Life Without Ceasing Bro. Lee Vayle May 23, 1973 Well, I'm glad to be back here after a long delay and constant postponements. That's how I pretty well operate anyway, I think you know that by now. I very seldom get around to see the people. But I'm glad to see new ones to know that you have heard what the Lord has been doing in this last Age, and have become a part of It. Of course it's according to pattern, the majority never do see, because they weren't meant to see, but always just a few who see the truth. And that's what counts is to have our faith based upon the Word of God. But, people believe a lot of things and unfortunately much of what they believe is based upon the Scripture, but it's a wrong understanding of the Scripture, and therefore the faith becomes void, it's void towards God. As the Scripture says, "In vain do you worship Me having for the doctrine the commandments of men." [Mt 15:9] And we need to be right on our doctrine. 1. Now, tonight I want to bring a message for want of a better title it's called, 'Life Without Ceasing', dealing with Eternal Life at this moment and after death, and in the Resurrection. And if you want to you may turn to the Book of John 11:25-26, [omit] It says here: (25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Our kind Heavenly Father, once more we approach Your Throne of grace and mercy at this time knowing that we have grace and mercy for every need, and our need tonight is that You should forgive us from every sin, make our hearts and minds truly receptive to the truth. And then, Lord, with it to make us such vessels as to be able to deliver truth, Lord, to the people that they might hear what you have indeed said, that it might not be something we've imagineed, or something we've gained wrongly from Your Word. But, Lord, that which is absolutely correct. And so, Father, we ask of these mercies in the Name of Jesus Christ, and believe that You've heard us and granted our petition. Amen. You may be seated. Now, Jesus spoke these Words to Martha at the grave side of Lazarus. And you will notice that Jesus actually expressed two thoughts here about those who believe in Him. When He says in verse 25, that those who die believing in Him would rise again in the Resurrection. They would live again. And then He continues and He elaborates in verse 26, He expresses the thoughts that all who believe in Him do not actually die, though the body goes to the grave. 2. Now, I want to first of all examine the thought as expressed in verse 26. And that is that the true believer does not actually die, even though he goes to the grave as far as his body is concerned. Now, if you turn to Romans 8:10, you'll find the confirmation of this. For It says: (10) And if Christ be in you, … Now, this of course is the rebirth, it's the baptism with the Holy Ghost, it's the placing in the body the Lord Jesus Christ. It's you identifying yourself with Him. It's the same Scripture that says, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." [1 Cor 6:17] Now: (10) …if Christ be in you, (this is a supposition. He goes on to say) the body is dead because of sin… It doesn't matter if you are born again you've got to die. "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment." [Heb 9:27] Eternal Life does not make us free from death physically here upon earth. We can be just as much born again as anyone can be born again, but we are not free from death. But, you'll notice the next portion says, (10) …but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (The spirit does not die.) 3. Now, man is a tripartite being. He's a tri-unity, he's triune. He's got a body, a soul and a spirit. And there's only two parts of you that is redeemed at this day upon earth. Redemption belongs at this moment to your spirit and to your soul. It's in the spirit and the soul that the Spirit of God giving Eternal Life. The body is actually glorified to the status that it is the temple of the Holy Ghost, but this does not deny the fact that the body must die. Now, here you have a clear cut statement showing what Jesus said in John 11:26. If Christ be in you, you can be born again. You can be an absolutely a perfect Christian, but you're going to die, because sin is in the body. The body must die because of sin. But the spirit of a soul do not die, they're given absolute Eternal Life as we're joined to Almighty God by the rebirth, or by the Holy Spirit, (call it what you want, it's all the same) and that will go on living regardless of the state of the body. 4. Now, there can be no death to the inner man according to this thought as we find also in the Book of Revelation 14:13. (13) And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. Now, they've evidently gone to some place and they're resting, and their works follow them. There in a place where they're not doing manual labor, or trying to sustain themselves, or doing the things that we are used to doing. But they are someplace and they are resting, and they will wait of course until God desires to bring them forth. 5. Now, further proof of this is found in 2 Corinthians 5: and we read about the first five verses to understand It. (1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,… Now, Paul says, here in Corinthians what he says in Romans. "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin." There is a dissolution that takes place, a dissolving, a dying. (1) For we know… Now here is a grand revelation, many people don't know. There's much of the Scripture that people know theoretically. And thank God even though they know it only theoretically and God will still back it up. But these people in Paul's day, they had a very genuine revelation concerning Eternal Life, and concerning life after the body goes in the ground. And Paul says: (1) …we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, (and it will be) we have (already) a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now, It says, (2) For in this (house that's being dissolved, we're dying) we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of (his) Spirit. And you'll notice in that 5th verse, (the last part) where It says, "That God has given us the earnest of the Spirit," coincides directly with what It says in Romans 8:[10] again. "Though your body is dead because of sin, and the spirit is life because of righteousness." The Holy Spirit is given as the guarantee that man will not die, or ever lose his identification with Christ. Or ever lose his actual union with Christ, lose anything whatsoever that is given to him by Almighty God. 6. Now, I'm going to work on this in a minute here, but hold your finger there, and you might go back to John 10: and you'll notice in verses 27-28. (27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man (or any, the word man is not in the Greek) any pluck them out of my hand. In other words, there is no power whatsoever that can separate anybody that is truly joined to Jesus Christ. Now, in the English we say, "they shall never perish." If we want a double emphasis sometimes we say, "it shall never ever occur." But in the Greek it doesn't act that way, there's always a triple negative. "They shall never, never, never perish, and no man shall ever take them away from God." Now, the Spirit of God is given to us in order to guarantee that we will never ever, be separated from God again. Once man has been joined to God by the baptism with the Holy Ghost it is utterly impossible for that person to be separated from Him, even though the body died. The fact that men's body die is not a mark of anger of God against the individual. It is simply that this is God's way of doing things. Because as I said awhile ago, "His salvation is for the spirit and the soul." And the redemption which is later for the body, does not occur until the Resurrection. 7. Right now we have been redeemed as slaves out of the market place. But you'll notice the thought of the redemption of slaves out of the market place has to do with the will. And the will does not lie in the body, but the will lies in the spiritual part of man, which is in the spirit and the soul. So man has been redeemed from the thralldom of sin, so that he can never be separated from God. But he must die as far his flesh is concerned, but God has guaranteed of course a resurrection later on. 8. Now, you'll notice in here It says, "If this earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved. And it will be dissolved we have already a building not made with hands eternal in the heavens." [2 Cor 5:1] Now, why does It say, "the body is not made with hands?" Because our bodies are not made with hands. Our bodies come by means of a natural system of procreation that is in this world. But, you go back to Adam, and the body of Adam was made with the hands of God, because God formed the body out of the dust. Now, these bodies here that we live in, therefore are the formed of the dust tabernacle, formed by hands. But, when you come to this one, which is reserved in heaven and waiting for us, this one was never formed by hands. This one was never made by dust. This one was spoken into creation by Almighty God Himself. So, this body is in the heavens waiting for us. 9. Now, It says, "We are groaning in this body." And we desire to be clothed upon and not to be unclothed, that we don't want to be found naked. We want mortality to be swallowed up of life. Now, right away people think that mortality to be swallowed of life, means that this is part of the Resurrection. This is not a part of the Resurrection. This is that body that according to Bro. Branham, which he called a 'theophany', which is wrong. Let's face it. A theophonic body comes from two words. 