List Židom 1.kap
Nezáleží na tom koľko ste mali prežití, ako skutočne to vyzerá, aké je to pozoruhodné, aké vzdelané, aký veľký nástroj na získavanie duší, ak to nie je vo svetle Slova, je to falošné. Je to tak. To sa musí zhodovať so Slovom. Na tejto strane, keď sa ľudia obrátili, ich myseľ je postavená rovno na Kristovi. A ak sú len trochu učení, a nezotrvávajú na modlitbe, stanú sa veľmi chladní a skostnatejú a stanú sa formálni, ľahostajní. A zase ak sú trochu energickí, ak nedávate pozor, prejdú na túto stranu a stanú sa radikálni a divokí. Vidíte? Odchádzajú do senzácií a všetkého možného.
Ale skutočná cirkev, to je zdravé evanjelium, rovno v strede tej trasy. Nie je to chladné a naškrobené, ani to nie je fanatizmus. To je naozaj dobré, staré, horúce evanjelium, láska Božia v srdci. Ide rovno v strede tej cesty a z oboch strán naň volajú. Je to tak. No to je to, čo ... A ako dostanete takú cirkev? Rovno zo Slova, z toho Urím, Thumím.
1... dať trochu. Myslím, že pre mňa nie je nič lepšie, než Slovo. Viera prichádza z počutia a počutie skrze Slovo Božie.
2Stredy a možno nedele (jedno nedeľné zhromaždenie) dáme pastorovi, aby si trochu oddýchol, on si to naozaj zaslúži a myslím, že by sme možno zobrali z Biblie nejakú knihu. Robievali sme to a niekedy sme to preberali aj rok.
3Pamätám sa, raz sme celý rok preberali knihu Zjavenia. Ale, ó, čo to boli za veci, ktoré sme sa naučili a aké to bolo ohromné. Potom sme išli naspäť a zobrali sme knihu Daniela, alebo knihu Genesis, alebo Exodus. A brali sme kapitolu za kapitolou, a to proste viaže spolu celú Bibliu. Ó, ako to mám rád.
4A trochu neskoršie budeme musieť prebrať ... Ak nás Pán bude ďalej žehnať a pôjdeme ďalej, dostaneme sa tu ku skutočne hlbokým veciam, skutočne hlbokým. A budeme takto prechádzať od jedného miesta Písma ku druhému.
5Mám rád, keď sa Písmo porovnáva s Písmom. Tak to musí byť. To je proste jeden veľký, krásny obraz. A v tejto knihe, ktorú rozoberáme, dostaneme sa ku ... ó, ku spaseniu a Božskému uzdraveniu a ku zázrakom a k milosti a ku ... Ó, tu v tom je všetko.
6A možno, že keď prídem ku miestu, kde - budem musieť ísť na zhromaždenia ... Nikdy neviem, kedy pôjdem na zhromaždenie, kedy ma zavolajú na zhromaždenie, pretože nič neplánujem, až kým necítim, že som vedený urobiť určitú vec. A to môže byť ... Prv ako bude ráno, môžem letieť do Kalifornie, hore do Maine alebo niekde, proste kde ma On zavolá. Preto nerobím veľké, dlhé cestovné plány, pretože to nemôžem robiť. Moja služba nie je taká, a to je rozdiel.
7A teraz prichádzam domov len na krátky odpočinok. Na tomto poslednom zhromaždení som schudol desať kíl. A pred nedávnom tam bol brat Mercier a brat Goad a povedal: „Brat Branham, všimol som si, čo robíš, ty do toho vkladáš celé svoje srdce.“
8Povedal som: „To je jediný spôsob, ako môžeš skutočne pracovať pre Pána. Dávať všetko čo máš rovno do prvej línie pre Krista. Celú svoju silu, celú svoju dušu, celé svoje srdce, celú svoju myseľ, všetko čo máš.“ Keď čokoľvek robíš, rob to poriadne, alebo to vôbec nerob. Vidíte? Nechaj to tak. Keď budeš kresťanom, vydaj Kristovi všetko čo máš. Svoj čas, svoj talent, všetko.
9Všímal som si práve tohoto mladého muža. To je tvoja žena, brat Burns, však? Hrajú a spievajú, ten mladý pár, a to nie je piano ani organy, ale to je nejaký nástroj, na ktorom brnkajú a robia niečo pre Pána. Ak to môžete robiť a spievať a to je ... Získavajú duše. Robte niečo, to je jedno, ak - ak môžete pískať, tak pískajte. Robte proste niečo, svedčte len, alebo robte niečo pre kráľovstvo Božie. Čokoľvek máte, použite to v službe pre Boha.
10No, nechceme vás tu držať príliš dlho, pretože viem, že idete do práce a musíte zavčasu vstávať a ... Ja chodím každé ráno poľovať na veveričky. Hovorím vám pravdu, to je to čo robím. Preto som sem prišiel, aby som si trochu oddýchol. A tak vstávam okolo štvrtej a idem do lesov a trochu poľujem a idem spať. A znovu naberám niečo na váhe, tak za nejaký čas si oddýchnem, ak Pán dá. A všetko bude v poriadku.
11No dobre. Teraz si otvoríme svoje Biblie ... Chcem, aby ste si každý večer nosili Biblie, aby ste - ak môžete. Ak niekto nemá a bude chcieť sledovať ako čítame, máme tu niekoľko. Niekto z pomocníkov vám ich podá. Chce niekto? Dobre, zodvihnite ruku.
12Som zvedavý, či brat ... Doc, poď sem a zober tieto Biblie. Ty stojíš tam blízko a brat Burns. Je to dobre? Burns? Počul som ho, že povedal ... Čo? Konrad. Volal som ho ... Možno začínam trochu zle počuť, brat Neville. Odkiaľ som vlastne zobral to meno Burns? Poznám ho do tváre a nemôžem si spomenúť jeho meno.
13A viete, keď začínate trochu starnúť, zistil som jedno. Robí mi trochu problém čítať túto Bibliu. A nerád myslím na to, že na čítanie Biblie budem nosiť okuliare.
14Ale tu nedávno som si myslel, že začínam slepnúť. A išiel som navštíviť Sama. A Sam povedal: „Bill, ja neviem.“ Povedal: „Vybavím ti prehliadku u špecialistu.“
15A išiel som do Louisville. A musela to byť vôľa Pánova, nejaký známy špecialista, zabudol som teraz ako sa volá. Ale on čítal moju knihu a povedal: „Ak pôjdete ešte niekedy do Afriky, chcem ísť s vami.“ Povedal: „A ak ... Tí Afričania vás milujú.“ A povedal: „Oni sú veľmi poverčiví, zvlášť na nôž, aby sa dali operovať.“ Tak povedal: „Chcem venovať šesť mesiacov svojho života na operácie šedého zákalu a takých vecí pri tej misii.“ A povedal: „Keby sme mohli ísť spolu a vy by ste takto mohli získať ich náklonnosť ...“ Povedal: „Potom ak oni majú šedý zákal a oko funguje, rád by som tam zadarmo pracoval šesť mesiacov.“ (A zabudol som ako dlho musíte čakať u neho na vyšetrenie.)
16A sedeli sme v malej miestnosti a bolo tam malé červené svetlo, tam v tej tmavej miestnosti. No, mohol som čítať tie písmená ktoré povedal ... dvadsať - dvadsať. Tak či tak som ich mohol čítať. A on to precvakol na pätnásť - pätnásť a mohol som to prečítať. A prepol to na desať - desať a mohol som ich prečítať. On povedal: „No, vaše oči nie sú až také zlé.“
17A tak mal tam malý teleskop. Dal tam malý aparát, také niečo malé ... Poznáte tie teleskopy? Koľkí si na to pamätáte? Zvykli sme sa cez ne dívať a pozerať sa na obrázky. Je to niečo také. A on povedal: „Môžete to prečítať?
A ja som povedal: „Áno, môžem.“
On povedal: „Prečítajte mi to.“
18A to malo ... ó, celý odstavec, takto a začal som to čítať a on to začal približovať. A čím ďalej, tým som to videl slabšie a slabšie a on to priblížil asi takto a ja som sa zastavil. On povedal: „Môžem vám jedno povedať, že ste prekročili štyridsiatku.“
Povedal som: „Áno, to je pravda, už dávno.“
19On povedal: „Ako ste to urobili?“ On povedal: „Ľudské oko obyčajne keď dosiahnete štyridsať rokov, tak ako vám šedivejú vlasy, tak očná šošovka sa splošťuje.“ Povedal: „No keby ste žili dosť dlho, znovu by to prišlo naspäť do pôvodnej formy.“ On povedal: „To je druhý zrak, tak to nazývajú.“ Ale povedal: „Človek asi pri štyridsiatke, oni v podstate ... „ Povedal: „To nie je nič s ich očami.“
20Mohol som - môžem vidieť vlas spadnutý na zemi. Keď je ďalej odo mňa ... Ale keď ho priblížite ... A on povedal: „Teraz si čítate Bibliu a držíte ju ďalej od seba.“ Povedal: „Po nejakom čase už nebudete mať dosť dlhé ruky. Nebudete ...?... aby ste ju mohli držať tak ďaleko od seba.“
21A tak mi urobil okuliare a tá spodná časť je na čítanie. On povedal: „No, za kazateľňou ...“ On si myslel, že ja som jeden tu z týchto veľkých kazateľov, viete. A tak povedal, že tá vrchná časť je obyčajné sklo, len obyčajné sklo. A tá spodná časť má v sebe nejakú šošovku, že môžem čítať z blízka, viete, takto. Ja ich nerád nosím.
22A teraz pri Biblickom vyučovaní a ... Zobral som si dnes večer Nový zákon. Tak to je ... Mám Collinsov Nový Zákon a sú v ňom dosť veľké písmená. Ale teraz, keď idem ku tomu druhému, asi si budem musieť zobrať tieto kamarátky a čítať cez ne. Ale nech je to čokoľvek, som rád, že mám niečo, že stále môžem čítať. A čokoľvek mám, všetko čo môžem budem dávať Bohu na chválu a dúfam, že On odstráni ten znak pokročilého veku. Nemôžem Ho prosiť, aby zobral odo mňa tento vek, ja ... Viete, to je tá jedna vec, ktorej sa všetci musíme podrobiť, musíme cez to prechádzať. A ja viem, že už nie som mladý chlapec, aký som bol voľakedy, keď som tu stával na pódiu. Mám štyridsať osem rokov. A predstavte si, za dva roky budem mať päťdesiat, brat Mike.
23Ó ... sotva môžem tomu uveriť. Nikdy som nevedel, že mi minulo dvadsať len asi pred dvoma rokmi. Je to tak. Je to tak! Nemohol som tomu uveriť. A je mi to ťažko uveriť, kým sa nepozriem na tie okuliare, a potom viem, že je to tak. Ale to je len zrak, ja sa cítim tak dobre ako len môžem a som vďačný aj za to. Ó, chvála Bohu!
24No, preberáme knihu Židom. To je ... To je jedna z najhlbších, najbohatších kníh Biblie. Hovorím vám, to je kniha, ktorá bude skutočne ... Ak Boh dovolí a my sa dostaneme do tohoto, verím, že nájdeme zlaté nugety, že až krikom budeme chváliť Boha ...?...
25A teraz ja ... Kniha Židom, čo ona skutočne je, predpokladá sa, že ju napísal svätý Pavel hádam, najväčší vykladač Biblie, ktorého svet mal, pomimo nášho Pána Ježiša Krista. A Pavol oddeľoval ... No, Pavel bol skutočným biblickým učiteľom. To bol vtedy Starý Zákon. To bola jediná Kniha, ktorá bola vtedy napísaná, ktorá sa nazývala Biblia. A on sa snažil tým Židom ukázať, oddeľoval ten Starý Zákon a ukazoval, že Starý Zákon je tieňom alebo obrazom Nového.
26Hneď tam by sme mohli natrafiť na cestu domov a zostať pri tom tri mesiace, pri tejto jednej myšlienke. Hneď tam. Aby sme išli rovno naspäť ... Ak si môžete teraz otvoriť svoje Biblie ... samozrejme sme v Liste Židom v 1. kapitole. Ale keď sa obrátime do Zjavenia, do 12. kapitoly, znovu to budete dokonale vidieť ako tie tiene ...
27Ak vy, ktorí máte ceruzky a budete si značiť tie miesta Písma ... V Zjavení v 11. kapitole nachádzame, že Ján na ostrove Patmos videl, ako na oblohe stojí žena a na hlave mala slnko a pod nohami mesiac. A táto žena bola ... a bola v pôrodných bolestiach a mala porodiť dieťa. A porodila chlapca. Červený drak stál, aby zožral to dieťa len čo sa narodilo a to dieťa bolo vytrhnuté do Neba a žena utiekla na púšť, kde bola živená na čas, časy a pol času, alebo na rozdelený čas.
28No, táto žena predstavovala cirkev. A dieťa, ktoré porodila bol Kristus. Mesiac pod jej nohami bol zákon, slnko na jej hlave bola milosť. Dvanásť hviezd v jej korune bolo dvanásť apoštolov. A tam kde na ... Dvanásť apoštolov bolo slávou alebo korunou Nového zákona. Vidíte? „Lebo žiadny iný základ nemôže byť položený, než ten, ktorý je už položený.“ Vidíte? To je základ, Nový Zákon, apoštolovia, náuka apoštolov a tak ďalej, to je korunováciou Nového Zákona.
29A potom mesiac je tieňom slnka, slnko len odráža svoje svetlo, keď je za zemou. A mesiac nám dáva svetlo, aby sme mohli v noci chodiť. A aký tu máme krásny obraz. Ďalší krásny obraz. Slnko predstavuje Krista, mesiac predstavuje cirkev. Oni sú ako muž a žena. A počas Kristovej neprítomnosti, cirkev vydáva menšie svetlo, Evanjelium, a to je svetlo, v ktorom máme chodiť až kým znovu nevyjde slnko. [Alebo Syn. Po anglicky slová “slnko“ a “syn“ znejú rovnako. – pozn.prekl.] Potom cirkev a Syn, mesiac a slnko spolu splývajú. Vidíte? Mesiac je časťou slnka a cirkev je časťou Krista. A počas Kristovej neprítomnosti, cirkev odzrkadľuje Jeho svetlo. A potom s takou istotou ako môžeme vidieť svietiť mesiac, tak môžeme vedieť, že niekde svieti slnko. A kým cirkev odzrkadľuje Kristove svetlo, Kristus niekde žije. Amen! Pamätajte na to.
30No, zákon bol predobrazom milosti, ale zákon nemal v sebe žiadnu spasiteľnú moc. Zákon bol len ... Zákon bol policajt. Policajt vás dá do väzenia. Ale vidíte, bola potrebná milosť, aby vás dostala von z väzenia. Vidíte?
31Tak Krv Kristova, Evanjelium nás oslobodzuje od hriechu. Zákon nás len robí hriešnikmi. Zákon len povedal: „Ty si hriešnik. Nepokradneš! Nezcudzoložíš! Nevypovieš falošného svedectva!“ Vidíte? To je policajt, ktorý vám hovorí, že robíte zle a že ste vinní. Ale Evanjelium je Dobrá Novina. Kristus zomrel, aby nás spasil od všetkých našich previnení a prestúpení zákona. Kristus zomrel, aby nás zobral von z väzenia.
32No Pavel, len čo sa obrátil, on sa neradil so žiadnym seminárom, ani sa neradil so žiadnym kazateľom. Ale všimli ste si, on odišiel do Arábie a bol tam tri roky. V Arábii.
33No, toto je podľa mojej mienky, že ... No, musíme porozumieť podklad tohoto, a potom budeme vedieť aké je to dôležité. A dnes večer v tejto prvej lekcii si robíme podklad.
34No, Pavel bol taký učiteľ Biblie, pretože on bol vyučený pod tým veľkým učiteľom všetkých časov, známym Gamalielom. A to bol jeden z najlepších v tom čase, ten veľký učiteľ Zákona a prorokov. Tak Pavel bol v týchto veciach dobre vyučený.
35A toto sa mi potom na ňom páči, toto veľké zjavenie, on bol v srdci úprimný. Vrah. On dal súhlas, aby bol Štefan zabitý a videl ako Štefan zomiera pod skalami a hrudami, kameňovaný na smrť. A ja si myslím, že to sa potom muselo Pavla dotknúť, keď videl Štefana ako zodvihol ruky ku Nebu a povedal: „Vidím nebesia otvorené a vidím stáť Ježiša po pravici Božej.“ A povedal: „Otče, nepočítaj im tohoto hriechu.“ A zaspal.
36Všimli ste si, že on nezomrel? On zaspal. Ani neverím, že pocítil ešte ďalší kameň. Tak ako dieťa zaspí v náručí svojej matky, tak Štefan zaspal v náručí Božom.
37S Pavlom sa niečo stalo, to sa ho potom dotklo. On potom ... každý človek, keď je usvedčený sa snaží proti tomu bojovať. On zašiel ku najvyššiemu kňazovi a on mu dal listy, povedal: „Ja pozatváram všetkých týchto ľudí, ktorí robia všetok tento hluk, a tých heretikov.“ (to čo bolo považované, akoby sme to dnes nazvali, za extrémny fanatizmus alebo tak nejako, ktorí robili veľa hluku a robili rozruch.) „My tam zájdeme a spravíme s tým poriadok.“
38A na tejto ceste, na starej ... to nebola široká diaľnica po akých my cestujeme. Tie cesty v Palestíne to boli len obyčajné cesty, lesné cesty vyšliapané od kráv, skade chodil cez kopce dobytok, ovce, kone, osly a ťavy.
39A Pavel bol na ceste do Damašku a jedného dňa okolo poludnia zasvietilo veľké Svetlo a zrazilo ho na zem. Nikto okrem Pavla to nevidel. Chcem, aby ste si to všimli. A hneď tu, toto - to s týmto teraz nesúvisí, ale tak sme vedení do tohoto pozadia, aby ste videli, že ten istý Ježiš ...
40No, On keď tu bol na zemi, On povedal: „Vyšiel som od Boha a idem naspäť ku Bohu.“
41No, keď On viedol deti Izraelove, On bol Ohnivým Stĺpom a On sa stal telom, a potom sa vrátil naspäť do toho istého Ohnivého Stĺpa. A keď stretol Pavla na ceste do Damašku, On bol tým Ohnivým Stĺpom, tým Svetlom. Vidíte? Veľké Svetlo. A Pavol povedal: „Kto To je, koho ja prenasledujem?“
42A On povedal: „Ja som Ježiš, ktorého ty prenasleduješ. (Svetlo!)“ Ó, či nie je On ohromný?
43A On je tu dnes večer, rovno tu s nami. Tam bola urobená Jeho fotografia. To je tá istá vec. Vidíte? Ohnivý Stĺp! Svetlo! Taký istý aký bol. Ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.
44No tí ľudia, ktorí boli s ním nevideli to Svetlo. Ale Ono tam aj tak bolo. Výsledok je ten istý.
45Či je možné, že niekto v tejto budove mohol vidieť Krista a nikto iný Ho nevidel? Samozrejme! To sa tam stalo.
46To sa stalo jednej noci, keď bol Peter vo väzení. A to Svetlo prišlo do väzenia a dotklo sa Petra a prešli rovno popri vnútornej stráži, vonkajšej stráži, prešli cez bránu, cez hlavnú bránu a cez mestskú bránu. Peter povedal: „Musí sa mi snívať.“ Ale rozhliadol sa okolo, ale to Svetlo odišlo. Kristus, to večné, ustavičné Svetlo. Tu Ho máte. Vidíte?
47No, na tej ceste ... A pozrite sa, ďalšia vec, že by sme mohli o tomto hovoriť, práve mi to prišlo na myseľ. Tí mudrci, ktorí nasledovali tú hviezdu, celou cestou z Indie, z Orientu - mesiace - prechádzali cez údolia a púšte. Prechádzala ponad observatóriá. A oni počítali čas v noci podľa hviezd. A žiadny historik, ani nikto sa nikdy nezmienil, že by niekedy videl tú hviezdu okrem tých mudrcov. To bolo určené len pre nich, aby ju videli.
48A tak ty môžeš vidieť niečo, čo ten druhý nemusí vidieť. Pre teba je to skutočnosť. Pre neho, oni tomu nerozumejú. Tak ako obrátenie. Vy môžete byť obrátení a radovať sa z požehnaní Božích, piť ich, požehnania Božie. A iný, ktorý sedí vedľa teba: „Ja nič nevidím!“ Vidíte? To je to. „Ja tomu vôbec nerozumiem. Ja nič na tom nevidím.“ No, on to proste nerozumie, to je všetko, kde ste.
49No, všimnite si, Pavel na svojej ceste, hneď ako mal toto veľké prežitie ... No on sa neuspokojil ... Preto bol Pavel na tom tak dobre.
50Naša lekcia dnes večer nie je hlboká. To je plytká lekcia, ale, ó, za chvíľu sa dostaneme do hĺbky. Ale toto je veľmi plytká lekcia. Ale toto je len začiatok. A čo to je, to je jedna vec, a to vyvýšenie Ježiša Krista. Pavel hneď od začiatku ...
51A prv ako on toto robil, Pavel bol biblický znalec. A znalec Biblie nebude nikdy zakladať svoju náuku na prežití. Nie veru! Oni nikdy nezakladajú svoju náuku na prežití. Môžete mať akékoľvek prežitie. Ale to musí byť TAK HOVORÍ PÁN. Je to tak.
52No v Starom Zákone mali tri rôzne spôsoby ako mohli poznať posolstvo. Prv zákon, to bol len zákon. Potom mali prorokov a takých, ktorým sa snívali sny a mali Urím a Thumím. No to môže byť trochu hlbšie.
53Urím a Thumím bol náprsník, ktorý nosil Áron na svojich prsiach. V ňom bolo dvanásť kameňov: jaspis, rubín, karbunkulus a tak ďalej. Oni mali všetkých tých dvanásť veľkých kameňov, ktoré boli na náprsníku a ukazovali, že on bol najvyšší kňaz každého pokolenia, tých dvanástich pokolení Izrelových. Tento náprsník visel v cirkvi na stĺpe a keď nejaký prorok prorokoval a oni si chceli byť istí, či je to pravda alebo nie, proroci, alebo tí, ktorým sa sníval sen, zastali pred týmto Urím a Thumím a on povedal svoj sen alebo svoje videnie, čokoľvek videl. A ak to Tajomné Svetlo ... Ó, vidíte to? Boh stále prebýval v nadprirodzenej oblasti. Tá zmes, tie svetlá boli len normálne až kým nezaznel ten hlas. A keď ten hlas narazil na tie kamene, ak to nebolo nadprirodzené, oni zostávali nečinné. Ale ak to bolo nadprirodzené, tie Svetlá všetky spolu vydávali farby dúhy. Amen. Vtedy to hovoril Boh: „To je Môj prorok. Ten sen pochádza odo Mňa.“ To bolo podľa Urím Thumím, ktorým súdili.
54Pamätáte sa na Saula, keď odpadol? On povedal, že nemôže mať sen. A prorok Samuel bol mŕtvy a nebolo inej cesty. On povedal: „Ani Urím ku mne nehovorí.“ Nič! Saul sa postavil pred Urím a jeho slová boli mŕtvym buchotom. Vidíte? Boh ho proste odmietol. A to Urím Thumím, to bolo Áronove potvrdenie jeho kňazstva. Keď Áron odišiel, Mojžiš ... ten náprsník visel na stĺpe.
55No, Áronove kňazstvo skončilo, keď Ježiš zomrel. A teraz oddeľujeme zákon od milosti, my máme stále Urím Thumím. A Pavel Ho používal. Vidíte? Dnes je Urím Thumím Božie nesmrteľné, večné, nehynúce Slovo. Vidíte?
56Lebo ktokoľvek odoberie niečo z tejto Knihy alebo pridá niečo ku nej. Ja nechcem nič pomimo toho, ale chcem všetko čo Ona má. To je Cirkev. My chceme ... A všetky veci musia byť potvrdené Slovom.
57Preto som medzi letničnými nedávno urobil rozruch, lebo som povedal: „Nemôžem pochopiť, kde olej vytekajúci z rúk, alebo krv vytekajúca z tváre, je znakom, že máte Ducha Svätého.“ To nie je zhodné s Písmom a ja to jednoducho nemôžem prijať. To musí pochádzať zo Slova.
58A tak Pavel, on proste miloval Slovo. Tak prv ako vydal svedectvo o tomto veľkom prežití, ktoré mal, odišiel na tri roky dole do Egypta. Myslím, že na tri roky. Na tri roky dole do Egypta. A viete čo si ja myslím, že tam robil? Verím, že zobral ten Starý Zákon a skúmal cez Starý Zákon a zistil, že To bol skutočne opravdivý Mesiáš. On musel dokázať svoje prežitie s Bibliou. Amen. Ó!
59Pozrite sa na neho, keď bol vo väzení. Všimnite si, je úsek v živote Pavla, keď bol tam vo väzení, dlhý čas. Napísal Knihu Efežanom, napísal tento list Židom. Vidíte? On mal čas. Boh ho dal tam do väzenia a on písal cirkvám tieto listy. Jeden cirkvi Efezskej. Jeden napísal letničnej cirkvi (s nimi mal veľa problémov). S letničnou cirkvou mal viac problémov než ako s ktoroukoľvek inou. Stále. Ale on bol za nich vďačný. Jediné čo ich mohol učiť ... Keď sa oni zišli, jeden mal jazyk, jeden mal žalm, jeden mal senzáciu, jeden mal pocit. On nemohol ku ním hovoriť o večnej istote. On im nemohol hovoriť o predurčení. On im nemohol hovoriť, oni boli nemluvňatá. Oni museli všetci - museli niečo cítiť alebo niečo vidieť, alebo mať zvláštny pocit a ... alebo niečo okolo nich, nejaké dôkazy.
60Ale ja verím, že keď on hovoril ku Efezským, mohol hovoriť o tom, že Boh nás predurčil za synov a za dcéry a adoptoval nás ako deti v Ježišovi Kristovi pred založením sveta. Pozrite sa na to. Ó!
61Pozrite sa na neho tu v Liste Rimanom a tak ďalej. Oni boli narastení. Ó, oni hovorili v jazykoch. Samozrejme! A mali medzi sebou ďalšie znamenia Ducha Svätého. Ale nerobili doktríny a senzácie a nespočívali na trasení sa a na zvláštnych pocitoch.
62Pavel povedal: „Vy s tým idete do extrémov. Keď už máte byť učiteľmi, stále ste nemluvňatá a musí sa vám podávať mlieko.“
63A to je to, o čo stále zápasím, aby tento zbor nebol hromadou nemluvniat. Aby sme boli narastení. Aby sme stáli na ceste. Ó! Tu to máte.
64Tak Pavel išiel prv tam, aby zistil, či jeho prežitie pasuje s Božou Bibliou.
65 Ó, či by to nebolo dnes ohromné, keby to ľudia znovu tak robili? Keby sme porovnali svoje prežitia s Božou Bibliou. Ak sa to nezhoduje, potom je naše prežitie zlé. V Urím a Thumím to nezasvieti! Ak to tam zasvieti (Amen!), máme To. Ale ak nie, nejaký ... Nestarám sa o to ako dobre to vyzerá, ako skutočne to vyzerá, ako keby to bolo správne, ak tieto svetlá na tom Urím a Thumím nezasvietia, je to zlé!
66A nezáleží na tom koľko ste mali prežití, ako skutočne to vyzerá, aké je to pozoruhodné, aké vzdelané, aký veľký nástroj na získavanie duší, ak to nie je vo svetle Slova, je to falošné. Je to tak. To sa musí zhodovať so Slovom.
67No, ja verím ... Je stred cesty. Cesta ... Mnohokrát ...Chodieval som do Nazarénskej cirkvi (Nech Pán požehná tých drahých ľudí), staromódni, posvätení Metodisti, to sú oni. Cirkev Božia, Nazaréni, Pútnici svätosti a mnohé z tých dobrých, starých, svätých cirkví. A oni zvykli spievať pieseň:
Idem po tej starej hradskej,
všade hovorím, že idem po nej.
Radšej budem starodávnym kresťanom, Pane,
než čokoľvek iné. (Dobré, ohromné!)
68A potom zvykli hovoriť o svätej hradskej. No, keď to budete tam čítať v ... Oni to majú z Izaiáša, z 35. kapitoly. No ak si všimnete, on povedal: „A bude tam hradská a cesta.“
69No, „a“ je spojka. Vidíte? A hradská ... To nebola svätá hradská. „Bude tam hradská a cesta, ktorá sa bude volať svätou cestou.“ Nie svätou hradskou, „svätou cestou.“ A tá cesta na tej trase ide prostriedkom tej trasy. To je takto postavené, že tie vody budú zmývať špinu na obidve strany, udržiavať čistú tú trasu. Ak nie, stále by ste mali na nej mláky. Ak by to nebolo správne postavené. Tá cesta je v strede tej trasy.
70Na tejto strane, keď sa ľudia obrátili, ich myseľ je postavená rovno na Kristovi. A ak sú len trochu učení, a nezotrvávajú na modlitbe, stanú sa veľmi chladní a skostnatejú a stanú sa formálni, ľahostajní. A zase ak sú trochu energickí, ak nedávate pozor, prejdú na túto stranu a stanú sa radikálni a divokí. Vidíte? Odchádzajú do senzácií a všetkého možného.
71No ... Ale skutočná cirkev, to je zdravé evanjelium, rovno v strede tej trasy. Nie je to chladné a naškrobené, ani to nie je fanatizmus. To je naozaj dobré, staré, horúce evanjelium, láska Božia v srdci. Ide rovno v strede tej cesty a z oboch strán naň volajú. Je to tak. No to je to, čo ... A ako dostanete takú cirkev? Rovno zo Slova, z toho Urím, Thumím.
72No, Pavel chcel dostať túto cirkev rovno do stredu tej cesty. A tak odišiel a tri roky študoval Písma, ktoré poznal. Preto Pavel napísal väčšiu časť tohoto Nového Zákona. Boh mu to dal napísať, pretože to bol príchod pohanského veku. Matúš, Marek, Lukáš a Ján (tie štyri evanjeliá), to boli židia. Ale Pavel napísal väčšinu listov.
73No všimnite si, teraz začneme vidieť tento podklad. Kde sa on nachádza, píše to z väzenia. A on mal všetko toto prežitie. Ale prv, toto prežitie bolo prv overené a toto je ku tomu jeho kľúčový list. Toto je jeho kľúčový list. List Rimanom a Efežanom a tak ďalej, mal svoje miesto, ale toto je kľúčový list.
74No, celá prvá kapitola je vyvyšovanie Ježiša a ukazuje Ho v inom svetle než ako len proroka. Toto je teraz celá téma. A teraz sa budem snažiť vojsť do toho tak rýchlo ako len budem môcť, aby sme tu neboli príliš dlho. Celá téma je oddelenie Nového ... Prvá kapitola je oddeľovanie Ježiša od každého proroka, alebo každého zákona a tak ďalej a ukazuje kto je Ježiš.
No pozrite sa:
Boh,
... (Začíname prvým slovom: Boh!)Boh, ... za ... ktorý za dávna ...
(“za dávna“ znamená: „dávno, v dávnom čase“) ...za dávna mnohorakým spôsobom hovorieval v minulosti otcom skrze prorokov,
75No vidíte, Boh v dávnych časoch, voľakedy, On hovorieval otcom skrze prorokov. On tak musel podávať svoje Posolstvo - cez svojho proroka.
76Boh poslal svojho proroka ako Eliáša, Jeremiáša, Izaiáša. A keď - keď si všimnete, nikdy v celej histórii sveta, cirkev nikdy nevyprodu- kovala proroka. Hľadajte v Starom Zákone, v Novom Zákone alebo v tomto čase - v tom poslednom čase. Ukážte mi nejakého proroka, ktorý by kedy povstal z cirkvi v tom poslednom čase. Ukážte mi nejakého, ktorý tam kedy povstal. A ukážte mi aspoň jedno miesto, kde by ten klerikálny systém toho sveta neodvrhol toho proroka, toho skutočného sluhu Božieho.
77Zamyslite sa nad tým. Jeremiáš, Izaiáš, všetci v Starom Zákone, oni ich odvrhli. Ježiš povedal: „Ozdobujete hroby prorokov a bielite ich a vy ste ich do nich doviedli.“ Je to tak!
78Cirkev v tom pokračuje. Pozrite sa na sv. Patricka. Vy katolíci si robíte na neho nárok. On nie je o nič viac katolík ako ja. Je to tak. Ale vy si robíte na neho nárok.
79Pozrite sa na sv. Franciska z Assisi. Robíte si na neho nárok! On nie je o nič viac katolík, ako ja.
80Pozrite sa na Johanku z Arcu. Upálili ste ju na hranici ako čarodejnicu, pretože videla videnia a bola duchovná. Upálili ste ju na hranici! A tá žena kričala o milosť a oni ju upálili na hranici. Asi o sto rokov neskoršie prišli na to, že ona bola prorokyňa, že bola Božím sluhom. Ó, samozrejme zaplatili ste veľkú pokutu. Vykopali ste telá tých kňazov a hodili ste ich do rieky.
81„Ozdobujete hroby prorokov, a dávate ich do nich.“ Je to tak. Klerikálny systém nikdy nezrodil muža Božieho. Nikdy, ani dnes, ani nikdy nezrodí. Organizované náboženstvo nebolo nikdy v Božom úmysle.
