THE
GREAT RAPTURE: FIVE RAPTURES, RESURRECTION AND TRANSLATION
CHAPTER NINE
ÒBut I would not have
you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow
not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.Ó (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18).
The title of the message
tonight will be: ÔThe
Great RaptureÕ, and for a sub-title: ÒFive Raptures, Resurrection and
Translation.Ó These things I want to put together for you that you might
have a clear-cut understanding about the times in which we live.
And right here I want to make
this statement which you will follow throughout the message, and that is: the
Rapture is a different
work of grace from the Resurrection; and both the Rapture and the
Resurrection are a different work of grace from the Translation.
People mix up the Rapture and
the Translation and make them one, but they are clearly divided in the
scriptures and you are going to see that tonight when we have come to the
end. You will understand the
scripture that is speaking of Translation, and you will know which one is
speaking of the Rapture.
Now there is one major
scripture that speaks of the Rapture, of the end time church, the bride of
Christ which I call: ÒThe Great RaptureÓ and that is the one we just read. We are going
to come back to that after a while in 1st Thessalonians 4; and then
I am going to show you several happenings before the Rapture. There are
several things that must happen before the Rapture.
So now, this heresy that
says that the Rapture is now in progress, and It
started since 1963 is going to come up for a lot of blows. They are mixing-up
the Translation with the Rapture and thatÕs why they went off into such a
heresy. But the Translation is entirely different from the Rapture: and we will
prove that.
But first of all I want you to
understand that the word: ÒRapture,Ó cannot be found in the Bible, yet it is
not an unscriptural word, to say that we should not use the word Rapture. The
prophet of God used the word Rapture right through his message, and he preached
a message called: ÒThe RaptureÓ, before he went away in 1965. And my message is
somewhat based upon his message; I do not have any message of my own. I am not
called to interpret the scriptures; I am called to believe the scriptures. And
God sent us a prophet; then whatever I teach, I must be able to put back in the
message and the Bible: and I am positive that we can do that here tonight. So I
did not approach in fear, that I may not be able to prove this.
It is true; that the word: ÒRapture,Ó
cannot be found in the scripture but the meaning of it can be found. So now the
word in the Bible for Rapture is actually: ÒCaught-up.Ó The
Bible said, ÒÉwe
which are alive and remain shall be caught upÉ Éto meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.Ó I like that. We are going to be
with Him from that time on: no separating.
Now you could understand very
well how mysterious this catching away or the Rapture is. Friends, that will
listen to this tape: maybe around the world if I release it; sometimes under
the anointing too many heavy things comes out that people cannot comprehend and
you do not want to choke them, so IÕll stay on friendly grounds.
Now, but when we speak of a
Rapture and a catching away we are talking about people now upon earth that
will literally lift
off the face of the earth. 1We are not mad at all. Children, little ones we
are talking about flying powers. Yes.
Now, my two granddaughters
there: Charity 5 yrs and Lily, 7 yrs they are interested in this Rapture, they
said that they are going to listen tonight. Yes. So I asked them, ÔWhat is the
Rapture?Õ They said, ÒPapa, when we go up in the air, and we are going up.Ó
Yes, and Charity said, ÒPapa, we have to put on wings here and wings here.Ó I
said, ÔNo, you donÕt have to put on wings.Õ So for childrenÕs understanding I
said, ÒYour hands are your wings,Ó but even that, is incorrect; you would not
move one limb and you would not move one hand.
Yes, there is going to be a power greater
than a rocket, greater than atomic power, greater than an engine, greater than
a plane, to break that force of gravity and keep pushing you upward. Yes, and
your hands would not be even moving and your feet would not be even moving: you
would just be gracefully elevated from off the earth. Yes, and you would just
be climbing higher and higher, and higher, and higher, and higher, until a
cloud of angels
comes and encamp around you, and take you into Glory.
Children: that is what weÕre
talking about. Yes. Little ones, that is what weÕre talking about; weÕre not
talking about trying to fly, and then moving our hands and fall down and then
try again, or then we get an airplane or a rocket. We are talking about
something greater than a rocket, greater than an airplane; we are talking about
Holy Ghost power;
now that is why I come back to my subject, friends, ÒThe Final Outpouring of the Holy Ghost for
Rapture Power.Ó
TOKEN FOR
RAPTURE POWER TO CHANGE US
Quote W.M.B.: 93 And FatherÉI pray that You'll
give them such a crave for it, Lord, that they'll come and see we're at the end
time, the astronaut
age. I pray, Father, that they'll realize it isn't
trying to condemn what they had; it's only trying to give them more rapturing grace.
For the hour will come when we'll have to have rapture power, not only to heal the
body but to change
it in a moment in a twinkling of an eye. Christ will be so real into their
bodies, till He can change it by His great death and what He purchased. May
they take this today, that Token that I spoke of last night, hold It before them and walk into
this Astronaut (Grant it, Father.), where visions, powers, and worlds beyond,
known, and, O God, where all the great mysteries of God is unfolded in those
Seven Seals and made known to men. Grant it, Father. (Countdown 64-0209).
Yes, there has got to be a Power inside of you greater than what is in the rocket. YouÕre not going to make a noise of a feather: no engine is going to start, you are just going to get a certain power inside of you and then you will have flying powers. And by this flying power: without any effort of yours, no human energy, no effort of yours at all; something down inside of you which is the same power that dwelt in Jesus Christ. By the same power; did He go in the Rapture?Ó [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] Well, HeÕs lending you that power to meet Him in the air. And then that power comes inside of you, and you are just going to lift from the face of the earth, yes, and you are just going to start climbing, and climbing, and climbing, yes, and if you want to look down, and get a view of the earth, and how it is made up, and all the big houses down below and everything you can, friends; and then youÕll be going up and youÕll hit the clouds up there, and what ever happens up there, a cloud of glory which are the angels of God will come and receive you, and escort you the rest of the way. ThatÕs what I am talking about, Òthe RaptureÓ.
That is going to happen on
this earth. Yes sir, that is going to happen with
people that are sitting here today. That is going to happen to people that
believe the truth, and make a sacrifice to live for Christ. I believe it. How
many believe that? [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] Yes. We are mad enough to believe it.
Oh yes, people hearing this
message outside there: they would say, ÒWe never heard such madness!Ó
This isnÕt madness, friends, itÕs a mystery:
1 Corinthians 15: 51-52 <Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.>
I Thessalonians 4:16-17 <For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.>
How many believe
John 3: 16?
[Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] Well if John 3:16 is true, 1st
Thessalonians 4 is true also.
I believe it with all my
heart; and you better be preparing to go in that Rapture, little ones. That is what we are
talking about. That is what your daddy is talking about. That is what your
mother is talking about. That is what the minister is talking about. That is
our purpose of gathering here.
So now, friends, that Rapture
is a literal
catching away: we are going up in the sky! Yes sir, you better believe this
thing. You say, ÒHow are we going to do that? I donÕt understand? I canÕt even lift two feet off the
earth for just a quarter inch?Ó I
already told you that there is a final quickening for Rapture power. And this
Rapture is an actual catching away of the entire Bride of Christ. Now, before
you could be caught away in a Rapture, your body must
be changed, and translated. You must be given another body all entirely in
order for you to do that. The Translation and the Rapture are two different things all entirely.
