SELF AND SATANIC DELUSIONS:

PRIDE, AMBITION & DEMON POSSESSION

CHAPTER ONE

Ezekiel 28:12-17 <Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.>

The word “delusion” derived from the word “delude”, which means “to mislead, beguile or deceive. Delusion is the condition of being deluded; a false belief or opinion; belief in something contrary to facts or reality resulting from deception; a misconception or mental disorder.”

This subject is based upon Satan’s delusions in the religious realms, though the whole world is deluded by Satan through billions of delusions in the natural realm. In the spiritual realm, religions and organizations are in the biggest delusion that the world has ever seen or experienced. Such great delusions of both realms; natural and religious, lead to the World Council of Churches (W.C.C.) and Rome. There will be a one-world government and a one-world church consisting of all peoples, nations, tongues and languages. A law of genocide will be established to kill all those who refuse to accept, support and be subject to such delusion.

Revelation 13:15 <And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.>

Malachi 4:5-6, Elijah the prophet, was sent of God with a message, and the seven seals were revealed by Christ the Lamb to redeem the elect from such international delusion:

Revelation 13: 8 <And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.>

The church embraced the message of hope and deliverance of Malachi 4:5-6, Revelation 10:7, but all have not escaped the dragnet of satanic delusions. Many went the way of Korah, Abiram and Dathan, who murmured against Moses. Self, ambition and pride have resulted in such delusions and demon possession. Such men have followed the same pattern of false christs and false prophets of religions and organizations.

HOW ART THE MIGHTY FALLEN?

I preached a message some time ago, around 1982. The name of the message was “How art the mighty fallen?” It was a question. It answered a question of how a man or a woman that is mighty in God’s Word and power can fall. This message is not only for the Church here, but it is for everywhere, as a warning and self-examination. I will be candid with you. What I am trying to get over to the congregation this evening is how a man or a people could get into satanic delusions; there must be a reason.

Now, we preached much about satanic delusions, we preached much about the antichrist, we preached much about cults and isms, we preached a lot about what transpired in our midst, and we concluded by the past messages that we had an intervention here of a very wicked spirit; Satan, the devil, giving out a ministry of Satan to delude the Church. God’s Word came and exposed that and delivered your souls. Those who are still bound want to be bound. Those who want to go free will look away to Jesus, look away to the Word of God, and be delivered.

This raises a question in everybody’s mind, and that is, how can a man with a wonderful personality, a loving person, a zealous person, a man that lived out a testimony, a man that found favor in the sight of this Ministry to put him in charge of a congregation, a person in whom the congregation has confidence; how can such a person get into a delusion? That is a good question. There must be a reason, and the reason must be a scriptural one. I am trying to show you from the scriptures, how such a thing happens, how it happened in times past, and whenever that happens, what is the cause of such a thing happening

If you give your heart to the Word of God, you are going to learn a lesson, not only for yourself, but for everybody who you will come in contact with. Now, certain things happen in the House of God that everybody might learn. If these things had never happened, there may not have been a need for me to preach what I am preaching, to edify the rest of the body. However, I will remind you that when you do wrong, and the Word of God is preached, it will reflect upon your wrongdoing. Also, you cannot help but identify the person with their wrong, it is just common sense.

Now, the Bible says:

Ephesians 5:13 <But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.>

Light, which is revelation, shines forth upon the darkness, and then when it shines it reveals what was standing in the dark. So whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

If you are coming into a dark building for the first time, then you cannot see where the pulpit is, you do not know where the benches or other things are. Now, what makes manifest everything is the light. The light shines, then you look around and you say, “The pulpit is over there, the benches are over there, the organ is over there, the piano is over there, the speaker is over there, and that’s the door.” Now, whatsoever doth make manifest is light. So you just shine the light, and everything that is darkness will be exposed immediately.

WHY PEOPLE GET INTO DELUSIONS – FALL AWAY

Now, there is a scriptural reason why people could get into delusions of Satan. There is a scriptural reason why a person can become a false prophet and make a cult. There are reasons why people could walk with the Word of Life, preach the Word of Life, stand firm for it, and then after a long time turn around and be deluded, and walk away from it. Brother Paul correcting the Church in Galatia said:

Galatians 3: 1 <O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?>

Now, that was a group which started to walk with all the truth. Paul was preaching the son of man, he was preaching one God, he was preaching how to be born again, he was preaching the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and those people heard and believed. Afterwards they let some man come and bewitch them. He said, “Who had bewitched you?” The Bible said, take heed that no man steal your crown. If you enter the Kingdom of God, you will have to hear the truth from a man, and if you are to be deceived, you will be deceived by a man, or you give yourself to a spirit of delusion.

Before a man is born again and the seed of life planted in him, he must meet certain conditions. The condition of his heart must be right. It must be right for that seed of life to be sown. Brother Bob preached a message called “Conditioning the Heart to receive Divine Revelation.” Now, that is just common sense. If you are going to plant a seed, you must condition the soil. Then the seed is planted and brings forth after its kind.

If it takes a certain condition of the heart to plant the seed of life, then if a seed of discrepancy is to be planted in a man’s heart, certain conditions must also be met. In nature, there are seeds that will only grow in certain countries because the conditions are right, and there are seeds that cannot grow in certain countries because the conditions are not right. Likewise, whereas one man will contact a certain spirit, be anointed by an evil spirit and be used of Satan, another man could be standing right there with him and not contact that spirit nor be anointed of the devil. It depends upon the heart’s condition.

Thus this problem goes deeper than what we explained. I am explaining tonight why somebody would accept Satan’s ministry. I want to put that in the Word and show why. Now, I had been in this way for a long time and I have never accepted any such seed. I know men that are in the way for a long time, heard great revelations; men who heard every message that I preached for the past years. Messages that they missed, they got the tapes and listened to them. They never got into that state and condition.

