The Mystery behind the History of our Lives Pt.4
MATTHEW 12:40-42
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (A greater than Jonah, that was Christ – the husband, but if there is a greater then Him, then there must also be a greater than her – the wife, because the bible is the not just the mystery of the bridegroom, but it also reveals the mystery of the bride because the mystery concerns both Christ and His bride)
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
**If there is a greater than Solomon, then there must also be a greater then the queen of Sheba – so if God placed the history of Jonah’s life and Solomon’s life in the bible to foreshow the future events of the life of Christ, then He must have also placed the history of His bride in the characters of the bible also, that by the events of their lives He would foretell the events of our lives in this hour.
The Mystery behind the History of our Lives Pt.4
Recap a little from last week for the sake of the new people that are here…
MATTHEW 12:40
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
**We see how that Jesus was looking back to the events of Jonah’s life knowing that his life was paralleling the same events.
*So God knowing the future events of Jesus life was able to write those same events into the history of Jonah’s life and without Jonah knowing anything about it – and so that was the mysterious part of Jonah’s life that God was achieving supernaturally in his life – and this is showing us how God works supernaturally in our life also by bringing his word to pass in this day in and through our lives.
**You have heard the Eleazar call by the evening time well, you have met Boaz in the field at harvest time, you have seen the one like Sarah that revealed the secrets of the heart with his back turned to the tent in the time just before the destruction of Sodom – in the volume of the bible it is written of your life in this hour.
*When Jonah give his life for the sailors – that was Christ giving His life for us being written into the history of Jonah’s life.
*When Jonah was swallowed by the whale, that was Christ in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights.
* When Jonah was spat up by the whale onto the shore, that was Christ being resurrected on the third day.
*When Jonah went to the Ninevites (a gentile people) that was Christ in Paul going to the gentiles after the resurrection to bring salvation to the gentiles.
** When we read about the 7 church ages foretold in Revelation CH:2,3, almost anyone can study and learn the history of those church ages by reading church history books – but there was a mystery behind the history of the church ages that was sealed up under the first 4 seals of Revelation 6, and so it would take the breaking of those first four seals to show the mystery behind the history of the church ages.
*The mysterious part of the seven church ages was that the prophecy of the word concerning those age was happening all the time in the lives of the believers, yet without them being aware of it – in other words, God was directly involved in every detail to see that the prophecy of Revelation CH:2,3 became history in the lives of every individual believer of the seven church ages – it took every individual believer’s life combine with all the other believers to make up the complete history of the seven church ages.
*But it was only at the end of the seven church ages (when the Seals opened in 1963) that we could understand the real mystery of what the history books couldn’t tell us about the history of the church.
The opening of the 7 seals revealed the mysterious part that was going on all along.
**The church ages was the history, but it took the open of the seals to show the mystery of the history.
***Last week we looked briefly at Brother Branham’s life from his birth in 1909 to the time of his death in 1965 - that is a history of 56 years.
*But the supernatural part of his life was that many scriptures were fulfilled in the events of his life – and that was the supernatural part that was taking place all along throughout the history of his life.
**So this is exactly how the supernatural God deals with each one of us also, this is what is going on in our lives every day because there is a portion of the word for this hour that God is causing us to fulfil in our lives.
***As we follow Brother Branham’s life through the messages that he preached, he begins to show us the mystery of his life from the scriptures, he shows us how that he was Eliezer sent to get a bride for Isaac.
He showed us how that he was Moses that led a people in an Exodus – a third exodus.
He showed us how that he was the servant at supper time inviting the guests to the wedding supper.
He showed us how that he was the angel of Revelation 10:7 and that he was a son of man revealing the SON of Man of Revelation 10:1, because the same ministry of Christ was manifested in his ministry.
*All those things (by his preaching) he is seeing those portions of the world being lived out in his own life from his birth to his death – he was those portions of the word manifested in this day.
***And so in the same way that he came to realise his part for this day, we are also to realise our part of the word being lived out in the events of what we have gone though in the history of our lives.
MATTHEW 2:22-23
22 But when he (Joseph) heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
MATTHEW 4:13-16
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
MATTHEW 8:16-17
16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
MATTHEW 13:34-35
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
***The fulfilment of all these scriptures (and many more) was taking place all throughout the events of Jesus life.
So from Jesus birth to His death, the mystery of His life had been sealed up in the word in mystery form in the lives of many of the prophets and characters in the scriptures.