Yes.
Now,
what I am preaching to you here tonight is not a new doctrine, and itÕs not
something that is new in the Bible. Friends, there are other Raptures that took
place in the Bible. So now, these Raptures that took place in the Bible: they
took place in order to give the end time Bride faith that she could look back
in the Bible, and also the prophets and the preachers could look back in the
Bible, and see that there were other people raptured before us.
There were two major Raptures that took place in
the Old Testament time, and there was a major Rapture that happened in the Old
Testament and the New Testament time, alright, and they are now history. They
were fulfilled from the time of Genesis right up to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Three Raptures are completed.
Now there are two more
Raptures that are prophesied to come on the scene, and the next two Raptures
did not take place yet, one however is very imminent, and is going to take place in
our generation. Right in our generation it is going to take place. The one that
I am talking about is called, ÔThe Great RaptureÕ, and then there is another Rapture to take
place in the Bible.
These five Raptures, we are going to first get them out of the way in the scriptures. Three Raptures are typing out how the great Rapture is going take place in the end time. They were put there for types and shadows, and to help us to understand about the Rapture of the Bride.
So
now this here is taken from Genesis; do you see a Rapture way down in Genesis?
In the 5th chapter of the Book of Genesis: it speaks of a man
called, ÒEnochÓ.
I am going to call that number one Rapture. Alright, now here is
a man going away in a Rapture alone. He was a special man. Glory to God!
Genesis 5:24-25 <And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.>
Now, many a man probably read
that scripture throughout the ages, and could not understand because they did
not have much Light on what happened to Enoch. Brethren, we learned something
there that if you walk with God one of these days He is going to take you away. These
things here are types and shadows. Yes.
Now, Enoch was the seventh
from Adam; and types the end time Bride, that went through the seventh church
age and is
going to walk with God, and the Lord will take her up:
Genesis 5:23 <And all the days of
Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and
he was not; for God took him.>
Many a man must have read that scripture and said, ÒWell, the
Lord took him, he died and they buried himÓ, but that scripture needed
revelation, it needed understanding. So here, in the New Testament when they
learned and seen what the Lord had done Himself, they understood better.
Hebrews 11:5 <By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was
not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had
this testimony, that he pleased God.>
Alright, the Lord took him.
Those two scriptures put together, friends, speaks of the translation and the
Rapture of Enoch.
Before you go in the Rapture you must be translated. Before Enoch went in the
Rapture he had to be translated.
So he walked with God, he reached into a certain place where he pleased
Almighty God by faith, by divine revelation, and then what happened? One day he
walked the face of the earth, and his feet just got light, and a change came
over him, yes, my brothers, the gray hairs fell off, it became black and there
came a change over the man, and then after that change came upon the man then
he started going up into the heavens, and the Lord called him straight up into
heaven; he alone.
Now, watch something here and
watch the type, my friends: Enoch was translated and he is a type of the end
time Bride that is raptured before the floods come; the floods of judgment. So
now, why must
there be a Rapture in the end time? Even because there
is a destruction going to come upon the face of the earth and God has prepared
a Rapture to
take us off the earth before the judgment falls. So now thatÕs the type and
thatÕs a shadow. Enoch is a type of this Rapture, and Noah is a type of the
tribulation people. If you notice that they went through the flood and although
God saved them they had to be inside of that boat with all the hardship through
that water, for a hundred and fifty days.
NOAH WENT
THROUGH THE TRIBULATION OF THE FLOOD
Quote W.M.B.: 43 But after Noah was pressed
into that condition that he was in, to float forty days and nights in a storm
and the little ark pitching up and down in the water, it was after the flood
was over that he saw the rainbow for its first time, the covenant of hope, the
covenant of promise. After he'd went through the tribulation,
then he saw the promise. (I
Know 60-0417S).
ENOCH WAS A
TYPE OF THE RAPTURED CHURCH
Quote: E-20 And Enoch, of course, was a type of the
raptured
group of the church. And Noah is a type of the carried over or the elect of the
Jews that will be carried through the tribulation period. And we're now living in
that day. (The
Great Coming Revival 54-0718A.).
Quote: E-28 Noah was a type that was carried
over like the sleeping
virgin. But Enoch was translated just before the tribulation struck. And Enoch was took up, and was found not, because God took him: the type
of the going forth of the going forth of the church. And Noah watched him. When
he seen Enoch go, he knew it was time to enter the ark, for to be carried
through the tribulation. (Lamb's Book Of Life 56-0603).
Noah and the brethren that
were saved there typed the tribulation saints, the foolish virgins. But Enoch
out here types the Bride of Christ. This one man types the Bride of Christ that
is going to be raptured in the end time. So now that is why the Lord took this
man away, the seventh from Adam. He took him away, way back then in order to
type out the translation of the Bride in the end time to escape the judgments
of God. Why must there be a Rapture?
Now
there is a second Rapture that took place; everybody knows it. I never said that you have to
go up in five Raptures. I said there are five Raptures; you only have to go in
one.
II Kings 2:9-11 <And it came to pass,
when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for
thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a
double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing:
nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto
thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that,
behold, there appeared a chariot of fireÉÓ ÒÉthere appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of
fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into
heaven.>
Is that a
Rapture?
[Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] Alright, thatÕs a
Rapture.
II Kings 2:12-14 <And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes,
and rent them in two pieces.>
I love that. My brothers
and sister, let me read it a little bit again.Ó
<ÉHe took up also the mantle of
Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the
waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and
when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha
went over.>
That is what we are asking, ÒWhere is
the God of William Branham?Ó We are going to see the God of William Branham by
a double portion of the Spirit when it comes upon the end time Bride. There we
are friends; thatÕs Rapture number two. Is that correct? [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó]
Alright, here is a man again who went away in a Rapture
alone. Observe how that Rapture took place, there, it
is going to come up a little later. There came down chariots of fire, UFOs. All
that they saw was a big UFO coming down to the earth, and it got brighter and
brighter, and the Lord wanted only Elijah not Elisha, and that UFO sped between
the both of them, and pushed down Elisha and took up Elijah. Yes sir, and
Elisha barely seen it, it was horsemen of fire. Glory to God! Chariots of Fire
and horsemen of fire, and he cried out, and said, ÒMy father, my father: I see it. I
see it. I see it!Ó Oh glory to God! He said, ÒIÕm going to get a double portion
of the Spirit: I see it. I see it.Ó Yes sir. UFO came down. My Lord!
And those UFOS just came down
there and the Lord opened up the eyes of Elisha and He realized that they were
men. It was a Chariot of Fire and
Horsemen of Fire. The Horsemen of
Israel, resembling the Israelites.
They came down for him. They looked like Israelites, picked him up and
they went. ThatÕs
Rapture number two and it was a mysterious something.
ENOCH &
ELIJAH – TYPES OF THE RAPTURE
Quote W.M.B.:
E-40 Enoch,
before the world, the antediluvian destruction, if He wanted to show a type, how
could He do if He didn't want Enoch to die? He had to make a translation
for him. So God just made a rapture for him. God had to do
it in order to make a type out of Enoch. That's right.