82Najstaršie organizovaná cirkev na svete je katolícka cirkev. Luteránska druhá, potom prichádza Zwingli, za Zwinglim Calvin a Calvínska ide ďalej do Anglikánskej, povstáva Anglo-Saxonská, potom Anglikánska cirkev a kráľ Henry VIII, keď on protestoval a tak ďalej, a išlo to ďalej ku Wesleyovým Metodistom a Nazarénom, Pútnikom Svätosti a ďalej ku tým posledným a to sú letniční. Všetci sa zorganizovali! A Biblia jasne učí, že katolícka cirkev je žena zlej povesti a protestantské cirkvi a ich organizácie sú jej dcéry - Zjavenie 17. Je to presne tak.
83Tak oni mali ... Nehovorím teraz o tých ľuďoch. Vo všetkých tých cirkvách sú dobrí ľudia (posvätení, spasení ľudia). Ale Boh nepovoláva svojich ľudí podľa organizácie. On ich povoláva ako jednotlivcov. Boh jedná s jednotlivcami, či si metodista, baptista, protestant a katolík, alebo čokoľvek si. Boh, ťa poznal pred založením sveta, a predurčil ťa do večného života, alebo si bol predurčený na večnú záhubu.
84Nie ... On nechcel, aby si zahynul, keď zahynieš. Ale On je nekonečný. On musel od začiatku poznať koniec, inak by nebol Bohom. Tak Ježiš neprišiel na zem, len aby povedal: „Dobre, budem vidieť či bude niekto láskavý ... Keď toto urobím a zomriem takou ťažkou smrťou, oni sa možno zamyslia — No, ja ... — To presvedčí ich srdcia a budú ...“ Boh takto nepostupuje.
85Ježiš prišiel za jedným určitým účelom, a to aby spasil tých, o ktorých Boh pred založením sveta vedel, že budú spasení. On to tak povedal. Je to tak. A tak vy ... „To nezáleží na tom kto chce, ani od toho kto beží, to je Boh ktorý sa zmilováva.“ Pavel to tak povedal. Ten istý muž tu.
86On povedal: „Preto Boh mohol povedať prv ako sa Ezav alebo Jákob narodili ... On povedal: — jedného som miloval a druhého som nenávidel.“ Ešte skôr ako sa ten chlapec narodil, Boh vedel, že Ezav je fušer a vedel, že Jakob je ... on miloval svoje práva prvorodenstva. Tak On vedel o tom ešte skôr ako bol sformovaný svet. No, za chvíľu nájdeme, kto bol Ten, ktorý to vedel. To je v tejto kapitole.
Boh ... za dávna mnoho ráz a rozmanitým spôsobom hovorieval ... ku otcom skrze prorokov,
v týchto posledných dňoch hovoril ku nám skrze svojho Syna, ...
Čo urobil? Hovoril ku nám v týchto posledných dňoch skrze svojho Syna.
87No, ako si potom myslíte, že ... Čo by bol prorok? Budeme mať potom proroka v tomto čase? Určite! Bude On cez neho hovoriť? Samozrejme! Ale on ... to ... Proroci v tých dávnych časoch, to bol Duch Ježiša Krista.
88Povedzme to priamo, pretože sa mi zdá, že to nerozumiete správne. Toto je teraz ako nedeľná škola, tak chceme, aby ste to jasne porozumeli. Vidíte?
89Všimnite si. Zoberme Ducha Božieho, ktorý bol v Mojžišovi. Dokonale ... je predobrazom Ježiša Krista. Všetky tie charaktery Starého Zákona znázorňovali kríž. Mojžiš: narodil sa ako zvláštne dieťa, ukrývaný v trstí, vzatý od svojich rodičov a tak ďalej a bol ... on bol kráľ - alebo vodca, zákonodarca, prímluvca, kňaz. Všetko čo on bol znázorňovalo Krista.
90Pozrite sa na Jozefa: milovaný od otca, nenávidený od svojich bratov a predaný za takmer tridsať strieborných. Hodený do jamy, pokladaný za mŕtveho. Vzatý von. Vo svojom prenasledovaní, čašník spasený a pekár zatratený (dvaja lotri na kríži). A potom, keď vyšiel, on vstal a vyšiel z tej jamy a sedel po pravici faraónovej, najväčší obchodný ... národ, ktorý porazil všetok ostatný svet. A nikto nemohol prísť ku faraónovi, jedine že by prišiel cez Jozefa (Ježiš sedí po pravici Božej a nikto nemôže prísť ku Bohu, jedine skrze Krista). A keď Jozef opustil ten trón a vystúpil, vyšli pred ním ľudia, ktorí volali a trúbili na trúbach a hovorili — Skláňajte kolená, Jozef prichádza.
91A keď bude prichádzať Ježiš, bude znieť trúba a každé koleno sa skloní a každý jazyk vyzná. Tak veru! On tam bol.
92A keď Jozef zomrel, on tým, ktorí očakávali na vyslobodenie zanechal pamiatku.
93Nedávno som tu položil svoju ruku na tú starú truhlu, bola urobená z olova. A jeho telo tam malo byť ... Jeho kosti ... povedal: „Nepochovajte ma tu, lebo jedného dňa vás Boh navštívi.“ (On bol prorok.) „Boh vás navštívi.“ A on povedal: „Keď pôjdete do zasľúbenej zeme, zoberte moje kosti.“
94Ježiš zanechal pamiatku - prázdny hrob. Jedného dňa, keď pôjdeme do hrobu a naši milovaní ... a budeme počuť tie malé hrudy, keď oni povedia: „Popol do popola a prach do prachu a zem do zeme.“ Ale brat, môžeme sa pozrieť cez more na prázdny hrob. Jedného dňa pôjdeme z tadeto preč, pôjdeme domov. On prichádza.
96Všetko je obrazom. Pozrite sa na Dávida: jeho vlastný ľud ho odmietol, jeho vlastný ľud ho zosadil z tróna. Bol kráľom Jeruzalema, jeho vlastný ľud ho vyviedol z Jeruzalema. A vyšiel na Olivovú horu, pozrel sa naspäť a zaplakal. On bol odmietnutý.
97Osemsto rokov po tom, Syn Dávidov, Kráľ Jeruzalema, sedel na vrchu a plakal, pretože bol odmietnutý.
98To bol Duch Kristov v Dávidovi. Všetko znázorňovalo kríž. Tí proroci tam vtedy hovorili v Jeho mene. Žili v Jeho mene. Postupovali v Jeho mene. Skutočne! „Boh za dávna mnoho ráz a mnohým spôsobom hovorieval ku otcom skrze prorokov, ale v tomto poslednom dni skrze svojho Syna.“
99Tak proroci a duchovní ľudia v tomto čase sú len odzrkadlením Krista. Oni tam stáli - dívali sa skrze zákon. A tu na tejto strane stoja a dívajú sa naspäť iným spôsobom, skrze milosť.
100To v Liste Židom 11, posledná kapitola, stále som sa tomu divil, v tej poslednej kapitole, v poslednej časti tej jedenástej kapitoly Židom, keď hovorí o Abrahámovi. Tá veľká kapitola o viere, a na konci on povedal: „skrývajúc sa chodili sem a tam v ovčích a kozích kožiach, strádajúci a pílami rezaní.“ Oni chodili sem a tam, nemali miesta kde ísť, nenávidení, pohrdnutí a prenasledovaní, ktorých svet nie je hoden, takých ľudí.
101Potom sa Pavel postavil a povedal: „Ale oni bez nás nie sú dokonalí.“ Pretože oni sa dívali len po kríž a my sa dívame cez kríž. My máme Ducha Kristovho po tom, ako sa To stalo ľudským telom a prebývalo medzi nami. My sem prichádzame skrze Ducha Svätého a to je oveľa lepší plán.
102A niekedy sa divím, čo kresťanstvo dnes očakáva. Kazateľ, ktorý káže v stane musí byť ... alebo v nejakej novej cirkvi alebo má nejaké nové poverenie, hovorí si, že je prorok, ide tam a hovorí: „No, ak mi dajú toľko a toľko peňazí. Ak budem môcť mať najlepšie auto. Ak oni ... ak mi každých šesť mesiacov budú dvíhať plat.“
103My musíme mať najlepšie. My musíme mať najlepšie domy. My musíme mať najlepšie šaty. Čo budeme robiť, keď zastaneme v prítomnosti týchto mužov, ktorí chodili sem a tam v kozích a v ovčích kožiach, nemali miesta, kde by hlavu zložili. Blúdili po púšti. A z nás si niekto môže urobiť žart a sme hotoví prestať chodiť do zhromaždenia a viac tam už neísť. Čo dnes kresťanstvo chce! Máme sa hanbiť za seba. (Ó Bože, buď nám milostivý.)
104V tom čase On hovoril skrze prorokov, ale v tomto čase cez svojho Syna. Tam to bolo slovo proroka. Toto dnes je Slovo Syna. Ó, nech je požehnané meno Pánovo!
105Inými slovami, keď sa dívate na tieň, na negatív, môžete urobiť chybu. Ale toto je vyvolané. Obraz je jasný. To bolo skrze proroka, toto je skrze jeho Syna. To bolo skrze negatív, toto je skrze pozitív. Amen. Vidíte to? Nie je možné, aby ste to prepásli. Dnes je to pozitív skrze jeho Syna. Ó, aké je to ohromné!
... ktorého ustanovil za dediča ...
(ó)... za dediča všetkého,
106Čo to bolo? To bolo ustanovenie. Ó, počúvajte! On bol ustanovený (Kristus) za dediča všetkého. Ó, diabol to vedel od záhrady Eden. Vidíte, keď diabol počul to Slovo, tam v ten deň pri súde tých ľudí, povedal: „Pretože pochádzaš z prachu ... na prach sa obrátiš. A Semeno ženy rozdrtí hadovi hlavu.“ Zasľúbené Semeno!
107Satan neustále vyčkával na to Semeno. Keď sa Ábel narodil, povedal: „No prosím, to je to semeno.“ A zabil Ábela. Jeho syn, Kain, zabil Ábela. A len čo Ábel zomrel, on povedal: „Mám to semeno.“ On to zabil. On povedal: „Mám to.“ Ale Ábelova smrť ... Setove narodenie bol znovu vzkriesenie. Pozorujte ako oni prichádzajú.
108Tá Setova línia: ona prichádza pokorne, spravodliví ľudia, ďalej cez Enocha, ďalej ku Noemu, do konca predpotopného zničenia.
109Pozrite sa na Kainovu líniu: títo ľudia sa stávajú chytrí, vzdelaní, vedci. Či Biblia nehovorí ... či nepovedal Ježiš, že deti tohoto sveta sú múdrejšie než deti Kráľovstva? Pozrite sa na tú Kainovu stranu ešte aj dnes. Chytrí, vzdelaní, skeptickí, veľmi nábožní. Vidíte? Veľmi nábožní ale vedeckí, stavitelia, veľkí ľudia.
110Zoberme veľkého človeka - pozrime sa na Tomáša Edisona. Mnoho veľkých ľudí - pozrite sa na Einsteina, na tie tak zvané svetové mozgy dnes, na tie svetové mozgy. Ale my sa nesnažíme využívať mozgy. My dovolíme, aby v nás bola myseľ, ktorá bola v Kristovi a dívame sa do tohoto Slova a tak to nazývame!
111Doktori medicíny, hoci si ich vážime s čímkoľvek čo máme, ale väčšina z nich sú skeptici, agnostici. Pozrite sa na dnešných chytrých, inteligentných ľudí. Oni sú tam na tej strane, na Kainovej strane.
112Ale pozrite sa na tých ponížených a pokorných. Tu znovu vidíte vzkriesenie. Ó, nech je požehnané meno Pánovo. Tu to máte.
Všimnite si:
... ktorého ustanovil za dediča všetkého, skrze ktorého učinil aj svety;
(Kto učinil svety? Kristus. Či Kristus učinil svety? Tak veru!)
Poďme trochu ďalej:
ktorý súc odbleskom jeho slávy a obrazom jeho
prítomnosti, ... (Odblesk čej slávy? Božej slávy. Obraz čej prítomnosti? Božej! Ó, to sa mi páči.) ... čiobrazom jeho podstaty
[Anglický preklad: “obrazom Jeho Osoby“ – pozn.prekl.]a udržiava všetko slovom svojej moci ...
Tu to máte! Slovo udržiava všetky veci. Ježiš povedal v Matúšovi 24: „Nebo a zem pominú, ale moje slová nikdy nepominú.“ On všetko udržiava.
113Veda sa to snaží poprieť a hovorí: „To je stará kniha, to bolo prekladané.“
114Ešte aj rímsko katolícka cirkev, biskup Sheen povedal: „To bolo prekladané štyri alebo päťkrát a nie je na tom veľa. Nemohli by ste podľa toho žiť, keby ste museli.“ Ale On udržiava všetko svojím Slovom. Amen. To je to, čo si ja o tom myslím. Ja verím Biblii:
... slovom svojej moci, ...
(V Slove je moc.)...a učiniac si skrze samého seba očistenie od našich hriechov, ...
(pozrite sa sem)... posadil sa po pravici Veličenstva na výsostiach;
115Čo sa snaží Pavel robiť? On sa snaží ukázať, že Boh mal v úmysle urobiť všetko v Kristovi a Kristus bol obrazom Božím. Plný výsledok tejto kapitoly sa zaoberá s tým, ako bol On vyšší od anjelov, vyšší než všetky moci. Anjeli sa mu klaňali. Pavel sa Ho snaží vyvýšiť.
116No, chcem skúsiť ... Ak sa nedostanem ďalej než ku tomuto, to ďalšie tu je vyvyšovanie Krista. To čo tu Pavel hovorí, tak ako v 11. kapitole a všetko, čo hovorí o svete. On povedal: „Ktorému z anjelov povedal — Ty si môj syn, ja som ťa dnes splodil.“ Vidíte?
117Koniec sveta ... Oni zahynú, svet zahynie, ale ... a všetky veci na svete zhynú. On ich zvinie ako plášť. Oni zostarnú a obrátia sa a pominú. „Ale Ty vždy trváš; Ty trváš na veky. Ty si môj Syn, Ja som ťa dnes splodil, a nikdy nezhynieš.“ Sedí po pravici Veličenstva. Čo znamená pravica? Nie to, že Boh má pravú ruku a niekto sedí pri nej. Pravá ruka znamená „moc a autorita“. Má všetku autoritu na nebi a na zemi. A všetky nebesia a zem boli učinené skrze Neho.
118 No, kto je táto osoba? Tento veľký muž, Kristus? Tu: Boh v Otcovi, Synovi a v Duchu Svätom, to nie je trojica ... to nie je trojica ľudí. To je trojica úradu, jedného Boha.
119On bol Otec, ktorý viedol deti Izraelove. To bol jeho úrad, veľký Jehova Otec. A On prebýval na zemi, a bol nazvaný „Syn“. A teraz prebýva vo svojej cirkvi a je nazvaný „Duch Svätý“. Nie traja Bohovia, jeden Boh v troch úradoch. Otec, Syn a Duch Svätý! Ľudia sa z Neho snažia urobiť troch Bohov! Boh otec, ... Preto Židia ... Nemohli by ste, židovi toto nikdy nenahovoríte. Nie, že to ... On nemôže, on má prikázanie, že „Ja som jeden Boh.“ Je len jeden Boh.
120V Afrike krstia tromi rôznymi spôsobmi. Raz krstia na Otca, raz na Syna a raz na Ducha Svätého. Misia Apoštolskej Viery, oni krstia tri razy dopredu na Jeho smrť. A to nazývajú Plné Evanjelium na západnom pobreží - alebo na východnom pobreží, krstia tri razy dozadu. Vravia, že On ... „na Jeho pohreb.“ A on povedal: „Keď On zomrel, padol dopredu.“
121Iný povedal: „Nie, človeka pochovávate na chrbát.“ To sú bezvýznamné staré technické veci a oboje je zlé. Oboje je podľa Písma zle. Toto je Urím a Thumím. Ono to dáva doporiadku.
122No tu, predstavme to len, aby sme videli, čo to - ako to vyzerá dnes. Tu to je, ak to chcete vidieť. Za celých tých dvadsať päť rokov, ako som kazateľ. Študoval som to a často som rozmýšľal, keď dary v cirkvi ... Čo sú tieto dary: proroctvo, hovorenie v jazykoch, vykladanie jazykov, Božské zjavenie a tak ďalej? To všetko prichádza cez Krista.
123No pozrite sa, Kristus je hlavou všetkého. A On je hlavou cirkvi. A videli ste niekedy veľký diamant? Ktorý je správne odštiepený, treba z neho odraziť malé úlomky, odštiepiť to z neho. To vytvára správny diamant. Načo sú tie úlomky? Skutočný diamant, keď sa vydoluje, on je dotlčený. Skutočný diamant keď je vydolovaný ...
Bol som v Kimberly. Vy, mnohí z vás ste počuli, že tam na ulici môžete nazbierať diamanty, to je pravda. Billy, ja a pán Bosworth. Predseda diamantových baní v Kimberly zobral ... On tam na zhromaždení bol mojím pomocníkom. A oni nás tam zobrali ... Oni ich dolujú asi - asi 1 700 stôp pod zemou [približne 570 m – pozn.prekl.] Oni vydolujú modrý kameň. Veľký modrý ako tento modrý kameň, ktorý je tu neďaleko. A tí domorodci, oni ich spúšťajú 1700 stôp pod zem, aby ich dolovali, aby držali tú cenu hore. Išli by ste tam ku rieke a oni to tam strážia na štyristo míľ. Povedal, že keď zoberiete dve desať galonové vedrá [1 galón - 3,78 litra. – pozn.prekl.] a naberiete ich plné piesku a keby ste s tým mohli ísť domov, boli by ste multi milionárom, toľko by v tom bolo diamantov. Ale oni musia pracovať a dolovať ich, aby držali hore ich cenu.
124No, diamant keď sa vydoluje, je to len veľký, hladký, okrúhly kúsok skla. Sú modré diamanty, čierne diamanty, smaragdové [sýto zelené – pozn.prekl.] a číre diamanty, biele diamanty. Ale keď je vydolovaný ... Potom keď je on opracovaný a dáva sa do používania, časť toho diamantu musí odpadnúť. A to musí odpadnúť - musí byť z neho odštiepené. Odraziť malé úlomky, pretože keď to príde na priame svetlo, takto, to sa ligoce. To štiepnutie, ono spôsobuje, že sa ligoce, podľa toho ako je preseknutý. On je preseknutý, preštiepený, a potom keď je to urobené to spôsobuje, že sa ligoce a jeden bude vydávať zelené svetlo a iný modré svetlo a možno ďalší smaragdové svetlo a červené svetlo a vychádzali by z toho rôzne svetlá ako farby dúhy. Oni to nazývajú oheň v diamante.
125No, každé z týchto svetiel reprezentuje dar. Ale to je len ... Kristus je ten Diamant. A On bol ten, ktorý prišiel a bol zdrtený a zranený a štiepaný, aby mohol odzrkadľovať naspäť samého seba, ako svetlo pre svet. On je ten Majstrovský Diamant.
126Môžete si predstaviť, že ešte skôr ako bola zem, prv ako bolo svetlo, prv ako boli hviezdy, prv ako čokoľvek bolo? Je veľká Fontána vydávajúca Ducha a z tejto Fontány vyšla najčistejšia láska. Pretože nič iné nemohlo stade vyjsť, než láska. No my ... To, čo my dnes nazývame láskou, to je prevrátená láska. Ale akonáhle dostaneme do seba tú príchuť alebo trochu tej lásky, to premieňa celý náš názor.
127Potom stade vychádza ďalší prameň, z tejto hlavnej Fontány, z Diamantu a to bolo nazvané spravodlivosť. Úplná spravodlivosť. No preto sme museli mať zákon. Preto zákon musel mať súd. Keby za zákonom nenasledoval súd, zákon by bol nanič. A keď bol vykonaný súd podľa zákona, ktorý prinášal smrť ... A nebolo nikoho, kto by mohol zaplatiť ten trest, okrem samého Boha. A On zaplatil trest za našu smrť a zobral na Seba naše hriechy, aby sme my mohli byť spravodlivosťou Božou skrze Neho.
128No, keď vyšli tieto veľké svetlá alebo veľké lúče Ducha: láska, pokoj, ... To všetko tam bolo. To ... Tam nebolo žiadne trápenie, tam nebola žiadna nenávisť, žiadna zloba. To nemohlo pochádzať z tejto Fontány. To bol Jehova! To bol Jehova Boh. A teraz, ako to nazývajú teológovia, z Toho vyšla teofánia, ktorá bola nazvaná v Písme „Logos,“ Logos, ktoré vyšlo z Boha. Je to ťažko vysvetliť, ale to bola časť Boha.
129No, tu je to čo sa stalo. Ó... Prepáčte. Len som narazil na toto ... Toto mi robí dobre, toto tu milujem. Vidíte? Logos a táto veľká Fontána; táto veľká Fontána Ducha, ktorá nemá začiatku ani konca. Tento veľký Duch sa začal formovať do stvorenia, a Logos, ktoré z toho vyšlo bol Syn Boží. To bola jediná viditeľná forma, ktorú mal ten Duch. A To bola teofánia, čo znamená telo a to telo vyzeralo ako človek.
130Mojžiš To videl, keď To prechádzalo cez ... popri skale. A on sa na to pozrel a povedal: „Vyzeralo to, ako chrbát človeka.“
To je ten istý druh tela, ktoré prijmeme, keď tu zomrieme. „Keď tento pozemský stánok bude zborený, máme iný pripravený.“ To bolo To. A to bola Teofánia, ktorou bol Syn Boží. Ten Syn, to Logos sa stalo telom, pretože my sme boli daní do tela. A tá Teofánia, to Logos sa stalo telom tu medzi nami a To nebolo nič iné ako miesto prebývania, lebo tá večná Fontána prebývala v Ňom. Ó, vidíte to? Tu to je! To bol Ten, ktorý v ...
131Pozrite sa sem. Prejdime teraz rýchlo do 7. kapitoly Židom. Len na chvíľu o milosti, ak bude vôľa Božia. Pozrime sa ako to tu vyzerá. Abrahám ... (Koľko máme času? Máme desať minút.) Dobre, zoberieme toto a potom zakončíme na ďalšom ... alebo v nedeľu, ak bude vôľa Božia.
132Abrahám sa navracia od porážky kráľov.
Lebo ten istý Melchisedech, kráľ Sálema,
... (Koľkí viete, čo - čo som povedal, že bolo Sálem? Jeruzalem.) ...kráľ Sálema, kňaz najvyššieho Boha, ktorý vyšiel v ústrety Abrahámovi, ktorý sa navracal od porážky kráľov a požehnal ho,
(Počúvajte!)ktorému aj desiatok udelil Abrahám zo všetkého, ktorý sa volá, keď sa preloží jeho meno, najprv kráľ spravodlivosti a potom i kráľ Sálema, čo je v preklade: kráľ Pokoja,
bez otca, bez matere, bez rodoslovia nemajúci ani počiatku ani konca života, ...
133Kráľ prichádza zo Sálema a stretáva sa s Abrahámom, ktorý prichádzal od porážky kráľov. A tento Kráľ nemal otca, ani matku, nemal počiatok ani koniec života. Koho to stretol Abrahám? No, zamyslite sa: „On nemal otca, On nemal matku, On nikdy nemal čas, v ktorom On začal a On nikdy nemá čas kedy on skončí. Tak ten istý Kráľ Sálema musí dnes žiť. Amen. Vidíte to? To bola Teofánia, to bol Syn Boží! Aký Sálem? Ten Jeruzalem, ktorý je hore! Ktoré Abrahám, ktorý bol požehnaný krúžiacim ohňom, ... snažil sa nájsť mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom bol Boh. On chodil sem a tam v ovčích a kozích kožiach, všade. Strádajúci, chodil sem a tam, a hľadal mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom bol Boh. A stretol Kráľa toho Sálemu, ako prichádza a zaplatil Mu desiatok zo všetkej koristi. Amen! Tu to je. Ó, brat Graham, to bol On. To bol On!
Abrahám Ho znovu videl. Jedného dňa sedel v stane. Díval sa a tam prichádzali, videl prichádzať troch mužov.
134Viete, s kresťanom sa niečo deje, že pozná Ducha, keď To vidí. Keď on ... On to proste poznal. Na tom je niečo duchovné. Duchovné veci sa duchovne rozoznávajú. Viete ... Áno, on by to proste mohol povedať. Ak je skutočne narodený: „Moje ovce poznajú Môj hlas.“
135A on proste vedel, že to bolo niečo. On vybehol von a povedal: “Vojdi, môj Pane. Sadni si. Zastav sa na chvíľu. Prinesiem kúsok chleba a dám do Tvojich rúk. Umyjem Tvoje nohy. Odpočiň si, potom pôjdeš ďalej svojou cestou, lebo - prišiel si ma navštíviť.“ Tam hore v pustej zemi, na tej ťažkej ceste, na ceste s niekoľkými Pánovými pohrdnutými. Kým Lót žil v hojnosti, jeho synovec tam dole. Ale on žil v hriechu. To produkuje tá veľká hojnosť - hriech.
136Tak Abrahám ich zadržal. Mal trochu vody a umyl im nohy. Bežal do stáda pre teľa a zobral tučné teľa a zabil ho a dal aby to jeho sluhovia pripravili. A povedal: „Sára, zamies a sprav koláče.“ Viete čo je to zamiesiť ... To je, to znamená ... Viete, mama zvykla používať taký tĺčik, ona to robila v nádobe na múku. Videli ste niekedy nejaké s tým sypátkom? A to tam malo taký tĺčik a vy ste tým prehrabávali tú múku. A to takto hustlo, a tak ste to trepali. Veľakrát som videl mamu s tým tĺčikom, mala takú malú okrúhlu vec, na ktorej bolo také drôtené sito. Zodvihla tú múku a takto preosiala. Viete. A takto s tým poklepala. A potom zobrala ten tĺčik a prehrabávala v tom, aby to všetko umiesila. A keď sme museli ísť dole do starého mlyna, dať si zomlieť múku. A veľké mlynské kamene (viete, také ťažké) - robil sa z toho riadny kukuričný chlieb. Na tom by ste vládali celý deň píliť drevo.
137Tak potom povedal: „ Zamies rýchlo a sprav nejaké placky. Hneď tu na ohnisku. Ponáhľaj sa.“ A podojili kravu a doniesli mlieko. A zobrali ... zmútili to a spravili maslo. A potom išli a zabili teľa a zobrali mäso a opiekli ho. Zobrali maslo, chlieb a na tie horúce placky dali maslo. (A to je naozaj dobré!) A celé to pomazali. A zobrali to a predložili tým trom mužom.
138A kým oni jedli, stále sa dívali smerom ku Sodome. A po chvíli oni vstali a začali odchádzať. A On povedal: „Abrahám...“ Povedal: „Či budeš tajiť predo mnou.“
139„Nemôžem zatajiť pred tebou, čo idem urobiť. Idem tam dole. Hriechy Sodomy prišli do môjho ucha.“ Kto bol ten muž? Jeho šaty boli celé zaprášené a sedel tam a jedol mäso z teľaťa a pil mlieko od kravy a jedol placky a maslo. Kto je tento zvláštny človek.? Sedeli tam dvaja, či traja. Šaty mali celé od prachu. Ó, áno: „My sme z ďalekej krajiny.“ (Áno, z ďaleka!) A tak on povedal ... No, kto oni boli?
140A On povedal: „Nemôžem zatajiť pred Abrahámom, vidím, že on je dedičom zeme.“ (Amen!) „Ja zjavím svoje tajomstvá (inými slovami) tým, ktorí sú dedičmi zeme.“ Tam má byť dnes cirkev. Je to tak. Poznať tajomstvá Božie a vedieť ako sa držať a správať a čo robiť a ako chodiť a ako žiť. My sme dedičmi zeme. Je to tak. On To zjavuje vám, pretože On nemôže nič zatajiť. Preto vidíme diať sa tieto veci. A svet hovorí: „Ach, to je banda fanatikov.“ Ale nech to len vravia. Dedič zeme pozná tieto veci. [Prázdne miesto na páske. – pozn.prekl.]
... budú sa nazývať deťmi Božími.
Blahoslavení tichí, lebo oni dedične obdržia zem.
On im dáva poznávať svoje tajomstvá, zjavuje im to. Ukazuje im čo robiť a ako žiť, ako opúšťať veci tohoto sveta. Ako chodiť pobožne a žiť pobožne v tomto terajšom svete. Chodiť s Ním! Nech si svet hovorí, čo chce.
141Tak On povedal: „Nemôžem tajiť pred Abrahámom toto tajomstvo, pretože vidím, že on je dedičom zeme.“ Ale On povedal: „Idem dole zničiť Sodomu. Idem dole ...“
142„Čo idete urobiť, pane? Odkiaľ ste? Čo to všetko má znamenať?“
143Poď si to zistiť, On povedal: „A ďalšia vec, Abrahám, ty dvadsať päť rokov čakáš na toto zasľúbenie, ktoré som ti dal. Ty si zaobstaral všetky tie plienky a drobnosti a všetko pre toto dieťa pred dvadsiatymi piatimi rokmi. A stále si čakal na Mňa. No, Ja ťa navštívim presne podľa času života, podľa času života, na budúci mesiac budem s tebou.“
144A Sára vzadu v stane ... A tento Muž bol obrátený chrbtom ku stanu a takto sa rozprával s Abrahámom. A Sára ... [Brat Branham predstavuje ako sa smiala. – pozn.prekl.]
145On povedal: „Prečo sa Sárah smiala?“ Ako to? To bola jasná telepatia, však? „Prečo sa Sárah smiala?“
Sárah povedala: „Ó, ja som sa nesmiala.“
146Povedal: „Ó, áno. Smiala si sa!“ Ona sa prestrašila. Ona sa triasla. Kto to bol, ktorý vedel, čo ona robila vzadu v stane. To je Ten istý Boh, ktorý je dnes s nami. Ten istý! On vie všetko o tom. Vidíte? On to zjavuje, keď to potrebujete. Vidíte?
147„Na čom sa smeješ?“ Vidíte? Obrátený chrbtom. Biblia povedal, že On bol obrátený chrbtom ku stanu, ale On to vedel. Čo ona takto za ním robila. Vidíte?
Tak On povedal: „Ja ťa navštívim.“
148Kto je tento zvláštny Človek? Viete čo sa stalo? On vyšiel stade a zmizol. A Biblia povedala, že To bol Všemohúci Boh, Jehova, tá Veľká Fontána, tá Teofánia, to Logos.
149Jeden kazateľ mi pred nedávnom povedal: „Brat Branham, hádam si nemyslíš, že to bol skutočne Boh, či áno?“
150Povedal som: „Biblia povedala, že To bol Boh, Elohim a On je Všemohúci Boh, El Šadai (Je to tak), Darca Sily, Potešiteľ. Amen! Ó, cítim sa dobre. Predstavte si to!
151On je teraz tu. Ukážem vám kto to tam bol, a potom budete vidieť kto je Syn. To bol Ježiš, prv ako mal ľudské meno „Ježiš“!
152Stál tam pri fontáne ten deň ... A oni všetci pili, viete a „Mali vodu, ktorá bola na púšti,“ a takéto veci. (On povedal ...) „Oni jedli mannu.“ Niekto povedal: „Naši otcovia jedli štyridsať rokov mannu na púšti.“
153On povedal: „A oni sú všetci mŕtvi.“ Povedal: „Ja som Chlieb Života, ktorý prichádza od Boha z Neba. Ten, kto bude jesť tento Chlieb, nikdy nezomrie.“
154Povedal: „No, naši otcovia pili z Duchovnej Skaly, ktorá bola na púšti, ktorá išla za nimi.“
155On povedal: „Ja som tá Skala.“ Sláva! Ev. Jána 6. kapitola.
No, oni povedali: „Čo?“
„Áno, je to tak.“
156No, on povedal: Ty si ... Nemáš ani päťdesiat rokov.“ (Samozrejme, jeho práca robila, že vyzeral trochu starší, ale On mal len tridsať.) Povedal: „Ty si človek a nemáš viac ako päťdesiat rokov a ty hovoríš, že si videl Abraháma, ktorý bol mŕtvy osemsto alebo deväťsto rokov. Teraz vieme, že máš diabla.“
157On povedal: „Prv ako bol Abrahám, JA SOM.“ Tu Ho máte. Kto bol ten JA SOM? Trvalé meno pre všetky generácie. To bol ... ten Ohnivý Stĺp v horiacom kríku. „JA SOM KTORÝ SOM.“ Tam On bol, tá Teofánia, ktorá tu bola stvorená sa nazývala Syn Boží, JA SOM! Jehova!
158Tomáš povedal: „Pane, ukáž nám Otca a bude nám dosť.“
159Povedal: „Taký dlhý čas som s vami, a nepoznal si Ma?“ Povedal: „Keď si videl Mňa, videl si Otca. A ako ty hovoríš, — Ukáž nám Otca. Ja a Otec sme Jedno (Jeden). Môj Otec prebýva vo Mne. Ja som Chrám, ktorý sa nazýva Syn. Otec prebýva vo Mne. To nie Ja činím tie skutky, ale môj Otec, ktorý prebýva vo mne. On činí tie skutky, nie Ja.“
160No, keď tam vtedy znovu stál. Mojžiš Ho videl, Jeho chrbát, povedal: „Vyzeralo to, ako chrbát človeka.“ Logos, ktoré vyšlo z Boha.
161Čo sa potom stalo? Toto bol Boh a dôvod prečo On prešiel z Logosu do tela ... Čo ... Ako vy ... Čo sa stalo? Päť minút pred tým, On bol Logos. Ale čo urobil? On sa len načiahol ...