'Theo', which means God, and 'phaneroo' which means 'to show forth'. This is not a body of God in the sense of the word that Melchisedec came upon earth in that particular body, that we would be able to call it that, because we are not God per-se. But, it's identified with it, because it would be of the same substance and there's no terms that you could use other than what Bro. Branham used. Unless you use this one here, and call it a body, which is from heaven, or a spirit body, because that's what it is. It's something made in Heaven, it's something spiritual, it's something created by God, it was Spoken into existence. Difficult to describe, no one understands it. 10. And when you leave this life here, you will not lay down your life in the sense that now you are still mortal. It's not so, because leaving here to go where God will have you to go, (where the Bible says, it's in the heaven where this body is, so you'll naturally go there someplace in the heaven) you will now not encounter any longer any phase of mortality. You will have passed a hundred percent from that which could have had, and did have any influence whatsoever upon you. There'll be no influence anymore whatsoever. There'll be nothing that could bring death as far as the soul is concerned. There'll be nothing that could bring death as far as the body is concerned. You will have gone to a place in a status where there will be no holds whatsoever upon you that you know in this life which are demeaning, or derogatory, or in any way whatsoever would cultivate that which the Scripture abhors. You will have passed into a state of immortality on that ground. In other words, there will be no possibility, (as I mentioned) of any extraneous force, is there any force whatsoever ever dealing with you, other than the true Presence and power of God, which will lead you on and on, and on, until you come to the end which is a new kingdom in the new heavens, and the new earth under New Jerusalem. Which we'll discuss later. But that's what this thought is here. It hasn't got to do with the Resurrection. Just because the thought there is mortality swallowed up, a people automatically think in terms of the body. That is not so. 11. Now, notice what the Scripture says here. It says, "He that has wrought us for the selfsame thing is God." [2 Cor 5:5] It tells you here that before there was a speck of stardust, and before there was one person that would receive the Holy Spirit, that would receive eternal life from God, perfect union with Him, before that occurred It says here: that this was the purpose of God. God had already laid out His purposes. They were thoroughly defined like a great architect drawing up a blue-print, there wasn't one thing that was done until it was absolutely thoroughly approved by Himself. Now, It says here that the One who wrought us for this purpose is God. Now, what was that purpose? It is to put on that celestial body. That's a good word for it, that celestial body. Now, God had that celestial body for someone to put on. Now what's He going to do? He is not going to give that just to anybody. He is going to give it to the Bride who was thoroughly identified in Jesus Christ Who has that same body. Now, it won't be like His see, but has the same body for the purpose of physical manifestation of Godhead as in the days of Abraham in Melchisedec in the One that came down with the two angels. But, we bypass it. (See?) We were there as sons of God. This may jar some of you, because this is so foreign to anything you ever heard, but that's alright. There's lots of things we haven't heard. (See?) But we're going to find out. But, we bypass that body, which Christ did not. 12. Now, at this point there is no remembrance of that whatsoever. (See?) But God wrought it for a purpose. (See?) Now, what is the purpose of God? That He may manifest all of His attributes and become indeed God in a full panoply of His wholeness, (see?) what He was. Now, this was necessary. Now then, because man has gone this route of sons of God dying in sin in the flesh, He has already waiting for them that which they bypassed. You understand it? That's okay if you don't, you got to believe It. You say, "Do you understand?" I don't understand nothing, I'm just telling you. I don't have to understand it. I don't have to understand this microphone to use it, I'd be pretty stupid not to use it if they had a good reason to use it. So, here's what it's saying here, that God had this already purposed. And now there's nobody who is a child of God who has any fear of death, because you can't be lost if you tried. (See?) That's sounds very strange, but it's alright, just keep it, because it's alright. Because no man can pluck you out if it…no, nothing can separate you from God. (See?) 13. And God wrought this and was already lined up so that man could leave here and go to that which is waiting for, which was a Word created body. (See?) Not now, one which is formed by something which has been created. See, this is something which is beyond, or a head-up previous to what we call 'the original creation' of even Genesis 1:1. Of course Genesis 1:1 is a kind of a tricky verse, It doesn’t say, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." Says, "In the beginning of the creation of God." See, that was one of the creations. Well, what I'm talking about now will predate all these creations, you see. And remember, if Christ is at the beginning of the creation of God, then if we identify with Him, we had to be there in this. (See?) Because the beginning signifies that there is a progression which is to follow, as well as an ending which there will be. So, God wrought us for this very same purpose. Now, this Scripture as I said has been very mysterious to people, because they want to put it in the resurrection rather than to realize that this is what happens to us as saints of God. We do not become unclothed. In other words, we lose no sense of reality, because we're used to the fleshly sensation which brings us a sense of reality. But, there's no loss of it though the body's gone, dissolved, eaten by lions, burnt in fire, or so on. Wasted by cancer, tuberculosis, all those diseases. Gone in the grave, and there it goes back to ashes and dust and so on. The man himself has already gone to take up in his abode in that which was waiting for him way, way before the ages. (See?) 14. Now, there will not be any eating or drinking in this body, or even will anybody be in the Presence of Christ. Now, that's a very strange Scripture. I mean, a very strange thought, because many people feel that the minute you leave here you go to the Presence of God and the Presence of Christ. This is not so. Now, you remember when Bro. Branham has his vision, 'Beyond the Curtain of Tim. The holy messenger said to him when Bro. Branham said, "I want to see Jesus." He said, "You cannot see Him. You cannot go to Him, but He will come to you." Now, we go to Scripture to prove that the prophet's a vision was a hundred percent correct. In even in the face of the fact that Paul said that he wanted to depart and be with Christ, which was far better than staying here. Now, you can as the expression is, "glob on to that, and you'll come away with the wrong doctrine." Because many times Scripture, though spoken bluntly doesn't say what the average mind thinks It says. (See?) 15. Now, let's go and prove that Bro. Branham's vision was a hundred percent correct. We go to Revelation 4:2. (2) …immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. (3) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Now, you know that's not a picture of Jesus standing there. That's not a man, or sitting there. (4) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; they had on their heads crowns of gold. (5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and…(and so on, there was) the Seven Spirits… (6) …before the throne there was a sea of glass…(and) four beasts… (7) …one) like a lion…(one) like a calf…(one like) a face as a man, the fourth beast like a flying eagle. (8) (…they had these) six wings…and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (9) And (then the) beasts give honour and glory to him that (sits upon) the throne… (10) (And) the four and twenty elders (they) fall down before…the throne …and cast their crowns (down, and they worshipped) saying, (11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Now, where is Jesus? He's not there. He's behind the Throne on the Mercy Seat where the body has been raised up as a memorial for He is Mediator and Intercessor. (See?) But, this is God, the Holy Spirit which always was seated on that Throne. And what you see here in my mind without a doubt is a Pillar of Fire. Because It has the same as it were 'attributes'. 