THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF WILLIAM BRANHAM - PART 2

Transcription

1 "Every Scribe which is instructed unto the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" - Matthew 13:52 August 2007 THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF WILLIAM BRANHAM - PART 2 T h i s m e s s a g e w a s preached by Brother Amos on Tuesday 31st July, 2007, at Bible Faith Tabernacle, Lagos. When Jesus comes in the clouds to take away the bride, what a meeting it will be! It will surely be a joyful one! But the Spirit of the Lord is inviting you and I. Come to the Saviour, and make no delay. There is a right way to come. It is the way of embracing the truth of Jesus Christ, revealed in God's Holy Writ. There is no other way. That song says: Come to the Saviour, Make no delay; Here in his Word He has shown us the way; Here in our midst, He is standing today, Tenderly saying, Come! There is no other group of people that will make it home, except strictly by the blueprint of this Word. You cannot add to it, you cannot take away. There is nobody, there is no assembly, and there is no ministry, that is going to make it through, w i t h o u t f o l l o w i n g t h i s revealed way. And church, the Lord has shown us His way in this Bible. There is no other way. You cannot add to it, and you cannot t a k e a w a y. J u s t a s Ecclesiastes 10:15 says, The way of the fool will weary every one of them, because they will not find the way to the city. They Ref. No.:

2 Page 2 August 2007 will never make it to the city. That is the N e w J e r u s a l e m, because they will not walk in the way of truth. Let us walk this way the Bible way. It is not a new way, it is an old time way. It is just like a song we normally sing: I love the old time way, I love the old time way, I love the old time, Singing, Shouting, Preaching, Praying, I love the old time way. It is an old time way. But it has become more of a song today for many people, than a reality. Nonetheless, the truth is that God is not a modern God. He is, "I AM THAT I AM." " J e s u s C h r i s t t h e same yesterday, the same today, and the same forever." Let me say this as I launch into m y m e s s a g e : Yo u c a n n o t c a r r y t h i s message on a cart. It will produce death. You just cannot carry it your own way. You have got to carry this message t h e w a y t h e B i b l e ordains it to be carried. I will repeat it: There is no man that can carry this message, the ark of God, on a cart. It must lead to death! And at the end of the day, when it led to death in the days of David, they had to abandon even the ark, for it could not be carried in man's way. The only way to carry this ark is through God's provided way. You have got to do it the Bible way. There is no other way, because no other way is going to work, because God is n o t l o o k i n g f o r multitudes! He is only looking for spiritual worshippers, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. He is seeking those that will worship Him in Spirit, a n d a l s o b y t h e r e v e l a t i o n o f t h e Scriptures, because revelation has a basis. That is why Brother Branham, when he was p r e a c h i n g o n t h e Seventh Seal, he said, "There are visions, and there are visions. There are revelations, and there are revelations. If it is contrary to the Scriptures", he said, " L e a v e i t a l o n e. " Because the foundation of faith is the Word of God! You cannot have faith aside of the Word of God! Because faith is a revelation! And you do not have it until God gives it. So it will do nobody any good to say he is believing this message, and yet bear the message contrary to the light of the Scriptures. You are wasting your time! You a r e o n l y f o o l i n g yourself! And all you are going to do is to lead souls to slaughter, at the end of the day. End of story! And it takes a goat to lead to s l a u g h t e r! B r o t h e r Branham said, Only a goat leads to slaughter! It takes a goat to lead to s l a u g h t e r, f o r o n l y goats lead to slaughter. That should talk to s o m e b o d y, b e c a u s e this is about eternal life. It is not about business, and it is not a b o u t m o n e y, a n d neither is it about jobs, n o r i s i t a b o u t accommodation. It is not about marriage, and it is not about ministry. It is strictly about eternal life! Let me tell you this: A lot of m e n w i l l p a c k a m i n i s t r y, a n d g o straight to hell with it. I just want life eternal. Church, all I am looking for is life eternal. And

3 August 2007 e t e r n a l l i f e c o m e s through the revelation of Jesus Christ alone! Because he is the way, the truth, and the life! And there is no other way to know Jesus except by his revelation! There is no other way! Even in the days of his flesh, no man could know him except by revelation. That is why he said, No man can come to me unless the Father draws him. What does he mean? In other words, it makes no use coming to him unless God is dealing w i t h y o u! W h y? Because it is not going to serve any useful purpose, seeing that it takes a revelation to truly know him! It took a revelation then, and it takes a revelation now. A n d c h u r c h, t h a t revelation does not come from a mountain; it comes out of the pages of the Bible. It is the exclusive basis! So we have got to make up our minds whether we are going to believe this Word, or we are not going to believe this Word! We have got to make up our minds, whether we are going to follow the Bible, and the Bible alone, or we are not! Church, we c a n n o t p i c k a n d choose, because that is what is going on in the movement today. And no matter how much Scripture you show them, they clearly say to you, I would rather believe the quote. And die with your quote! That is why they say, Brother Amos, you are not in the message. Thank God I am not in your mess age! God delivered me from the s p i r i t o f L a o d i c e a! Hence I am following a truth, a revelation! And for my stand, I have the Bible! More than a quote, I have the Bible! And I also have quotes additionally! But all you have are quotes! I have the Bible for my beliefs, which is more than quotes, and I also have quotes! So come and tell me I am not in the message! So I ask, Who is true out of both of us? Only he that is s t a n d i n g u p o n t h e W o r d, t h e i n s p i r e d infallible Scriptures, God's Holy Writ, is the o n e t h a t i s r i g h t! Moreover I must warn you, lip service to the Word of God will not work. It will not! Open your eyes! The day is Page 3 so far spent. God is getting a bride for Christ, and separation is on, big time! Brothers and sisters, by the time God finishes this thing, the bride will be very small, very miniscule. Because it is not only preaching God will use to bring separation. G o d w i l l a l s o u s e conditions. God will use c i r c u m s t a n c e s. G o d will use developing situations as well. At the end of the day, it will be a very small, but glorious bride. Lay your eyes on Jesus Christ by his Word. It will be well. Let us bow our heads in prayer. (Brother Amos prayed). We will turn our Bibles t o 1 C o r i n t h i a n s chapter 12. We were laying some things on S u n d a y, b e f o r e w e stopped the message. I said a man cannot occupy two ministry positions, as to be an apostle-prophet. He cannot. There I want to c o n t i n u e. W e a r e continuing a message t o n i g h t t i t l e d, T h e Prophetic Ministry of William Branham. We will go back to take 1 Corinthians chapter 12 v e r s e s 2 7 a n d 2 8 :

4 Page 4 Now ye are the body of Christ... That is general, for that is speaking of the general mystical body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. It is a Universal body. The whole body of saints make up the church. But Paul now broke it down: And m e m b e r s i n particular... In other words, all of us are particular members of that body. You occupy a particular position, a particular place. There is a member of the body you make up. But he had to say, MEMBERS i n p a r t i c u l a r...., because he was not referring to only one p e r s o n. H e w a s referring to the entire Universal bride body. If h e w a s r e f e r r i n g directly to one person, he would say, You are a m e m b e r i n particular, whether the eye, whether the ear, w h e t h e r t h e n o s e, whether the mouth, whether the finger (Are you with me?), whether the knee. You as an individual member, are p l a c e d i n t o t h a t mystical body of Christ, by a spiritual birth, that is, by the infilling of the H o l y G h o s t. T h a t makes you a specific member, or a specific part, within the body. That is why he says, Ye are members in p a r t i c u l a r ( i. e. a specific part). You can relate that to the entire body of Christ, as well as to the ministry. We a r e a p a r t i c u l a r member. As such, when we go to Ephesians chapter 4, the thought is not different, for that verse is also applicable t o t h e m i n i s t r y. E p h e s i a n s 4, f r o m verse 7 says: But unto every one of us (in the body of Christ), i s g i v e n g r a c e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e m e a s u r e ( o r a c c o r d i n g t o t h e fullness), of the gift of Christ. So Christ is a gift, he is the gift of God to man. All that was in God, He poured into Christ. The all here, speaks of all of God's divine attributes, for as it is written, In h i m d w e l l e t h t h e f u l l n e s s o f t h e G o d h e a d b o d i l y, which means, all the divine attributes of the Almighty God dwelleth in him. And the Bible says in verse 7 of E p h e s i a n s 4 : B u t unto every one of us" August 2007 every one in the body), " i s g i v e n g r a c e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he s a i t h, W h e n h e ascended up on high, h e ( C h r i s t ) l e d captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ( N o w t h a t h e ascended, what is it b u t t h a t h e a l s o descended first into the lower parts of the e a r t h? H e t h a t d e s c e n d e d i s t h e s a m e a l s o t h a t a s c e n d e d u p f a r above all heavens, that he might FILL ALL THINGS.) The all things Christ fills is the church. That he might fill the church with the measure of himself, which is the fullness of him! What is his fullness? All of the divine attributes of God invested in him! That is how we (the church) become, brothers and s i s t e r s, t h e f u l l embodiment of Jesus Christ! It is by being invested with every attribute of the Spirit of g r a c e t h a t h e w a s invested with. Hence, all those attributes of C h r i s t, w h i c h a r e attributes of the Eternal Spirit, will be possessed,