162No, naše telá sú zložené zo šestnástich rôznych elementov sveta. Vieme to. Ono je zložené z draslíka a z trochu vápnika a z ropy a z kozmického svetla a z atómov a tak ďalej. To je všetko spolu zmiešané a to tvorí toto telo. Ono pochádza z prachu zeme. Jete potravu, ktorá ... Ona sa premieňa na ... z prachu, a to pochádza z prachu, a to ide ďalej. Vaše telo ... Potadeto sa vaše telo nelíši od koňa, alebo od kravy alebo od čohokoľvek. To je stále len telo.
163A človeče, ty zvelebuješ telo. Brat môj. Ale ten duch tam mal dušu. Je to tak. Ale tvoje telo je len prach zeme, tak ako telo zvieraťa. Tvoje telo nie je nič viac ako zviera. A ak máš žiadosť po tele a po veciach, ktoré vidíš, máš žiadosť po ženách, máš žiadosť po všetkých tých rôznych veciach, to je stále zviera. Je to tak. Je to tak. Nemal by si to robiť. Duch Boží ťa bude viesť ďalej a postaví ťa do vyššieho plánu než to. Je to presne tak.
164No, a tu ... Táto veľká Teofánia, ktorá tam stála ... Čo ... Ten veľ- ký Jehova Boh, viete čo On povedal? On sa len načiahol a zobral za hrsť atómov, zobral trochu svetla, a takto to vylial a ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... a bolo telo! A vstúpil rovno do neho, a to bolo všetko.
165Povedal: „Poď sem Gabriel!“ (ten veľký Archanjel) a [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... „Vojdi do toho!“
166„Poď sem Michael!“ (Anjel po Jeho pravom boku) ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... Vojdi do toho!“
167Boh a dvaja anjeli zostúpili tu dole v ľudskom tele a pili mlieko od kravy a jedli maslo z mlieka a jedli nejaký chlieb a jedli mäso z teľaťa. Dvaja anjeli a Boh! Biblia tak povedala. To je Melchisedech, ktorého Abrahám stretol, keď sa vracal od porážky kráľov. To je Syn Boží.
168Poďme tu do Listu Židom do siedmej kapitoly, tam je povedané: „Ale podľa poriadku, súc pripodobnený Synovi Božiemu.“ Tu Ho máte. On urobil všetko skrze Neho. A On tam len vyšiel a premenil ten prach znovu na prach a odišiel hneď naspäť do slávy.
169A tí anjeli, len čo vyviedli Lota a pani Lotovú ... A ona sa stále dívala naspäť. On povedal ... povedal im, aby to už viacej nerobili ... A vstúpili hneď naspäť do prítomnosti Božej.
170Akú máme veľkú nádej v tejto veľkej viere, v ktorej dnes slúžime. Živý Boh, Jehova, Ohnivý Stĺp je s nami! Ukazuje sa v moci a v čine a zmocňuje ... dovolil im, aby Ho odfotili. To je ten istý Jehova! Syn Boží, ktorý prišiel od Boha, odišiel naspäť ku Bohu a prebýva naveky vo svojej cirkvi! Tu Ho máte!
171On má zapísané naše mená vo svojej Knihe s prísahou na seba samého, pretože nebolo nikoho väčšieho na koho by mohol prisahať, že On nás vzkriesi v posledný deň. „Ten, kto je Moje telo a pije Moju krv, má večný život. A Ja ho vzkriesim v posledný deň. Ten, kto príde ku Mne, toho nijako nevyvrhnem von. Kto čuje Moje Slová a verí tomu, ktorý ma poslal, má večný život a nepríde na odsúdenie, ale prešiel zo smrti do života.“
172Ten istý, ktorý sa mohol načiahnuť a zobrať za hrsť vápnika a magnézia a ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... A znovu ste tu. A moje meno je v Jeho Knihe. Čo sa budem starať, že ako sa hrbia moje plecia alebo ako starnem. Vôbec nie. Ani trochu!
173Brat Mike, v jednom z týchto dní ... Nech je požehnané tvoje srdce, brat, keď tá veľká trúba ... príde a ... zaznie a ten Jozef vystúpi. Haleluja! On povie: „Deti!“ ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... Tam budete, stvorení na Jeho podobu. Stále mladí, starý vek skončil. Choroby, trápenia, žiale pominuli. Sláva živému Bohu!
174To je ten, cez ktorého On dnes hovorí, jeho Syn! „Za dávna, mnoho ráz a mnohým spôsobom On hovorieval cez prorokov, ale v tomto poslednom dni cez Svojho Syna, Krista Ježiša.“ On hovorí ku každému ľudskému srdcu, ktoré On povolal. Ak ste niekedy cítili Jeho volanie, ak ste Ho počuli klopať na vaše srdce, prosím vás, neodmietajte to.
Modlime sa:
175Nebeský Otče, dnes večer, keď sa radujeme z poznania pri otváraní tohoto Listu Židom, ako Pavel išiel hneď naspäť do Evanjelia. On to proste neprijal na základe nejakých rečí alebo na základe nejakého prežitia. On chcel, aby sme vedeli, čo je pravda. A on išiel hneď naspäť do evanjelií a on ... naspäť do Starého Zákona, do Evanjelia, ktoré im bolo kázané. A on tam prijal skrze Starý Zákon všetky tie tiene a predobrazy. Preto dnes večer máme túto veľkú Knihu Židom. A my To vidíme, Pane, a milujeme to. A cez veky, To bolo pochované, bolo To rozhádzané, snažili sa s Tým skoncovať, ale Ona sa ďalej vlní tak isto. Lebo ako si povedal: „Nebo a zem pominú, ale moje Slová nepominú.“
176Potom ten skeptik hovorí: „No, ty vravíš, že toto napísal Pavel.“ Nie Pavel, ale Boh, ktorý bol v Pavlovi. Tá tvoriaca Bytosť, ktorá bola v Pavlovi.
177Tak ako bol v Dávidovi, keď on povedal: „Nenechám svojmu Svätému vidieť porušenie, ani nenechám jeho dušu v pekle.“ A Syn Boží zobral tieto Slová od toho proroka a odišiel rovno do stredu pekla. A povedal: „Zborte tento Chrám a za tri dni ho postavím.“ A On to urobil. Pretože z Božieho Slova nemôže sklamať ani jedna jota. To nemôže sklamať. Ako za toto Bohu ďakujeme, za toto veľké Urím Thumím. A že vieme, že naše prežitia dnes večer, Pane, svietia rovno tu na túto Bibliu. Sme znovuzrodení, máme Ducha Svätého.
178Drahý Bože, ak je tu dnes večer nejaký muž alebo žena, chlapec alebo dievča, ktorí nikdy nemali toto svedectvo ... Ako by oni mohli povstať, ak tam nie je žiadny Život? Ó, oni hovoria: „Ja mám život.“
179Ale Biblia povedala: „Tá, ktorá žije v rozkošiach je mŕtva, hoci žije.“ Vy hovoríte, že máte Život, ale ste mŕtvi. „Vy tvrdíte,“ hovorí Biblia. „že máte život, ale ste mŕtvy. Hovoríš, že si bohatý a ničoho nepotrebuješ, ale nevieš, že si mizerný a biedny a nahý a slepý a nevieš o tom.“ A to je dnešný stav cirkví, Pane. Ako oni prehliadli tieto veľké, hodnotné veci.
Aby poznali toho veľkého Jehovu Boha, ktorý môže produkovať len cez ... On povedal: „Prineste mi tie malé ryby.“ On musel zobrať tie ryby, aby s tým niečo urobil. Tým ukazuje, že vzkriesenie musí byť niečo a On s tým niečo urobí. On neurobil len rybu, ale urobil pečenú rybu. On upiekol chlieb. A nachoval päť tisíc ľudí s tými malými piatimi rybami - malými bochníkmi a dvoma rybami. Ó Pane, to bolo v jeho rukách a On bol Stvoriteľ. Ale On musel mať niečo v rukách.
Bože, nech sa položíme dnes večer do jeho rúk a povieme: „Ó, Bože, prijmi ma takého, aký som. A keď je tu koniec môjho života, daj mi ísť s touto nádejou, ktorá bola vo mne, keď viem, že som sa znovuzrodil a tvoj Duch svedčil spolu so mnou a svedčil spolu s mojím duchom, že som tvojím synom, alebo tvojou dcérou.“ A Ty ich vzkriesiš v ten posledný deň. Učiň to, Pane.
180A kým máme sklonené svoje hlavy, bude tu niekto, kto by zodvihol ruku a povedal: „Pamätaj na mňa, brat Branham v modlitbe. Chcem, aby ma Boh poznal keď ... prv ako opustím túto zem, aby ma On tak poznal, že ma zavolá po mene. A ja odpoviem.“ Nech ťa Pán žehná, syn. Nech ťa Boh žehná, aj teba, aj teba, pani. Ešte niekto ďalší? Zodvihnite len svoju ruku. Povedzte: - Modli sa za mňa, brat Branham.“ To je to, čo budeme robiť. Nech ťa Boh žehná, mladá pani. To je dobre.
181No, kým máte sklonené hlavy a modlite sa, budem spievať verše tejto piesni:
Netúžim po márnom bohatstve tohoto sveta,
ono tak rýchlo hynie,
postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
oni nikdy nepominú!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
182Kým ona teraz hrá a máte sklonené hlavy, či sa načiahnete hore a poviete: „Áno, Pane, tu je moja ruka?“ Čo to urobí? To ukáže, že tvoj duch v tebe sa rozhodol. „Chcem tvoju ruku Pane.“ Nech ťa Boh žehná, dievčatko. „Ja zodvihnem svoju ruku.“ Nech ťa Boh žehná, malé dievča, tu dole. To je pekné, drahá. Vieš, Boh je šťastný, keď vidí čo robíš. „Nebráňte malým deťom prichádzať ku Mne.“
183„Ja chcem, Bože, aby si ma Ty držal za ruku. A v ten deň chcem byť v Tvojej ruke, že keď zavoláš, ja prídem.“ Vidíte? Tak ako to bolo s Lazárom. Nech ťa Boh žehná, sestra.
Keď sa skončí tvoja cesta,
ak si bol verný Bohu,
tvoja uchvátená duša uvidí svoj čistý a jasný dom v sláve!
(Tak čo budeš teraz robiť?)
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Stavaj svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
184Nebeský Otče, zodvihlo sa niekoľko rúk v tomto malom zhromaždení dnes večer, že oni sa chcú chytiť dnes večer, Tvojej nemennej, večnej ruky. Vedia, že čo je poručené Tebe ... Ty si povedal: „Ja ... Všetkých, ktorých Mi dal Otec, prídu ku Mne. A nikto z nich nezahynie. A Ja ich vzkriesim v posledný deň.“ Nikdy nemusí zahynúť, nikdy nemusí prísť na súd, ale môže mať večný, večný život. A je len jeden večný život a on pochádza jedine od Boha. To je Boh! A my sa stávame časťou Boha až tak, že sme Synovia a Dcéry Božie. Keď máme v sebe Ducha Božieho rozmýšľame ako Boh. Rozmýšľame o spravodlivosti a svätosti. A snažíme sa žiť tak, aby sa to Jemu páčilo.
185Udeľ, Pane, nech ten druh života vojde do každého, kto zodvihol ruku. A tí, ktorí mali zodvihnúť svoje ruky a nezodvihli, prosím, aby si bol s nimi. Udeľ to, Otče. A keď sa skončí naša cesta a bude koniec života, nech v ten deň vojdeme do pokoja s Ním, kde nikdy nebudeme starí, nikdy chorí, nebude žiadnych problémov. Zachovávaj nás dovtedy radostných a šťastných, v oslavovaní Jeho, lebo to prosíme v jeho mene. Amen.
186Všetci veriaci ... No, zodvihnime ruky a spievajme ten refrén:
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
No, hmkajme to. [Brat Branham hmká. – pozn.prekl.]
187Kým to robíte, váš sused ... Povedzte mu: „Nech ťa Boh žehná, sused.“ Potraste si s niekým ruky, kto je pri vás. „Nech ťa Boh žehná.“ Na obidvoch stranách teraz. Na obidvoch stranách, potraste si ruky. „Nech ťa Boh žehná, sused. Nech je Boh s tebou.“ Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach. (Doc, viem, že je to tam, brat. Viem, že si tam bol, brat Neville, dávno.)
Keď sa skončí táto cesta; (V jednom z týchto dní sa to stane.)
Ak sme boli verní Bohu, (Uvidíme tam brata Sewarda.)
Tvoja uchvátená duša uvidí svoj čistý a jasný dom v sláve!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky! (Rád oslavujem Pána po posolstve.)
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Čas je plný rýchlych zmien,
Márnosť zeme či obstojí nepohnutá,
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
Drž sa ...
Hľaďme na Neho, na toho neviditeľného, ktorý je teraz v našom strede. A oslavujeme Ho teraz, keď spievame.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj; (Oslavujme Ho teraz.)
Prichádza dole ... (Posolstvo skončilo, oslavujme Ho.)
Ponor naveky môjho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Proste sa v Ňom vykúpajme.)
Pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj;
Prichádza dole z ... (Tá veľká fontána je otvorená.)
Ponor naveky môjho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Nerobí to niečo s vami?)
... pokoj! Nádherný pokoj.
Prichádza dole od Otca.
Ponorme naveky svojho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Či nie je na tom niečo bohaté a sladké a ...?)
188Chcel by som vedieť, či je tu niekto chorý, kto chce aby sme ho pomazali a pomodlili sa za neho. Ak je, nájdi si len miesto pri ... Toto je tá pani tam v tom invalidnom kresle? Nech tam zostane, ja tam prídem a pomodlím sa za ňu. Nemusí sem ísť s tou stoličkou. Ďalší? Ó, či nemáte radi tento druh služby? Koľkí cítite ... proste viete, že je tu Božia prítomnosť? To je to, o čom hovorím. Ten istý ... Cítite to tak? Koľkí sa cítite tak, že by ste až kričali? No hľaďme len. Cítite proste, akoby ste niečo mohli ... že by ste chceli až zakričať. Rozumiete.
To je pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj.
Prichádza dole od Otca.
Prosím, ponor naveky môjho ducha
do bezodného mora lásky.
189Kým Ho oslavujeme, ideme teraz pomazať chorých a modliť sa za nich. Prišla by si sem, pani?
190Čo toto znamená? Modlitba viery uzdraví chorého. Hmkajte všetci tú pieseň.
[Brat Branham sa modlí za chorých. – pozn.prekl.]
1 And to give a--a little... I think there's nothing better, to me, than just the Word. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God."
2On Wednesdays, and maybe on Sundays, one of the services of Sunday, giving the pastor just a little rest, which he's very deserving of it, and thought maybe we'd just take a Book in the Bible. We used to do that, and sometimes stay a year on it.
3I remember one time we stayed a solid year on the Book of Revelation. But, oh, my, the things that we learned, and how wonderful it was! Then we went back and got the Book of Daniel, or the Book of Genesis, or Exodus, and just take it, chapter by chapter, and it just tied the entire Bible together. Oh, I just love that!
4 Little later on, we'll have to get the... If the Lord continues to bless and we go on, we'll get into some real deep things in here, real deep. And we'll just go from place to place, through the Scripture, with it.
5And I like to make Scripture compare with Scripture. That's the way it must be. It's just one great beautiful picture. And in this Book that we're studying, we're going to get in, oh, salvation, and Divine healing, and miracles, and mercies. And, oh, everything comes in here.
6And maybe when I get to a place where I have to get to the meetings... I never know just when I'm going to be to a meeting, called to a meeting, because I don't have anything set until I just feel led to do a certain thing. And that may be before in the morning, I may fly to California, up to Maine or somewhere, just where He would call me. That's the reason I don't set great, long itineraries, because I can't do that. My ministry is not cut out that way, and it's just different.
7 And now I come home just for a little rest. I lost twenty pounds, in this last meeting. And Brother Mercier and Brother Goad was up, a while ago, and said, "Brother Branham, I notice what you do. You put your whole heart into it."
8I said, "That's the only way you can do a right kind of a job for the Lord, is put everything you got right to the forefront for Christ; all your strength, all your soul, all your heart, all your mind, everything that you got." When you're doing anything, do it right or don't do it at all, see, just leave it alone. You're going to be a Christian, put everything that you've got to Christ, that's, your time, your talent, your every thing.
9I just noticing this young fellow. That's your wife, Brother Burns, is it, that playing and singing there, that young couple. And--and it isn't a piano, neither is it an organ, but it's some kind of instrument, they make a strum it and pick it, and do something for the Lord. If you could do that, and sing, that's, win souls. Do something, no matter. If you--you can whistle, well, whistle. Just do something. Just testify or do something for the Kingdom of God. Whatever you got, put it to the use in God's service.
10 Now, we're not going to try to stay very long, because I know you work. You got to get up early. And I'm going squirrel hunting every morning. I'll just tell you the truth. That's what I'm doing. That's what I come home for, is to rest a little. And so I'm getting up, about four o'clock, and going out in the woods and, well, hunt little bit and go to sleep. And I'm gaining some of that weight back, so I'll get rested up, after while, if you... the Lord willing. And everything is fine.
11All right, now, we're going to turn in your Bibles. I want you to bring your Bibles each night, that you... as you can. If somebody lacks a few, would somebody want to follow along with the readings, we got some here, we'd have the... some of the ushers to pass them out. Anybody want one? Well, just raise your hand.
12 Wonder if Brother... Doc, come here and get these Bibles. You're standing close there, and Brother Burns. Is that right, Burns? I heard him say... [The brother says, "Conrad."--Ed.] What? ["Conrad."] Conrad. I called him... I'm getting kind of hard of hearing, maybe, Brother Neville. How did I ever get the name of Burns? I know the man's face, and I just can't, couldn't call his name.
13And you know, as you get a little older, I find out one thing, it's harder for me to read this Bible. And I just hate to think of having to wear glasses, to read the Bible.
14But, here not long ago, I thought I was going blind. And I went over to see Sam. And Sam said, "Bill, I don't know." Said, "I'll just get you an appointment with some specialist."
15 I went to Louisville. It must have been the will of the Lord. Some famous specialist; I forget his name now. But he had read my book. And he said, "If you ever go back to Africa, I want to go with you." He said, "And if you... Them African people love you." And said, "They're very superstitious, especially with a knife, to go to cutting. So," said, "I want to give six months of my life, for operations of cataracts and things, to the... in mission." And said, "If we could go together, and you could win favor of them, like that." Said, "Then if they had cataracts and eye works," said, "I'd just love to give it, free of charge, six months of it." And I forget how long you have to wait for an appointment with him.
16And we was setting in a little room and it had a little--little red light come on, back there in the dark room. Why, I could read them letters. It said twenty-twenty. I could read it either way. And he snapped it on fifteen-fifteen, and I could read it. And put it on ten-ten, and I could read it. He said, "Well, there's not much wrong with your eyes."
17 So he had a little telescope. He put a little gadget back there, a little thing, you know. Them old telescopes, how many ever remember them? We used to look through them, look at pictures, just like that. And he said, "Can you read that?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Read it for me."
18It had a, oh, a whole paragraph, about like that. I started, read it; he started pulling it up, like that, getting slower and slower. He got about like this, I stopped. He said, "I can tell you one thing, you're past forty."
I said, "Yep, that's right, a long ways past it."
19He said, "How have you done it?" He said, "The human eye, naturally, when you get forty years old, like your hair gets gray, and so forth, the eyeball gets flat." Said, "Now, if you live long enough, that'll come back again." He said, "That second sight, they call it. But," said, "a human being, about forty years old, they'll actually..." Said, "There is nothing wrong with their eyes."
20I can--I can see a hair if it was laying on the floor, get it off from me. But get close to me... And he said, "Now, you read your Bible," said, "You push it away from you." Said, "After while, your arm is not going to be long enough, till you can't--can't get it out there far enough to get a hold of it."
21 And so he made me a pair of glasses, and the bottom part you can, it's for reading. He said, "Now, in your pulpit..." He thought I was one of these here dignified preachers, you know. And so said that the... you... The top part is just regular window glass, just regular glass. And the bottom part has got some kind of a grind in it, that I can read it close, you know, like that. So I just hate to put them on; I do.
22And now, in Bible teaching, and I've got the New Testament tonight. So it's... I got a Collins New Testament. It's got good-sized print. But now, when I get back in the other one, I--I may have to go to them old buddies, and--and kind of read through them. But whatever it is, I--I'm glad that I got something I--I can still read. And--and--and whatever I got, I'm going to give everybody everything I can, to the glory of God, hope that He will take that age sign away. I can't ask Him to take my age away. I... You know, that's just one thing we all got to do. We got to go through that. And I know I'm not a little boy like I used to be, standing here on the platform. I'm forty-eight years old. And just think, two more years, will be fifty years old, Brother Mike.
23My, can't hardly believe it! I just... I never knew that I was past twenty till about two years ago. That's right. That's right. I just... I couldn't believe it. And yet I--I... It's hard for me to believe till looked in the glass, and then I--I know it is, then. But--but just to be looking, I just feel just as good as I ever felt in my life, and I'm thankful for that, too. All praise be to God.
24 Now, we're studying the Book of the Hebrews. It's been... Oh, it's one of the most deepest, richest Books of the Bible. I tell you, it's a Book that really will... If God permits, and we just get down into this, I believe we'll find golden nuggets till we'll just shout the praises of God all the time. And now I...
25The Book of Hebrews, really what It is, It's supposing to be written by Saint Paul, the greatest Bible expositor, I guess, the world has ever had, outside of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was separating the... Now, Paul was a real Bible teacher; that is, the Old Testament. That's the only Book was written then, called Bible. And he was trying to show to the Hebrews, separating the Old Testament and showing the Old Testament being a shadow or a type of the New.
26 Right there we could strike a home line and stay three months right there on that one thought, right there. To go right back, if we could turn in our Bibles now, course we're on Hebrews, the 1st chapter. But if we'd turn to Revelations, the 12th chapter, you'd see it perfectly again, how the shadows. If... you that's got your pencils and going to jot down the Scriptures. In Heb-...
27In Revelations 11, we find out that John, on the isle of Patmos, saw a woman standing in the skies, and she had the sun at her head and the moon under her feet. And the woman was in travail, with a child to be born. She brought forth a Man Child. The red dragon stood, to devour the child as soon as it was born. And the--the child was caught up into Heaven, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she was nourished for a time, time, and a half time, or a dividing of time.
28 Now, the woman represented the church, and the Child that she brought forth was Christ. The moon under her feet was the law, the sun at her head was grace. Twelve stars in her crown was the twelve apostles. And there's where, at what... The twelve apostles was the glory or the crowning of the New Testament. See? "For no other foundations can be laid than that which is already laid." See? It, the Foundation, the--the New Testament, the apostles, the Doctrine of the apostles, and so forth, is the founding crown of the New Testament. And then at the...
29The moon is a shadow of the sun. The sun just reflects its light when its behind the earth. And the moon gives light, to walk by, at night. And what a beautiful picture we have here, another beautiful picture: the sun represents Christ; the--the moon represents the Church. They're just like husband and wife. And in the absence of Christ, the Church reflects the minor Light, the Gospel. And it--it's the Light to walk in until the Son rises again, then the Church and the Son, the moon and the sun, blends together. See? The moon is a part of the sun, and the Church is a part of Christ. And while the absence of Christ, the Church reflects His Light. And then as sure as we can see the moon shining, it knows the sun is shining somewhere. And as long as the Church is reflecting the Light of Christ, Christ is alive somewhere. Amen. Think of it.
30 Now, the law was a type of the grace, but law had no saving power in it. Law only was a... The law was a policeman. The policeman put you in jail, but, you see, it taken grace to get you out of jail. See?
31So the Blood of Christ, the Gospel, delivers us from sin. Law only makes us sinners. The law only said, "You are a sinner. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness." See? It's a policeman that says you're wrong and you're guilty. But the Gospel is the good news. Christ died to save us from all of our trespasses, transgressions of the law. Christ died to take us out.
32 Now, Paul, as soon as he was converted, he never consulted with any seminary, neither did he consult any ministers. But did you notice? He went down into Arabia, and was there three years, in Arabia. Now, this is, to my opinion, that...
33Now, we've got to get a background of this, so we'll know how substantial it is. And the first lesson, tonight, we take our background.
34Now, Paul was such a Bible teacher, because he was taught under that great, all-time famous Gamaliel. And he was one of the best known of the day, that great teacher of the law and the prophets. So, Paul was well schooled in those things.
35 And then I like him this way, this great revelation, being honest in his heart, a murderer, had consented to Stephen's death and saw Stephen die under the rocks and clods of being stoned to death. I think it must have got next to Paul when he saw Stephen raise his hands to Heaven, and said, "I see the Heavens open. I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God." And he said, "Father, lay not this charge of sin against them." And he fell asleep.
36Did you notice that? He never died. He fell asleep. Just like... I don't believe he ever felt another rock. Just like a baby on the bosom of its mother, falls asleep, Stephen fell asleep in the arms of God.
37 There is something, about Paul, that got next to him. Then he, any man under conviction, trying to fight It, he rolls over to the high priest and gets some letters. Said, "I'll arrest all those people that's making all that noise, and those heretics;" which was considered, what we would call today, some "radical fanatic," or something like that, making a lot of noise and causing disturbance. "We'll just go down and settle it."
38And on his road down, a little old... not a great highway like we travel. And them roads in Palestine, just little trails, like a cow trail through the woods where the cattle, and the sheep, and the horses, and the donkeys, and the camels, went over the hills.
39And Paul, on his road down to Damascus, about noon, one day, a great Light shining down and struck him to the ground. No one saw It but Paul. I want you to notice that. And right here, this is not personal now, but just so we're leading into this background. That you'll know that that same Jesus...
40 Now, when He was here on earth, He said, "I came from God, and I go back to God."
41Now, when He led the children of Israel, He was the Pillar of Fire. And He was made flesh, then He returned back to that same Pillar of Fire. And when He met Paul on the road to Damascus, He was that Pillar of Fire, that Light, see, a great Light. And Paul said, "Who is It that I persecute?"
42He said, "I am Jesus, who you persecute," the Light. Oh, isn't He wonderful? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
43And here He is, tonight, right here with us. Had His picture taken right there, the same Thing, see, Pillar of Fire, Light, just the same as He was, "Same yesterday, today, and forever."
44Now the men that was with him did not see that Light, but It was there just the same. The results give the same.
45 Now, is it possible that--that someone could see Christ in this building and no one else see Him? Sure. It happened there.
46It happened also one night when Peter was in prison. And that Light came into the prison, and touched Peter, and walked right by the inner guard, the outer guard, walked by the gate, the main gate, and the city gate. Peter said, "I must have been dreaming." But he looked around, but the Light was gone; Christ, that Eternal, everlasting Light. There He is. Now, on the road down...
47And look, another thing, if we would speak of this, just come in my mind. But the wise men that followed the Star, all the way from India, the Orient, months, coming through the valleys and deserts, passed over observatories. And they kept the time of the night by the stars. And no historian or anyone ever mentioned of ever seeing that Star but the wise men. It was just meant for them to see It.
48So you can see things that the other fellow might not see. To you, It's a reality. To him, they don't understand. Just like a conversion; you can be converted and enjoying the blessings of God, just--just drinking in the blessings of God. And the next fellow, setting by you, "I don't see a thing." See? See? That's it. "I just don't get it. I don't see what it's all about." Well, he's just not getting It. That's all. Where, you are.
49 Notice now, Paul on his road down. And as soon as this great experience happened to him... Now, he wasn't satisfied... That's what makes Paul so good, now.
50Our lesson tonight is not deep. It's a shallow lesson, but, oh, we will get into the deep, after while. But this is a very shallow lesson, but it's just starting off. And what it is, it's one thing, that's exalting Jesus Christ. Paul, to begin.
51And before he would do this, Paul was a Bible scholar. And a Bible scholar will never rest his doctrine upon experiences. No, sir. They'll never rest their doctrine upon experience. You can have any kind of an experience. But it must be THUS SAITH THE LORD. Right.
52 Now, in the Old Testament, they had three different ways they can know a message. First, the law, that was just the law. Then, they had a--a prophet; a dreamer; and they had the Urim Thummim. Now that may be a little deep.
53The Urim Thummim was the breastplate that Aaron wore on his breast. In there was twelve stones: jasper, sardius, carbuncle, so forth, on down. They got all twelve of the big stones, that was in the breastplate, showing that he was the high priest of every tribe, the twelve tribes of Israel. This breastplate hung on a pillar in the church. And when a prophet prophesied, and they wanted to be sure it was right, or not. The prophets or the dreamers stood before this Urim Thummim, and he told his dream or his vision, whatever he had saw. And if the Sacred Light... Oh, do you see it? God always dwelt in the supernatural realm. The conglomeration, those lights, were just normal until this voice went forth. And when the voice struck those stones, if it wasn't supernatural, she laid dormant. But if it was supernatural, those Lights all reflected the rainbow color together. Amen. Then, that was God speaking, "That is My prophet. That dream came from Me." It was according to the Urim Thummim that they judged.
54 Remember Saul when he backslid? He said he couldn't have a dream. And the prophet, Samuel, was dead, and there was no way. He said, "Even the Urim won't even speak to me." Nothing. Saul stood before the Urim, and his words were dead thumps. See? God just refused him. And that Urim Thummim, that was Aaron's vindication of his priesthood. After Aaron going, Moses... The--the plate hung on the pillar.
55Now, the Aaronic priesthood ceased when Jesus died. And now, separated law from grace, we still have a Urim Thummim. And Paul was using It. See? The Urim Thummim today is God's Immortal, Eternal, everlasting Word. See?
56"For whosoever shall take anything out of this Book, or add anything to It." I don't want anything outside of It, but I want all It's got. That's the Church we want. And all things must be proven by the Word.
57That's the reason I took a flop recently of among the Pentecostal people, because, saying, "I could not understand where oil running out of your hands, or blood out of your face, was a sign you had the Holy Ghost." That's not Scriptural and I--I just couldn't take it. It's got to come from the Word.
58 And now, Paul, he just loved the Word. So, before he would ever witness this great experience that he had, he went down in Egypt for three year. I believe it was three years, three years down in Egypt. And you know what I believe he done? I believe that he took the Old Testament, and searched through the Old Testament, and found that That was really the absolute Messiah. He had to prove his experience by the Bible. Amen. Oh, my!
59Look at him when he was in prison. You notice, there's a--a space of Paul's life when he was in prison there for a long time. He wrote the Book of Ephesians. He wrote this Hebrew Letter. See? He had time. God laid him away over there in a prison, and he wrote these Letters to the churches. One to the church of Ephesus. He wrote one to the Pentecostal church, had lots of trouble with them. The Pentecostal church he had more trouble with than anybody else. Still has it. But he was thankful for them. The only thing he could teach them... When they come in: one had a tongue, one had a psalm, one had a sensation, one had a feeling. He couldn't talk, speak to them, "Eternal security." He couldn't speak to them, "predestination." He couldn't talk to... They were babies. They all had to--had to feel something, or see something, or have funny feelings, and, or something around them, some evidences.
60 But I believe, when he spoke to the Ephesians, he could speak on, "God has predestinated us unto sons and daughters, and adopted us as children in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world." Look at that. My!
61Watch him come over in the Book of Romans, and so forth. They were grown-up. Oh, they spoke with tongues, sure, and they had other signs of the Holy Spirit among them. But they didn't make doctrines, and sensations, and little quivers, and funny feelings.
62Paul said, "You--you--you go to extremes with that. When you ought to be teaching, you're still babies and have to have milk."
63That's what I've always tried to contend this tabernacle to be, not a bunch of babies. Let's be grown-up. Stand on the road. Oh, my! There you are.
64 So, Paul goes down there, first, to see if his experience matched God's Bible.
65Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful, today, if people only done that again, if we made our experience match God's Bible? If it doesn't, then our experience is wrong; it don't flash in the Urim Thummim. If it flashes in There, amen, we got It. But if it doesn't, some... I don't care how good it seems, how real it looked like it was right; if those lights didn't flash on that Urim Thummim, it was wrong.
66And no matter how much experience you've had, how real it seems to be, how presenting it is, how educational it is, what a great tool it is to win souls; if it doesn't flash in the Word, it's wrong. Right. It must line up with the Word.
67 Now, I believe, and there's a middle of the road. The road, now, a lot of times... I used to go to a Nazarene church. The Lord bless those dear people. Old-fashioned, sanctified Methodists is what they are; church of God, Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, and many of those good old holiness churches. And they used to sing a song:
I'm walking in the grand old highway,
Telling everywhere I go,
I'd rather be an old-time Christian, Lord,
Than anything I know.
68Good. Wonderful. And then they used to talk about the highway of holiness. Now, if you read over that, they get that out of Isaiah, the 35th chapter. Now, if you notice, he said, "There shall be a highway, and a way."
69Now, and is a conjunction. See? A highway, it wasn't a highway of holiness. "It shall be a highway, and a way, and it shall be called, 'The way of holiness,'" not the highway of holiness. "The way of holiness!" And the way of the road is in the middle of the road. It's built like this so that the waters will wash off the trash, to both sides, keeping the road clean. You don't, you have puddles standing in your road, all the time, if it isn't built right. "The way" is the middle of the road.
70 Now, on this side, when people get converted, their minds is set right on Christ. And if they're just a little scholarly, and don't keep under prayer, they'll get real cold, and stiff, and starchy, and indifferent. And then if they're just a little bit nervous, if you don't watch, they'll just get radical and wild, on this side, see, they go into sensations and everything.