CONDITION OF THE HEART FOR SEED OF SATAN

What I am proving to you is that it happens to certain people, and it does not happen to others, so there must be a reason. I could bring apple seeds to this country, prepare the soil in the best way, and plant them. They may grow, but they cannot bring forth fruits. That is why we do not see any apple trees in the Caribbean here, even because the condition of the soil and the weather pattern is not right. It is just not right. Whereas if you go abroad where the condition is just right, and plant that seed, it would bear apples right in your yard.

Before one falls into satanic delusion and is given a ministry of Satan, and goes about to establish it, there is a certain heart condition that is present, just as certain that before a man is born again there is a certain heart condition that he must meet. The reason that you accept the Word of God, is to tell you how to prepare your heart. Yes. That is why Jesus said;

<No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.>

That plough turns up the soil and gets it right. It pulls out the stones. It gets it ready for the seed. But here a man puts his hand to the plough and he is digging up the soil, and is working on that soil to get the seed planted, and then he looks back to the world.

The reason he was looking back is that he had something else in mind. If you are to be born again then the condition of the heart must be right. That’s a separate message in itself. The condition of the heart must be right. And there might be some little things in your life that you must remove by God’s grace. But you must want to remove them, you must want to give them up, you must be surrendered in order for the Lord to plant that seed in your heart. Now, that is why you listen to the tapes, that is why you read the Bible, that is why you sit under the Word of God. Hearing the Word of God will help you to understand what is that thing that you must remove. It might be a lazy attitude, which Brother Branham came against. He spoke of desperation.

Quote W.M.B.: 99 Oh, church, rise and shake yourself. Pinch your conscience; wake yourself up in this hour. We must be desperate or perish. There's coming forth something from the Lord. I know it as THUS SAITH THE LORD. There's coming forth something, and we better get desperate. It's between life and death. It'll pass through us and we won't see it. (Desperation 63-0901E).

Our subject is not based upon preparing the heart for the seed of life. Our message this evening is of a deeper sense, explaining how a man who is in good standing and whom people look up to, could receive a ministry of Satan and a seed of discrepancy and bring it to the House of God. Don’t you think that is very interesting? [Congregation says, “Amen!”] Very interesting. The answer is very simple, and is summed up in one thing. Hear what Jesus said:

Mark 8:34 <…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.>

Do you think Jesus just said that or He played with words? Our Lord never played with words.

My beloved, in order for a man to receive Eternal Life and to even be a disciple or be called a follower of the Lord Jesus, Jesus set down that condition. He said, “…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

SEEK NOTHING - EVERYBODY WANTS TO BECOME SOME GREAT PERSON

Quote: ⁴⁷ "Brother Branham… we just received the Holy Ghost, shall we now seek for gifts for our ministry?" I said, "Don't do it. Let it alone."… "Don't seek nothing. God's got anything for you He'll give it to you." See? "And just let Him take care of that." I said, "Then you get some of these times like we…have today that everybody's wanting to do this and do that and become some great person. Look what we got into with it…Instead of trying to be great, we ought to be trying to find out how little we can get. See? Then God can use us.  (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

HUMAN ABILITY- LAY IT ASIDE

Quote: ⁵³    So as long as we're trying in ourselves and depending on our own abilities, and so forth, why, we'll do nothing. But when we get to a place where we know we're nothing, then God can use us... Now, remember this, and especially you young preachers, and lay members alike. There's one thing that we've got to master if we expect to fulfill God's desire in our life; that is, we have to master the thought of human ability. If we ever get to a spot where we think that we can do it with our own intelligence and our own abilities, we've got to master that in such a way that we can get rid of the thing and lay it aside so that God can use us. That's right.  And make a complete surrender. We cannot use one ability. We've got to make a complete surrender. And to come to God, you've got to surrender to Him both soul, body, and spirit. Everything that you are has to be surrendered to God in order that He can work His will in you and in me. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

NO ABILITY USABLE TO GOD

Quote: ⁵⁹    We mustn't trust the ability of ourselves or any man. We must completely yield to God.  No ability, I don't care whose it is, will never be usable in the sight of God. God has to get all of our abilities out of us before He can achieve His purpose. If He's got something for us to do, and as long as we feel that we're doing a pretty good job out of it, then we'll never be able to be used of God. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

GET OUT OF YOURSELF

Quote: ⁷⁹ If you're ready to forget that you're a somebody and become a nobody, then God can use you and make a somebody out of you. See? But you've got to forget that you're so important. There's many of us; many of us do that in our lives... Some people, as soon as they become Christians, they become arrogant, indifferent (That's right.) when they're just taking a vice versa the path. They're going backwards instead of forward... More you can get out of yourself, more room you've got for the Holy Spirit to come in. Like Elijah told Jehoshaphat and them, said, "Dig this place full of ditches. Deeper you dig, the more room you're going to have for water." And the more of our own selves, of the own rubbish of our own abilities that we can throw out of us, the more room there'll be to be filled by the Spirit of God. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

BECOME NOTHING NOT A KNOW IT ALL

Quote:  ⁹²    I hope…that gets down deep to us, both here and the tape world too, that you realize that you've got to become nothing: not a know-it-all, not a great somebody, but a nobody. You got to come dust. You've got to get to a place that you know that you're nothing. And don't never rise above it, for as soon as you rise above it, you rise above God. You've got to keep yourself in the dust and on the road to Damascus. You've got to keep yourself off your high horses. And that's for everywhere, here and in the tape world. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

GREATEST ENEMY W.M.B. - KEEPS GOD OUT

Quote: And when I get everything out of me, then God can come in. But as long as I got some of myself there, then God can't get in."