5 August 2007 a n d m a n i f e s t e d, exemplified, by the body of Christ. What does the next verse say? Verse 11: And he (Christ) gave some (what did h e g i v e t h e m? ), apostles.... I was listening to a preacher, Chris Oyakhilome, one day on television. He went here in Ephesians 4, and tore it down. He said this text doesn't mean Christ gave some people, saying, You take the ministry of apostles... You take the office of prophets... He said that is not what it means! What a load of rubbish! I have to ask: What does it mean?! What does it mean?! You know, that just reminds me, how men with hands of leprosy can go into clean food, and rubbish it, messing it all up, and serve it to t h e p e o p l e a s a wholesome meal. Here, we are looking at an investment of grace God invested His Son with, a grace which he himself is now investing i n t h e b o d y! W h y? Because he is to fill the church with the fullness of Himself! You know these preachers are smart men. They can explain the Bible away. T h e y e x p l a i n a w a y e v e r y r e v e l a t i o n o f truth. And if you are not looking for revelation, if all you just want is a h a n d - m e - d o w n tradition, something to tickle your emotion, if all you want is just to observe a religious service, those are the m e n y o u n g p e o p l e follow in their droves in the Pentecostal world. But they have no ounce o f r e v e l a t i o n o f anything. It is just a glamorous gospel, a m a t e r i a l, w o r l d l y gospel that is appealing to the carnal minded, n o t t h e s p i r i t u a l m i n d e d. Ve r s e 11 : And he gave some, apostles. Who are the some that he gave? Those are members of his body! Now, here you are looking, not at Spirit gifts which Christ also invested the church with, in 1Corinthians 12, here you are not e v e n l o o k i n g a t a t t r i b u t e s o f t h e character of God the church is also invested with, although that is part of the story, that is part of her investment, but in verse 11, you are looking at one thing and one thing only: You are looking at office gifts, Page 5 ministry gifts, which God invested His Son J e s u s w i t h, t o t h e f u l l n e s s o f t h e ministerial attributes God ordained for the building, or for the e d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e church of the living God! Precisely! So, when Paul said, And h e ( C h r i s t ) g a v e some, those some are in the body, certain p e o p l e ( m e n, n o t female), men that God has ordained to bear part of the ministry of Jesus Christ, for and on behalf of the bride of Jesus Christ, under the New Testament. He gave some, apostles, means, to some were conferred the gift of apostles, that they may b e a r t h e a p o s t o l i c ministry of Jesus Christ for and on behalf of the bride of Christ! The a p o s t o l i c m i n i s t r y Jesus bore, which is an i n v e s t m e n t o f h i s F a t h e r, h e a l s o divested of himself, and gave to some men (not to every man in the b o d y, b u t t o s o m e m e n ), a n e l e c t e d remnant, who will be a p o s t l e s. I t i s s o, because in Jesus was the apostle; in him was the prophet; in him was

6 Page 6 the evangelist; in him was the pastor; and in him was the teacher. He is everything! The five fold ministry was in Christ! But he divested himself of those five fold ministerial attributes, or five fold ministries, which is the ministry of grace, for the number of grace is five, in God's numerology, and he gave it to men in the body. Do not forget, Hebrews tells you and me, He is the High Priest and APOSTLE of our profession. M o s e s s a i d i n Deuteronomy, The Lord your God shall raise up A PROPHET unto you like unto me; to him shall you listen to. And whoever doesn't listen to him, shall be cut off. That is of Jesus! He is the prophet! That is why the woman at the well of Jacob said, I perceive you are a prophet. When the Messiah cometh... (Because the Messiah will be a prophet), he w i l l t e l l u s t h e s e things. And Christ did not say to her, Well, lady, if you will only pray... The Messiah s h o u l d b e a r o u n d somewhere now... You know we are living in his days. He said, I am he! He did not deny! They will kill somebody today for confessing his ministry, but they can c o n f e s s t h e i r o w n w i t h o u t a n y o n e condemning them for it. But if it is higher than theirs, then do not confess it; you cannot confess it! Unbelievers! H e g a v e s o m e, apostles. But Christ i s a l s o t h e g r e a t evangelist. There is none like him! That is why he went into the S y n a g o g u e, a n d picked the Book of Isaiah. He looked for Chapter 61, and read i t o u t l o u d : T h e Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; for t h e L o r d h a t h a n o i n t e d m e t o p r e a c h t h e g o o d n e w s ; t o s e t t h e c a p t i v e s f r e e, t o o p e n t h e p r i s o n door, to proclaim the acceptable year... And he stopped right in the middle of a prophetic sentence! That is rightly dividing the Word of truth! He did that because the next clause applies at his second coming. Church, here came Nicodemus at night. August 2007 He said, Rabbi, we know... Who are the we? The Pharisees! They know! But what were they doing to J e s u s f r o m t h e i r p u l p i t? S m a s h h i s h e a d!... H e i s a n intellectual!... He is only trying to be a great man!... He didn't go to school!... He w a s b o r n i n adultery!... In fact, his mama was pregnant b e f o r e t h e y g o t married! No wonder, they looked at him, when he said, I come from God, and I go to G o d... T h e y s a i d, Isn't this the Son of Mary, whose father we know? I ask: Was the Messiah supposed to j u m p d o w n f r o m heaven?! Would he not be a man born a m o n g t h e m according to Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 9, verse 6? Would the Messiah not be a man who lived and grew up among them? It is like the five fold ministry. B e c a u s e o f t h e h o r r i b l e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s a p o s t l e s today, and because of t h e d e n i a l o f l i v e a p o s t l e s f o r t o d a y, within the five fold ministry, I must ask,

7 August 2007 W h i c h f o l d o f t h e Ephesian ministry will jump out of heaven? W h i c h o n e w i l l b e occupied by aliens, and not by men we know? Which of these men will come from Mars? He gave some a p o s t l e s. T h e s e apostles will be men you know! They are not Orange men! (You k n o w t h e M i r i n d a a d v e r t? ). T h e y a r e m e n y o u k n o w! Matthew was a tax collector! They knew him! And they did not have a good name e i t h e r, a s t a x collectors! They had no good name, but G o d h a d a s e e d among them. Some Jews no doubt would f e e l, H o w c a n M a t t h e w b e a n apostle? I know him very well. He is a tax collector! Sit down there! Sit there in the seat of the scornful, and speak ill of God's d i g n i t a r i e s! T h e calling of God makes the difference! It is God's grace! Nobody is worth anything but death! Grace makes t h e d i f f e r e n c e! C h u r c h, N i c o d e m u s s a i d, R a b b i, w e know... Even though the Pharisees bash your head, but we know. Why did they not accept his ministry t h e n? B e c a u s e o f envy, jealousy, and ambition! They cannot follow! To accept that he is who he is, is for them to follow, and w h e n t h e y f o l l o w, playing second fiddle, what happens to their popularity and their crowd? You are not listening to me! If they follow, what happens to the people looking up to them? They will look above them, to look at the person they themselves are looking at! So what did t h e y d o? T h e y crucified him! They said, He is of the devil...! He is Beelzebub...! He is using the prince of demons! But what did another member of the P h a r i s e e s l i k e themselves say? We k n o w t h o u a r t A TEACHER sent from God, for no man can d o t h e s e t h i n g s except God be with him. And I will add, For no man can teach these things if God is not opening his eyes to it! Here we see that Jesus Christ is the greatest teacher that Page 7 ever walked in shoe leather, the teacher of all teachers. B u t t h e r e i s o n e ministry fold remaining, w h i c h G o d a l s o i n v e s t e d i n C h r i s t. Remember, we are not talking of the office of the High priest. He is the only High Priest there is for the bride of Christ, and we all are spiritual priests of God. A s s u c h, t h e O l d Testament ministry of literal priests does not a p p l y f o r t h e N e w Testament ministry. Are you with me? We only have one High Priest, a n d t h a t i s J e s u s Christ. However, the entire body of Christ are spiritual priests of G o d, a c c o r d i n g t o R e v e l a t i o n 1 : 6. A s such, there is only one ministry remaining for us to touch, of the ministerial investments in Christ. What office is that? The ministry of a Shepherd, a Pastor! Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd: The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Oh, my! A man of God should be gentle... I don't like the way Brother Amos talks sometimes. Yes!