71Now, but, the real Church is a real sane Gospel, right in the middle of the road. It's not cold and starchy, neither is it fanaticism. It's a real good, old, warm Gospel, heartfelt love of God, going right down the middle of the road, calling from both sides. That's right. Now that's what... And how you going to get that, church? Right out of the Word, the Urim Thummim.
72 Now, Paul wanted to get this church right in the middle of the road, so he went and studied three years on the Scriptures that he knew. Therefore, Paul wrote the bigger part of this New Testament. God had him do that because it's coming a Gentile age. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four Gospels, they were Jews. But Paul wrote the most of the letters.
73Now notice, now, we're going to start getting this background now, where he's at, writing It, from prison. And he's had all this experience. But, first, this experience was first proven, and this is his key letter to it. This is his key letter. Romans and Ephesians, and so forth, have their place, but this is the key letter.
74 Now, the whole 1st chapter, is, exalting Jesus, and separating Him from being a prophet. That's the whole theme now. I'll try to get to it just as quick as can now, so we won't stay too long. The whole theme, is, separating the new chap-... new... The 1st chapter, is, separating Jesus from any prophet, or any law, or so forth, and showing Who Jesus is. Now look, "God." We start out, the first word, "God."
God, at sun-... who at sundry times...
Sundry means that "way back," back time.
... sundry times and in divers manners spake in the past unto the fathers by the prophets,
75Now, see, "God, in sundry times, way back, He spoke to the fathers by the prophets." That's how He had to give His Message, through His prophet.
76 God would send His prophet like Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah. And if you'll notice, never in all the history of the world, did ever the church produce a prophet. Search it in the Old Testament, New Testament, or in this day, in the latter day. Show me any prophet was ever raised out of the church in the last day. Show me one ever come up, out. And show me one time that a prophet, a real servant of God, that the ecclesiastical system of the world didn't condemn him.
77Just think of it. Jeremiah, Isaiah, all down through the Old Testament, they condemn it. Jesus said, "You garnish the tombs of the prophets and make them white, and you put them in there." That's right.
78The church continues that. Look at Saint Patrick. You Catholic people claim him. He isn't no more Catholic than I am. That's right. But you claim him.
79Look at Saint Francis of Assisi. Claim him. He isn't no more Catholic than I am.
80 Look at Joan of Arc. You burnt her to a stake, as a witch, because she saw visions and is spiritual. Burnt her to a stake. And that woman screaming for mercy, and they burnt her to a stake. About a hundred years later, they found out that she was a prophetess. She was a servant of God. Oh, course, you got a big penalty: you dug up the priests' body and throwed them in the river.
81"You do garnish the tombs of the prophets, and put them in there." Right. Never did the ecclesiastical system ever produce a man of God; never did, hasn't today, and never will. Organized religion has never been God's theme.
82 The oldest organized church in the world is the Catholic church; Luther, second; then come Zwingli; after Zwingli, come Calvin; Calvin, on, the Anglican, Anglo-Saxons taking up, then the Anglican church; and King Henry the Eighth, when he protested, and so forth; and on down to the Wesley Methodist, and Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness; and on down to the last, is Pentecostal, all organized. And the Bible plainly teaches that the Catholic church is a--a ill-famed woman, and the Protestant churches and their organizations are her daughters, Revelation 17. That's exactly right. So they're...
83Not the people, now. There is good in all them churches; sainted, saved people. But God doesn't call His people by an organization. He calls them as individuals. God deals with individuals, whether you're a Methodist, Baptist, Protestant, and Catholic, or what you are. God, before the foundation of the world, knew you, and predestinated you to Eternal Life, or either you was predestinated to Eternal loss. Not...
84 He wasn't willing that you should be perished, you would perish. But, Him being infinite, He had to know the end from the beginning, or He isn't God. So Jesus never come to earth just to say, "Well, I'll see if somebody be mercy... If I act and die, in a hard way, they'll probably think, 'Well, I... ' It'll--it'll persuade their hearts, and they'll..." God don't run His business like that.
85Jesus came for one specific purpose, that's, to save those who God, before the foundation of the world, knew would be saved. He said so. That's right. So you're... "It's not him that willeth, or him that runneth; it's God that showeth mercy." Paul said that. Same man here.
86 He said, "That's the reason God could say, before Esau or Jacob was either born, He said, 'I love one and hate the other one.'" Before either boy was born, God knew that Esau was a shyster, and He knew that Jacob was a... he loved his birthright. So He knew, before the world ever was formed, about it. Now, we're going to find out in a minute Who that was that knew it. This chapter has got it.
God,... in sundry time and in divers manner spoke... to the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,...
Has done what? "Has spoken to us in this last days by His Son."
87Now, how would you think then, that, what would be a prophet? Would we have a prophet then of this day? Absolutely. Would He speak by it? Sure. But he that... The prophets of the old day was the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
88Now, let's get that straight, 'cause I don't think it's soaking in right. Now, this is just like Sunday School, so we want to get this clear. See?
89 Notice. Let's take the Spirit of God that was in Moses, perfectly the... is the foreshadow of Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament characters foreshadow the cross. Moses, born a proper child, hid in the bulrushes, taken away from his parents, so forth, and was... He was a king, or a--a leader, law-giver, intercessor, priest. Everything that he was foreshadowed Christ.
90Look at Joseph, loved of his father, hated of his brethren, and sold for almost thirty pieces of silver. Throwed into a ditch, supposedly dead; taken out. In his persecution, butler saved, and butcher lost; two thieves at the cross. And then when he come out, he raised up out of that ditch, and was set at the right hand of Pharaoh, the biggest commercial... the--the--the nation who whipped all the rest of the world. And no man could come to Pharaoh except they come through Joseph; Jesus setting at the right hand of God, and no man can come to God except through Christ. And when Joseph left that throne and started out, men went before him, screaming and blowing trumpets, sound the trumpet, saying, "Bow the knee! Joseph is coming."
91And when Jesus comes, a trumpet shall sound, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. Yes, sir. There He was.
92 And when Joseph died, he left a memorial to them who were waiting for deliverance.
93I put my hand on the old casket, here not long ago, it was made out of lead. And his body was supposed to stay... his bones... Said, "Don't you bury me here, for someday, God is going to visit you." He was a prophet. "God is going to visit you." And said, "When you go up to the promised land, take my bones."
94There, an old Hebrew, with a beat back and bloody, could look over in that casket and say, "Someday, we're going out."
95Jesus left a memorial, an empty tomb. Someday when we go over to the grave, and our loved ones, and hear the little old clods, when they say, "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust, and earth to earth." But, brother, we can look across the sea, to an empty tomb. Someday, we're going out of here. We're going home. He is coming. Everything was typed.
96 Look at David, rejected by his own people, dethroned by his own people. Being a king of Jerusalem, was drove out of Jerusalem by his own people. And as he went up Mount Olive, he looked back and wept. He was rejected.
97Eight hundred years from then, the Son of David, King of Jerusalem, set on a hill and wept, because he was rejected.
98That was the Spirit of Christ in David. All foreshadowed the cross. Them prophets back there spoke in His Name. They lived in His Name. They acted in His Name. Sure. "God in sundry times and divers manners spoke to the fathers through the prophets, but in this last day through His Son."
99 So the prophets and spiritual men, this day, is only the reflection of Christ. There, by the law they stood, look. Over here they stand, looking back the other way, through grace.
100That in the Hebrews 11, the last chapter, I've often wondered that. In the last chapter, the last part of the 11th chapter of Hebrews, when he talks about Abraham. The great faith chapter, and at the end, he said, "They wandered about in sheepskins and in goatskins, and was made destitute, and sawed asunder. They wandered about, no place to go, hated, and despised, and persecuted. Of whom, this world isn't worthy of such people."
101Then Paul stands and said, "But without us they're not perfect." For they only looked to the cross, and we look through the cross. We have the Spirit of Christ after It become human flesh and dwelt among us. We come here by the Holy Ghost, which is a far better plan.
102 And sometimes I wonder what Christianity expects today. A preacher going with a tent will have to be... or some new church or some new charge, calls himself a prophet, walks up there, say, "Well, if they'll give me so much money. If I can have the best car. If they'll... If my salary will be raised every six months."
103We have to have the best. We have to have the best homes. We have to have the best clothes. What will we do when we stand in the presence of those men who wandered, in goat skins and sheep skins, no place to lay their heads, wandering about in deserts? And somebody can make fun of us and we're ready to quit church and not go back anymore. What Christianity requires today. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
O God, be merciful to us.
104 In that day, He spoke by the prophets, but this day through His Son. That was the word of a prophet, there. This is the Word of the Son, today. Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord!
105In other words, if you're looking at the shadow, the negative, you might make a mistake. But This is developed, the picture is clear. That was by the prophet; this is by His Son. That was by a negative; this is by a positive. Amen. You see it? There isn't a chance to lose. It's a positive thing, this day through His Son. Oh, how wonderful!
... whom he has appointed heir... (oh, my)... heir of all things,...
106 What was it? It was an appointment. Oh, listen. He was appointed, Christ was, heir of all things. Oh, the Devil knowed that, from the garden of Eden, you see, when the Devil heard that Word there that day, in the judgment of those people. Said, "Because you come from the dust; dust you'll return; and the woman's Seed shall bruise the serpent's head." A promised Seed.
107Satan constantly watched for that Seed. When Abel was born, he said, "There you are, that's the seed." And he killed Abel. His son, Cain, killed Abel. And as soon as Abel died, he said, "I got the seed." He slew it. He said, "I got it." But, Abel's death, Seth's birth was the resurrection again. Watch how they come down.
108 That line of Seth, it come down, a humble, righteous man; on down through Enoch; on down to Noah, to the end of the antediluvian destruction.
109Look at Cain's line, become smart people, educated, science. Don't the Bible say... Did not Jesus say, that, "The children of this world are wiser than the Children of the Kingdom"? Look at the side of Cain yet today: smart, educated, skeptic, very religious; see, very religious, but scientists, builders, great men.
110Take great men. Look at Thomas Edison, many great men. Look at Einstein, the brains of the world, so-called, today, the brains of the world. But we don't try to use brains. We let the Mind that was in Christ be in us, and look to this Word, and call that so.
111Medical doctors, though we salute them with whatever we have, but the most of those are skeptics, agnostic. Look at the smart, intelligent people today. They're on that side over there, the Cain side.
112 But look at the humble and meek. There is your resurrection again. Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord. There you are. Notice.
... he made him heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who made the worlds? Christ. "Christ made the worlds?" Yes, sir. Let's go just a little further.
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his presence,...
The brightness of whose glory? God's glory. The express image of Whose Presence? God's. Oh, I love this!
... or express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word...
There you are. The Word, that upholds all things. Jesus said, in Matthew 24, "Heavens and earth will pass away, but my Words shall never pass away." He upholds all things.
113Science tries to down It, and say, "It's an old Book. It's been translated."
114Even the Roman Catholic church, Bishop Sheen said, "That's been translated four or five different times, and not much to It. You couldn't live by It if you had to." But He upholds all things by His Word. Amen. That's what I think about It. I believe the Bible.
... the word of his power, (there's power in the word), when he had by himself purged our sins,... (looky here)... set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
115 What is Paul trying to do? He is trying to show that God purposed all things in Christ, and Christ was the express image of God. The entire rest of the chapter deals with how that He was higher than Angels, higher than all powers. Angels worshipped Him. Paul was trying to magnify Him.
116Now, I want to try, if I don't get any further than this, the rest of it is just magnifying Christ. What Paul says over here, like in the 11th chapter, and all about talking about the world. He said, "What--what Angel did He say, 'Thou art My Son, this day I have begotten Thee'?" See?
117"The end of the world, they shall perish. The world shall perish. But the... And all the things of the world shall perish. He would fold them up like a vesture. They'd be old, and turned, and go away. 'But Thou remaineth. Thou remaineth forever. Thou art My Son. This day I have begotten Thee, and will never perish, setting at the right hand of the Majesty.'"
What does right hand mean? Not, God has got a right hand that somebody is setting on it. Right hand means the "power and authority," got the authority of everything in Heaven and earth. And all the Heavens and earth is made by Him.
118 Now, Who is this great Guy, this great Fellow? Christ. Here, God in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it's not... It's a trinity, but It's not a trinity of people. It's a trinity of office, of one God.
119He was the Father leading the children of Israel. That was His office, the great Jehovah Father. And He dwelt on earth, called the Son. And now He dwells in His Church, called the Holy Ghost. Not three Gods; one God in three offices: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
People try to make Him three different Gods, God the Father. That's the reason, Jews, you could never... You'll never bring this to a Jew, no, that there. He can't. He's got a commandment, that, "I'm One God." There's only one God.
120 In Africa they baptize three different ways: they baptize once for the Father, and once for the Son, and once for the Holy Ghost. The Apostolic Faith mission, they baptize three times, face forward, to His death. What they call the Full Gospel on the West Coast, or the East Coast, baptize three times backward, said He... unto His burial.
And he said, "When He died, He fell forward."
121Another said, "Wait. You bury a man on his back." Just little old technique things, when, they're both wrong; both wrong, according to the Scripture.
This is the Urim Thummim. It settles it.
122 Now, here, let's just picture that out and see what--what it looks like, tonight. Here it is, if you want to see it. In all of about twenty-five years I've been a minister. I've studied that. And I've often wondered at gifts in the church. What is those gifts? Prophecy, speaking with tongues, interpretation of tongues, Divine revelation, so forth, that all comes through Christ.
123Now look. Christ is the Head of all things. And He's the Head of the Church. And did you ever see a big diamond? A great big diamond that is chipped right, it's got little chips knocked off of it, chipped off of it. That makes a correct diamond. What's the chips for? The real diamond, the way it comes out, it's been bruised; the real diamond, when it's found.
I was in Kimberly. You, many of you, that's heard you can pick up diamonds on the street, that's correct. Billy and I, and Mr. Bosworth. The president of the Kimberly diamond mines, take... He was my usher in the meeting there. And they taken us over. And just out of... They mine them about, oh, about seventeen hundred feet under the earth. They come out, a blue stone, big blue, like this bluestone you get around here. And those natives, they put them seventeen hundred feet in the ground, to mine them, to keep the price up. You'd go on the river there, they got it guarded for hundreds of miles. Take two ten-gallon buckets, he said, and pick it up, full of--of sand, and if you could get home with it, you'd be a multimillionaire, there'd be so many diamonds in it. But they have to work and mine them, to keep the price up on them.
124 Now, the diamond, when it comes forth, it's just a big, smooth, round, like, piece of glass. There's a blue diamond, black diamond, emerald, and a clear diamond, white diamond. But when it come forth... Then when it's made and put into use, there's a part of that diamond has to lose. And it has to lose the--the chips off of it. Knock little chips, because, when it comes in direct light, like that, it makes a sparkle. The chip, what makes the sparkle, the way it's cut. It's cut, chipped, and then, when it does, it makes a sparkle. And one will go a green light, the other one will go a blue light, and maybe another, emerald light, and red light. And different lights go from it, like a rainbow color. They call it, "fire in the diamond."
125Now, each one of those lights represents gifts. But it's, only, Christ is the Diamond. And He was the One Who came, and was bruised, and wounded, and chipped, that He might reflect Himself back as a Light to the world. He's that Master Diamond.
126 Could you imagine, before there even was an earth, before there was a light, before there was a star, before there was anything? There's a Great Fountain going forth, of Spirit, and out of this Fountain came the most pure of love, 'cause there was nothing for it to come from that but love. Now, we, what we call love, today, is a perverted love. But just as we get an essence, or a little bit of that love in us, it changes our whole opinion.
127Then out of there come another stream, off this main Fountain, the Diamond, and it was called righteousness, absolutely righteousness. Now, that's the reason we had to have law. That's the reason law has to have judgment. If no judgment doesn't follow law, law doesn't do no good. And when judgment was passed by law, which brings death, and there's no one who could pay the penalty but God Himself. And He paid the penalty of our death, and took our sins upon Him, that we might be the righteousness of God through Him.
128Now, when these great Lights went out, or great rays of Spirit: love, peace, that's all there was, That. There wasn't no suffering. There wasn't no--no hate, nor no malice; it couldn't come from this Fountain. That was Jehovah. That was Jehovah God. And now, as the theologians call it, a theophany went from That, which was called, in the Scriptural, the "Logos," the Logos that went out of God. It's hard to explain, but It was a part of God.
129 Now, here is what happened. Oh, excuse me. I--I--I just get on this, this just gets me right where I love it. See? The Logos, and this great Fountain, this great Fountain of Spirit which had no beginning or no end; this great Spirit began to form, in the creation, and the Logos that went out from It was the Son of God. It was the only visible form that the Spirit had. And It was a theophany, which means a body, and the body was like a man.
130Moses saw It when It passed through the... by--by the rock. And he looked at It, said, "It looked like the hind part of a man."
It's the same type of body that we receive when we die here. "If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." That was It. And that was the theophany which was the Son of God. That Son, that Logos, became flesh, because we were put in flesh. And the theophany, the Logos, became flesh, here among us, and It was nothing else but the dwelling place, for that entire Fountain dwelt in Him. Oh, do you see it? There It is. That was the One, that, in...
131 Looky here. Let's turn now right quick to Hebrews, the 7th chapter, just for a moment of--of grace, God being willing. Let's see what it looks like here. Abraham!
How much time we got? We got ten minutes. All right. We catch this, then we finish it up next, next, or Sunday, Lord willing.
132Abraham was returning from the slaughter of the king.
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem,...
How many knows where, who, what Salem was? Jerusalem.
... king of Salem, prince of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
Listen.
To whom also Abraham give a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation the King of righteousness,... after that also the King of Salem, which is, the King of peace;
Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor ending of life;...
133 A King come down from Salem, and met Abraham coming from the slaughter of the kings. And this King didn't have no father, had no mother, had no beginning of days or ending of Life. Who did Abraham meet? Now think. He didn't have no father; He didn't have no mother. He never had a time that He began, and He never has a time when He will end, so that same King of Salem has to be living today. Amen. You see it? It was that theophany that was that Son of God. What Salem? That Jerusalem which is Above, that Abraham, being blessed, was searching, find, trying to find the City whose Builder and Maker was God. He wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, everywhere, destitute, wandering, and was seeking a City whose Builder and Maker was God. And he met the King of that Salem, coming down, and he paid Him a tenth of all the spoils. Amen. That's Him. Oh, Brother Graham, that was Him. That was Him.
Abraham seen Him again. One day he was setting in the tent. He looked, coming up there, and he seen three men coming.
134 You know, there's just something about a Christian, that he knows Spirit when he sees It. When he... He just knows it. There's just something Spiritual about it. Spiritual things are Spiritually discerned. You know. Yeah, he can just tell it, if he's really born. "My sheep know My Voice."
135And he just knew there was something. He run out. He said, "Come in, my Lord. Sit down. Stop a little bit. I'll get a morsel of bread and put in Your hand. I'll wash Your feet. Rest Yourself, then go on about Your journey, for You--You've come to visit me." Up in the barren land, taking the hard way, the way with the Lord's despised few.
While, Lot was living in riches, the nephew down there, but he was living in sin. That's what most riches-ness produces is sin.
136 So Abraham brought them up, while he got a little water and washed Their feet. He run out into the calf, and got a fat calf into the herd, and killed it; give it to a servant, to dress. And said, "Sarah, knead your meal."
You know what kneading, it is, means. You know, mom used to have an old, kind of like a wedge, she had in the--the meal barrel. Did you ever see one of them with a sifter? And you had a wedge in there, you raked the meal, you know; and get heavy like that, and rake it through, like. I've seen mama do it, many times, the wedge, have a little round thing that's got a little screen wire on it. She'd get that meal up and sift it like that, you know, and pat it back and forth, like that. Then take the wedge and rake it around, like that, to get it all down. And that's when we have to go down and get our meal ground at the old grist mill; and big old burrs, you know, heavy, made real corn bread. You could saw logs all day, on it.
137 So then, said, "Knead some meal, right quick. And make some hoecakes right here on the hearth, right quick." And they milked the cow and got some milk. And they got, churned it, and got some butter. And then they went and killed the calf and got some meat, and they fried the meat. Got the butter milk, corn bread, and they got some butter to put on the hot hoecakes. Oh, that's really good. And they smeared it all on there. And he took it out, and set it down to these three Men.
138And while They were eating, They kept looking toward Sodom. And after while, They got up and started walking away. And said, Abraham, said, "You won't keep it from me."
139"I can't keep from you what I'm going to do. I'm going down there. The sins of Sodom has come in My ear."
Who was the Man? Dust all over His clothes, and setting there eating the flesh of a calf, and drinking the cow's milk, and eating some hoecake corn bread, and some butter. Who is this strange Fellow? Two, or three of Them, setting there. Dust all over His clothes. Oh, yeah, "We're from a far Country." Yeah, way away. And so He said... Well, Who were They?
140 He said, "I can't keep from Abraham, seeing that he's the heir of the earth." Amen. "I reveal My secrets," other words, "to those who are heir of the earth." That's where the Church ought to be today. That's right. Get the Secrets of God, know how to hold yourself, and act, and what to do, and how to walk, and how to live. We're the heir of the earth. Right. He reveals It to you, 'cause He won't keep nothing back. That's why we're watching these things come to pass.
The world say, "Ah, that's a bunch of fanaticism." Let them say it. The heir of the earth knows these things. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
... for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
He makes His secrets known to them, reveals it to them, showing them what to do and how to live, forsaking the things of the world; walking godly and living godly, in this present world, walking along with Him. Let the world say what they want to.
141 So He said, "I can't keep this secret from Abraham, because, seeing he's the heir of the earth. But," He said, "I'm going down to destroy Sodom. I'm going down."
142"What are you going to do, Mister? Where You from? What's it all about?"
143Come to find out, He said, "And another thing, Abraham, you've waited twenty-five years for this promise I give you. You done got all the birdeye up, the--the pins and everything, for this baby, twenty-five years ago. You still been waiting on Me. Now I'm going to visit you, just about the time of life, according, time of life, next month I'll be with you."
144And Sarah, back in the tent. And this Man had His back turned to the tent, talking to Abraham, like this. And Sarah went, "Huh!"
145He said, "What made Sarah laugh?" Ho-ho-ho! How about that? That was quite a telepathy, wasn't it? "What made Sarah laugh?"
Sarah said, "No. I never laughed."
146Said, "Oh, yes, you did." She was scared. She was trembling. Who was That, to know what she was doing back in the tent? That's That same God that's with us today. Same One. He knows all about it. See? He just reveals it as you have need. See?
147"What you laugh about?" See, His back turned to it. The Bible stated that, that, "His back was turned to the tent." But, He knew it. "What's she, back there, doing this, you see?"
So, He said, "I'm going to visit you."
148Who is this strange Fellow? You know what happened? He walked right out there and vanished. And the Bible said that That was Almighty God, Jehovah, that great Fountain, that Theophany, that Logos.
149 Some preacher said to me, some time ago, said, "Brother Branham, you wouldn't actually think that was God, would you?"
150I said, "The Bible said It was God, Elohim." Which, He was Almighty God, the El Shaddai, that's right, the Strength-Giver, the Satisfier. Amen.
151Oh, I feel religious! Think of it, here, as He is now. I'm going to show you Who He is here, then you'll see Who the Son is. That was Jesus, before He had the human Name, "Jesus."
152Stood there at the fountain that day. And they was all drinking, you know, and, "Having the waters was in the wilderness," and things like that. He said, "They was eating the manna." Said, he said, "Our fathers eat manna in the wilderness, for forty years."
153He said, "And they're, every one, dead." Said, "I am the Bread of Life that come from God, out of Heaven. He that eats this Bread shall never die."
154Said, "Well, our fathers drank from the Spirit, from a spiritual Rock that was in the wilderness, that followed them."
155He said, "I am that Rock." Glory! Saint John, the 6th chapter.
"Why," they said, "what?"
"Yes. That's right."
156"Why," he said, "You are... You're not even fifty years old." Course, His work made Him look a little old, but He was only thirty. Said, "You're a man not over fifty years old, and You say You seen Abraham, that's been dead for eight or nine hundred years? We know now that You're a devil."
157He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." There He is. Who was the I AM? A perpetual Name for all generation. That was the... that Pillar of Fire in the burning bush, "I AM THAT I AM." There He was, that Theophany met here, called the Son of God, the I AM, the Jehovah.
158 Thomas said, "Lord, show us the Father. It'll satisfy us."
159Said, "I been so long with you, you don't know Me?" Said, "When you see Me, you see the Father. Why say, 'Show us, Thou, the Father'? I and the Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me. I'm just a tabernacle called the Son. The Father dwells in Me. Not Me that doeth the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works, not Me"
160Now, standing back there, again, Moses seen Him, the hind part of Him, said, "Looked like the back of a man," the Logos that went from God.
161Then what happened? This was God. And the reason He had become from Logos to flesh... What? How do you... What happened to that? Five minutes before that, He was a... He was the Logos. But what did He do? He just reached over...
162 Now, our bodies are made out of sixteen different elements of the world. We know that. It's made out of potash, and--and a--and a little calcium, and--and petroleum, and cosmic light, and atoms, and so forth. All bundled together, and makes this body, comes from the dust of the earth. You eat food. As you eat the food, that turns into... from the dust, and it come from the dust, and it just--just goes right on. Your flesh, as far as your flesh, is no different from a horse, or from a cow, or anything else. It's still just flesh.
163And, boy, you glorify the flesh; but that spirit has a soul in there, my brother. That's right. But your flesh is just dust of the earth, like the animal. Your flesh is no more than an animal. And if you lust after the flesh and the thing you see, lust after women, lust after all these different things, it's still animal. That's right. That's right. You shouldn't do it. The Spirit of God will lead you on and put you on a higher plain than that. That's exactly right.
164 Now, and here, this great Theophany standing there. What? That great Jehovah God, you know what He said? He just reached over and got a handful of atoms, got a little light, and poured it in him like this, went, "Whew," a body, and just stepped right into it. That's all.
165Said, "Come here, Gabriel," that great Archangel. Went, "Whew." "Step in that."
166"Come here, Michael," the Angel at His right side. "Whew." For the... "You step in that."
167God, and two Angels, walked down here in human flesh, and drank the milk from a cow, eat the butter out of the milk, and eat some corn bread, and eat the flesh of the calf. Two Angels and God. The Bible said so. That's Melchisedec, that Abraham met, coming from the slaughter of the kings. That's the Son of God.
168 Go ahead, here in the Hebrews, the 7th, said, "But made in the order of like unto the Son of God." There He is. He made all things by Him. And He walked right out there, and just changed that dust right back to dust again, and stepped right back into Glory.
169And the Angels, as soon as They delivered Lot and Mrs. Lot, and she kept looking back. He said, told them not to do it again. And They stepped right back into in to--to the Presence of God.
170Now, what a great hope we have, this great Faith that we serve tonight! The living God, the Jehovah, the Pillar of Fire, is with us. Shows Himself in power, and action, and magnify. Let them take the Picture of Him, the same Jehovah. The Son of God that came from God, went back to God, and dwells in His Church forevermore. There He is.
171 He has our names on His Book, with a sworn oath by Himself, for there's no one greater He can swear by, that He'll raise us up in the last day. "He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, has everlasting Life, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. He that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out. He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting Life, and shall never come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto Life."
172That same One could just reach and grab a handful of calcium and potash, go, "Whew," and there you are again. And my name is on His Book. Oh! Oh! Oh! What do I care how stooped my shoulders are getting, how old I get? Certainly not. Not a bit of worry.
173 Brother Mike, one of these days, bless your heart, brother, when that great trumpet will come, that sound, and that Joseph will step forth. Hallelujah! He will say, "Children!" "Whew." There you'll be, made in His likeness; young forever, old age is passed away; sickness, troubles, sorrows has vanished. Glory be to the living God!
174That's Who He speaks through, today, His Son. "In sundry times and divers manner He spoke through the prophet, but in this last day through His Son, Christ Jesus." He speaks to every man's heart that He has called. If you've ever felt His Voice or heard Him knock at your heart, please don't turn It away.
Let us pray.
175 Heavenly Father, tonight, as we're so happy to know, at the opening of this Hebrew Letter, how Paul went right back into the Gospels. He just wouldn't take it upon a hearsay or upon an experience. He wanted us to know what was Truth. And he went right back into the Gospels, and he... back into the Old Testament, the Gospel that was preached to them. And he seen, through the Old Testament there, all the shadows and types. That's why we got this great Book of the Hebrews tonight. And we see It, Lord, and we love It. And through ages, It's been burned, It's been scattered, It's been tried to be done away with, but She waves on just the same. For Thou hast said, "Heavens and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not."
176Then the skeptic would say, "Well, you said, 'Paul wrote this.'" Not Paul, but God that was in Paul; that creative Being that was inside of Paul.
177Just like was in David, when he said, "I'll not suffer my Holy One to see corruption, neither will I leave His soul in hell." And the Son of God taken those Words from that prophet, and went right into the bosoms of hell. And said, "Tear down this tabernacle, and I'll raise It up in three days." And He did it, because God's Word can't fail. One iota can't fail. How we thank God for this, this great Urim Thummim, and to know that our experiences tonight, Lord, flashes right on this Bible here! We're born again, have the Holy Spirit.
178 Dear God, if there be a man or woman in here tonight, boy or girl, who has never witnessed this, how could they raise up if there's no Life in there? Oh, they say, "I have Life."
179But the Bible said, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she is alive." You say you have Life, but you're dead. "You claim," said the Bible, "that you have Life, but you're dead. Thou say you are rich and have need of nothing; but not know that you're miserable, and poor, and naked, and blind, and don't know it." And that is the condition of the churches tonight, Lord. How they miss these great, valuable things.
To know that the great Jehovah God, Who can only produce by... He said, "Bring me those little fish." He had to take the fish to--to make something with it. Showing, that the resurrection had to be something, to do something with. He not only made fish, but he made cooked fish; He cooked bread. And He fed five thousand with five little fish, little loaves and two fishes. O Lord, it was in His hands, and He was the Creator. But He had to have something in His hand.
God, may we lay ourselves in His hands, tonight, and say, "O God, take me as I am. And when the end of my life is here, let me go with this hope that was within me, knowing I been born again, and Your Spirit has bore record with me, and witnessed with my spirit, that I'm Your Son, or Your Daughter." And at that last day, You'll raise them up. Grant it, Father.
180 And while we have our heads bowed, would there be one would raise your hand, say, "Remember me, Brother Branham, in prayer. I want God to know me when... 'fore I leave this earth, that He will know me so much that He will call my name. I'll answer." The Lord bless you son. God bless you, and you; and you, lady. Someone else? Just raise your hand. Say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham." That's what we'll do. God bless you, young lady. That's good.
181Now, while your head is bowed, praying, I'm going to sing a verse of this song.
Covet not this world's vain riches,
That so rapidly decay,
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
They will never pass away.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
182 While she is playing now, and your head bowed, will you just reach your hand up, say, "Yes, Lord, here is mine"? What will it do? It'll show your spirit, in you, made a decision. "I want your hand, Lord." God bless you, little girlie. "I'll raise my hand." God bless you, little girl, down here. That's fine, honey. God, you know, is happy to see you do that. "Suffer the little children to come to me."
183"I want, God, You to hold my hand. And at that day, I want to be in Your hand; that, when You call, I'll come." Yes, like Lazarus was. God bless you, sister.
When our journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright your home in Glory,
Your enraptured soul shall view.
What will you do now, then?
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
184 Heavenly Father, several hands went up, in this little meeting, tonight, that they want to take a hold, tonight, of Your unchanging, Eternal hand. Knowing that what is committed to You... You said, "I... All the Father has given Me will come to Me, and none of them will be lost. And I'll raise them up at the last day. Can never perish, can never come to judgment, but has Eternal, Eternal Life." And there's only one Eternal Life. That comes from God, alone. It is God. And we become part of God, so much that we're sons and daughters of God. When we have God's Spirit in us, we think like God. We think of righteousness and holiness, and we try to live to please Him.
185Grant, Lord, that that type of Life will enter every person that raised their hand. And those who should have raised their hands, and did not, I pray that You'll be with them. Grant it, Father. And when journey is ended, life is finished, may we enter into peace at that day, with Him, where we'll never be old, never be sick, never be no trouble. Until then, keep us joyful and happy, praising Him, for we ask it in His Name. Amen.
186 All you believers, now, let's just raise our hands and sing that chorus.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Now let's hum it. [Brother Branham begins humming Hold To God's Unchanging Hand--Ed.]
187While you're doing that, your neighbor; you say, "God bless you, neighbor." Shake hands with somebody setting next to you. "God bless you." On both sides now. On both sides, shake hands. "God bless you, neighbor. God be with you." Build your hopes on things Eternal.
Doc, I know it's there, brother. I know you've been there, Brother Neville, long ago.
When this journey is completed,
Going to happen, one of these days.
If to God we have been true,
We'll see Brother Seward there.
Bright and bright, your home in Glory,
Your enraptured soul shall view.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
I like that worship, after the message.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved shall stand,
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold...
Let us catch a view of Him, that unseen One in the midst now, and just worship Him now as we sing.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Just worship Him now.
Coming down...
The message is over. It's worship.
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Just bathe in Him.
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from...
That great Fountain, It's opening up.
... above;
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Doesn't that just do something?
Wonderful peace,
Coming down from our Father Above;
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Isn't there something about It, just rich and sweet?
188 And wonder if there's a sick person wants to be anointed and prayed for. If there is, just find your place. This is the lady in the wheel chair there? Just let her remain. I'll come, pray for her. She won't have to get up from the chair. Another? All right.
