-existent One who is your Banner or rallying point (Exodus 17:8-15; Revelation 19:11-16).
- Jehovah Rapha describes God as the self-existent One who is your Healer (Exodus 15:26; Matthew 4:23).
- Jehovah Shalom describes God as the self-existent One who is your peace rather than your judge (Judges 6:23-24; Luke 19:38).
- Jehovah Shammah describes God as the self-existent One who is Present (Ezekiel 48:35; Revelation 21:3, 22).
- Jehovah Tsidkenu describes God as the self-existent One who is your righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 10:4).
No Israelite or Christian at any time considered these seven Titles might somehow be seven gods, or seven persons in one god. Jesus demonstrated each Office proving He is the sole Person of God manifest in virgin-born flesh to redeem Adam's fallen race from sin (I Timothy 3:16). Many other Titles and Offices such as El Shaddai—the all-sufficient One and Jehovah Raah—the Lord is my Shepherd, describe what God is doing at a particular point in time. Jesus means Jehovah-Saviour—the self-existent One is our Saviour. Since the mystery of God is finished, only the spirit of strong delusion in the closing years of the Gentile dispensation could cause Bible students to suppose "Jesus" might be a second or third person of God (Isaiah 45:15, 21-22).
When Peter told the assembled multitude, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ," their conscience was pricked, and they implored Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, we've killed the very Messiah, what must we do to be saved"? Then Peter said to them, "Every one of you must repent, and be baptized in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you [Israelites], and to your [Hebrew] children, and to all that are afar off [us Gentiles], even as many as the Lord our God shall ever call [both Israelites and Gentiles]" (Acts 2:36-39). God's compound redemptive Name is Lord Jesus Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). God is our One and only Saviour, beside Him there is no other. Were people to truly acknowledge Jesus is Emmanuel—GOD with us—they would see that these Titles or Offices describe the work in which He is engaged at a particular point in time.
God hides in humility and reveals Himself in simplicity such that "even the most stupid traveller who enters the road that leads to Life shall not err in the way of righteousness" (Isaiah 35:8).
In John's Gospel Jesus explained to His disciples that while He was with them physically, the time would come when the world would see Him no more, but they would not be without consolation. "I will return in another form, and at that day you will know I am with you, even in you".
This promise began its fulfilment on the Day of Pentecost when He returned in Spirit form. In the form of flesh He could be present only so long as His disciples were gathered together in one location. But as Son of God, the Holy Spirit could be with and in every one of His saints in Spirit form through faith or understanding of the Word, twenty-four hours a day wherever they are (John 14; Galatians 3:2,14; I Peter 1:22-25; I John 3:9).
As Son of God He was Mediator between God and men from Pentecost to the end of the Laodicean Church Age. When Revelation 4 and 5 were fulfilled and the elders advertised for a Kinsman Redeemer He answered the call as Son of man, claimed the Title Deed to everything Adam had forfeited and loosed the Seven Seals, revealing how He had redeemed the New Testament saints in each Age.
In Matthew 24:36, Jesus told His disciples there were many things even He did not know at that time, and in Acts 1:6-8 He said it was not needful at that time for them to know when the millennium should commence, for the Gospel must first be witnessed to the Gentiles before the kingdom is restored to Israel. Thirty years later He signified the future two thousand years of Church history to John on the Isle of Patmos, instructing him not to write the Seventh Seal, which is the revelation of the previous Six written Seals whose mystery was disclosed by the voices of the Seven Thunders of Revelation 10:3-4. Thunder represents the Voice of God which spoke through each of the seven Church Age Messengers (John 12:27-29).
From the first three chapters of Revelation we learn Jesus did not immediately reveal all things to the early Church. Pentecost received the most important of all revelations—that of the Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, which would be lost by the martyrdom of the saints and buried under Roman dogma—but the mystery of God and future Church history was sealed to the time of the end. God anointed seven major apostles with seven different measures of the Spirit to deliver a portion of His Word to the saints of each Age. The "letter" to each of these "angels" was a prophetic Message for the churches of each dispensation. The elect Church received what the Spirit was revealing for their Age and were born-again when they "heard the Voice of the Son of God," while the nominal church without faith to "hear" came under condemnation by the "letter" only (John 6:24).
