This Generation Bro. Lee Vayle September 15, 1991 Shall we pray. Heavenly Father, we know that Your great men of old said, “I will not go up, I will not do thus and so we except Your Presence go with me.” And we know that You never, ever failed the ones that were anointed to that end to Whom You came to bring deliverance and help which You do every time in need. And so Lord, we know Your Presence is with us today and especially Your Life in the Word which You have given great mystery there is. We see that there are those who have sanctified the bread and said, “This is the body,” and sanctified the wine and said, “This is the life.” And believing in some form of transubstantiation, something Lord, that isn’t real, and yet we have the living Word today. We can’t understand it, but we do understand to the point of the mechanics that the Life is in the Word. And if there is a place in our hearts for that Word, then the Life of God is working in us, and that is a real process of transubstantiation going into us Lord, changing us from vile creatures into true creatures of Christ. We believe that this morning Lord, we pray now that You’ll help us in the study of Your Word Lord, that we might get benefit thereby, help us Father as we dedicate ourselves to It this morning in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. 1. Now, we’re going to talk about a subject, and I suppose we just might call it a title, and we would entitle it, ‘This Generation’. And we’re going to read a lot of Scripture and try to bring It together for you the best we possibly can. And we’re going to start in Matthew 24, read the chapter and pretty well most of It. Ant then we’ll go to Matthew 12, and read pretty well most of It. [Matthew 24:] (1) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. (2) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.(Later on of course. This is upon Mount Olives away from the temple.) (3) And he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world. (4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. (8) (And) all these are the beginning of sorrows. (9) Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and shall be hated (you'll be hated) of all nations for my name’s sake. (10) And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. (11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. (12) And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. (13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; (then) shall the end come. (15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand. (16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: (17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: (18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. (19) And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! (20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: (21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. (23) Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. (25) Behold, I have told you before: (26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold he is in the desert; go not forth: behold he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. (27) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (28) For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (Now of course you know, the fig tree is a symbol of Israel.) (33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. (36) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be, (38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. (39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (40) Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (42) Watch (ye) therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (43) But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. (44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (45) Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? (46) Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (47) Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. (48) But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; (49) And shall begin to smyth his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; (50) The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, (51) And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, verse 34, It says, (34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, (away) till all these things be fulfilled. 2. Now, let’s go back to Matthew 12: and It says, (1) At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. (2) When the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. (3) But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; (4) How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? (5) Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days, the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? (6) But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. (7) But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. (8) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. Now of course, we know Sabbath means rest. And we’re looking at that Sabbath rest which is coming to us in 2 Th 1:7. “You that are troubled rest with us.” (9) (Now but ) when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: (10) And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. (11) And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will be not lay hold on it, and lift it out? (12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. (13) Then (he said) to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. (14) Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. (15) But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; (16) And charged them that they should not make him known: (17) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, (18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, I whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. (19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. (20) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. (21) And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. (22) Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both (saw and spoke, (or) spoke and saw. (23) And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David? (24) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. So he’s not the Son the Messiah, He’s the other one, which would be the antichrist. So the Jews thoroughly believe in an antichrist. (25) And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: (26) And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how shall then his kingdom stand? (27) And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. (28) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (29) Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Now, we read that over in Matthew 24, remember also.) (30) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroard. (31) Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. (32) And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. (33) Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. (34) O generation of vipers, how can (you), being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (35) An good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (36) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (37) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by the words thou shalt be condemned. (38) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (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 man 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. (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. Remember Bro. Branham preached, ‘A Greater than Solomon is Here’ twelve times. There’s only one sermon he preached more than that, and that was thirteen times. (43) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. (44) Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. (45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. 