Oh, don't you just love this part of the service? How many feel, just know that the Presence of God is here? That's what I talk about. That same... You just feel like... How many feels like you could just scream out? Now let's just see. Just feels like something, you could, wants to scream out. See?
It's peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father Above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Shine on me,
189While we're in worship, we're going to anoint the sick now, and pray for them. Won't you come right this way, lady?
190What does this mean? "The prayer of faith shall save the sick." Everybody in prayer now, just hum that song. Think of Jesus healing the sick. Anoint her in oil.
1... dať trochu. Myslím, že pre mňa nie je nič lepšie, než Slovo. Viera prichádza z počutia a počutie skrze Slovo Božie.
2Stredy a možno nedele (jedno nedeľné zhromaždenie) dáme pastorovi, aby si trochu oddýchol, on si to naozaj zaslúži a myslím, že by sme možno zobrali z Biblie nejakú knihu. Robievali sme to a niekedy sme to preberali aj rok.
3Pamätám sa, raz sme celý rok preberali knihu Zjavenia. Ale, ó, čo to boli za veci, ktoré sme sa naučili a aké to bolo ohromné. Potom sme išli naspäť a zobrali sme knihu Daniela, alebo knihu Genesis, alebo Exodus. A brali sme kapitolu za kapitolou, a to proste viaže spolu celú Bibliu. Ó, ako to mám rád.
4A trochu neskoršie budeme musieť prebrať ... Ak nás Pán bude ďalej žehnať a pôjdeme ďalej, dostaneme sa tu ku skutočne hlbokým veciam, skutočne hlbokým. A budeme takto prechádzať od jedného miesta Písma ku druhému.
5Mám rád, keď sa Písmo porovnáva s Písmom. Tak to musí byť. To je proste jeden veľký, krásny obraz. A v tejto knihe, ktorú rozoberáme, dostaneme sa ku ... ó, ku spaseniu a Božskému uzdraveniu a ku zázrakom a k milosti a ku ... Ó, tu v tom je všetko.
6A možno, že keď prídem ku miestu, kde - budem musieť ísť na zhromaždenia ... Nikdy neviem, kedy pôjdem na zhromaždenie, kedy ma zavolajú na zhromaždenie, pretože nič neplánujem, až kým necítim, že som vedený urobiť určitú vec. A to môže byť ... Prv ako bude ráno, môžem letieť do Kalifornie, hore do Maine alebo niekde, proste kde ma On zavolá. Preto nerobím veľké, dlhé cestovné plány, pretože to nemôžem robiť. Moja služba nie je taká, a to je rozdiel.
7A teraz prichádzam domov len na krátky odpočinok. Na tomto poslednom zhromaždení som schudol desať kíl. A pred nedávnom tam bol brat Mercier a brat Goad a povedal: „Brat Branham, všimol som si, čo robíš, ty do toho vkladáš celé svoje srdce.“
8Povedal som: „To je jediný spôsob, ako môžeš skutočne pracovať pre Pána. Dávať všetko čo máš rovno do prvej línie pre Krista. Celú svoju silu, celú svoju dušu, celé svoje srdce, celú svoju myseľ, všetko čo máš.“ Keď čokoľvek robíš, rob to poriadne, alebo to vôbec nerob. Vidíte? Nechaj to tak. Keď budeš kresťanom, vydaj Kristovi všetko čo máš. Svoj čas, svoj talent, všetko.
9Všímal som si práve tohoto mladého muža. To je tvoja žena, brat Burns, však? Hrajú a spievajú, ten mladý pár, a to nie je piano ani organy, ale to je nejaký nástroj, na ktorom brnkajú a robia niečo pre Pána. Ak to môžete robiť a spievať a to je ... Získavajú duše. Robte niečo, to je jedno, ak - ak môžete pískať, tak pískajte. Robte proste niečo, svedčte len, alebo robte niečo pre kráľovstvo Božie. Čokoľvek máte, použite to v službe pre Boha.
10No, nechceme vás tu držať príliš dlho, pretože viem, že idete do práce a musíte zavčasu vstávať a ... Ja chodím každé ráno poľovať na veveričky. Hovorím vám pravdu, to je to čo robím. Preto som sem prišiel, aby som si trochu oddýchol. A tak vstávam okolo štvrtej a idem do lesov a trochu poľujem a idem spať. A znovu naberám niečo na váhe, tak za nejaký čas si oddýchnem, ak Pán dá. A všetko bude v poriadku.
11No dobre. Teraz si otvoríme svoje Biblie ... Chcem, aby ste si každý večer nosili Biblie, aby ste - ak môžete. Ak niekto nemá a bude chcieť sledovať ako čítame, máme tu niekoľko. Niekto z pomocníkov vám ich podá. Chce niekto? Dobre, zodvihnite ruku.
12Som zvedavý, či brat ... Doc, poď sem a zober tieto Biblie. Ty stojíš tam blízko a brat Burns. Je to dobre? Burns? Počul som ho, že povedal ... Čo? Konrad. Volal som ho ... Možno začínam trochu zle počuť, brat Neville. Odkiaľ som vlastne zobral to meno Burns? Poznám ho do tváre a nemôžem si spomenúť jeho meno.
13A viete, keď začínate trochu starnúť, zistil som jedno. Robí mi trochu problém čítať túto Bibliu. A nerád myslím na to, že na čítanie Biblie budem nosiť okuliare.
14Ale tu nedávno som si myslel, že začínam slepnúť. A išiel som navštíviť Sama. A Sam povedal: „Bill, ja neviem.“ Povedal: „Vybavím ti prehliadku u špecialistu.“
15A išiel som do Louisville. A musela to byť vôľa Pánova, nejaký známy špecialista, zabudol som teraz ako sa volá. Ale on čítal moju knihu a povedal: „Ak pôjdete ešte niekedy do Afriky, chcem ísť s vami.“ Povedal: „A ak ... Tí Afričania vás milujú.“ A povedal: „Oni sú veľmi poverčiví, zvlášť na nôž, aby sa dali operovať.“ Tak povedal: „Chcem venovať šesť mesiacov svojho života na operácie šedého zákalu a takých vecí pri tej misii.“ A povedal: „Keby sme mohli ísť spolu a vy by ste takto mohli získať ich náklonnosť ...“ Povedal: „Potom ak oni majú šedý zákal a oko funguje, rád by som tam zadarmo pracoval šesť mesiacov.“ (A zabudol som ako dlho musíte čakať u neho na vyšetrenie.)
16A sedeli sme v malej miestnosti a bolo tam malé červené svetlo, tam v tej tmavej miestnosti. No, mohol som čítať tie písmená ktoré povedal ... dvadsať - dvadsať. Tak či tak som ich mohol čítať. A on to precvakol na pätnásť - pätnásť a mohol som to prečítať. A prepol to na desať - desať a mohol som ich prečítať. On povedal: „No, vaše oči nie sú až také zlé.“
17A tak mal tam malý teleskop. Dal tam malý aparát, také niečo malé ... Poznáte tie teleskopy? Koľkí si na to pamätáte? Zvykli sme sa cez ne dívať a pozerať sa na obrázky. Je to niečo také. A on povedal: „Môžete to prečítať?
A ja som povedal: „Áno, môžem.“
On povedal: „Prečítajte mi to.“
18A to malo ... ó, celý odstavec, takto a začal som to čítať a on to začal približovať. A čím ďalej, tým som to videl slabšie a slabšie a on to priblížil asi takto a ja som sa zastavil. On povedal: „Môžem vám jedno povedať, že ste prekročili štyridsiatku.“
Povedal som: „Áno, to je pravda, už dávno.“
19On povedal: „Ako ste to urobili?“ On povedal: „Ľudské oko obyčajne keď dosiahnete štyridsať rokov, tak ako vám šedivejú vlasy, tak očná šošovka sa splošťuje.“ Povedal: „No keby ste žili dosť dlho, znovu by to prišlo naspäť do pôvodnej formy.“ On povedal: „To je druhý zrak, tak to nazývajú.“ Ale povedal: „Človek asi pri štyridsiatke, oni v podstate ... „ Povedal: „To nie je nič s ich očami.“
20Mohol som - môžem vidieť vlas spadnutý na zemi. Keď je ďalej odo mňa ... Ale keď ho priblížite ... A on povedal: „Teraz si čítate Bibliu a držíte ju ďalej od seba.“ Povedal: „Po nejakom čase už nebudete mať dosť dlhé ruky. Nebudete ...?... aby ste ju mohli držať tak ďaleko od seba.“
21A tak mi urobil okuliare a tá spodná časť je na čítanie. On povedal: „No, za kazateľňou ...“ On si myslel, že ja som jeden tu z týchto veľkých kazateľov, viete. A tak povedal, že tá vrchná časť je obyčajné sklo, len obyčajné sklo. A tá spodná časť má v sebe nejakú šošovku, že môžem čítať z blízka, viete, takto. Ja ich nerád nosím.
22A teraz pri Biblickom vyučovaní a ... Zobral som si dnes večer Nový zákon. Tak to je ... Mám Collinsov Nový Zákon a sú v ňom dosť veľké písmená. Ale teraz, keď idem ku tomu druhému, asi si budem musieť zobrať tieto kamarátky a čítať cez ne. Ale nech je to čokoľvek, som rád, že mám niečo, že stále môžem čítať. A čokoľvek mám, všetko čo môžem budem dávať Bohu na chválu a dúfam, že On odstráni ten znak pokročilého veku. Nemôžem Ho prosiť, aby zobral odo mňa tento vek, ja ... Viete, to je tá jedna vec, ktorej sa všetci musíme podrobiť, musíme cez to prechádzať. A ja viem, že už nie som mladý chlapec, aký som bol voľakedy, keď som tu stával na pódiu. Mám štyridsať osem rokov. A predstavte si, za dva roky budem mať päťdesiat, brat Mike.
23Ó ... sotva môžem tomu uveriť. Nikdy som nevedel, že mi minulo dvadsať len asi pred dvoma rokmi. Je to tak. Je to tak! Nemohol som tomu uveriť. A je mi to ťažko uveriť, kým sa nepozriem na tie okuliare, a potom viem, že je to tak. Ale to je len zrak, ja sa cítim tak dobre ako len môžem a som vďačný aj za to. Ó, chvála Bohu!
24No, preberáme knihu Židom. To je ... To je jedna z najhlbších, najbohatších kníh Biblie. Hovorím vám, to je kniha, ktorá bude skutočne ... Ak Boh dovolí a my sa dostaneme do tohoto, verím, že nájdeme zlaté nugety, že až krikom budeme chváliť Boha ...?...
25A teraz ja ... Kniha Židom, čo ona skutočne je, predpokladá sa, že ju napísal svätý Pavel hádam, najväčší vykladač Biblie, ktorého svet mal, pomimo nášho Pána Ježiša Krista. A Pavol oddeľoval ... No, Pavel bol skutočným biblickým učiteľom. To bol vtedy Starý Zákon. To bola jediná Kniha, ktorá bola vtedy napísaná, ktorá sa nazývala Biblia. A on sa snažil tým Židom ukázať, oddeľoval ten Starý Zákon a ukazoval, že Starý Zákon je tieňom alebo obrazom Nového.
26Hneď tam by sme mohli natrafiť na cestu domov a zostať pri tom tri mesiace, pri tejto jednej myšlienke. Hneď tam. Aby sme išli rovno naspäť ... Ak si môžete teraz otvoriť svoje Biblie ... samozrejme sme v Liste Židom v 1. kapitole. Ale keď sa obrátime do Zjavenia, do 12. kapitoly, znovu to budete dokonale vidieť ako tie tiene ...
27Ak vy, ktorí máte ceruzky a budete si značiť tie miesta Písma ... V Zjavení v 11. kapitole nachádzame, že Ján na ostrove Patmos videl, ako na oblohe stojí žena a na hlave mala slnko a pod nohami mesiac. A táto žena bola ... a bola v pôrodných bolestiach a mala porodiť dieťa. A porodila chlapca. Červený drak stál, aby zožral to dieťa len čo sa narodilo a to dieťa bolo vytrhnuté do Neba a žena utiekla na púšť, kde bola živená na čas, časy a pol času, alebo na rozdelený čas.
28No, táto žena predstavovala cirkev. A dieťa, ktoré porodila bol Kristus. Mesiac pod jej nohami bol zákon, slnko na jej hlave bola milosť. Dvanásť hviezd v jej korune bolo dvanásť apoštolov. A tam kde na ... Dvanásť apoštolov bolo slávou alebo korunou Nového zákona. Vidíte? „Lebo žiadny iný základ nemôže byť položený, než ten, ktorý je už položený.“ Vidíte? To je základ, Nový Zákon, apoštolovia, náuka apoštolov a tak ďalej, to je korunováciou Nového Zákona.
29A potom mesiac je tieňom slnka, slnko len odráža svoje svetlo, keď je za zemou. A mesiac nám dáva svetlo, aby sme mohli v noci chodiť. A aký tu máme krásny obraz. Ďalší krásny obraz. Slnko predstavuje Krista, mesiac predstavuje cirkev. Oni sú ako muž a žena. A počas Kristovej neprítomnosti, cirkev vydáva menšie svetlo, Evanjelium, a to je svetlo, v ktorom máme chodiť až kým znovu nevyjde slnko. [Alebo Syn. Po anglicky slová “slnko“ a “syn“ znejú rovnako. – pozn.prekl.] Potom cirkev a Syn, mesiac a slnko spolu splývajú. Vidíte? Mesiac je časťou slnka a cirkev je časťou Krista. A počas Kristovej neprítomnosti, cirkev odzrkadľuje Jeho svetlo. A potom s takou istotou ako môžeme vidieť svietiť mesiac, tak môžeme vedieť, že niekde svieti slnko. A kým cirkev odzrkadľuje Kristove svetlo, Kristus niekde žije. Amen! Pamätajte na to.
30No, zákon bol predobrazom milosti, ale zákon nemal v sebe žiadnu spasiteľnú moc. Zákon bol len ... Zákon bol policajt. Policajt vás dá do väzenia. Ale vidíte, bola potrebná milosť, aby vás dostala von z väzenia. Vidíte?
31Tak Krv Kristova, Evanjelium nás oslobodzuje od hriechu. Zákon nás len robí hriešnikmi. Zákon len povedal: „Ty si hriešnik. Nepokradneš! Nezcudzoložíš! Nevypovieš falošného svedectva!“ Vidíte? To je policajt, ktorý vám hovorí, že robíte zle a že ste vinní. Ale Evanjelium je Dobrá Novina. Kristus zomrel, aby nás spasil od všetkých našich previnení a prestúpení zákona. Kristus zomrel, aby nás zobral von z väzenia.
32No Pavel, len čo sa obrátil, on sa neradil so žiadnym seminárom, ani sa neradil so žiadnym kazateľom. Ale všimli ste si, on odišiel do Arábie a bol tam tri roky. V Arábii.
33No, toto je podľa mojej mienky, že ... No, musíme porozumieť podklad tohoto, a potom budeme vedieť aké je to dôležité. A dnes večer v tejto prvej lekcii si robíme podklad.
34No, Pavel bol taký učiteľ Biblie, pretože on bol vyučený pod tým veľkým učiteľom všetkých časov, známym Gamalielom. A to bol jeden z najlepších v tom čase, ten veľký učiteľ Zákona a prorokov. Tak Pavel bol v týchto veciach dobre vyučený.
35A toto sa mi potom na ňom páči, toto veľké zjavenie, on bol v srdci úprimný. Vrah. On dal súhlas, aby bol Štefan zabitý a videl ako Štefan zomiera pod skalami a hrudami, kameňovaný na smrť. A ja si myslím, že to sa potom muselo Pavla dotknúť, keď videl Štefana ako zodvihol ruky ku Nebu a povedal: „Vidím nebesia otvorené a vidím stáť Ježiša po pravici Božej.“ A povedal: „Otče, nepočítaj im tohoto hriechu.“ A zaspal.
36Všimli ste si, že on nezomrel? On zaspal. Ani neverím, že pocítil ešte ďalší kameň. Tak ako dieťa zaspí v náručí svojej matky, tak Štefan zaspal v náručí Božom.
37S Pavlom sa niečo stalo, to sa ho potom dotklo. On potom ... každý človek, keď je usvedčený sa snaží proti tomu bojovať. On zašiel ku najvyššiemu kňazovi a on mu dal listy, povedal: „Ja pozatváram všetkých týchto ľudí, ktorí robia všetok tento hluk, a tých heretikov.“ (to čo bolo považované, akoby sme to dnes nazvali, za extrémny fanatizmus alebo tak nejako, ktorí robili veľa hluku a robili rozruch.) „My tam zájdeme a spravíme s tým poriadok.“
38A na tejto ceste, na starej ... to nebola široká diaľnica po akých my cestujeme. Tie cesty v Palestíne to boli len obyčajné cesty, lesné cesty vyšliapané od kráv, skade chodil cez kopce dobytok, ovce, kone, osly a ťavy.
39A Pavel bol na ceste do Damašku a jedného dňa okolo poludnia zasvietilo veľké Svetlo a zrazilo ho na zem. Nikto okrem Pavla to nevidel. Chcem, aby ste si to všimli. A hneď tu, toto - to s týmto teraz nesúvisí, ale tak sme vedení do tohoto pozadia, aby ste videli, že ten istý Ježiš ...
40No, On keď tu bol na zemi, On povedal: „Vyšiel som od Boha a idem naspäť ku Bohu.“
41No, keď On viedol deti Izraelove, On bol Ohnivým Stĺpom a On sa stal telom, a potom sa vrátil naspäť do toho istého Ohnivého Stĺpa. A keď stretol Pavla na ceste do Damašku, On bol tým Ohnivým Stĺpom, tým Svetlom. Vidíte? Veľké Svetlo. A Pavol povedal: „Kto To je, koho ja prenasledujem?“
42A On povedal: „Ja som Ježiš, ktorého ty prenasleduješ. (Svetlo!)“ Ó, či nie je On ohromný?
43A On je tu dnes večer, rovno tu s nami. Tam bola urobená Jeho fotografia. To je tá istá vec. Vidíte? Ohnivý Stĺp! Svetlo! Taký istý aký bol. Ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.
44No tí ľudia, ktorí boli s ním nevideli to Svetlo. Ale Ono tam aj tak bolo. Výsledok je ten istý.
45Či je možné, že niekto v tejto budove mohol vidieť Krista a nikto iný Ho nevidel? Samozrejme! To sa tam stalo.
46To sa stalo jednej noci, keď bol Peter vo väzení. A to Svetlo prišlo do väzenia a dotklo sa Petra a prešli rovno popri vnútornej stráži, vonkajšej stráži, prešli cez bránu, cez hlavnú bránu a cez mestskú bránu. Peter povedal: „Musí sa mi snívať.“ Ale rozhliadol sa okolo, ale to Svetlo odišlo. Kristus, to večné, ustavičné Svetlo. Tu Ho máte. Vidíte?
47No, na tej ceste ... A pozrite sa, ďalšia vec, že by sme mohli o tomto hovoriť, práve mi to prišlo na myseľ. Tí mudrci, ktorí nasledovali tú hviezdu, celou cestou z Indie, z Orientu - mesiace - prechádzali cez údolia a púšte. Prechádzala ponad observatóriá. A oni počítali čas v noci podľa hviezd. A žiadny historik, ani nikto sa nikdy nezmienil, že by niekedy videl tú hviezdu okrem tých mudrcov. To bolo určené len pre nich, aby ju videli.
48A tak ty môžeš vidieť niečo, čo ten druhý nemusí vidieť. Pre teba je to skutočnosť. Pre neho, oni tomu nerozumejú. Tak ako obrátenie. Vy môžete byť obrátení a radovať sa z požehnaní Božích, piť ich, požehnania Božie. A iný, ktorý sedí vedľa teba: „Ja nič nevidím!“ Vidíte? To je to. „Ja tomu vôbec nerozumiem. Ja nič na tom nevidím.“ No, on to proste nerozumie, to je všetko, kde ste.
49No, všimnite si, Pavel na svojej ceste, hneď ako mal toto veľké prežitie ... No on sa neuspokojil ... Preto bol Pavel na tom tak dobre.
50Naša lekcia dnes večer nie je hlboká. To je plytká lekcia, ale, ó, za chvíľu sa dostaneme do hĺbky. Ale toto je veľmi plytká lekcia. Ale toto je len začiatok. A čo to je, to je jedna vec, a to vyvýšenie Ježiša Krista. Pavel hneď od začiatku ...
51A prv ako on toto robil, Pavel bol biblický znalec. A znalec Biblie nebude nikdy zakladať svoju náuku na prežití. Nie veru! Oni nikdy nezakladajú svoju náuku na prežití. Môžete mať akékoľvek prežitie. Ale to musí byť TAK HOVORÍ PÁN. Je to tak.
52No v Starom Zákone mali tri rôzne spôsoby ako mohli poznať posolstvo. Prv zákon, to bol len zákon. Potom mali prorokov a takých, ktorým sa snívali sny a mali Urím a Thumím. No to môže byť trochu hlbšie.
53Urím a Thumím bol náprsník, ktorý nosil Áron na svojich prsiach. V ňom bolo dvanásť kameňov: jaspis, rubín, karbunkulus a tak ďalej. Oni mali všetkých tých dvanásť veľkých kameňov, ktoré boli na náprsníku a ukazovali, že on bol najvyšší kňaz každého pokolenia, tých dvanástich pokolení Izrelových. Tento náprsník visel v cirkvi na stĺpe a keď nejaký prorok prorokoval a oni si chceli byť istí, či je to pravda alebo nie, proroci, alebo tí, ktorým sa sníval sen, zastali pred týmto Urím a Thumím a on povedal svoj sen alebo svoje videnie, čokoľvek videl. A ak to Tajomné Svetlo ... Ó, vidíte to? Boh stále prebýval v nadprirodzenej oblasti. Tá zmes, tie svetlá boli len normálne až kým nezaznel ten hlas. A keď ten hlas narazil na tie kamene, ak to nebolo nadprirodzené, oni zostávali nečinné. Ale ak to bolo nadprirodzené, tie Svetlá všetky spolu vydávali farby dúhy. Amen. Vtedy to hovoril Boh: „To je Môj prorok. Ten sen pochádza odo Mňa.“ To bolo podľa Urím Thumím, ktorým súdili.
54Pamätáte sa na Saula, keď odpadol? On povedal, že nemôže mať sen. A prorok Samuel bol mŕtvy a nebolo inej cesty. On povedal: „Ani Urím ku mne nehovorí.“ Nič! Saul sa postavil pred Urím a jeho slová boli mŕtvym buchotom. Vidíte? Boh ho proste odmietol. A to Urím Thumím, to bolo Áronove potvrdenie jeho kňazstva. Keď Áron odišiel, Mojžiš ... ten náprsník visel na stĺpe.
55No, Áronove kňazstvo skončilo, keď Ježiš zomrel. A teraz oddeľujeme zákon od milosti, my máme stále Urím Thumím. A Pavel Ho používal. Vidíte? Dnes je Urím Thumím Božie nesmrteľné, večné, nehynúce Slovo. Vidíte?
56Lebo ktokoľvek odoberie niečo z tejto Knihy alebo pridá niečo ku nej. Ja nechcem nič pomimo toho, ale chcem všetko čo Ona má. To je Cirkev. My chceme ... A všetky veci musia byť potvrdené Slovom.
57Preto som medzi letničnými nedávno urobil rozruch, lebo som povedal: „Nemôžem pochopiť, kde olej vytekajúci z rúk, alebo krv vytekajúca z tváre, je znakom, že máte Ducha Svätého.“ To nie je zhodné s Písmom a ja to jednoducho nemôžem prijať. To musí pochádzať zo Slova.
58A tak Pavel, on proste miloval Slovo. Tak prv ako vydal svedectvo o tomto veľkom prežití, ktoré mal, odišiel na tri roky dole do Egypta. Myslím, že na tri roky. Na tri roky dole do Egypta. A viete čo si ja myslím, že tam robil? Verím, že zobral ten Starý Zákon a skúmal cez Starý Zákon a zistil, že To bol skutočne opravdivý Mesiáš. On musel dokázať svoje prežitie s Bibliou. Amen. Ó!
59Pozrite sa na neho, keď bol vo väzení. Všimnite si, je úsek v živote Pavla, keď bol tam vo väzení, dlhý čas. Napísal Knihu Efežanom, napísal tento list Židom. Vidíte? On mal čas. Boh ho dal tam do väzenia a on písal cirkvám tieto listy. Jeden cirkvi Efezskej. Jeden napísal letničnej cirkvi (s nimi mal veľa problémov). S letničnou cirkvou mal viac problémov než ako s ktoroukoľvek inou. Stále. Ale on bol za nich vďačný. Jediné čo ich mohol učiť ... Keď sa oni zišli, jeden mal jazyk, jeden mal žalm, jeden mal senzáciu, jeden mal pocit. On nemohol ku ním hovoriť o večnej istote. On im nemohol hovoriť o predurčení. On im nemohol hovoriť, oni boli nemluvňatá. Oni museli všetci - museli niečo cítiť alebo niečo vidieť, alebo mať zvláštny pocit a ... alebo niečo okolo nich, nejaké dôkazy.
60Ale ja verím, že keď on hovoril ku Efezským, mohol hovoriť o tom, že Boh nás predurčil za synov a za dcéry a adoptoval nás ako deti v Ježišovi Kristovi pred založením sveta. Pozrite sa na to. Ó!
61Pozrite sa na neho tu v Liste Rimanom a tak ďalej. Oni boli narastení. Ó, oni hovorili v jazykoch. Samozrejme! A mali medzi sebou ďalšie znamenia Ducha Svätého. Ale nerobili doktríny a senzácie a nespočívali na trasení sa a na zvláštnych pocitoch.
62Pavel povedal: „Vy s tým idete do extrémov. Keď už máte byť učiteľmi, stále ste nemluvňatá a musí sa vám podávať mlieko.“
63A to je to, o čo stále zápasím, aby tento zbor nebol hromadou nemluvniat. Aby sme boli narastení. Aby sme stáli na ceste. Ó! Tu to máte.
64Tak Pavel išiel prv tam, aby zistil, či jeho prežitie pasuje s Božou Bibliou.
65 Ó, či by to nebolo dnes ohromné, keby to ľudia znovu tak robili? Keby sme porovnali svoje prežitia s Božou Bibliou. Ak sa to nezhoduje, potom je naše prežitie zlé. V Urím a Thumím to nezasvieti! Ak to tam zasvieti (Amen!), máme To. Ale ak nie, nejaký ... Nestarám sa o to ako dobre to vyzerá, ako skutočne to vyzerá, ako keby to bolo správne, ak tieto svetlá na tom Urím a Thumím nezasvietia, je to zlé!
66A nezáleží na tom koľko ste mali prežití, ako skutočne to vyzerá, aké je to pozoruhodné, aké vzdelané, aký veľký nástroj na získavanie duší, ak to nie je vo svetle Slova, je to falošné. Je to tak. To sa musí zhodovať so Slovom.
67No, ja verím ... Je stred cesty. Cesta ... Mnohokrát ...Chodieval som do Nazarénskej cirkvi (Nech Pán požehná tých drahých ľudí), staromódni, posvätení Metodisti, to sú oni. Cirkev Božia, Nazaréni, Pútnici svätosti a mnohé z tých dobrých, starých, svätých cirkví. A oni zvykli spievať pieseň:
Idem po tej starej hradskej,
všade hovorím, že idem po nej.
Radšej budem starodávnym kresťanom, Pane,
než čokoľvek iné. (Dobré, ohromné!)
68A potom zvykli hovoriť o svätej hradskej. No, keď to budete tam čítať v ... Oni to majú z Izaiáša, z 35. kapitoly. No ak si všimnete, on povedal: „A bude tam hradská a cesta.“
69No, „a“ je spojka. Vidíte? A hradská ... To nebola svätá hradská. „Bude tam hradská a cesta, ktorá sa bude volať svätou cestou.“ Nie svätou hradskou, „svätou cestou.“ A tá cesta na tej trase ide prostriedkom tej trasy. To je takto postavené, že tie vody budú zmývať špinu na obidve strany, udržiavať čistú tú trasu. Ak nie, stále by ste mali na nej mláky. Ak by to nebolo správne postavené. Tá cesta je v strede tej trasy.
70Na tejto strane, keď sa ľudia obrátili, ich myseľ je postavená rovno na Kristovi. A ak sú len trochu učení, a nezotrvávajú na modlitbe, stanú sa veľmi chladní a skostnatejú a stanú sa formálni, ľahostajní. A zase ak sú trochu energickí, ak nedávate pozor, prejdú na túto stranu a stanú sa radikálni a divokí. Vidíte? Odchádzajú do senzácií a všetkého možného.
71No ... Ale skutočná cirkev, to je zdravé evanjelium, rovno v strede tej trasy. Nie je to chladné a naškrobené, ani to nie je fanatizmus. To je naozaj dobré, staré, horúce evanjelium, láska Božia v srdci. Ide rovno v strede tej cesty a z oboch strán naň volajú. Je to tak. No to je to, čo ... A ako dostanete takú cirkev? Rovno zo Slova, z toho Urím, Thumím.
72No, Pavel chcel dostať túto cirkev rovno do stredu tej cesty. A tak odišiel a tri roky študoval Písma, ktoré poznal. Preto Pavel napísal väčšiu časť tohoto Nového Zákona. Boh mu to dal napísať, pretože to bol príchod pohanského veku. Matúš, Marek, Lukáš a Ján (tie štyri evanjeliá), to boli židia. Ale Pavel napísal väčšinu listov.
73No všimnite si, teraz začneme vidieť tento podklad. Kde sa on nachádza, píše to z väzenia. A on mal všetko toto prežitie. Ale prv, toto prežitie bolo prv overené a toto je ku tomu jeho kľúčový list. Toto je jeho kľúčový list. List Rimanom a Efežanom a tak ďalej, mal svoje miesto, ale toto je kľúčový list.
74No, celá prvá kapitola je vyvyšovanie Ježiša a ukazuje Ho v inom svetle než ako len proroka. Toto je teraz celá téma. A teraz sa budem snažiť vojsť do toho tak rýchlo ako len budem môcť, aby sme tu neboli príliš dlho. Celá téma je oddelenie Nového ... Prvá kapitola je oddeľovanie Ježiša od každého proroka, alebo každého zákona a tak ďalej a ukazuje kto je Ježiš.
No pozrite sa:
Boh,
... (Začíname prvým slovom: Boh!)Boh, ... za ... ktorý za dávna ...
(“za dávna“ znamená: „dávno, v dávnom čase“) ...za dávna mnohorakým spôsobom hovorieval v minulosti otcom skrze prorokov,
75No vidíte, Boh v dávnych časoch, voľakedy, On hovorieval otcom skrze prorokov. On tak musel podávať svoje Posolstvo - cez svojho proroka.
76Boh poslal svojho proroka ako Eliáša, Jeremiáša, Izaiáša. A keď - keď si všimnete, nikdy v celej histórii sveta, cirkev nikdy nevyprodu- kovala proroka. Hľadajte v Starom Zákone, v Novom Zákone alebo v tomto čase - v tom poslednom čase. Ukážte mi nejakého proroka, ktorý by kedy povstal z cirkvi v tom poslednom čase. Ukážte mi nejakého, ktorý tam kedy povstal. A ukážte mi aspoň jedno miesto, kde by ten klerikálny systém toho sveta neodvrhol toho proroka, toho skutočného sluhu Božieho.
77Zamyslite sa nad tým. Jeremiáš, Izaiáš, všetci v Starom Zákone, oni ich odvrhli. Ježiš povedal: „Ozdobujete hroby prorokov a bielite ich a vy ste ich do nich doviedli.“ Je to tak!
78Cirkev v tom pokračuje. Pozrite sa na sv. Patricka. Vy katolíci si robíte na neho nárok. On nie je o nič viac katolík ako ja. Je to tak. Ale vy si robíte na neho nárok.
79Pozrite sa na sv. Franciska z Assisi. Robíte si na neho nárok! On nie je o nič viac katolík, ako ja.
80Pozrite sa na Johanku z Arcu. Upálili ste ju na hranici ako čarodejnicu, pretože videla videnia a bola duchovná. Upálili ste ju na hranici! A tá žena kričala o milosť a oni ju upálili na hranici. Asi o sto rokov neskoršie prišli na to, že ona bola prorokyňa, že bola Božím sluhom. Ó, samozrejme zaplatili ste veľkú pokutu. Vykopali ste telá tých kňazov a hodili ste ich do rieky.
81„Ozdobujete hroby prorokov, a dávate ich do nich.“ Je to tak. Klerikálny systém nikdy nezrodil muža Božieho. Nikdy, ani dnes, ani nikdy nezrodí. Organizované náboženstvo nebolo nikdy v Božom úmysle.
82Najstaršie organizovaná cirkev na svete je katolícka cirkev. Luteránska druhá, potom prichádza Zwingli, za Zwinglim Calvin a Calvínska ide ďalej do Anglikánskej, povstáva Anglo-Saxonská, potom Anglikánska cirkev a kráľ Henry VIII, keď on protestoval a tak ďalej, a išlo to ďalej ku Wesleyovým Metodistom a Nazarénom, Pútnikom Svätosti a ďalej ku tým posledným a to sú letniční. Všetci sa zorganizovali! A Biblia jasne učí, že katolícka cirkev je žena zlej povesti a protestantské cirkvi a ich organizácie sú jej dcéry - Zjavenie 17. Je to presne tak.