There, that's it; we smother Him out. We drive Him away with our... From the poorest of us to the richest of us, from the least to the greatest, we keep God out of our lives because of our ownselves. I've often said, "The greatest enemy I got is William Branham." He's the one that gets in God's way. He's the one that gets lazy. He's the one that gets to a place sometimes where he thinks he can do something about it, and when he does, that shoves God right out of the picture. But when I can get rid of that guy, when I can get to a place that he's out of the way, then God can come over and do things that William Branham knows nothing about. That's when God can use you…He can use anybody when we get out of the way. But as long as we got ourselves in the way, then we cannot. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

LOSS SELF EVERY MAN

Quote:  ¹⁰⁴    That's what we have to do today. That's what I need. That's what every man needs, is a loss of himself, loss of his ability, loss of what he is, that he might have a complete yielding to the Holy Spirit. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

TOO STRONG HEADED- KNOW TO MUCH

Quote:  ¹²¹   The case is, with us, that, not that we are too weak, the case is we're too strong. We're just too strong…we're too strong-headed. That's right. We're too strong in our head. We know too much. God wants to get that out of us. That's right. We're too strong; we're too strong to yield to Him. …we yield to ourselves. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

When Jesus took up his cross, He carried it to Calvary, and He was crucified upon it. My beloved, that cross is to crucify self. As Jesus was crucified on Calvary, so self must be crucified, on the cross, spiritually, in order for you to gain Eternal Life.

Mark 8:35 <For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.>

DIE BEFORE YOU CAN BE BORN AGAIN

Quote W.M.B.: ⁶⁷    … And it'll never be until every person that professes to be a Christian will forget his own ability and yield hisself to God. Then God can achieve His purpose by sending, not a revival, but, brother, what He needs to do first is send a killing (That's right.) so we can revive. You have to die before you can be born again,... He needs a killing of ourselves. This Tabernacle needs a killing, and me with it. All of us, we need a killing so that we can be revived in a new life, a new hold, a new hope, a new experience. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

SELF, PRIDE AND AMBITION

Now, the answer is very simple. I am going to scripturally prove what is involved that causes a man to get into such condition. The word is ‘self.’ Don’t disagree with me. I can prove that from Genesis to Revelation. That is why Jesus said to His disciple that you will have to “deny your self, take up your cross and follow me.” Is it important? [Congregation says, “Amen!”]

Now, the answer to what I said is “self that was never crucified.” To be born again, is to deny self; just the opposite. Failing to deny self, you are an open target for the enemy. Your heart is going to be prepared to receive that seed of discrepancy. It is already prepared because you were born like that.

You know we were born selfish people; fighting to have the biggest piece, the front seat of the car, the best place on the bed, and the biggest candy. We live in the same world. You know what I am talking about. Failing to deny self, the heart’s condition is ready to receive something that will exalt you. You don’t have to go about to prepare the heart, we were born with that heart’s condition to receive a spirit of self-exaltation. If we did not come to the Word, that would be our ambition. We would try to be a scientist, we would try to have a bigger television, and we would seek to have a bigger education. We would try to be better looking, and we would try to have more clothes than the next fellow. Now, nobody had to teach us those things. No, we were born like that.

When someone claims to be a Christian, and you see them seeking after those natural things more than eternal life, it goes to show that they are not denying self, and if they are not denying self, they are not born again, and they would never be born again, until they deny self. They are still longing for the things of the world, more than eternal life, the Bible says:

I John 2:15 <Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. >

If you go out for the extravagant things of the world, let me tell you something beloved, the real middle line on that is that a Christian needs the necessities of life, but he seeks the kingdom first.

There is a difference of the wants of this life, and the necessities of this life. The middle line between the ‘wants’ and the necessities of life is that a man goes down the middle of the road, and only wants enough to survive until Jesus comes. True Christian parents will also provide an inheritance for their family. That’s a good lesson for the church. Now, anybody you see grabbing for more than the necessities of life, doesn’t have Eternal Life. Not only don’t have it, but they are not seeking it with their whole heart. They are not fulfilling the scripture that says; “Mind not high things.”

Matthew 6:33 <But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.>

Matthew 6:32 <…for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.>

Yes, the necessities of life.

The point that I was emphasizing is on ‘self’. Nobody had to teach us to be selfish. No, no, we were born with that. Now, why were we born with it? Even because we were born by ‘the fall’, and we inherited a fallen nature. That fallen nature is the nature of Satan. Yes, that spirit is a worldly spirit. Now, this lesson is very, very, very, simple. If you will gain Eternal life, Jesus said, “Deny yourself.” Failing to deny self, ‘self’ would live on. Self is something that wants to be exalted, wants to be lifted up; self wants to be in the picture alone.

I could teach a great lesson on ‘self.’ Do you know what selfishness is? It is a terrible thing. Two pieces of meat are on that plate, and self is so selfish that you want the better piece. You may take the smaller piece because of table manners, but ‘self’ desires the bigger piece. Self is greed, lust, carnal desires. When Jesus spoke about self, He covered a vast area. Yes. Now, ‘self’ is ambition, ‘self’ is ambitious. Why do you think a man would risk his life to climb up the highest mountain, where no man had ever climbed before? Do you know that is ‘self?’ Now, He tried to climb up there to show that he is the first man to do so. He wants his name go down in history books as the first man who climbed the Himalaya Mountain.