The events of Jonah’s life declared a portion of the life of Christ.
The events of Joseph’s life declared another portion of the life of Christ.
The events of Moses’ life declared a portion of the life of Christ.
The events of Boaz and King David, and Salmon’s lives all declared a portion of the life of Christ. It took all their lives to show the one great life of Christ.
MATTHEW 1:21-23
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
***When Brother Branham tells us that we must become the word in this hour, this is what he is speaking of – he is speaking of your life living out certain portions of the word just like Mary lived out her portion of Isaiah 7:14 – that was a portion of the word of God was allotted to her personally, so all the events of her life were working together to fulfil the word concerning the part of the scriptures that pertained to her life.
Study this closer…picking up from last week…
THE.SECOND.SEAL_ JEFF.IN TUESDAY_ 63-0319
180-1 {21} Now, last evening as we always like in teaching on the--on the Seals, we have--teach it the same way you do on the--on the--the church ages. And... When we got finished with teaching the church age, the last time when I drawed them out here on the--on the pulpit on a board, how many remembers what took place? He came right down, went right back there on the wall in a Light and drawed it off Himself, right there on the wall before us all. The Angel of the Lord stood right here before several hundred people. And now, He's--He's doing something real supernatural now too. And so we're just expecting great things.
**At the end of the church ages series, God supernaturally drew the seven church ages of the moons on the back of the wall for all the see – that was certainly a supernatural thing to everyone that witnessed it, but now during the preaching of the seven seals, brother Branham begins to recognize that God is also doing something very supernatural among the people, but you cannot see it in a way of the same type of supernatural of what you saw at the end of the Church ages – it was God bringing His word to pass for that time.
*So the prophet of God is recognizing that when God is bringing his word to pass, that that is a very supernatural thing that is taking place, but he also knows that God does it in such a way that to the untrained person it looks like just a bunch of random events that are happening by chance – but there is no chance involved, it is God directly bringing His word to pass in those events.
THE.SEVENTH.SEAL_ JEFF.IN SUNDAY_ 63-0324E
559-5 {264} .. Something going on, I told you, this week that you... It's been all around you, but I wonder if you noticed it.
… have you noticed the mysterious parts of this week? That's what it is. That's what it's been. It's been, not a human being, a man; it has been the Angels of the Lord.
But nobody saw Angels flying around during the opening of the seven seals, nobody saw an Angel writing the seven seals out on the back of the wall, yet this was one of the greatest events of God bring his word to pass of biblical prophecy – and yet only Brother Branham was seeing this as it was happening, but he kept is a secret until the seventh seal opened.
***So this is also what your life is like – God has been involved in every detail of your life to see that your life matches the prophecy of the word concerning the end time bride of this hour, this has been the great supernatural thing that he has been doing all through the years of your life from your birth until now, but you have not been able to see it because you have been looking at your life in the wrong way – you have been looking for visible Angels to appear before your eyes instead of the fulfilment of scripture in your life. Seeing God fulfilling his word in the events and circumstances of your life is the climax of the entire purpose of the bible.
***All these woman in the bible (that type the bride of this end time age) could not singularly showed the complete picture of the bride of Christ in this hour, but each one is showing a part of the great picture.
***Ruth showed a part of the bride of this hour, the queen of Sheba showed another part, Esther showed us another part, the queen in Danial 5:12 showed another part, Sarah showed another part, Abigale showed another part, Rebekah at the evening time well showed us another part, but in the volume of all their parts combined it showed the complete picture of the end time bride of this hour.
**So as a believer under the revelation of the message for this day, there has been an unseen hand that has been guiding you through your life, and so you cannot help but to have live out the portion of the word that you were ordained to manifest, and your part combined with all the other believers parts will fulfil all of what has been spoken of the bride for this day.
MALACHI 4:5-6
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 fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
***We know that Brother Branham came to understand his portion of the word that He came into the earth to fulfil, but it didn’t become clear to him all at once - God had to open this understanding to him little by little until he came to a faith and a confidence in the part of the word that he was, and so this understanding cause him to become aware as to the details of how God was involved in his life supernaturally, and so he would often noticed supernatural things occurring around him of what almost no one else would notice.
A.PARADOX_ PHOENIX.AZ V-19 N-1 SUNDAY_ 65-0117
31 Now, I'm--I'm... wore out one Bible, since I started in the healing campaigns, or praying for the sick, rather. At Houston, Texas, was given me a Bible, years ago, some eighteen years ago, by Brother Kidson and his group. And I wore that Bible, back and forth, around the world, until it just completely wore out, pages come out of it.