When Elijah come
to die, He'd already showed His type in that, so He had to show a way. So when
Elijah crossed over and was going to be taken up, God had to make a way of
escape for him. So He just set him down a chariot of fire and horse of fire,
took him on up into glory. (The Infallibility Of God's Spoken Word 56-0404).
Now
there is a Third Rapture in the Bible.
Acts 1: 9-11: <And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was
taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand
ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.>
I
am talking about the Rapture, the Catching-Away, There
are other things that are to happen before the Catching-Away. There came a time
in Jesus Ministry when He was talking to the disciples. He was upon the earth
for about forty days and forty nights breaking bread, eating fish and bread and
all these other things.
They
asked Him Lord, ÒAre you going to restore the Kingdom nowÓ, are we going to
overcome the Romans, are we going to overthrow Caesar, now that you have great
power because you came back from the dead? They asked, ÒWhen are you going to restore the
Kingdom?Ó
Acts 1:7-8: <And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth. >
I Corinthians 15:6: <After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some
are fallen asleep.>
Five hundred people were
gathered upon a mountain and all of a sudden our Lord feet start lifting off
the face off the earth. I guess it
confused them; they never heard an engine started. Do you hear what I am telling you little girls? No. He never started to wave His hands
like that. He had the Holy Ghost Power in Him.
The
same power that raised Him from the dead was able to rapture Him. He was
talking to them casually and then all of a sudden His feet started raising
off the ground. I believe it
confused the disciples. They expected Him to go and take over the Kingdom of
the Romans and get swords and kill out all those Romans and here he was lifting
off the ground. I imagine one fellow that was standing level to him said: ÒBoy
Jesus got taller than me, he looked down said: ÒBut wait, his feet is not on
the ground!Ó yes sir, I guess one person held on to Him. ÒLord, my LordÓ. And
the power was so great, He just slip out of the fellow hands and kept going up.
No Grave shall hold my body down. [Congregation
rejoices].
I
believe it confused the five hundred and they looked there at this great
miracle, probably some of them backed off a little bit, because there was so
much Power in our Lord. Then after he raised one foot from off the face of the
earth, he looked like a tall man, he raised two feet. Now, he was not going up
very fast like a rocket; no sir.
Some things that God does is very slow, you know it takes time, with many
of these things, and He continued going up, and when he crossed the height of
the head, they had to lift up their heads. They said, ÒWhat in the world is thisÓ.
I am telling you the Rapture is a mystery. IsnÕt that a mystery?
How on earth can a man break the force of gravity without jumping up,
without moving his hands like that, without
getting a motor? ItÕs a mystery,
and there was so much power in our Lord, His Power was inside of the soul, and
that Power inside of our Lord, kept pushing Him upward. Nothing could hold Him down! Nothing could hold Him down!
Now He was rising, He was
going up, His feet above them, and the disciples gazing up saying: ÒJesus.Ó
They were confused. ÒAny how,
maybe He is showing us a miracle. He will come back downÓ, they imagined. It
was not just a miracle. They gazed up into heaven at that human being. Can you
see His celestial robe, the old robe that they gambled for? He did not have on that again. The Lord
gave Him a celestial robe and He kept going up. ÒCan you see Him?Ó He was going
up, and the disciples lifted their heads. I do not know what was their mood,
but they were amazed,
they were scared, they were confused, and kept watching and they saw this man
going up higher and higher and higher, yes.
I guess many of them were
calling, many of them were crying, many of them were asking: ÒLord where are
you going?Ó And up and up and up they saw the Lord moving gradually. I do not
believe according to the Scripture, it was something that went like a rocket.
No, the chariots probably did that, but not this. He went gradually, even as the Holy City, New
Jerusalem will be coming down as a bride adorned for her husband, yes sir. [Congregation
rejoices].
It was not coming down with
great speed friends, no sir, and He gradually moved up and He was looking
smaller and smaller and smaller and then all of a sudden a white cloud came
and He went inside of that cloud and they saw the last part of His feet going
into the cloud, and the cloud received Him out of their sight. And they were so confused that the Lord
had to send two angels dressed in white apparel standing at their side. They said: ÒMen of Galilee why gaze ye
up into Heaven? Oh my, you are so
confused; you do not understand what just happened. I am sorry for you men of Galilee, why gaze ye up into
heaven? The same Jesus, who went up shall return in like manner.Ó
Now speaking of the physical
return of our Lord Jesus, my beloved, our Lord Jesus will come in a cloud when
He returns to meet us in the air.
Now you see what I am talking about. Now do not get confused with the Shout and the Voice,
I am talking about, the physical return of the Lord, when the Lord return to catch His Bride away,
He comes back in the same cloud that received Him out of their sight, yes, and
he comes there waiting in the clouds.
I Thessalonians 4:17: <Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.>
That cloud is going to engulf
us, and so shall we ever be with Him.
Oh my! Now that is your Third Rapture, that Rapture stood between the
Old Testament and the New Testament. Why did it stand between the Old Testament
and the New Testament? I am going
to be scriptural. It was not Jesus alone that went in that Rapture. There was a Rapture of the Church
during that time, but the disciples were only seeing Jesus, yes but there were
a lot of people following Him, and also going up, but invisible to the disciples. Ephesians 4
and Psalm 24.
Matthew 27: 50-51: <Jesus, when he
had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil
of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent;>
Now that was an earthquake and
the rocks
broke in two and what happened.
Matthew 27: 52-53: <And the graves
were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after
his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.>
Are you following the
course of what is getting ready to take place here on earth? That was and Old Testament
Resurrection, friends, and that happened just before the Rapture of Our Lord
Jesus, and what happened there is that during that time of the Cross, our Lord,
He cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost and then the temple was rent in
twain, and then what happened, after His resurrection there were others that
arose with Him.
Psalm 24 depicted that in a great way, that was prophesied by
David and it says:
Psalms 24: 7 <Lift up your heads, O
ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall
come in.>
And somebody answered
when they reached up into glory and said: Psalms 24: 8 <Who is this King of Glory>,
and then they said:
Psalms 24: 8-10 <The LORD strong and
mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift
them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this
King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.>
Now the scripture that ties
with that says:
Ephesians 4:8 <ÉWhen he ascended up
on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.>
THE OLD
TESTAMENT SAINTS ASCENDED WITH CHRIST
Quote W.M.B.: 100
You say, "Brother Branham, is that mythical?"
No, sir. I'll show you the Scriptures in a minute.
When He begin to go up, they only seen Him, but the Old Testament saints went
with Him, for the Bible said that He led captivity captive and give gifts unto
men. And I can see Him as He goes up, and joins with His church. (Entombment 57-0420).
Quote: E-21 I can see
Abraham and Sarah, as young people walking down the streets, looking the old
city over, and the priest say, "I seen them people somewhere." And
they disappeared just like Jesus coming through that wall, the same kind of a
glorified body. Yes. But brother, on that last day, after the Pentecost, before
Pentecost, when He ascended up on high, as He went up, the Bible said, "He
went with them." He went up and they went with Him.
I can see Him going on above the moon,
the stars, Him and the Old Testament saints, going into the Presence of God.