SELF ABILITY, PRIDE AND AMBITION WE WANT TO TELL HOW BIG WE ARE

Quote W.M.B.: ⁴²    We want to tell how big we are, how great we are…get that out of our mind… And that's what we come to church for, is to find out where our faults is, and the things that we might better ourselves by. … We must come to find our weaknesses, find our bad places and …see how little we are, and put our trust in Somebody that's strong. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: ⁶⁹  we got to get away from that, that human ability. We got to get to a place where we can surrender our souls and lives, even to the housewife, to the farmer, to the mechanic, or whoever we are, we got to surrender completely to God and know that "we are nothing." Then let God start from there. Then He starts moving, working. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: ¹¹⁰   God passes those who thinks they're something to take somebody that don't know nothing to order to work His purpose in their life…God said to Paul, "My strength is perfect in your weakness. My strength becomes more perfect as you become more weaker. More you can yield to Me the better I can use you. The more you can forget about your education, the more you can forget about your denomination, the more you can forget about your stuff and yield yourself to Me, the more I can use you. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: ¹⁵³  He couldn't use it then, …neither can He use it now. God cannot use our natural abilities. We've got to get ourselves and our abilities out of the way and surrender to the will and power of God.
 Say, "Well, brother, I can preach." He can't use that as long as you can preach…I can do this. I can do that." You can't do nothing. Well, then God can't use it. But if you'll yield yourself to God and let Him do it...
You say, "Well, Brother Branham, I know. I'm a teacher." Well, as long as you're the teacher, why, He won't get very far. But the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: ¹⁶⁴    You come, say,…"Oh, I belong to the biggest church there is in the country... I'm this, Lord. Oh, I'm a Pentecostal. I... Glory to God. I just received the Holy Ghost the other night. Hallelujah. You're going to make me to do so-and-so." God can't use a bit of that. No. Whenever you get licked and realize you're licked, and then come on back and humble yourself. Get weak, find out you're human. And there's none of your intellectuals can do to... Human weaknesses will never be used of God; God by the human weaknesses pours Himself into you, then He uses Himself. You just become an instrument. Certainly. You've got to get yourself out of the way. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: ²¹⁶    Confess our weaknesses. Throw off your Doctor of Divinity. Throw off your know-it-all, your membership. Strip yourself before God, spiritually speaking, and call yourself unworthy. Then God can go to using you. Just don't say it from your mouth, bring it from your heart. (Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness 61-1119).

Quote: 60 That's what's happened to the--the Methodists; that's what's happened to the Baptists; that's what's happened to the Nazarene, to the Pilgrim Holiness, to the Pentecostal: lifted up, self-willed, self-centered, pride, that you can't tell nothing to. God can't find a way to get into their hearts. It's because they become so know-it-all that nobody can tell them anything. And by building themself around reasoning with brethren, they build themselves around their creed. And when they do, they leave God in the back. (Influence Of Another 62-1013).

Quote: 22 It seems like that when man gets to the place that he feels that he's self-sufficient, sin begins to take ahold of him. The church, the nation, the individual, that feels that he doesn't need any help from outside, sin begins to reign in him. That is true. And we would notice too, that when people begin to feel that superior feeling, usually sin sets in and cankers them. (Handwriting On The Wall 58-0108).

OVERCOME SELF AND PRIDE

Quote: E-33 Let's go over to the Revelation. Jesus said Himself, "He that overcometh, I will give him the morning star." The Bible said that. What is it? A overcomer, one that's overcome the world, overcome self, overcome pride. "I'll make him the morning star." What does it to do? "I'll shine him up and set him up there that I can... by My oncoming power will reflect My own Presence (Hallelujah.) in the darkness. (Former And Latter Rain 60-0303).

Quote: 81 And I've always found out that the man that humbles himself is the man that God exalts. When you take a person with his chest out, knows everything, and you can't tell him nothing, and he is arrogant, and--and, well, that--that's the person that never gets anywhere. But you take that person that humbles themselves and walks sweetly. (Humble Thyself 63-0714e).

COME TO CROSS OF SELF-DENIAL

Quote: E-17 Did you notice? Abel, when he offered the more excellent sacrifice (in which God testified that he was righteous), Abel slew his lamb on the rock, and Abel died on the same rock with his lamb.

And every believer that comes to Christ must come to the same cross of self-denial, and die there with the Lamb, with his Lamb. Die out to own thoughts; die out to your own mental thinking. Just take what the Holy Spirit says in your heart, then live for Christ. (Christ 55-0221).

Quote: 356 Get empty, friends. Get weak. Deny your own ability. You out in radio--not radio, but out in--that hear these tapes, wherever they come, empty yourselves out. Pour yourselves out upon God's altar as a sacrifice. Let the Angel come with a coal of Fire, fill that vessel with the power of Almighty God and get... Then He'll make you strong; He'll give you grace to stand. (Perfect Strength 61-1119).

Quote: 340 That's the need of today. That's what we need today, is the empty vessels (Yes, sir.) so God can fill them up. And you cannot take them... (I got to bypass a lot here.) God cannot use them as long as they're already filled up. If you're full of theological training, God can't use you. God's got to have empty vessels so He can fill them. (Perfect Strength 61-1119).

BEFORE BAPTISM REPENT FOR WORLDLY AMBITION

Quote: 80 Tonight, we're going to baptize, just in a few minutes, people here in the room that's here to be baptized. And if there's any desire in your heart that you want--have any great worldly ambitions, repent of them right now. Tell God you're sorry that you wanted to be some great worldly person. Say, "Lord, my complete ambition is to be like Jesus. Come meekly, humbly. (Identified With Christ 59-1220e).

Quote: 15-3 See, he knowed to wait on the Lord. And there's where so many people today bring a reproach upon the Word. They go out with an ambition. How many revivals have been left flat because of a thing like that, because the evangelist doesn't wait to see what the Lord's got to say? (Paul A Prisoner Of Christ 63-0717).

Quote: 16-6 God always has to take any man that will serve Him truly, to be His prisoner. A man has to surrender every ambition he's got, everything that he is, every--everything: his life, soul, body, will, ambitions, and everything else, and become a complete--a prisoner to Christ, Who is the Word, to serve God. (Paul A Prisoner Of Christ 63-0717).

Now, self and pride go hand in hand. Off-springs from self and pride are envy, and his brother ‘jealousy’, and coming out of that is hate, malice, bitterness and all manner of sins and iniquities. So, failing to deny self makes you an open target for the enemy.

