FROM HERE TO ETERNITY – Part 26, 8/16/2020 pm

Bro. Allen’s Testimony:

It will be five years in November since I had the heart attack (November 2015).  The doctor asked me then if I wanted to do a treadmill test or have him check through blood work? I told him I do not want to do a treadmill test, so he did the other. After only one minute he stopped the test. Then they did an echocardiogram and the technician looked very concerned at what she was seeing. When the doctor came in after reviewing the results, he said: “You have had a massive heart attack”. That surprised me. He wanted to put me in the hospital that day, which was a Friday. I said: “No. I cannot until Monday”. When I went that Monday, they put in two stents.

I have had several electro-cardiogram (EKG) tests since then. Last month, in July, I had another one. He said your heart is getting stronger. He did another type of test and said he would let me know if anything is wrong. I never heard from him. Then I went to my family doctor. He checked my heart and had a smile on his face. He said: “Your heart checks out at 60”. I did not know what that meant. He told me that is the highest it can go, even football players’ hearts are no stronger than that.  He was happy and he told me; “You are batting one thousand percent; you have NO blockage”. I praise The Lord for that. He has been so good to me!

Ready for a Wedding

I am going back to the scripture I was on this morning. Where it said, hinder me not seeing that the Lord has prospered our journey, in the 56^th verse. The man was on a mission. He was representing Abraham. Abraham was representing God. As you go over into Romans and into Hebrews, you will find what God did in their lives at that time. We are in Genesis 24:56. This is one of the longer chapters. I went over much of it this morning. But there are other things in this that will relate to the same thing, concerning Rebekah. The woman was a very wise woman because she listened to God, and she believed the servant that God had sent unto her. Because of this, God honored her life and blessed her very much. “And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.” The servant was talking about Abraham when he said, “Let me go to my master.” But Abraham is not the first one he is going to meet. We will see what he did. “And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.” There was no hesitation in what she was saying. The family has listened to what the servant had said to them, and they are wanting to put it off for a little while. But the decision we have to make is a decision that cannot be delayed. We must decide the way that we are going to go now. I am not talking about tonight, but many have already made that decision that they are going to go wherever the Lord leads them.

I want to deal with other things in this, just to show the hand of God at work. People sometimes get discouraged. Things happen in the lives of people that discourage them. Sometimes it is our fault, sometimes it is just something the devil placed upon us. But God uses these things to work in our lives. I would have to look it up, but it is translated somewhere that Abraham was tempted of God. God does not tempt. As James said, God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. God tests, but God does not tempt people. To tempt somebody would be like if you had a child that you offered a firecracker to, a little two-year-old boy, then you are tempting that boy. Because he does not know what to do with it. God would never do that to us. But if you offer something to someone and you tell them the outcome of it, then that is not a temptation, it is a test. If it is your child or whoever it is, it is a test to see what they will do with it. My oldest grandson was told by his dad and his mom that the stove was hot. Finally, he touched it and burnt a place on his arm. The words did not help, but whenever the test came, then it did. He was checking to see if it really was what they were telling him, then he learned to stay away from that fire after he was burned. He had a scar on his arm for a while after that.

They called to Rebekah; will you go with this man. She said, “I will go”. No hesitation, no thought about anything else except that she had heard the message. The message came from the servant, it did not come from Isaac, the message did not come from Abraham, but it came from Abraham through a servant. God uses His ministry like that. Or He may use somebody else to speak to your heart. They have a message that should be heeded.  If I or someone else saw somebody that was about to be in trouble, then it is up to me or that other person that is looking on the scene, to try to stop what is going on, that they are not harmed. “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, (We know that is the truth, be thou the mother of thousands of millions…) and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.” That was something being spoken by her family here, but this was also spoken by God to Abraham just two chapters before: that his seed would possess the gate of his enemies (those that hate them). We see that in the life of Abraham. They are saying something here that they probably do not know what they are saying. “And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: (See? That was not all of it. They followed the man because the man is the one that had the message from Abraham. They had believed thus far, and they are going to go with the message they have heard. We have believed thus far; we are not stopping for something else or anyone else. Sometimes we get ourselves in trouble by listening to too many voices. There are voices out there, of which Paul gave warning, Peter gave a very strong warning concerning the things that would try to trip us up in our life. They were asking us to just follow the Lord because they had the word of the Lord. I believe that to be the case in this hour. I believe that sons and daughters of God are carrying a word in their heart that has been planted there by the Spirit of the Lord through the ministry that God has raised up throughout the years. I know it was told to the Philadelphian age that there was a door that was opened. We know Wesley opened that door and others walked into it with a message. We find different ones that lived out that message until it all came to the Laodicean age. I remember Bro. Jackson talking about one man that had prayed as people came across a certain bridge that whoever came across that bridge would fall under conviction. Everyone that came across the bridge that day fell under conviction of the Lord. We find the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. It is not something to be snubbed at, but it is something to be reverent to. Someone who really knows the Lord and has the voice of God in their hearts and in their minds, God may use through a prophecy or through tongues and interpretation. But whatever way it comes, it is a message from the Lord to tell someone something. We know there is a ministry that God has called. But God has also called children to follow up on that. When you look at it in 1^st Corinthians chapter 12, you see nine spiritual gifts. This is not nine different preachers. Some of it happens in the lives of other people. We know the gifts of the spirit are brought about differently in our lives. It may not even show up in someone as speaking in tongues or prophecy, but they have a call of God in their lives to be able to see something done. There are people that are called to pray for the sick and there are people that are called to do different things other than to minister. But they have a calling in their life, and it has worked through the years. We want to be sure that we pray about and respect that.

Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode on the camels, and followed the man…) and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.” It is not long after this until she is going to find something that has been talked about. It is not going to be long now until we find the one that has called us. He is preparing us now for that wedding supper that is to come. Verse 63: “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: (At the evening time, which we are living in today.) and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.” Her excitement is coming here at last, after a long ride. This was probably five or six hundred miles that they rode on camels to get there. You can see why the servant wanted to hurry back, because his journey would probably have been a month or longer if he had waited. But this way he is going to get back ten days earlier. Because there is excitement. There is coming a day whenever Israel gets her land back, that there is going to be excitement in the camp. We know our redemption is drawing nigh. As we look around us at things that are happening, we know redemption is drawing nigh. But we know when Israel gets her land back and begins to build the temple, that it will not be long then. “For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? (Who is this? She had never seen this man; she had just heard about him. We have never seen Him, we have just heard about Him, heard the truth about Him. Some may have seen different shapes or forms, but when we really see Him, it is going to be different than any shape or form that has been seen. What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us…) And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.” She took her veil and covered herself, she was getting ready for a wedding. No doubt she had her wedding dress ready. She got off the camel, ready to meet her bridegroom.

We can just ride this thing so long, one of these days it is coming to a climax. Then we are going to see the One we have been serving, that we have been worshiping, that we have been singing to, that we have been happy about. Why? Because He forgave us of our sins. Some feel that they have failed God and that maybe they have gone too far, but that is not the truth. That is not the truth, because Jesus went all the way to hell to preach to the imprisoned spirits, and also to bring with Him those that were in the paradise part of hell. The devil wants you to think you have gone too far. Why do I say these things tonight? Because I feel there is somebody that needs help. This could be the night that you receive that touch from the Lord that looses the binding that binds you, loosens that yoke that is upon you. It is not too late, but one day it will be too late. God is a God of mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. I feel somebody is walking very close to the edge. Things of the world have come in. You may have had a hard time. You may have had disappointments, but that is no reason to walk away from what is real and what is truth. Our life is more than what we can buy with money. Our life is more than our houses, our homes, our cars, our boats or anything in this life that we are trusting in. It may be that you thought it was too hard. What is the outcome of the other way? If this is too hard, then what is the ultimatum of a life without God? I do not usually preach this way; you know I do not. But when I read the story here, which is a reality, this happened almost four thousand years ago. The Word of God is always real. It was written for our learning, for our education in His curriculum, not in man. Colleges today are teaching all different ideas and opinions, Marxism and all such things to try to ruin the minds of young people. It is hatching out the different things you see in the streets today because of some professor who thinks like Lenin or Marx. They have stood up before young people and persuaded them that they were being misused and mistreated. I am not talking about young college people who have a purpose in life. I am talking about what the devil is doing to these young minds that think they know more than their dad and mom did. Because of that, they hate their parents. But here is Rebekah, a young woman, possibly in her early twenties that made a decision that she was going to follow God because she had heard about Him. The message was not just because of Abraham sending the message, it was because of God appointing a bride for a son that was going to be inheriting everything. It was not through Abraham because Abraham had children with different wives. It was through Isaac. “But, in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” The whole Jewish element of people rests upon this story that is happening here as we read it. (I call it a story, but it is reality.) If this decision had not been made, there never would have been a Jewish nation. You cannot just go and get anybody to try to fulfill the will of God. Esau did that. Esau was not someone that could be trusted.