When they get way out there somewhere, millions of miles beyond where any scope
could ever see, way in there, it come close to the city. I can hear the Old
Testament saints when they see the city say, "Lift up, ye everlasting
gates, and be ye lifted up. Let the King of glory come in." (Expectations 53-0507).
So now all that Satan was
holding in the place called Paradise and holding them in custody, they were
captives to Satan, to a certain extent. That is why at the time of the Resurrection, they arose
with our Lord because He went down to Paradise. He also went down to hell. He
redeemed the Old Testament Saints. Oh my!
He redeemed the Old Testament
Saints. So when He arose that is why they appeared to them in the city at His
Resurrection. They went away in a rapture together with Him. Do you see where the Resurrection is first and then the
Rapture? They appeared unto many in the City. Old Abraham appeared.
Sarah appeared. Old John
the Baptist arose. He said: ÒMan I
got my head cut off, but I got it backÓ. Oh glory to God! Think of how many appeared in the City
of Jerusalem. That is why the Jews wanted their bones to go back to Jerusalem.
That is why Joseph down in Egypt, he made them swear to
carry his bones back to Jerusalem, because he knew the Resurrection was going
to take place in Jerusalem. The
Power of the Almighty burst the rocks in two, they had a grave right there no
doubt and big stone on top the grave, so the rocks rent in twain when the
Resurrection came. The Power of the Lord raised them. And they started
appearing unto the living through the City.
Jesus was walking forty days
and nights upon the earth. They also was about forty days and nights upon the
face of the earth walking and appearing to brothers and sisters. I am telling you this thing is a reality. [Congregation
says, ÒAmen!Ó] Brother
this thing is not a made up story. [Congregation says, ÒNo!Ó] The Rapture that we
are looking for and the Resurrection that we are looking for happened
before in scriptures. How can a man doubt the Rapture? We cannot doubt the Rapture. How he could doubt the Resurrection, we
cannot doubt the Resurrection, it happened before in scriptures.
THE FOURTH RAPTURE –
BRIDE OF CHRIST –
1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-16
Now
there is a fourth Rapture.
1 Thessalonians 4: 15-18: <For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these
words.>
That is The Great Rapture;
that is our Rapture. That is the BrideÕs Rapture. That is the rapture that is coming
to bring all the elected Bride from the time of that
resurrection of Jesus, and the time He went up. There were people who died for the Gospel who served the
Lord, coming right down through the Seven Church Ages, to the end of the
Seventh Church Age. They are
waiting and waiting for this great rapture to take place. It is going to be the
ransomed body of the Lord. So now that is the fourth rapture, which I would come back
to just now.
FIFTH RAPTURE – TWO
WITNESSES – MOSES & ELIAS – REVELATION 11: 9 - 12
Alright,
now there is a fifth rapture in the scriptures and let me clear that up. It is
found in Revelation chapter eleven. It is speaking of Moses and Elias:
Revelation 11:8 <And their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.>
ThatÕs
Jerusalem. Oh my, thatÕs the same voice that the Bride is going to hear.
Revelation 11:9-12 <And they of the
people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see
their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon the earth shall
rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because
these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days
and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon
their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a
great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up
to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.>
Now this is your fifth rapture
that is yet to take place. The one that we are looking for is about to take
place right here in our generation. I will prove to you why it is supposed to take place in
our generation, so donÕt put this thing off for another generation. This thing
is going to happen in our generation.
I notice that at the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus there was a great earthquake and that earthquake
was connected with the resurrection of the Jews of the Old Testament. And here in the resurrection of these two prophets. They had
already killed the 144,000 that are supposed to be Temple Eunuchs for the Bride
in the Millennium. The only place that I could put that resurrection of the
144,000 is to relate it to this earthquake that takes place. I believe that
this earthquake that takes place at the resurrection of these two prophets also
resurrected the 144,000, because we found them upon a mountain, with the
FatherÕs name on their forehead.
Revelation 14:1,4 <And I looked, and,
lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an
hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheadsÉ These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits
unto God and to the Lamb.>
And just as certain as an earthquake
took place when Jesus rose again from the dead, and an earthquake takes place
when the two prophets arises when they are caught-up, I believe the 144,000
also was raptured,
and went into glory.
Now, case proven, there are
five raptures. Is that right? I say, there are five raptures. And three are
history and two are prophecy. Alright, your first rapture was Enoch, your
second was Elijah and the third was Jesus and the Old Testament Saints. And the
fourth will be the Bride of Christ and then the fifth will be Elijah and Moses.
Five raptures in your Bible. After we see and recognize in scriptures that
there were three raptures that took place, I donÕt think that we should have
any doubts
about the other two that are to be fulfilled because the thing happened in the
Old Testament.
RAPTURES IN THE BIBLE
Quote W.M.B.: 166 Three is a witness. Now, we've already had three raptures
in the Old TestamentÉEnoch was one; Elijah was the other one; and Jesus was the other OneÉHe was the Keystone
between the Old and New Testament, 'cause He had to first die and then rapture.
He died, come to life, and walked around here with us, and then was raptured
up; because He was the Keystone that tied the two together... We all know Enoch
was translated. We know Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind (That right?) in a
chariot of fire. And Jesus died, buried, rose up, and lived here on earth, and
then was raptured up, the Keystone. There's three to bear record. Is that
right? (The Rapture 65-1204).
Quote: 171 The Old
Testament saints has gone into His Presence, paradise done away. And the Old
Testament saints ascended up at His loud voice when He screamed and give up the
ghost. Because why? The sacrifice, their propitiation of their sins that they'd
waited on... Believing that perfect Lamb was coming, they'd offered the
sacrifice of the lamb. And when He died and yielded up the ghost, He screamed
with a loud voice, and the Old Testament saints awoke. Watch the shout and the
voice over here, the same thing at His coming. See? Yielded up the ghost, and
when He did the sacrifice was perfect, and paradise emptied out; and the Old
Testament saints came to the earth again, walked around on earth, and entered
in with Him at His raptureÉ The next rapture
takes place is II Thessalonians for the church, the Bride, to be resurrected to
be raptured into glory. "We which are alive and
remain (That's the body that's left on earth.) will
not prevent or hinder them which are asleep; for the trumpet of God shall sound
first, and the dead in Christ shall rise. (See?) And we which are alive and
remain shall caught up together with them." (The Rapture 65-1204).
Quote: 168 Now, there has been one rapture already pastÉMatthew the
27th chapterÉ45th verseÉ One
rapture is passed. Three's happened in the Old Testament of them prepared who
the Word of the Lord came to. See? The Word of the Lord came to Enoch. The Word
of the Lord came to Elijah. He was a prophet. See? The Word of the Lord was
Jesus. See?... Watch in the Old Testament, them Old Testament
saints now when this rapture first taken place. Notice verse 50: His loud voice
awakened the Old Testament saints just exactly like the loud voice wakened
Jesus wakened LazarusÉ And the second is fulfilled in Thessalonians 4:12-18.
That will be the second rapture. The second rapture will be the catching away
of the BrideÉ for the church, the Bride, to be resurrected to be raptured into glory.