HOW JUDAS FELL

We have a man here in the scriptures, whom I will cite as a witness. His name is Judas. Now, Judas Iscariot was called by Jesus Christ; he had a true gift. Judas went out and preached the son of man in His first coming, and he had a wonderful personality.

I could prove that in the Word, that he had a great, unquestionable testimony, before the apostles, insomuch that when Jesus said, “One of you will betray me”, not one of the apostles asked if it was Judas. They preferred to blame themselves, instead of challenging such a wonderful testimony, and asked, “Is it I?” Nobody knew who would be the deceiver of the Word itself. It takes only the Word of God to point out that evil spirit. It takes the Word of God, to point out that antichrist spirit of the devil or you will be deceived. He had a wonderful testimony, his life was shining, he was baptized in Jesus’ name, he preached the coming of the Lord, revealed as the son of man from an intellectual view point; he was not born again. He worked signs and wonders. Yes sir!

Judas was anointed by a genuine anointing, but it was a seventh day anointing, and not the Bride age anointing. His personality was a wonderful one. You ask, “What is the part in Judas that got him in trouble?” Exactly what I said before: ‘self.’ It could be covered by miracles and signs; self could be covered by a righteous life. The Bible said Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

II Corinthians 11:14 <And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.>

Now, hold that word ‘self.’ That is the key and the condition of the heart that causes a man to be devil possessed and go out with a ministry.

Here is a man in the Bible, he had a wonderful testimony, the man had a wonderful personality, the man even had a true gift, the man had signs and wonders, he was preaching the coming of the Lord, not only that, but he was chosen by the Lord, and the Lord trusted him to carry the money bag.

JUDATARIAN GROUP MORE TREACHEROUS

Quote W.M.B.: 103 “Now, remember, there's church carnal back there under the Esau, the Pharisees and Sadducees. But watch this guy who thinks himself just a... He'll go along with the Message for a while, but he just don't want to put his hands too much on it. See them spirits? Jesus said, "It'll be so close to the real thing, it'll deceive the very elected,"…See, it'll deceive.

… not just the carnal church…. We got now the Judatarian group, which is far more treacherous… coming right up into the very hands of the blessing.

… Jesus said that type would be there at that day. "Many will come and say, 'Lord, have not I prophesied (preached)? Have not I cast out devils in Your Name?'" Jesus said, "I didn't even know you, you worker of iniquity."

…We're coming to making the hundredth millionth's of a hair, right down to the sharp edge of the Gospel, sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting even to the asunder of the bone, and a Discerner... of the thoughts of the mind." (Hear Recognize act on Word 60-0221).

We are coming down to a millionth of a hairline of deception, more deceiving than Judas, in the last days. Think of taking one strand of hair and splitting it down lengthwise to a million pieces, and you will get the idea of deception.

He said there will arise a Judatarian group, right around the message. That Judatarian group had been in action a long time.

Quote: 67 Now, there is another group that always hangs around, and that's the make-believer. Now, that make-believer is considered the hypocrite.

Now, let's take a make-believer. It was Judas. He was the make-believer. And the make-believer hangs on and on, trying to find some way that they can get something on it… That's Judatarian.

That's the unbelievers, the make-believers, and the believers. Them three still exist everywhere across the world. They've always have, and they always will. Now, think of it tonight, here and on this tape to those that'll hear. Them three classes is setting; they are three classes of those people always gathered. (Go awake Jesus 63-1130E).

Now, under his righteousness, and his testimony, and his personality, and his works and his preaching was hidden “self” in Judas. Judas was full of ‘self’ but the apostles and the disciples could not see that in the man, but the Word looked out there and saw that in that man’s heart. My beloved, get rid of self, deny self, preachers that will listen to this tape. It is a dangerous thing to handle the Word of God, and have self, pride, ambition, lust and desires that are not in accordance with God’s Word. Now, we should obey the master and “deny self.”

MILLIONS OF FALSE PROPHETS – SELF – W.M.B. REJECTED

Because people never heeded that advice to deny self, we have millions of false prophets on the earth today, claiming to preach from the Bible but they are establishing themselves.

Millions of people rejected William Branham, as Elijah the prophet, and publicly denied him. Do you know why? Because they are not Elijah, and wanted to be Elijah. That is why they rejected Elijah the prophet, because each of them has ‘self’ down in them. It would have been all right if one of them was Elijah, but not William Branham. Self is a dangerous, negative element.

Now, from that word that Jesus used: ‘self,’ you could take it back to the modern language today and say, ambition. You may not find that word in the Bible. No, no, no. You would find the word “pride” in the Bible. But when Jesus spoke of ‘self’, He referred to that evil nature and evil desires. Its ambitions. It’s a dangerous thing to be ambitious! The only ambition a Christian should have is to gain eternal life. That’s my highest ambition.

Matthew 6:33 <But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.>

Judas Iscariot had a faith ministry, raising the dead, healing the sick, and was anointed by the Holy Ghost too. That condition of the heart was right for Satan to come and in-dwell his heart. The Bible said:

Luke 22:3 <Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.>

Now, the apostles’ heart’s condition was right and the Holy Ghost came down in them, on the day of Pentecost, but the heart of Judas Iscariot was always right to receive the devil; ‘self’ did that. Before a demon could come down inside of you and live, guide and motivate you; you have to meet a certain heart’s condition. Yes, I am speaking about the ministry. Judas did all of those things, but the devil came and entered him. Now, Satan could not have entered Judas until that heart’s condition was right.

DEMON POSSESSION NOT BY ACCIDENT

Now, such demon possessions, like I talked about, does not happen by accident, they come by pre-meditation of the wrong things. I will say that again. I said, such demon possession of these spirits that were exposed here does not come by accident, it comes by pre-meditation of the wrong things. Now, as a Christian, you don’t be just walking down the road and one of these cultish spirits; or spirits of interpretation or antichrist, just get ahold of you on the side of the road. No sir! I walked in darkness, I walked amongst all kinds of demon power, I met all kinds of demon possessed men and not one of them ever grabbed me. They never came down into my heart. Do you know why? I do not have the heart’s condition to entertain demons. What I am saying beloved, is that you must have a certain condition of the heart for a demon to strive. You also must have a certain condition of the heart for the Holy Ghost to strive, just as certain as there are certain physical conditions in our system where germs strive; and there are certain conditions that you can meet as a human being, so that germs cannot strive in your system.