Rebekah had said to the servant, what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? The servant said, “It is my master.” Therefore, she took a veil and covered herself… “And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.” We do not read it here, but he tells him the story, because we already know the story. He spent quite a bit of time telling him just what had happened.

I want to be able to tell after all this is over, that I have presented somebody to Jesus Christ, not to myself. It is He that we are elevating. The religious ministry of today has elevated themselves. The preachers who were in the pulpits this morning, are not there tonight. If there was a football game going on tonight, they would be there. But we have an interest in something else. The days and the times have been long. I never thought when I heard Bro. Branham that it would have lasted through 1977, because he had looked at things and said, the way things are happening, it looks as though it will be over by 1977. But then Bro. Jackson came along, and he did not think that his children would ever get through high school. But they went through high school and their children have gone through high school, and some of the next generation have finished high school. Time has moved slowly, but we feel the urgency now. Time is slipping away, but time does not matter to the saints of God because time will go into eternity. The children of God have eternal life already. I know Bro. Branham was looking for rapturing faith. It will take no more faith for a rapture than it will for our brothers and sisters that went in the grave for them to come forth. If you are a child of God and you are following the word of God, you will have rapturing faith. There is no mistake about it, we are on a journey that has been going on for two thousand years. It dates to the time of Abraham. Abraham was the father of the faithful. That is why God called him to be what he was. In Abraham shall all the families of the earth be blessed. But it came through Isaac. Isaac was the type of Jesus Christ. He only had one wife. He was the only one at that time that did. Look at the kings, look at David, look at Solomon, and Saul, and all the others that were kings after them. They had many wives. Sisters, how would you like to live with that? The thing about it is, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. It went on through Jacob, through Judah, and from Judah right on down to Christ. Jesus was born in the house of Judah.

I watched Jonathan Cahn the other night, there was something he said that I liked. He was talking about Jesus when He was baptized. I had never thought of this before. He said when Jesus was baptized, He was baptized by a Levite. That is the truth, but I had never thought about it that way. He said the mother of John the Baptist was a Levite, his father was a Levite, because Jesus had to be baptized by a Levite. This was the ministry of the Levites. I like that statement. It did not just happen haphazardly that Jesus was baptized. Bro. Branham said this, every offering before it is ever offered, had to be washed. Jesus, before His ministry ever started, He had to go to the river to be baptized by a Levite, John the Baptist. John had a different name than the Levites did. He presented Him, he stood there and said, Behold the Lamb of God, offering the sacrifice of God. That is what he was saying. This is God’s Lamb, this is God’s offering, prophesying before it ever came about that this was God’s offering. Jesus heard him. He knew it, especially from that time on. Whenever He was baptized, the Holy Ghost came upon Him, into Him. It did not just happen like a dove and fly and light on Him, it went into Him. He was injected with God. That is where the trinitarians have it all wrong. They think that Jesus was God. No, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. That is why we have forgiveness. To the Christian it says, confess your sins. He is willing and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. The Bible says to come boldly unto the throne of grace that you may receive help in the time of need. Verse 66 again, “And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, (Sarah had died three years earlier. Isaac had become a lonely man. He knew his mother had believed that she would have a son, she had to. God named him Isaac. Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent…) and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” For three years he had no comfort. But now he is comforted.

The Birthright

    

We will read more here in the 25^th chapter, starting with the 19^th verse. “And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.” He gets her from kinfolk. He does not just randomly choose a wife. She is his kin. Brothers and sisters, we are kinfolks by the blood of Jesus Christ. I am not your uncle, I am not your cousin, I am your brother. By the blood of Jesus Christ, we are brothers and sisters. This is not by what we have done. This is what He has done within us to make us become what we are. When Isaac took Rebekah, she did not become his property, she became his helpmate. It said he loved her. She has no children yet. “And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; (They did not have the testing like we do today to tell whether you have twins, but these children struggled within her. She realized there was something wrong. She did not know there were twins there, but God showed her something. The children struggled together within her…) and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.” This is the one that said, “I will go”. She went to inquire of the Lord, what is going on? God is going to talk to her. “And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, (He did not tell Isaac, He told Rebekah, two nations are in thy womb…) and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” She has an answer now from the Lord about what is going on within her. Two nations have already begun their struggle. Even in the womb they are struggling. They are looking for a position. “And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; (The struggle was not over. He had grabbed the heel while he was being born.) and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.” He had waited twenty years, from the age of forty to the age of sixty, before he had a child. Rebekah is probably around forty years old.

Then, they lived a lot longer than they do now. I saw where the oldest woman in America turned 116 years old. They asked her how she lived that long, and she said: I tried to live a good life and do the right things and I served The Lord.

I will read on; “And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, (That is sometimes a problem. I tried never to show respect to one of my children more than another. But sometimes people do. And many times, the other children feel that while they are growing up. I saw this happen in my own life. I saw it happen in the lives of other children, but it should not be. Because that leaves a feeling inside a person that is not good. And Isaac loved Esau…) because he did eat of his venison: (When Esau saw this happening, he kept pouring it on. He is wanting the birthright.) but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: (He thought he was going to die. I heard somebody preaching about this one time, he said he lacked something in his body. Yes, he lacked something, the spirit of Jacob, that is what he lacked. Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die…) and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; (He was not just satisfied with the words, he is wanting him to put some effort into it.) and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” In Hebrews Chapter 12 we find that he wept for his birthright, but there was no repentance because he had sold himself out.

Let us go to chapter 27. In this chapter you see something goes on that is very sad. This is a division that works out to God’s perfection. Sometimes family members are pitted one against another in order to fulfill God’s will. “And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.” Isaac has no revelation at this time. He is just going by feeling and going by sight. We are talking about the man now; we are not talking about the representation of Christ. “Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.” He is overlooking the will of God in order to satisfy someone that has already sold his birthright. “And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.” What is she going by? She is going by revelation. Isaac here is going by sight; by what he feels in the good meals that he has eaten from his son Esau. But God has taken his sight away. Otherwise, he never would have done this. My son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee…. “Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth.” There is some deceit that goes on here. This is a sad picture in a way. In order to fulfill the will of God, it is a sad picture. “And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.” Now this is the sad part of the story. “And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: (Does it happen? She takes the curse upon herself instead of Jacob.) only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.”