83Tak oni mali ... Nehovorím teraz o tých ľuďoch. Vo všetkých tých cirkvách sú dobrí ľudia (posvätení, spasení ľudia). Ale Boh nepovoláva svojich ľudí podľa organizácie. On ich povoláva ako jednotlivcov. Boh jedná s jednotlivcami, či si metodista, baptista, protestant a katolík, alebo čokoľvek si. Boh, ťa poznal pred založením sveta, a predurčil ťa do večného života, alebo si bol predurčený na večnú záhubu.
84Nie ... On nechcel, aby si zahynul, keď zahynieš. Ale On je nekonečný. On musel od začiatku poznať koniec, inak by nebol Bohom. Tak Ježiš neprišiel na zem, len aby povedal: „Dobre, budem vidieť či bude niekto láskavý ... Keď toto urobím a zomriem takou ťažkou smrťou, oni sa možno zamyslia — No, ja ... — To presvedčí ich srdcia a budú ...“ Boh takto nepostupuje.
85Ježiš prišiel za jedným určitým účelom, a to aby spasil tých, o ktorých Boh pred založením sveta vedel, že budú spasení. On to tak povedal. Je to tak. A tak vy ... „To nezáleží na tom kto chce, ani od toho kto beží, to je Boh ktorý sa zmilováva.“ Pavel to tak povedal. Ten istý muž tu.
86On povedal: „Preto Boh mohol povedať prv ako sa Ezav alebo Jákob narodili ... On povedal: — jedného som miloval a druhého som nenávidel.“ Ešte skôr ako sa ten chlapec narodil, Boh vedel, že Ezav je fušer a vedel, že Jakob je ... on miloval svoje práva prvorodenstva. Tak On vedel o tom ešte skôr ako bol sformovaný svet. No, za chvíľu nájdeme, kto bol Ten, ktorý to vedel. To je v tejto kapitole.
Boh ... za dávna mnoho ráz a rozmanitým spôsobom hovorieval ... ku otcom skrze prorokov,
v týchto posledných dňoch hovoril ku nám skrze svojho Syna, ...
Čo urobil? Hovoril ku nám v týchto posledných dňoch skrze svojho Syna.
87No, ako si potom myslíte, že ... Čo by bol prorok? Budeme mať potom proroka v tomto čase? Určite! Bude On cez neho hovoriť? Samozrejme! Ale on ... to ... Proroci v tých dávnych časoch, to bol Duch Ježiša Krista.
88Povedzme to priamo, pretože sa mi zdá, že to nerozumiete správne. Toto je teraz ako nedeľná škola, tak chceme, aby ste to jasne porozumeli. Vidíte?
89Všimnite si. Zoberme Ducha Božieho, ktorý bol v Mojžišovi. Dokonale ... je predobrazom Ježiša Krista. Všetky tie charaktery Starého Zákona znázorňovali kríž. Mojžiš: narodil sa ako zvláštne dieťa, ukrývaný v trstí, vzatý od svojich rodičov a tak ďalej a bol ... on bol kráľ - alebo vodca, zákonodarca, prímluvca, kňaz. Všetko čo on bol znázorňovalo Krista.
90Pozrite sa na Jozefa: milovaný od otca, nenávidený od svojich bratov a predaný za takmer tridsať strieborných. Hodený do jamy, pokladaný za mŕtveho. Vzatý von. Vo svojom prenasledovaní, čašník spasený a pekár zatratený (dvaja lotri na kríži). A potom, keď vyšiel, on vstal a vyšiel z tej jamy a sedel po pravici faraónovej, najväčší obchodný ... národ, ktorý porazil všetok ostatný svet. A nikto nemohol prísť ku faraónovi, jedine že by prišiel cez Jozefa (Ježiš sedí po pravici Božej a nikto nemôže prísť ku Bohu, jedine skrze Krista). A keď Jozef opustil ten trón a vystúpil, vyšli pred ním ľudia, ktorí volali a trúbili na trúbach a hovorili — Skláňajte kolená, Jozef prichádza.
91A keď bude prichádzať Ježiš, bude znieť trúba a každé koleno sa skloní a každý jazyk vyzná. Tak veru! On tam bol.
92A keď Jozef zomrel, on tým, ktorí očakávali na vyslobodenie zanechal pamiatku.
93Nedávno som tu položil svoju ruku na tú starú truhlu, bola urobená z olova. A jeho telo tam malo byť ... Jeho kosti ... povedal: „Nepochovajte ma tu, lebo jedného dňa vás Boh navštívi.“ (On bol prorok.) „Boh vás navštívi.“ A on povedal: „Keď pôjdete do zasľúbenej zeme, zoberte moje kosti.“
94Ježiš zanechal pamiatku - prázdny hrob. Jedného dňa, keď pôjdeme do hrobu a naši milovaní ... a budeme počuť tie malé hrudy, keď oni povedia: „Popol do popola a prach do prachu a zem do zeme.“ Ale brat, môžeme sa pozrieť cez more na prázdny hrob. Jedného dňa pôjdeme z tadeto preč, pôjdeme domov. On prichádza.
96Všetko je obrazom. Pozrite sa na Dávida: jeho vlastný ľud ho odmietol, jeho vlastný ľud ho zosadil z tróna. Bol kráľom Jeruzalema, jeho vlastný ľud ho vyviedol z Jeruzalema. A vyšiel na Olivovú horu, pozrel sa naspäť a zaplakal. On bol odmietnutý.
97Osemsto rokov po tom, Syn Dávidov, Kráľ Jeruzalema, sedel na vrchu a plakal, pretože bol odmietnutý.
98To bol Duch Kristov v Dávidovi. Všetko znázorňovalo kríž. Tí proroci tam vtedy hovorili v Jeho mene. Žili v Jeho mene. Postupovali v Jeho mene. Skutočne! „Boh za dávna mnoho ráz a mnohým spôsobom hovorieval ku otcom skrze prorokov, ale v tomto poslednom dni skrze svojho Syna.“
99Tak proroci a duchovní ľudia v tomto čase sú len odzrkadlením Krista. Oni tam stáli - dívali sa skrze zákon. A tu na tejto strane stoja a dívajú sa naspäť iným spôsobom, skrze milosť.
100To v Liste Židom 11, posledná kapitola, stále som sa tomu divil, v tej poslednej kapitole, v poslednej časti tej jedenástej kapitoly Židom, keď hovorí o Abrahámovi. Tá veľká kapitola o viere, a na konci on povedal: „skrývajúc sa chodili sem a tam v ovčích a kozích kožiach, strádajúci a pílami rezaní.“ Oni chodili sem a tam, nemali miesta kde ísť, nenávidení, pohrdnutí a prenasledovaní, ktorých svet nie je hoden, takých ľudí.
101Potom sa Pavel postavil a povedal: „Ale oni bez nás nie sú dokonalí.“ Pretože oni sa dívali len po kríž a my sa dívame cez kríž. My máme Ducha Kristovho po tom, ako sa To stalo ľudským telom a prebývalo medzi nami. My sem prichádzame skrze Ducha Svätého a to je oveľa lepší plán.
102A niekedy sa divím, čo kresťanstvo dnes očakáva. Kazateľ, ktorý káže v stane musí byť ... alebo v nejakej novej cirkvi alebo má nejaké nové poverenie, hovorí si, že je prorok, ide tam a hovorí: „No, ak mi dajú toľko a toľko peňazí. Ak budem môcť mať najlepšie auto. Ak oni ... ak mi každých šesť mesiacov budú dvíhať plat.“
103My musíme mať najlepšie. My musíme mať najlepšie domy. My musíme mať najlepšie šaty. Čo budeme robiť, keď zastaneme v prítomnosti týchto mužov, ktorí chodili sem a tam v kozích a v ovčích kožiach, nemali miesta, kde by hlavu zložili. Blúdili po púšti. A z nás si niekto môže urobiť žart a sme hotoví prestať chodiť do zhromaždenia a viac tam už neísť. Čo dnes kresťanstvo chce! Máme sa hanbiť za seba. (Ó Bože, buď nám milostivý.)
104V tom čase On hovoril skrze prorokov, ale v tomto čase cez svojho Syna. Tam to bolo slovo proroka. Toto dnes je Slovo Syna. Ó, nech je požehnané meno Pánovo!
105Inými slovami, keď sa dívate na tieň, na negatív, môžete urobiť chybu. Ale toto je vyvolané. Obraz je jasný. To bolo skrze proroka, toto je skrze jeho Syna. To bolo skrze negatív, toto je skrze pozitív. Amen. Vidíte to? Nie je možné, aby ste to prepásli. Dnes je to pozitív skrze jeho Syna. Ó, aké je to ohromné!
... ktorého ustanovil za dediča ...
(ó)... za dediča všetkého,
106Čo to bolo? To bolo ustanovenie. Ó, počúvajte! On bol ustanovený (Kristus) za dediča všetkého. Ó, diabol to vedel od záhrady Eden. Vidíte, keď diabol počul to Slovo, tam v ten deň pri súde tých ľudí, povedal: „Pretože pochádzaš z prachu ... na prach sa obrátiš. A Semeno ženy rozdrtí hadovi hlavu.“ Zasľúbené Semeno!
107Satan neustále vyčkával na to Semeno. Keď sa Ábel narodil, povedal: „No prosím, to je to semeno.“ A zabil Ábela. Jeho syn, Kain, zabil Ábela. A len čo Ábel zomrel, on povedal: „Mám to semeno.“ On to zabil. On povedal: „Mám to.“ Ale Ábelova smrť ... Setove narodenie bol znovu vzkriesenie. Pozorujte ako oni prichádzajú.
108Tá Setova línia: ona prichádza pokorne, spravodliví ľudia, ďalej cez Enocha, ďalej ku Noemu, do konca predpotopného zničenia.
109Pozrite sa na Kainovu líniu: títo ľudia sa stávajú chytrí, vzdelaní, vedci. Či Biblia nehovorí ... či nepovedal Ježiš, že deti tohoto sveta sú múdrejšie než deti Kráľovstva? Pozrite sa na tú Kainovu stranu ešte aj dnes. Chytrí, vzdelaní, skeptickí, veľmi nábožní. Vidíte? Veľmi nábožní ale vedeckí, stavitelia, veľkí ľudia.
110Zoberme veľkého človeka - pozrime sa na Tomáša Edisona. Mnoho veľkých ľudí - pozrite sa na Einsteina, na tie tak zvané svetové mozgy dnes, na tie svetové mozgy. Ale my sa nesnažíme využívať mozgy. My dovolíme, aby v nás bola myseľ, ktorá bola v Kristovi a dívame sa do tohoto Slova a tak to nazývame!
111Doktori medicíny, hoci si ich vážime s čímkoľvek čo máme, ale väčšina z nich sú skeptici, agnostici. Pozrite sa na dnešných chytrých, inteligentných ľudí. Oni sú tam na tej strane, na Kainovej strane.
112Ale pozrite sa na tých ponížených a pokorných. Tu znovu vidíte vzkriesenie. Ó, nech je požehnané meno Pánovo. Tu to máte.
Všimnite si:
... ktorého ustanovil za dediča všetkého, skrze ktorého učinil aj svety;
(Kto učinil svety? Kristus. Či Kristus učinil svety? Tak veru!)
Poďme trochu ďalej:
ktorý súc odbleskom jeho slávy a obrazom jeho
prítomnosti, ... (Odblesk čej slávy? Božej slávy. Obraz čej prítomnosti? Božej! Ó, to sa mi páči.) ... čiobrazom jeho podstaty
[Anglický preklad: “obrazom Jeho Osoby“ – pozn.prekl.]a udržiava všetko slovom svojej moci ...
Tu to máte! Slovo udržiava všetky veci. Ježiš povedal v Matúšovi 24: „Nebo a zem pominú, ale moje slová nikdy nepominú.“ On všetko udržiava.
113Veda sa to snaží poprieť a hovorí: „To je stará kniha, to bolo prekladané.“
114Ešte aj rímsko katolícka cirkev, biskup Sheen povedal: „To bolo prekladané štyri alebo päťkrát a nie je na tom veľa. Nemohli by ste podľa toho žiť, keby ste museli.“ Ale On udržiava všetko svojím Slovom. Amen. To je to, čo si ja o tom myslím. Ja verím Biblii:
... slovom svojej moci, ...
(V Slove je moc.)...a učiniac si skrze samého seba očistenie od našich hriechov, ...
(pozrite sa sem)... posadil sa po pravici Veličenstva na výsostiach;
115Čo sa snaží Pavel robiť? On sa snaží ukázať, že Boh mal v úmysle urobiť všetko v Kristovi a Kristus bol obrazom Božím. Plný výsledok tejto kapitoly sa zaoberá s tým, ako bol On vyšší od anjelov, vyšší než všetky moci. Anjeli sa mu klaňali. Pavel sa Ho snaží vyvýšiť.
116No, chcem skúsiť ... Ak sa nedostanem ďalej než ku tomuto, to ďalšie tu je vyvyšovanie Krista. To čo tu Pavel hovorí, tak ako v 11. kapitole a všetko, čo hovorí o svete. On povedal: „Ktorému z anjelov povedal — Ty si môj syn, ja som ťa dnes splodil.“ Vidíte?
117Koniec sveta ... Oni zahynú, svet zahynie, ale ... a všetky veci na svete zhynú. On ich zvinie ako plášť. Oni zostarnú a obrátia sa a pominú. „Ale Ty vždy trváš; Ty trváš na veky. Ty si môj Syn, Ja som ťa dnes splodil, a nikdy nezhynieš.“ Sedí po pravici Veličenstva. Čo znamená pravica? Nie to, že Boh má pravú ruku a niekto sedí pri nej. Pravá ruka znamená „moc a autorita“. Má všetku autoritu na nebi a na zemi. A všetky nebesia a zem boli učinené skrze Neho.
118 No, kto je táto osoba? Tento veľký muž, Kristus? Tu: Boh v Otcovi, Synovi a v Duchu Svätom, to nie je trojica ... to nie je trojica ľudí. To je trojica úradu, jedného Boha.
119On bol Otec, ktorý viedol deti Izraelove. To bol jeho úrad, veľký Jehova Otec. A On prebýval na zemi, a bol nazvaný „Syn“. A teraz prebýva vo svojej cirkvi a je nazvaný „Duch Svätý“. Nie traja Bohovia, jeden Boh v troch úradoch. Otec, Syn a Duch Svätý! Ľudia sa z Neho snažia urobiť troch Bohov! Boh otec, ... Preto Židia ... Nemohli by ste, židovi toto nikdy nenahovoríte. Nie, že to ... On nemôže, on má prikázanie, že „Ja som jeden Boh.“ Je len jeden Boh.
120V Afrike krstia tromi rôznymi spôsobmi. Raz krstia na Otca, raz na Syna a raz na Ducha Svätého. Misia Apoštolskej Viery, oni krstia tri razy dopredu na Jeho smrť. A to nazývajú Plné Evanjelium na západnom pobreží - alebo na východnom pobreží, krstia tri razy dozadu. Vravia, že On ... „na Jeho pohreb.“ A on povedal: „Keď On zomrel, padol dopredu.“
121Iný povedal: „Nie, človeka pochovávate na chrbát.“ To sú bezvýznamné staré technické veci a oboje je zlé. Oboje je podľa Písma zle. Toto je Urím a Thumím. Ono to dáva doporiadku.
122No tu, predstavme to len, aby sme videli, čo to - ako to vyzerá dnes. Tu to je, ak to chcete vidieť. Za celých tých dvadsať päť rokov, ako som kazateľ. Študoval som to a často som rozmýšľal, keď dary v cirkvi ... Čo sú tieto dary: proroctvo, hovorenie v jazykoch, vykladanie jazykov, Božské zjavenie a tak ďalej? To všetko prichádza cez Krista.
123No pozrite sa, Kristus je hlavou všetkého. A On je hlavou cirkvi. A videli ste niekedy veľký diamant? Ktorý je správne odštiepený, treba z neho odraziť malé úlomky, odštiepiť to z neho. To vytvára správny diamant. Načo sú tie úlomky? Skutočný diamant, keď sa vydoluje, on je dotlčený. Skutočný diamant keď je vydolovaný ...
Bol som v Kimberly. Vy, mnohí z vás ste počuli, že tam na ulici môžete nazbierať diamanty, to je pravda. Billy, ja a pán Bosworth. Predseda diamantových baní v Kimberly zobral ... On tam na zhromaždení bol mojím pomocníkom. A oni nás tam zobrali ... Oni ich dolujú asi - asi 1 700 stôp pod zemou [približne 570 m – pozn.prekl.] Oni vydolujú modrý kameň. Veľký modrý ako tento modrý kameň, ktorý je tu neďaleko. A tí domorodci, oni ich spúšťajú 1700 stôp pod zem, aby ich dolovali, aby držali tú cenu hore. Išli by ste tam ku rieke a oni to tam strážia na štyristo míľ. Povedal, že keď zoberiete dve desať galonové vedrá [1 galón - 3,78 litra. – pozn.prekl.] a naberiete ich plné piesku a keby ste s tým mohli ísť domov, boli by ste multi milionárom, toľko by v tom bolo diamantov. Ale oni musia pracovať a dolovať ich, aby držali hore ich cenu.
124No, diamant keď sa vydoluje, je to len veľký, hladký, okrúhly kúsok skla. Sú modré diamanty, čierne diamanty, smaragdové [sýto zelené – pozn.prekl.] a číre diamanty, biele diamanty. Ale keď je vydolovaný ... Potom keď je on opracovaný a dáva sa do používania, časť toho diamantu musí odpadnúť. A to musí odpadnúť - musí byť z neho odštiepené. Odraziť malé úlomky, pretože keď to príde na priame svetlo, takto, to sa ligoce. To štiepnutie, ono spôsobuje, že sa ligoce, podľa toho ako je preseknutý. On je preseknutý, preštiepený, a potom keď je to urobené to spôsobuje, že sa ligoce a jeden bude vydávať zelené svetlo a iný modré svetlo a možno ďalší smaragdové svetlo a červené svetlo a vychádzali by z toho rôzne svetlá ako farby dúhy. Oni to nazývajú oheň v diamante.
125No, každé z týchto svetiel reprezentuje dar. Ale to je len ... Kristus je ten Diamant. A On bol ten, ktorý prišiel a bol zdrtený a zranený a štiepaný, aby mohol odzrkadľovať naspäť samého seba, ako svetlo pre svet. On je ten Majstrovský Diamant.
126Môžete si predstaviť, že ešte skôr ako bola zem, prv ako bolo svetlo, prv ako boli hviezdy, prv ako čokoľvek bolo? Je veľká Fontána vydávajúca Ducha a z tejto Fontány vyšla najčistejšia láska. Pretože nič iné nemohlo stade vyjsť, než láska. No my ... To, čo my dnes nazývame láskou, to je prevrátená láska. Ale akonáhle dostaneme do seba tú príchuť alebo trochu tej lásky, to premieňa celý náš názor.
127Potom stade vychádza ďalší prameň, z tejto hlavnej Fontány, z Diamantu a to bolo nazvané spravodlivosť. Úplná spravodlivosť. No preto sme museli mať zákon. Preto zákon musel mať súd. Keby za zákonom nenasledoval súd, zákon by bol nanič. A keď bol vykonaný súd podľa zákona, ktorý prinášal smrť ... A nebolo nikoho, kto by mohol zaplatiť ten trest, okrem samého Boha. A On zaplatil trest za našu smrť a zobral na Seba naše hriechy, aby sme my mohli byť spravodlivosťou Božou skrze Neho.
128No, keď vyšli tieto veľké svetlá alebo veľké lúče Ducha: láska, pokoj, ... To všetko tam bolo. To ... Tam nebolo žiadne trápenie, tam nebola žiadna nenávisť, žiadna zloba. To nemohlo pochádzať z tejto Fontány. To bol Jehova! To bol Jehova Boh. A teraz, ako to nazývajú teológovia, z Toho vyšla teofánia, ktorá bola nazvaná v Písme „Logos,“ Logos, ktoré vyšlo z Boha. Je to ťažko vysvetliť, ale to bola časť Boha.
129No, tu je to čo sa stalo. Ó... Prepáčte. Len som narazil na toto ... Toto mi robí dobre, toto tu milujem. Vidíte? Logos a táto veľká Fontána; táto veľká Fontána Ducha, ktorá nemá začiatku ani konca. Tento veľký Duch sa začal formovať do stvorenia, a Logos, ktoré z toho vyšlo bol Syn Boží. To bola jediná viditeľná forma, ktorú mal ten Duch. A To bola teofánia, čo znamená telo a to telo vyzeralo ako človek.
130Mojžiš To videl, keď To prechádzalo cez ... popri skale. A on sa na to pozrel a povedal: „Vyzeralo to, ako chrbát človeka.“
To je ten istý druh tela, ktoré prijmeme, keď tu zomrieme. „Keď tento pozemský stánok bude zborený, máme iný pripravený.“ To bolo To. A to bola Teofánia, ktorou bol Syn Boží. Ten Syn, to Logos sa stalo telom, pretože my sme boli daní do tela. A tá Teofánia, to Logos sa stalo telom tu medzi nami a To nebolo nič iné ako miesto prebývania, lebo tá večná Fontána prebývala v Ňom. Ó, vidíte to? Tu to je! To bol Ten, ktorý v ...
131Pozrite sa sem. Prejdime teraz rýchlo do 7. kapitoly Židom. Len na chvíľu o milosti, ak bude vôľa Božia. Pozrime sa ako to tu vyzerá. Abrahám ... (Koľko máme času? Máme desať minút.) Dobre, zoberieme toto a potom zakončíme na ďalšom ... alebo v nedeľu, ak bude vôľa Božia.
132Abrahám sa navracia od porážky kráľov.
Lebo ten istý Melchisedech, kráľ Sálema,
... (Koľkí viete, čo - čo som povedal, že bolo Sálem? Jeruzalem.) ...kráľ Sálema, kňaz najvyššieho Boha, ktorý vyšiel v ústrety Abrahámovi, ktorý sa navracal od porážky kráľov a požehnal ho,
(Počúvajte!)ktorému aj desiatok udelil Abrahám zo všetkého, ktorý sa volá, keď sa preloží jeho meno, najprv kráľ spravodlivosti a potom i kráľ Sálema, čo je v preklade: kráľ Pokoja,
bez otca, bez matere, bez rodoslovia nemajúci ani počiatku ani konca života, ...
133Kráľ prichádza zo Sálema a stretáva sa s Abrahámom, ktorý prichádzal od porážky kráľov. A tento Kráľ nemal otca, ani matku, nemal počiatok ani koniec života. Koho to stretol Abrahám? No, zamyslite sa: „On nemal otca, On nemal matku, On nikdy nemal čas, v ktorom On začal a On nikdy nemá čas kedy on skončí. Tak ten istý Kráľ Sálema musí dnes žiť. Amen. Vidíte to? To bola Teofánia, to bol Syn Boží! Aký Sálem? Ten Jeruzalem, ktorý je hore! Ktoré Abrahám, ktorý bol požehnaný krúžiacim ohňom, ... snažil sa nájsť mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom bol Boh. On chodil sem a tam v ovčích a kozích kožiach, všade. Strádajúci, chodil sem a tam, a hľadal mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom bol Boh. A stretol Kráľa toho Sálemu, ako prichádza a zaplatil Mu desiatok zo všetkej koristi. Amen! Tu to je. Ó, brat Graham, to bol On. To bol On!
Abrahám Ho znovu videl. Jedného dňa sedel v stane. Díval sa a tam prichádzali, videl prichádzať troch mužov.
134Viete, s kresťanom sa niečo deje, že pozná Ducha, keď To vidí. Keď on ... On to proste poznal. Na tom je niečo duchovné. Duchovné veci sa duchovne rozoznávajú. Viete ... Áno, on by to proste mohol povedať. Ak je skutočne narodený: „Moje ovce poznajú Môj hlas.“
135A on proste vedel, že to bolo niečo. On vybehol von a povedal: “Vojdi, môj Pane. Sadni si. Zastav sa na chvíľu. Prinesiem kúsok chleba a dám do Tvojich rúk. Umyjem Tvoje nohy. Odpočiň si, potom pôjdeš ďalej svojou cestou, lebo - prišiel si ma navštíviť.“ Tam hore v pustej zemi, na tej ťažkej ceste, na ceste s niekoľkými Pánovými pohrdnutými. Kým Lót žil v hojnosti, jeho synovec tam dole. Ale on žil v hriechu. To produkuje tá veľká hojnosť - hriech.
136Tak Abrahám ich zadržal. Mal trochu vody a umyl im nohy. Bežal do stáda pre teľa a zobral tučné teľa a zabil ho a dal aby to jeho sluhovia pripravili. A povedal: „Sára, zamies a sprav koláče.“ Viete čo je to zamiesiť ... To je, to znamená ... Viete, mama zvykla používať taký tĺčik, ona to robila v nádobe na múku. Videli ste niekedy nejaké s tým sypátkom? A to tam malo taký tĺčik a vy ste tým prehrabávali tú múku. A to takto hustlo, a tak ste to trepali. Veľakrát som videl mamu s tým tĺčikom, mala takú malú okrúhlu vec, na ktorej bolo také drôtené sito. Zodvihla tú múku a takto preosiala. Viete. A takto s tým poklepala. A potom zobrala ten tĺčik a prehrabávala v tom, aby to všetko umiesila. A keď sme museli ísť dole do starého mlyna, dať si zomlieť múku. A veľké mlynské kamene (viete, také ťažké) - robil sa z toho riadny kukuričný chlieb. Na tom by ste vládali celý deň píliť drevo.
137Tak potom povedal: „ Zamies rýchlo a sprav nejaké placky. Hneď tu na ohnisku. Ponáhľaj sa.“ A podojili kravu a doniesli mlieko. A zobrali ... zmútili to a spravili maslo. A potom išli a zabili teľa a zobrali mäso a opiekli ho. Zobrali maslo, chlieb a na tie horúce placky dali maslo. (A to je naozaj dobré!) A celé to pomazali. A zobrali to a predložili tým trom mužom.
138A kým oni jedli, stále sa dívali smerom ku Sodome. A po chvíli oni vstali a začali odchádzať. A On povedal: „Abrahám...“ Povedal: „Či budeš tajiť predo mnou.“
139„Nemôžem zatajiť pred tebou, čo idem urobiť. Idem tam dole. Hriechy Sodomy prišli do môjho ucha.“ Kto bol ten muž? Jeho šaty boli celé zaprášené a sedel tam a jedol mäso z teľaťa a pil mlieko od kravy a jedol placky a maslo. Kto je tento zvláštny človek.? Sedeli tam dvaja, či traja. Šaty mali celé od prachu. Ó, áno: „My sme z ďalekej krajiny.“ (Áno, z ďaleka!) A tak on povedal ... No, kto oni boli?
140A On povedal: „Nemôžem zatajiť pred Abrahámom, vidím, že on je dedičom zeme.“ (Amen!) „Ja zjavím svoje tajomstvá (inými slovami) tým, ktorí sú dedičmi zeme.“ Tam má byť dnes cirkev. Je to tak. Poznať tajomstvá Božie a vedieť ako sa držať a správať a čo robiť a ako chodiť a ako žiť. My sme dedičmi zeme. Je to tak. On To zjavuje vám, pretože On nemôže nič zatajiť. Preto vidíme diať sa tieto veci. A svet hovorí: „Ach, to je banda fanatikov.“ Ale nech to len vravia. Dedič zeme pozná tieto veci. [Prázdne miesto na páske. – pozn.prekl.]
... budú sa nazývať deťmi Božími.
Blahoslavení tichí, lebo oni dedične obdržia zem.
On im dáva poznávať svoje tajomstvá, zjavuje im to. Ukazuje im čo robiť a ako žiť, ako opúšťať veci tohoto sveta. Ako chodiť pobožne a žiť pobožne v tomto terajšom svete. Chodiť s Ním! Nech si svet hovorí, čo chce.
141Tak On povedal: „Nemôžem tajiť pred Abrahámom toto tajomstvo, pretože vidím, že on je dedičom zeme.“ Ale On povedal: „Idem dole zničiť Sodomu. Idem dole ...“
142„Čo idete urobiť, pane? Odkiaľ ste? Čo to všetko má znamenať?“
143Poď si to zistiť, On povedal: „A ďalšia vec, Abrahám, ty dvadsať päť rokov čakáš na toto zasľúbenie, ktoré som ti dal. Ty si zaobstaral všetky tie plienky a drobnosti a všetko pre toto dieťa pred dvadsiatymi piatimi rokmi. A stále si čakal na Mňa. No, Ja ťa navštívim presne podľa času života, podľa času života, na budúci mesiac budem s tebou.“
144A Sára vzadu v stane ... A tento Muž bol obrátený chrbtom ku stanu a takto sa rozprával s Abrahámom. A Sára ... [Brat Branham predstavuje ako sa smiala. – pozn.prekl.]
145On povedal: „Prečo sa Sárah smiala?“ Ako to? To bola jasná telepatia, však? „Prečo sa Sárah smiala?“
Sárah povedala: „Ó, ja som sa nesmiala.“
146Povedal: „Ó, áno. Smiala si sa!“ Ona sa prestrašila. Ona sa triasla. Kto to bol, ktorý vedel, čo ona robila vzadu v stane. To je Ten istý Boh, ktorý je dnes s nami. Ten istý! On vie všetko o tom. Vidíte? On to zjavuje, keď to potrebujete. Vidíte?
147„Na čom sa smeješ?“ Vidíte? Obrátený chrbtom. Biblia povedal, že On bol obrátený chrbtom ku stanu, ale On to vedel. Čo ona takto za ním robila. Vidíte?
Tak On povedal: „Ja ťa navštívim.“
148Kto je tento zvláštny Človek? Viete čo sa stalo? On vyšiel stade a zmizol. A Biblia povedala, že To bol Všemohúci Boh, Jehova, tá Veľká Fontána, tá Teofánia, to Logos.
149Jeden kazateľ mi pred nedávnom povedal: „Brat Branham, hádam si nemyslíš, že to bol skutočne Boh, či áno?“
150Povedal som: „Biblia povedala, že To bol Boh, Elohim a On je Všemohúci Boh, El Šadai (Je to tak), Darca Sily, Potešiteľ. Amen! Ó, cítim sa dobre. Predstavte si to!
151On je teraz tu. Ukážem vám kto to tam bol, a potom budete vidieť kto je Syn. To bol Ježiš, prv ako mal ľudské meno „Ježiš“!
152Stál tam pri fontáne ten deň ... A oni všetci pili, viete a „Mali vodu, ktorá bola na púšti,“ a takéto veci. (On povedal ...) „Oni jedli mannu.“ Niekto povedal: „Naši otcovia jedli štyridsať rokov mannu na púšti.“
153On povedal: „A oni sú všetci mŕtvi.“ Povedal: „Ja som Chlieb Života, ktorý prichádza od Boha z Neba. Ten, kto bude jesť tento Chlieb, nikdy nezomrie.“
154Povedal: „No, naši otcovia pili z Duchovnej Skaly, ktorá bola na púšti, ktorá išla za nimi.“
155On povedal: „Ja som tá Skala.“ Sláva! Ev. Jána 6. kapitola.
No, oni povedali: „Čo?“
„Áno, je to tak.“
156No, on povedal: Ty si ... Nemáš ani päťdesiat rokov.“ (Samozrejme, jeho práca robila, že vyzeral trochu starší, ale On mal len tridsať.) Povedal: „Ty si človek a nemáš viac ako päťdesiat rokov a ty hovoríš, že si videl Abraháma, ktorý bol mŕtvy osemsto alebo deväťsto rokov. Teraz vieme, že máš diabla.“
157On povedal: „Prv ako bol Abrahám, JA SOM.“ Tu Ho máte. Kto bol ten JA SOM? Trvalé meno pre všetky generácie. To bol ... ten Ohnivý Stĺp v horiacom kríku. „JA SOM KTORÝ SOM.“ Tam On bol, tá Teofánia, ktorá tu bola stvorená sa nazývala Syn Boží, JA SOM! Jehova!
158Tomáš povedal: „Pane, ukáž nám Otca a bude nám dosť.“
159Povedal: „Taký dlhý čas som s vami, a nepoznal si Ma?“ Povedal: „Keď si videl Mňa, videl si Otca. A ako ty hovoríš, — Ukáž nám Otca. Ja a Otec sme Jedno (Jeden). Môj Otec prebýva vo Mne. Ja som Chrám, ktorý sa nazýva Syn. Otec prebýva vo Mne. To nie Ja činím tie skutky, ale môj Otec, ktorý prebýva vo mne. On činí tie skutky, nie Ja.“
160No, keď tam vtedy znovu stál. Mojžiš Ho videl, Jeho chrbát, povedal: „Vyzeralo to, ako chrbát človeka.“ Logos, ktoré vyšlo z Boha.
161Čo sa potom stalo? Toto bol Boh a dôvod prečo On prešiel z Logosu do tela ... Čo ... Ako vy ... Čo sa stalo? Päť minút pred tým, On bol Logos. Ale čo urobil? On sa len načiahol ...
162No, naše telá sú zložené zo šestnástich rôznych elementov sveta. Vieme to. Ono je zložené z draslíka a z trochu vápnika a z ropy a z kozmického svetla a z atómov a tak ďalej. To je všetko spolu zmiešané a to tvorí toto telo. Ono pochádza z prachu zeme. Jete potravu, ktorá ... Ona sa premieňa na ... z prachu, a to pochádza z prachu, a to ide ďalej. Vaše telo ... Potadeto sa vaše telo nelíši od koňa, alebo od kravy alebo od čohokoľvek. To je stále len telo.