16. Now, notice there are no saints here. The four and twenty elders are the twelve Old Testament patriarchs, and the twelve New Testament apostles. But, there are no saints. Jesus is not there, He's behind the Throne. So, where are the saints? They're someplace else. Now, let's further find out, we go to Revelation 6:9 here under the Fifth Seal. (9) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and the testimony which they held: All right, where are they? They're not before the Throne. They're under the altar. That's another picture entirely. Remember, there was no Throne when it came to the tabernacle. There was the holy of holies, but there was no Throne. Here you've got a Throne scene. Here in the Fifth Seal where the elect Jews are, the souls are crying out, they've come in by election, blinded. (See?) Now, they're not before the Throne. Now, just visualize. You say, "Well, they're under the altar." Well, what's an altar like? Well, it's a large structure made of brass and minerals and metals. And underneath in there is a place where the ashes are gathered, well the souls wouldn't be there. And I'm giving you my version of it. (See?) And to be under the altar then would be those be lower than the place where the altar was. So, they're not there either. (See?) They're not in the Presence of God. 17. Now, let's just find out where those saints come in the Presence of God. We go to Revelation 7, now watch.: (9) (And) after this… After what? After the sealing in of the 144.000. See, the Bride's done took away now, she's gone. Bride's been taken away. (9) …I beheld, (a crowd that nobody) could number, of all nations, kindreds, people, tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb… There you are. There, they are there. Where? That's after the White Throne judgment, Or a mixed multitude, put them in the Millennium, put them anywhere you want. But you can't put them before the Throne before the time. They just aren't there. So, you can see that Bro. Branham's vision was absolutely perfectly correct. And they don't go to be in the Presence of God before the Throne. They don't go to be with Jesus, they go to a paradise. They go to one of the heavens. Seven heavens. Paul was caught to the third. Are the heavens reversed? Seven, six, five, four, three, two one, or: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven? I believe it's a, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven order. See, what I understand Bro. Branham taught. 18. Now, let's go a little further to prove how Bro. Branham's vision was absolutely perfectly correct. Even without these Scriptures. Okay, we go to 1 Thessalonians 4: see, no vision is worth a snap of your finger, unless there was a Scripture. It wouldn't matter who had it. (See?) You can't put any faith in it, you can't build on it. Now, here's the Scripture verse 14. (14) …if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now, put a little tiny dot in there, where It says, 'bring', or just write past the word 'bring', and pen in 'f-o-r-t-h'. It's been left out. Bring forth, not bring with Him. God brings forth, as God brought Jesus Christ forth from the dead. (See?) The first begotten from among the dead. So, in the First Resurrection will God bring forth the same as He brought Jesus, raised Him from the dead. He will bring Him forth. Now, let's prove this is right, that the translation is wrong. Let's keep reading. [1 Thessalonians 4:] (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not (go before) them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (Now) (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them… (where?) to meet the Lord in the air:…(so, they are not with Him.) Never had been with Him. See, so you can't take one Scripture that Paul was saying, (see?) and say, "Well, I'm in a straight betwixt too, whether I should depart and be with Christ which is better for me, or remain here and help you. (See?) What did he mean by the fact that he can depart and be with Christ? Just what we're talking about here in this body. 19. Then we who have bypassed what Bro. Branham called the theophonic body, which is a good expression, or celestial body, that one. Now, our opportunity is to go to it and to have what he used here on earth as God manifested and veiled in that particular celestial body. (See?) And you're going to a place where you don't have any of the thralldom of human substance, and whatever it creates pressuring you and bearing upon you. Now, you must say, "Well, what about those twelve elders you said that those are…Bro. Branham said that they were twelve New testament apostles, Peter, James, John and Paul and the rest of them? Well, if this is the vision, which I don't know it could be, well because he certainly had visions in the spirit, he's caught up to see things which could happen. Whether God has allowed the twelve apostles to be before the Throne at this minute, this would qualify Paul for saying, I want to go and be before the Throne where I saw myself in a vision. Or maybe not, I don't know. But I know one thing, which is very, very true, we don't go there. Now, Paul could have gone, I got no fight with Paul. But there's no Scripture that says we go. We go to the purpose of God, and God cannot violate His Own Word which is His purpose stated. We leave here to go to this little beautiful temple that God has waiting for us. 20. Another point to prove it, is found over here in 2 Corinthians 11:2, and Paul says, (2) …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 Well, how in the world can Paul present a Bride as a chaste virgin if she's already been presented? And you don't have to help me get a suit of clothes that I've already got. You don't have to help me get a meal that I've already enjoyed. Well, how in the world can we be in the Presence of Christ and yet to be presented? It won't work. (See?) We go to paradise and there in the presence of each other we will enjoy ourselves immensely. Now, this is why Jesus said that we would not die. He said, "He that lives and believes in Me, would not die, because they do not die." [Jn 11:25b] In other words, there is never a time when consciousness ceases from the individual. Consciousness ceases from the body, but not the individual who lives in the body. There is no fear of death to a child of God. Now, Bro. Branham said until he had this vision and its understanding he lived in fear of death. (See?) He thought, "Well, when I go I'll be a spirit that disembodied. Maybe I'll just be floating around some place like a little cloud." He said, "See Bro. Neville go by and say, 'hi', as Bro. Neville goes by." 21. Well, I never did that that kind of an understanding myself, but I can well understand how people could have it. Because they've so thoroughly misunderstood the purpose of God in this direction. (See?) Now, there is no fear for a child of God, because the Scripture says, "You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear." [Rom 8:15a] Now, what is that fear? It's over here in Hebrews 2:13-15 (13) And again, (I'll) put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (14) Forasmuch then as the children… Now watch, "forasmuch then as the children." Now listen, are you listening? Now, you're really not. No you ain't. I'm glad you say, 'amen'. It means you think you're listening, but you're not listening. Let me ask you something: can I eat a meal before I am here? You put a meal on the table, say, "Well, Bro. Vayle, eat a meal." I can't do it until I'm here. Right? Then I partake of it. In other words I have got to be someplace in order to partake. Is that right? Is that right? Are you sure? Are you? Do you believe it? You're puzzled. Stay puzzled I don't mind. 22. Let's go over it again. Look, I am here, you put a meal there for me. See, right? I want to partake of that meal. Is that right? All right, before I can partake of that meal, I must be an entity to partake of it. Right? (See?) You want me to eat it, right? But I got to be a person to eat it, is that correct? Let's read It again then: (14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,… They must have been somewhere to be children who would partake of flesh and blood. Now then, where's your theory that we're just born? Where's your theory that God just knew things. Where's your theory that you weren't someplace before when God said to Job, "Where were you when all the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God clapped their hands and danced and rejoiced? [Job 38:] If you were in Christ before the foundation of the world, where were you? Well, come on. He said the children were destined. Not that He was going to have children, (see?) although that's true in a limited sense. But, when He elected, the word means 'to make