3. Now, you notice again it says here, “Even so unto this wicked generation.” Now, first of all, I’m going to be skipping back and forth, and I’m not right using anything that’s particularly noted, but trusting my memory to bring out what I want to bring out. Now, first of all you will notice in two places we read, “I said, ‘This generation shall not pass away’.” [Mt 24:34] Another place, “This wicked generation shall not pass, till all things be fulfilled.” [Mt 12:45] Now, there’s hardly any students, Bro. Branham also used the understanding that this Word here, ‘This Generation’, would be referring to specifically an end-time group of people, that constituted that generation. Now he himself said, “A generation starts every day,” which is true. A generation in the Bible sometimes is forty years. On the other hand, a generation could be seventy years and longer; twenty years, because at the age of twenty is about the time people marry and start proliferating. 4. But actually in the Bible the word generation does not mean what people say it means. The word is ‘genea’ which actually means: 'race, kind, families, stock or breed'. And there’s not a lexicon that does not agree with that. Yet at the same time you know that there will be a one generation, ending all generations. Or one generation out of one all races, wherein certain things will come to pass, and that particular group ending the races. See? Showing that the race cannot pass away, until all the Word of God is fulfilled. Now that’s a beautiful thought there, although it’s a very stunning thought. The beautiful thought in contradistinction to the overwhelming judgmental thought is this: That the Word of God is given to the race, the human race. It is God giving them something which He could give to nobody else. And that’s going to the angels, the archangels, the cherubim’s and all the animal kingdom and everything that is here. God is distinctly giving His Word, and also then thereby, because the Word is a conduit of the Spirit, the Life of God, man has that opportunity to take from God what no one else has. And here is that great difference then. 5. Now, looking at this term ‘genea’, which is 'race, kind, family, stock, breed', is a little like going back to the Book of Genesis, where Adam was called upon, singular, he alone had a human body at that time, and Eve was a part of him in spirit feminine, and male spirit together in the one body. And he was called upon to give a name to all the animals, which names he gave. And at the end of the giving of the names, you will notice It says that, “Of all of these Adam alone didn’t have any help meet.” [Gen 2:20] Now, the word ‘help meet’, does not mean someone to help you. The Word actually means, ‘like species’. The only one that was not able to propagate and had a mate was Adam. So now God must very definitely produce one of his like-species in order for Adam to have a mate. 6. And so this is what you’re really looking at. You’re looking at the human race coming up even before Eve became involved with the beast. Whereby in copulation she conceived and brought forth that one which was of the wicked one, which was Cain. And before they became one lump, they were separated of course, the two races, one was called the children of darkness, and one was called the children of light. The children of darkness became very warlike, and of course as of the children of light entered into the folly of sexual pleasures, the sons of God saw the daughters of men, which were of the line of Cain, to be very beautifully proportioned and thereby very sensual to these men, and in their folly they did what Adam did; they took them wives, got into polygamy and pretty soon the whole human race was one lump of clay, that through the processes of the flesh would bring the children of Satan, and would bring the children of God. And of course we know that Satan couldn’t create, and there be no way that he could possibly procreate. They used the animal which is the serpent, which was no doubt the boa constrictor; the only one with the remnants of hips, and various things that you can read about that show definitely that is the descendant of the serpent the giant. 7. So, anyway we see here now at the end of time, that in Matthew 25, there is, “This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled,” is not talking in terms of a generation at that time, or any specific generation, but there would be a progression to the very end of what was at the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you notice in there, there were two groups of people. There were those that Jesus condemned as roundly condemned as being of their father the devil, although they were greatly religious, very, very religious. And He said, “That wicked generation would be right up to the end time, because the Word of God must be fulfilled, and could not be fulfilled until the very last one was accounted for and had his place in the realms of a natural election, and predestination, spoken of concerning them, but not in the Lambs Book of Life.” (Not having the Life of God in them in any proportion.) And they would endure right to the very end, and the Word then would be culminated, because the Word then has had its fulfillment. And to the same thing would take place, as I mentioned with the very Elect. 8. Now, we want to go into Scripture to see where we are at in this culmination, because in Matthew 24, He speaks very definitely, where they come and ask the question, “When are all the stones going to be leveled, and thrown down, when is it going to be? What is going to be the sign of Thy coming? And what is going to be the end of the world’s system?" Not just the world as your looking at it, because that would be a matter of dissolution and we are not particular looking at that at this particular time. Jesus goes into this long dissertation and then He says positively, “This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled.” Which you can see He is involving Israel in particular at this time, and He’s involving the Elect more so than anyone else, and He’s saying now, these people here that literally constitute a race. 9. And we have the picture there in the time of Noah, the world of the ungodly perished, but the world of the godly did not perish, they were continuing. We see at the time of Abraham, which was much later, Sodom and Gomorrah, that the Judge of all the earth, the righteous Judge would not do wickedly, but He would spare the righteous at the time He destroyed the wicked. But you’ll notice that all the Scripture has to be fulfilled, concerning all the peoples on the earth, which are both of God, that’s wise and foolish virgins, and those that are not of God. Now, how many classes they’re there, is not of any great importance. The understanding here is definitely that Jesus had talked to the these disciples here, and He’s brought to their attention everything that He said is going to be finally culminated. And then of course, the culmination and termination of these breeds, these people will be superseded by the Kingdom of Almighty God. 10. Now, let’s go back and look at what these men have said. [Matthew 24:] (3) ...he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, (which actually is parousia). What shall be the sign of thy (presence) and the end of the world? (Which is cosmos or world systems.) Now, I do not know of any theologian, any preacher, or any writer outside perhaps the Jehovah Witnesses, who do not take this Scripture, “What shall be the sign of thy coming,” to mean the disciples actually asked, “What is the sign of your coming down the road? What is the literal sign of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ?” Then also, relative to it would be, “What then would be the sign of the end of the world systems, which mean at Your future coming, You will take over the world systems?” Now, that is a lie from the pit of hell, and I’m going to tell you why. These men didn’t have one clue as to Jesus dying, raising, going away, and coming back. No one clue! Now you think I’m kidding you? 11. Let’s go to Matthew chapter 16. And let me show you what the Holy Ghost revealed and what He did not reveal. Matthew 16: (13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Phillippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? (14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, (Elihah); and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. (15) He saith unto them, But whom (do you ) say I am? (16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (20) Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.