"We which are alive and remain (That's the body
that's left on earth.) will not prevent or hinder them
which are asleep; for the trumpet of God shall sound first, and the dead in
Christ shall rise. (See?) And we which are alive and remain shall caught up
together with them."É the first one's past. The second one is at hand right nowÉ
Now, the third one is the two witness of
Revelation 11:11 and 12, which these are the ones that turns back with the
Spirit of Christ to witness to the Jews like Joseph did to his brethren. And
you remember their dead bodies laid in the streets for three days and a half;
then the Spirit of life came into them and they were raptured, taken up into
heaven. There's your three raptures of the New
Testament. (The Rapture 65-1204).
So now brethren, we are
calling this rapture for the Bride the great rapture. Why is this called the great
rapture? The prophet called it the great rapture, in the message called ÒThe
RaptureÓ. Even because it has to do with the resurrection and the catching away
of the greatest lady upon earth, the wife of Jesus Christ.
THREE PREVIOUS RAPTURES
FORESHADOWED THE
BRIDEÕS RAPTURE
The
greatest calling of all callings, upon the earth, is the calling of the end
time Bride, the elected Bride of Christ. So it is a great rapture for the end
time. Now, from these other raptures that took place, we could understand very
much about how the rapture is going to be, in the end time. And I want to go
into that and pick out certain things to show you how the rapture is going to
be. It is going to be real, just like those other raptures.
So this rapture that we are
speaking about is in 1Thesselonians the fourth chapter, and it is prophesied
for our age. The rapture of Enoch is a type of it. Since Enoch was raptured as
the seventh from Adam, this rapture is to take place in the seventh Church Age,
right today, in our day, our age. So now the seventh church age, rapture age.
SIGNS OF THE RAPTURE - MALACHI
4:5
Now
friends, how do we know that this rapture is supposed to take place in our age?
One of the greatest signs of the rapture in the end time is Malachi 4:5-6.
Malachi 4:5-6: <Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart
of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a
curse.>
Now what is
happening is that, here in the end time, one of the greatest signs of judgment
that ever hit the earth was when the man called William Branham, went around
the world with his message, confirmed by signs and wonders and miracles. Now,
since there is a great judgment that is to come upon the face of the earth,
beloved, the Lord
has to protect us as He protected Enoch. Elijah came and he pronounced
judgment. With that judgment that is about to come upon the face of the earth,
the Lord, has to take away the end time beloved Bride, and save Her from the
wrath, by taking Her up in a rapture just like Enoch. Before one drop of rain
fell, Enoch went up. He was caught up into the heavens and the Lord hid him
away from the wrath. So before one speck of judgment, in the tribulation, falls
upon the earth, the Bride must be raptured.
The prophet
preached, ÒWill
The Church Go Through The Tribulation?Ó He said, ÒNo, the Church will not
go through the tribulation.Ó He said, ÒThe Son of Man was revealed in two
phases, He was revealed in mercy, to bring the message to the people, but then
the message was rejected and they must face the judgments of God, by the Son of
Man.Ó But we would not be here for the judgments of God. We are going to be
taken up before the great tribulation period. And although people believe that
the Bride will go through the tribulation, she will have a place somewhere in
the desert to hide. That is not so! Brother Branham never believed that, and he
contended with a great brother, for that same doctrine. And that brother went
on believing that. Maybe he has changed his doctrine. I donÕt know.
Now another dumb
thing is, that they say, ÒWhen Brother Branham preached the message called,
ÔThe RaptureÕ, that was the Seven Thunders and that was the opening of the
Seals.Ó Now thatÕs a lie, because after Brother Branham preached that, in 1965,
he was still looking for the Seven Thunders. I want to know what is in the
Rapture message that blends in with the Thunders? You cannot blend in the
Thunders with the Rapture message. The Thunders is far greater than that.
Now watch the time
in which weÕre living. Elijah has come, preached his message and gone on, and
told us all about what is going to happen right down from here to the setting
up of the Millennium and even the New World. So we are not a blind people. We
are walking in the light.
Another thing that
was to happen before the rapture was the Seven Seals were supposed to be
loosed. And when that happened it brought down somebody.
DOWN COMES THE ANGEL, MESSENGER, CHRIST
Quote W.M.B.:
74-2 {40} And when the
Seals are broke and the mystery is revealed, down comes the Angel, the
Messenger, Christ, setting His foot upon the land and upon the sea with a
rainbow over His head. (The Breach 63-0317E).
By the opening of
the Seals, Revelation 10:1, the mighty Angel, came down and, stood upon land
and sea, and He knows about changing bodies. All this was setting in order the rapture
and this one knows about changing bodies. One time there was an old man and an
old lady and God promised them that they would have a child. But at ninety
years of age and Abraham an hundred years of age, they could not produce a
child because AbrahamÕs body was dead and SarahÕs womb was dead.
Abraham needed a
complete change back to a young man, and the woman needed a complete change,
where she could have that baby. In order to have this baby, God was made flesh.
IÕm telling you about the rapture and the change body being foreshadowed over
there. And in order for this rapture to take place today we need that same One
on the earth. We
need the same one on earth today. This is clear like a whistle.
There came down
Almighty God; it was the revealing of the Son of Man. And He came down at the
tent door, and sat with Abraham. Before the change, He fellowshipped with
Abraham and Abraham felt His presence, the presence of the Almighty. When you
start feeling the presence of God, like you feel it in this building, the power
of the rapture will come upon you very soon.
This is the sign
of the rapture. When you could sing like that and when you could worship like
that and when you could feel the presence of His being, we are getting ready to
be raptured.
So now, they
needed a complete change. Abraham needed a complete change back to a young man,
and Sarah needed a complete change to where she could have this baby. In order to have this change, God was
made flesh. I am telling you about the rapture and the changed body foreshadowed
over there. In order for the rapture to take place today, we need that same one
on the earth. There came down almighty God. It was the revealing of the son of
man, and He came down at the tent door and he sat with Abraham, before the
change. He fellowshipped with Abraham, and Abraham felt His presence, the
presence of the Almighty. When you start feeling the presence of God like you
feel in this building, the power of the rapture will come upon you very soon.
This is the sign of the rapture?
When you could sing like that, when you could worship like that and feel the
presence of His being, we are getting ready to be raptured. Yes, it makes
me feel religious. My God!
Do you understand what I am saying children? [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] My little grandchildren, these little ones say, ÒPapa, I feel something cold, cold, cold. What is that?Ó That shows that we are going up in the rapture very soon. ThatÕs the power of the Holy Ghost upon you. My daughters say that when they play the organ or piano: ÒDaddy, I feel something cold upon me from the beginning to the end, and something just comes upon my fingers and make me play the piano and play the organ.Ó ThatÕs the presence of Elohim, the one that visited Abraham. Yes sir! And Sarah is a type of the Bride in the end time. Her womb was dried –up. She could not bring forth. The presence of the Lord had moved down to the face of the earth.