This confirms our understanding of John 5:24-26: "The hour is coming and now is, when those dead in sin and trespasses shall hear the Voice of the Son of God: and all who hear shall live. For as the Father has Life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have Life in Himself." From Pentecost to Laodicea, it was the revelation of the Voice of the Son of God that baptized the saints into the Body, and when they received the revelation for their day, Christ "winked" at their ignorance of "that which was complete" (Acts 17:30; I Corinthians 13:10).
Our FIRST birth brought us into the world physically; spiritually we were born dead in sins (Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:6). Jesus said, "My elect hear My Voice, and a stranger they will not follow . . . And all the Father has given Me will come." Only the elect can receive the Word for their Age. In each Church Age the wise and foolish virgins heard the "shout" of their Messenger, but only the wise received the Voice.
Throughout the Church Ages Christ was in the Office of Son of God as Mediator, Priest or Advocate, interceding for the ignorance of the fullness of the Word so the elect from Pentecost to Laodicea could be born again. He interceded for the Israelite majority during the first three Church Ages on account of "Jewish fables and commandments of men, that turn from the truth"; the Judaeo-Roman FALSE church that organized in AD325 martyred millions of Christians to enforce her dogma so that the pure faith was lost and He interceded for the ignorance of the Gentile majority of the final four Ages.
Like Israel the Church Ages ended in apostasy but God promised to "restore the apostolic faith and finish the mystery of God in the shortening of days"—our present holy convocation of His Supernatural unseen second Coming in W_O_R_D form (Matthew 24:22). (The Greek word for this Coming is 'parousia,' meaning His 'arrival and subsequent Presence,' NOT His physical return). Jesus said He would build His Church on the rock of Spiritual revelation of the Word which is faith (Matthew 16:13-20): this restoration was necessary because the Church Age saints cannot be glorified until we all come into the unity of the faith for the manifestation of the Sons of God. As the Word of God comes only to a vindicated prophet, the seventh angel of Revelation 10:7 was "Elijah the Prophet" of Malachi 4:5, 6b.
"Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he [John the Baptist] shall turn the hearts of the apostolic fathers to the elect children, [the Pentecostal saints who were the fruit of John the Baptist's ministry three years after Jesus' death (Malachi 3:1)], and the heart of the elect children to their apostolic fathers, [whose faith Brother Branham restored to Christ's end-time Bride (Matthew 17:11)] lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5, 6b).
"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 has declared to His servants the prophets" (Revelation 10:7).
The second Coming is Christ the fullness of the anointed W_O_R_D, NOT the glorified Man from Galilee. The revelation of the Seven Seals "finished the mystery of God" and introduced "that which is perfect [or complete]" (I Corinthians 13:10)—Christ the fullness of the Word who returned through the mouth of His Prophet. Like Israel the churches rejected Him in unbelief because they were looking for the M_A_N, which will be His THIRD Coming. How can they receive Christ without faith in His Word? They love their illusion of the historical Jesus but despise His unchanging Word because it condemns their sin. Those who cannot receive the Word of God are not His children (John 10:1-5; Romans 8:6-8; II Corinthians 4:3; Hebrews 12:8).
On Mount Transfiguration Jesus showed Peter, James and John a vision of the order of His second or 'parousia' Coming to Israel preceded by 'Moses' and 'Elijah.' These three witnesses represent 144,000 elect Israelites; the two witnesses who will reconfirm the New Covenant to Israel also represent the resurrected and translated New Testament saints seen with Jesus as His Wife (Zechariah 4; Revelation 11; II Corinthians 13:1; Daniel 9:27; Matthew 16:27 – 17:13; Revelation 19:5-18). Following the martyrdom of the two witnesses Israel will recognize Christ's second or 'parousia' Coming. His third Coming or second physical return will take place after the consummation, when together with the saints of all Ages He steps out on the ashes of the wicked for the Millennium (Malachi 4:1-3). The disciples asked Jesus, "Why do the Scribes say that the Elijah whom we saw in the vision should precede you?" Jesus replied, "This Elijah truly shall first come [with a Moses] before My glorified appearance to Israel, and he will restore all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. But I assure you the Elijah of Malachi 3:1 has come already and sealed his testimony in his own blood." Jesus identified John the Baptist as the Elijah of Matthew 17:1-9, 12-13 and distinguished John from the Elijah of Malachi 4:5, 6b and from the Matthew 17:11 and the fifth and final Elijah of Acts 3:21.
