The
ABC’s of the Gospel
February 2016 Introduction
As with the construction of
any building, or the developing of any talent, there must be a firm
foundation upon which that building or that talent is based. A house not built upon the rock will not stand
the test of time: LUKE 6:47-49 47 Whosoever cometh to
me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is
like: 48 He is like a man
which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:
and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and
could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that
heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an
house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and
immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. Note that a house built
upon a bad foundation may even be beautiful and elaborate, built with great
precision and intricate design (i.e., “deep teachings and revelations” are
being preached), but if the foundation is wrong, it will eventually come to
ruin. Consider the example of a
person pursuing the mastery of a musical instrument, e.g., the piano. Those that have pursued this mastery know
that they must be founded on the sometimes tedious yet basic tasks of
practicing the musical scales, the chord progressions, the boring musical
exercises, etc., in order to have the firm foundation upon which to truly
obtain mastery. These principles about
being founded on the right foundation are true of the Christian walk. True “hot” Christians (as opposed to the
Laodicean lukewarm or cold professing Christians) will be those who are
founded on the right foundation. Some professing Message
believers have left the very “first things” of the Gospel, yet they believe
that they are walking in the “deep revelation” of God. This is a sad deception that is taking
place in this day. So what are the “first
things first” of the Gospel? How did
Brother Branham define the “right foundation”? That is what this article is about. The Purpose of God’s Order of Headship
We will first state some
truths about the purpose of God’s order of headship. God sends His anointed messengers in
different time periods and in different geographical areas so that He can speak
specifically to the issues and needs of the people for that particular time
and place. This is needed because
conditions and cultural norms change over time. A pastor is given to specific people in a
specific area so that God through that pastor can speak to the very unique
needs and issues of that particular group of people. Similarly, Brother Branham was sent by God
to this age in order that He could
speak to the very specific conditions of this last age. Brother Branham clearly
defined the specifics of the Christian’s foundation as it applies to this day. What he said was for the Bride’s blessing
and protection. The ABC’s of the Gospel – the Foundation
WAY.OF.A.TRUE.PROPHET_ PHOENIX.AZ
SATURDAY_ 63-0119 E-83 How you going to build your church
upon the rock? How will the preacher ever stand in the pulpit and preach the
rock, and build it upon the fundamentals
of the full Gospel, when his audience, some of his people out there,
would put him out? Now, I blame the preacher for not having the audacity, and
the Spirit of God, for just shutting the door, and saying, "Get in
somebody else will stand for that stuff and not me." I--I admire a
preacher that would do that. E-84 But woe unto that congregation when a
anointed man of God tries to bring them the Word, and then they won't line up
with It. That's right. How's he going to have a church that all the nine
gifts operating in it, and so forth, and then they... And that--and then the
church won't even--even live decently and morally, won't learn their abc's of the
Gospel. EVENING.MESSENGER_
MESA.AZ V-8 N-5 WEDNESDAY_
63-0116 182 Said, "Why don't
you--why don't you keep off them women?" Said, "And quit telling
them about the way they should dress, and cut their hair, and the things they
should do. Why don't you keep off of them? Why don't you teach them how to
receive gifts and--and do something for the glory of God?" I said, "How in the world can I teach them algebra when they
won't even learn their abc's?"
That's right. You've got to come back to the foundation and start. God,
have mercy on us now. Yes, sir. If there is one thing that
Brother Branham mentions in almost all of his messages, it is something about
the issues of women’s dress, women wearing makeup, women cutting or “bobbing”
their hair, etc. Why is this so often
mentioned? Because these are the
things that define the “first things first” of the Christian walk. Brother Branham was seeing these very
foundational aspects of Christianity being continually disobeyed: GOING.BEYOND.THE.CAMP_
JEFF.IN V-6 N-3 SUNDAY_
64-0719E 33 For instance, I don't want to
hurt anyone's feeling, but back and forth across the nation I have condemned
women wearing short hair. That's the Bible. I've condemned women wearing
shorts, using makeup; and every year
it gets worse. It shows that there is another finger somewhere pointing
them some other way. And they're not getting through to Christ. The initial tests that come to a person presented with
receiving Christ are these foundational issues of holiness. For a woman, they are posed with the
question of whether they are willing to give up wearing pants and shorts, of
being willing to give up wearing makeup, etc.