(That He was Jehovah Saviour, His name being Jesus, which is Joshua in the Hebrew, Jesus in the Greek, and I’m the Messiah.) (21) From that time forth began Jesus to (show) unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day. (22) Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. (23) (And) he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Now, right there you’ll know that Peter received the revelation of who He was, but he had no revelation of the Messiah dying upon Calvary and rising again. He literally rebuked Jesus. There was no revelation to these disciples. 12. Now, let’s go to the book of Luke, chapter 24. Now, It says here in the resurrection in verse 15, (15) (As these men were going to Emmaus they began talking together and Jesus drew near and communed with them.) (16) But their eyes were (be)holden, (they did not) know Him. (17) And he said... What manner of communication are these that (you) have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? (18) And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass these days? (19) And he said, What things? And they said, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: (20) And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned (killed) and crucified him. (21) But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. (22) And certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher; (23) And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, (and) he was alive. (24) And certain (also) went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women said: but (they) saw (him) not. (25) Then she said, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. They didn’t have a clue. And I want to ask you, if they didn’t have a clue then, how could they have had a clue in Matthew 24? That He was going to die, go away and come back a thousand, two thousand years later. I ask a question: now you’re all good Bible students that are former Baptist, Presbyterians ....(I was going to say 'blat', I don't know what I was going to say. I got it mixed up. ... going to say worse than that, by a slip of the tongue.) They’re all illegitimate. So you can figure the Word. I wasn’t going to say that, no. But they’re illegitimate to the Word. Now, I want to ask the question: how can these people be so blind to this Scripture, and use the word ‘Perousia’, as a second coming? 13. Now. let’s go back to Matthew. Let’s begin to see the sense of it. In Matthew 24, Jesus said, “The stones are going to be cast down from this temple, there won’t be one stone left. There won’t be anything that is not demolished.” Then He positively predicted the destruction, the demise, the finishing of the Hebrew religion as they knew it. No temple, no sacrifice, no nothing. No red heifer ashes. How are you going to have the sacrifices, and the temple worship without the paraphernalia? You can’t do it, there’s no way. And He absolutely said, “I am going to destroy it. It’s going to be finished.” He said in Isaiah, “Your burnt offerings and sacrifices I don’t want, they become a stench.” Then if they become a stench, how are they going to be renewed where they will not be a stench? The answer was, “Lo a body hast thou prepared for me.” [Heb 10:5] “I come to do thy will O God,” [Heb 10:9] taking away the first in order to establish the second. And the priesthood was ordained out of the tribe of Judah, from whence no priest come. So Judaism is finished, period. 14. For with the body of Christ dying, every sacrifice has been put away. Then there cannot be a restoration. The temple’s gone, it’s all gone. For as the Scripture said, Jesus said, “Tell me, (He said,) what is it, (He said,) is it the gold that sanctifies the temple, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?” They couldn’t answer Him. You know as well as I do, that the temple had to be there first before the gold was come on it. So alright, if there’s no temple there can be no gold. No sanctifying effect... it’s finished. It’s all over. 15. Now, let’s look at this question then, in the light of the truth. And the light of the truth is: That they were expecting the kingdom of God, which Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is nigh you; the kingdom of God is come unto you; the kingdom of God is at hand. John the Baptist came preaching repentance: ‘the kingdom of God is at hand’.” And Jesus, as soon as John was gone, He began preaching repentance. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” And when they asked concerning the kingdom, He said, “The kingdom of God is amongst you.” And they turned it down flat. Now these disciples, and nobody had a true revelation, so when they came and they said, “What is the sign of Your coming,” it is not coming, the word is 'parousia', which means 'presence'. And it doesn’t have to do with anything concerning the actual event; the coming, it has to do with the person himself being there. 16. All right, what are we looking at? We are looking at the very thing that these disciples are saying, that in their ignorance as to what Israel said. “Give us a sign, give me the sign that You are the Messiah.” He had given them every single sign the Bible required, which was Deuteronomy chapter 18. And as Luke the physician said in the Book of Acts, “Jesus both began to do and to teach.” Even as God instructed, and had to instruct every one of the prophets. “I am going to vindicate Myself to you, then I will give you something to vindicate you to the people, that I am vindicated to you, and you to Me. And when you produce it they’re going to listen.” 17. Just like that Catholic priest I read about. He said, “What is a miracle? It’s a four by four slugged between your eyes, ‘Shut-up and sit down and listen’.” Who wants to listen? Nobody. So these apostles were grossly in error, when they said, “Give us a sign.” They already had the sign. They believed that He was Messiah, and didn’t need a specific sign other than what He had given them, the signs according to the Word of God. Now they’re telling Him, “Give me a sign concerning the manifestation of Your presence,” which… they’re about the kingdom. Because they said right after that, “What is the sign of the cessation of the world kingdoms?” Now they wanted two signs. They wanted a sign to prove that Messiah was actually present to take over a kingdom. But they were oppressed a hundred percent by the Romans. So now they want a sign that says, “Romanism is over,” and the system is gone. Now, that’s what you’re looking at, whether you believe it or not. 18. Okay. The word ‘parousia,’ we’ve read it before. I’m not a hundred percent satisfied with everything these people say, but it’s all right. Now, here’s what Rotherham says, and I read it before: “In this addition, the word parousia is uniformly rendered ‘presence’. Coming as a representative of this word being set aside. (He said,) There’s no way I’ll use the word coming.” No way. It can’t be done. Now, the point is, I’ve showed you, there’s no way it can be done. Because these people didn’t have a clue of Jesus down the road. They saw everything that Jesus here. Come on, you prove me wrong. Here’s the Bible. The smart Baptist, Pentecostal, come up right beside me. I’ll challenge the theologians. I’m right. Nobody can prove me wrong. I won’t tell you why, it’s my business. 