Before
SarahÕs body was changed, the son of man was revealed. Luke 17:30, the son of
man was to be revealed in the end time. ThatÕs the same one; Elohim in the end
time, in a ministry with William Branham, to discern the thoughts of the heart;
and he said, ÒWhy did Sarah laugh in the tent behind me?Ó And Sarah said, ÒI
never laughed.Ó God discerned it. He said, ÒYou did laugh. DonÕt you lie in the
face of God, you did laugh. Is there anything too hard for God?Ó My brother, do
you think the rapture is an impossible thing? Is there anything too hard for
God? I believe He could transform my body. I believe He could transform your
body. I believe He could make and old man young. I believe He could make an old
lady young. Yes sir! What are you telling me about? Our God is able and nothing
is too hard for our God. Is there anything too hard for God?
Is
there anything too hard, to restore your eyes? Is there anything too hard to
take away that sugar diabetes? Is it too hard for God to put back teeth in your
mouth? Our God is a God of miracles. HeÕs a God of signs,
he is a God of wonders. He could take away that cancer; He could take away any
sickness in your body, if you would only believe right now.
Oh
brethren, donÕt you see the type, donÕt you see the shadow? You say, ÒBrother
Bruce, what do Sarah and Abraham have to do with us here? Go ahead and speak
about the rapture.Ó Here what the prophet is saying here.
SARAH AND
ABRAHAM - TYPE OF THE RAPTURE
Quote W.M.B.: E-64
He made Sarah a new woman. He made her a young, beautiful woman again,
and he made Abraham a young man again. He just turned them back to show what
He's going to do in the rapture to us. (The
unconditional covenant 54-0306).
ThatÕs why I am making the
type, thatÕs why I am making the shadow.
And beloved, that great thing had to happen on earth before the rapture.
And when we see the seals opened and Revelation 10:1 stand upon earth, itÕs
about time that the rapture is going to take place. You could play the nonsense if
you want. You doubt and prepare for another ten years, and you will remain
right here. We are getting ready to go. [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] There is going to
be a final
outpouring of the Holy Ghost to quicken our bodies, and we believe it.
Glory to God! Three UFOs came down, and they hovered over the fields. And out
of these UFOs, out of these chariots, out of these lights came forth three men
and started to walk the face of the earth, but they were three angels. One of
the great and mighty angels was Elohim, God almighty. Oh canÕt you see the
rapture brethren? [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó] Yes sir! These angels,
are connected with the rapture. And here they came, and put a little dust on
their clothes, and started walking like natural men. They wanted to know if
Abraham would recognize them, but he was acquainted with the presence of the
Lord. You are not seeing them here today, but you feel the presence of the
Lord. ItÕs about time for the rapture to take place. ItÕs time that outpouring
come upon us.
And Abraham looked at them
very carefully. There were three of them, and Abraham went there and bowed down
to the man in the middle and said, ÒMy Lord.Ó And the Lord said, ÒI have come
to fulfill my promise that I made unto thee. If you doubt that was God, who
made the promise? It was God who made the promise. And He spoke in the personal
pronoun and said, ÒI have come to fulfill My promise which I made unto
thee. Sarah shall conceive and bare a child.Ó
So this man sat at the tent
door and continued to talk to Abraham and immediately transforming power came
over Abraham and Sarah, and they became young people again, at about twenty
five years of age. The only difference is that was flesh. They did not have
immortality. It was a type. And the proof of that is that Sarah died after a
time, after bringing forth the child, and after that, Abraham went and married
another woman, and had a lot of children with her. How is ÒGrampsÓ going to
have all those children, being a hundred years of age? Teeth fell out, the
almond tree blossomed, the keepers of the house began
to tremble, the strong men of the house started buckling. All
these symptoms of old age and death spoken of in Ecclesiastes 12; 1-7.
God turned the man into a young man and Sarah into a young woman, typing out
what He is going to do, old men and old ladies today. Typing out what He is
going to do with little children. Little children, you are going to get big overnight.
My God! When I look there, little Bobby is a man of twenty or twenty two years
of age, and old Brother Rogers resembles him too. He will be about twenty-two
years of age also. Old Brother Narinesingh,
twenty-two years of age, and they are matching with Bobby to. Great God! How
great our God is! Translation power! Yes sir!
UFOS - ANGELIC BEINGS - CONNECTED WITH
THE RAPTURE
What
they call UFOs,
these mystic lights, are connected with the rapture.
Many of them are angels doing investigative judgment, now upon the face of the
earth.
Those two fellows rose up from
Abraham, slipped back into their UFO lights. They saw two bright lights coming
down to Sodom now, hovering over Sodom and looking at the sins of the city.
Almighty God remained with the elect, and that was the only place you could
have found Him
And these two UFOs climbed out
of the ÒrocketsÓ, walked down there as ordinary men and investigated the
Sodomites and blinded them. And they just lifted their hands in the air and put
them down and fire burnt the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, angels of
judgment. These UFOs are connected with the rapture.
INVESTIGATIVE
JUDGMENT
MYSTIC
LIGHTS WILL DROP DOWN – THATÕS HOW THE RAPTURE WILL BE
Quote W.M.B.: 68 You see these little
pockets going through the air they call "saucers," so forthÉ "Hear how
these people come up missing?" you say. Don't hear from them; they're
standing there, and they're not there. That's the way the rapture's going to be. One of them
would drop right down, and this terrestrial body will take on a celestial body.
(Christ is revealed in His own Word
65- 0822m).
Do you see how close that
rapture is?
Quote W.M.B.: And they'll be hide, hair, or bones left. It'll be transformed in a
moment of time, dropping right out of space and taking home that... We see all
this going on now, and the Pentagon wondering about these lights, and mystic
lights, and everything they're seeing in the sky. You seen they had one here in
the paper at Jeffersonville this week and so forth, a mystic light saw. Oh,
they don't know what that is. But listen, little children, it's going to pick
you up one of these days (See, see?); don't worry. You remember, Jesus said,
"As it was in the days of Sodom... What happened just before Sodom? God
came down with some Angels, and they had an investigation judgment. Said,
"I've heard the cry that is so sinful, so great, so I've come down to find
out whether it's altogether the truth or not." Is that right? Watch, that
main One that stayed with Abraham could discern the thoughts was in Sarah's
heart behind Him. Now, you'd look around just a little bit and notice (See?);
watch what It's doing, the same thing today. It's an investigation judgment. When after
while the church, when It can stand that place and
every seed has been brought to it's spot, they'll be gone. They won't know what
happened to them. One will be going one way. See? One will be going over to the
pastor's house, and one will be going here or down there; and the first thing
you know, they're not there. For Enoch which was the type, God took him, and he
was found not. Come down to investigate. (Christ Revealed In His
Own Word 65-0822m)>
Do you believe the prophet? [Congregation
says, ÒAmen!] I am telling you friend that these mystic lights are
connected with the rapture, and one of these days they will drop down here, in
the right time and pick you up. You are not leaving this place alone, you need
a guide.
Certain
things have first got to happen, but I am showing you that the rapture is
already being set in order. The rapture being set in order is Elijah has
come, the seals
book opened, the mighty Angel of Revelation 10:1 now stands upon earth. He has the power to
change your bodies. And those two angels represents the angels that came down
at the seals, because the third pull is a ministry of angels. Now, weÕve got to
stop right there and donÕt say no more, but the third pull is a ministry of angels.
There were little birds, there were doves, and the third pull was the mighty
angels of God and these angels are now upon the face of the earth, getting set
for the rapture.