8 Page 8 You know in the Psalm of David which says, there is a Scripture, For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up! That prophecy of David in Psalm 69:9, w a s h a n g i n g f o r fulfilment. There was a day it was to have vent, a day it was to be projected, as John 2: revealed. When he got to the temple, he saw them buying and selling. The wife of the priest, the pastor, was the one selling candles, a n d d o v e s, a n d pigeons. She was the one that had a shop on the church premises for selling soft drinks; cocacola, fanta orange, and biscuits, after service. She is the only one that holds the key to the bookshop. Everything they use in the church, she is the one that sells it. Sometimes it could be t h e p a s t o r i n t h e b u s i n e s s o f s e l l i n g articles of religious service. He would tell the congregation: The Lord says you need twenty one candles tonight, but you know y o u c a n n o t b u y i t outside; your prayer will not be answered, when the wife of the pastor is selling candles right there! How can you go outside? You cannot! Jesus looked at all those things. He looked: The priests had turned the law into a moneyspinning machine, just as Gentiles have made merchandise out of the Gospel. Oh, before you can testify, you must give an offering, or donate money. In fact, the whole congregation must support it. Church, he looked at the gross commercialization of J u d a i s m. B u t remember, there is no pastor like him. There is no shepherd like Jesus! He went outside. Some people, all they see in t h e S c r i p t u r e s concerning the ministry, is: A man of God must be very gentle... We can sometimes go into extremes with a truth! Christ went to weave h o r s e t a i l. H e w e n t outside, took his time, and weaved it, weaved it, weaved it. When he came in, he was a oneman army! Brothers and sisters, he whipped the old men, overturned their tables, and all the doves flew away! What a day! Pigeons and doves flew away! All the money they had made, he threw away, all their August 2007 shekels he scattered to the four winds! He beat everybody regardless of who it was! You must know the testimony that would no doubt come out of that, by these carnal bunch: That cannot be a man of God...! He is a demonpossessed man! If you see how he came in...! He was behaving like a mad man...! He cannot be a man of God! Yes! Yes! Why would he be? Because all people want i s s o f t p r e a c h i n g, pampering their will. Even when they are in f o o l i s h n e s s, t h e preacher is not to say anything, except to give them a smile. They want perverted love, for they hate those who rebuke at the gate. And that is what they are getting today. But that's not a true ministry! And they n e v e r f o r g o t t h a t incident at the temple! B u t y o u k n o w t h e testimony of the Bible was different from their warped testimony. No wonder they decided, We will kill you. In this country, we will show you who controls the people! Because they had the crowd! How m a n y s t o o d w i t h Jesus?! Even many of

9 August 2007 his own disciples had left him! I am not talking of the crowd, but many of his own disciples walked with him no more! Who had the c r o w d?! H o w m a n y f o l l o w e d J e s u s o f Nazareth? He even turned to the rest of his disciples at a point in time, Won't you also go? You read that in John chapter 6! Will ye also go away? But look at the Pharisees, look at their crowd! Look at the high priest, look at his crowd! But there was no life there. Life is not in the crowd! Eternal life is in truth! When you see multitudes, run away! Look for the still small voice, because truth has never been the meal for the masses! It has never been the meal for the world! No wonder they no doubt would have recounted, If you know how much I lost the day that man came to the temple... No wonder when the hour came and they were asked, What do we do with Jesus called the Christ? They cried out loud, Crucify him! You need to watch The Passion Of Christ. You need to watch that Hollywood film. Thank God for the inspiration that produced it. Pilate asked them, What has he done? Look at how I beat him They still cried, Crucify him! N o t h i n g e l s e c o u l d satisfy them. That was their verdict! But what was the verdict of God? The Bible says, then an i n s p i r e d e l e c t f e w r e m e m b e r e d a Scripture, the day he w a s c l e a n s i n g t h e Temple, a prophetic Scripture which said, For the zeal of thine house hath eaten him up. They realized he did what he did that day because of God's zeal! Why? He was the good and faithful shepherd! H e w a s t h e g o o d shepherd! The good pastor! That gives us the fullness of Christ, ministerially, for the bride church. These are ministry attributes he divested himself, and g a v e u n t o m e n, according to Ephesians 4. But let me say this as a warning to God's people, particularly the ministry. Do not ever think you will stand for truth and people will hail you. You are joking if you think like that! And do not ever think people will understand. They will not! If you think Page 9 when you stand for truth, people will pat you on the back; you are wasting your time. But stand for it anyhow, because that is the only thing worth standing for, and that is the only thing that has a glorious end. And everything is now coming to a close. E v e r y t h i n g! T h e politicians do not know what to do. They know everything is upside down. What is it? It is the end of the world! We are at the close of the seventh and final church age! The Laodicean church age is signing off! That is what the problem is. The final age is now quietly and slowly grinding to a close. That is what it is. God through all the upheavals the world is facing, is telling you the world is old, and is ready for change. With that, we will now go b a c k t o E p h e s i a n s chapter 4. Ephesians 4:11: And h e g a v e s o m e, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, e v a n g e l i s t s ; a n d some, pastors and teachers. To wrap up o u r t h o u g h t o n Ephesians 4, the Bible

10 Page 10 s a y s, C h r i s t g a v e some, pastors (plural), t e a c h e r s ( p l u r a l ) : some, pastors; some teachers. What does it mean? The men he gave apostles, he did not invest with another o f f i c e! C a n I h e a r Amen?! Whoever he invests with the office of the ministry of an apostle, he invests with no other office within the Ephesian five fold ministry! Whoever he invests with the office of a prophet, he does not invest with the office of an evangelist, and vice-versa. That is why he gives us a five category, or five folds of people, he invests w i t h t h e f i v e f o l d ministry, which God invested in him, so that the church may bear every attribute of God i n v e s t e d i n J e s u s Christ! There is no individual that will hold two offices! None! He gave some, apostles; some, prophets; some, e v a n g e l i s t s ; s o m e, p a s t o r s ; s o m e, teachers. That is a five fold group of people, invested with grace, for a five fold ministry! Whoever is invested with the office of pastor, for instance, will not h o l d a t e a c h e r ' s m i n i s t r y a s w e l l, because you will have live teachers occupying that office! Precisely! That does not take away from the fact that a pastor, in fulfilling his role to his congregation, will have to take the truths that have been given, break it down, and teach it to his people. So that means he will do s o m e m e a s u r e o f teaching, but that still does not make him a teacher! But he has to teach his people the truth! And that does not take away the office of a teacher! And when a teacher comes on the scene, it is a different kettle of fish. It has to be! And church, one teacher does not have the same measure of grace as the other, because they all receive in measure. So the level of anointing on two apostles will not be the same, because they receive the anointing in measure! You will not have two apostles with the same measure of grace! As such, you cannot compare one ministry with another one, within the same fold. That would be carnal! That Is why the August 2007 Bible says in Romans 12:6-7, Let every man in the ministry wait on his ministering, and he that prophesies, he should do it according to the proportion of faith God has given him. Why have I gone into 1 Corinthians c h a p t e r 1 2, a n d Ephesians chapter 4? It i s b e c a u s e t h e y synchronize in projecting a truth, the truth that you cannot be an apostle, and be a prophet, at the same time! Can I hear Amen?! You cannot! You do not have Bible for that! You cannot make Paul an apostle-prophet. You cannot! And you cannot make Brother Branham a prophet, and make him an apostle at the same time. He is not! That is why we say, If there is anything William Branham is not, it is this: He is not an apostle! He is a prophet! That is his office! That is what Jesus gave him! But yet, his prophetic office is not within the confines of the five fold ministry of Ephesians 4. We will see it, because our message t o n i g h t i s o n t h e prophetic ministry of William Branham. There is a lot of misconception g o i n g o n i n t h e movement, which we