choice from amongst many'. That's before the foundation of the world. You already were, but you have no memory of it? You bypassed it. (See?) 23. This isn't too hard to understand, we may touch it later on. People get so fogged down. What's to get fogged down about it. You are nothing but an infinitesimal speck from two people, a sperm and an ovum. Everything you are was right in there. That's right. The little lemon seed has in it already before it's planted every single lemon that lives are on that tree, though there be one million, or one billion. (See?) The full fledge reality in God before the manifestation came into existence in an area. It doesn't say, because now there's a manifestation in this area, than there wasn't in a previous manifestation in another area. Levi in the loins of Abraham three generations back. Well, we'll hit some more of this when we get to the Lamb's Book of Life. But in the mean time I just want to pass it on to you. See now, we'll keep your thought. (14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death… What kind of death? In the flesh. That's what we're talking about, the spirit and soul doesn't die. (See?) Certainly not. Adam had to die in his body, but the minute that he sinned God had a propitiation to save him in the realm of the spirit and the soul. The sacrifice didn't save the body. The body is expendable, because you partake of it temporarily. (See?) Now, It says, (14) …through death he might (not) destroy, (but bring to nothing) him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; What was it? It was the fear of death. The myth based upon the misunderstanding of what this is all about. (See?) What is it all about? The eternal celestial substance waiting for us that we bypassed. Now we're going to it. God wroughted for this very same purpose. All right, there can be no fear of death, "for we have received the spirit of adoption, (so we have no fear of death) whereby we cry our Father." [Rom 8:15] (See?) 24. Now, until a person is born again he doesn't realize that God was his Father. (See?) Because the partaking of the flesh and blood that puts the body in sin, (which is death's doom) has not got a consciousness of God. It's only got a sensate consciousness of God, but it can't have reality. (See?) The only part of a man that can have reality is his spirit and soul, and God has ordained that that one will never die. (See?) Now, here's why we can read tonight with some better understanding and previously Romans 8:38-39. Paul said: I am persuaded…"we know that if this earthy house were dissolved we have in the heavens a body not made with hands," [1 Cor 5:1] made by creative Word, see waiting for us. Now he says here: [Romans 8:] (38) I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any (creation whatsoever, see?) shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now notice, he puts it in the future. Why? In order to dissolves men's doubts concerning eternal security. The believer is secure because his salvation does not depend on what he does, but who he is. See, that's the whole picture. 25. Now, we are sons of God. Notice what Jesus said in John 11:11, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." Certainly, for when one passes on from this life, (the body is laid down) he merely is a man asleep concerning this earthly life. But he's not asleep concerning the heavenly. He is alive and he is awake in his temporary abode where all the redeemed are waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. Let's prove it further. Jesus said so Himself in Matthew 22:31 (31) But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have (you) not (heard) that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, (32) I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. So therefore, Abraham is alive, Isaac is alive, Jacob is alive, and so is every elected son of Almighty God alive. But he's not alive in a human body, he's alive in a better body under a better condition. And this 'aliveness' that he has, or life, and the situation in which he finds himself relating now to the body, there can never be a cessation, or a separation from it. Why? Because you had them swallowed up into an absolute another phase concerning Almighty God. (See?) 26. All right, now when one leaves the earthly body to become a true spiritual citizen, he will not go through a period of development to fit him for the kingdom. Now, many people have that idea. They say, "Well, I didn’t live too good here, so the Lord will have to train me up when I get to the other side." Now, that's nonsense, there's nothing to it. When you die the shape you go to Him, that's the shape you are, period. You're either born again, or you're not born again. (See?) And if you're not born again, you are going to have to face the White Throne judgment, and be placed according to your revelation of life and what you did with it. No second chance. If people think that's a second chance that's nonsense, that's no second chance. (See?) But nothing you can do about it. (See?) There is no future development, there's nothing to develop into. What it is, the circumstances and condition are made more glorious around you, but as far as you are concerned you have arrived. (See?) "He that is righteous is righteous still, he that is filthy is filthy still." [Rev 22: 11] Now, that refers of course to the Rapture, the Resurrection, and the Rapture, the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, It also refers to the fact that there's nothing you can do about the fact once you've passed on. It's all over as far as that's concerned. 27. Now, people think, "Well, there sure should be something where there is development, on the grounds that one little baby dies, and if that baby has drawn a breath and has cried, that baby has a spirit and soul." Now, according to Bro. Branham, "if that baby has never cried, never breathed, it has no personality. Even that which is in the womb that we call alive, and doctors have erroneously called a life, are merely nerves and muscles." Now, that's a hard one to swallow. I'm not here to explain it, I believe it. Prophet said so, he ought to know. If he doesn't know, who's going to know? (See?) Now, here's the thing. That little baby that drew a breath is dead. May a three year old child, four year old child. Now, since the sins of the world were laid upon Jesus, that child couldn't possibly ever be judged. (See?) That's the sovereignty of God. We know that there's no problem there, that child is alright. But, does that child then have to go through a process where he grows up? All right, let me ask you a question: Are we under that definition, (even babies) sons of God, or are we not? Because you couldn't make it if you weren't a son of God. That's election. The question then comes: was Adam and Eve, were they ever children? They never were. Now, the reason I'm talking this way is because many people have their own ideas about the Bible, and therefore they add to it. 28. Now, I remember years ago, old Daddy Bosworth he was one of those men that he believed all things and that's good, because love believeth all things. But, I guess I'm not too loving, because I don't believe all things, period. So, one day he said, "Bro. Vayle, did you ever read that book 'Intermereoff'? [correct title??] I said, "No." "Oh, (he said) that's a beautiful book you'll love it. Two sweet little ladies. They had some wonderful visions of the future." And I was always interested in those things, and I still am to a point. Although I must say it's dwindling. I said, "Oh, I'd like to get the book." Oh, he didn't have it. So, one day a lady said to me, "Did you ever read the book 'Intermereoff'? That was when I was in West Palm Beach, Florida. And I said, "No." She said, "I've got it, you can borrow it." Well, it turned out someone borrowed it, and she didn't have it back. So, one day I saw an ad in the paper from the C.C. Cook company in Chicago that deals in fundamental, so called fundamental literature, and they had the book for sale. So, I got it. And I found to my dismay that it wasn't anything that two sweet little ladies received by the Holy Ghost. But the two sweet little old girls [blank spot on tape] are dismayed that it wasn't anything that two sweet little ladies received by the Holy Ghost. But the two sweet little old girls completely duped by the devil and got a hold of, and got into a bit of spiritism. [blank spot] And in there they had female angels raising babies. Now, there ain't no female angels. That's why…[blank spot] they don't have any sex. And if they did, they'd be males, because they come in the masculine. But their sex was as far as any act was concerned, because there's no physical body to them. They're spirit, their celestial bodies, they couldn't do a thing like that. (See?) It's ridiculous if anybody thinks so. Many people think so, but they're wrong. 