19. “The original term occurs twenty four times in the New Testament. (They’re numbered here.) The sense of Presence is plainly shown by the contrast with absence implied in 2 Cor 10:10, and expressed in Phil 2:12, (where Paul mentions his absolute absence;) that the question naturally arises, why not always so rendering. The more so in as much as there is in 2 Pet 1:16, also peculiar fitness in our English word presence. (Now that’s talking about Mount Transfiguration.) This passage it will be remembered relates to our Lord’s transformation upon the mount. The wonderful manifestation there was a display and sample of presence, rather than of coming.” (It wasn’t coming it was there! See?) 20. Now notice, His Presence there revealed the glorification of the Presence to come. So when you look at that Word, remember it positively can have a double fulfillment. And Bro. Branham said, “There’s no Scripture that doesn’t have a compound meaning.” And a double fulfillment, just like, “ I brought my son out of Egypt.” “This passage is remembered, relates to our Lord’s transformation upon the mount. And the wonderful transformation there, made there was a display and sample of presence rather than of coming. (Which is true.) The Lord was already there, and being there He was transformed, (according to Matthew) and the majesty of the glorified person was then disclosed.” 21. In other words, the presence brought a revelation. As Bro. Branham said, “God interprets His Word by manifesting It, bringing It to pass.” “ His bodily presence was one which implied and exerted power, so that power and presence go excellently dwell together. (Well, when didn’t power and presence go together?) The power befitting such a presence and the three favored disciples were at one and the same moment witnesses of both.” “The difficulty expressed in the notes to the second edition of this New Testament, (that Rotherham has translated, see?) in the way of so yielding to this weight of evidence as to render parousia always by presence lay in the seeming incongruity of regarding presence, as an event which would happen at a particular time, and which would fall into rank as one of a series of events, as in 1 Cor 15:23, (That’s where at His Presence, you know, “Christ the first fruits and they that are at his Presence.”) especially appear to require. The translator still feels the force of this objection, but it is withdrawn from taking his stand upon it any longer by the reflection that after all the difficulty may be imaginary.” In other words, we’re trying to figure the Word of God out by our brains. And we’re just imagining something, reasoning something, because the word ‘imagine’ means to reason. Means to conjure up an image. It has to do with reasoning’s. "The parousia in any case is still in the future, and may therefore be enshrouded in the measure of obscurity, which only fulfillment can clear away.” 22. Now Rotherham said that back in the eighteen hundreds. And Bro. Branham categorically said, “A man that have the Holy Spirit alone, could say something like that.” So Rotherham was full of the Holy Ghost. “It may in fine be a period more or less extended. (He hit that right on the head.) During which certain things shall happen and an event coming on and passing away, as one of a series of divine interposition.” 23. Now, I’m going to ask you something or maybe tell you. You show me if you can that the Shout, the Voice and the Trumpet are different. They’re not. It’s one and the same, because Jesus does all three in descending. And if you don’t get the Shout you won’t get the Resurrection, and you won’t get the calling together, because the Shout actually is doing all three of them. So, it is a protracted series of events wrapped in one event. In other words, it’s merely one event what you might call with three sections. Because He does all three in His descent. Now, remember Jesus is Jehovah Saviour, the Pillar of Fire that met with Paul. Now, ... a series of divine interpositions; Christ is raised as a first-fruits, that is one event. He returns and vouchsafes His present during which He raises His own, that is another event.” (The guy’s right on beam. Right on target. See? That is another event.) How- ever large and prolonged and finally comes another cluster events constituting the end, hence after all presence may be the most widely and permanently satisfying translation of the word ‘parousia’ of the Son of man. The presence of the Son of man. And it was and is absolutely a series of events within an event.” 24. In other words...now, you get the word ‘parousia’ taken from the Greek, that means ‘to be near’, 'of being near'. And it has to do with a physical aspect, not so much the literal coming, but the person there. Now, it comes from the word ‘par-ra-me’[?] which means 'to be near'. And it’s strange but in the plural it actually means ‘property’. Now when you’re talking of property, you’re talking of something that which can assail the senses and be categorized according to senses. So, therefore this' parousia' can be something that can be literally assessed. In other words, as Bro. Branham said, “When God went down to Egypt with Moses, He not only appeared in signs and wonders, but He Himself actually appeared in the Pillar of Fire upon Mount Sinai, so today we have His picture.” But remember, you can disregard the Pillar of Fire, because only a prophet can see that, what we caught by a camera, although purely scientific we’ll let ride. But nobody can deny the fact (unless they are completely blasphemers,) that the signs and wonders that Moses had, that Paul had, that William Branham had, completely vindicate them as prophets and stewards of Almighty God. You can’t do it. Okay. 25. So, parousia comes from the word ‘pa-ra’ which means ‘near’, vicinity of, in site of. You can get it. It comes also from another word which means 'first person', or 'singular I exist'. What did Bro. Branham say about of Him being, “The same yesterday, today and forever?” And He said, “I’m the I Am.” And he said, “If He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, the same Jesus, and He appears to the Gentiles, what will He do? He will do the same things in the form of the Holy Spirit, and the Pillar of Fire, than He did when He did when He was here upon flesh.” And isn’t that exactly what the Bible teaches? So, you see the theologians are wrong! The organizations are wrong! You cannot under any consideration make the Bible to line with the kind of stuff that they teach. 26. All right, let’s go to Matthew 12. But before we do, we’ll go to Matthew 4, starting at verse 12, where Bro. Branham introduces the understanding of Christ Appearing to the Gentiles in the form of the Holy Spirit doing the same things that He did when He was in flesh. (12) Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; (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 spoke 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. (17) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And I want to ask you a question: Has he changed His message? No!! “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” [Rev 3:20] Now, what was the message from the One that came down, standing at the door knocking, that’s kicked outside of His church, the same as here? 27. Let’s go back to Revelation the 3rd chapter, we’ll read it for you. And It says here, here’s the message, and verse 19 concluding. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Now, when they said, “When is the kingdom going to come?” He said, “It’s in your midst.” They ...?... that He’s at the door knocking, and “He’s the same yesterday, today and forever,” [Heb 13:8] what is He preaching? “Repent.” Oh come on. If this Message doesn’t weave back and forth in the Bible perfectly, get away from it. And if the man you’re listening to can’t weave it back and forth, get away from him, and don’t go beyond your calling. I think I’ve said enough, till I say something else another time. 28. Now listen, Bro. Branham categorically said that, “This had to do with the Gentiles.” He said, “Christ was obligated to come, and do for the Gentiles what He did for Israel.” Now where did he get the word ‘obligation’? He got it from the fact that he said, “Jesus that was the man, yet preexistent.” He said, “He knew who exactly who He was by virtue of the Scripture in the mouths of the prophets concerning Him.” And when He saw and knew their fulfillment He could identify Himself perfectly. So therefore, the understanding I have that He was obligated to come to the Gentiles is because of Scripture. 29. Now, you know I take you to Matthew 12, which is from Isaiah 42. Now It says here, (and we already read it,) that He healed the man on the Sabbath day. The healing of the man was not the issue. The issue was the misunderstanding of the Word of God by their own interpretation making It void. Now when you make an interpretation, an assessment apart from this Word, no matter what you say about the promise of God, it’s void. You’ve cut your throat concerning It. If you deny the days of the Son of Man you’re finished. If you don’t deny It, but misinterpret It, you’re finished. You say, “My God Bro. Vayle, that’s strict.” That’s exactly right, because only eight people make the ark. Which means a percentage, which is very, very tiny. Bro. Branham said, “I don’t know if it’s eight, eight hundred, or eight thousand, or what it is, a million.” Now, he knows there’s not a million. He said, “There’s going to be such a few people taken out of the Rapture living, (he said) they wouldn’t even miss it.” So, come on, “Put the Word, whole Word together, don’t just take one thing,” he said. 30. Now watch, when Jesus knew it, that is, they took a counsel against Him to destroy Him. Now, you can destroy a man without killing him. You can ruin his reputation. You can take away his character references and all those other things. You can say things that aren’t true, and get people to believe it, like that Pentecostal hoodlum. His daughter married this guy that wrote the song, I believe is that, ‘Just Over the Hilltop’, and stuff like that. So, he was over the hilltop all right. He said, “Bro. Branham had a familiar spirit.” Now I can stand here and tell you that man’s going to the lake of fire. “Oh, Bro. Vayle, don’t judge.” What are you trying to tell me? If you want to remain stupid, stay stupid. The Word of God proven by that, [points to the picture] the Pillar of Fire Himself. You can blaspheme Jesus the Son of man back there, but in this hour you can’t do it, and I’ll prove it to you by Scripture. You blaspheme now, there’s no forgiveness. The Book of Hebrews tells you categorically, there’s no place to turn if you leave this Message. That’s right. 31. [Matthew 12:] (15) (Now) when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and healed them all; (16) And charged them that they should not make Him known: Make what known? That He fulfilled the Scripture of Isaiah, He was the Messiah, the healer. Because remember, Jehovah Saviour can also mean Jehovah healer, because the word in the Greek ‘so-zo’ is healer or saviour, it’s doesn’t matter. (17) (Now, He said the word fulfilled in) Esaias the prophet, saying, (18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. (19) (And when He does, because He will,) He will not strive, Now, when Jesus was here in the flesh he strove, He took and made whips out of twine, and He beat the stuffing out of those guys in the temple. So don’t tell me that that was back there. (19) ... neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. In the streets! In Jn 7:37,39, “He lifted His voice and He cried.” So don’t tell me that applies back there. (20) (The) bruised reed he (won’t) break, (Oh is that a fact?) (The) smoking flax he (won’t) quench, (Is that a fact?) When He went, His Spirit went, and the Spirit of God is not resting upon Israel as a nation. And they’re not the body. There’s only one body, that’s the body of the Lord Jesus Christ right now, and there’s very few Jews that’s going to come in. They’re under the Fifth Seal and they’ll come in without it. And listen, It says here, (20) ... till he send forth judgement unto victory. He literally allowed Israel to be destroyed in 70 AD, and is now only raising them up. So, when this refers to the Gentiles, it’s telling you, that that same One is going to have to fulfill the commitment concerning Him to the Gentiles that’s in the Word, which I told you a minute ago about. 32. Now, let’s go back to Isaiah 42, and take a look at it, because that’s where It is. And these two races, these two generations brother/sister, of which we believe could well be the final installment is taking place. (1) Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. (2) He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. (3) A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. In other words, He’s going to discern and tell you what the truth is. Repent, and I’ll give you what it’s really all about. Thus saith the Lord, the beginning and creation of God. Thus saith the Amen, the God of Truth. That’s also Isaiah. That’s Rev 3:14-23, we’re into it. That’s the Laodicean church age. (4) He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 33. The people are going to have to wait for His Word, the restoration, which nobody believes but us. “Oh hey, we’ve already got the Word, hallelujah, and already got the interpretation.” How come then the smart guys, can’t figure out what I just told you this morning about Mt 24:1-3? They got it way down the road somewhere. “What’s the sign of You’re taking over? We know You’re here. Give me the sign. “Tell me about it,” they said. (5) Thus saith the LORD, (God the Lord) that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth, breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: (6) I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; A covenant. In other words, He Himself will fulfill His obligations to the Gentiles according to God. And Bro. Branham said, “He had an obligation.” God obligated. How many people know it? Not unless a prophet told you. (7) To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prisons, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 34. Remember, it’s in the last watch. At midnight the cry comes: “Behold the Bridegroom,” and they start coming out, the prisoners to organization, to creeds and dogmas are coming out of Babylon, “Come out of her my people.” And the Bible says, “You’re wretched, miserable, naked, blind.” [Rev 3:17] Oh It says right here who they are; prisoners and blind. Coming out of darkness, coming out of the prison house. Bound to organization, bound unto Satan. “And I say, ‘come on out’.” And from the time of refreshing from the Presence of the Lord, to the time of the literal coming of Jesus