11 August 2007 want to clear up, for the sake of God's children out there. As such, we do not want to leave any stones unturned. In 1 Timothy 2:7, Paul said: Whereunto I am o r d a i n e d A PREACHER, and AN APOSTLE, (I speak the truth in Christ, a n d l i e n o t ; ) A T E A C H E R o f t h e Gentiles in faith and v e r i t y. H e c a l l e d h i m s e l f, w h a t? A preacher, an apostle, and a teacher! Look at 2 Timothy 1:11 as well: W h e r e u n t o I a m a p p o i n t e d A PREACHER, and AN A P O S T L E, a n d A T E A C H E R o f t h e Gentiles. Because to him was committed the full revelation of Jesus Christ, upon which the faith of the Gentiles will be established! And church, the Covenant he brought in the day he brought it was new, it was fresh. He bore the truth of it as an apostle. He therefore had to teach it to the world, seeing that it was something new, in o r d e r t o g i v e a n understanding of it to God's children. So he had to teach it! So in that way, he could say, I am a teacher. But you cannot take that, a n d n u l l i f y 1 Corinthians 12:27, and Ephesians 4:11 and 12! You cannot do it! So what does he mean by saying he is a teacher? He just meant in the course of fulfilling his ministry and calling, he taught the Gentiles the truth of the cross! Why? Because he bore the standard of the truth of Jesus Christ for the Gentile world! It was a new faith! It was called the way, and it was called the way of heresy by the opposition! That is why he said, After the way that is called heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the l a w a n d i n t h e p r o p h e t s. B u t apparently, the Jews did not understand the law and the prophets, or they would not have called it the way of heresy. Think about it! It was a new light. It was a fresh Covenant. It was a new Covenant. He bore the revelation of it. It was new! Even Governor Felix, when Paul testified before him, in Acts chapter 24, Page 11 he marvelled at this new faith. He said, Go thy way for this time; w h e n I h a v e a convenient season, I will call for thee. Paul bore a new revelation, and he had to teach it. Brothers and sisters, he crisscrossed the whole Roman world, bearing the gospel, d o i n g s e r i o u s evangelistic work. And do you know church, he was the first pastor of the Ephesian church, because he established that church, and sat there for a space of years, planting that church, and that church became a model, and the first church age is called by its name, the Ephesian Church Age. Think about it! That m a d e h i m a g r e a t evangelist, but that was not his office, and that was not his calling! But he had to do the work of an evangelist, in order to bear the light of Christ all over the world, by virtue of his calling, and in order to fulfil his calling, for he bore the standard. So you have to understand t h e s e t h i n g s. B u t church, what is the calling of Paul? What is his office? Virtually in

12 Page 12 every epistle he wrote, except one or two, he started each epistle by declaring his ministry. L e t u s s t a r t w i t h R o m a n s c h a p t e r 1, Paul, A servant of Jesus Christ, called to be AN APOSTLE, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,). Amen. This opening p a t t e r n i s P a u l ' s characteristics. Go to h i s e p i s t l e t o t h e Corinthians; go to the epistle to the Galatians. I do not care where you go, he usually starts, more often than not, by declaring his apostleship, and that did not make him proud. And today, there is nobody in the ministry that is going to get up and declare, I am a pastor, and people will say he is proud for confessing that. But well, it has been a long t i m e w e l a s t h a d a p o s t l e s. W e h a v e been having pastors all t h r o u g h t i m e. A l l through the dark ages, a l l t h r o u g h t h e Reformation, we have been having pastors a n d e v a n g e l i s t s. N o b o d y r a i s e s a n eyebrow if a man calls himself an evangelist or a pastor. There are many evangelists all over the world in the message. They do not hide that fact. But let a man call himself an a p o s t l e, O o o h! B e c a u s e t h a t i s a ministry that has been lost since the first church age, and was not restored until this very end. So the whole of Christendom has grown to be used to hearing pastors and evangelists, pastors and evangelists. But a n i m a l s w i l l n o t constitute Ephesians 4 apostles! Apostles will be brothers like you, sinners saved by grace, men you know, like the pastors and evangelists! Let me say this tonight as I move on in my message. If we are being restored back to the original, and it is the same faith, the same church, the same body, the same ministry, the same spirit, you must understand that at this evening time, apostles will not be hidden, and y o u w i l l n o t b e surprised for apostles setting forth who they are. They have the right just as a pastor does. It August 2007 is not pride, it is not arrogance. The church of God did not start not knowing apostles. Then t h e c h u r c h o f G o d cannot end not knowing apostles either. The church of God did not s t a r t w i t h a p o s t l e s keeping quiet over their ministry. You are not hearing me! The church of God did not start with apostles keeping quiet over their apostolic c a l l i n g! T h e n t h e church cannot end up today, with men in the ministry keeping quiet over their apostolic calling either, because you are looking at the o r i g i n a l s e e d, t h e original ministry, the o r i g i n a l b r i d e, t h e original spirit, and the o r i g i n a l f a i t h. P a u l s t a r t s a n d c l o s e s virtually almost every e p i s t l e w i t h t h i s declaration. But who was Paul? What was his ministry calling? Romans 11:13 spells it out plainly, and you would have to be a chronic unbeliever to say otherwise. For Paul himself declared: For I speak to you Gentiles, i n a s m u c h (Inasmuch!) As I am THE APOSTLE of the Gentiles, I magnify

13 August 2007 MINE OFFICE. That is who he is! It is not pride! But we are used to not hearing it. I said we are used to not hearing it, because all we have been hearing a r e p a s t o r s a n d evangelists, pastors and evangelists. It is in N i g e r i a w e h a v e p r o p h e t s, a l l t h e s e J a h - j a h o r a h s o r c e r e r s i n t h e message! I say that because you do not have one prophet on ground yet, without a p o s t l e s b e i n g o n ground. That is why I started by saying, What will you believe?! Do you want to believe the testimony of people out there, or you want to believe the Bible?! Until you have apostles on ground, you do not h a v e o n e p r o p h e t a n y w h e r e o n t h i s planet, in the original five fold ministry. You do not! Out there, they can have their Jahjahorah prophets. It is only in this country, in the main, where I see prophets. People run away in the message world from that office. Look at Galatians 1 quickly. Galatians 1:1, Paul, AN apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). So it does not matter whether you like him or not; it does not matter whether you accept his ministry or not, he is who he is by the grace o f G o d. P e r i o d! O p p o s i t i o n t o h i s ministry did not make him say, Well, well, concerning my calling, God has called me in the ministry... You see we have to be humble... G o d w i l l m a k e m y ministry plain... You also do not find in the S c r i p t u r e s w h e r e people asked Brother Paul: What is your m i n i s t r y, B r o t h e r Paul?, and for him to reply: Well, God will make it plain... You see, men of God should be humble. That has n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h office! That has nothing to do with the office of a man! Otherwise, I have t o a l s o a s k : W h y shouldn't the pastor also be humble, and not d e c l a r e h i s o ff i c e? Precisely! Because the same law that binds the a p o s t l e s b i n d s t h e pastor! Exactly! They are all spoken of in the s a m e S c r I p t u r a l Page 13 context, and for the same bride! It is a five fold ministry! So if an apostle does not have the right to declare he is an apostle, neither does a pastor have the right to say he is a pastor! He does not! And neither does an evangelist have the right to call himself one! Because an apostle has as much right to say who he is as a pastor! This is not a game! It is when men are full of envy, and wicked jealousy, and ambition, a desire to be what they cannot be, that is when they resist authority, because they are jealous of seeing somebody being what they are dreaming and dying to be! That is also why you have the case of men who do not even w a n t t o b e c a l l e d p a s t o r s a n y m o r e, because, already, they have a scheme of what they will advance into, t o m o r r o w. S o t h e y k n o w t h e y w i l l n o t accomplish it being called a pastor. As such, they will give themselves any other name: They can call it Overseer. This is just a subtle foundation name by which to