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are all buried in the same tomb. They carried Joseph’s bones back from Egypt. This was one of the prophecies he gave when he was still in the land of Egypt. The burying place is over there now. We were there. Jacob goes back to his cousin Laban. He spends twenty years there, two seven-year periods for two women and another six years he stays for Laban’s cattle. The death of every other woman is mentioned. Sarah is mentioned, Rachel is mentioned, Leah is mentioned. But Rebekah’s death is never mentioned. The curse falls upon her because this is a prophet, Isaac is a prophet. The curse falls upon her because she has taken the curse that belonged to Jacob unto herself, because she listened to the voice of God. It costs a lot to some people, but whenever you go into other scriptures, you will find that she was buried with Abraham, Isaac, and them, you will find that in another scripture. But it does not tell of her death, because Jacob is away when she dies. Because Isaac is the servant of God, the curse comes upon her, and she dies without recognition. But she is in the will of God, because God had told her in the vision what really was going on, and she was willing to sacrifice her life that the will of God might be fulfilled. That is dedication. That is somebody that loved God more than they loved their own life. She took this upon herself. His mother said unto him, upon me be thy curse my son, only obey my voice and go fetch me them. “And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.” See? This is all done in deceit, but it is all in the will of God. One reason why is when Esau was forty years old, that would have made Isaac a hundred years old, he married two Canaanite women. This showed he was not a child of God. It said he sold his birthright. Then when he saw that it did not please Rebekah and Isaac he went and married one of Ishmael’s daughters. He gets in the fire and does not know how to get out. He is much like Cain was, because he just buries himself deeper and deeper. Of course, he is blessed, but it is not the blessing of Jacob. It cannot be. It cannot happen twice. God does not have two Brides. I can prove this to you. He has people that will have to give their life, foolish virgins, and he has the great multitude, but they will never reign in the category of the Bride, because it calls them servants. They will have a duty to fulfill in the Millennium, but it will not be the same as the Bride of Jesus Christ. This is the highest calling there is. “And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.” All this must be done in order to get to the right place, but it is costing her her life, because she desired it to be that way. “And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?” He could hear him, but he could not see him. “And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” See? He could not go by sight; he was going by feeling. That was all he had left to be able to discern between one and the other. God is not showing him, because God has a purpose in it. Esau would never be the person that Jacob would be. “And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.” This is all deceit, but it is still working in the plan of God. It is working that way because God has blinded Isaac to the fact. Otherwise, he would have blessed the one that was not to be blessed. “And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of the raiment, (his brother’s raiment) and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” That is the story, I hope it has meant something to you. It did when I read it. Praise the Lord for His wonderful grace and being able to be acquainted with you as my brothers and sisters. We know that God is always near and a very present help. May The Lord bless you. Let us pray.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

(I Will Go)

Part 27, 8-23-20 AM

Protest The Devil

There is a lot of trouble going on in the streets today, as people are trying to shut down highways here in Louisville. People want something done according to their own choosing. Our protests today are inside of us, we protest the devil and what he is doing on this earth. It is not only what is happening right now but what has been happening in the past that has brought the earth to the present evil that is here today. The ways of man, the evil of man, brings him to no good end. We find the grace of God brings us to something that is worth living for and worth giving our lives for. May God be praised in it all.

I want to testify about a little trip we were able to take back to North Carolina where my grandparents lived.  I was able to contact some of my kinfolks I haven’t seen in 67 years and to go to the cemetery where my mother’s parents and other relatives are buried. We saw beautiful mountainous places where my mother grew up. We had a very close fellowship with some of my cousins. As a teenager I lived there for just a few weeks before moving back to Kentucky. Which was God’s plan. God will do whatever it takes to have His will fulfilled. We had a wonderful time with some wonderful kinfolks. It is good to know that you come from a family who loved God. And to see the untouched beauty that God created.

Aliyah

We will go into Zechariah 4 now. As we look at the book of Zechariah, one of the minor prophets, as they are called. Their revelation was not minor, they have a major message. There are some, like Haggai and others, that pertain to one vision or event that are just one or two chapters. But others, like Micah and those, tell you that Israel is going to get her land back. There is a sequence of events that is going to happen before the Lord comes back, but then whenever it all starts, it will be like a snowball. It will just keep building and building until the final event. When Israel gets her land back, then you can start counting time. We do not know when Israel is going to get her land back. I know Bro. Jackson said it will not be a forty-year war, or even forty days. In 1967 the war lasted six days. But whenever Israel gets her land back, then they are going to begin to build, and to tear down walls. The walls and the fences that surround it will be torn down because they are going to own the land that God gave to Abraham. Many Jews from the United States and Canada are going back home now. The word they use is “Aliyah” which means to ascend or rise. They are going ‘up’ to their home. They are landing there from other countries. We find there are more Jews in Israel now than there are in the rest of the world all put together. A few years back, there were more in the United States than there was in Israel. But they have gained momentum. They have moved from the United States and Canada, Russia, and other parts of the world where they can escape. God said that He would scatter them throughout this earth. You find them in China, in Iran, Iraq, you find them in Pakistan and India. Jews are scattered to the ends of the earth. Because God said He would do that to them. But the majority will go back home because they will come to realize the land is too small for them and they will push into Lebanon. You see Hezbollah now and some of those people that are trying to make tunnels into Israel, to be able to stock up for war. Hamas is building up. Israel has made peace with the United Arab Emirates, and that has agitated the Arabs round about them. They do not like it because Israel signed a peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates. But these are Abraham’s seeds. The name of the treaty is the Abraham Accords. Then we find that Israel is looking for peace now with Saudi Arabia. They have a peace treaty with Egypt, and they have a peace treaty with Jordan. But the peace treaty with Jordan or Egypt is not going to settle things. We find in the 63^rd chapter of Isaiah, which Bro. Jackson dealt with many years ago in the message titled “Showdown at Sundown,” as he talked about them coming from Iraq and that part of the world, across Jordan. You see these that are described as ‘round about’ in Zechariah 12 are going to come against Israel and Israel is going to have to take the land that belongs to them. People there have caused Israel so much trouble all along, which were the seed of Esau and Ammon (which today Amman, Jordan is named after). Also, the other descendants of Moab. You find these tribes here are closest to Israel. They are a part of Abraham’s family, but they have agitated the Jews all through the years so God is going to take care of that situation to bring about a change that will develop into a solution for Israel to get her land back. The Bible even talks about them “parting my land” in Joel Chapter 3. You see that in the things that are going on now. They have parted it. This part belongs to the Arabs and this part belongs to the Jews. The Arabs even want Jerusalem as their capital. Of course, they want the whole of Israel to be called Palestine. But I thank God for President Trump recognizing Jerusalem as their capital. You find Hamas and those groups will never make peace with Israel until it is forced upon them. Whenever peace is forced on them, all those that oppose peace will be shoved out. We find God has everything in His hand and knows exactly what He is doing.

The Two Olive Trees

I want to read here from the fourth chapter of Zechariah and see what happens here. I heard a man on television talking about the coming of the Lord. He was referencing Luke 21 and said that Israel was not represented by the fig tree, they were represented by the olive tree. He takes you to a place that speaks of that, but I knew right then and there that the man was wrong. You see that in the first chapter of Joel, and you see it in other places, where they “barked my fig tree” and all. Let us look at the scripture here. Zechariah Chapter 4, Verse 1: “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? (He is asking Zechariah, what do you see? What are you looking at? So there had to be a vision there of something as that angel speaks to him.) And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof.” You all know what a candelabra is as we call it. This is what he saw. Israel already has the real thing enclosed in glass. Those that have went there have seen it, the candlestick that will be used in the time of Israel recapturing their land. I do not remember how tall it is, but it is a beautiful thing. But what you looked at, that is what is going to be there during the Millennium. They have made it of material that will last. “And two olive trees by it, (We will find out what the two olive trees are.) one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” He changes the subject here but he is going to bring it back up later. “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” The scene looks ahead to the coming of Christ (the Headstone) to rule and reign because it brings it from the headstone of the second temple they are getting ready to build, to the third temple in the Millennium. “Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.” The foundation of the second temple was laid and the temple was finished in one generation of time back there in the fourth century B.C. Verse 10: “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” When you take ‘the eyes of the Lord’ into Revelation, you will see the seven spirits of God there. Now he goes back to the subject. “Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Go from there into the book of Revelation, Chapter 11, and see those two olive trees and their meaning. But first I want to go into part of chapter 10, starting with verse 5. “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven.” One hand. You see in the book of Daniel chapter 12, both hands. There it is speaking of Israel, which will go into the climax of the last three and one-half years. This one hand is a representation of the Bride of Jesus Christ and of the Jews. I have said this before and I say it again, whenever this seventh seal is opened in the first verse of the eighth chapter the scroll remains open, and it goes over to the message of the two prophets as they come on the scene. “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” Or no longer delayed. When you see time will no longer be delayed, this is the time when the Bride of Jesus Christ is going to exit this earth. The seventh verse is an interruption in order to speak of the prophet of our day, William Branham. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, (Which would be Revelation 3, with the Laodicean church age. William Branham was the messenger that was to climax that seventh church age, which came about in 1963 and 1964. That is when the age was closed out, as far as denominationalism. Then go down to verses 20 through 22 of chapter 3, and you will find: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”. That is why the Bride is here today, because Jesus Christ was put out of the denominational church. You see that in Revelation 17 where the great whore is judged at that time. Because she and denomi-nationalism have divorced themselves from The Word of the Lord and came up with their own version.