Christ Himself, we’ll meet Him in the air. There is a restoration of the Word of all the prophets, and you notice Moses is left out. It’s Samuel. And Bro. Branham patterned everything he said completely upon Samuel. “When did I ever tell you a lie? When did I ever take your money? When did I ever tell you something that didn’t come to pass?” Like Samuel he had to only have vindication that he knew the Word and the law of God that was already there. William Branham referring back to the apostle Paul, preached the same Message, and proved he had the same Word, the same as Samuel did with the law of Moses. Just keep your wires straight brother/sister, when it comes to the Word of God. Don’t get out of line. (8) I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. (There’s your Catholic church, and the Protestants doing the same thing.) (9) Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. (10) Sing unto the LORD a new song, (and so on right down the line.) And you read this, you’ll find you’re coming right up to the Millennium and right back to the things of Almighty God. Now, here’s what Bro. Branham said was in Matthew 4, which we took also to Matthew 12, and you will notice it is positively to the Gentiles. 35. So therefore, Christ must Appear, and that is the true Appearing. He must Appear to the Gentiles, because the Jews have been blinded and set aside. And remember, what He gave to Israel was the sign of the prophet Jonas. As Jonah was three days, and three nights in the belly of the whale, the Son of man three days or within, the three days in the heart of the earth. And you will notice that Jonah went to Gentiles. So therefore, the sign of the second Resurrection is far more momentous than the sign of the first Resurrection. It has to be, because the Scripture distinctly says, “He that believeth, even greater works than these shall he do, because I go to My Father.” [Jn 14:12] As Bro. Branham said, “He had more success in my ministry, then He had in His Own.” 36. Now notice in here it says, “The bruised reed He won’t break. And the smoking flax He will not quench.” [Mt 12:20] That’s exactly according to the Book of Revelation, that says, “Spare the oil and the wine, don’t you dare get rid of them.” [Rev 6:6] Now, “In His name shall the Gentiles trust.” [Mt 12:21] In other words, we have the revelation at the end time, we will get the true Name of Almighty God. We understand the oneness of the Godhead, and the understanding Name. And Bro. Branham said, “The Word of God revealed is actually the Name of Almighty God.” So, when we get that Name revealed, we see the complete perfection of the Rhema Logos of Almighty God in this hour which we have. 37. Now, let’s keep reading... [Matthew 12:] we read here, (22) Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: (and so on.) (23) (And they) said, Is not this the son of David? (24) (They said, this is the other fellow, this is antichrist.) (26) And Jesus (said, all right if I cast out Satan,) And Satan cast out Satan, (he said) he’s divided how’s his kingdom going to) stand? In other words, He’s telling you right here, it’s kingdom against kingdom. The kingdom of God is in your midst. It’s right amongst you and you can’t recognize it. And remember He said, “The kingdom of God cometh without observation.” [Lk 17:20] In other words, it will be there and you won’t see it, unless you’re predestinated to see it. Now, that’s what you’re looking at here. Now, He said, (27) And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, (who) do your children cast them out (by)? Every single church that branded William Branham of the devil, no matter how they cast out devils, have branded themselves. They’re the devil. If he’s of the devil casting out devil, then they’re of the devils casting out devil. How are you going to prove it? See, there’s only one proof and that’s vindication before you open your mouth. A prophet can’t say one thing until he’s vindicated. No way, shape and form. A Word prophet cannot do it. He’s got to be vindicated. Paul said so, Moses said so, and you see here in the case of William Branham, before he could come on the scene he had to be vindicated. And he certainly was, and the very same thing happened to Moses; the sign in the hand and then the discerning of hearts, which is the same thing. 38. All right. “He that is not with Me, is against Me.” Now watch, in 31, (31) Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Now at this time, you’ll notice that Jesus Christ was not the Holy Ghost. He personified the Holy Ghost, God was in Him. But, up until the time of that sacrifice, the death on the cross, they could not blaspheme, but they can blaspheme now, under the fact that this is spoken concerning the Gentiles and what you see here concerning the Hebrews, the Jews, doesn’t make this any different, because as Bro. Branham said, “He’s obligated to do for us, what He did for them.” Certainly, He’s got to do and to teach. The Holy Spirit in this hour could not open the seals. The Holy Spirit could not teach us doctrine. There is nothing that He could do, until first of all He authenticated Himself by vindication. That’s why I spoke on the Spirit of God the other night, the other day, to let you know that the very nature of God is by manifestation, and no other way. And you can tell right now from the Scripture exactly whether it’s the Spirit of God or not. If devils are cast out, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Parousia. Nigh. Parousia means 'nigh', it’s here. It doesn’t come by observation, as though the thing is set up and there is something ruling going on. It’s getting ready for the take over, and remember, they crucified the Lord of Glory and had the princes known who He was, they would not have crucified Him. So there’s a blindness in their knowledge. There’s a blind spot, like when you’re driving your car and you can’t see the other guy, and you crack up. It’s a crack up, it’s all over. So there is a crack up. (32) (Now) ... it (won’t) be forgiven him in this world, (or) the world to come. 39. Now watch, (33) Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. (Now, that’s taken from Matthew 7. See?) In other words, have I proven that I am that One? Then if I am that One, I will rule. And how will He rule? He will rule by edict. He will rule by command. Never mind the force, it’s the Word, that governs the force. Now, if you’re like a Stalin, your word is: “Kill all those guys that I don’t want around me. Starve the rest of them. Send the Sacraroffs(?) up there to Siberia. Get rid of all the Christians.” You see what I’m trying to tell you? You can’t have kingdom without word and power. You cannot have God without Word and power. You cannot have revelation without power to authenticate the fact you’re going to give the Word, and then what happen, the power backs up the Word. 40. So now, we got the promise of God, since this One has appeared to us, we have the promise of the Resurrection. How do you know? By vindication, and the giving of the Word. Can the Resurrection be far? No! It’s going on now. We’re into it. Now you say, “I don’t believe that.” Then you don’t believe Bro. Branham. See, you can’t let your mind go; you can’t let your thinking go. “Well, I just don’t...” Well fine, you just said what you don’t. How about considering what God does? What you do is no moment, except to condemn your soul. What I do, see, condemns our soul. (33) Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or make it corrupt: Because there’s no such thing in this hour, now watch, there is no such thing in this hour as that one giving us mixed signals. That’s over, because for two thousand years we’ve had mixed signals. We’ve had a wrong understanding of God’s Word. Now, (34) O generation of vipers,... (same thing John said. Could Jesus say different from John, if they both had the Holy Ghost? Why no way.) Now, there’s a generation of vipers at the end time amongst the Gentiles. (35) A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Hear what I said? Okay, You know where I’m going to go? How many want to guess? I’m going to test you. My God you can’t be here for eight, ten years and not know where I’m going. 