14 Page 14 achieve a personal, s e c r e t o b j e c t i v e o f leadership over other men in the ministry, a leadership that cannot be achieved by being c a l l e d a p a s t o r! M o r e o v e r, i n t h e ministry, we are all overseers! Otherwise I will have to ask, Since when did the ministry start bearing overseer as a title?! Why don't t h e y a l s o b e a r Preachers?! But if they do, they know people will ask: Since when did men in the ministry start bearing Preachers instead of one of the offices of the five fold ministry? You know that is not a title that shows your office or ministry! It does not! It just shows you are a servant of God. Simple! Every servant of God is called to be a preacher, but preacher is not an office! Every man in the five fold ministry is a preacher, but bearing the title of a preacher does not indicate the office a man holds in the ministry! It does not! And neither does b e a r i n g O v e r s e e r give you the office a m a n h o l d s i n t h e ministry, because every man in the five fold ministry is an overseer o f t h e b r i d e, a n overseer of the church of God, if you know the truth! See Acts 20:11-31! It is just like the e v a n g e l i s t i n F a i t h Assembly, Jeffersonville, Indiana, Bud Thompson. He shot himself in the foot, because over the years, he has declared he is an evangelist, not k n o w i n g B r o t h e r Jackson would pass away. But unfortunately f o r h i m, B r o t h e r Jackson died. So the problem became one of how can he now take over and rule the men in the Universal bride ministry? How can he n o w c h a n g e h i s m i n i s t r y? H e h a d already boxed himself into a corner, and he just does not know how to wriggle out of it! But J a m e s A l l e n a n d himself could boast, A n y b o d y w h o disagrees with us, we will set them down... We taught Amos a lesson! They really thought that would be the end of the matter. They really thought it was as easy as that, without regard for the truth, or for the will of God! Well, for them to teach me a lesson, they August 2007 have to be apostles. B e c a u s e I a m i n Nigeria, they are in America! And there is not one local assembly that has rulership over the other, and there is not one pastor that has rulership over another pastor, as to be able to set him down! So they had to subtly take over a p o s t o l i c r u l e r s h i p. Unconfessed (secret) apostles, men who do not even know that the q u o t e o f B r o t h e r Branham, on page 567, paragraph 4, of the Seven Seals Book, on the great person to come, He That Is To Come, is a prophetic s t a t e m e n t. B u d T h o m p s o n o p e n l y declared in his carnal and deceived judgment that it is not a prophecy. If it is not a prophecy, then Brother Jackson did not fulfil the office of the chief apostle! Then w h y w a s B r o t h e r Jackson labouring so h a r d i n t h e F a l l Convention of 2003 to present this quote, if it h a d n o p r o p h e t i c a p p l i c a t i o n t o h i s ministry?! Why such labour?! Then it means Brother Branham spoke in vain, because He that is to come is

15 August 2007 supposed to follow his ministry! It is supposed t o c o m e a f t e r h i s m i n i s t r y, f o r w h i c h r e a s o n h e l a i d a f o u n d a t i o n f o r i t s projection! So why is it not prophetic? Were they both bearing the standard together at the same time, for it not to be prophetic? This bunch of unbelievers! Ambitious men! Let me tell you now: To deny that quote being a prophecy, is to deny its application to any man in the ministry, outside of the prophet himself. What height of unbelief and warped perception that would be! Saints of God, we shall see one more Scripture. Galatians chapter 2 verse 6: But of these who seemed to be s o m e w h a t, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be s o m e w h a t i n c o n f e r e n c e a d d e d nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the g o s p e l o f t h e uncircumcision was C O M M I T T E D U N T O ME... Brothers and s i s t e r s, t h e r e w a s another apostle for the G e n t i l e s s t a n d i n g beside him that day, Barnabas. Look at what he said:...the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me (singular). I wonder why Barnabas did not s l a p h i s m o u t h (figuratively), for pride. But it is okay for Paul to say it. Any other person that says it, Oh you are proud, Brother Amos! You shouldn't say you are an apostle! You are a s e l f c o n f e s s e d a p o s t l e...! Y o u hypocrite! Why do you also say you are a pastor?! The right that a man has to call himself an evangelist, is the same right I have to call m y s e l f a n a p o s t l e, because it is not about pride! That is my office! I will not tell you God called me to be an evangelist when I am not, and neither can I claim the office of a prophet, or of a teacher, for I am not! I may pastor this church, but that is not my calling! And in case you do not even know, your pastor ( B r o t h e r V i c t o r Coleshowers), is sitting down there, in case you do not know that. The Page 15 day will come when God turns the ministry loose, then you will realize your pastor, for there he is. We have to know how to look at things, as children of light. We should know how to look at things. I thank God for Brother Victor. I thank God for his life. And it is a joy to have a brother l i k e t h a t t o s t a n d together with behind the pulpit, to minister to G o d ' s p e o p l e. G o d bless you my brother. And let us appreciate what we have. Let us value what grace has given. Let us move on. V e r s e 7 : B u t contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision (the Gentiles) was committed unto me ( p e r s o n a l, s i n g u l a r, pronoun), as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter. Why didn't the other eleven Jewish a p o s t l e s g e t u p i n p r o t e s t o f t h i s declaration? And when Richard Gan stated that there is no chief apostle at the end time, it is most obvious he read his Ephesian epistle, minus a fold! He read his Scripture, upside down! And the problem with all these men is

16 Page 16 ambition! But they are also running the roads, raising an army of men after them. So what is Raymond Jackson? If there was no chief apostle then, in the first church age, then it is impossible for there to be a chief apostle today. But if there was a chief apostle then, if we are truly restored to the same faith, and to the s a m e E p h e s i a n ministry, we must have a chief apostle today as well, for every seed brings forth after its own kind! The early church m i n i s t r y s e t t h e standard! And if Paul stood before the twelve apostles in Jerusalem, he and another Gentile apostle (when I say Gentile apostle, I mean an apostle raised up for t h e G e n t i l e s ), Barnabas, and he stood before the group of apostles, and declared, G o d c o m m i t t e d t h e gospel of the Gentiles to him. And he looked them in the face, and also declared, As God committed the gospel of the Jews to Peter, and n o n e o f t h e m challenged it, How dare Richard Gan look in the Bible, and not see a chief apostle at the end time?! It is ambition! And they have been running the roads: What have they produced?! What revelation of truth have they brought?! T h e y h a v e b r o u g h t nothing but confusion, and a warped projection of the Bible! We have only just started with their teachings! Wait for the June Scribe! That is w h y I s t a r t e d t h i s message by asking you: What are you going to believe? Are you going to believe men, and leave the Word of God? The church did not start with an abracadabra ministry! If it did, we would not have known any apostle to start with! We would not even have known any prophet, or any pastor! Because what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander! But how come their names are written? And Paul, in writing to saints, was even writing of other m i n i s t e r s, d e c l a r i n g their names, and their office! How do we know who is who if everybody keeps mum over their m i n i s t r y?! G o d h a s allowed that silence over the years, because God was only giving a potential calling to men. August 2007 But this is the day of placing, and God has started already! That is why I tell you tonight, in C a l h o u n, G e o r g i a, U.S.A., you have an apostle! His name is Alvin Suggs! You have an apostle in South Africa! His name is Ernest Scotsman! I do not care what people feel! But I will simply tell you, If Paul could pick up his pen and write concerning Junia and Andronicus, and he declared they were a m o n g t h e c h i e f a p o s t l e s, a m o n g apostles of note, why will you then want to kill me for simply pointing out apostles to the people of God?! If you do, it is simply because you do not see the Bible pattern! That is why you, as an individual, have to come to a point where you have to make up your mind, Either you are going to believe this Bible, or you are not going to believe it! Either you are going to walk the Bible way, or you are not going to walk it. But please be certain, this way is not an abracadabra way! It is not! There is clarity and certainty in truth, and there is reality to

17 August 2007 each of the five folds of the Ephesian ministry, being a live ministry! Sure! You must not forget the bride church ministry did not start off in mysticism, in the Book of Acts. Every office was laid out flat and plain, and the men that occupied them were identified and declared plainly. And if that is the first fruit, the last fruit will be the same, or forget about restoration! That is why I said, The Spirit that moved the o r i g i n a l m i n i s t r y i s back! That is why you hear men declare who they are today. And let me say this, Anybody can declare himself to be anything. That does not matter. All you need to do is simply to give it a test, the Word test. Test the fruit. Watch the fruit! You have to prove t h e m i n i s t r y Scripturally! And do not use signs; because I will tell you right now, you are a fool if you do! You obviously learnt n o t h i n g f r o m t h e message of the prophet to this age, when he t o o k T h e A n o i n t e d Ones At The End Time! And if you disagree, I will tell you, Go to Temitope Joshua of The Synagogue Of All Nations! He has a lot of miracles. But he cannot open John 3:16, and preach five minutes on a straight line, making sense out of it! He cannot! All he says is: You have to preach in the Spirit, and talk in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit... If you don't walk in the Spirit, you c a n n o t a c c o m p l i s h anything... You have to talk in the Spirit... How do you talk in the Spirit?! It is just a whole load of rubbish! It is mumbo-jumbo! I have l i s t e n e d t o h i s messages! They do not make Scriptural sense! The anointing of life is revelatory! When you s e e a s u p e r n a t u r a l projection that lacks revelation ingredient, I will tell you, it is a projection lacking life! Run from it! You do not need it! I said you do not need it! That is why I do not need any Jahjahorah prophet to give me any prophecy of anything! I have the prophet of prophets, Jesus the Christ! He burns in my heart! He is leading my life! He is guiding my footsteps! Page 17 He is my Lord, and he is my guide! He is your Lord too, and he is your guide too, if you have him, and follow him! T h e r e a r e m a n y p r o p h e t s w i t h o u t a revelation of truth, and they are supposed to be the second highest order, over the rest of the ministry, which God set, to bring the bride into the unity of the faith. Yet, that faith they do not know, but they can prophesy, Go and get a pail, and buy a rope, and throw it in the well. Your prosperity is on the way... No, no, no! That is not a Bible p r o p h e t! T h o s e a r e prophets in the northern part of Nigeria! Verse 8: (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to THE APOSTLESHIP OF THE CIRCUMCISION... (That makes him the chief apostle!);...the same was mighty in me... Ah, Brother Paul, you are boasting... No!... t h e s a m e w a s mighty in me toward t h e G e n t i l e s : )... Halleluyah! And when James, Cephas (that is Peter), and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given UNTO ME, they gave