You see denominationalism in the end time in Revelation chapter 13. The United States as a lamb beast with two horns (the Democratic and Republican parties) causes those that dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast of chapter 13 (the beast out of the sea). Because most missionaries came from the United States and went around the world after WW2. Some of the generals such as General MacArthur as he was in the Philippines fighting the Japanese and all, he asked that the United States would send missionaries to those countries after they had been defeated. So, it went on from there and now we find that we are in that time. …But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel) when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” The mystery of God should be finished. What is that mystery of God? It is the Jews and Gentiles recognized here in these last days as being the ones that have been influential. The Jewish religion relates unto the Gentiles because that is where Paul’s message came from, from the Jewish prophets and going back in the Law to explain the Law as it was written. So right here you see the same book that is in the angel’s hand never closes. But it has a different unction because it is going back unto the Jews from here on. Because in this eighth verse it says, “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, (One more time he speaks to him.) and said, Go and take the little book which is open (See? It is open.) in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.” He is commanded to go and take the little book. The little book is taken out of the hand of Him that holds it and put into the hand of an angel. Because Jesus Christ is through with it, because the wedding supper is getting ready to start. When the wedding supper starts, then Jesus will be dealing with the Bride of Jesus Christ for her uniting with Him. “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” I would like to say somewhere in this period of time as this little book is taken out of his hand, the Bride of Jesus Christ is going to introduce the Lord unto these two prophets. Because the Bride is going to bring forth the message of who Jesus is unto those two Jews. We feel very strongly that we do know who the two are. We do not know who the man of sin is yet, whether it be this pope or another one. But when that time comes for the Bride to leave here, we will already know who that man of sin is. As Paul said in 2^nd Thessalonians, he will be revealed. When Israel gets her land back, do not think that the coming of the Lord will be stretched out for many years. If you do that, then you are going to be a part of those that 2^nd Peter talks about: “…since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were…”. We know who the fathers of the faith that fell asleep were. They were Bro. Branham and Bro. Jackson. Since the fathers fell asleep, some will begin to say, ‘well He has delayed His coming’ and they will begin to plan for the future. It is especially important that our plans today are plans to serve God and let the future take care of itself. That is the only way it can be. “And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Their prophecy will be seen by many because when the two prophets stand in Israel, and all the miracles take place when they are opposed, the television cameras will be on them. They will prophesy to many people, but many more people will hear the message of the 144,000 that are ignited by these two prophets.

Now, in chapter 11, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: (This is a measuring stick given unto him to measure what is going to happen here in the last days with Israel. Because it changes here from the time that he takes the little book, or the scroll, and here is the message of the scroll that he is looking at. From the time of the rapture of the Bride of Jesus until the two prophets come on the scene, you see no interval of time elapsing. Because the Jewish revival must be happening in the first three and one-half years. As soon as they get their land back, they are going to begin to build the temple, but the revival starts under those two prophets. What happens? They are going to see the hands and feet of Jesus. They will ask Him, ‘Where did you get those scars in your hands?’ Then they will realize that this is their Messiah that they had missed. There was given me a reed like unto a rod…) and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, (The temple is already there whenever the time comes that the Bride is ready to leave here. As you look at Isaiah 52:8, you will see that when Zion comes forth, then we shall all see eye to eye. We will be able to sing the same song together without hesitation. Measure the temple of God…) and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” This is after the treaty of Daniel 9:27, the treaty they will make for one week (seven years). They have not made it for one week, but God makes it last for one week. They think they are making a treaty that will always be. Look at Germany, they thought that when they started the war, that they would whip everybody. Hitler and the leadership there said that we will set forth a kingdom that will last a thousand years. It did not last that long, it only lasted about seven years. Then it was defeated after they began to persecute the Jews. In 1948, when Israel became a recognized nation, that was a time that was marked. As it says in Luke 21:32: “This generation” (of 1948) “shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” We may go there later. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” That is the first part of the seven-year period. The reason I read from Zechariah 4 is right here. “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” It mentions two candlesticks. Two olive trees and two candlesticks represent both Jew and Gentile. Here are the two prophets as they are in their sackcloth, blowing their trumpets because it is time for the trumpets to be blown.

God has everything under control for that three- and one-half year period. He is not going to be defeated by any means of some deal that Israel has made with the beast. Israel makes a deal with the beast and then the false prophet is on the scene. You cannot have that deal with the beast, which is Europe, the ten horns. Europe must build themselves an army. The United States has to fade into the background. We will no longer be the police force of the world. You can see things happening right now that will bring an end to the United States being the police force of the world. Countries are now realizing they must have their own armies; they have to do all of this for themselves. Here are the two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth… “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” We see that time is going on now and we are living in a generation in which seventy-two years (seventy-five at the time of this printing) have passed already since 1948. If you add another seven years, that will give you seventy-nine (eighty-two) years, which is still in that generation. Whenever Israel gets her land back, you can begin to look for things to be happening quickly in the Middle East. Scriptures being fulfilled will be like dominoes falling, one in succession after another. I do not know when the coming of the Lord is, but I know it cannot be too long from that time. I do not know when the time will be that Israel will get her land back, but I know when that time comes, it is not going to last another generation. This generation must be people old enough in 1948 to remember what was happening. They may have been eight or ten years old. The youngest person in Israel that was spying for Israel was a ten-year-old boy. They would not suspect a small boy being the one that was spying for Israel. They finally killed him when he was ten years old. They have his grave among the Jewish troops and leaders because of his courage and what he did for Israel.

The Fig Tree

Now I want to go to Luke 21, verses 29-36. “And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; (See? This is bringing in not only the fig tree but all the trees. In Matthew it talks about the fig tree. Here it talks about all the trees, not just the fig tree. Because there must be a recognition of what is going on among all nations, not just Israel.) When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. (Now this is where we get it from.) Verily I say unto you, This generation (the one we are living in now, from the time that Israel became a nation. Bro. Branham referred to 1947, but that was when they were given that opportunity to become a nation. But they were afraid, so they waited until May 14th of 1948, as Isaiah said: ‘a nation shall be born in one day.’ This generation…) shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” Now Jesus goes ahead to emphasize what He is saying here. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: (Peter talked about that, that it would pass away with a great heat.) but my words (the words which He has spoken) shall not pass away.” They are etched in The Word and The Word is what we must stand on today, The Word of the living God. Now we will finish out in the first chapter of Joel and see if that man was right that said Israel was represented by an olive tree not a fig tree. Verse 1, “The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children and their children another generation.” What he is saying is from generation to generation to another generation, let this be known. “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, (That is talking of Nebuchadnezzar, he was the head of the lion. I remember Bro. Jackson going over all these bugs. He said that was exactly the same thing as the four beasts that Daniel saw. Only here they are mentioned in a smaller manner, but it is the same thing. Whose teeth are the teeth of a lion…) and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: and made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” Israel is represented here by a fig tree and by a vine, which the tendrils go throughout the whole earth. “The meat-offering and the drink- offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord’s ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” It all withered away in 70 A.D. “Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat-offering and the drink-offering is withholden from the house of your God.” That is talking about God’s presence no longer being there. “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord.” Now let us move on to the second chapter. Verse 23, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” This is talking about the revival that will happen. “And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats (vats) shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.” It is talking about the four beasts there from Daniel. “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.” That will be when He restores what the cankerworm and all these other insects have eaten. That will be Israel’s revival whenever that time comes. Let us pray.