32 And I was just given a new Bible. And the strange thing... I am not superstitious; I hope you people don't think that it would be superstitious. When this Bible was given to me, they had a little... two little markers in it, little ribbons. It's a Bible like I had.
33 Brother Kidson gave me one was a Scofield Bible, now, not because that I agree with Mr. Scofield in his notes. Now, probably some of you do, some of you don't, but I just let you know that I just don't take Scofield Bible because I believe that. Because he has got it so paragraphed off. That was one of my first Bibles, and I just learned to read it like that. And I just keep the same Bible. Which, if I would have had the Thompson Chain, it would have been much better. I could have found my text much faster on a Thompson Chain Reference.
34 But when I opened the Bible, the first little ribbon in the Bible was a very strange thing, where it was. Was when Solomon dedicated the temple of God, and the Glory of God was so great, the Shekinah glory in the building, till the priests couldn't even minister.
35 And then the next string was laying where Ezra returned and dedicated the temple.
36 And the third little marker, that my wife had gotten me and put in the Bible, not knowing, with my name on it, and so forth, was laying to Mark 11:22. She just stuck it in the Bible, and that's where it was at. And that's, "If you say to this mountain, 'be moved.'" And all of you know when that Scripture was in my mind, you tape people, that's when those squirrels come right in, into that exactly.
37 And then the strange thing of it was, my favorite bird, robin, picture was on the marker, the little bird with the red breast. As the legend goes, that one time he was a brown bird; but there was a Man dying, one day, on a cross, and he felt so sorry for the Man till he flew in to try to pull the nails out himself, and he got Blood all over his little chest, and since then he's been a red breast. That's the way I--I want to meet my Saviour, too, with His Blood on my... inside my chest, on my heart.
38 And then my first meeting, Message I'm to preach in here, is at Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix is something that can raise up out of nothing. That's what God does. He takes nothing, raises up something out of it.
39 And my Message this afternoon, is titled, for the next thirty or forty minutes, "paradox." And I want to read from a Scripture that...
40 Few years ago, that, I would take a Bible, and let you hand me the Bible, when I first started my ministry; and just take your Bible, and many of you have seen me do it, just hold it open like that, and say, "Lord, where is the Message to me?" It opened to Joshua, the 1st chapter, any Bible that you would hand me.
**The message “The Invisible Union of the Bride of Christ” contains so many powerful statements that help to bring a greater clarity to the revelation of this day – so we want to walk through some of the statements of this message.
THE.INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE.OF.CHRIST_ SHP.LA V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125
59 And any son is the attributes of his father, and just as you were in the genes of your father, in the body of your father when he was a young boy. You were in him. Yet, he could not have fellowship with you, because he didn't know you. But then, through the bedding grounds of a mother, you were brought forth into the earth and become in the image of your father, then he could fellowship with you.
60 And so were you, sons of God and daughters of God, before there even was a moon, stars, or a molecule. You were sons and daughters of God, for you are only the physical manifestation of the attributes that was in God at the beginning. For, there's only one form of Eternal Life, and that was you, before. You don't know nothing about it. Neither did you know when you was in your earthly father, but you are manifested, too, in his image. In the image of God you are made, and you were manifested for the glory and the fellowship of God.
61 And, therefore, as sure as your gene had to be in your father, before your natural birth, your spiritual gene had to be in God, because you're an expression of the attributes of His thoughts, before the foundation of the world.
THE.INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE.OF.CHRIST_ SHP.LA V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125
202 Remember what, What Time Is It, Sir? How many ever heard it? Say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Was it exactly right? ["Amen."] Then we've got the revelation in this last days, for the Message of the Lord God to gather His Bride together. No other age has it been promised. It's promised in this age: Malachi 4, Luke 17:30, Saint John 14:12, Joel 2:38. Those promises is just exactly like John the Baptist identified himself in the Scripture.
203 Jesus identified Himself. What'd they say? "Away with such a person!" "John is a wild man." The church wasn't able to receive it. That's the pattern. Neither will the church receive it today.