18 Page 18 to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen (that is the Gentiles), and they unto the circumcision (that is to the Jews). But he said the grace given unto him! He did not say, unto us, yet he said, they gave US the r i g h t h a n d o f fellowship! But when it came to that revelation, he said,...a gospel committed unto me. And then you do not want to see a chief apostle. It has to be b e c a u s e y o u a r e r e a d i n g y o u r B i b l e u p s i d e d o w n! L e t somebody please turn it the right way again for Richard Gan, for it to stand up right, so he can read it well to see a chief apostle in it! That is the beginning office of the entire Ephesian m i n i s t r y! R e s i s t i n g leadership has been his undoing! Failure to submit to headship has been the undoing of Richard Gan! He wants to be a big shot! He never wanted to follow anybody or anything! That is why he peddles every carnal idea he sees in the Bible as a revelation! H e has had decades to prove his ministry, and there is nothing he has brought but confusion! And let me tell you, we will not s p a r e t h e m f r o m henceforth. We will not r u n d o w n t h e i r character, but we will handle their teachings, a n d s h o w t h e i r emptiness, because they are nothing but confusionists! They are the troublers of Israel! We have had enough of t h e i r w a r p e d projections, and I have no apology for what I share under anointing! I will not take it back! God knows what the S p i r i t o f t h e a g e demands! He knows what it demands! When Stephen stood before them, looking at them, he lashed out: You s t i f f n e c k e d a n d u n c i r c u m c i s e d i n h e a r t a n d e a r s, always resisting the Spirit...! That was the m e s s a g e t h e S p i r i t needed for that day! A n d t h e r e w i l l b e S t e p h e n s i n t h e evangelistic ministry! If you think evangelists are men who will run up and down the aisle, screaming: Take it! Take it!, as they throw anointing, all these August 2007 d e m o n s t h e y a r e throwing on people all over the whole place, you are deceived! The Spirit of God is not your toy! He is not! Saints of God, I have to repeat this: It is obvious from the Scriptures, y o u c a n n o t b e a prophet, and be an apostle at the same time. You cannot hold t h e o f f i c e o f a n evangelist, and occupy the office of a pastor, and the office of an apostle, at the same time. You may be a p a s t o r, b u t i f y o u r calling is as an apostle, then that is what you are. The pastoral role is only a means God is using to project the p o t e n t i a l o f t h e investment of grace u p o n y o u r l i f e. Otherwise I will ask you, how else would we be able to identify them? Because it is not words alone that makes a man something! It is the fruit! That is why I said, One thousand people can declare themselves apostles. You do not need to fight that! Just test the fruit of it! If a man says he is an apostle, and he carries n o t h i n g,

19 August 2007 bearing no revelation of truth, you know he is just speaking words! Saints of God, why have I followed the route I have taken tonight? It is because I have got to show you that no man in this ministry can occupy two offices. He can only occupy one office. He may do a little of this, being a major ministry, he may do a little of that, to be able to carry out his ministry, but his ministry remains his ministry, for Jesus gave some, apostles. He did not also give to t h o s e s a m e m e n, prophets. Are you with me? He gave others, some, prophets. He did not take out of those men, and also give evangelists to them. No! But the Bible says, he gave some (that is, some other people) evangelists. Now, he did not take out of those evangelists, and give them pastors and teachers as well No! But he gave some, p a s t o r s a n d t e a c h e r s. W i l l i a m Branham cannot be a prophet, and be an apostle! And Paul the apostle cannot be an apostle, a n d b e a prophet at the same time, irrespective of any quote you may have! Because Brother B r a n h a m s a i d something does not make it Scriptural, for s u c h s t a t e m e n t s amount to mere quotes, lacking the validity of the Word of God! And that man can say a lot of things, because he has a peculiar ministry, a ministry for the two vines, the true vine, and the false vine! He r e f e r r e d t o P a u l s o m e t i m e s a s t h e prophet-messenger to the first church age. That is just a figurative way of saying he was the star messenger to that age! If you do not consider his intendment, the thought he was trying to project, and you want to say, because Brother Branham said Paul was the prophet-messenger to that age, you want to say that Paul was a prophet, I will just tell y o u n o w, Yo u a r e nothing but a stark unbeliever! I do not even know what you are doing coming to church, because you are only wasting your time! For you will not g e t o n e s h r e d o f Scripture where Paul Page 19 ever referred to himself as a prophet! You can see where he refers to himself as a teacher, and as a preacher, but he clearly and plainly declared his office to be that of an apostle over and over again! But you will never see where he m a k e s h i m s e l f a prophet, inspite of all t h e a b u n d a n c e o f r e v e l a t i o n s h e received. He had to receive that to bear the office of an apostle! You are not listening to me. He had to receive those revelations to be able to carry out his office as an apostle! You know why? I will tell you tonight, and I will close with the thought. If we are really going to k n o w t h e o ff i c e o f Brother Branham, we must also know what he is not! To really know is to be able to sift truth from error. We should, as such, know the difference, and the similarity, between the O l d T e s t a m e n t prophets, and the New Testament apostles, in the light of the Word of God. For in the entire Bible, there are only two ministry orders God used to give us

20 Page 20 e v e r y r e v e l a t i o n o f truth of God. Under the Old Testament, it was exclusively prophets, and under the New Te s t a m e n t, i t w a s s t r i c t l y a p o s t l e s. Under the Old, the h i g h e s t o r d e r o f ministry was prophets. That is why God used the prophets to lead the nation of Israel, and to guide the kings. Can I hear Amen?! They were used to guide the kings in the will of God, and in the r e v e l a t i o n o f t r u t h. That is the highest order under the Old Testament. But under the New Testament, the highest order is not p r o p h e t s. P r o p h e t s come after apostles, and they come under t h e h e a d s h i p o f apostles. The highest o r d e r i n t h e N e w Testament church is apostles. No, they do not want to hear that in t h e m o v e m e n t, because they hate the leadership of God. But it is still the truth nonetheless! That is why I will tell you t o n i g h t. R e m e m b e r, the Old Testament is a type of the New, but the New Covenant is better than the Old. But also remember, u n d e r t h e O l d Covenant, the Spirit of the prophets, was the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit by which they bore their prophetic ministry, is the same Spirit by which the apostles bore their apostolic ministry. You must realize that. It is t h e s a m e G o d, because it is the Spirit of God invested in Christ, a Spirit which was in the apostles, that was also in the prophets of old. Come with me. Church, the New Covenant is a b e t t e r C o v e n a n t, b a s e d o n b e t t e r promises, and it is more glorious than the Old Covenant. Under the Old, the highest o r d e r o f m i n i s t r y ordained to carry the revelation of God, the revelation of life, is prophets. Under the New, it is not prophets, it is strictly apostles. Why is this so? I will show you. Saints, you have to understand that the ministry of the prophets under the Old Testament, was more t h a n s i m p l y t e l l i n g p e o p l e o f t h e i r d o m e s t i c o r c a r n a l conditions: Y o u r August 2007 asses are found, and y o u r f a t h e r h a s stopped looking for the asses, and is looking for you." I am quoting t h e p r o p h e c y o f Samuel to Saul! It is more than that! What made them the highest order of ministry under the Old Testament was not because they see visions! Wake up! I repeat: What made them the highest order of ministry under the Old, was not because they saw visions! That is just a mere outlet! What made them the highest order was t h a t t h e y w e r e foretellers of Jesus Christ! What made t h e m t h e h i g h e s t order was because only unto them was given to carry the prophetic revelation of Jesus Christ! The Old Testament writings spoke of Jesus! If you c o n s i d e r t h o s e ministries, and you do not see the projection of Jesus Christ in their messages, you see nothing! That is why G o d r a i s e d u p p r o p h e t s a f t e r prophets, each one bearing a revelation, a portion of the Word, a revelation of Jesus