The Rapture has order. The
order of the Rapture is in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, ÒFor the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first.Ó Brother Branham said the shout is his
message.
SHOUT: A
MESSENGER GETTING THE PEOPLE READY
Quote W.M.B.: 152 The first thing isÉa shout, and then a voice, and then a
trumpet. Shout,
a messenger getting the people ready. (The Rapture 65-1204).
1 Corinthians 11:14
<And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.>
There are many stories of
these things. But I want to tell you; we came in contact with the right
saucer! DonÕt you realize that a
UFO was with a man called, ÒWilliam BranhamÓ and inside of that saucer was an
Angel, of God? And when the Light filled the cave, he saw a manÕs foot coming
down out of the saucer and stood before him. He said: ÒI am sent from the
Presence of GodÓ. Yes sir, and after that, the Pillar of Fire followed William
Branham for all those years and he would say, ÒIÕm waiting on the Angel of the LordÓ, ÒI
see the Angel of the Lord over a sister there in the cornerÓ. The Angel was
in the Pillar of Fire inside of the saucer, inside of the UFO. My God, the Rapture is about to take
place! I donÕt know who would believe all these things, but I believe them.
And if that is not so then
tell me what are these saucers about? These foolish scientists, when they see these
saucers, they are positive that there are people living on the Stars and on the
Moon, and on Mars and everything, so they made a rocket to go up there to find
the people. And here was a man on Earth telling them what it is and he was in
contact with UFO. Do you know what I heard on the radio several years ago? They
brought the photograph of the Pillar of Fire that was with William Branham as a
UFO mystery. And they said that was the first UFO that was ever photographed
with a man called William Branham. It is in Washington D.C, as the only
supernatural being ever photographed in the history of the world. So now, a UFO
was with William Branham and it was an Angel of God. So why canÕt I believe
that these flying saucers are Angels of God? And here is the Prophet verifying
that in 1965, right here on the tape called, ÒChrist is Revealed
in his Own Word.Ó
So after the opening of the
Seals, God setting in order the Rapture, these angels were to be upon the face
of the Earth. You say, ÒHow is it that angels will be associated with the
Rapture?Ó Who came down for Elijah in the form of men? In what form did they
come down? DidnÕt they come down with chariots of fire? And wasnÕt there
horsemen of fire? And who came down for Jesus? Do you think it was a rain cloud
that carried him away? No, those
were the angels of God that took our Lord Jesus and escorted him. And the Old
Testament saints also went there. The angels of God came there to meet them.
Let us understand how close we are living. Look at how many years ago since
those angels
are upon the face of the Earth.
What was to follow after the
Seals is the ministry of Revelation 10:1
which is directly connected with the Rapture. Outside of
that you cannot be translated because He is the one who translated the body of
Abraham and Sarah. Anybody that rejects Revelation 10:1 and say: ÒAll was in Brother
Branham,Õ you are going to be Tribulation bound. What about if Abraham had
rejected that one that came to the tent door? He would not have any child, and his body would have remained
old. Revelation
10:1 is directly connected with the Rapture, and judgments of God. Yes, judgment is
going to follow from that ministry. Revelation 10:1 is a judgment ministry, and it
is directly connected with the Thunders. So what they are talking about all
these false Thunders around the world is nonsense. If the Seven Thunders were
revealed here in a public ministry, judgments will be falling.
OUTPOURING – REVIVAL
So
now what is to follow the Seals? The next thing to follow the Seals is the
Final Outpouring
of the Holy Ghost for Rapture Power. ThatÕs the article that has got to come in
order for Rapture Power because Revelation 10:1 has to do with Rapture Power.
And before we go in the Rapture, there must come Rapture Power in us. This
great Rapture Power is going to come down to the end-time Bride fulfilling the
prophecy of Joel
2 and Malachi
4:6, ÒTurning the hearts of the children back to the fathers –
RestorationÓ. When that Outpouring comes upon the end-time Bride, that is Rapturing power. And it breaks a Sealing Revival and
it will seal the last elect. The Prophet of God says that the only time that
the Rapture is going to come is when the last elect is sealed.
LAST ELECT
SEALED – THEN RAPTURE
Quote W.M.B.: 136-3 {131}
He's doing the part of the Kinsman Redeemer taking His subjects, until the last one
name is put on that Book, has already received it and been sealed away. Now, do you got it? Then He comes from His throne, His Father's throne,
walks forward, takes the Book out of God's hand from the throne and claims His
rights. The first thing He does is call for His Bride. (The First Seal 63-0318).
So when that Outpouring comes
it breaks, a Power Revival, a BrideÕs Revival, a Sealing Revival, a final
sealing to the Gentiles, and when she gets that Outpouring, thatÕs the power to
transform her and take her in the Rapture. And while that power is upon the
Earth, there will be a Revival where Christ will glorify himself:
II Thessalonians 1-10: <When he shall come to be glorified in his saintsÉ>
The Revival will last for
several months, Brother Branham says between three and six months. ThereÕll be
dynamic power upon the Earth, Speak the Word power, Revival power, some
judgments will start passing upon the
rejecters of the Message.
SON OF MAN
REVEALED IN MERCY & JUDGMENT
Quote W.M.B.: E-36 That's what He said here, "In the days when the Son of
man shall reveal Himself from heaven..." He's revealing Himself now to the
church for mercy.
The next time He reveals Hisself is in destruction
to those who's rejected the Message. (Will
Church Go Before Tribulation 58-0309e).
The next revelation
of the Son of Man will be in judgment. The Seven Thunders ministry is a
judgment ministry. And when that judgment ministry starts, upon all rejecters
and perverters of the Message, judgment will start falling on them as we come
nearer to the Rapture.
The next thing on the agenda is that the
First Resurrection will take place. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 identifies that by
saying, Òthe
dead in Christ shall rise firstÓ. So the living Bride would not interfere
with them. We would not hinder them. So now your Outpouring takes place, your
revival comes, and the Resurrection takes place. But that is not the Rapture.
These saints, just like the Old Testament saints in Matthew 27:52-53, rise from the dead and
they will start appearing to us.
THE DEAD IN
CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST AND APPEAR TO MANY
Quote W.M.B.: 22 And you know, we'll be caught up together to meet the Lord
in the air. Think of it. Missing people, they can't see you no more, but you're
getting together with the rest of the group. "They which are alive and
remain to the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or 'hinder,' the word is)
those which are asleep." Not dead, no, Christians don't die. They're just
taking a little rest (See?); that's all. Oh, my. "And the trump of God
shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, appear to many..." And all at once
you happen to stand and look, and "Well, there's a brother..." And you
know it ain't long. In a few minutes we'll be changed in a moment in a
twinkling of an eye, and together with them be missing on earth, caught up to
meet the Lord in the air. (Going
Beyond The Camp 64-0719e).
Quote: 123 All
right. We find that now the time comes when the Trumpet sounds, and those
sleeping saints back there that could not be made perfect without us... There's
many of those, Hebrew 11, and when they come together, they unite with
the living onesÉThe dead saints with the living saints uniting together to be
one, and all going together to unite with Christ yonder for the wedding supper
of the Lamb.ÉO Lord God, to think of us standing, in a moment in a twinkling of
an eye, when the world won't know what's going on, but all of a sudden, you'll
see appear
before you, your loved ones that's gone on has come to unite with you again. And
we'll be changed in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, and be caught up
together to meet our Lord in the air, and then unite with Him to be there
forever, and never to have to be out of His Presence again. (Uniting Time And Sign 63-0818).