The Elijah of Malachi 4:5, 6b, William Branham (1909-1965), did not preach another gospel, for there is only one; nor did he add to Scripture. His ministry is clearly described by Joel, Malachi, Matthew and Revelation as restoring "the" one and only faith once delivered to the saints, and revealing the hidden mystery of the six written Seals by the spoken Word of the unwritten Seventh Seal (Revelation 8:1).
His Commission was to gather all the loose ends of doctrine not completely understood by the Reformers and to reveal the history of the Seven Church Ages concealed under symbols in the Book of Revelation. As Christ was the only one "worthy to read the Book or even to look thereon," this could only occur once the last saint predestinated to the Seventh Church Age was redeemed or baptized into the Body, thus fulfilling His ministry of Mediation. Can you see that Revelation 4 and 5 could not be fulfilled until all Seven Church Ages had come to pass?
Once the Church Ages were over, and they are, Christ opened the Book which has been sealed from the foundation of the world and revealed the perfect interpretation to the "angel" of the Seventh Church Age who delivered the full Counsel of God to His Church (Revelation 1:1; 3:14; 10:7). Because the Word has been sealed with Seven Seals the New Testament saints through the Ages had only "part" of Christ the anointed Word. Now since the Seals are open and the mystery is revealed, Christ is here and we have the perfect interpretation of the Word.
I Corinthians 13:10 is fulfilled: "When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." There is only One "Perfect," which is Christ the Word, and the Word comes only to a prophet. So "a" son of man, the earthly angel to the Laodicean Church Age revealed "the" Son of man, Christ the fullness of the Word. The Son of man is not "part" of the Word, He is the complete Word. Jesus is not a second or third "part" of God, He IS Emmanuel—the fullness of God with us, so in rejecting the seventh angel's Message ALL churches rejected Christ the Word; unbeknownst they "crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh" (Hebrews 6:8; Revelation 3:20).
Do you understand more clearly how we have shown that the second Coming was not the Word in the physical form of Jesus; neither was it Spirit in the Office Son of God. Brother Branham's Spoken Word declared the mystery of the voices of Seven Thunders John was forbidden to write. This unwritten Seventh Seal is the revelation of the previous Six written Seals that brought the Son of man back to earth in W_O_R_D form.
"But Brother, what about Zechariah 14:4, 'His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives . . .?'"
His precious feet will not touch this earth until the Millennium. That is a symbol for Israel as Revelation 10:1-4 is a symbol to us Gentiles. "Blessed are they that have not seen, yet have believed." The second Coming is Spiritual, it is the Word in the Office "Son of man," uniting with His Bride to fulfil John 17:21-23 and Ephesians 4:13 for the manifestation of the Sons of God. His THIRD Coming (or second physical return) will be the flesh Man in the Office of Son of David.
All four Gospels speak of the 'parousia' "Coming of the Son of man," and of the "revealing" or (Gk.) 'apokalupsis' of the Son of man at the end of the Church Ages. None of these prophesies refer to the physical return of the Man Jesus. The physical Coming will take place when He steps out on the ashes of the wicked after ALL life has been destroyed. The second physical Coming is when He leaves His Father's Throne in heaven to take up His Own Throne on earth for the millennium in the Office of Son of David when the kingdom of Israel is restored (Acts 1:6; 3:21; Revelation 3:21).
The second Coming at the end of Laodicea was not the Man from Galilee but Christ the Word, veiled behind a vindicated prophet revealing Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever, by the unmistakable Messianic sign of Hebrews 4:12: "discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart . . . as it was in the days of Lot" just before the Gentile cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Through this ministry God raised the dead, restored sight to the blind and performed more miracles than recorded in all the Bible, proving Jesus lives (John 14:12).