For the man, he is presented with whether he is willing to give up
wearing shorts, if he is willing to keep his hair short, if he is willing to
give up the bad habits that he is accustomed to. Many people cannot even make it past these
initial steps to even start the Christian walk. The Process to the New
Birth
Brother Branham explained clearly by the Scriptures that the process to receive the New Birth is a process consisting of three steps: 1) Justification (water) 2) Sanctification (blood) 3) The Baptism of the Holy Ghost (Spirit) I JOHN 5:8 8 And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood:
and these three agree in one. God uses these same steps to give new birth on many different levels: * Natural birth (water, blood, then the spirit of life comes into the baby) * The Bride’s birth (Luther (justification), Wesley (sanctification), Branham (the Token)) * The individual’s new birth (discussed below) These three steps in the individual are
the process that God uses to kill the old soul. It is a process of agreeing with the Word: SOULS.IN.PRISON.NOW_ JEFF.IN
V-2 N-22 SUNDAY_ 63-1110M 8-5 But that soul that's in there (See?), that soul is
what God's a working on. 8-6 See, if He can only get that nature of that spirit to agree
with Him, then that nature dies. The
nature and the love of the world dies and the things of the world is dead
(See?); because if you love the world or the things of the world, the love of
God is not in you. See? And a man must be born again, so this nature has
to die, and the nature of God comes and lives in you. Brother Branham defines these three steps on the individual level very clearly in the following quote:
8-4 And so is it in the spiritual realm. It's
water: justification
by faith, believing on God, receiving Him as your personal
Saviour, and being baptized; second is sanctification of the Spirit, that God cleanses the spirit from all
elements of the world and the desire of the world; and then the Holy Spirit comes in and gives new birth and fills
up that sanctified vessel. For instance like this: now, that... I
told you what you don't believe lay aside and then take the pie. Notice. Now,
a glass is laying out in the chicken yard. You don't just pick that up and
put it on your table and fill it up with water or milk. No. By picking it up
is justification.
Cleansing it is sanctification, 'cause the Greek word
"sanctify' is a compound word which means "cleansed and set aside
for service (not in service; for service)." Then when you fill it,
it is put in service. The Type of Israel’s JourneyIsrael’s journey into the promised land is a beautiful
type of the process of an individual’s new birth. When Israel
came out of Egypt, they first crossed the Red Sea. This types out a believer’s water baptism,
when he first makes that initial step of coming out of the world (Egypt) and
receiving Jesus Christ. All of his
past sins are forgiven (the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea) – he has
gone through the step of Justification. Then Israel wandered in the
wilderness for 40 years until all of the unbelievers died out. This types out a person’s step of Sanctification, when God starts to call for
obedience to the “first things first” of the Gospel. This is the phase where the person shows
whether he will continue to agree with the Word, thereby furthering the death
of his old soul. And finally, after all of
the unbelievers had died out, Israel crossed the river Jordan and entered
into the promised land. This types out
a person’s receiving of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost
which kills the old soul and bring’s the new soul into manifestation
in that person’s being. The person is
now born again and enters into the “greatest battle ever fought” which is the
possessing of the promised land. The Sanctification Step of the Process to the New BirthSince Sanctification is
part of the process of God killing the old soul, how then does this
Sanctification step cleanse our human spirit?
It cleanses our human spirit because the “first things first” of the
Gospel are issues that, when agreed to, will have the end result of cleaning
up the spirit and flesh realms of a person. The “first things first” of
the Gospel are issues derived from Scriptures such as the following: DEUTERONOMY 22:5 5 The woman shall not wear that which
pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all
that do so [are] abomination unto the LORD thy God. II KINGS 9:30-33 30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel
heard [of it]; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out
at a window. 31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she
said, [Had] Zimri peace, who slew his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and
said, Who [is] on my side? who? And there looked out to him two [or] three
eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw
her down: and [some] of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the
horses: and he trode her under foot. I CORINTHIANS 11:13-15 13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a
woman pray unto God uncovered? 14 Doth not even nature itself teach you,
that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a
glory to her: for [her] hair is given her for a covering. I TIMOTHY 2:9-15 9 In like manner also, that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with
broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10 But (which becometh women professing
godliness ) with good works. 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all
subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to
usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman
being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in
childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with
sobriety. From these and other
Scriptures, Brother Branham specified God’s definition as it pertains to this age of the “ABC’s of the Gospel”,
the foundational start of the Christian walk : * A woman should not cut her hair * A woman should not wear pants * A woman should dress modestly, wearing dresses or
skirts which fall below the knees, and should not wear tight or revealing
clothing, never presenting herself in such a way that would cause a man to
lust after her, in which case before God she is guilty of committing adultery
with that man * A woman should not wear makeup (it is like Jezebel) * A man should not have long hair (it is a perverted
spirit) * A man should not wear shorts (shorts are a woman’s
garment) * Believer’s should not smoke or defile their bodies
with bad habits * Believer’s should guard against worldliness, paying
particular attention to avoiding the effects of Hollywood in this last age Some who claim to be in the
Message have done away with these basics, saying that they are not now ”under
the law”. This is sad, because when a person
receives a new nature, his tastes are changed. When a person is born again, the Word of
God becomes something that is his desire
and nature to do. This issue will be addressed in the latter
half of this article. In the next section we will
examine the quotes of Brother Branham. What the Prophet Said
In this section we will
present just a very small sampling of what Brother Branham said on this
topic of the “ABC’s of the Gospel”. GOD'S.ONLY.PROVIDED.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ SHP.LA
V-7 N-4 SUNDAY_ 65-1128M 96 That every little jot,
everything, you must be faithful in. It's always the little--the little vine,
the little--the little foxes spoils the vine. Sometimes you leave... It's not the
big things you do; it's the little things you leave undone. Remember,
a chain is only its strongest at its weakest link. "Blessed are they
that do all the commandments of God, that they might have a right to enter
in." Do all God said, if it said for women to have long hair, you say... A man
told me not long ago, said, "I don't preach a clothes-line
religion." I said,
"Then you're not preaching the Gospel." That's right. God laid it out there; He said what to do. And you either do it...