AIDS DON’T JUMP OUT OF BUSHES

Now, people who get AIDS cannot be walking on the side of the road and pick up AIDS. AIDS doesn’t jump out of the bushes and catch anyone. No! They have to meet certain conditions, and when they meet those conditions, the AIDS virus comes inside of them; and when they get it they could pass it on to somebody else. However, this spirit that is trying to take the church down the broad way of destruction is worst than the AIDS virus. It is worst than the AIDS virus!

Now, it has been proven by medical science that germs will strive in an unbalanced alkaline system; a system that is made up of eating what we have today as modern foods of roti, rice, meat, chicken etc. But then it is also proven that the same germs that will strive in an alkaline system cannot strive as well in an acidic system. That is why I take vinegar. That is why Doctor Jarvis of Vermont, USA wrote that book on apple cider vinegar, saying that the modern foods that we eat today; almost every thing is alkaline based, and the human race got away from the acids that we used to take through the fruits that we used to eat, and through the cultivation of non-hybrid foods. So now, in order to balance this alkaline he recommended apple cider vinegar to make your system acidic, because germs do not strive as well in an acidic system.

This whole religious world has a spiritual alkaline system, but Malachi 4, Revelation 10: 7 brought the acid of God’s Word to make your system acidic so that demon power cannot strive in your system. I want a spiritually acidic system with so much acid in there, that from the time that demon power smells it from outside; they have to flee.

Plaque is hard like concrete. The dentist must drill it out, under enough pressure. But just that acid pulls that out. The Doctor said, if that could do so on the teeth, then that acid goes down and destroys the stones in the bladder and the kidneys. It destroys arthritis in your knees and your joints! My beloved, if the Word of God could bring you out of organization, it could also get you born again, and it could carry you to the Token. Is that right? [Congregation says, “Yes! Amen!] Besides that, every evil appetite in your life can be destroyed by making your spiritual system acidic by the Word of God.

The spiritual system of Judas was just right to entertain the devil himself. That is summed up in one thing and that is self. He heard all the preaching of Jesus, he saw all the signs and wonders, and he was close to the Lord, but yet he was not willing to adjust his self to receive the Holy Ghost. No! He loved self.

A lot of sincerity could be confessed by the mouth. Men speak more sincerity by their mouths than they have in their hearts. Do not follow the words of men or the actions of men. Let a man manifest what is in the heart, and then you would know that man. Now, if there is self down in a man, covered up by works, signs and wonders, he will manifest it. Follow God’s Word in a man.

EVANGELISTS - FULL OF SELF

Now, the modern evangelists are full of self; they manifested that by rejecting William Branham; they manifested that by heaping up millions of dollars from the churches. Is that a manifestation of self? [Congregation says, “Amen!”] They could cry over the radio and the television, behave as nice as they want to, have the softest voice, and manifest righteousness; the life that they manifest speaks louder than their voices. Jesus said:

Matthew 15:8 <This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.>

Because of a lack of self denial and humility, this proud generation is ordained to condemnation and a fiery burning-Malachi 4:1-2, it has caused them to reject the message of God by W.M. Branham; Elijah the prophet. Thousands of preachers are awaiting their burning. Most of them heard the prophet and his message, saw the mighty signs, wonders and miracles demonstrated by the Spirit, and rejected it to build a name and a kingdom of their own. They sold the Word of God for money even like Judas. They are modern Judases.

Now, all the words of our Lord are very wonderful and true. Judas was drawing nigh with his lips but his heart was far from the Lord. We could speak a lot of things, but the Lord really looks down in the heart. Man looketh upon the outward appearance but God looks upon the heart. A man deceives other men by the outward appearance. The eleven apostles were deceived by Judas’ outward appearance, insomuch that not one of them asked if Judas was the betrayer. They considered Judas higher than themselves in order to have asked that question: “Is it I Lord?” Not one of them asked: “Is it Judas?” Now, Judas was that betrayer. He was that one who was going to sell out the Lord.

Matthew 7:21 <Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.>

Now, words are nothing. Let me see what you are living. In time you will manifest what you have down in your heart! I say it is a time-tested Bride; in time you will manifest who you are. Judas followed for many years, and when he got accustomed with Jesus, with the miracles and signs and the preaching, out of his heart was manifested self. I am giving you a living example. I am talking about the Bible; a living Bible experience; this man was around the Lord. How many are persuaded that Judas never gave up “self?” [Congregation says, “Amen!”] Now, if you never denied self and keep following the Lord Jesus, somewhere down the road that self will be manifested!

Now, Judas had “self” covered over by works of righteousness; miracles and signs and preaching the coming of the Lord. Self was hidden inside of Judas Iscariot’s heart where the apostles could not have seen it, but Jesus saw that and said:

John 6:70 <…Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?>

Now, the heart of Judas Iscariot was just right for that devil to come in. Now, your heart must be in a certain condition for the Holy Ghost to come in. Likewise, a man’s heart must be in a certain condition for the devil or a demon to come in there. A certain heart’s condition must be met to receive the Word of God, and a certain heart’s condition must be met to turn down the Word of God! That is what I am trying to say.

I am saying that don’t matter how much revelation we claim to have, how much we talk about Brother Branham, how much we talk about revelation, how much we could preach, how much we could sing; if we have not denied self and you are following the Lord, that self is going to get you into trouble. That self will manifest itself somewhere down the line. Now, we have the picture painted.