Just as God is not a trinity but One Person with three Offices or dispensation claims, can you see Son of man is not a second or third Christ but the SAME Jesus who returned at the end of the Gentile dispensation in another form with another Title, Office or dispensation claim before Fire falls and destroys this Gentile civilization? Like Israel, the church is following its own ideas instead of the Word when it fails to recognize He is no longer a Mediator in the Office of Son of God but has returned as Son of man.
He came as Son of Man to redeem His Bride, Son of God to intercede for the Church Age saints, Son of Man to incarnate the living saints with the fullness of the Word in the Rapture and He will return with His saints as Son of David to reign in the millennium.
Once the Seven Seals were revealed, Christ was no longer mediating for ignorance. As on Mount Sinai, once the full Word of Command was delivered He became Judge (John 5:27; Romans 4:15; 5:13; I Corinthians 13:10; Revelation 4:5). Christ had to return to His prophetic Office in order to restore the apostolic faith, reveal the Seals, indict the world of sin, then execute Judgment under the Sixth Seal, Seventh Trumpet and Seventh Vial, reconfirm His new Covenant to Israel and reveal Himself the same yesterday, and today, and forever through their two witnesses.
II Timothy 3 and 4 foretell end-time conditions in society and the church. Daniel was told to seal the vision and prophecy until the time of the end, so the end-time commenced in 1963 when Christ opened the Seven Seals. The Gospels also foretell the lawlessness of the end time. Possessed by the spirit of Laodicea, which means people's rights, every man does what is right in his own sight with no regard to God or His Word as it was in the days of the Judges.
Jesus described the Coming of the Son of man as "lightning" in a hypocritical day that is "neither light nor dark . . . lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,"—a time of lawlessness with no Absolute, no right or wrong—but "in the evening time [just before the end of the Gentile dispensation and total apostasy] it will be Light." When Paul met Him on the Damascus Road He was Light. In this end time He has returned as the Light of seven days—the Fullness of the revelation (Luke 17:22-24; Isaiah 30:26; Zechariah 14:7; Revelation 10:1-7). God is Light, the second Coming is not a Man but Light on the Word; the same Light of revelation which shone in the East in the morning of the Gospel has been restored in the West as a witness against the Christ-rejecting Gentiles (Matthew 24:27). The unveiling of the Seventh Seal brought Christ back to earth in W_O_R_D form.
Continuing His prophecy Jesus likened the days of the Son of man to the days of Noah, inviting us to compare current conditions with those that caused God to grieve forming man in flesh. Rather than taking dominion over animals, his animal flesh took dominion over man through lust (Genesis 6:3). The sons of Adam cohabited immorally with the daughters of Cain. God never forgave this sin and destroyed the world. Jesus said miscegenation between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of Adam would repeat at the end of the Gentile dispensation and foretold the advances we see in science and engineering, population increase and city building, for "as it was in the days of Noah so will the Coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37). Enoch's translation, Noah's deliverance and the consummation of life vindicated their Message. The translation of the Bride and consummation of life will be the vindication of Brother Branham's end-time Message. Despite the warnings and preaching, there is no repentance and the world will continue in sin until atomic fire destroys them all.
Jesus also compared end-time conditions with Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:28-37) and promised the Son of man will be revealed to Abraham's royal Seed, called-out and separated from the world. From this type in Genesis 18, we learn the Church will receive no further witnesses after the prophet of Malachi 4:5, 6b.
Veiled behind the flesh of a created man God revealed the secrets of Abraham and Sarah's hearts, proving He was the Word (Hebrews 4:12). Veiled behind the flesh of the virgin-born Jesus He identified Himself by the same sign at the end of the Law when Israel was apostate and knew it not. As He is no respecter of persons He promised to reveal Himself by the same sign at the end of the Gentile Age when the churches are apostate and know it not. Today homosexuality is rampant and openly accepted as it was in the days of Lot. Once again three angels have visited: the last messenger was the angel with a prophetic ministry of restoration to call the elect out of the Seventh Church Age into the holy convocation of the fiftieth day of the antitype of Israel's Pentecostal feast while two others ministered a basic salvation Message to the nominal church in Sodom.