29. So, there is no place where we a have growth department in the kingdom. There's not one Scripture for it. That's why when Bro. Branham saw his daughter, he didn't recognize her, because she was about nineteen years old. Now, everybody who departs this life, no matter how old you are, how young you are according through the Scripture and the vision, (which evidently was more than a vision, was a glimpse of reality) everybody will be in the realm of the height of exuberance of age, (which is sixteen to nineteen) they will absolutely be in that category. And Bro. Branham saw the women with their hair down to their hips, he saw men with shoulder length hair. Oh that's fine, some people get an idea from that you're supposed to…women are all supposed to let their hang down. That's nonsense. The prophet said, "The best way to keep your head cool is to put your hair on top of it." (See?) All of a sudden people say, "Well, he saw their skirts down to their ankles, so therefore you should put your skirts to your ankles. The prophet said, "Put them down past the knee." You say, "Why don't men let their hair grown down to here?" Because it's a spirit. If it was a spirit of God doing it, I'm for it. But the spirit of the world sets a trend, and you show me one person full of the Holy Ghost that's started the trend, letting his hair grow down? You can't find one. You know where it came from. So, cut your hair where it belongs. (See?) Simple as a-b-c. 30. So, we don't have these growth areas that people think about. And the reason I'm mentioning this is, it's to get you a hundred percent on the Word, and don't destroy yourself and go to the great tribulation by adding to the Word. Because if you add a purgatory, or a limbo, or a growth department, which is what the Protestants did, the Catholic's got their limbo's and their purgatory, but the Protestant's got their growth department. How can anybody who adds one word escape the tribulation? They can't do it. Now, I'm not fussing at anybody. I'm talking to you, because you're under my ministry. What anybody does is his own business. That's alright by me, believe what he wants, but you're here to be taught what the Word of God says, what the Word of God really is. And there are no growth departments brother/sister. Now whatever. A son of God is a son of God. And that means he's a mature person. And so therefore, there will be none of these mystical foolish things that people are supposed to have had a vision about, and it's not in this Word, but actually it's contrary to It. Now, the New Testament saints have been enjoying paradise for nearly two thousand years. That's right. But soon there will come that day when verse 25 will be fulfilled, which is, when Jesus said, "He that dies will raise again." (See?) 31. Now, that's whose bodies went to the dust will come back for the same bodies now changed. The person left his body is going to come back for the same body, but changed. Okay, let's read It. Job 14: and then Job 19: These are Scriptures that Bro. Branham used, so we're going to use them. All right, we're going to read here starting in [Job 14:] verse 1. (1) Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Now, that a might clear statement. Now, how else are you born except by a woman? There's no other way to get born. So, the Bible says here, "you've got a few days here on earth and it's full of trouble." I don't care how fine a life anybody leads, it's got a lot of trouble in it. Now: (2) He cometh forth like a flower…(oh, everything looks good, hand- some, rugged, maybe virtuous, beautiful, see, strong) and is cut down…. (See?) Just whack. You say, "My goodness me, isn't it tragic that such a fine person dies? It certainly is tragic. It's just as tragic such as an awful horrible person dies too. Like just "cut down." Notice the expression, 'cut down'. (2) …he fleeth also as a shadow,…(notice, man running from life. Running from life, but trying to live life, fleeing like a shadow, whew, passes out) …continueth not. (3) And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? (4) Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? …(Nobody that's born of woman is clean.) Now, you see, if this wasn't where the original sin was, how come that birth is unclean? (See?) If this was the law that God laid down, then there'd be a purity and a sanctity attached to it that would bring forth a clean vessel. You can't tell what the sin of the serpent and Eve was, there's something wrong, somebody's head. Nothing wrong with people who believe right. It's wrong with people who don't believe right. See, they don't want to believe right. 32. Now: (5) Seeing his days are determined,…(there you are.) Oh say, Adam he lived to be close to a thousand. But Methuselah beat him. Adam, nine… thirty. Methuselah nine…sixty-nine, and so on. He didn't live out a thousand years. Then God begin cutting them down. Or, to this fellow lived there's a record in China that this man lived two hundred and fifty six years. Yeah, but he died. Oh, say in Russia, in Azerbaijan and those places where they got them a hundred and fifty years old. Yeah, but they're dying. Their days are still numbered. Their months are determined. God set a bound, and you can't pass by. What's a bound? It's death. The boundary is death whether you die at two years old, one day old, a hundred and fifty years old, or you could live on by some gimmick to say even three hundred years old, you're going to die. There it is, see? Now, verse 6 (6) Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. Man working out his day. The very best, it's just like working for your living. Well, we do work for a living, we're supposed to. Now listen to verse 7. (7) For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and that the tender branch will not cease. (8) Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; (9) Yet through the scent of water (sprinkle that thing with water, it'll) bring forth boughs like a plant. You can look out here and see, and cut a tree down, it'll grow again. (See?) Plant down your plants, they'll grow again. But what about man? Go to the grave yard, talk to him. He won't come up. Sprinkle a little water, he won't grow. Pour some elixir on him to bring some food. Say, "Well, that's tells, bells, good enough to bring him up." It won't bring him up, don't worry. You might as well eat it. 32. Then yet, just like the flowers. You put flowers on the graves, they don't come up to smell them, anymore than a Chinaman comes up to eat the food they put on the grave. Dead. Might as well be philosophical. He's not going to come up. Nothing you do about it. All nature shows there's a cycle out there. But man, when he's dead, he's dead. Nebuchadnezzar's been dead for hundred, hundred years. Pilate's been dead for two thousand years. Herod, dead for two thousand years. Josephus dead for a couple thousand years. Julius Caesar, over that number of years. Do what you want. Look at the picture that have been carved on rocks, they're dead the men that drew them. They're dead, absolutely dead. (See?) Now, so is, watch: (11) As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and (dries)up: (12) So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, (or) be raised out of their sleep. In other words, the sun goes up, the sun sets. Winter comes, spring comes, nature seems to wait. But man, dead. Grand great, great, great, great grandfather died, and great, great, great, great grandmother died. The next down the line and he said, "I'm going to die next." Sure enough, he died. (See?) 33. Now: (13) O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! (14) If a man die(s), shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Yes, man dies, and it may take six thousand years to bring about a resurrection, but he's going to come up. (See?) Now, there is an appointed time for the change. (15) Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire (for) the work of thine hands. There it is once more. The work of the hand. What is the work of God's hand? When he formed man of the dust and allowed the pattern of conception to come as it is, how we are formed from that dust. And God is going to have a desire for the human body to come forth out of the dust, and they'll do it. 34. Now, let's go to Job 19:25-27. (25) For I know that my redeemer liveth,… What Redeemer? Not the Redeemer of the spirit and soul, (although that's true) but the Redeemer of the body. The One who will redeem my body. Liveth, He's [Job] got his own glorified body that's been redeemed, and he is living. And here is what he says here: (25) …I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (27) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. Though the very vital forces that keep this body going are gone, (see?) they're left. He said, "At one time I'm going to come back and I'm going to stand here on earth with the One Who redeems bodies. And then my body will be changed like unto His Own." 35. Now, let's note over here James 5, here's what the apostle James says on the same subject, taking verse 7 (7) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman (the farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth… What precious fruit is Jesus waiting for? Not to sons, the body for the son. We as individuals never came out of the earth personality wise, these spirits and souls that we have never came from some chemical reaction out of the soil. It's the body that came out of the soil. And so It says here that Jesus can't come until there's a resurrection. And there is going to be a resurrection even as the Scripture says. 36. Now, let's go to Genesis 3:17 (17) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto…thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (and so on.) Now, here Adam has to dwell under the curse of the earth where he's working hard. He's got to wrest his living. It's no longer what it was like in the Garden of Eden, because whole nature comes under the thralldom of sin. Now, you see, he's laboring, everyman's been laboring. But what does It say in Revelation 14:13, what you read awhile ago? We'll slip back and see It. It says: (13) …Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. See, there's going to be a rest. They…we've been laboring, but God is going to give us an opportunity to come back in resurrected bodies where the ground is no longer under the curse. 