21 August 2007 Christ in prophecy. Oh my! Wake up, saints! The reason why they were the highest order is more than seeing v i s i o n s! I s a y t h a t because Gentiles, all they know is about s o m e b o d y s e e i n g visions to solve their carnal problems. They a r e s o c a r n a l l y m o t i v a t e d! B r o t h e r s and sisters, we are the children of light. Let us therefore be spiritual. To be spiritual is to have a mind of spiritual perception, bearing a r e v e l a t i o n, a t r u e u n d e r s t a n d i n g, because you are no l o n g e r l o o k i n g a t things according to your own individual thinking, or according to the views of the world, but according to the mind of the Spirit, as it is expressed in the inspired Scriptures. It is a revelation! That is w h a t m a k e s y o u spiritual! You cannot be spiritual more than the revelation of truth you possess! That is why being spiritual anchors upon the revelation of Jesus Christ! Outside t r u t h, t h e r e i s n o spirituality you can h a v e! Yo u w i l l b e divested of anything and everything you think you have! Your so-called spirituality must collapse, and will collapse, at the end of t h e d a y! C h u r c h, spirituality is by the revelation of Jesus Christ, anointed by his Spirit, true spirituality. T h a t b e i n g s o, i t means you have to look at things; you have to look at the ministry, with a right mind of appreciation, n o t c a r n a l l y. T h e highest order under the Old Testament was prophets. That is why those prophets all bore a revelation of Jesus Christ. It was more than just ministering to the carnal needs of the Nation of Israel. It was more for the revelation of God they bore for the Nation of Israel, for it spoke of Jesus! That is why, whether you talk of minor prophets, or you talk of major prophets, all of them spoke of Christ. I do not care whether you look at prophet Amos, or you look at prophet Isaiah, they all spoke about Jesus Christ! It i s a l o n g r a n g e p r o p h e c y o f C h r i s t they bore. Church, that Page 21 same Spirit of God which inspired them, enabled them to use t h e i r p r o p h e t i c r e v e l a t o r y c h a n n e l, (Are you with me?), w h e t h e r v i s i o n, o r h e a r i n g a n a u d i b l e voice, or a dream, for t h o s e a r e m e r e channels, to receive the revelation of God for Israel. But remember, the objective is the revelation of Jesus! Can I hear Amen?! I said the objective, the main o b j e c t i v e f o r t h e i r ministry, was to convey to the Nation of Israel, the revelation of Jesus Christ, whether they were major prophets, or minor prophets. The Spirit by which they spoke, is the same Spirit God released u n d e r t h e B e t t e r Covenant, upon men who are not prophets, but upon men who are strictly apostles, to bear the reality of the revelation of the New Covenant, a Covenant s p o k e n o f b y t h e prophets of Old. So, simply being a prophet is not all there is to it. It is bearing the truth of J e s u s C h r i s t t h a t makes the difference! That is what set the prophets of Old apart,

22 Page 22 because the Word of the Lord came through them, and that Word is not about your chicken that got lost. Yes, they could tell you that, but it was much more than that, and far above s u c h m u n d a n e projections, because t h e i r p r o p h e t i c ministry, if it is not t o u c h i n g o n t h e revelation of Christ, s e r v e s n o r e a l purpose! You are not hearing me. Because they are foretellers of Jesus Christ! So they were set in place by G o d t o p r o j e c t i n prophetic language, the ministry and the revelation of Christ. It is all about God's plan of redemption! It is all about God's plan of salvation! That is their real essence! That is w h y t h e y a r e t h e highest order! Why? B e c a u s e t h e y b o r e e v e r y r e v e l a t i o n o f truth under the Old Testament! But under the New Testament, t h a t a n o i n t i n g c h a n g e d, b e c a u s e under the New, you still have prophets, a n d t h e N e w Te s t a m e n t p r o p h e t s can still see visions. Prophets of the New can hear an audible voice. Those are mere revelatory avenues! B u t t h e i r p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n h a s n o w changed! You are not h e a r i n g m e. T h e i r function has changed, because their input has changed! Under the New Covenant, the better Covenant, the gospel of grace, the h i g h e s t o r d e r t o convey any and every revelation of truth are apostles, who hold a ministry higher than a N e w T e s t a m e n t prophet. Yet, the New Testament prophet can still see visions, but he is under the headship of apostles. What does that show you of the prophets of Old? They were what they were b e c a u s e o f t h e revelation of truth they b o r e! C a n I h e a r A m e n?! I f a n y b o d y s h o u l d h a v e understanding, it has to be the bride. We should know things about our God, and things that pertain to our kingdom. That is why when you come to the New Testament church, no prophet in the New Testament a g e, b o r e a n y revelation of truth, once August 2007 the New Testament was a c t i v a t e d b y t h e resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do not forget, the New Testament could not be in force until the death of the Testator! Are you with me? Once the New T e s t a m e n t w a s a c t i v a t e d b y t h e resurrection of Christ, showing that the New Testament is not only activated or operative, brothers and sisters, it is powerful! It is not only in force, it is also p o w e r f u l, a n d effective! Because by it, Jesus came out of the grave, broke the gates of death and hell, and came out a l i v e! H e c a r r i e d c a p t i v i t y c a p t i v e, Abraham, Job, Jonah, (Halleluyah!), Elisha, David, all those saints, Abel, Seth, Noah, he c a r r i e d t h e m u p, l e a d i n g c a p t i v i t y captive. He took them straight to heaven. It s h o w e d t h e N e w Testament is not only on, it is in force! It is e f f e c t i v e! C h u r c h, s i n c e t h e N e w Testament was put in force, the only order or fold of ministry on ground that day, when the church was born,

23 August 2007 and before the church w a s b o r n, w e r e apostles, the founding fathers of our faith. The founding fathers of our faith in Malachi 4, are not evangelists and prophets of the New Testament. It is strictly apostles! If we had apostolic fathers then, we will surely have apostolic fathers today. But we do not call them daddy. They are our brothers! And it does not matter how much anointing is upon them, they are still our brothers! And let me warn you, you will not call any ministry here daddy, because this is not Sango church, or "Bride Assembly". I will t e l l y o u t h a t. Yo u cannot call anybody here in the ministry, daddy! Your daddy is at home, if he is still alive! Here, we have only one Father, and He is in heaven. I am daddy only to my two sons, Jason and Mark. I did not see myself p r o d u c e a n y o t h e r children other than those two, naturally s p e a k i n g. Ye s, t h e bride of Christ is the fruit of the ministry, and as such, they are the children of the ministry. But still, we do not call them daddy. We do not! Do not be a foolish Gentile! Are you with me? Let me bring my message to a close. We will continue next service. But God helping me, I want to d o j u s t i c e t o t h i s message, trash it in every area, and give it out as a total package. T h e n i t s e t t l e s a l l questions. Then we s h o u l d n o t h a v e brethren asking any q u e s t i o n s B r o t h e r, but... But... But what a b o u t t h i s?... B u t, well... How do you see this?... But Brother Branham says... I had a p h o n e c a l l t h i s afternoon. I do not know the brother; I have never seen him before. He said, Is that Brother Amos? I said, Yes, it is. He said, This is Brother F a m o u s. H e s a i d, B r o t h e r, I a m a minister. I am in Bride Assembly. I saw one of your writings. He said, I love it. Please, I want it. I was told that you would give it to m e. I s a i d, Ye s, brother. If you want it, we will be glad to give you. He said, When can I come? I said, Page 23 When it is convenient for you. Just text me your postal address. H e s a i d, I a m i n L a g o s. I s F r i d a y okay? I said, It is okay. So, that gives us joy, and that lets us know our labour is not in vain. It is not in vain. Halleluyah! Church, let m e w r a p u p m y message. We must be mindful of p e o p l e o u t t h e r e, because God still has His children out there, b e f o r e t h e d o o r i s closed. But once the door is shut, nobody goes out, and nobody comes in. Perfection has to be in full force. Maturity has to come, because we have to get ready. Then you must realise, God will n o t a l w a y s k e e p adding. That is why I always warn, those of you who are coming in new, you have a lot of catching up to do, and nobody can do your studying for you. If that thirst is not in your heart, and all you want to do is just to receive religion, may God help you. But you will have to do your studying. You will have to do your praying. But if you