That's your natural, reasonable thing. What little thing... what... the
little insignificant. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that would take all
the little things, do the little thing." And a woman to let her hair
grow, that's just a--why, it's just something she can do, and she won't even
do that. She won't even do that. "Oh, teach us the great things." How
can you teach the great things, when you won't do the simple, common things? Because,
you see, your motive and your objective is wrong. 102 It's your love to God,
"Lord, I don't care what You want me to do; I'm willing to do it."
Then you're getting somewhere, ... MODERN.EVENTS.MADE.CLEAR.BY.PROPHECY_ SBD.CA
V-7 N-6 MONDAY_ 65-1206 92 There was a fine brother, said, "I'm
going to lay hands on you, Brother Branham. I love you. You're ruining your
ministry." Said, "You ain't got no business telling them women
about that." Said, "Let the pastors do it." I said, "They don't do it
though." I said, "Now..." He said, "Well, it's not your
business; you just pray for the sick." I said, "Whose business is it
then? I was called to preach the Gospel." Said, "I'll lay hands on you and
ask God to take it away then." I said, "If you'll let--let me
lay hands on you too." See? And I said, "I'll pray that God will
open your eyes and you'll see it." So that's right. He said, "You ought to preach...
The people believe you to be a servant, a prophet of God." He said,
"You ought to teach them women how to--to get great gifts and prophesy
and things." I said, "How can I teach them algebra when they won't
even believe their abc's?" See, see?...?... you do it. That's just in every...
That's right.
If you can't do the common things, how you going to do the spiritual things,
the natural things? Certainly.
Brother, sister, it might sound like a joke, but it's the Gospel. It's the
Gospel truth. That's right. GREATER.THAN.SOLOMON_
HOT.SPRINGS.AR V-20 N-11 FRIDAY_
63-0628E 201 Women, if you haven't got
enough grace in your heart tonight to know that the Bible teaches that you
should stop bobbing your hair, wearing shorts and makeup, if you haven't got
that much grace in your heart tonight... And you know the Bible teaches it,
you should. He can't change. You say, "I don't wear shorts. I wear
slacks." That's worse. God said, "A woman that'll wear a garment pertains to a man,
it's an abomination to God." 204 And you men that can't stop gawking and
looking at women immorally dressed, the idols of the day, you men that hasn't
got enough real grace in your heart to make your wife and kids quit doing
such a thing as that, the love of God isn't anchored in your heart; don't be
a--called a son of God. You're still in Sodom, a man that can't take over his
own house; God ordained him to do. GOING.BEYOND.THE.CAMP_
JEFF.IN V-6 N-3 SUNDAY_
64-0719E 33 For instance, I don't want to
hurt anyone's feeling, but back and forth across the nation I have condemned
women wearing short hair. That's the Bible. I've condemned women wearing
shorts, using makeup; and every year it gets worse. It shows that there is
another finger somewhere pointing them some other way. And they're not
getting through to Christ. And they say, "We belong to a church; our church don't..."
Don't make any difference what your church believes; God said, "It's
wrong." And if they did get through to Christ, they would stop that. And not only
that, but man would take his position if he got through to Christ and be
against that. Husbands wouldn't let their wives act like that. Genuine men
don't want his wife acting that way. SATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-20
SUNDAY_ 65-0829 20-4
Notice, take our women. Now, if you want to see what condition the church is
in, watch the way women are acting. She always represents the church.