God declared Himself to His elect at the end of the Gentile dispensation veiled behind the flesh of the prophet William Branham—a sinner saved by grace—revealing Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever by discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. He "finished the mystery of God" from the Serpent seed in the Garden of Eden to Satan's incarnation in "that man of sin, the son of perdition" when Satan is cast down to earth, and He restored the apostolic faith. The non-elect of the churches in Sodom have also received their two messengers—Billy Graham and Oral Roberts.
Christ's 'parousia' Coming was signified in the heavens by a mysterious cloud above Tucson Arizona on February 28, 1963. A hundred and fifty independent photographs were taken, many of which appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. Scientific articles were published in encyclopaedias and books on meteorology (Daniel 7:9; Matthew 24:29-30; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 1:7). God revealed this to Brother Branham by vision several months before the phenomenon. This Cloud, fifty miles above the atmosphere where there is no moisture was the Supernatural Shekinah that led the children of Israel in the first exodus. Scientists are without an explanation. The Son of man was revealed through the ministry of William Branham by the same signs which vindicated Jesus in the days of His flesh. The dead were raised on many occasions, the blind received sight, the deaf heard and the lame walked. This was not done in secret but before congregations of half a million. Following one meeting in Durban South Africa, the council removed seven truck loads of discarded cots, wheelchairs, crutches and similar aids from the meeting place which is the second largest race track in the world and the only venue that could accommodate the numbers.
God has always veiled Himself behind the flesh of men. Jesus was sent to declare the Father, not to make Himself known (John 1:18), and Brother Branham was sent to reveal the Son of man, not to promote himself. Not once did the sign of Hebrews 4:12 fail to reveal Christ in the prophetic Office Son of man, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Actions speak louder than words. Denominational people say, "We're looking for the Coming of Christ." But their actions prove otherwise and like the Israelites they are looking for the wrong Coming. But there is a people as Jesus described in Luke 17:30-37, one here and one there who are looking for the Coming of the Lord. These verses speak of His end-time Bride being called out of "her" the church, into "Him," the Word by the "shout, and the Voice of the Archangel." He only reveals Himself to those with faith to understand. Only the elect are called out of dead creed and tradition to gather around the carcass of the Living Body Word of the Lord Jesus and be caught into a channel of revelation like Job. When the inspiration struck his heart he said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).
Noah, Job, Abraham, the woman at the well and saints in every age saw God when His promised Word was vindicated. Today, God is calling His people out from every denomination into oneness with the Word for the manifestation of the sons of God. Before we can come into Christ the Word, we must come out of the Babel of denominational confusion—for how can two walk together except they are agreed on the Word (Amos 3:3)? Christ is not uniting with a denominational harlot; she is going to be burned. Christ is marrying a pure virgin without spot or blemish. He's gathering His people for the translation, two are in a bed—or church, a spiritual resting place—He'll take one and leave one, two are working in the mission fields, He'll take one and leave one, two are grinding—preparing to preach the Bread of Life, He'll take one and leave one. Where is He going to take them? He will take them to where the eagles are gathered together around the fresh Word of this Message, which is Jesus Christ. Denominations believe these verses speak of the physical resurrection from the grave but they speak of the Spiritual resurrection or new birth of Christ's end-time Bride. The rapture is a revelation.
Do you believe the God who promised these things has honoured His Word? You do if you are a Bible Believer and not a denominational. The old Methodists, Baptists and genuine Pentecostals of past dispensations longed to see these things. We believe the Word was made flesh in the days of the Gospel. And we see the Word made flesh in His promise today.
Brothers and Sisters, can you see how close we are to the going away? You who've put off the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, perhaps relying upon some sensation, the assurances of some old minister, or trusting some gift you have that Satan can impersonate, yet lack the real Spirit in you to go all the way in God's promises. How can a man who claims to have the Holy Ghost deny one Word of this Bible being "not right?" He can't do it!
No matter how religious you are and how many churches you belong to, if that genuine Holy Ghost is in you (which is this Word manifest) you will see the Message and the hour, because it's the Holy Ghost that makes it live. But the inspiration has to quicken it to you. No matter how much water you pour water on the ground, unless a seed has been planted there is nothing to bring forth.