Quote: 168 Now, there has been one rapture
already pastÉ Matthew the 27th chapterÉJesus, when he had cried... with a loud
voice, yielded up... (A loud voice, loud voice, watch, when Jesus dying
screamed with a loud voice...)... yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil
of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the did rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many of the
bodies of... saints that slept arose, And came out of the graves after his
resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (The Rapture 65-1204).
Follow
Jesus and see what He done, and you would understand what would happen to the
end time Bride when they come from the grave. The exact thing has got to
happen.
WasnÕt
there first a resurrection of Jesus? And when He came didnÕt He have a
translated body? [Congregation
says, ÒAmen!] And it is only after a certain time did He go in the rapture?
Well I am telling you that the resurrection is one thing, the translation
a second thing, and the rapture is another thing all entirely different. Of course, those
that are resurrected from the grave came up with translated bodies. So now, it
is a resurrection, translation and then rapture. My point is proven.
Now where is
the doctrine then of this heresy, that says that the Rapture is in a process of
time, and it started since 1963? You are mad head. If the Rapture is in progress
right now, I am asking, where is the translated body? The translation is
supposed to takes place, before the Rapture. If the Rapture is going on since
1963, we ought to have our translated bodies, because translation is before the
Rapture takes place and Jesus proved that, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He came
from the grave, He had a translated body, and He flew where He wanted. My God!
TRANSLATION IS DIFFERENT FROM THE
RAPTURE
I am trying to prove to you that the translation is
different from the rapture. At that time the resurrection has taken place and
the saints are upon the earth. They are walking around, just like the Old
Testament saints, Matthew 27. They are appearing unto many. Those Old Testament
saints were forty days, upon the face of the earth and these New Testament
saints out here would be upon the earth too. They are walking around; they are
helping us in our troubles. The rapture has not gone as yet, but we have men
with translated bodies. Jesus said, ÒHe that liveth
and believeth in me shall never die.Ó He is the first one that preached this
translation.
Now notice, 1 Corinthians
15:51-57 is not speaking of a rapture. It is speaking of a resurrection
and a changed body.
I Corinthians 15:51: <Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.>
But it did not say anything
about being caught away. So now 1 Corinthians 15 deals with the changed body
and St John
11:25 deals with the changed body, but 1 Thessalonians 4 speaks of the
catching away.
At that time the resurrected
saints are upon the earth, 1 Corinthians 15 is being fulfilled, but something has got to
happen to our bodies before we go in the rapture. Before we could go in the
rapture, we also must be translated. Since the seven church agesÕ people come
up, it brings more power upon the earth. Since you have seven church saints
rise on the earth, you have seven great waves of glory.
WAVES AFTER
WAVES OF GLORY – SAINTS RISING EVERYWHERE
Quote W.M.B.: 97 His great, glorious Presence shall strike the
earth. "He cometh in clouds." Oh, I love that. "Clouds,"
there will be wave
after wave of His glory will come across the earth, and the resurrection
of the saints shall come. When that blessed Holy Spirit that's lived in their
hearts, and they died with their corpses laying there,
and the tear stains over their cheeks, and things like that, they're placed out
here in a graveyard. A great wave of that same Spirit, and a
"whoossh," wave after wave.
"He that was last will be first,
and he that was first will be last." How can it be that way? That's the
order of the resurrection. I won't know nobody in the
generation before me or the generation after me. I'll know those in the
generation of this. And every generation will come successfully, right as it
went down. "They which were last will be first." Sure, it has to be.
See? I'll know my people. The next fellow, my dad will know his people; his
grandfather, his people, on down like that.
Wave after wave, after wave, after wave,
and the saints arising from everywhere, won't that be wonderful. Amen. That
makes the old people feel young again. Yes. Now, notice closely. All right. (The Seven Church Ages 54-0512).
THE DEAD IN
CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST AND APPEAR TO MANY
Quote W.M.B.: 22 And you know, we'll be caught
up together to meet the Lord in the air. Think of it. Missing people, they
can't see you no more, but you're getting together with the rest of the group.
"They which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent (or 'hinder,' the word is) those which are asleep." Not dead, no,
Christians don't die. They're just taking a little rest (See?); that's all. Oh,
my. "And the trump of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise
first, appear
to many..." And all at once you happen to stand and look, and "Well,
there's a brother..." And you know it ain't long. In a few minutes we'll
be changed in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, and together with them be
missing on earth, caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (Going Beyond The Camp 64-0719e).
At that time there is more
power and anointing upon the earth, moving amongst the saints, and then in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, we shall be changed.
Not in a moment in the twinkling of an eye we are going to be caught up,
but changed. Now that is your translation. How many days that happens before
the rapture, I do not know.
And suddenly, something starts happening. The outer world not even seeing it. No! But we start lifting from the earth, just like our Lord Jesus. The foolish virgins might be able to see some of us, to let them know what took place on the earth. They did not get the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they were disqualified for the rapture. The ransomed body of the Lord. Millions, upon millions, now rise and break gravity and they start going up. There shall be a great meeting in the air, in that sweet, sweet, by and by.
Yes!
And they are going up, and here the Lord is in the heaven, in the clouds with
His arms outstretched to receive us in the air. A great cloud comes over;
Angels with the sound of a trumpet with music, and we are being caught up in
the air. And here our Lord sits upon that cloud, just like when he went away,
and here he waves. ÒCome children. I had been waiting for
you a long time. I will hide you from the wrath, that is to come, upon the face
of the earthÓ. And then we have a heavenly escort. And here we get into that
cloud of glory. Angels by the millions. And we are
caught up, all young people. Let us live for that children.
All young people. Little fellows there, they are not
small any more. Old fellows are not old any more. Old ladies are not old any
more. Think of the reality of this thing. We are all youths. Not a pain, not an
ache. Nothing to bother us. And there the cloud come,
and receives us, out of the sight of the foolish virgins.
And
then friends, the people start wondering, ÒWhere did these trouble makers
went.Ó But the foolish
virgins will know that the rapture took place, and they would be hunted down
as dogs. And then, because they cannot find the Bride,-Revelation 12, then the
beast will take out his vengeance, upon the remnant of the womanÕs seed. They
are going to take vengeance, upon the foolish virgins. Brethren, I pray that
none of you are left here, upon the face of the earth. We do not have to go
that way. Brethren, you could give your lives to the Lord tonight, and say, ÒI
never knew it was like that Brother Bruce. I want to make a turn around
tonight.Ó
Just
purpose that in your heart, as we are about to go home friends. We will sing a
song now. May the Lord grant you grace, that every one of us go in that rapture
one of these days. I do not care what your condition is. I do not care what your mistakes
are. You could make it right. You could turn around, my beloved, and have that
blessing. It is a terrible thing to be left out from this rapture. How many
enjoyed that tonight? [Congregation says, ÒAmen!Ó]