In Satan's Eden of sin and unbelief, a religious perversion, perverted
kingdom... Instead of taking God's Word, they have took the intellectual
learning of man. BROKEN.CISTERNS_
PHOENIX.AZ V-19 N-4 SATURDAY_
65-0123 63 Talking
to a brother, one of the sponsor's on the--my meeting in India, in Bombay
there, down into South Africa and different places, where the missionaries
had taught it as a word or as an intellectual conception. But one day in the
meeting, when the Holy Spirit came down Hisself and saved thirty thousand
blanket natives at one altar call, and right on the same ground where they
were standing. Women standing there, who had been as naked as they almost
were when they come into the world, and the very minute that they raised
their hands to receive Christ... And the Holy Spirit fell upon the place and healed twenty-five
thousand people at one time, off of wheelchairs, cots and stretchers. The
mayor of the city had me, next day, look at these van loads going down the
street. 66 Them women standing there naked, not
knowing they were naked, but as soon as the Holy Spirit struck them, they
folded their arms to walk away from the presence of their men. And I'm wondering that how that we in America call ourself a
Christian nation, and in the Presence of God; and each year we, our women,
take off more. And you ought to be putting on more. And more of Christ you put on, the more conscious you'll be of your
own conditions. Sometime I see the way people act on the street, I wonder
if it's just exactly mentally right. Seems like that they don't realize that
when they do that, what they are doing; they're making themselves a bait for
the devil, and to send souls to hell. That's right. But the world is in a
corruption like it was in the days of Jeremiah. WORLD.IS.FALLING.APART_
NY.NY V-18 N-10 FRIDAY_
63-1115 133 Look, and let me say one
thing again, as this. You know, if you dress like that and some sinner on the
street looks at you in the wrong way, you're going to answer at the day of judgment for
committing adultery with that sinner. You might be as virtuous to
your husband as you can be; you might be as virtuous to your boyfriend, as
loyal as you know how to be; but in the sight of God you're a street harlot. You say, "Is that right? Prove that by the Word, Brother
Branham. You said ask you anything, if it was the Word." Yes, sir. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." And if you present yourself like that, you're a cause of it. That's exactly. Though you be innocent yourself, you presented yourself to that sinner like that. When he answers for it, you'll be the one to be guilty. Oh, get you some clothes and cover up, and act like ladies. That's right. EVENING.MESSENGER_
MESA.AZ V-8 N-5 WEDNESDAY_
63-0116 286 Let me say one thing to the man. Mister,
my brother, if you will let your wife do a thing like that, I'm ashamed of
you, and claim to be a Spirit-filled man. Shame on you, let your wife go on
the street... And you're dressed all sexy and everything like
that, and do you know the Bible said, Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh
upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her"? You say, "Now, wait a minute, my brother, I'm innocent." I
believe you are too, my sister; you're innocent in the natural act. But if you
present yourself and the sinner looks at you, and you presented yourself like
that, who's guilty? You are, for presenting yourself. Then at the
day of the judgment, when that sinner answers for the adultery, who did he
commit it with in his heart? You. Why? Because you presented yourself. Now,
that's just the truth. Won't you, won't you, sister, please, in Jesus' Name, may I ask you
as your brother, straighten up? Brother, shame on you for conducting your house like that; straighten
up. I--I got better hopes of you as a man. See? 291 Pastors who let them people
come in, take deacons and everything else and jobs like that, with two or
three living wives, and things, aren't you ashamed, minister? Aren't you
ashamed of those things? And take them members in there when they're living
in adultery, and smoking cigarettes, and doing all, and never even mention it
from the platform. Shame on you. I--I--I pray for you, brother. God bless you. Thank you for your patience of bearing with me. Now, I
wonder... The evening Light has come. The evening Light are here; back to the Word. QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_
JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_
64-0823M 949-Q-244 Brother Branham, what do you think about
our sisters in the church wearing such short dresses? Doesn't it mar our
testimony and set the wrong example for our young people in this our church?
It seems so i-n... to see a--a young--to see a grown woman wearing a dress so
short that it shows her knees when she walks. Ever who you are, sister or brother, whoever it is, I agree with you one hundred percent. It's a disgrace, but tell me what to do about it. See? I preach it just as hard as I know how to preach it; they do it the same. So it's their judgment, 'cause the Word's went forth. Yes, I'm certainly against them little old skintight dresses that look like... I constantly fuss at my kids, Becky and Sarah. I don't care how little they are, I... that... I just fuss at them all the time. I think they even wear their dresses... Meda takes Becky apart every day about it. See? Dresses plumb up... 'Cause kids, you can expect that in kids, and you have to correct them; but when it comes to a woman, there's something wrong there. See? MARRIAGE.AND.DIVORCE_
JEFF.IN V-3 N-13 SUNDAY_
65-0221M 28-1
Now, to do this today... What is the god of the United States? You
remember the Tabernacle years ago, I preached on that, "The God of This
Modern Day." A little flapper setting there with makeup on, and dress
pulled up over her knees, and things like. I said, "Behold, your
god." And that's right. She's on every advertisement, half naked; she's
on the street the same way. It's a instrument of Satan. "From the
beginning," Jesus said. See? We see it was so now and--from the
beginning and what He's talking about. SATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-20
SUNDAY_ 65-0829 24-1
Let a women say she is a Christian with short hair? You know better
than that. See? Yes, sir. Let her say she's a Christian wearing paint, and
makeup, and shorts, and say she's a Christian? You know better than that. The
Word of God teaches you better than that. The Word says she can't do it and be
a Christian. She is even dishonorable and everything. How's God going to put
a dishonorable thing in His Kingdom? No, sir, not at all. No, sir.
Theirselves--it shows their desire. SATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-20
SUNDAY_ 65-0829 21-3
She caused her A--she causes her Adam to lust for her. She took off
the clothes that God dressed her in back in Eden for her journey through
the--this wilderness; she took them off. She stripped herself down, when God
had her wrapped all over in skins; she's begin to shave a little off each
time. Now, she's back to where she was at the beginning. Now, she's got her
Adam to wearing her underneath clothes. A
man, put on them little old sissy looking shorts, and get out here. He... I
don't think there is much man to him. He is the biggest sissy I know of. See,
she's got her perverted Adam to act like she (See?), wearing her underneath
clothes. She seen what
she could do out yonder when she took off all her clothes, but her underneath
ones; that's the shorts, of course that's a woman's underneath clothes. 21-5
And here her Adam is wearing them now, which according to God's
original Word is an abomination for a woman to put on a garment that pertains
to a man, and a man put on a garment pertains to a woman: from the original Word.
Think of it. SATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-20
SUNDAY_ 65-0829 22-1
The other day I was over at Howard Johnson's, not this one here, but
one on the road going out, and I just set back in amazement. Here come a
little boy along, his mouth open. And he had dark hair here, and had combed
it over this away, and put a roller in it, and curled it up around the top of
his eyes; looking out of the top of his eyes, going around... If I ever seen
a perversion... See, he wouldn't believe it. He could prove maybe he was male, but in his spirit
he's female. He don't know what
side of the house he belongs on. That's right. How perverted. That's what
Satan does. He perverts the nations. He perverts the church. He perverts the people.
He is a deceiver, a perverter of the original Truth. God made a man a man. He
made a woman a woman, and He dressed them different, and He meant for them to
stay that way and to act that way. One is feminish, and the other one is
masculine. He separated Adam in the garden of Eden and did this, separated
Eve from him. 22-3 Now, wears her bangs, she cuts her hair like his, and he tries to wear his like hers. She wears his outside clothes, and he wears her inside clothes. Now, that sounds sacrilegious, but I don't mean it that way. It's the absolute Gospel truth. If you don't know it, then there's something wrong with you. You're either blind or never been on the streets. And she thinks and he thinks that it's right. They're getting along somewhere. Applying the TokenTOKEN.THE_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-19
SUNDAY_ 63-0901M 48-5
Believe the Lord Jesus Christ for your house. Apply the Token to your
house. Then what do you do when you apply It to your house? Move all the
trash out. Get all the short skirts, and the shorts, and the cards, and the
cigarettes, and televisions, and whatevermore, and kick them out the door.
You're going to apply the Token, won't stand still for it. Yes, sir. Take it
all out. All the dances and the parties, and rock-and-roll, and old vulgar
newspapers, and the stuff that's of the world, kick it out the door. Say,
"We're cleaning out this place around here." TOKEN.THE_
SHREVEPORT.LA V-17 N-6 THURSDAY_
63-1128E 205 Let's think of the sincerity
of what we're doing, "By faith I lay my hands over on my Sacrifice,
Jesus Christ. I want to be identified in His death. I'm through with the
world. I'm through with Hollywood. I'm through with fashions." The women, "I'm through cutting my hair. I'm through wearing
immoral clothes. I'm through wearing makeup. I'm through playing cards.
I'm--I'm through with the trash of the world." You men likewise, "I'm through with drinking. I'm through with
smoking. I'm through with lying. I'm through with jokes. I'm through--through
with jesting. I'm through with all these idle words that the Bible said we'll
give an account for." "I want the Seal. I want the Token in my life.” The Effects of HollywoodSATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN
V-2 N-20 SUNDAY_ 65-0829 27-3 Right on our radios and televisions, and
all kind of filth and gaum, and Hollywood;
all kinds of sexy, dirty, filthy dresses for women. And--and men being
perverted and taking women's apparel, and cutting their hair like women, and
women like man. O God, what a horrible hour we're living in. Oh, come, Lord Jesus, come. Come,
Lord, cleanse us by the Blood. Take all filth and guile away from us. Let us
live, Lord. Let us live under the Blood constantly before You. It's our
heart's desire, and our sincere plea. QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN
COD SUNDAY_ 64-0823M 925-25 I have more honor for a woman like that
than I do some of these women that put a little old strap under them to throw
theirself out: don't even look like a human being. They got a purpose in
doing that; that's sexy, ungodly. A woman wear ever so many clothes and try
to make herself look like something she isn't... I... Why, women ain't--ain't
actually that way; it's some kind of Hollywood
stuff. And the devil spirit get on them women to make them try to attract
attention of men through sex. A woman's breast was given her for the baby to
nurse. That's exactly right. The woman's right in the primitive line, but
she's lined right. I have more respect for that, for that woman like that,
'cause she... That's the way her mother raised her; that's the way...
They--they never--don't pay any attention to it. The baby nursed right out
like the Madonna picture that you'd see. And if people would only get their
minds set like that, it would be different. 926-26 But when you come to go on the outside and
maybe wear ever so much of a blouse or so forth, and then boost yourself out
there with straps and things, that looks ungodly and cause men... Do you
realize that's a spirit of the Devil on you? Oh, yeah. So you don't want to
do that, sister. Don't you do that; that's Hollywood's
makeup and a trap of the Devil. When you do that, you make men think the
wrong thing about you; and when you do that, then you're guilty of committing
adultery with that man, because you presented yourself that way to him. You
can't help the way you're built, but just go and stay the way God made you.
See? Don't try to make yourself something that you're not. Just stay human
being. That awful? Well, maybe that answers some questions of somebody too. EVENING.MESSENGER_ MESA.AZ
V-8 N-5 WEDNESDAY_ 63-0116 69 I believe in genuine Bible holiness. And I
do not believe in this corruption and rotten stuff that sets an example
before our people called Hollywood.
And I've always been against it. And I think a man that has the Spirit of God
in him would be against it, because the Spirit of God would testify that it's
wrong to him. Now, I think that's one of the... We
used to go over to Paris to get naked models for to strip our women; now
Paris comes over here to get ours. See? Hollywood
leads the world. And the nude fashions that we have of today, beyond France
(Just think of that.), that drunken, brawling, immoral place, and yet Hollywood beats that altogether. And all of our televisions, the
everything they have on it is uncensored, just dirty jokes, and rotten
corruption, just weighed into everything. And the people, the Devil... Wouldn't
let us send our children to--to the picture shows years ago, we early
Pentecostals, but now the Devil slipped one over and put it right in the
house on us. You see? So he just brought the picture show right in. EVENING.MESSENGER_ MESA.AZ
V-8 N-5 WEDNESDAY_ 63-0116 210 And then stick the glamor of Hollywood in, have women up on the pulpit with
clothes so tight and sexy looking, dancing in the spirit. I don't know what
kind of a spirit it is. JUST.ONCE.MORE.LORD_ SHREVEPORT.LA V-17 N-11
SUNDAY_ 63-1201E 59 What has it done to us? It's almost made
our Pentecostal women a Hollywood
showmanship. That's right. It used to be wrong to go to the movies, the bioscope.
But now, you know, the Devil just beat them to that; he put it right in the
house. See, see? That's right. It used to be wrong to do it. It
used to be wrong for our sisters to cut their hair or wear short dresses. But
now it isn't, not in the Pentecostal way of thinking in their organization.
But it's still wrong by God's Word. Yeah, see? But, you see, they got
their--their--their--their power bobbed off. Uh-huh. See? And then they say,
"Well, our church believes..." I don't care what your church
believes. It's what God said. That's the reason she stands today without the
answer. In the above quote, Brother
Branham says “It used to be wrong to go
to the movies, the bioscope. But now, you know, the Devil just beat them to
that; he put it right in the house.”
It is sad to say that people in the Message may be obeying the “letter
of the law” to not have a TV in their homes, but then they let in Netflix,
YouTube, internet shows and movies, DVD’s, etc., things that were not around
in Brother Branham’s day. We know that
many of these issues are matters of conscience that each person will answer
to God for, but the prophet’s heart was very clear in these matters as
expressed in the above and many other quotes. INVISIBLE.UNION.OF.THE.BRIDE_ SHP.LA
V-2 N-15 THURSDAY_ 65-1125 17-3 The complete total insanity this world will
go into right away. It's almost there now. Why, you can see the footsteps of it.
There it is. It's--it's marching right out on the street, right down the
church pew: total insanity, do things that a human being wouldn't think of
doing and being civilized. Look what Hollywood's done to
the woman. Look how it has--it's robbed the sacred virtues of
the woman. On and on we could go.
See, all this she lost. How did she do it? Because there was a subtle
instrument called the church, like there was in the garden of Eden. A subtle
person, the devil, walked into the church just like he did in the garden of
Eden and deceived her into it. She's deceived. The woman thinks... She don't
mean to be wrong. Eve didn't mean to do wrong. It wasn't willfully. but
she... The Bible said in II Timothy, I Timothy 3, she was deceived. And
deceived is not when you willfully do it, it's when you are deceived into
doing it. 18-1 And that is just exactly what's happened
today. She's been deceived by television, by magazines, by these people,
these--all these fine things that they're going out on the streets. Modern
girls, they look at magazines, and they look at pictures; they look on the
streets; they see the clothing in the shops. How Satan, that great instrument
of--of hell has come down amongst the people and deceived them into these
things. And the woman thinks she's all right. And she's dead and don't
know it. She's far from God. See how she lost all this and how subtle it
was? VOICE.OF.THE.SIGN_ DENHAM.SP.LA SATURDAY_
64-0321E E-52 God doesn't change. His nature doesn't
change. He made women different from men, and men different from women. He
dressed them different and wants them to stay that way. Women wants to look
like men, and men wants to looks like women. Oh, my. Such a perversion is...