37. In Philippians 3:21, we read: (21) (That God will) change our vile body…like unto his (own) glorious body… What was that glorious body? We go to Luke 24:39, It says: (39) Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: (the same body that did not see corruption) handle me, and see; a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as (you) see me have. It didn't say, flesh and blood now, It said, flesh and bone. No blood. It'll be flesh and bone, because it's completely motivated by the spirit. (See?) 38. Now, Paul says in Romans 8:11 (11) …if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up (Jesus) Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Now, there's the guarantee. It says that if the Spirit of God, (that same Spirit) which is the One that raised up Jesus Christ is presently dwelling in your body, making you the temple of the Holy Ghost , It says, "That same body is guaranteed to be raised from the dead." In other words, the imprint of the Holy Spirit upon every cell in this body guarantees that this same person, the same flesh, (see?) this same body, (not another one now) in the sense that it's going to be a body left in the grave. (See?) I won't say, "God give me another body, I don't need that old body." That's wrong, you're going to have that same body. In that same body is going to be raised from the dead by the Spirit of God that dwells in us. 39. Now, let's go to Romans 8:23, notice what It says here concerning this redemption. (23) And not only they, (that's all nature) but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, … We have… what is first-fruit? Jesus is the First-fruit from among the dead. The first born. The first-fruit is the original wave offering of the sheaf (See?) Now, we have the Spirit, the first-fruit of the Spirit, or we have the 'first-fruit spirit'. We have a resurrection Spirit in us which is guaranteeing our bodies eternal life, but not at this time. People say, "Well, if you've got eternal life in you, how can your body's die? Because it's not for this time. No sir, it's not for this time, it's for later on. It's for this time here that we're groaning, and we, even us who are born again who have the guarantee of the Resurrection, we are groaning, we are all waiting for the redemption of the body; because the body is not redeemed. See, people think well redemption is completely over. Then how come people are dying? Even get some silly ideas, they say, "Well, if you believe in divine healing, how come you're dying?" I've never heard such nonsense. It's supposed to be from Christians. You can tell the have no more Holy Ghost than nothing. Anybody in his right mind who knows anything about the things of God knows that your body is not redeemed. If your body were redeemed, Paul would not have died. But he had to say by Holy Ghost commission. He said, "If Christ be in you, your body is dead, because of sin." [Rom 8:10] (See?) And his body was dead because of sin, Paul died. Certainly, he's born in sin. A clean thing cannot come out of an unclean thing. And nothing unclean can inherit the Kingdom of God. It'll take an absolute redemption of the body. A rebirth of the body. And there is going to be a rebirth of the body, because the body will be born out of the ground. 40. Now, here's where Adam and Eve missed it. It was yet while they were yet unclothed, but were merely spirit beings that God said, "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." [Gen 1:28] They were put into physical bodies in order to till the ground, not to procreate. (See?) They should have brought the children out of the dust. Now, they had the means physically to bring forth children sexually, but they never should have done it. That's why you've got the same thing going on in the churches. They've been given a command to bring forth children by the Word of God, in the Spirit of God, but they bring them forth by their creeds and dogmas, and they'll never be in the Resurrection, it's impossible. (See?) Now, because Adam and Eve bypassed doing the will of God and they should have brought them out of the dust, but they brought them the wrong way. They brought them through a chemical process, (see?) in the flesh instead of a spiritual process. Then what does God do? He kaputs death sentence upon them, but then He redeems the body, then at the Resurrection He Himself calls them out of the dust the way they should have been in the first place. Now, there can be no sin, no death, no nothing. 41. Now, let's find Paul further explains this resurrection over here in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 (35) But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Now, I'm accused of being sarcastic. Now I guess I am, but you better love me, because Paul is far more spiritual than I am, look how sarcastic he is. He said, "Fools…" In other words, he said, "I've been teaching so long you haven't got this thing figured out yet?" He said, "Man are you spiritually stupid." See, why you ask, "What kind of body do they come?" He said, "Do I need to answer that question?" Watch him answer it. (36) …fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: (nature teaches that, see, that's what is a resurrection.) (37) And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but (of) bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: (38) But God (gives) it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. Now, It tells you right here, if you want a wheat plant you don't plant a wheat plant, you plant a seed. (See?) If you want an oak plant you don't plant an oak plant, you plant an oak seed. Right? If you want pear tree you don't plant a pear tree, you plant a pear seed. Because remember, the seed was in the ground when God spoke it, said, "Let the earth bring forth," and the seed was lying there and it came up. That's right, the creche was already done before. 42. Now then, when you want a child you don't go to some place where babies are manufactured, you plant a seed. Now, why is the woman without seed? Now, man can't have a baby by himself, neither can a woman. It's got to be together. But remember, the woman was in the man, so therefore, there is nothing in the woman that wasn't in the man. (See?) That's why it's not the woman's seed, it's the man's seed, but he's been split in two waiting to come together, those seeds could come together, because they're his and not hers. Now, that sounds strange, but that's the truth. I can prove that right here in 1 Corinthians, tells you right there in 1 Corinthians. (See?) Now then, what do you do when you want a baby, you don't plant the baby, you plant the seed. Why? Because in the seed is everything that's necessary to bring that body. (See?) Now, that's the same thing in the Resurrection. If you haven't got the right seed, you'll never come up in the image of Jesus Christ. You've got to be a child of God by predestination, and baptized with the Holy Ghost confirming it, and then it's that seed, the royal seed, that brings you the likeness of Christ in the Resurrection. (See?) 43. Now, people couldn't understand it. They say, "How is this body going to work out?" I know what you're thinking, you say, "Well, Bro. Vayle doesn't…isn't it true that the liver recreates itself, regenerates itself every so many months, and every cell in the body don't, can tell you all the answers?" I've read them, but I forget them, and could care less. But the point is, if that's the case then, what body is He going to raise? Oh, that's easy, it's the body went down. The minute you die, that's the one He raises. But, you're not going to come in the body that you want God to give you, unless you've got the seed. Now, it's simple as a-b-c. Have you got the seed? Now then, this is …?... again. If I'm born again, if I'm a royal seed of Abraham as the prophet said, the Word of God say, then there is no doubt that's we're absolutely going to come back