MINISTRY GETS COMMON

Jesus said:

Mark 8:34 <…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.>

I am saying that Judas, under all those conditions, he never denied self! Because he never denied self, he was going to get into trouble. Self is going to get you into trouble! Judas Iscariot got accustomed with the son of man, got accustomed with the ministry and got accustomed with the preaching. Now, self was going to be deceitful enough to manifest itself. Time does it. You get accustomed with the revelation, and you will get brave enough to manifest “self.”

From the day that God chose Judas, that selfishness was in him. Judas was born with it, but he never denied self. Now, “self” is the condition of the heart that gets people into trouble, later on, to accept a devil’s ministry and to turn down the revelation of Christ. The Lord does certain things in order that “self” will be manifested. Jesus gave Judas the money bag; that was in order to manifest self. Jesus knew all along, the man that He chose. He gave him the money bag for a certain purpose. He was going to manifest self by stealing what was in the money bag! The money may not have been much that he stole, but the condition of the heart that he expressed was more detrimental to his soul. Let us say that he stole five cents; it expressed self. Jesus was his pastor. He looked around and he felt that too much money in the church was used up on Jesus. Now, do you see where that spirit is? That’s the spirit of Judas; that’s the spirit of the devil. And the other disciples were carried away by that saying of Judas. Now, what did it? Self!

Look at what self is going to do to him. Because of it he was ambitious. Self is ambition! Self is pride! Self is the sin of the heart. It doesn’t matter what you do, it is going to have to leak out somewhere. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. When you don’t think that you are exposing yourself, you are exposing yourself.

So now, this bad spirit that was around Jesus said that this ointment could have been sold and given to the poor. That showed how much he loved Jesus. Do you know that expressed envy? Envy is in self. Do you know that expressed jealousy? Jealousy is in self. Do you know that expressed hatred? Hatred is in self. Do you know that expressed ambition? Ambition is in self. Do you know that expressed self exaltation? Self exaltation is in self. That is why Jesus said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” When you deny yourself and take up your cross, you are going to crucify self. In order to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you have to crucify self. Jesus did not carry His cross just for nothing. He was going to be crucified on it. He said, “…take up your cross…” (you have a cross too), “…and follow me.” Now, that self-crucifixion is very important. Now, if you do not have a self-crucifixion, you are an open target for the enemy, because the condition of your heart is just right to receive everything that the devil wants to put in there. He will deceive you, because down in your heart you don’t have any revelation.

Now, that is only one thing that was recorded in scripture (concerning the ointment). What about the other things he was constantly pointing out to the apostles and the disciples. He found fault when Jesus preached; tried to find some wrong thing that he thought that Jesus was doing. What does that express? That expressed that Judas was trying to elevate himself above the son of man.

Imagine that Jesus was bringing the message of the kingdom, and “He did not know how to spend the church money?” When that “self” wants to be exalted, it will find every carnal weapon to fight; and the weapons of Judas were carnal, earthly, sensual and devilish; trying to fight the master by a carnal weapon because he knew that he could not show or prove that Jesus was not the Messiah, so he tried to use a carnal weapon.

“I caught him now!” Now, that was in Judas’ heart all along: self-exaltation and pride. When he thought he had a point, he called it out. Every little fault that these false prophets could point out, they would do it. They say, “Do you know how much tithes is collected here?” Now, the real sheep pays his tithes unto the Lord. He feels that if he has his soul in the hands of the man of God, then what is his money? The money is a carnal thing. Now, that is how a sheep thinks.

Anytime a spirit starts speaking like that, it is a devil that came from hell; and whether it’s a lay member or a preacher, they have self down inside of them. That spirit was here in the days of Brother Branham. Brother Lambert said that a man gave Brother Branham a new brand motor car, and Brother Branham never used that car until three years after. Brother Branham would go and shoot targets, and do you know what those Judas spirits started saying? “Imagine how much money he has wasted on shooting targets!” Brother Branham said that the Lord sent him down at Brother Jackson to take a rest.

SELF MAKES YOU JEALOUS AND ENVIOUS

A man who appreciates God’s Word, he is blind to those things because he loves God’s servant. If he was here I would take off my shirt and give it to Brother Branham; I will remain hungry and let him eat my food if he needed it. I am trying to show you that self that was in Judas.

Oh my, listen to me; this is the Bible! Now, the reason that Judas complained was because that self was in him. He thought that he ought to have had that glory and he was not getting it. “Well, I am equal with this Jesus; I could preach just like him; I could sing just like him, I could do miracles just like Him. These people are giving him too much honour and glory, and my ministry is not recognized as it should be recognized.” All along he was feeling that way but he did not have a point to harp upon. When he thought he had a real concrete point and the ointment was being used, then he spoke out before everybody. The whole house was filled with people. He tried to embarrass Jesus. He thought he really had a point, but Jesus knew this fellow all the time. He said, “This ointment could have been sold; what a waste, what a waste, what a waste! Something like this? If it was His head I would still have some consideration! But look at the waste on His feet! Do you mean to say they have to honor this man so much that they put ointment on his feet?” Now, self makes you jealous, self makes you envious, self makes you ambitious, self makes you think that you should have that. I will tell you the truth; a man of God doesn’t care for any of those things. If a man is built up right, whenever you say any good thing about him, he knows how to give God that glory.

When you follow a man of God, after a certain time so much confidence is built up in that man of God, that his wishes are your command. You say, “Wishes are your command?” I remember David once was fighting and he was really tired and he was speaking to himself. He said, “I wish I had a drink from the brook of Bethlehem”, and three of his main soldiers heard him, and though he never asked them to do such a thing, they cut through fifteen miles of Philistines army, forth and back, to get that water and bring it to David. David was so built up, he knew how to give that glory to God, and he took the water, poured it out upon a rock and gave the glory to God. The wishes of the man of God become a commandment to those that are yielded to God. And that woman was so yielded, that she took that ointment and anointed our Lord’s feet; expensive ointment. But a man who was not yielded found fault.