And the whole thing looks like it's got a grip on the people, and you can't
change it. Looks
like a great monster, a great blackness, if you're understand what
I'm speaking of, in the spirit. E-53 A
monster's got them grabbed, and they--they just can't get away from him. Too much Hollywood, too much television, too much
other nonsense, everything we got is polluted. No wonder if the
work isn't cut short for the elected's sake, there'll be no flesh saved. You
said, "I never knowed that before." Well, now you know it from now
on. See? HOW.CAN.I.OVERCOME_ JEFF.IN
V-4 N-12 SUNDAY_ 63-0825M 145 We're sometimes tempted to go back. Many of
you, tempted to go back to the denominations, go back and take up, 'cause all
the world's saying, "What denomination you belong to? What church are
you affiliated with?" We're tempted to do that. All of us are. Our
sisters are tempted to go back, go back and join up with the--some of the
rest of the churches, with some of Assemblies, or Churches of God, or some of
them, still be Pentecostal and let your hair; just cut off and dress just
about any way you want to. See, you're tempted to do that, go back and be
popular with this wicked generation that we're living with, when this is
the major sin of our day, the major sin among our people, worldliness.
As the Bible said the Laodicea--Laodicea age was, she's worldly, rich, have
need of nothing, and don't know that she's naked, miserable, wretched, blind.
That's the sin of our day. When you hear the Word of God call out against it,
then you take the other route, you're unpopular with the world. 146 You're tempted to go back. I know you keep
saying to me. I know you're saying all the time... I know you get tired of me
harping on these things. I get tired seeing you do it too. This sin that I'm
trying to tell you about... Say, "What are you harping on it for?"
Stop doing it then. Trying to save your life by the Word. I get
tired also. So just straighten up. This is a sin, shouldn't be done. Yes,
sir. If we are to overcome these things,
we're expected to be tempted by them, the world, "If you love the world,
the things of the world, the love of God's not in you," said Jesus. Deceptions in These Last Days
It is sad to see in these
very final hours before the Rapture that there are professing Message
believers who have somehow justified in their minds their disobedience to the
Word. They have justified their
disobedience to the “ABC’s of the Gospel” because they believe that they have
received a “higher revelation” of the Word which has set them free from “the
law”. They, by their traditions, have
made the Word of God of no effect to the people (Matthew 15:6). Sadly, they are fulfilling the very words
of Isaiah, calling evil good and good evil in these last days: ISAIAH 5:20-21 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good
evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own
eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Some have disobeyed Brother
Branham’s clear teachings on such serious issues as marriage and divorce,
claiming that their “higher revelation” has revealed to them that it is all
“grace” now, and that they are no longer “under the law”. By this supposed “higher revelation” they
have justified satisfying their flesh and have disobeyed what the prophet
clearly taught on this matter: MARRIAGE.AND.DIVORCE_
JEFF.IN V-3 N-13 SUNDAY_
65-0221M 49-1 It
wasn't so from the beginning. That is right. It wasn't so, and it will not be
at the end. But under modern conditions, as God's servant (I won't call
myself His prophet.), but I believe that if I wouldn't be sent for that, I'm
laying a ground for him when he does come. So under the modern conditions, I
command you to go to your home with your wife now. If you are happy with her,
live with her, raise your children in the admonition of God; but God be
merciful to you if you ever do that again. You
teach your children to never do a thing like that. Bring them up in the
admonition of God. And now that
you are as you are, let us go now to late evening hour that we're living in
and press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ where all things
will be possible. Yet these very people who
lack these foundational truths in their lives boast that they are “deep in
the Message”. This is deception, and
it is very sad to see. So what is the answer to
this? Are the prophet’s teachings
“legalism”? Are they negative “laws”
that one has to obey? No.
The real issue here is the issue about a person’s having a new nature. A New Nature
A tree bears a certain kind of fruit because it is that kind of a tree – there is no work up here – it bears its fruit automatically, because that is what kind of a tree it is. An apple tree bears apples because it is an apple tree. A peach tree bears peaches because it is a peach tree. To describe the fruit that a certain kind of a tree bears is not stating a “law” of what that tree has to produce; to state the characteristics of the fruit is just describing the fruit that that kind of a tree will automatically bear. The tree bears its fruit automatically, with “no thoughts coming”. God’s Word (e.g., the “ABC’s of the Gospel”) is not stating a “law” of what a person has to produce; to state the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit is just describing the fruit that that kind of a person (a born again Christian) will automatically bear. The Christian bears the fruit of the Spirit automatically, with “no thoughts coming”. It is just what a Christian is. A sheep bears wool because it is a sheep. To describe wool is not stating a “law” of what a sheep has to bear. To describe wool is just describing the “fruit” that a sheep will just naturally bear without “any thoughts coming”. Now we know that a dog will not bear wool. Why? Because that is not what it is. A Christian woman bears the fruit of dressing modestly because she is a Christian.