24 Page 24 are not enthused by the truth, if you are not interested in truth, you have nothing that will motivate you to play catch-up. I repeat, for those coming in new into the message, you have a lot of catchingup to do. If a person is enthused with truth, G o d w i l l s e e y o u through, but you must realise you have a long way to go, because forty something years o f l i g h t c a n n o t b e caught in one day. And there is not one tape t h a t c a n g i v e y o u everything. You must have a desire in your heart to want to know the truth. So, saints of God, under the New, the highest order are apostles. That is why the apostles minister by the same Spirit that was projected through the prophets. It is the same Spirit of God. W h a t G o d b o r e through prophets, He i s b e a r i n g t o d a y t h r o u g h a p o s t l e s. W h a t i s i t? T h e revelation of Christ! That is why under the New, no prophet of the New Testament church bore one single New Testament revelation of Christ, for the ministry to stand for. Every prophet of the New Testament, from the Book of Matthew to the Book of Revelation, received every truth they received, from the apostles, and used the truths they received, to minister to the bride. This had to be so, because when Jesus was on ground, he c o n s t i t u t e d o n l y a p o s t l e s. W h e n h e died, all you had were apostles. When the c h u r c h w a s i n t h e upper room, all you had were apostles. On the day of Pentecost, when the church was born, all you had were a p o s t l e s. I s J e s u s Christ not the same? S a i n t s o f G o d, apostles are the head of the ministry! So, there was no prophet t o b e a r a n y t h i n g, b e c a u s e t h e o r d e r ordained of God to bear the revelation of truth is not prophets. B u t t h e y s t i l l s e e visions, but they are a lesser fold of ministry, i m m e d i a t e l y u n d e r apostles. They still see visions, but not to the dimension of the Old Testament prophets, t h a t i s, i t i s n o t revelatory. You know August 2007 why? The Old Testament prophets had that ability, b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e bearing the revelation of Christ. The grace upon them, enabling t h e m t o b e a r t h e revelation of truth for the nation of Israel, is entrusted and invested in apostles, under the New Testament. That is why Paul could say, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep... Then you want to say he was a prophet because of that. He was not a prophet! But it is the Spirit of God as was in the prophets, that is also now in apostles. W h o w i l l t e l l t h i s movement that Paul is n o t a p r o p h e t?! I t c o n t r a d i c t s 1 Corinthians 12:27, and Ephesians 4, to hold that a man can hold two offices in the body of Christ! John the Beloved apostle was not a prophet, but look a t h i s e x p e r i e n c e! Listen to me, church, T h e r e i s n o N e w Testament prophet that even had the kind of experience he had. You did not hear me. T h e r e i s n o N e w Testament prophet that h a d t h e k I n d o f

25 August 2007 experience John had. Brothers and sisters, h e w a s c a u g h t u p c o m p l e t e l y, a n d h e was there for only God knows when, as God took him from one prophetic event to the other, through time. All that experience was given, in order for him to produce the Book of Revelation of Christ for the bride universal. So everything is about truth! Moses went up on the mount for forty days. Yes, he went up on the mount, and stood in the presence o f G o d, o n t h e mountain, but this one was caught up into divine presence! This man was caught up! John was caught up into Paradise! And I am not trying to compare, but I am trying to show you, you cannot lift one above the other. Each o r d e r b e a r s t h e standard in his own dispensation. And you cannot because of how God used the prophets under the Old, and you see men in the ministry in the New, men who bore the revelation of truth, having the same or similar experience, in the depth of the dealership of God, you n o w w a n t t o m a k e them prophets. You cannot! You would be a fool to do that! I do not say that to be rude, but to shake somebody! That is why I am going t h i s w a y, b e c a u s e prophets bore what t h e y b o r e, n o t b y themselves, but by the Spirit of God. But the a p o s t l e s a l s o b e a r what they bear, also not of themselves, but by the same Spirit! So there is no point in p i t c h i n g o n e o r d e r against the other. All are o r d e r s b e a r i n g t h e s t a n d a r d i n t h e i r respective dispensations! But under the New Testament, the highest o r d e r i s a p o s t l e s. Prophets under the New Testament, come under apostles, and t h e y r e c e i v e e v e r y truth they preach from t h e a p o s t l e s. S o, today, if a prophet is a true prophet, he will look for apostles. He will! But these socalled prophets will not! They are seeking to make a church, so that they can minister to the carnal needs of the people, and get more money, and build houses, and acquire lands, and cars. That Page 25 is the easy way to make it, because the world has problems. By the grace of God, on Thursday, as God leads, we will finish this message. But I am not going to go fast. I am going to go at the pace God is leading me, because it is not a b o u t f a s t n e s s o r slowness, it is about doing justice to the message of life, in order to be able to answer the questions of God's people, to give them an anchor in the Word of God. That is why I said, look at an apostle, John. Look at what he saw. Ezekiel o n l y s a w i t i n a measure. We will start w i t h t h a t w h e n w e come back. But you will see, because I want to show you why prophets under the Old, were what they were. What made the d i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t revelation of Jesus they bore. Do not look at the avenues. That is why when you look at the nine gifts of the Spirit, you do not see visions there, you do not see dreams there, you do not see the h e a r i n g o f a u d i b l e voices there. They do

26 Page 26 August 2007 not constitute one of the nine gifts of the Spirit you see in 1 C o r i n t h i a n s c h a p t e r 12, because they are just mere revelatory channels, particularly for the operation of the ministry! Prophets had these avenues opened to them, but apostles also have it, according to the will of God. I did not say they are able to see visions at will as a prophet, but if that is t h e a v e n u e G o d chooses to convey a r e v e l a t i o n t o a n apostle, he will see visions. That is why Paul also saw an angel stand before him. He told them, Don't be afraid. The angel of the Lord whom I serve stood beside me... Are you with me? Wake up! You are looking as if I am speaking Greek. Let us bow our heads in prayer. engulfed Laodicea, but F a t h e r, y o u h a v e delivered us by the anointing of truth, the eagle anointing you have released upon us at this evening time. I pray, may every cloud be dispelled in the lives of your people. May Jesus, the light of God, shine through our h e a r t s, d i s p e l l i n g every cloud, giving the glorious knowledge of God, into our hearts by the anointing of thy Spirit, through your Word. May you take these words, water it Father, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. The Lord bless you. Our heavenly Father, we thank God tonight. We thank you for your grace. Lord, I am just a man. I just look to thee Lord that you would h e l p m e, t h a t y o u w o u l d h e l p y o u r people. But Lord, there are so many clouds of darkness that have

27 August 2007 Page 27 He Pointed To The Word William Marrion Branham The Prophet and Star Messenger To this Laodicean Church Age

28 Page 28 August 2007 Announcement Our Convention dates for 2008 are as follows: May Convention: 15th - 18th May, Nov. Convention: 20th - 23rd Nov, All are welcome. If you need more information, or if you have any questions or any comments, please feel free to contact us at: pastor@bftchurch.org For Scribe requests, please send your to: b-requests@bftchurch.org Any prayer needs, please make your request to: p-requests@bftchurch.org For those who prefer to write, our postal address is at the bottom of this page. We look forward to hearing from you. DIRECTORY OF THE SCRIBE 1. The Foundation Of The Five Fold Ministry, Parts 1&2 (January 2007). 2. The Foundation Of The Five Fold Ministry, Part 3: The Uniqueness Of The Ministry (January 2007). 3. The Foundation Of The Five Fold Ministry, Parts 4&5: Testing For Faithfulness (January 2007). 4. Locating God: The Visitation Of God, Parts 1&2 (February 2007). 5. Affinity With Evil (February 2007). 6. Where Are We? (February 2007). 7. The Way Forward (February 2007). 8. The Plot, Parts 1-4 (March 2007). 9. The Seven Thunders In Relation To The Five Fold Ministry, Parts 1&2 (March 2007). 10. The Jewish Connection, Parts 1& 2 (April 2007). 11. The Third Pull (June 2007). 12. The Third Pull, And The Three Steps Into The Rapture (June 2007). 13. The Angel Of The Seventh Seal (June 2007). 14. They Came To Present Themselves, Parts 1&2 (July 2007). 15. The Invitation (July 2007). 16. The Promise To The Overcomer, Parts 1-3 (July 2007). 17. The Manifestation Of The Sons Of God (July 2007). 18. A Woman Rises In America (July 2007). 19. The Prophetic Ministry Of William Branham, Part 1 (August 2007). 20. The Prophetic Ministry Of William Branham, Part 2 (August 2007). The Scribe, except in the Convention months of May and November, is a monthly publication by Bible Faith Tabernacle, 30 Bajulaye Compound, Off Bajulaye Road, P. O. Box 3463 Shomolu, Lagos, Nigeria. It contains an edited version of a message preached by Bro. Amos Omoboriowo, and is distributed free of charge on request. Our Website: