To Manifest The Presence
Of The Living God
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 173
Psalm 139:5-6, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.”
Listen
to what God’s Prophet said about it:
How many knows there's a difference between the appearing of Christ and the
coming of Christ? It's two different words. Now's the appearing, the coming
will soon be. He's appearing in the midst of us, doing the works that He once
did, in His church. Now, you're a part of that church, and by grace you believe
(Eph. 2:8-9). I am a member of that church (Eph. 4:4-6).
Brother Branham continued: Now, I'm not a preacher. You know I'm not. I have
not the education to do it. Sometimes I feel reluctant standing here by men
of God, who's called to that office. There are apostles, prophets, teachers,
pastors, and evangelists (Eph. 4:11-13). Not all are apostles, not all are
prophets, not all are teachers, not all evangelists (I Cor. 12:29-30). I'm
standing here...
But my ministry is a different ministry from a pastor or teacher. I'm not.
And if I say things wrong, brethren, forgive me. I don't mean it. But this
is my ministry to declare Him, that He's here. [1]
In
type, Moses coming from the Presence of God with the Word of God for that
age... Now, watch, we're now in Exodus 19. Don't miss this now. Exodus 19:20-21,
Moses is coming from the Presence of God. Moses is coming from the Presence
of God; he has been into the Word. The Word's been wrote, and he was in the
Presence of God with the Word, he had the Word for that age. There's a Word
for each age. And Moses coming forth, his face shined so (Exod. 34:34-35;
II Cor. 3:12-16). The Word was in him, ready to be manifested, give out to
the people.
That was just law; you had to go look at it, say, "Thou shall not commit
adultery. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not lie. Thou shall not do this,
that, or the other." (Exod. 20:1-17). You had to look at that.
But this is Spirit that comes upon the promised Word for this age, and brings
forth, and manifests, not two tables of stone, but the Presence of the living
God: not a mythical thought somebody made up or some Houdini trick, but the
very promise of God revealed and made manifest right before us. What sort
of a veil will that be behind?
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God..." (Zech.
14:6-7). See, here we are. The Light over the Word... As the light of the
sun changes the seed from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:17-18), we also become
more like Him as we live in His Presence, like Him, being conformed to His
blessed image as we walk with Him (Rom. 8:28-29). [2]
And until you come in behind that badger skin (Exod. 36:19), until you get
out of your old skin, your old thoughts, your old creeds, and come into the
Presence of God; then the Word becomes a living reality to you; then you're
awakened to the Shekinah Glory; then the Bible becomes a new Book, then Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You're living in His Presence,
eating the shewbread that's only provided that day for believers, priests
only (Lev. 24:5-9). "And we are priests, royal priesthood, a holy nation,
peculiar people, giving spiritual sacrifices to God." (I Peter 2:9-10).
But you must come in, to behind the veil to see the unveiled God. And God
is unveiled; that's His Word made manifest. [3]
Now, when Moses come, he could not have took Noah's message. Neither could
Noah have took Moses' message. Neither could Joshua have took any of their
message. Isaiah could've not have took another message. Each message is for
that age. And with the age that we're living in, when that Word is interpreted,
God's speaking that Word out and making the Word for that age live, giving
the interpretation of It. That is God in Christ manifesting, because Christ
is the Word. And when the Word's made manifest, that is Christ in every age
then.
Let's see what the Word says today Jesus Christ is. He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). And the only way that we'll ever know what
He is today is to find out what He was yesterday, then you'll see what He
is.
Notice, the Word that's ordained for each age, when that Word is made manifest,
that is Christ of that day (Col. 1:26-28), just like it was in each one of
the days. [4]
His Presence in the individual with a personal a-vindication of Himself expressing
Himself--the living Word that's promised for the day, expressing Itself through
you, a vindication of the great revelation of God... Look, only in an individual,
never in a group: an individual, not in a group, His identification is with
an individual. You get that? Not with the Methodists, not with the Baptists,
not the Presbyterian, not the Lutheran, not the Pentecostal, but as an individual.
"I'll take one and leave one. I'll separate them." That's right.
"There'll be two in the field; I'll take one and leave one. There'll
be two in bed, and I'll take one and leave one." (Luke 17:34-36).
It's not a group. It is a personal vindication of a pregnated child of God
filled with the Holy Ghost, so surrendered to God that he don't care about
anything else, and the Holy Spirit living Its Life, pulsating through him,
showing the personal vindication of the Word Itself expressing Itself to the
people and to the world. [5]
The Word becomes alive in our own flesh, that shows the Presence of God. [6] Christ lives: not I live, not me, Christ lives in me. Not you live, but Christ lives in you (Gal. 2:19-21), because His living Word lives in you... [7]
God
chose in the days of the exodus, He called out a group and out of that group...
I want you to notice something. He only got two, that went to the promised
land. What did He choose to take them out by? Politics? Organization? He chose
a prophet with a supernatural sign of a Pillar of Fire, that the people wouldn't
be mistaken (Numbers 14:13-14; Exod. 14:19-25). What the prophet said was
the Truth. God come down in a Pillar of Fire and vindicated Himself, showed
His Word. That right?
That's what He brought His first exodus. His second exodus... God always goes
in threes. He's perfect in threes. It's always threes and sevens. Seven is
a complete; threes is His perfection. First, Second, and Third Pull and oh,
all, everything. See? Justification, sanctification, Baptism of the Holy Ghost;
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, everything. See?
Notice, what did He do the first exodus? He sent a prophet anointed with the
Pillar of Fire, and He called the people out. That was His first exodus. And
when Israel's time was up, He sent again a God-Prophet with a Pillar of Fire.
John saw It descending from heaven like a dove (John 1:32-34). And He (our
Lord Jesus Christ) said, "I come from God, and I return to God."
(John 16:28-30). This second exodus, He brought a Prophet anointed, which
was His Son, God-Prophet. Moses said He'd be a Prophet (Deut. 18:15-18), and
had a Pillar of Fire and done signs and wonders, and that same Prophet said,
"That whosoever believeth in Me, the works that I do, shall he do also."
(John 14:12-13).
And here He promised the same thing in the exodus in the last days, and He
cannot change it. And by scientific proof, by the witness of the Spirit, by
the works of the Spirit, we see it today, the great Pillar of Fire moving
among us. And the signs and wonders of the resurrection of Jesus Christ calling
the people from a denominationalism into the Presence of Jesus Christ to live:
going to a land.
The first exodus, what did He do? He brought them out of a natural land to
a natural land (Exod. 12:37 ff). The second exodus, He brought them out from
a spiritual condition into a spiritual baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4).
Now He's bringing them from a spiritual baptism of the Holy Ghost, right back
into the eternal land of the millennium and the great hereafter. Same Pillar
of Fire by the same anointed system, the same God doing the same things. [8]
Go into the prophet's chamber and watch them seven steps. Where did the guard
meet the challenge to bring the comer into the presence of the king at the
top of the steps? Was in the seventh step. There shows that we've got to come
again with that same Spirit that was on John (the Baptist). He introduced
the Messiah; he was greater than all the prophets; he introduced it (Matt.
11:7-11).
And we've got to come to a place again, to something that's going to introduce
the Messiah. And how will the people that's believing Him know it, unless
they're constantly in the Word to know what He is. Daniel said the wise shall
know, but the foolish, the unwise wouldn't know (Daniel 12:9-10). They shall
know their God.
Now, how He said It'll appear in the last days is to bring the people back
to the Word, so that the Bride will know Her Husband, know Her Mate, the revealed
Word. That's why this has to happen. It wasn't in the reformers; wasn't in
Luther, Wesley, and the Pentecostals, and them; the Scripture says it wasn't.
But it will come; that is His promise for this age.
We're living in the age that His coming will be in. She must be identified
in Him. Any woman must be identified with her husband, for the two are one.
And Christ's Bride has to be identified with Him, for the two are One, and
He is the Word, not the denomination, the Word. We are to be the children
of the Light (John 12:36), and the Light is the Word which is made Light for
this age. How do we know Light, except It comes from the Word. All right.
The Word made flesh is the Light of the age when you see It; the Bible said
so. [9]
At
the third day (after His resurrection) is when the real manifestation of Christ
was made known, at the end of the third day.
Not at the first day: dead form; the second day it was still dead: Luther,
Wesley. At the beginning of the third day there was a rumor around. Nothing
on the first day (Luther), nothing on the second day, and in the third day
(the dispensation of the Holy Spirit) there was a rumor around that He was
the same yesterday, today, and forever. But at the end of the third day, that's
where He made Hisself known, come right among them, come among His people
and said, "Look at Me; I'm the same One." (Luke 24:13-32).
The dead forms went on till they got to Pentecost, then begin to rumor around
that He was. Now, here in the last day here He's right with us, moving right
among us.
At the end of the third day, He appeared and showed all of them His resurrection
sign, that He was living, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Living fruits
of His Presence... Living fruits of His Presence (are you getting it?) was
manifested at the very end of the day when He appeared to all of them, His
church (Luke 24:36-46). Amen. Why? They'd all got together. Oh. Amen. At the
end of the third day...
Do you get it? Amen. For God said, "I will restore It." (Joel 2:23-27).
He's going to restore It how? By four death messengers killed It; then four
Life messengers will restore It (Joel 1:1-4). What was the first? Martin Luther,
justification. What was the second? John Wesley--by sanctification. What was
the third? Pentecost with the restoration of the gifts, the Holy Ghost, baptism
of the Holy Ghost. What was the fourth? The Word. What? The Word.
The fourth Light is to come that will bring forth the same signs. Watch. Justification
brought back the pulp. Sanctification brought back the bark: doctrine of holiness.
What brought back the leaf? Pentecostals. What is it? Pentecostals, leaves,
clap their hands, joy, rejoicing: Pentecostal. What? The fourth was the Word
Itself. The Word made flesh, fruits of the proof of the resurrection sign
that Christ has finally, after justification being planted, sanctification
being planted, baptism of the Holy Ghost. Organizations died out, and Christ
has again centered Himself like that cap of the pyramid.
First line, justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, then
coming of the Cap. What is it? That Holy Ghost bunch being honed out, so that
it can fit with the same kind of ministry He had when He went away; that when
He comes back it'll catch the whole thing in the rapture, where they're justified,
sanctified, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That pyramid will stand again.
The house of God will live again. The Tree of Life is growing again. [10]
Now remember that Christ is risen from the dead and is among us. And get that
in your mind, Christ raised from the dead and is among us.
Now, we have seen all kinds of great moves, and shouting and praising God;
all fine. We’ve spoken in tongues and prophesied, and all. We’ve
seen all that. That’s fine. That comes right along with It.
But remember, the last thing is His Divine Presence, the Word Itself. He is
the Word. The Head, the Word, It’s coming to the Body. See? And then
that Word, in Hebrews the 4th chapter (verse 12-13), said, “The Word
of God is sharper, more powerful than a two-edged sword, and a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Now take that Scripture and
run it right back from the beginning of the prophets, run it right on down
through Jesus Christ, and see if that isn’t the same thing, the same
thing, that He is known as the Messiah.
Now it’s not some man here is the Messiah. It’s the Holy Spirit
is the Messiah. Christ and the Holy Spirit is the same thing, so here It is
here now just working in the flesh, getting the Body ready for the rapturing
grace. Believe it, friends. [11]
If we could only realize that He's appearing to us in these meetings for one
purpose, that's to release our desires that we have in Him, to us. But we've
got to recognize His Presence. And now, how you recognize His Presence, is
when the promised Word for this age is made manifest, not the promised Word
of Moses' age or any other ages, the promise of the Word for this age (Luke
17:28-37; Rev. 10:1-11). [12]
I certainly honor the Lutheran for their stand in their day, the Methodists
for sanctification in their day, and the Pentecostal for their stand in their
day; but we're living in another day. We're living when there's been stalk,
tassel, shuck, almost like the wheat, but the wheat's inside the shuck. The
shuck has just supported the wheat, kept the hot sun from burning it. And
now the denomination is pulling away from it, so It can lay in the Presence
of the Son to get ripe. There won't be no more organizations rise up. This
is the end of it. We've had, always about three years, when a message starts,
they organize it.
This has been going on for nearly twenty years and no organization. It can't.
We're in a wheat time, a harvest time. I can hear the great combine coming.
We're going home one day. Right. "He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever." [13]
I believe we have Truth. I'm satisfied with that. And I believe the wheat is absolutely, the shucks pulling away from it. But the wheat has to lay in the presence of the sun to ripen. And that's what we're here for, friends. Stay in the Presence of the Son till our little group of people here, till it becomes so ripe to Christ, that it becomes bread on His table. That's what I want it to do. [14]
References:
[1] “From That Time” (62-0713), par. E-102
[2] “Unveiling of God” (64-0614M), par. 129-136, 312
[3] “Identified Christ of All Ages” (64-0617), par. 42
[4] “Christ Is Identified The Same” (64-0415), par. E-38, E-50-51
[5] “Christ Is The Mystery of God Revealed” (63-0728), pg. 70
[6] “Seed of Descrepancy” (65-0118), par. 126
[7] “Easter Seal” (65-0410), pg. 39
[8] “Third Exodus” (63-0630M), pg. 40-45
[9] “Feast of the Trumpets” (64-0719M), pg. 17-18
[10] “Restoration of the Bride Tree” (62-0422), pg. 73-76
[11] “Jehovah Jireh 1” (64-0402), par. 193-196
[12] “Presence of God Unrecognized“ (64-0618), par. 76
[13] “Does God Change His Mind” (65-0427), par. 213-214
[14] “Man Running From the Presence of the Lord” (65-0217), par.
38