204 But, to the Elected, God is calling to the Elected. They know it: calling the virtuous Bride, the Word, the last-day Church, the elected Lady of our Lord Jesus Christ, Word. If... Jesus is the Word. How many believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] All right. Then, the Bride is always part of the Bridegroom, so the Bride will not be a denomination. It'll have to be the Word, manifested, to be the Bride of Christ. He promised to do it. He said how He did. Never uses... loses His pattern. He always did it by the pattern. He done it, every time, by the pattern. He does it again, calling out His virtuous Bride in the last day, the lovely Rebekah waiting for Her Isaac.
THE.INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE.OF.CHRIST_ SHP.LA V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125
240 The anointed Word of God being vindicated before any man that's born to be a son of God, with the predestinated germ into him for this hour, he'll see God's Message as sure as there's a God in Heaven. Martin Luther saw It for his. Wesley saw It for his. The pentecostal saw It for his. Now what about you? See? They went into a denomination. Here is the Word condemning it; telling you what we're to have today, and just exactly Malachi 4 and all these other promises for the hour. What do you see? What are you looking at? Amen. Here we are. The real, genuine eagles hear. "My sheep know My Voice. The stranger they'll not follow."
241 Why? It was put in there by predestination. You were foreordained to a son of God. You were in God before the foundation of the world. You're only manifested in this day for His honor and glory. How can you do it without honoring His Word, and stand with every Word of God? Yes, sir. Which, you are a part of that Word, by predestination. Because, look, the God is the Word. You believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Well, then, if... He always was the Word. "In the beginning was the Word." And if the Word was God, then you were in God. The Word, the part that you're to play, was in God before the foundation of the world. He seen you. He knew you. He predestinated you to it.
242 I tell you, just as that eagle recognized that voice, so does a--a real, born-again Christian recognize the Voice of God speaking through the Word, when they see It anointed and a vindicated.
THE.INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE.OF.CHRIST_ SHP.LA V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125
268 Oh, that spiritual union of Christ and His Church now, when the flesh is becoming Word, and the Word is becoming flesh, manifested, vindicated. Just what the Bible said would happen in this day, it's happening, day by day.
THE.INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE.OF.CHRIST_ SHP.LA V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125
307 That's my Message to you, Church, you that's a union, spiritual union by the Word, that you're dead to these old husbands (your old husband is your old belief in the dogmas of man). You're born anew (you are born by the incorruptible seed by the revelation of the truth for your day). Don't try to dig him up. He's dead. If you're a born-again Christian, that little germ that was predestinated to you, it's Word coming on Word, on Word, on Word, on Word, and come into full statue of Christ, that's right, so He can come get His Bride. Now we're just ready for one thing, that's the Coming of the Lord.
308 There is your name on the Book of Life. The Book of Life is the Word of God, 'cause the Word is God, and God is the only thing that is Life. So your name was represented in the Bible before the Bible become on Word. And if you're here to do that, won't It vindicate that Word? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Won't the Church vindicate Itself? Won't Malachi 4, all these other things, perfectly, perfectly vindicate Itself and show that That's what It is? ["Amen."]
309 When Jesus come, He said, "If I do not the works is promised for Me to do, don't believe Me." (His work was to fulfil what was spoken of Him in all the types and shadows and prophecies of the Old Testament – and yet no one of that day could see this supernatural part of the mystery of His life of Him living out all those shadows and types being unfolded throughout the events of his life – but this was the work that he came into the world to perform.
**The fulfilment of your work is not about how good you are to the poor, or to go around healing people like Jesus did - that was part of His work – but your work is to manifest the part of the word that has been spoken of you concerning the manifestation of this end time bride that has been foretold in all the shadows and types and prophecies of the entire bible) Which one of the groups did He join? He said, "They all... You're of your father, the Devil, and his works you do." See? See?
310 We're in the last days, Church. That's my thanksgiving Message to you.
****So the fulfilment of scripture in your life is the mysterious and supernatural part that God has been bring to pass in the events of your life for this day, yet for most of your life you have been unconscious of it, because God hides your eyes from seeing it at first by the way that he does it so commonly by seemingly random circumstances as your life unfolds day by day, but then there comes a time that He wants to open your eyes to show you what He has been doing all along in your life and reveal to you who you really are in this hour.
***And so this is the knowledge (the knowledge of who you are) that He wants to make a reality to your understanding, and so He is doing that by the opening of the scriptures to you concerning your life like he did with the two on the road to Emmaus concerning His life, He wants to show you that you are the very manifestation of the word for this hour.
***The unfailing word of God has taken up residence supernaturally in the events of your life as a continuation of God’s life of the word for this day being interpreted in you.