163A človeče, ty zvelebuješ telo. Brat môj. Ale ten duch tam mal dušu. Je to tak. Ale tvoje telo je len prach zeme, tak ako telo zvieraťa. Tvoje telo nie je nič viac ako zviera. A ak máš žiadosť po tele a po veciach, ktoré vidíš, máš žiadosť po ženách, máš žiadosť po všetkých tých rôznych veciach, to je stále zviera. Je to tak. Je to tak. Nemal by si to robiť. Duch Boží ťa bude viesť ďalej a postaví ťa do vyššieho plánu než to. Je to presne tak.
164No, a tu ... Táto veľká Teofánia, ktorá tam stála ... Čo ... Ten veľ- ký Jehova Boh, viete čo On povedal? On sa len načiahol a zobral za hrsť atómov, zobral trochu svetla, a takto to vylial a ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... a bolo telo! A vstúpil rovno do neho, a to bolo všetko.
165Povedal: „Poď sem Gabriel!“ (ten veľký Archanjel) a [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... „Vojdi do toho!“
166„Poď sem Michael!“ (Anjel po Jeho pravom boku) ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... Vojdi do toho!“
167Boh a dvaja anjeli zostúpili tu dole v ľudskom tele a pili mlieko od kravy a jedli maslo z mlieka a jedli nejaký chlieb a jedli mäso z teľaťa. Dvaja anjeli a Boh! Biblia tak povedala. To je Melchisedech, ktorého Abrahám stretol, keď sa vracal od porážky kráľov. To je Syn Boží.
168Poďme tu do Listu Židom do siedmej kapitoly, tam je povedané: „Ale podľa poriadku, súc pripodobnený Synovi Božiemu.“ Tu Ho máte. On urobil všetko skrze Neho. A On tam len vyšiel a premenil ten prach znovu na prach a odišiel hneď naspäť do slávy.
169A tí anjeli, len čo vyviedli Lota a pani Lotovú ... A ona sa stále dívala naspäť. On povedal ... povedal im, aby to už viacej nerobili ... A vstúpili hneď naspäť do prítomnosti Božej.
170Akú máme veľkú nádej v tejto veľkej viere, v ktorej dnes slúžime. Živý Boh, Jehova, Ohnivý Stĺp je s nami! Ukazuje sa v moci a v čine a zmocňuje ... dovolil im, aby Ho odfotili. To je ten istý Jehova! Syn Boží, ktorý prišiel od Boha, odišiel naspäť ku Bohu a prebýva naveky vo svojej cirkvi! Tu Ho máte!
171On má zapísané naše mená vo svojej Knihe s prísahou na seba samého, pretože nebolo nikoho väčšieho na koho by mohol prisahať, že On nás vzkriesi v posledný deň. „Ten, kto je Moje telo a pije Moju krv, má večný život. A Ja ho vzkriesim v posledný deň. Ten, kto príde ku Mne, toho nijako nevyvrhnem von. Kto čuje Moje Slová a verí tomu, ktorý ma poslal, má večný život a nepríde na odsúdenie, ale prešiel zo smrti do života.“
172Ten istý, ktorý sa mohol načiahnuť a zobrať za hrsť vápnika a magnézia a ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... A znovu ste tu. A moje meno je v Jeho Knihe. Čo sa budem starať, že ako sa hrbia moje plecia alebo ako starnem. Vôbec nie. Ani trochu!
173Brat Mike, v jednom z týchto dní ... Nech je požehnané tvoje srdce, brat, keď tá veľká trúba ... príde a ... zaznie a ten Jozef vystúpi. Haleluja! On povie: „Deti!“ ... [Brat Branham fúkol. – pozn.prekl.] ... Tam budete, stvorení na Jeho podobu. Stále mladí, starý vek skončil. Choroby, trápenia, žiale pominuli. Sláva živému Bohu!
174To je ten, cez ktorého On dnes hovorí, jeho Syn! „Za dávna, mnoho ráz a mnohým spôsobom On hovorieval cez prorokov, ale v tomto poslednom dni cez Svojho Syna, Krista Ježiša.“ On hovorí ku každému ľudskému srdcu, ktoré On povolal. Ak ste niekedy cítili Jeho volanie, ak ste Ho počuli klopať na vaše srdce, prosím vás, neodmietajte to.
Modlime sa:
175Nebeský Otče, dnes večer, keď sa radujeme z poznania pri otváraní tohoto Listu Židom, ako Pavel išiel hneď naspäť do Evanjelia. On to proste neprijal na základe nejakých rečí alebo na základe nejakého prežitia. On chcel, aby sme vedeli, čo je pravda. A on išiel hneď naspäť do evanjelií a on ... naspäť do Starého Zákona, do Evanjelia, ktoré im bolo kázané. A on tam prijal skrze Starý Zákon všetky tie tiene a predobrazy. Preto dnes večer máme túto veľkú Knihu Židom. A my To vidíme, Pane, a milujeme to. A cez veky, To bolo pochované, bolo To rozhádzané, snažili sa s Tým skoncovať, ale Ona sa ďalej vlní tak isto. Lebo ako si povedal: „Nebo a zem pominú, ale moje Slová nepominú.“
176Potom ten skeptik hovorí: „No, ty vravíš, že toto napísal Pavel.“ Nie Pavel, ale Boh, ktorý bol v Pavlovi. Tá tvoriaca Bytosť, ktorá bola v Pavlovi.
177Tak ako bol v Dávidovi, keď on povedal: „Nenechám svojmu Svätému vidieť porušenie, ani nenechám jeho dušu v pekle.“ A Syn Boží zobral tieto Slová od toho proroka a odišiel rovno do stredu pekla. A povedal: „Zborte tento Chrám a za tri dni ho postavím.“ A On to urobil. Pretože z Božieho Slova nemôže sklamať ani jedna jota. To nemôže sklamať. Ako za toto Bohu ďakujeme, za toto veľké Urím Thumím. A že vieme, že naše prežitia dnes večer, Pane, svietia rovno tu na túto Bibliu. Sme znovuzrodení, máme Ducha Svätého.
178Drahý Bože, ak je tu dnes večer nejaký muž alebo žena, chlapec alebo dievča, ktorí nikdy nemali toto svedectvo ... Ako by oni mohli povstať, ak tam nie je žiadny Život? Ó, oni hovoria: „Ja mám život.“
179Ale Biblia povedala: „Tá, ktorá žije v rozkošiach je mŕtva, hoci žije.“ Vy hovoríte, že máte Život, ale ste mŕtvi. „Vy tvrdíte,“ hovorí Biblia. „že máte život, ale ste mŕtvy. Hovoríš, že si bohatý a ničoho nepotrebuješ, ale nevieš, že si mizerný a biedny a nahý a slepý a nevieš o tom.“ A to je dnešný stav cirkví, Pane. Ako oni prehliadli tieto veľké, hodnotné veci.
Aby poznali toho veľkého Jehovu Boha, ktorý môže produkovať len cez ... On povedal: „Prineste mi tie malé ryby.“ On musel zobrať tie ryby, aby s tým niečo urobil. Tým ukazuje, že vzkriesenie musí byť niečo a On s tým niečo urobí. On neurobil len rybu, ale urobil pečenú rybu. On upiekol chlieb. A nachoval päť tisíc ľudí s tými malými piatimi rybami - malými bochníkmi a dvoma rybami. Ó Pane, to bolo v jeho rukách a On bol Stvoriteľ. Ale On musel mať niečo v rukách.
Bože, nech sa položíme dnes večer do jeho rúk a povieme: „Ó, Bože, prijmi ma takého, aký som. A keď je tu koniec môjho života, daj mi ísť s touto nádejou, ktorá bola vo mne, keď viem, že som sa znovuzrodil a tvoj Duch svedčil spolu so mnou a svedčil spolu s mojím duchom, že som tvojím synom, alebo tvojou dcérou.“ A Ty ich vzkriesiš v ten posledný deň. Učiň to, Pane.
180A kým máme sklonené svoje hlavy, bude tu niekto, kto by zodvihol ruku a povedal: „Pamätaj na mňa, brat Branham v modlitbe. Chcem, aby ma Boh poznal keď ... prv ako opustím túto zem, aby ma On tak poznal, že ma zavolá po mene. A ja odpoviem.“ Nech ťa Pán žehná, syn. Nech ťa Boh žehná, aj teba, aj teba, pani. Ešte niekto ďalší? Zodvihnite len svoju ruku. Povedzte: - Modli sa za mňa, brat Branham.“ To je to, čo budeme robiť. Nech ťa Boh žehná, mladá pani. To je dobre.
181No, kým máte sklonené hlavy a modlite sa, budem spievať verše tejto piesni:
Netúžim po márnom bohatstve tohoto sveta,
ono tak rýchlo hynie,
postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
oni nikdy nepominú!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
182Kým ona teraz hrá a máte sklonené hlavy, či sa načiahnete hore a poviete: „Áno, Pane, tu je moja ruka?“ Čo to urobí? To ukáže, že tvoj duch v tebe sa rozhodol. „Chcem tvoju ruku Pane.“ Nech ťa Boh žehná, dievčatko. „Ja zodvihnem svoju ruku.“ Nech ťa Boh žehná, malé dievča, tu dole. To je pekné, drahá. Vieš, Boh je šťastný, keď vidí čo robíš. „Nebráňte malým deťom prichádzať ku Mne.“
183„Ja chcem, Bože, aby si ma Ty držal za ruku. A v ten deň chcem byť v Tvojej ruke, že keď zavoláš, ja prídem.“ Vidíte? Tak ako to bolo s Lazárom. Nech ťa Boh žehná, sestra.
Keď sa skončí tvoja cesta,
ak si bol verný Bohu,
tvoja uchvátená duša uvidí svoj čistý a jasný dom v sláve!
(Tak čo budeš teraz robiť?)
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Stavaj svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
184Nebeský Otče, zodvihlo sa niekoľko rúk v tomto malom zhromaždení dnes večer, že oni sa chcú chytiť dnes večer, Tvojej nemennej, večnej ruky. Vedia, že čo je poručené Tebe ... Ty si povedal: „Ja ... Všetkých, ktorých Mi dal Otec, prídu ku Mne. A nikto z nich nezahynie. A Ja ich vzkriesim v posledný deň.“ Nikdy nemusí zahynúť, nikdy nemusí prísť na súd, ale môže mať večný, večný život. A je len jeden večný život a on pochádza jedine od Boha. To je Boh! A my sa stávame časťou Boha až tak, že sme Synovia a Dcéry Božie. Keď máme v sebe Ducha Božieho rozmýšľame ako Boh. Rozmýšľame o spravodlivosti a svätosti. A snažíme sa žiť tak, aby sa to Jemu páčilo.
185Udeľ, Pane, nech ten druh života vojde do každého, kto zodvihol ruku. A tí, ktorí mali zodvihnúť svoje ruky a nezodvihli, prosím, aby si bol s nimi. Udeľ to, Otče. A keď sa skončí naša cesta a bude koniec života, nech v ten deň vojdeme do pokoja s Ním, kde nikdy nebudeme starí, nikdy chorí, nebude žiadnych problémov. Zachovávaj nás dovtedy radostných a šťastných, v oslavovaní Jeho, lebo to prosíme v jeho mene. Amen.
186Všetci veriaci ... No, zodvihnime ruky a spievajme ten refrén:
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
No, hmkajme to. [Brat Branham hmká. – pozn.prekl.]
187Kým to robíte, váš sused ... Povedzte mu: „Nech ťa Boh žehná, sused.“ Potraste si s niekým ruky, kto je pri vás. „Nech ťa Boh žehná.“ Na obidvoch stranách teraz. Na obidvoch stranách, potraste si ruky. „Nech ťa Boh žehná, sused. Nech je Boh s tebou.“ Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach. (Doc, viem, že je to tam, brat. Viem, že si tam bol, brat Neville, dávno.)
Keď sa skončí táto cesta; (V jednom z týchto dní sa to stane.)
Ak sme boli verní Bohu, (Uvidíme tam brata Sewarda.)
Tvoja uchvátená duša uvidí svoj čistý a jasný dom v sláve!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky! (Rád oslavujem Pána po posolstve.)
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Čas je plný rýchlych zmien,
Márnosť zeme či obstojí nepohnutá,
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach,
Drž sa ...
Hľaďme na Neho, na toho neviditeľného, ktorý je teraz v našom strede. A oslavujeme Ho teraz, keď spievame.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Postav svoje nádeje na večných veciach.
Drž sa Božej nemennej ruky!
Pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj; (Oslavujme Ho teraz.)
Prichádza dole ... (Posolstvo skončilo, oslavujme Ho.)
Ponor naveky môjho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Proste sa v Ňom vykúpajme.)
Pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj;
Prichádza dole z ... (Tá veľká fontána je otvorená.)
Ponor naveky môjho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Nerobí to niečo s vami?)
... pokoj! Nádherný pokoj.
Prichádza dole od Otca.
Ponorme naveky svojho ducha do bezodného mora lásky.
(Či nie je na tom niečo bohaté a sladké a ...?)
188Chcel by som vedieť, či je tu niekto chorý, kto chce aby sme ho pomazali a pomodlili sa za neho. Ak je, nájdi si len miesto pri ... Toto je tá pani tam v tom invalidnom kresle? Nech tam zostane, ja tam prídem a pomodlím sa za ňu. Nemusí sem ísť s tou stoličkou. Ďalší? Ó, či nemáte radi tento druh služby? Koľkí cítite ... proste viete, že je tu Božia prítomnosť? To je to, o čom hovorím. Ten istý ... Cítite to tak? Koľkí sa cítite tak, že by ste až kričali? No hľaďme len. Cítite proste, akoby ste niečo mohli ... že by ste chceli až zakričať. Rozumiete.
To je pokoj! Pokoj! Nádherný pokoj.
Prichádza dole od Otca.
Prosím, ponor naveky môjho ducha
do bezodného mora lásky.
189Kým Ho oslavujeme, ideme teraz pomazať chorých a modliť sa za nich. Prišla by si sem, pani?
190Čo toto znamená? Modlitba viery uzdraví chorého. Hmkajte všetci tú pieseň.
[Brat Branham sa modlí za chorých. – pozn.prekl.]
1 And to give a--a little... I think there's nothing better, to me, than just the Word. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God."
2On Wednesdays, and maybe on Sundays, one of the services of Sunday, giving the pastor just a little rest, which he's very deserving of it, and thought maybe we'd just take a Book in the Bible. We used to do that, and sometimes stay a year on it.
3I remember one time we stayed a solid year on the Book of Revelation. But, oh, my, the things that we learned, and how wonderful it was! Then we went back and got the Book of Daniel, or the Book of Genesis, or Exodus, and just take it, chapter by chapter, and it just tied the entire Bible together. Oh, I just love that!
4 Little later on, we'll have to get the... If the Lord continues to bless and we go on, we'll get into some real deep things in here, real deep. And we'll just go from place to place, through the Scripture, with it.
5And I like to make Scripture compare with Scripture. That's the way it must be. It's just one great beautiful picture. And in this Book that we're studying, we're going to get in, oh, salvation, and Divine healing, and miracles, and mercies. And, oh, everything comes in here.
6And maybe when I get to a place where I have to get to the meetings... I never know just when I'm going to be to a meeting, called to a meeting, because I don't have anything set until I just feel led to do a certain thing. And that may be before in the morning, I may fly to California, up to Maine or somewhere, just where He would call me. That's the reason I don't set great, long itineraries, because I can't do that. My ministry is not cut out that way, and it's just different.
7 And now I come home just for a little rest. I lost twenty pounds, in this last meeting. And Brother Mercier and Brother Goad was up, a while ago, and said, "Brother Branham, I notice what you do. You put your whole heart into it."
8I said, "That's the only way you can do a right kind of a job for the Lord, is put everything you got right to the forefront for Christ; all your strength, all your soul, all your heart, all your mind, everything that you got." When you're doing anything, do it right or don't do it at all, see, just leave it alone. You're going to be a Christian, put everything that you've got to Christ, that's, your time, your talent, your every thing.
9I just noticing this young fellow. That's your wife, Brother Burns, is it, that playing and singing there, that young couple. And--and it isn't a piano, neither is it an organ, but it's some kind of instrument, they make a strum it and pick it, and do something for the Lord. If you could do that, and sing, that's, win souls. Do something, no matter. If you--you can whistle, well, whistle. Just do something. Just testify or do something for the Kingdom of God. Whatever you got, put it to the use in God's service.
10 Now, we're not going to try to stay very long, because I know you work. You got to get up early. And I'm going squirrel hunting every morning. I'll just tell you the truth. That's what I'm doing. That's what I come home for, is to rest a little. And so I'm getting up, about four o'clock, and going out in the woods and, well, hunt little bit and go to sleep. And I'm gaining some of that weight back, so I'll get rested up, after while, if you... the Lord willing. And everything is fine.
11All right, now, we're going to turn in your Bibles. I want you to bring your Bibles each night, that you... as you can. If somebody lacks a few, would somebody want to follow along with the readings, we got some here, we'd have the... some of the ushers to pass them out. Anybody want one? Well, just raise your hand.
12 Wonder if Brother... Doc, come here and get these Bibles. You're standing close there, and Brother Burns. Is that right, Burns? I heard him say... [The brother says, "Conrad."--Ed.] What? ["Conrad."] Conrad. I called him... I'm getting kind of hard of hearing, maybe, Brother Neville. How did I ever get the name of Burns? I know the man's face, and I just can't, couldn't call his name.
13And you know, as you get a little older, I find out one thing, it's harder for me to read this Bible. And I just hate to think of having to wear glasses, to read the Bible.
14But, here not long ago, I thought I was going blind. And I went over to see Sam. And Sam said, "Bill, I don't know." Said, "I'll just get you an appointment with some specialist."
15 I went to Louisville. It must have been the will of the Lord. Some famous specialist; I forget his name now. But he had read my book. And he said, "If you ever go back to Africa, I want to go with you." He said, "And if you... Them African people love you." And said, "They're very superstitious, especially with a knife, to go to cutting. So," said, "I want to give six months of my life, for operations of cataracts and things, to the... in mission." And said, "If we could go together, and you could win favor of them, like that." Said, "Then if they had cataracts and eye works," said, "I'd just love to give it, free of charge, six months of it." And I forget how long you have to wait for an appointment with him.
16And we was setting in a little room and it had a little--little red light come on, back there in the dark room. Why, I could read them letters. It said twenty-twenty. I could read it either way. And he snapped it on fifteen-fifteen, and I could read it. And put it on ten-ten, and I could read it. He said, "Well, there's not much wrong with your eyes."
17 So he had a little telescope. He put a little gadget back there, a little thing, you know. Them old telescopes, how many ever remember them? We used to look through them, look at pictures, just like that. And he said, "Can you read that?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Read it for me."
18It had a, oh, a whole paragraph, about like that. I started, read it; he started pulling it up, like that, getting slower and slower. He got about like this, I stopped. He said, "I can tell you one thing, you're past forty."
I said, "Yep, that's right, a long ways past it."
19He said, "How have you done it?" He said, "The human eye, naturally, when you get forty years old, like your hair gets gray, and so forth, the eyeball gets flat." Said, "Now, if you live long enough, that'll come back again." He said, "That second sight, they call it. But," said, "a human being, about forty years old, they'll actually..." Said, "There is nothing wrong with their eyes."
20I can--I can see a hair if it was laying on the floor, get it off from me. But get close to me... And he said, "Now, you read your Bible," said, "You push it away from you." Said, "After while, your arm is not going to be long enough, till you can't--can't get it out there far enough to get a hold of it."
21 And so he made me a pair of glasses, and the bottom part you can, it's for reading. He said, "Now, in your pulpit..." He thought I was one of these here dignified preachers, you know. And so said that the... you... The top part is just regular window glass, just regular glass. And the bottom part has got some kind of a grind in it, that I can read it close, you know, like that. So I just hate to put them on; I do.
22And now, in Bible teaching, and I've got the New Testament tonight. So it's... I got a Collins New Testament. It's got good-sized print. But now, when I get back in the other one, I--I may have to go to them old buddies, and--and kind of read through them. But whatever it is, I--I'm glad that I got something I--I can still read. And--and--and whatever I got, I'm going to give everybody everything I can, to the glory of God, hope that He will take that age sign away. I can't ask Him to take my age away. I... You know, that's just one thing we all got to do. We got to go through that. And I know I'm not a little boy like I used to be, standing here on the platform. I'm forty-eight years old. And just think, two more years, will be fifty years old, Brother Mike.
23My, can't hardly believe it! I just... I never knew that I was past twenty till about two years ago. That's right. That's right. I just... I couldn't believe it. And yet I--I... It's hard for me to believe till looked in the glass, and then I--I know it is, then. But--but just to be looking, I just feel just as good as I ever felt in my life, and I'm thankful for that, too. All praise be to God.
24 Now, we're studying the Book of the Hebrews. It's been... Oh, it's one of the most deepest, richest Books of the Bible. I tell you, it's a Book that really will... If God permits, and we just get down into this, I believe we'll find golden nuggets till we'll just shout the praises of God all the time. And now I...
25The Book of Hebrews, really what It is, It's supposing to be written by Saint Paul, the greatest Bible expositor, I guess, the world has ever had, outside of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was separating the... Now, Paul was a real Bible teacher; that is, the Old Testament. That's the only Book was written then, called Bible. And he was trying to show to the Hebrews, separating the Old Testament and showing the Old Testament being a shadow or a type of the New.
26 Right there we could strike a home line and stay three months right there on that one thought, right there. To go right back, if we could turn in our Bibles now, course we're on Hebrews, the 1st chapter. But if we'd turn to Revelations, the 12th chapter, you'd see it perfectly again, how the shadows. If... you that's got your pencils and going to jot down the Scriptures. In Heb-...
27In Revelations 11, we find out that John, on the isle of Patmos, saw a woman standing in the skies, and she had the sun at her head and the moon under her feet. And the woman was in travail, with a child to be born. She brought forth a Man Child. The red dragon stood, to devour the child as soon as it was born. And the--the child was caught up into Heaven, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she was nourished for a time, time, and a half time, or a dividing of time.
28 Now, the woman represented the church, and the Child that she brought forth was Christ. The moon under her feet was the law, the sun at her head was grace. Twelve stars in her crown was the twelve apostles. And there's where, at what... The twelve apostles was the glory or the crowning of the New Testament. See? "For no other foundations can be laid than that which is already laid." See? It, the Foundation, the--the New Testament, the apostles, the Doctrine of the apostles, and so forth, is the founding crown of the New Testament. And then at the...
29The moon is a shadow of the sun. The sun just reflects its light when its behind the earth. And the moon gives light, to walk by, at night. And what a beautiful picture we have here, another beautiful picture: the sun represents Christ; the--the moon represents the Church. They're just like husband and wife. And in the absence of Christ, the Church reflects the minor Light, the Gospel. And it--it's the Light to walk in until the Son rises again, then the Church and the Son, the moon and the sun, blends together. See? The moon is a part of the sun, and the Church is a part of Christ. And while the absence of Christ, the Church reflects His Light. And then as sure as we can see the moon shining, it knows the sun is shining somewhere. And as long as the Church is reflecting the Light of Christ, Christ is alive somewhere. Amen. Think of it.
30 Now, the law was a type of the grace, but law had no saving power in it. Law only was a... The law was a policeman. The policeman put you in jail, but, you see, it taken grace to get you out of jail. See?
31So the Blood of Christ, the Gospel, delivers us from sin. Law only makes us sinners. The law only said, "You are a sinner. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness." See? It's a policeman that says you're wrong and you're guilty. But the Gospel is the good news. Christ died to save us from all of our trespasses, transgressions of the law. Christ died to take us out.
32 Now, Paul, as soon as he was converted, he never consulted with any seminary, neither did he consult any ministers. But did you notice? He went down into Arabia, and was there three years, in Arabia. Now, this is, to my opinion, that...
33Now, we've got to get a background of this, so we'll know how substantial it is. And the first lesson, tonight, we take our background.
34Now, Paul was such a Bible teacher, because he was taught under that great, all-time famous Gamaliel. And he was one of the best known of the day, that great teacher of the law and the prophets. So, Paul was well schooled in those things.
35 And then I like him this way, this great revelation, being honest in his heart, a murderer, had consented to Stephen's death and saw Stephen die under the rocks and clods of being stoned to death. I think it must have got next to Paul when he saw Stephen raise his hands to Heaven, and said, "I see the Heavens open. I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God." And he said, "Father, lay not this charge of sin against them." And he fell asleep.
36Did you notice that? He never died. He fell asleep. Just like... I don't believe he ever felt another rock. Just like a baby on the bosom of its mother, falls asleep, Stephen fell asleep in the arms of God.
37 There is something, about Paul, that got next to him. Then he, any man under conviction, trying to fight It, he rolls over to the high priest and gets some letters. Said, "I'll arrest all those people that's making all that noise, and those heretics;" which was considered, what we would call today, some "radical fanatic," or something like that, making a lot of noise and causing disturbance. "We'll just go down and settle it."
38And on his road down, a little old... not a great highway like we travel. And them roads in Palestine, just little trails, like a cow trail through the woods where the cattle, and the sheep, and the horses, and the donkeys, and the camels, went over the hills.
39And Paul, on his road down to Damascus, about noon, one day, a great Light shining down and struck him to the ground. No one saw It but Paul. I want you to notice that. And right here, this is not personal now, but just so we're leading into this background. That you'll know that that same Jesus...
40 Now, when He was here on earth, He said, "I came from God, and I go back to God."
41Now, when He led the children of Israel, He was the Pillar of Fire. And He was made flesh, then He returned back to that same Pillar of Fire. And when He met Paul on the road to Damascus, He was that Pillar of Fire, that Light, see, a great Light. And Paul said, "Who is It that I persecute?"
42He said, "I am Jesus, who you persecute," the Light. Oh, isn't He wonderful? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
43And here He is, tonight, right here with us. Had His picture taken right there, the same Thing, see, Pillar of Fire, Light, just the same as He was, "Same yesterday, today, and forever."
44Now the men that was with him did not see that Light, but It was there just the same. The results give the same.
45 Now, is it possible that--that someone could see Christ in this building and no one else see Him? Sure. It happened there.
46It happened also one night when Peter was in prison. And that Light came into the prison, and touched Peter, and walked right by the inner guard, the outer guard, walked by the gate, the main gate, and the city gate. Peter said, "I must have been dreaming." But he looked around, but the Light was gone; Christ, that Eternal, everlasting Light. There He is. Now, on the road down...
47And look, another thing, if we would speak of this, just come in my mind. But the wise men that followed the Star, all the way from India, the Orient, months, coming through the valleys and deserts, passed over observatories. And they kept the time of the night by the stars. And no historian or anyone ever mentioned of ever seeing that Star but the wise men. It was just meant for them to see It.
48So you can see things that the other fellow might not see. To you, It's a reality. To him, they don't understand. Just like a conversion; you can be converted and enjoying the blessings of God, just--just drinking in the blessings of God. And the next fellow, setting by you, "I don't see a thing." See? See? That's it. "I just don't get it. I don't see what it's all about." Well, he's just not getting It. That's all. Where, you are.
49 Notice now, Paul on his road down. And as soon as this great experience happened to him... Now, he wasn't satisfied... That's what makes Paul so good, now.
50Our lesson tonight is not deep. It's a shallow lesson, but, oh, we will get into the deep, after while. But this is a very shallow lesson, but it's just starting off. And what it is, it's one thing, that's exalting Jesus Christ. Paul, to begin.
51And before he would do this, Paul was a Bible scholar. And a Bible scholar will never rest his doctrine upon experiences. No, sir. They'll never rest their doctrine upon experience. You can have any kind of an experience. But it must be THUS SAITH THE LORD. Right.
52 Now, in the Old Testament, they had three different ways they can know a message. First, the law, that was just the law. Then, they had a--a prophet; a dreamer; and they had the Urim Thummim. Now that may be a little deep.
53The Urim Thummim was the breastplate that Aaron wore on his breast. In there was twelve stones: jasper, sardius, carbuncle, so forth, on down. They got all twelve of the big stones, that was in the breastplate, showing that he was the high priest of every tribe, the twelve tribes of Israel. This breastplate hung on a pillar in the church. And when a prophet prophesied, and they wanted to be sure it was right, or not. The prophets or the dreamers stood before this Urim Thummim, and he told his dream or his vision, whatever he had saw. And if the Sacred Light... Oh, do you see it? God always dwelt in the supernatural realm. The conglomeration, those lights, were just normal until this voice went forth. And when the voice struck those stones, if it wasn't supernatural, she laid dormant. But if it was supernatural, those Lights all reflected the rainbow color together. Amen. Then, that was God speaking, "That is My prophet. That dream came from Me." It was according to the Urim Thummim that they judged.
54 Remember Saul when he backslid? He said he couldn't have a dream. And the prophet, Samuel, was dead, and there was no way. He said, "Even the Urim won't even speak to me." Nothing. Saul stood before the Urim, and his words were dead thumps. See? God just refused him. And that Urim Thummim, that was Aaron's vindication of his priesthood. After Aaron going, Moses... The--the plate hung on the pillar.
55Now, the Aaronic priesthood ceased when Jesus died. And now, separated law from grace, we still have a Urim Thummim. And Paul was using It. See? The Urim Thummim today is God's Immortal, Eternal, everlasting Word. See?
56"For whosoever shall take anything out of this Book, or add anything to It." I don't want anything outside of It, but I want all It's got. That's the Church we want. And all things must be proven by the Word.
57That's the reason I took a flop recently of among the Pentecostal people, because, saying, "I could not understand where oil running out of your hands, or blood out of your face, was a sign you had the Holy Ghost." That's not Scriptural and I--I just couldn't take it. It's got to come from the Word.
58 And now, Paul, he just loved the Word. So, before he would ever witness this great experience that he had, he went down in Egypt for three year. I believe it was three years, three years down in Egypt. And you know what I believe he done? I believe that he took the Old Testament, and searched through the Old Testament, and found that That was really the absolute Messiah. He had to prove his experience by the Bible. Amen. Oh, my!
59Look at him when he was in prison. You notice, there's a--a space of Paul's life when he was in prison there for a long time. He wrote the Book of Ephesians. He wrote this Hebrew Letter. See? He had time. God laid him away over there in a prison, and he wrote these Letters to the churches. One to the church of Ephesus. He wrote one to the Pentecostal church, had lots of trouble with them. The Pentecostal church he had more trouble with than anybody else. Still has it. But he was thankful for them. The only thing he could teach them... When they come in: one had a tongue, one had a psalm, one had a sensation, one had a feeling. He couldn't talk, speak to them, "Eternal security." He couldn't speak to them, "predestination." He couldn't talk to... They were babies. They all had to--had to feel something, or see something, or have funny feelings, and, or something around them, some evidences.
60 But I believe, when he spoke to the Ephesians, he could speak on, "God has predestinated us unto sons and daughters, and adopted us as children in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world." Look at that. My!
61Watch him come over in the Book of Romans, and so forth. They were grown-up. Oh, they spoke with tongues, sure, and they had other signs of the Holy Spirit among them. But they didn't make doctrines, and sensations, and little quivers, and funny feelings.
62Paul said, "You--you--you go to extremes with that. When you ought to be teaching, you're still babies and have to have milk."
63That's what I've always tried to contend this tabernacle to be, not a bunch of babies. Let's be grown-up. Stand on the road. Oh, my! There you are.
64 So, Paul goes down there, first, to see if his experience matched God's Bible.
65Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful, today, if people only done that again, if we made our experience match God's Bible? If it doesn't, then our experience is wrong; it don't flash in the Urim Thummim. If it flashes in There, amen, we got It. But if it doesn't, some... I don't care how good it seems, how real it looked like it was right; if those lights didn't flash on that Urim Thummim, it was wrong.
66And no matter how much experience you've had, how real it seems to be, how presenting it is, how educational it is, what a great tool it is to win souls; if it doesn't flash in the Word, it's wrong. Right. It must line up with the Word.
67 Now, I believe, and there's a middle of the road. The road, now, a lot of times... I used to go to a Nazarene church. The Lord bless those dear people. Old-fashioned, sanctified Methodists is what they are; church of God, Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, and many of those good old holiness churches. And they used to sing a song:
I'm walking in the grand old highway,
Telling everywhere I go,
I'd rather be an old-time Christian, Lord,
Than anything I know.
68Good. Wonderful. And then they used to talk about the highway of holiness. Now, if you read over that, they get that out of Isaiah, the 35th chapter. Now, if you notice, he said, "There shall be a highway, and a way."
69Now, and is a conjunction. See? A highway, it wasn't a highway of holiness. "It shall be a highway, and a way, and it shall be called, 'The way of holiness,'" not the highway of holiness. "The way of holiness!" And the way of the road is in the middle of the road. It's built like this so that the waters will wash off the trash, to both sides, keeping the road clean. You don't, you have puddles standing in your road, all the time, if it isn't built right. "The way" is the middle of the road.
70 Now, on this side, when people get converted, their minds is set right on Christ. And if they're just a little scholarly, and don't keep under prayer, they'll get real cold, and stiff, and starchy, and indifferent. And then if they're just a little bit nervous, if you don't watch, they'll just get radical and wild, on this side, see, they go into sensations and everything.
71Now, but, the real Church is a real sane Gospel, right in the middle of the road. It's not cold and starchy, neither is it fanaticism. It's a real good, old, warm Gospel, heartfelt love of God, going right down the middle of the road, calling from both sides. That's right. Now that's what... And how you going to get that, church? Right out of the Word, the Urim Thummim.
72 Now, Paul wanted to get this church right in the middle of the road, so he went and studied three years on the Scriptures that he knew. Therefore, Paul wrote the bigger part of this New Testament. God had him do that because it's coming a Gentile age. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four Gospels, they were Jews. But Paul wrote the most of the letters.