according to the seed. You says, "What kind of body exactly will that be?" I don't know. What if he's going to be like His Own glorious body? (See?) You don't need to know. The point is, the seed has the potential. Now, if we go down as seed, we're going to come up in the likeness of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that's enough. It isn't this resurrected human body, that the saints are you're going to eat and drink. They didn't eat in the other one, they don't eat and drink …?... here. 44. We go to Luke 22:28-30. I think this Message is quite easy, except in a few spots, where you go a little deep, but you shouldn't have too much job absorbing this. Now: (28) (You) are they which have continued with me in my temptations. (29) And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; (30) That (you) may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. There could be no Marriage Supper without these resurrection bodies which I described, come out of the dust, and the saints from heaven, paradise, in those spirit bodies pick up these glorified bodies. Why? Because that's the only way they can be sensate. (See?) 45. Now you say, "Why?" Let's find out, Isaiah 65:21-22, what It says concerning them. (21) And they shall build houses, (now this is the Millennium) and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. (22) They shall not build, and another inhabit;… Oh, that means, if you build, you're going to live in it, that means forever, or until God wants to take it away and put a new heaven and a new earth, which He will. (22) …they shall not plant, and another eat: (how could there be children born if that's the case? See, I'm just asking you a question.) for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (23) They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. That's true, that's true, because the offspring are those that are in Christ with them. 46. Now notice, this is also given to us in Revelation 20:4-6 (4) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. There's you picture. See, they're coming back in sensate bodies. They can feel, they can see, they can hear, they can eat, they can drink, they will take pleasure. But, they will not be living as they're now living. (See?) No sir, nothing like that at all. 47. Now, it is in the resurrected bodies that the saints will judge the earth. Let's just look It out, Matthew 19:28 (28) …Jesus said…Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration (in the Resurrection, in the Millennium, see?) when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, (you) also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. But, right there you can see that these people have got to come back in physical bodies to do this. Why? Because they're dead, there's going to be a physical throne. There'll be twelve physical thrones. How it works out, that's up to God, I don’t know. We don't have enough insight on it, at least I don't have at this time even to teach on it. But they'll be there in physical bodies, in a physical kingdom in a physical reign. 48. Now notice, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, we have the same thing. (2) Do (you) not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are (you) unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (3) (Do you) not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? And again, you could read Revelation 24:6 which I read to you, showing you that this is the Resurrection, eating and drinking, and living and enjoying a condition like unto…paradise, or Eden when Adam and Eve were there. This will be in glorified bodies even that the saints will inherit Mount Zion. Now this is one thousand…this is after the Millennium, after the Lake of Fire, after the earth is completely reconstituted. 49. Now, Isaiah 65:24-25, now: (24) And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (25) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. The holy mountain of God is Mount Zion. Mount Zion is New Jerusalem. So, here is the New Jerusalem and the New Heavens and the new earth. When God dissolves everything according to the Book of 2 Peter. He will dissolve everything and go back to the natural element, the atoms as they were once before He took these building blocks and made them into substances, they were just one building block evidently. He'll dissolve all to that and recreate it like a resurrection. Then the earth will have no sea. I think there's about five/sixth of the land mass right now that's water. And if we had this five/sixth land mass without water, merely the system that God had originally arranged, there'd be no worry about population explosion. But there's nothing that you're ever going to do about the population explosion, because the curse or the covenant with God with Eve was multiplied conception. And so all of these fellows with their planning, birth control and family planning they might as well blow their tin whistle and forget it, because it's not going to work. Never has, never will. And where the people think they're so smart they can do it, they're going to have VD until they wish to God they hadn't done it. They'll be standing on their feet rotting away. Not with the atomic bomb with syphilating conditions, which they've got right now is so filthy it's even disgusting to talk about. (See?) 50. All right, there'll be a great land mass. The land will be watered how God originally wanted it watered, (see?) in this new era. Mount Zion will rise up out of the land mass, and then God will bring down the New Jerusalem which is fifteen hundred miles wide at the base, and fifteen hundred miles wide, and fifteen hundred miles high, which is a pyramid, or what they call a pyramidal structure. There at the top of the pyramid Jesus will sit on His Throne, it's a City, see, in terrace's. Over the Throne will be the Pillar of Fire, and the Son and the Father will be one. And here is where you can see there'll be a resurrection, (that is to say, there has to be a resurrection to bring this about) of people and even animals. You say, "Do you think God will create new animals?" Why should He? Bro. Branham saw his old dog and horse. People got offended. Well, let them be offended. The Bible says right here, "the lion is going to eat straw like a bullock." [Isa 65:25] So, there's going to be grass growing, there's going to be animals eating it. Now, don't try to figure it out, I can't figure it out, I just say that's good, good enough by me. If you've got to go through a process like we're going through now, that's alright. I don't pretend to understand it, but it's going to be fine. The wolf and the lamb are going to lie down together and they'll eat straw too. Why? Because an animal eat straw, the wolf is going to eat straw. He won't eat the lamb. And there'll be no destruction of life as God has arraigned, except in the vegetable kingdom which is judicially allowed to be for that purpose. Now, there'll be a complete resurrection then to bring this all about. 51. Now notice, all of the verses over here in the New Jerusalem, (which we said in Isaiah) New Jerusalem now chapter 21 of Revelation. Let's go to Revelation 21, here She is: (1) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: (and we talked about it, and) the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (2) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, (Zion) coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Because that is the Husband and the Bride coming down together.) (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, (that's Jesus) and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Now notice, the word 'people' physical, tabernacle physical, voice physical.) (4) And God shall wipe away all tears (physical) from their eyes, (physical) … death, (physical) …sorrow, (physical) crying, (physical) …pain: (physical) former things (physical) passed away. (It's all physical.) (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, (now, that's a physical thing) Behold, I make all things new. (They're physical) … (6) …he said…It is done. I am Alpha and Omega…I will give unto him that is athirst (physical) of the fountain (physical) of the water of life freely. (physical, see?) (7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (physical) (8) But the fearful, (that's physical in the negative) unbelieving, (negative physical) abominable, (negative physical) murderers, (negative physical) whoremongers, (negative physical) sorcerers, (negative physical) idolaters, (negative physical) liars, (negative physical, see?) All will have their part in the Lake of Fire and be burnt up. (See?) There'll be nothing allowed in the Resurrection which will people the Holy City and the Kingdom. Because remember, the kings bring their glory into New Jerusalem, which is the Bride. The 144,000 are virgins who attend the Bride. The souls under the altar do not have a position in It. Israel's there with all her tribal rites and all. They'll bring their glory into It and it's all physical. 