To be continued in next issue…

Preached on August 9, 2020 AM

I have been on this subject for some time. Much has been going on in this time and it does not seem like things are going to change that much, because of the way things are headed, and all the demonstrations. The Democrats, sad to say, they say these are peaceful demonstrations, which we know is a lie. When policemen are being blinded by lasers. At last report, twenty-one have been injured by lasers and some have completely lost their eyesight. That is not ‘peaceful’. I saw someone demonstrate how the laser would work. They shined that on a certain spot, and it burned a hole in it immediately.

Whenever you injure over eight hundred police officers in different ways in the last three months or so; these are not peaceful demonstrations. It is something hatched up by the devil. They just want to say that policemen are not needed. The mayor of Louisville had been involved in this demonstration too. He was at a certain place and so many demonstrators gathered around him that he had to call the police to get him out of the situation. They think it is all right not to have any police as long as you do not need them. But when it comes to the time they are needed, then they will call on the police. It is a miserable situation that the world is in this morning. In Portland, Oregon they are piling Bibles in the streets and burning them. Somebody is going to pay a great price for all that they are doing, in order to push their devilish ideas on mankind.

Putting Scriptures in their Rightful Positions

I will go back to the scripture in Ezekiel Chapter 47 this morning. As I said last week: Ezekiel 47 will be the natural representation of the spiritual that is seen in Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation. You will see the similarities as we look at it, concerning Israel and the Bride of Jesus Christ. We know looking back at the scripture in Revelation Chapter 21, that the twelve tribes of Israel will have something to do concerning the city, because each of the twelve gates are named after each tribe’s Patriarch. We see that in the last part of Ezekiel Chapter 48.

First, I want to look at this part in Chapter 47. At the end of Chapter 46, Ezekiel is finishing up with the courts of the tabernacle. The tabernacle, at that time, is an earthly tabernacle, with earthly leadership, that is going to be God-designated leadership. There are the sons of Zadok among the Levites, which will be the head of the leadership, there in Israel. This is all concerning Israel, the temple, and all that is built. We know this is going to happen before long because it has to be there whenever the two prophets come on the scene.

We have looked at that, and it was looked at by Bro. Jackson. There are certain things there that Bro. Branham was not given because he lived in a different age of time, and he did all that he was supposed to do. He said that himself during the seals. He said, I must decrease, just as John the Baptist, but there will be someone else that will point you further. I understand that it was Bro. Jackson’s ministry, which reaches on into this time. May God be praised that we are living in this time. That we are able to see the things that God has provided for the End Time Ministry. Because it tells in the 4^th chapter of Ephesians, that the Bride will be perfected by a ministry. (God is very specific on that). He gives us a fivefold ministry for the perfecting of the saints. That is the Bride ministry’s obligation today. Years ago, there were many preachers that filled the platform. Even over the baptismal pool there were two additional rows of preachers that were here until 2008. Then most of them who were ministers at that time, chose another direction. Bro. Bud stood with us, but there were not many others that did. They all left and thought they had the answer. But look at them today. They are so mixed up and confused. They have lost their congregations and especially their young people. I was thinking of the young people singing here this morning. None of them were alive when Bro. Jackson died. All of them have come on the scene since that time and now they are growing up.

After Bro. Jackson was gone, everybody was looking at 2004 ½ as being the time period that something would really happen in Israel, to bring about the change. But God has everything in His hands, and we cannot measure time for God. We do know what the Bible says concerning the fig tree. That there will still be people living that saw the State of Israel coming into existence. So, we know we are very close to that time. Israel was recognized in 1948. (They were already recognized in 1947, I know Bro. Branham mentioned 1947 as being the time, but the Israeli leaders were afraid to go forward). Then on May 14, 1948, Ben-Gurion went ahead and announced they were going to be a nation. Then Truman and others declared Israel to be the nation of the Jews. Israel’s borders have since been parted many times. Now there are more Jews in Israel than there are in the rest of the world. The United States used to hold that position, but now it is Israel. I forget how many thousands more have registered to go back to Israel from the United States this year. They have to go back to fulfill what the scripture says. To get the 144,000, (twelve thousand from each tribe) that will be able to preach the gospel during the tribulation time. They will preach the gospel for that last three- and one-half years throughout the world. To all people; Gentiles, and Jews and so on. They will be ministering the message that God has given them, ‘keep away from The Beast.’ That is their main message, but there are other things listed in Revelation Chapter 14, where each angel is bringing a message to those 144,000. Then last of all, Jesus himself is upon that white cloud, reaping the 144,000 as the last part of the first resurrection. This will be done right at the end of the tribulation time, after the ones that have given their lives for the testimony which they held, both Jews and Gentiles. I know I have gone over several things here this morning, but it is nothing new, it is just bringing them together in their rightful position.

As we look at this scripture in Ezekiel, I want you to understand that this is a replica of Revelation 21 (it is not the same, it is the natural). Revelation 21 is the Bride, (the spiritual) and what her job is during the Millennium. Where we see that the healing of the nations that were saved as natural people during the tribulation will be brought about in the Millennium by the leaves of the tree of life. In Ezekiel we see something that is in the natural, that represents the spiritual in Revelation 21 and 22. Ezekiel 47, verse 1: “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, (That would be toward the Mt. of Olives, the forefront will face that direction.) and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.” He is still looking eastward at the south side, which the waters go from the altar there, because whenever Jesus comes back and stands upon the Mount of Olives, then there is going to be an earthquake that no doubt will cause this. It doesn’t say so, but it will open up that ground there, to let the waters come out, because they will go right back down into the Kidron Valley and on eastward. On the west side they will go toward the great sea (Mediterranean Sea). You have that happening during the time that Jesus stands on the Mount of Olives, and the mount is split. We see that God knows everything. He knows exactly where everything is. For one thousand cubits the water is ankle deep, then it goes on down and gets deeper, so somewhere there is a river underneath Jerusalem. The earthquake will cause the mountains to come down unto that river. Here in Ezekiel, it mentions that the waters go only one direction, east toward the Dead Sea. But then in Zechariah, it tells us it goes east and west into both seas. You can see how this is brought about. “Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.” I remember when Bro. Jackson first preached this in the middle 1970’s. A preacher that was here at that time, he left saying that Bro. Jackson was trying to mess up Revelation, because Bro. Jackson said that he was going to put it in chronological order. This preacher said that Bro. Jackson was changing Revelation. But Bro. Jackson just put them in the order that they would come. Then this preacher went to a meeting and was preaching this water running out is the Holy Ghost. It had been less than six months since Bro. Jackson had preached on this 47^th chapter here. “And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, (This is fifteen hundred feet or so.) and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.” See? It is running fast here because of the slope it is on. That is the reason it is only to the ankles. But then we see it is beginning to head for land that is more level. “Again he measured a thousand, (more cubits, which would be three thousand feet) and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. (It is leveling out now.) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.” It is getting deeper all the time because it is leveling out. “Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.” Unless you swim in it, you could not pass over. You couldn’t walk through it at that point. You could walk to it up to the loins, although it would be swift at that point. “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.” Back to the beginning of the river. He sees that this is not some little water way, it is getting very deep. There is much water coming out from under the altar. “Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.”  When you look at the tree of life, you are seeing the same thing as you are seeing here, but this is natural. The tree of life is spiritual. As I said, this is a replica of the real tree of life. “Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, (which would be the Dead Sea) and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea the waters shall be healed. And it come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.” What is going to happen here, whenever you go to Zechariah, you are going to see the river going east, and you are going to see it going west. It will empty into both the Dead Sea and the great sea. The fish will be able to cross over from the Mediterranean, because they are the same kind of fish. “But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.” That is the outside. But the inside of the sea is going to be healed. People will no longer be able to float on it like they do now, because it is going to be good water. “And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, (or fruit. Everything that is mentioned in the Bible, if it is bread or whatever, it is mentioned as meat. It just meets the need. This will be fruits, nuts, and everything that is needed for people to eat.) whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: (The trees will not run out of fruit, they are going to be very fruitful. For some forty miles to the Dead Sea, there is going to be all kinds of fruit trees and nut trees.) it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: (This is where they issue out from, the sanctuary, to go into both seas. You can see it is pure water that comes out of there. You might say, “How in the world can saltwater fish swim from one sea to the other (the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea) in a freshwater river?” As you look at this, you see the river comes out of God’s sanctuary. So, God is a healer of the waters. If He wanted to, He could just take and throw them from one to the other, but He is not going to do that. He is going to do it as it is said here. God is perfect, we are imperfect. Man is imperfect in his ways. He never will catch up with God, because God is a thinker, God is a meditator. He meditates on what He is going to do. We thank The Lord for that.) whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” There is a medication that comes out of the leaves of that tree. Revelation 22 tells you about this, it says for the healing of the nations. The healing of the nations will have to come through the Bride ministry in the Millennium. We are looking at both Israel and the Bride during the Millennium.

Israel will be guided by twelve apostles. They will force judgment upon Jerusalem and upon the rest of the nation of Israel. It will be forced. I know you read in the book of Revelation, the seventh chapter, the tribe of Dan is left out of that because of their transgressions. But when we go to Ezekiel, Chapter 48, you will see Dan is back in there again, because he is a part of the twelve tribes. But the tribe of Dan was forbidden to be a part of the ministry, because of their transgressions. God remembers that they were the first to go to Baal worship. All of this happened more than thirty-five hundred years ago. Dan, of course, was in the upper part of Israel, he was the last tribe going north. At that time travel was very slow, whether they used horseback, donkey, camel, or whatever. Dan thought that it was too much to travel all the way to Jerusalem to do sacrifice, so they worshipped idols that Jeroboam had made. But travel will be different in the Millennium. Because there is going to be a speedy travel for people, from the north to the south. Now we can travel six hundred miles in a day’s time. This is the way it will be, probably much quicker than that. Even now they have trains that will go two hundred miles an hour. God has it all planned out for the Millennium. We will not have to worry about that.

 Now let us go to Ezekiel 48. These are all represented in Chapter 21 of Revelation. Here are the twelve tribes, equal to the twelve gates. It was Israel through which we got the gospel. Paul got his revelation from the Old Testament, from the prophets mostly, because he did not speak much of the first five books of the Bible. He did not go into that very much, except for Abraham. Abraham was the father of the nations, and when we look at the scriptures here, we see the way it came about. Verse 30, “And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.” That would be reeds. Reeds are what he used in measuring the city and everything of that nature. “And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.” See? That is where Dan is brought back into leadership during the Millennium. “And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.” He is measuring this, a perfect earthly city. This is the city itself. I know we have the city marked out, much of it for the Levites and the sons of Zadok, then for the prince, he offers the sacrifice and all, he does the work of a high priest also. It says so in another translation. “And at the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about eighteen thousand measures; and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.” This will be the name of the city.

I want to go to Zechariah now, which is also repeated in Joel. Zechariah 14, verse 8: “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; (The same thing as in Ezekiel.) half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: (We see here the plan that God has that the waters will flow to both seas.) in summer and in winter shall it be.” This is during the Millennium. I know some have questioned whether there would be winter during the Millennium. It says there will be, and there will be rain also during that time. Because during the first part of the Millennium, God has not completely drawn the water back up. But by the end of it, the water will be back in the atmosphere as it was at the beginning of time. I could go to Joel Chapter 3:17-21, which says the same thing.

Run with Patience

But I will go from this to Hebrews. I want to look at the 8^th verse of chapter 11. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” This is the leadership of God. God don’t always tell you everything. He will tell you He is going to do something, but He is expecting you to follow Him. If we follow Him, then we will know the direction we are to take. If we don’t follow Him, then we won’t know where we are going. But Abraham believed God, it tells us right here. But he went, not knowing where he went because, you will see, he was looking for something else. “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (that is, tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” The promise is that there was a land for them. The promise to Abraham was that in his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Paul brought that out plainly in his writings. He said it was seed, not seeds. Seeds is many, that is what Paul said, it was a seed, one special seed, which was Christ. “For he looked for a city (He was looking for a city because God had shown him something. God had shown him that there was a city that was coming, but He didn’t give him the answer to it. But Abraham looked for that city, which we are looking for, the same city. He looked for a city…) which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Which had foundations, twelve foundations, which is the twelve apostles. “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, (The promises of what? The promises of that city they were looking for. They didn’t receive that, or they didn’t receive the promise of the Holy Ghost.) but having seen them afar off, (They were able with God’s telescope to look into a great future, because God had shown them something concerning a city.) and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” This is what they saw, what Abraham saw. It was what he looked for. No doubt that was what Jacob saw when he saw the ladder reaching into heaven. It was there, but it was far off from where they were at, at that time. “For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.” A kingdom. Now he goes back to what Abraham could have done. “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.” But this wasn’t their aim. They weren’t mixed up in their revelation. I will say this to you this morning, if this is growing old to you, you better get it fixed up. If you think that this world is your home, you don’t have much to live for. This world is going to pass away. All the beautiful things that you can gather, whatever it would be, is going to be gone. We don’t want to be left with it. Whenever that move comes, we don’t want anything here on this earth to hinder us. Because there is a city waiting. “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Now I want to go on to the 32^nd verse, “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” That is not talking about alien beings. That is talking about the people who were on the earth. Some people are so mixed up, they think that angels came down and became flesh. That would make them creators, if they could do that. Don’t ever think anything like that. There are prophecy preachers that believe that. They are on television telling that story, which is a lie. There is no such thing as angels changing themselves into physical beings. They are spirit beings, the way that God made them. “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented: (Of whom the world was not worthy:) (They were looking for something else, the world was not worthy of them. The world is not worthy of the Bride of Jesus Christ today. They are not.) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (They did not get to the promise that they had seen, the city that they had seen, they didn’t get it. Why? Because of the Bride of Jesus Christ. As it says here…) God having provided some better thing for us, (a better thing than what they had, what they expected) that they without us should not be made perfect.” What they looked for, they couldn’t obtain, because the shed blood of Jesus Christ was not yet spilled. They looked forward to that time, because God put a revelation in their heart, that they might be able to do that. We will go on into the 12^th chapter, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, (the ones he just mentioned) let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Are we running with patience, or do we have something else in mind? Anybody that is running in a race, that race that they are in is what is on their mind. They are not thinking about what they can do tomorrow or the next day. They are thinking about winning the race. That is our aim, to win. We don’t want to be losers. A loser has nothing. There is a blue ribbon waiting for those that win. I don’t want a red ribbon, or white ribbon. I remember the old country fairs, and when the old country schools got together to compete. If you won something you got a ribbon). “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him (the joy set before him. He was looking at the glory that he would share, instead of looking at the moment of what he had to go through. He saw all that he would go through, but He knew without that there would be nothing. Without the shed blood of Jesus Christ, there would be no hope in this world. Paul goes into that himself in the book of Ephesians. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him…) endured the cross, (endured, that is not a great word, it was an endurance, it was a time of shame, and disgrace that He went through for us, not for himself, but for us. He didn’t need to die for himself. He needed to die for us.) despising the shame, (Now here is what He was looking for.) and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And The Bible says we shall sit with Him in His throne. “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.” A rebuke can come in many ways. It can come through sickness; it can come through family members. These are chastisements and rebukes that sometimes we go through in order to be chaste virgins. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” He scourges every son, or daughter, whom He receives. “If we endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Bro. Jackson went over that one time. He said, there are some children you have to use the law on, others you can just rebuke and that hurts them as bad as the whipping would hurt others. Go on down to verse 18, “For we are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, (That is what he is talking about, in the mountain of Moses, when he was receiving the Law. A trumpet there sounded all day and all night. God blowing the trumpet.) and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.” The children of Israel did not want the word, because it was a rebuke to them. “(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Zion, (This is our occupying place today. We have come into Mount Zion,) and unto the city of the living God, (What great and gracious promises we have. We are there now, not physically, but spiritually we are already there. Whenever you receive the Holy Ghost and follow The Word of God, then you are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.) the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.” This is where we are at now. We haven’t received the change of our mortality into immortality, but we are standing on holy ground. I am not talking about with our feet, but with our faith. “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, (firstborn, a new birth) which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Prayer.

Preached on August 16, 2020 AM

There is a move today in America that is Communistically inspired. You may be sitting here and not realize that, but it is closer than what you think. These things that are being done and said today in public, some are even calling themselves Marxists. They are the heads of some of these groups that are leading riots and things of that nature. In the daily life we have now, we do not realize what is really going on by just listening to the news. There is something going on today in the nation we have grown up to love and be a part of, and to the flag we do respect. It is a different time we are living in. Maybe some of the words I speak to you this morning does not mean a whole lot to you, but I hope sooner or later in time that you do realize just what time we are living in. We have never lived in a time like this. This is not my main message, but it is something I wanted to talk about a little bit before I go into the main message. If you are just thinking about daily life and that what is going on is just a happening, it is not just a happening, it is something very real. We are entering into a time that we have never been in before. Every regime that has promoted Communism is focusing on America right now. They call it Socialism, but Socialism is just a step away from Communism. When Socialism is induced, then Communism follows. They want to make it sound good in every way they can by giving people free stuff, but really, they are just gutting the nation from the things that God has blessed it with. If God is not in it, then it is a far-fetched idea of man to try manipulating people’s minds into thinking that everything is going to be all right. If certain things happen in the next few months, then we are in great danger. I believe we are already. But we do have the blessings that God is blessing us with. I am looking ahead a short few months to a change in this country if America does not take heed. But God has promised to take care of His children. He has left us that promise and today we hold to that promise. America today is not the America it used to be. We are going to be able to notice the changes soon, as they are already happening right now. I just wanted to go into that a little bit before the main message.

I Will Go

We have scriptures to read from the book of Genesis, 24^th chapter. I was thinking about this, I am likening this setting in Genesis to the Bride of Jesus Christ, only in this reading it is the bride of Isaac. But Rebekah is very much a type of the Bride. In the gospel setting of Abraham and Jacob, Isaac is the only one who does not have more than one wife. This sets a type of what Christ was to be, as you see it in the book of Hebrews. We read last week from the book of Hebrews, about Abraham and the city he was looking for. Abraham was looking far beyond the time he was living in. He was even looking beyond the time that Christ would come, but he was looking at Christ as being that centerpiece of that city that was to come. It tells us that in Revelation 21 and 22. We have evidence of it throughout the scriptures, and in this chapter of Genesis, it is a great story. I have interjected another thought into this message, which is “I Will Go.”  Just three words, I will go. You will see that as we read this scripture. “And Abraham was old, (He was a hundred and forty some years old at that time.) and well stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:” He is making sure his servant is making contact with him. Abraham will be sending his eldest servant to find a bride for Isaac. He is not going, and Isaac is not going. A type of the hour we are living in right now. God has called messengers for this hour, as he has through the ages of time. From Peter and especially from Paul and so on as we come through centuries of time, right on down into each age. God had a man on the scene in every age. We know at Sardis, there was Luther. Then the next age, which was Philadelphia, had Wesley. Then it comes on down to the time of William Branham, the seventh church age messenger. It is all written in the Bible, you see each one, and Jesus has these in His hands. The Bible says He does, the seven stars in His right hand. The seven stars are seven messengers. This is written in the 1^st chapter of Revelation, in the last verse, it calls them angels, which are angel messengers, inspired by angels. There is no better illustration of that than in Bro. Branham’s ministry, because when he pointed out somebody who had something wrong with them, he always waited on the angel of the Lord to show him the problem. Many times, he would tell them the problem, then he would tell them the cause of the problem and tell them they must do certain things in order to get rid of the problem they had. Many people came to that point but did not go beyond that when he told them what to do. When I lived in Burkesville, I remember talking to Bro. Branham’s nephew; he was probably in his 30’s or 40’s at the time, Bro. Branham had prayed for his nephew, but nothing happened. I did not doubt, but it did leave questions that needed an answer. It was not long until I found out that the man had not done what Bro. Branham had said for him to do. This happened all throughout his ministry. People said that Bro. Branham promised them certain things, but then they died, because they did not listen to the words that were said unto them. Some had their own ideas about it, and they thought it did not mean anything, but it did mean something. He even told people to go to the doctor and be checked out. He told Sis. Jackson that, to go to the doctor and have that checkup. When she did, I think it was three days later, then the thing left her, not to bother her again. So, it is important that we take heed to the word of God and the things that the ministry is saying in this hour that we are living in. Just because Bro. Branham passed away and Bro. Jackson passed away, does not mean the word of God passed away. The word of God is still real today in the hearts and minds of the children of God. We are the children of God by faith. We are the Bride of Jesus Christ by faith. It is a working that God is doing in our lives to increase our hope in the hour in which we live, to be able to make it out of here. It is not just words, because we see in Ephesians Chapter 4, the ministry that God raised up was not just one person. That ministry is a fivefold ministry. As Bro. Branham and Bro. Jackson were ministers of God, there were men in the time of Wesley that rose up and carried the same message that God had placed in that time, as well as men in Luther’s time. Even Luther’s great uncle, they killed him one hundred years before Luther came on the scene. His uncle told them: now you kill a stork, but there will be a time come when there will be a swan. When the time came, it was Luther, one hundred years after they had killed his uncle. Just because there has been several years since these men passed off the scene, the message is still important today. It is still being carried to the saints of God. Just because Abraham died did not mean that it had lost its affect. You see the effects of it in the apostle Paul’s writings where he talked about Abraham. Then he talked about Isaac in two different places. One time in Romans and one time in Hebrews. He said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Why would he say that? Because Abraham had many sons.

I would like to say something about that this morning. Abraham had a son by the Egyptian woman, and he had sons by Keturah. This past week something happened in the Middle East that is fulfilling scripture. Israel signed a treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). You might think that did not mean anything, but it did. Because that is an Arab nation and a part of Abraham’s seed. They are expecting now that Saudi Arabia is going to sign a peace treaty with Israel. We are living in the time that God is working. You might ask, why do you say that? When the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 happens, what is said? When Gog comes through Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they ask: what are you doing, coming for a spoil? That is oil.

All Muslims are not Arabs. The Middle East is filled with Muslim people in countries such as Iran and others that are not a part of the Arab people. The Arab people are Abraham’s seed. That is the reason they are called Arabs. Even parts of Iraq are inhabited by Ishmael’s lineage and parts of Saudi Arabia such as Havilah where Ishmael dwelt. But then Abraham’s seed was scattered all the way from near the Egyptian border, all the way along the border of the sea, all the way into the United Arab Emirates there. Now we find Iran is causing trouble in the Strait of Hormuz, and various places today. That is what is going on. I am not meaning this to be a news cast this morning, but a few days ago when that peace treaty was signed it fulfilled scriptures. It might seem strange to some people, but these things must be in order to fulfill the scriptures such as Ezekiel 38 and 39. These countries are not against Israel with Gog then. They are not Communists, they are Muslims, but that is going to change. Whenever they signed that peace treaty with Israel, it means somewhere they are recognizing Abraham is their father. What is the name of the treaty?  It is the Abraham Accords!

“And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.” Now Jesus Christ is in heaven today. Abraham, as we read about him here, is a representative of God. Isaac, a representation of Jesus Christ, is not out looking for a wife. This is one of the last duties of Abraham. He is sending his eldest servant out. Why would he use his eldest servant? Because he had been around longer, he knew the thoughts of Abraham, he knew what God had done through Abraham. No doubt when Abraham met Melchizedek, this servant was there. No doubt when Abraham rescued Lot, he was there. He was there all the way back when Abraham began to take on servants. He was the eldest. He was somebody that Abraham trusted. He had many other servants, but this was his most trusted servant. This is the thing that is going on in the ministry of Jesus Christ today. They must be trusted servants. Men who will carry on the Truth and will not fail in the latter times, no matter what the latter times may bring. It will still be the truth. “But thou shalt go unto my country, (He is sending him back to his own country from which he came from, because he is wanting to find Isaac’s bride among his kinfolks. He wants his kinfolks involved in this. He is looking for a wife, just as God has looked and is looking for a wife for the Bridegroom. God is looking for that Bride and it is about completely made up here in this hour. As Bro. Jackson said when he was talking about this country, he said there will not be thousands, there will only be hundreds. You can see that today, how it has dwindled down. Even Bro. Branham said: I used to fill stadiums with people, but now I do good to get four or five thousand in these places. The message movement today is claiming they have millions of people. I believe it is three and one half million, they claim. This is not the Bride of Jesus Christ. You might say, well you are picking and choosing. I am saying today that the Bride of Jesus Christ is going to be few. And Its ministry was and is men who carry on the same message of the Prophet of the Age. I was privileged to live in part of that. I was privileged to hear the seventy weeks of Daniel; I was privileged to hear the Seals. That does not make me anything, but it does relate me back to that time when these things were preached, to know about it firsthand. I said that does not make me anything, but I am an eyewitness, just as others were. Paul talked about that, the eyewitnesses of what happened when Christ’s ministry was going on…. Thou shalt go unto my country) and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” He did not want a Canaanite woman. He wanted kin. God is looking for ‘kinfolk’ for Jesus today. By saying kinfolk, I mean they are to be His wife, just as Rebekah was to be Isaac’s wife. But there will be tests and there will be trials. Somewhere we are going to make up our mind which direction we are going to go, whether it be the way of the world or the way of the Bible. The Bible is the truth. “And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?” He is wanting to know what he is to do if she will not come, shall I back track and take your son to that land? This is putting faith in Abraham as he is looking at this. As God has searched for a Bride of Jesus Christ, when I say search, I mean He has called her. She is called out from the rest of the world, and the world does not know her. They are not acquainted with her because they do not know what is inside her.  The world does not know her desire to follow God through His word. The foolish virgins do not have that desire. They have a lesser role during the time of the Millennium. God says they will be my servants. The servants will be a part of the ministry, but not a part of the Bride. They will function during that time, but not in Bride positions. “And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed (which would be Isaac. Isaac was an older man, about 75, when Abraham died. Abraham had more than one son, but his seed is going to be Isaac. Not Ishmael, not Keturah’s children, Abraham sends them away before he dies so that Isaac may be the one to carry on. This may seem cruel, but this is God’s doing. God’s doings seem cruel to people. But it is His way, He is the one that planned it all out. Unto thy seed…) will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.” You cannot raise Him up again, you cannot bring Him back again. This is all a lesson that is told here. “And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; (Catch that. He took ten camels of his master. He did not have anything. The ministry has nothing of our own. We are blessed with a ministry, but we did not earn it, we did not gain it in any way. We had to be called to it, just as Abraham’s servant was called to it. The servant took ten camels of the master and departed…) for all the goods of his master were in his hand: (Everything that God has for the Bride of Jesus Christ today is in His servants’ hands. This may sound strange, but it is true. God is not out here preaching the gospel. Jesus is not preaching the gospel. But His servants are.) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.” He had been there before. He knew where he was going, he was the eldest servant. Brothers and sisters, we know where we are going. Because somebody has already been there before us. We are able to express something today of what has happened throughout the time of the Bride of Jesus Christ, all the way from the time of the apostles. The ministers in the churches today will not deal with it because they would lose their popularity and their money. They would lose everything that they have. We are not preaching for money. I am not saying we do not get a salary, but we are not preaching for that. It is because we love truth. Truth will make you free. “And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.”

ONE Bride for Isaac

All these things were given into the hands of his servant. Isaac is still under Abraham. Jesus Christ is still guided by the Father today. He sits to make intercession for us, on the right hand of the Father. Jesus said when He was here on this earth: I do not know when that time will come, nor do angels know when that time will come. He is talking about the time of the coming of the Lord. Jesus said: only God Himself knows. “And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.” He knew that from experience. This is the time that women go out to draw water. We know that today. This is the time that we go to draw water from God’s eternal well. “And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.”

Unto Abraham, because Isaac is still under Abraham. I want you to know that, until he sends all the children away and then he turns it over unto Isaac. As I said at the beginning, Isaac only marries one time. A representative of the Bride of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not married to this world. He is not married to the world churches. He is going to be married to a Bride. That takes place in Revelation 19, when the Bride is received by the Bridegroom. This is a beautiful story. “…let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.” He is praying a prayer that is going to be very hard for the damsel, and he is going to stand off and watch to see if there is somebody appointed to that. He has asked that she give him a drink, and then after that to give ten camels a drink. How much water is that going to be? That probably will be at least ten gallons for each camel. That would come to at least a hundred gallons of water or more. That hump on the camel’s back is to hold water. “And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, (She was not just anyone. This all must fit the Bride in this hour. We are not mixed with denominationalism. We are not mixed with Revelation Chapter 17. This is the true Bride of Jesus Christ; this is what we are partakers of. It is up to us to fulfill that duty, every one of us, not just the ministry, but every one of us. God has placed a leadership in the Bride that we may know the steps we are to take. The damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin…) neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.” This is the only thing he does. He does not tell her what he is meditating on, he just asks for a drink. That is all he asked of her, a drink. “And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, (that was from her shoulder) and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.”

This is going to take some time. But this is the proof of what he was looking for. I can imagine that old man (he was getting old at that time) just looking at the situation and seeing what is going on. How that God has blessed him thus far because he needed proof that this was the one. He had asked a hard question of her. The only thing he asked her was for a drink of water. The rest of it was voluntary on her part. Our call in God is voluntary after we are called. We volunteer for the service of God, to do what is right in His will and purpose. This is our duty. This is the lesson here for all of us. “And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.” This is a story like the story of Ruth. The time she spent serving her mother-in-law led Ruth to her husband. “And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit (or witness) whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.” We are still wondering: is this thing going to work? But it will. It will get its fulfillment. You and I are going to fulfill this. This was not a dream of Abraham’s. He did not dream it all up, neither did his servant dream it up. It is obedience, without a dream, without God just probing us and shoving us. This is a willing work of the servant of Abraham, to bring forth something that is going to be a blessing. “And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold.” Now these are the gifts. The gifts she has before she is ever married. “And said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.” This is the willingness of her. This is a promise from her before she even asked her family members: is this going to be alright? The family members have nothing to do with her decision. You will see that. “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.” We are seeing enough now that we bow down and worship the Lord. We raise our hands unto Him. “And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.” Laban is going to have a future with Jacob, but we are not dealing with Jacob this morning. “And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.” He had not moved, he stood by the well. “And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.” There was some work going on before he gets there. The servants of The Lord are still standing at the well, waiting until the provider provides them their place. “And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.” See? He was not alone. He was not one man. You cannot tie it all to one man. They had their duties. I would say there were at least four or five other men with him. Because Rebekah is going to go back on one of those camels, plus her handmaids. “And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.” Everybody was getting hungry, but he said, let us wait a little while. Servants of the Lord have time to wait. A preacher said one time: before I read my Bible, I always pray because I always pray before I eat. “And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.” The oath of the ministry is all the way to the end. “And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water: and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master’s son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets on her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.” He gave them precious gifts. The gifts that God has given are precious. They cost Jesus everything.

Then he was ready to eat. He had found THE bride. “And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.” That is the way the kindred are: ‘just wait a little longer, do not be in a hurry about this, you do not need to be too quick about it.’ “And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.” I will go. That is the question for all of us this morning. Are we going to go? I will go. “And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.” Never to see Rebekah again, never. One of these days this world is going to give way, and the world we live in will never see us again. You might say, I thought we were coming back. We will, but it will be a different world. All this rioting and looting and all is going to be over. Prayer

To be continued in next issue…