73Now notice, now, we're going to start getting this background now, where he's at, writing It, from prison. And he's had all this experience. But, first, this experience was first proven, and this is his key letter to it. This is his key letter. Romans and Ephesians, and so forth, have their place, but this is the key letter.
74 Now, the whole 1st chapter, is, exalting Jesus, and separating Him from being a prophet. That's the whole theme now. I'll try to get to it just as quick as can now, so we won't stay too long. The whole theme, is, separating the new chap-... new... The 1st chapter, is, separating Jesus from any prophet, or any law, or so forth, and showing Who Jesus is. Now look, "God." We start out, the first word, "God."
God, at sun-... who at sundry times...
Sundry means that "way back," back time.
... sundry times and in divers manners spake in the past unto the fathers by the prophets,
75Now, see, "God, in sundry times, way back, He spoke to the fathers by the prophets." That's how He had to give His Message, through His prophet.
76 God would send His prophet like Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah. And if you'll notice, never in all the history of the world, did ever the church produce a prophet. Search it in the Old Testament, New Testament, or in this day, in the latter day. Show me any prophet was ever raised out of the church in the last day. Show me one ever come up, out. And show me one time that a prophet, a real servant of God, that the ecclesiastical system of the world didn't condemn him.
77Just think of it. Jeremiah, Isaiah, all down through the Old Testament, they condemn it. Jesus said, "You garnish the tombs of the prophets and make them white, and you put them in there." That's right.
78The church continues that. Look at Saint Patrick. You Catholic people claim him. He isn't no more Catholic than I am. That's right. But you claim him.
79Look at Saint Francis of Assisi. Claim him. He isn't no more Catholic than I am.
80 Look at Joan of Arc. You burnt her to a stake, as a witch, because she saw visions and is spiritual. Burnt her to a stake. And that woman screaming for mercy, and they burnt her to a stake. About a hundred years later, they found out that she was a prophetess. She was a servant of God. Oh, course, you got a big penalty: you dug up the priests' body and throwed them in the river.
81"You do garnish the tombs of the prophets, and put them in there." Right. Never did the ecclesiastical system ever produce a man of God; never did, hasn't today, and never will. Organized religion has never been God's theme.
82 The oldest organized church in the world is the Catholic church; Luther, second; then come Zwingli; after Zwingli, come Calvin; Calvin, on, the Anglican, Anglo-Saxons taking up, then the Anglican church; and King Henry the Eighth, when he protested, and so forth; and on down to the Wesley Methodist, and Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness; and on down to the last, is Pentecostal, all organized. And the Bible plainly teaches that the Catholic church is a--a ill-famed woman, and the Protestant churches and their organizations are her daughters, Revelation 17. That's exactly right. So they're...
83Not the people, now. There is good in all them churches; sainted, saved people. But God doesn't call His people by an organization. He calls them as individuals. God deals with individuals, whether you're a Methodist, Baptist, Protestant, and Catholic, or what you are. God, before the foundation of the world, knew you, and predestinated you to Eternal Life, or either you was predestinated to Eternal loss. Not...
84 He wasn't willing that you should be perished, you would perish. But, Him being infinite, He had to know the end from the beginning, or He isn't God. So Jesus never come to earth just to say, "Well, I'll see if somebody be mercy... If I act and die, in a hard way, they'll probably think, 'Well, I... ' It'll--it'll persuade their hearts, and they'll..." God don't run His business like that.
85Jesus came for one specific purpose, that's, to save those who God, before the foundation of the world, knew would be saved. He said so. That's right. So you're... "It's not him that willeth, or him that runneth; it's God that showeth mercy." Paul said that. Same man here.
86 He said, "That's the reason God could say, before Esau or Jacob was either born, He said, 'I love one and hate the other one.'" Before either boy was born, God knew that Esau was a shyster, and He knew that Jacob was a... he loved his birthright. So He knew, before the world ever was formed, about it. Now, we're going to find out in a minute Who that was that knew it. This chapter has got it.
God,... in sundry time and in divers manner spoke... to the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,...
Has done what? "Has spoken to us in this last days by His Son."
87Now, how would you think then, that, what would be a prophet? Would we have a prophet then of this day? Absolutely. Would He speak by it? Sure. But he that... The prophets of the old day was the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
88Now, let's get that straight, 'cause I don't think it's soaking in right. Now, this is just like Sunday School, so we want to get this clear. See?
89 Notice. Let's take the Spirit of God that was in Moses, perfectly the... is the foreshadow of Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament characters foreshadow the cross. Moses, born a proper child, hid in the bulrushes, taken away from his parents, so forth, and was... He was a king, or a--a leader, law-giver, intercessor, priest. Everything that he was foreshadowed Christ.
90Look at Joseph, loved of his father, hated of his brethren, and sold for almost thirty pieces of silver. Throwed into a ditch, supposedly dead; taken out. In his persecution, butler saved, and butcher lost; two thieves at the cross. And then when he come out, he raised up out of that ditch, and was set at the right hand of Pharaoh, the biggest commercial... the--the--the nation who whipped all the rest of the world. And no man could come to Pharaoh except they come through Joseph; Jesus setting at the right hand of God, and no man can come to God except through Christ. And when Joseph left that throne and started out, men went before him, screaming and blowing trumpets, sound the trumpet, saying, "Bow the knee! Joseph is coming."
91And when Jesus comes, a trumpet shall sound, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. Yes, sir. There He was.
92 And when Joseph died, he left a memorial to them who were waiting for deliverance.
93I put my hand on the old casket, here not long ago, it was made out of lead. And his body was supposed to stay... his bones... Said, "Don't you bury me here, for someday, God is going to visit you." He was a prophet. "God is going to visit you." And said, "When you go up to the promised land, take my bones."
94There, an old Hebrew, with a beat back and bloody, could look over in that casket and say, "Someday, we're going out."
95Jesus left a memorial, an empty tomb. Someday when we go over to the grave, and our loved ones, and hear the little old clods, when they say, "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust, and earth to earth." But, brother, we can look across the sea, to an empty tomb. Someday, we're going out of here. We're going home. He is coming. Everything was typed.
96 Look at David, rejected by his own people, dethroned by his own people. Being a king of Jerusalem, was drove out of Jerusalem by his own people. And as he went up Mount Olive, he looked back and wept. He was rejected.
97Eight hundred years from then, the Son of David, King of Jerusalem, set on a hill and wept, because he was rejected.
98That was the Spirit of Christ in David. All foreshadowed the cross. Them prophets back there spoke in His Name. They lived in His Name. They acted in His Name. Sure. "God in sundry times and divers manners spoke to the fathers through the prophets, but in this last day through His Son."
99 So the prophets and spiritual men, this day, is only the reflection of Christ. There, by the law they stood, look. Over here they stand, looking back the other way, through grace.
100That in the Hebrews 11, the last chapter, I've often wondered that. In the last chapter, the last part of the 11th chapter of Hebrews, when he talks about Abraham. The great faith chapter, and at the end, he said, "They wandered about in sheepskins and in goatskins, and was made destitute, and sawed asunder. They wandered about, no place to go, hated, and despised, and persecuted. Of whom, this world isn't worthy of such people."
101Then Paul stands and said, "But without us they're not perfect." For they only looked to the cross, and we look through the cross. We have the Spirit of Christ after It become human flesh and dwelt among us. We come here by the Holy Ghost, which is a far better plan.
102 And sometimes I wonder what Christianity expects today. A preacher going with a tent will have to be... or some new church or some new charge, calls himself a prophet, walks up there, say, "Well, if they'll give me so much money. If I can have the best car. If they'll... If my salary will be raised every six months."
103We have to have the best. We have to have the best homes. We have to have the best clothes. What will we do when we stand in the presence of those men who wandered, in goat skins and sheep skins, no place to lay their heads, wandering about in deserts? And somebody can make fun of us and we're ready to quit church and not go back anymore. What Christianity requires today. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.
O God, be merciful to us.
104 In that day, He spoke by the prophets, but this day through His Son. That was the word of a prophet, there. This is the Word of the Son, today. Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord!
105In other words, if you're looking at the shadow, the negative, you might make a mistake. But This is developed, the picture is clear. That was by the prophet; this is by His Son. That was by a negative; this is by a positive. Amen. You see it? There isn't a chance to lose. It's a positive thing, this day through His Son. Oh, how wonderful!
... whom he has appointed heir... (oh, my)... heir of all things,...
106 What was it? It was an appointment. Oh, listen. He was appointed, Christ was, heir of all things. Oh, the Devil knowed that, from the garden of Eden, you see, when the Devil heard that Word there that day, in the judgment of those people. Said, "Because you come from the dust; dust you'll return; and the woman's Seed shall bruise the serpent's head." A promised Seed.
107Satan constantly watched for that Seed. When Abel was born, he said, "There you are, that's the seed." And he killed Abel. His son, Cain, killed Abel. And as soon as Abel died, he said, "I got the seed." He slew it. He said, "I got it." But, Abel's death, Seth's birth was the resurrection again. Watch how they come down.
108 That line of Seth, it come down, a humble, righteous man; on down through Enoch; on down to Noah, to the end of the antediluvian destruction.
109Look at Cain's line, become smart people, educated, science. Don't the Bible say... Did not Jesus say, that, "The children of this world are wiser than the Children of the Kingdom"? Look at the side of Cain yet today: smart, educated, skeptic, very religious; see, very religious, but scientists, builders, great men.
110Take great men. Look at Thomas Edison, many great men. Look at Einstein, the brains of the world, so-called, today, the brains of the world. But we don't try to use brains. We let the Mind that was in Christ be in us, and look to this Word, and call that so.
111Medical doctors, though we salute them with whatever we have, but the most of those are skeptics, agnostic. Look at the smart, intelligent people today. They're on that side over there, the Cain side.
112 But look at the humble and meek. There is your resurrection again. Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord. There you are. Notice.
... he made him heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who made the worlds? Christ. "Christ made the worlds?" Yes, sir. Let's go just a little further.
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his presence,...
The brightness of whose glory? God's glory. The express image of Whose Presence? God's. Oh, I love this!
... or express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word...
There you are. The Word, that upholds all things. Jesus said, in Matthew 24, "Heavens and earth will pass away, but my Words shall never pass away." He upholds all things.
113Science tries to down It, and say, "It's an old Book. It's been translated."
114Even the Roman Catholic church, Bishop Sheen said, "That's been translated four or five different times, and not much to It. You couldn't live by It if you had to." But He upholds all things by His Word. Amen. That's what I think about It. I believe the Bible.
... the word of his power, (there's power in the word), when he had by himself purged our sins,... (looky here)... set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
115 What is Paul trying to do? He is trying to show that God purposed all things in Christ, and Christ was the express image of God. The entire rest of the chapter deals with how that He was higher than Angels, higher than all powers. Angels worshipped Him. Paul was trying to magnify Him.
116Now, I want to try, if I don't get any further than this, the rest of it is just magnifying Christ. What Paul says over here, like in the 11th chapter, and all about talking about the world. He said, "What--what Angel did He say, 'Thou art My Son, this day I have begotten Thee'?" See?
117"The end of the world, they shall perish. The world shall perish. But the... And all the things of the world shall perish. He would fold them up like a vesture. They'd be old, and turned, and go away. 'But Thou remaineth. Thou remaineth forever. Thou art My Son. This day I have begotten Thee, and will never perish, setting at the right hand of the Majesty.'"
What does right hand mean? Not, God has got a right hand that somebody is setting on it. Right hand means the "power and authority," got the authority of everything in Heaven and earth. And all the Heavens and earth is made by Him.
118 Now, Who is this great Guy, this great Fellow? Christ. Here, God in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it's not... It's a trinity, but It's not a trinity of people. It's a trinity of office, of one God.
119He was the Father leading the children of Israel. That was His office, the great Jehovah Father. And He dwelt on earth, called the Son. And now He dwells in His Church, called the Holy Ghost. Not three Gods; one God in three offices: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
People try to make Him three different Gods, God the Father. That's the reason, Jews, you could never... You'll never bring this to a Jew, no, that there. He can't. He's got a commandment, that, "I'm One God." There's only one God.
120 In Africa they baptize three different ways: they baptize once for the Father, and once for the Son, and once for the Holy Ghost. The Apostolic Faith mission, they baptize three times, face forward, to His death. What they call the Full Gospel on the West Coast, or the East Coast, baptize three times backward, said He... unto His burial.
And he said, "When He died, He fell forward."
121Another said, "Wait. You bury a man on his back." Just little old technique things, when, they're both wrong; both wrong, according to the Scripture.
This is the Urim Thummim. It settles it.
122 Now, here, let's just picture that out and see what--what it looks like, tonight. Here it is, if you want to see it. In all of about twenty-five years I've been a minister. I've studied that. And I've often wondered at gifts in the church. What is those gifts? Prophecy, speaking with tongues, interpretation of tongues, Divine revelation, so forth, that all comes through Christ.
123Now look. Christ is the Head of all things. And He's the Head of the Church. And did you ever see a big diamond? A great big diamond that is chipped right, it's got little chips knocked off of it, chipped off of it. That makes a correct diamond. What's the chips for? The real diamond, the way it comes out, it's been bruised; the real diamond, when it's found.
I was in Kimberly. You, many of you, that's heard you can pick up diamonds on the street, that's correct. Billy and I, and Mr. Bosworth. The president of the Kimberly diamond mines, take... He was my usher in the meeting there. And they taken us over. And just out of... They mine them about, oh, about seventeen hundred feet under the earth. They come out, a blue stone, big blue, like this bluestone you get around here. And those natives, they put them seventeen hundred feet in the ground, to mine them, to keep the price up. You'd go on the river there, they got it guarded for hundreds of miles. Take two ten-gallon buckets, he said, and pick it up, full of--of sand, and if you could get home with it, you'd be a multimillionaire, there'd be so many diamonds in it. But they have to work and mine them, to keep the price up on them.
124 Now, the diamond, when it comes forth, it's just a big, smooth, round, like, piece of glass. There's a blue diamond, black diamond, emerald, and a clear diamond, white diamond. But when it come forth... Then when it's made and put into use, there's a part of that diamond has to lose. And it has to lose the--the chips off of it. Knock little chips, because, when it comes in direct light, like that, it makes a sparkle. The chip, what makes the sparkle, the way it's cut. It's cut, chipped, and then, when it does, it makes a sparkle. And one will go a green light, the other one will go a blue light, and maybe another, emerald light, and red light. And different lights go from it, like a rainbow color. They call it, "fire in the diamond."
125Now, each one of those lights represents gifts. But it's, only, Christ is the Diamond. And He was the One Who came, and was bruised, and wounded, and chipped, that He might reflect Himself back as a Light to the world. He's that Master Diamond.
126 Could you imagine, before there even was an earth, before there was a light, before there was a star, before there was anything? There's a Great Fountain going forth, of Spirit, and out of this Fountain came the most pure of love, 'cause there was nothing for it to come from that but love. Now, we, what we call love, today, is a perverted love. But just as we get an essence, or a little bit of that love in us, it changes our whole opinion.
127Then out of there come another stream, off this main Fountain, the Diamond, and it was called righteousness, absolutely righteousness. Now, that's the reason we had to have law. That's the reason law has to have judgment. If no judgment doesn't follow law, law doesn't do no good. And when judgment was passed by law, which brings death, and there's no one who could pay the penalty but God Himself. And He paid the penalty of our death, and took our sins upon Him, that we might be the righteousness of God through Him.
128Now, when these great Lights went out, or great rays of Spirit: love, peace, that's all there was, That. There wasn't no suffering. There wasn't no--no hate, nor no malice; it couldn't come from this Fountain. That was Jehovah. That was Jehovah God. And now, as the theologians call it, a theophany went from That, which was called, in the Scriptural, the "Logos," the Logos that went out of God. It's hard to explain, but It was a part of God.
129 Now, here is what happened. Oh, excuse me. I--I--I just get on this, this just gets me right where I love it. See? The Logos, and this great Fountain, this great Fountain of Spirit which had no beginning or no end; this great Spirit began to form, in the creation, and the Logos that went out from It was the Son of God. It was the only visible form that the Spirit had. And It was a theophany, which means a body, and the body was like a man.
130Moses saw It when It passed through the... by--by the rock. And he looked at It, said, "It looked like the hind part of a man."
It's the same type of body that we receive when we die here. "If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." That was It. And that was the theophany which was the Son of God. That Son, that Logos, became flesh, because we were put in flesh. And the theophany, the Logos, became flesh, here among us, and It was nothing else but the dwelling place, for that entire Fountain dwelt in Him. Oh, do you see it? There It is. That was the One, that, in...
131 Looky here. Let's turn now right quick to Hebrews, the 7th chapter, just for a moment of--of grace, God being willing. Let's see what it looks like here. Abraham!
How much time we got? We got ten minutes. All right. We catch this, then we finish it up next, next, or Sunday, Lord willing.
132Abraham was returning from the slaughter of the king.
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem,...
How many knows where, who, what Salem was? Jerusalem.
... king of Salem, prince of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
Listen.
To whom also Abraham give a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation the King of righteousness,... after that also the King of Salem, which is, the King of peace;
Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor ending of life;...
133 A King come down from Salem, and met Abraham coming from the slaughter of the kings. And this King didn't have no father, had no mother, had no beginning of days or ending of Life. Who did Abraham meet? Now think. He didn't have no father; He didn't have no mother. He never had a time that He began, and He never has a time when He will end, so that same King of Salem has to be living today. Amen. You see it? It was that theophany that was that Son of God. What Salem? That Jerusalem which is Above, that Abraham, being blessed, was searching, find, trying to find the City whose Builder and Maker was God. He wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, everywhere, destitute, wandering, and was seeking a City whose Builder and Maker was God. And he met the King of that Salem, coming down, and he paid Him a tenth of all the spoils. Amen. That's Him. Oh, Brother Graham, that was Him. That was Him.
Abraham seen Him again. One day he was setting in the tent. He looked, coming up there, and he seen three men coming.
134 You know, there's just something about a Christian, that he knows Spirit when he sees It. When he... He just knows it. There's just something Spiritual about it. Spiritual things are Spiritually discerned. You know. Yeah, he can just tell it, if he's really born. "My sheep know My Voice."
135And he just knew there was something. He run out. He said, "Come in, my Lord. Sit down. Stop a little bit. I'll get a morsel of bread and put in Your hand. I'll wash Your feet. Rest Yourself, then go on about Your journey, for You--You've come to visit me." Up in the barren land, taking the hard way, the way with the Lord's despised few.
While, Lot was living in riches, the nephew down there, but he was living in sin. That's what most riches-ness produces is sin.
136 So Abraham brought them up, while he got a little water and washed Their feet. He run out into the calf, and got a fat calf into the herd, and killed it; give it to a servant, to dress. And said, "Sarah, knead your meal."
You know what kneading, it is, means. You know, mom used to have an old, kind of like a wedge, she had in the--the meal barrel. Did you ever see one of them with a sifter? And you had a wedge in there, you raked the meal, you know; and get heavy like that, and rake it through, like. I've seen mama do it, many times, the wedge, have a little round thing that's got a little screen wire on it. She'd get that meal up and sift it like that, you know, and pat it back and forth, like that. Then take the wedge and rake it around, like that, to get it all down. And that's when we have to go down and get our meal ground at the old grist mill; and big old burrs, you know, heavy, made real corn bread. You could saw logs all day, on it.
137 So then, said, "Knead some meal, right quick. And make some hoecakes right here on the hearth, right quick." And they milked the cow and got some milk. And they got, churned it, and got some butter. And then they went and killed the calf and got some meat, and they fried the meat. Got the butter milk, corn bread, and they got some butter to put on the hot hoecakes. Oh, that's really good. And they smeared it all on there. And he took it out, and set it down to these three Men.
138And while They were eating, They kept looking toward Sodom. And after while, They got up and started walking away. And said, Abraham, said, "You won't keep it from me."
139"I can't keep from you what I'm going to do. I'm going down there. The sins of Sodom has come in My ear."
Who was the Man? Dust all over His clothes, and setting there eating the flesh of a calf, and drinking the cow's milk, and eating some hoecake corn bread, and some butter. Who is this strange Fellow? Two, or three of Them, setting there. Dust all over His clothes. Oh, yeah, "We're from a far Country." Yeah, way away. And so He said... Well, Who were They?
140 He said, "I can't keep from Abraham, seeing that he's the heir of the earth." Amen. "I reveal My secrets," other words, "to those who are heir of the earth." That's where the Church ought to be today. That's right. Get the Secrets of God, know how to hold yourself, and act, and what to do, and how to walk, and how to live. We're the heir of the earth. Right. He reveals It to you, 'cause He won't keep nothing back. That's why we're watching these things come to pass.
The world say, "Ah, that's a bunch of fanaticism." Let them say it. The heir of the earth knows these things. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
... for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
He makes His secrets known to them, reveals it to them, showing them what to do and how to live, forsaking the things of the world; walking godly and living godly, in this present world, walking along with Him. Let the world say what they want to.
141 So He said, "I can't keep this secret from Abraham, because, seeing he's the heir of the earth. But," He said, "I'm going down to destroy Sodom. I'm going down."
142"What are you going to do, Mister? Where You from? What's it all about?"
143Come to find out, He said, "And another thing, Abraham, you've waited twenty-five years for this promise I give you. You done got all the birdeye up, the--the pins and everything, for this baby, twenty-five years ago. You still been waiting on Me. Now I'm going to visit you, just about the time of life, according, time of life, next month I'll be with you."
144And Sarah, back in the tent. And this Man had His back turned to the tent, talking to Abraham, like this. And Sarah went, "Huh!"
145He said, "What made Sarah laugh?" Ho-ho-ho! How about that? That was quite a telepathy, wasn't it? "What made Sarah laugh?"
Sarah said, "No. I never laughed."
146Said, "Oh, yes, you did." She was scared. She was trembling. Who was That, to know what she was doing back in the tent? That's That same God that's with us today. Same One. He knows all about it. See? He just reveals it as you have need. See?
147"What you laugh about?" See, His back turned to it. The Bible stated that, that, "His back was turned to the tent." But, He knew it. "What's she, back there, doing this, you see?"
So, He said, "I'm going to visit you."
148Who is this strange Fellow? You know what happened? He walked right out there and vanished. And the Bible said that That was Almighty God, Jehovah, that great Fountain, that Theophany, that Logos.
149 Some preacher said to me, some time ago, said, "Brother Branham, you wouldn't actually think that was God, would you?"
150I said, "The Bible said It was God, Elohim." Which, He was Almighty God, the El Shaddai, that's right, the Strength-Giver, the Satisfier. Amen.
151Oh, I feel religious! Think of it, here, as He is now. I'm going to show you Who He is here, then you'll see Who the Son is. That was Jesus, before He had the human Name, "Jesus."
152Stood there at the fountain that day. And they was all drinking, you know, and, "Having the waters was in the wilderness," and things like that. He said, "They was eating the manna." Said, he said, "Our fathers eat manna in the wilderness, for forty years."
153He said, "And they're, every one, dead." Said, "I am the Bread of Life that come from God, out of Heaven. He that eats this Bread shall never die."
154Said, "Well, our fathers drank from the Spirit, from a spiritual Rock that was in the wilderness, that followed them."
155He said, "I am that Rock." Glory! Saint John, the 6th chapter.
"Why," they said, "what?"
"Yes. That's right."
156"Why," he said, "You are... You're not even fifty years old." Course, His work made Him look a little old, but He was only thirty. Said, "You're a man not over fifty years old, and You say You seen Abraham, that's been dead for eight or nine hundred years? We know now that You're a devil."
157He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." There He is. Who was the I AM? A perpetual Name for all generation. That was the... that Pillar of Fire in the burning bush, "I AM THAT I AM." There He was, that Theophany met here, called the Son of God, the I AM, the Jehovah.
158 Thomas said, "Lord, show us the Father. It'll satisfy us."
159Said, "I been so long with you, you don't know Me?" Said, "When you see Me, you see the Father. Why say, 'Show us, Thou, the Father'? I and the Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me. I'm just a tabernacle called the Son. The Father dwells in Me. Not Me that doeth the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works, not Me"
160Now, standing back there, again, Moses seen Him, the hind part of Him, said, "Looked like the back of a man," the Logos that went from God.
161Then what happened? This was God. And the reason He had become from Logos to flesh... What? How do you... What happened to that? Five minutes before that, He was a... He was the Logos. But what did He do? He just reached over...
162 Now, our bodies are made out of sixteen different elements of the world. We know that. It's made out of potash, and--and a--and a little calcium, and--and petroleum, and cosmic light, and atoms, and so forth. All bundled together, and makes this body, comes from the dust of the earth. You eat food. As you eat the food, that turns into... from the dust, and it come from the dust, and it just--just goes right on. Your flesh, as far as your flesh, is no different from a horse, or from a cow, or anything else. It's still just flesh.
163And, boy, you glorify the flesh; but that spirit has a soul in there, my brother. That's right. But your flesh is just dust of the earth, like the animal. Your flesh is no more than an animal. And if you lust after the flesh and the thing you see, lust after women, lust after all these different things, it's still animal. That's right. That's right. You shouldn't do it. The Spirit of God will lead you on and put you on a higher plain than that. That's exactly right.
164 Now, and here, this great Theophany standing there. What? That great Jehovah God, you know what He said? He just reached over and got a handful of atoms, got a little light, and poured it in him like this, went, "Whew," a body, and just stepped right into it. That's all.
165Said, "Come here, Gabriel," that great Archangel. Went, "Whew." "Step in that."
166"Come here, Michael," the Angel at His right side. "Whew." For the... "You step in that."
167God, and two Angels, walked down here in human flesh, and drank the milk from a cow, eat the butter out of the milk, and eat some corn bread, and eat the flesh of the calf. Two Angels and God. The Bible said so. That's Melchisedec, that Abraham met, coming from the slaughter of the kings. That's the Son of God.
168 Go ahead, here in the Hebrews, the 7th, said, "But made in the order of like unto the Son of God." There He is. He made all things by Him. And He walked right out there, and just changed that dust right back to dust again, and stepped right back into Glory.
169And the Angels, as soon as They delivered Lot and Mrs. Lot, and she kept looking back. He said, told them not to do it again. And They stepped right back into in to--to the Presence of God.
170Now, what a great hope we have, this great Faith that we serve tonight! The living God, the Jehovah, the Pillar of Fire, is with us. Shows Himself in power, and action, and magnify. Let them take the Picture of Him, the same Jehovah. The Son of God that came from God, went back to God, and dwells in His Church forevermore. There He is.
171 He has our names on His Book, with a sworn oath by Himself, for there's no one greater He can swear by, that He'll raise us up in the last day. "He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, has everlasting Life, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. He that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out. He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting Life, and shall never come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto Life."
172That same One could just reach and grab a handful of calcium and potash, go, "Whew," and there you are again. And my name is on His Book. Oh! Oh! Oh! What do I care how stooped my shoulders are getting, how old I get? Certainly not. Not a bit of worry.
173 Brother Mike, one of these days, bless your heart, brother, when that great trumpet will come, that sound, and that Joseph will step forth. Hallelujah! He will say, "Children!" "Whew." There you'll be, made in His likeness; young forever, old age is passed away; sickness, troubles, sorrows has vanished. Glory be to the living God!
174That's Who He speaks through, today, His Son. "In sundry times and divers manner He spoke through the prophet, but in this last day through His Son, Christ Jesus." He speaks to every man's heart that He has called. If you've ever felt His Voice or heard Him knock at your heart, please don't turn It away.
Let us pray.
175 Heavenly Father, tonight, as we're so happy to know, at the opening of this Hebrew Letter, how Paul went right back into the Gospels. He just wouldn't take it upon a hearsay or upon an experience. He wanted us to know what was Truth. And he went right back into the Gospels, and he... back into the Old Testament, the Gospel that was preached to them. And he seen, through the Old Testament there, all the shadows and types. That's why we got this great Book of the Hebrews tonight. And we see It, Lord, and we love It. And through ages, It's been burned, It's been scattered, It's been tried to be done away with, but She waves on just the same. For Thou hast said, "Heavens and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not."
176Then the skeptic would say, "Well, you said, 'Paul wrote this.'" Not Paul, but God that was in Paul; that creative Being that was inside of Paul.
177Just like was in David, when he said, "I'll not suffer my Holy One to see corruption, neither will I leave His soul in hell." And the Son of God taken those Words from that prophet, and went right into the bosoms of hell. And said, "Tear down this tabernacle, and I'll raise It up in three days." And He did it, because God's Word can't fail. One iota can't fail. How we thank God for this, this great Urim Thummim, and to know that our experiences tonight, Lord, flashes right on this Bible here! We're born again, have the Holy Spirit.
178 Dear God, if there be a man or woman in here tonight, boy or girl, who has never witnessed this, how could they raise up if there's no Life in there? Oh, they say, "I have Life."
179But the Bible said, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she is alive." You say you have Life, but you're dead. "You claim," said the Bible, "that you have Life, but you're dead. Thou say you are rich and have need of nothing; but not know that you're miserable, and poor, and naked, and blind, and don't know it." And that is the condition of the churches tonight, Lord. How they miss these great, valuable things.
To know that the great Jehovah God, Who can only produce by... He said, "Bring me those little fish." He had to take the fish to--to make something with it. Showing, that the resurrection had to be something, to do something with. He not only made fish, but he made cooked fish; He cooked bread. And He fed five thousand with five little fish, little loaves and two fishes. O Lord, it was in His hands, and He was the Creator. But He had to have something in His hand.
God, may we lay ourselves in His hands, tonight, and say, "O God, take me as I am. And when the end of my life is here, let me go with this hope that was within me, knowing I been born again, and Your Spirit has bore record with me, and witnessed with my spirit, that I'm Your Son, or Your Daughter." And at that last day, You'll raise them up. Grant it, Father.
180 And while we have our heads bowed, would there be one would raise your hand, say, "Remember me, Brother Branham, in prayer. I want God to know me when... 'fore I leave this earth, that He will know me so much that He will call my name. I'll answer." The Lord bless you son. God bless you, and you; and you, lady. Someone else? Just raise your hand. Say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham." That's what we'll do. God bless you, young lady. That's good.
181Now, while your head is bowed, praying, I'm going to sing a verse of this song.
Covet not this world's vain riches,
That so rapidly decay,
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
They will never pass away.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
182 While she is playing now, and your head bowed, will you just reach your hand up, say, "Yes, Lord, here is mine"? What will it do? It'll show your spirit, in you, made a decision. "I want your hand, Lord." God bless you, little girlie. "I'll raise my hand." God bless you, little girl, down here. That's fine, honey. God, you know, is happy to see you do that. "Suffer the little children to come to me."
183"I want, God, You to hold my hand. And at that day, I want to be in Your hand; that, when You call, I'll come." Yes, like Lazarus was. God bless you, sister.
When our journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright your home in Glory,
Your enraptured soul shall view.
What will you do now, then?
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
184 Heavenly Father, several hands went up, in this little meeting, tonight, that they want to take a hold, tonight, of Your unchanging, Eternal hand. Knowing that what is committed to You... You said, "I... All the Father has given Me will come to Me, and none of them will be lost. And I'll raise them up at the last day. Can never perish, can never come to judgment, but has Eternal, Eternal Life." And there's only one Eternal Life. That comes from God, alone. It is God. And we become part of God, so much that we're sons and daughters of God. When we have God's Spirit in us, we think like God. We think of righteousness and holiness, and we try to live to please Him.
185Grant, Lord, that that type of Life will enter every person that raised their hand. And those who should have raised their hands, and did not, I pray that You'll be with them. Grant it, Father. And when journey is ended, life is finished, may we enter into peace at that day, with Him, where we'll never be old, never be sick, never be no trouble. Until then, keep us joyful and happy, praising Him, for we ask it in His Name. Amen.
186 All you believers, now, let's just raise our hands and sing that chorus.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Now let's hum it. [Brother Branham begins humming Hold To God's Unchanging Hand--Ed.]
187While you're doing that, your neighbor; you say, "God bless you, neighbor." Shake hands with somebody setting next to you. "God bless you." On both sides now. On both sides, shake hands. "God bless you, neighbor. God be with you." Build your hopes on things Eternal.
Doc, I know it's there, brother. I know you've been there, Brother Neville, long ago.
When this journey is completed,
Going to happen, one of these days.
If to God we have been true,
We'll see Brother Seward there.
Bright and bright, your home in Glory,
Your enraptured soul shall view.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
I like that worship, after the message.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved shall stand,
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold...
Let us catch a view of Him, that unseen One in the midst now, and just worship Him now as we sing.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Build your hopes on things Eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Just worship Him now.
Coming down...
The message is over. It's worship.
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Just bathe in Him.
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from...
That great Fountain, It's opening up.
... above;
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Doesn't that just do something?
Wonderful peace,
Coming down from our Father Above;
Sweep over our spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Isn't there something about It, just rich and sweet?
188 And wonder if there's a sick person wants to be anointed and prayed for. If there is, just find your place. This is the lady in the wheel chair there? Just let her remain. I'll come, pray for her. She won't have to get up from the chair. Another? All right.
Oh, don't you just love this part of the service? How many feel, just know that the Presence of God is here? That's what I talk about. That same... You just feel like... How many feels like you could just scream out? Now let's just see. Just feels like something, you could, wants to scream out. See?
It's peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father Above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In the fathomless billows of love.
Shine on me,
189While we're in worship, we're going to anoint the sick now, and pray for them. Won't you come right this way, lady?
190What does this mean? "The prayer of faith shall save the sick." Everybody in prayer now, just hum that song. Think of Jesus healing the sick. Anoint her in oil.
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