52. Now, let's go on further, taking verse 23. See, this is your complete restoration. Transformation, transfiguration. All right: (23) And the city had no need of the sun, (physical) neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (24) And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: (see, there it is) the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour into it. (25) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day:…(nor by night, there'd be) no night there. (See, that's physical.) (26) And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. (physical) (27) And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth… You see, there's your picture. The same picture that's painted in 2 Corinthians 5: that God who wrought us for the same purpose. That mortality will be swallowed up of life. See, there's no more danger of anything coming in that is going to obstruct, or cause anything which would bring any problem whatsoever. Once we started on that trail there is absolutely nothing that is going to stop us getting over here. (See?) 53. Now, nothing shall enter It, anywise or that wise that 'worketh abomination'. Now notice the two things that defileth. The first thing in Scripture we found that which was defiling. The second thing works abomination, or 'maketh a lie'. See, that for the whole trouble. Notice: (27) …but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Now, verse 27 here says, "They which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." It is a Book of Life, not of death. See now, what does this mean? It means that in spite of the record that we have in the Scripture concerning the history of what man has done relative to God, how he disobeyed the things that have come in spite of the record of history on earth. This is a Book of the Life of the Lamb. So, there never was any death in the seed of the Lamb at all. As Bro. Branham said, "God never did impute sin to her." She was caught in a trap, never once did God ever impute sin to her. She never had had imputed. Why? Because It's a Book of Life. What Adam got trapped, God knowing it. For the Bible said, "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother." [Gen 2:4] The Father and Mother of Adam was God, and he left God for Eve. God knew he'd do it. (See?) 54. Now, but there never was any death. (See?) Now, the figure in which Adam came died. But to Adam there was no death, because God immediately slewed the Lamb and brought about a sacrifice to put Adam in paradise. (See?) Not in the presence of God, no, no sir. Call it Abraham's bosom, call it what you want. (See?) Call it upper-sheol, I don't care what you call it, it's okay by me, people call it a lot of things. I'm not interested in terminology. All I know is, that that sacrifice was made, Adam had the way cleared to get right back to God waiting his day in the Resurrection. But, from the moment that Adam died, in his flesh, departed this world. There wasn't one record, one thing against him concerning death, that was defiled through making abomination, because the Lamb's Book is a record of Life. (See?) Now notice, the seed always was and always will be, that's life. We did not become seed, we were seed. We did not become sons, we were sons. You can't turn a hog into a sheep, or a dog into a sheep, or a sow into a sheep. Many people, the legalists have that idea. (See?) They're full of it, they shouldn't have it. But they never used…you cannot trans-mute. (See?) You might come to the place where you can turn …?... metal to another metal. Science might do it, but science will never turn a sheep into one, into a dog, or a dog into a sheep. It's impossible, because you're dealing in vital life sources. And mineralogy is not a matter of life sources. It's a matter of what is specifically here, and life sources have power over it. (See?) \ 55. But, you talk about man. You talk about the sheep. The Scripture said, "We were as sheep having gone astray." [Isa 53:6] Say, we're a bunch of hogs and dogs, and things like that. It's impossible to talk like that. We did not become sons, we were sons. The Bible said, "Because you are sons, God has given you the Holy Ghost," [Gal 4:6] not because you will be a son. It is that Life that always was, and responded to the Word for the sheep heard the Voice. How can there be any death in Him Who is Life? And we were in Him and are a part of Him. (See?) No beloved, before He comes, we may step out of these robes into another robe. That's right. We may wait there in paradise for Him, until the resurrection of our bodies. But we know this one thing, we can never die. Why? "Because He lives, we live also," [Jn 14:19] and we are a part of Him. (See?) These things we don't read enough brother/sister. You know, the Scripture has no room for reasoning. There's only one time when God said, "Come now, let us reason together." [Isa 1:18] And the time that He said that, He brought It on the grounds that the mediator-ship in the Book of Galatians. 56. Now, a mediator automatically means that there are two people in difficulty. You get a third person who will adjudicate or attempt to dissolve the differences. They call him a 'days-man' on one hand, or some other terminology which mediator, whatever you want to call him. But the Bible said, "God became His Own Mediator." God didn't call in a third party. God came and mediated Himself. (See?) Now, here we are into the position that God has put us. God has given us the opportunity, winning us back to Himself, giving us His grace and His glory, so that there is no possibility whatsoever of a slip up. For anybody can ever die spiritually. He won't do it, nor can He be separated from God. There's no death anymore. Since Christ has paid that price. (See?) You look for the blood of bulls and goats way back in the Old Testament. Now looking forward, how perfect. How perfect is the redemption of Christ, so that before He even died, you could use a type, it would put a man in a paradise. Saved Adam from eternal loss. (See?) How terrific how powerful must be the working ministry that Jesus Christ did? So, here we are tonight, this is not a matter of sermon of death, we have put too much emphasis on the physical. We have allowed too much reasoning to take place. As I said a while ago, and there is no place for reasoning in the Bible. Except for God said, "Come, let us reason, will you come and take my way?" (See?) 57. God was that Mediator, not bringing two together and say, "let's reason, and let's see if we go some-where. " Each man stating his case, God came as His Own Mediator in Person of Christ and brought it right back and said, "Here it is, it's all yours." So, you can see, there's no record of death at all. Not to the saints. "Death hath no …?... Blood bought one, let's sing 'glory hallelujah to the Lamb." Again they sing that song: 'Jesus died and He rose again, and He tore the bars away." Certainly He did. And you know something? It's a pity that the church has not had the true revelation of the goodness of God amongst her. This is our trouble right today that our minds are so full of wrong teaching, that we're never going to be transformed in our bodies until our minds are thoroughly transfigured by the revealed Word that we'll believe the very things I taught tonight based on what the prophet said. And it won't be a matter of a mental assent, or acceptance, it will be a literal powerful spiritual compulsion. Because you can't read the New Testament and believe that the Old Testament Bride will be like the first Bride, unless she has the same spiritual compulsion. 58. Now, Bro. Branham saw the first New Testament Bride, she was in perfect step. He said neatly dressed, very beautiful. And then he said he saw the American church. She was the rock and roll prostitute. Filthy and disgusting, with a rock and roll dance and she was worshipping God. The filthy condition of the worst person of God in this generation are so horrendous as to make God vomit. And when God can vomit things are pretty serious. That's right, that's the last Church Age. But, in the midst of it, (see?) due to the prophetic Message, suddenly calling the last Church Age Bride into step, she was not that rock and roll harlot, but she was beautifully, perfectly dressed little woman, (several women, because they've got to be typed now by Scripture) but they were out of step. And when the prophet screamed, (which is a military shout, the Message of God) brought her right into step. And she became what the first Bride was. Which is what? A spiritually revealed Word Bride of Almighty God. 59. Now, let's go a little further, ...this last Bride is known as a virgin of God's Word. She is also called in Matthew 25 the wise virgin. The foolish virgin is the unchaste virgin whose mind has dabbled according to Paul with that which is …[blank spot] …if you're one with what the prophet taught, you're a hundred percent sold on, no other way you can be, because Paul said, "You're either sold on my message, or you're out. [Tape runs out] Life Without Ceasing (1773A) Page PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 24