The elect of God saw it in Noah's day, Moses' day, Jesus' day, the apostolic day, in Luther's day, Wesley's day and in the Pentecostal Age because they were foreknown as being on the earth when the inspiration was poured out for their day. Now the inspiration is being poured out to gather the Bride together and only the elect will receive it. Jesus said, "I thank You, Father that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes as will learn".
Once inspiration strikes and you have the revelation, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Are we living in a modern Sodom and Gomorrah? Is history repeating itself? It was a Gentile world that was destroyed by fire then. Jesus said in Luke 17:28-30, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be when the Son of man is being revealed" or made known! John the Baptist, Malachi, Jesus and Peter said, "The heavens and the earth which are now are reserved for fire" (II Peter 3:7).
Things that were hidden through the Church Ages are now revealed as God promised, and if He doesn't honour His Word It's no better than a man's word. He is His Own interpreter. He said, "A virgin shall conceive," and she did. He said, "Let there be light," and there was. We are not living in Luther's Age, Wesley's Age, or in the Pentecostal Age; we live in the evening time when the Bride is being called out. Jesus said He would return as Son of man in this day, and He has. He is here NOW; Christ is here in W_O_R_D Form.
It was hard for Catholics to see Luther; for Luther's followers to see Wesley's dispensation, and for Wesley's group to see the Pentecostal Age. Now it is hard for the Pentecostals to see OUR day. And if it is difficult for the Pentecostals, it is almost impossible for the Baptist, Methodist, Anglican and other denominations two, three or four dispensations behind God's Word to come out of Babylon into the glorious Light of "the present Truth." It has always been this way because the Spirit is poured out for an elected Seed and that only. The others might see but they cannot receive It.
Before the foundation of the world Jesus said "Let there be," and there was. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. But as many as did know Him, to them he gave the power to become the Sons of God." Later the very Creator Himself said, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming when all that are in the grave will hear the Voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth." The very God Who said "Let there be Light!" said, "The Voice of the Son of man will wake those that are in the grave." It has to happen in its season.
Now He is Son of man, not Son of God, the self same Person in a different Office for a different work.
The Son of Man is the W_O_R_D: the Seventh Angel's Message is the Son of man—Revelation 10:1-7. In Revelation 1:10-20 set at the end of the Age, we see one like the Son of man standing in the midst of the seven lamp stands. The symbol reveals the Son of man as Judge, girt about the breast with a golden girdle, and the elect Church drawn out of all Seven Church Ages: Jesus Christ impersonated in the flesh of His Church. I Corinthians 6:2, "Don't you know that the saints will judge the world"? The finished Body has grown into the measure of the stature of a perfect Man, the Fullness of the Word, fulfilling Malachi 4 and other Scriptures that promised a restoration of the Word in this day. The Bride and Groom will be one when the Seventh Trumpet sounds the fullness of the Gentiles and announces the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
Jesus Christ Who came as Son of man to redeem His Bride, then as Son of God to intercede for His Bride while the Book was sealed, has returned as Son of Man—the fullness of the Word—to unite with His end-time Bride for the resurrection, the manifestation of the sons of God, translation and glorification of His Bride of all Ages. Following the Wedding Supper of the Lamb in the Sky He will physically return the second time as the glorified Son of David accompanied by the glorified saints of all Ages to reign through one thousand years of peace. Is He not wonderful?
Once again, God bless you Brethren as you receive this Word with all readiness of mind and then search the Scriptures. Like Job, we are in the hour of crisis. If you have a genuine revelation like Job, you will hold to it although friends and family scoff and scorn your Jesus. If the church rejects this revelation because it condemns their creeds, they will reject the Word in you because the Life of Christ on display brings them under condemnation.
Have patience, pray and study your way through the centuries of learning and darkness into the Light of the Presence of the Son of man. Once you are united with Him, pass the faith to some poor soul ship-wrecked on life's boundless ocean. There is Life, there is hope and there is a God who has come a second time to impart His Life to His Bride. Since the Seventh Seal has been opened He will not tarry. Be patient, meet your outstanding debts, get your life in order and the inspiration will come. bb920428.htm
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