41. 1 John the 3rd chapter. (11) This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (12) Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Where did they come from? They came from a heart. Where’s the understanding? It’s in the heart, down in the soul. So what are you looking at, at the end time? You’re looking at Christ Spirit, the Son of Man which spirit is revealed in 2 Thessalonians the 2nd chapter, and the spirit of antichrist, which is the spirit of the devil, the son of perdition. So before the spirit that’s amongst us is incarnated to us, so is that spirit of Judas the son of perdition incarnated, to be incarnated later when we get out of here. When Satan is cast down as the Bride goes up. Now watch, “But I say, that every idle word.” Now what does an idle word mean? “Oh some little tizzy thing.” You’ve got to be wrong in your thinking. Everybody makes jokes. An idle word is a word that won’t work, because idle means idle. You’ve got a word that sits down and won’t work. 42. So let’s go to Eph 5:6. Now my sermon takes anything out of you, remember this, it takes ten times more out of me, I’m working on adrenalin. And I’ve been working for months and it’s time I quit. Eph 5:6. (6) Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. The wrath of God can never come upon the disobedient children of God. Because He will give them the Word that works. Now the word that doesn’t work is the tradition of man, which makes the Word of God nothing but fables, which means it’s a moral book that you can listen to for morals, but there’s no life in it. Now, what or who you’ve been listening to, who’s been your preacher the last while? I’m hitting some, because, look I’m telling you flat, if you listen to me and I’m responsible for you, I’ll take that responsibility. Not that Lee Vayle will see you through. That’s the biggest bunch of crud under high heaven. The Chief Shepherd Himself has Appeared, and has the rule by the Word. 43. I don’t even take your money, you see why this morning I won’t take anybody’s money here. I live on the outside. Because nobody can say, “Well Lee Vayle I took care of you, and you’ve got to change your preaching,” or this and that. You can take your money and go out that door. Because I’ll throw you out. That’s right. If you want to fool with me, you’re fooling with the wrong guy. You see, I know what I’m talking about. Every idle word, every word that the preacher gave some of you sitting here this morning that won’t work, that took your wives and your families, come and do it now. Won’t work, because he can’t see you through. And means he’s commanded, he’s responsible, so am I. Now, I won’t say take your money or anything else, because I’m responsible with this Word here. And they rule by the Word of God the same as Jesus’ is doing right now, in that Pillar of Fire. Every idle word, they’ll give account in the judgment, and we’re before the White Throne now. “For by thy Words Thou shalt be (declared just. You didn’t even sin.) And by your words you’re condemned.” [Mt 12:37] I felt a little check when I was very strong to begin with in Matthew 24, that anybody will tell you that’s the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, that’s a lie from the pit of hell. And the context in which I put it is the truth, because they did not even know about a second coming, they couldn’t even place the first, and yet it has the application. Double fulfillment. 44. Now, and certain Scribes said, “Master we would see a sign.” No sign. But notice he said, “A greater than Jonah, a greater than Solomon.” Now watch, verse 43. [Matthew 12:] (43) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. (44) (And he said,) I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. (45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also unto this wicked generation. Now, in my feeble thinking, and I’m going to illustrate. This is not necessary doctrine, but though it could be doctrine. So I know where to draw the line in illustration and doctrine. Like I’ll read you a letter sometime, a man wrote me from Europe, and show you the guy is out of his ... he’s wrong. He’s trying to make doctrine out of illustration. Can’t do it. See? ...?... Bro. Branham said. “Don’t try to answer doctrinal questions, take them to your pastor.” True. 45. Now watch, the first church age was an espoused virgin. Pure. The Ephesian church under Paul. But to the age he said to the Corinthians, “You have already been caught in adultery by virtue of your mind being pregnanted with false doctrine. You now have another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit.” [2 Cor 11:4] Now listen, He said, “The spirit had been cast out, which was idolatrous.” The spirit comes back in. What is that? That’s the devil. And at the end time through seven church ages, seven times the Word of God is voided. Now you’ve got the end time man and he’s got all seven church ages under his full control. 46. Now watch, he started as the white horse rider, a bow, no arrows; he goes to the red horse, he goes to the black horse, he goes to the brindle horse, all poured into one. On the other hand, there’s the lion, and the ox, and the man, and the eagle, all poured in. So at the end time you’ve got every foul bird. You’ve got the devil in complete control of seven church ages, and seven messages, the church’s have all gone completely unto the devil. Now notice, He said, “So it shall be unto this wicked generation”. He is taking a man as an individual and putting it blanket over every individual. So you belong to a church system brother/sister, with the creeds and dogmas, you’re just as marked as the pope or anybody else. It’s all one, it’s called, ‘One.” As the Body of Jesus Christ is one, there’s going to be a massacre at the end time with the body of Satan, where the filthy eagles have gathered together. The filthy vultures. (46) (Now) while he talked, (they said, “Behold his mother,” and so on.) 47. Now, let’s go back to Matthew 24, to this generation. And he says there, them, he says, (3) (And they said,) what is the sign of your (parousia? What is the sign of your presence?) Now, what was the sign of Jesus’ presence, when He was here in flesh? Total rejection, except for a tiny minority. Totally set at naught by the priesthood. Traditions and the creeds of men. Totally set at naught, because they didn’t listen to the prophets. They either killed them at Jerusalem, or they drove them out. They wouldn’t take the wise men, which brought the Word, or the Scribes that wrote it down with total recall. They wouldn’t do that, they didn’t want it. And when it came to Him who was the fullness, He was totally surrounded, except for the elect eleven, and one of the twelve was the devil himself. Which all of Israel is bound up in Judas, because Israel said, “It’s better for one man to die than the whole nation to go.” And so it was far better for the world to turn on Bro. Branham than to receive him, because it meant then they had to, you know, do something about it. 48. So, as it was at the time of Jesus, the literal presence, at the end of the ages where the system has to change and the Millennium comes in; is an age of the greatest deception the world has ever seen. And Bro. Branham admitted that, many, many times he preached it. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and deceive many. Now notice, what He’s doing here. Because we have the parallels and you cannot disturb the parallels, they must go together all the time, because that’s the Alpha, Omega also. You’ll notice in here, they’re going to come saying, “I am Christ.” Now let’s face it, how many came to Israel saying they were Christ? There were a few, not many. Once in a while there’s somebody rose up and said, “I’m Messiah,” only to prove radically wrong. 49. Now, who is involved with Messiah on the grounds of Messiah coming based on the fact that they believed that He already came and rose from the dead? Christians so called, they’re Gentiles, nobody else. So the thrust is going to go to the Gentiles, and it’s to the Gentile church that He said, “You think that you’re rich and increased in goods and have lack of nothing, but actually, you’re wretched, miserable, naked, blind.” And He said, “Come to Me that you may get the true gold, and you may get the eye salve, which you don’t have now, and think you do have which is the Holy Ghost, and you can come and get it. And you are only going to get it by direct understanding that I’m here, I’m talking to you and you with Me.” So therefore, going on here, you’ll notice; many are going to come and say I’m Christ. He talks about wars, the beginning of sorrows, but mostly He talks concerning the false prophets that deceive. And He said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold,” letting you know this: that Bro. Branham said, “That iniquity is something that is in your heart, (he said,) you know better to do it, but you won’t do it.” Now, that’s exactly what he said in that sermon: ‘They Know Better’. And I preached that, ‘They know Better’. Because they know categorically, that a prophet is vindicated, and the Word of God is vindicated. 50. Now, (11) ... many false prophets shall (a)rise shall deceive many. (13) But (those) that endure unto the end, shall be saved. (23) (They’ll ) say, here is Christ (and) lo there, (don’t you) believe it. And then it says, Immediately after this particular time when the light comes, which we understand Luke 17, which we preached many, many times; He said, (34) This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. In other words, there is absolutely a race of God on this earth, there is a race from man on this earth, devil possessed, you name it, and it’s all going to peter out at the end time. But when you see these signs, and these things, you know that this is the end of the races. It’s all over. There’s going to be only the true race of Almighty God, through the true seed that came through Adam, the rest are entirely gone. So, there are your generations. “This generation shall not pass away.” I thank God, brother/sister, that we are going to be taken out of here. And I thank God, because God ordained it, that the rest are not going to be where we are. You know why? They would only mess it up. The Bible says so. Let’s rise and be dismissed. Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for Your goodness to us. That You give us these things Lord, and the understanding that we could not get any other way, but through You, by knowing what the prophet said. By knowing the hour in which we live. So we can look back and see the hour which was Alpha, and see the hour which is Omega. They never saw You then and understood the kingdom of God was there embodiment in You, because You were the Power and the Glory, the Wisdom and understanding of Almighty God. Yes sir, absolutely, and now today the same thing, that people do not see it, and therefore taking the false prophets and those people which are not ordained to handle the Word, put themselves in the unenviable position, which we know is destruction, blind leaders of the blind, both falling into the ditch. But Lord, we are not proud of ourselves, as though we had anything to do with this, but we are certainly proud of You Lord, and give You great glory and honor, and pray that we might even give You greater glory and honor. And we will do it hopefully through understanding in the blessed wisdom and revelation which You give us. So that our... not just our labors are not in vain but Lord, as You said in Your Own Word here, “By your words you’re justified, and by your words you’re condemned.” [Mt 12:37] And we know Lord, if we just give back exactly what You gave us in this end-time, and there cannot be any condemnation, but we will stand justified, absolutely as the prophet said, “As though you never did it, and all fall back on Satan.” Lord, these are wonderful promises in this hour. Help us Father to appreciate as never before, and to begin to be more and more taken up with them, and they more and more, taken up with us, until literally it becomes a Rhema Logos situation whereby we are one with Your Word Lord, and coming more and more to that place, until mortality gives way to immortality, and then there will be no more sickness, and no more death, there’d be no more thoughts whatsoever. No more reasoning’s, no more imaginings. But Lord even as it was in the days of Adam, and far beyond that in that period of great sanctification coming, growing right up to the place You want us to grow. Lord, that gives up tremendous, tremendous satisfaction and puts a lot of doubts and fears away. How we praise You for it Lord, sending us this prophet with this Word. Father, let us never be discouraged we pray, but always encouraged by it Lord, lifting You up Lord, and thereby lifting ourselves up. And we can only do it, by giving back to You that Word. May the Word take full preeminence in our hearts and minds and lives, healing us Lord God, because as Bro. Branham distinctly said, he said, “Take this Message for your healing.” And we know he said, “The Message and the messenger are one.” And Lord, today as we know You came down with Your Own Message. You are the Healer, and taking You as a Messenger we also have the healing, because it’s Jehovah Healer, Jehovah Redeemer. How we praise You for it Lord, and thank You. May it now become crystallized to the extent that, it is now rock-solid within our hearts, minds, and deep within our souls and the life within it beginning to come forth. Lord we already feel it in some areas under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, but we’re looking forward now to the day when it comes forth even as Abraham saw that promise fulfilled in him and Sarah, and right afterward came that one lovely son in flesh, the Royal Son, as it were in type from Abraham and Sarah. That’s our promise this morning Lord, and we know it’s true and we give You glory, we praise You for it, for Thou art all together lovely, and Thy Name is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful and who is like unto You. We therefore praise You and give You, as we say Lord, the glory and honor. And now go with us we pray, and strengthen oh God, and strengthen those amongst us that need Your strengthening power, especially as this time Lord, we think of Bill’s daughter Sarah, may she be completely strengthened with might. By the inner man oh God, knowing that there is nothing in this world that is overtaking us, but positively already there has been the remedy and the help which is in Jesus Christ our risen Lord. For the Resurrection is here Lord, and we know within it, every thought and everything is going to pass away, and we’re so grateful for it Lord, that we’re able to come forth in Your presence like unto You, and this is that hour. And now so Father, we commend ourselves as we go in the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. ‘Take the Name of Jesus with You’. This Generation - Page PAGE 28