A Christian woman bears the fruit of not wearing makeup because she is a Christian. A Christian man bears the fruit of not wearing shorts because he is a Christian. What makes the description of the fruit to be a “law” to some people?Let us use a simple example. Let us say that the Life of God is the life of an orange tree. The description of an orange would therefore just be the description of what an orange tree just naturally bears. Now if I described the characteristics of an orange, what it looks like and tastes like, that is just describing attributes about the fruit of an orange tree. Now to an apple tree, that description of an orange would be to it (the apple tree) a bunch of “laws” of what it would have to try to produce. It would feel it was under “the law” as it listened to the description of an orange because bearing oranges is not its nature. It is not an orange tree to begin with - it is an apple tree. Now if the apple tree came up with a “higher revelation” that it no longer had to be “under the law” and bear the fruit of oranges, that would make it (the apple tree) feel pretty good. Now by its (the apple tree’s) “higher revelation“ of “grace” it could still bear apples and justify itself that it was doing the will of God. As the apple tree’s delusion progressed, it could even get to thinking that it had a “higher revelation” than the orange tree because it was no longer “under the law to bear oranges” as it thinks that the orange tree is. From this simple example we can see that the apple tree’s real problem is its nature – it needs to have a nature change. It needs its nature changed from an apple tree to an orange tree, then it will automatically bear oranges. The apple tree’s nature is its problem: JEHOVAH.JIREH.1_
LOUISVILLE.MS THURSDAY_ 64-0402 E-47
And if the spirit of a--of a villain was in me, I'd have guns. If the
spirit of a artist was in me, I'd paint pictures. If the Spirit of Christ is
in me, the works of Christ you'll do. Amen. That's right. E-48
The life that is in Him is in you. Transfer the life from anything to
another thing... If you could take the life of a--of a pumpkin, and put it in
a watermelon vine, it would bear pumpkins. Exactly. If you take the life out
of a peach tree and put it in a pear tree, it'll bear peaches; because the
life that's in the tree gives the evidence of it. So the real issue that we are dealing with here is the issue of a person’s nature: II PETER 2:22 22 But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again;
and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. LUKE 6:46 46 And
why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 89-2 EPHESIAN.CHURCH.AGE
- CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.3 A
few moments ago I mentioned that John understood what it was to love God. That
great apostle of love would certainly see it when the church began to lose
that first love of God. In I John 5:3, he says, "For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments (His Word)." One little deviation from that Word was a step away from Christ.
People say they love God, they go to church, they even shout and rejoice and
sing and have a great emotional time. But when it is all over, watch and see
if they are in that WORD, walking in it, living in it. If they go through all
the other and then don't walk in that Word, they can say they love God but
their lives tell another story. I
wonder if John didn't see a lot of that before he died; people saying they
loved God but not obeying His Word. God’s Love For UsBrother Branham taught the things that he did because those things are God’s love for His people. They are for our good and protection in this dark and wicked age of perversion and deception. With true consecration in our lives, we will be able to walk in all of the blessings of God, being able to access all of the benefits and all of the Power that are available to us as His Bride. RAPTURE.THE_ YUMA.AZ V-5 N-14
SATURDAY_ 65-1204 [Brother
Branham talking about the vision of the preview of the Bride] 201 And then when them women
passed by, all doing all kinds of rocks and things, and short hair, and
painted faces. And as they passed by like that, supposed to be virgins to
Christ... And when she passed by like that, I turned my head, you know with
this... Just holding that in front of me; it was--it's disgraceful, the back
of them. And there they was going like that. And I turned my head to weeping like that. I said... I--I couldn't
stand it there, Him standing there, me know that me a minister of the church
and that's what I'd produced for Him. I said, "Oh, God, I can't look at
it. Let me die. Let me--let me fade away," and like that. And as soon as it went out--every time one of them would come, they'd
go out to a certain place and drop off, and I'd just the sound of it as it
went away. And then I heard something like a "Onward Christian
Soldiers." And I looked, and here come that sainted bunch of little
girls just exactly the way they was, all correctly dressed, their hairs
hanging way down on their back, smooth, clean, marching like this to the step
of the Gospel. She was the Word. And it looked like one out of every
nation. I was looking at it as they passed by, and seen them pass by. Instead
of going down, they started going up. And
I noticed one of them trying, two or three of them trying--getting out of
line; I screamed, "Stay in line." And the vision left me, and I was
standing in this room screaming, "Stay in line." |