There is a certain heart’s condition to have the seed of God planted, and you must meet that certain condition. The condition for that seed to be planted is; “deny self, take up your cross and follow Jesus.” Deny self! When we fail to deny self and go through life following Jesus with that self in us, then we are an open target for the enemy and our heart’s condition is ready for Satan to deceive us and for Satan to take his abode.

Now, the subject that I am trying to prove is how men get deluded by Satan, and how it is they could accept Satan’s delusion. How? It is because of a certain heart’s condition. I said that there is a certain condition that germs will strive in, and there are certain conditions of the body that germs cannot strive in! One condition of the body germs will strive in and breed rapidly; and if you make your system acidic, germs cannot strive. That acid is the Word of God; you have to pass the acid test.

FAILURE TO DENY SELF - TARGET OF SATAN

Yes, Judas Iscariot’s heart was just right. “Do you mean a man preached revelation, a man left the world, a man worked signs and wonders and a man is gifted; do you mean to say that the condition of his heart was just right for Satan to come and possess him at the end?” Yes! That was the condition that Judas Iscariot met in order for him to be a dwelling place for Satan. Jesus preached; “deny your self.” He failed to deny self! Failing to deny self, he became yielded to the devil. The time you yield to self, you are yielding to the devil.

SELF PREVENTS NEW BIRTH & TOKEN

Satan found an abode in Judas, though he was anointed. He was anointed by a seventh day anointing, not the Bride age anointing. Jesus said, “He that will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me.” When you refuse to deny self and purge it out of your system, you are a target of the enemy. You have the right base, you have the right heart; you have met the right condition for the devil to deceive you and for the devil to take you away. Anytime you keep self within your soul, it hinders you from receiving divine revelation, but it does not hinder you from receiving an intellectual understanding, because Satan deals with the intellect but God deals with the heart.

Now, self prevents you from receiving a divine revelation, self prevents you from being born again, and self prevents you from getting the token. I am proving to you that Judas kept “self.” He never had a self-denial, and because he never had self-denial, he had no revelation, he was never born again, and he never made it up to Pentecost. This is a most marvelous revelation, even telling you how to be born again, telling you how to get a divine revelation, and also telling you about loving the world.

I John 2:15 <Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.>

Now, if you are a Christian and have not denied self, then you have all kinds of ambitions: you would want to be a scientist or some other professional person. I am saying that a real Christian who denied self only wants the necessities of life, not the wants of life, not the things of the world, they don’t think about a big education and they don’t think about going away from the Word to study. They don’t think about a big mansion on earth; they don’t think about the most expensive motorcar. They only want the necessities of life.

You say, “I have been following this Word for several years and I am sure that I am not born again.” There is something hindering your birth. The thing that is hindering your birth is self. Now, Judas followed for three and a half years and he never got a revelation. There was something hindering his birth. I am saying that it was “self.” I am saying that he was never born again. What was hindering him was “self.” He never made it up to Pentecost. Something hindered him and that was self. It was manifested in money.

That is why Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” If you want to get born again you have to deny your self. Jesus said, “…whosoever humble himself shall be exalted.” It goes with these other scriptures:

Isaiah 28:9 <Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.>

Matthew 11:25 <…thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.>

In other words, you become like a child and deny self. Now, that is the plan of God to be born again, that’s the abc’s, of the born again experience, and Judas Iscariot came to a place where he was a perfect abode for Satan. When he sold out the Word, Satan entered Judas Iscariot. Now, do you see how dangerous “self” is? Now, “self” will hinder you from receiving a divine revelation; self will hinder you from being born again; self will hinder you from receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost; the final outpouring of the Spirit for rapturing power (Church age pages 377-380).

SPIRITS OF DELUSIONS ARE NOT ACCIDENTAL

The danger of self is if a spirit passes around to self-exalt you, you will grab ahold of it without even knowing it; you will grab ahold of it as God, because the condition of your heart is not right. Why it did not grab me? I am saying that we do not pick up these insanity spirits, these cult spirits, these delusion spirits, these spirits of antichrist, these spirits of false interpretations, accidentally! You do not pass on the side of the road and they accidentally jump on you! You must have a certain heart’s condition. Once that heart’s condition is present, and that spirit attacks, you will accept it, whereas another man’s heart’s condition is not right for it and he cannot accept that spirit. From the time it comes to him it bounces off, and that man smiles.

Now, these antichrist spirits of delusion cannot be taken up by any man, any boy and any girl, just by accident. They come by premeditation of self, ambition, lust and desires; that is how they come. That is why one man could be affected by them, and another man is not affected. That is why Peter was not a proper abode for Satan, and you never heard that the devil entered Simon Peter. No, no, no! We read in one place where Satan anointed him and Jesus said, “Get thee behind me Satan.” He never grumbled at Jesus, because his soul was built up right. When Jesus drove the spirit away from Peter, he never fought back. He stayed very cool, and Jesus did that in public. When He exposed Judas that never stopped Judas. No sir! He said, “One of you will betray me.” He said, “The one to whom I give this sop, he is the one that will betray me. What thou hast to do, go and do quickly,” In other words, if you are going to betray me go ahead and do it quickly. Those who have to follow you, let them follow quickly. If you are turning into a traitor, go ahead and do it quickly; the kingdom of God will stand.

I wish that you will understand this lesson by the spirit that I am giving it to you; it will teach you a lot of things for many days to come. You should not take things for granted. Never judge a man on the surface. Not because a man could pray; not because a man could act sincere; not because a man could preach; not because he has works of righteousness. No sir! My beloved, all those things could cover self. I will say this here, if you have missed the whole message: self is the bedding ground for demons. Self is the bedding ground for demons! Yes, ambition. You show me a Christian that has all kinds of worldly ambitions, and I will show you a bedding ground for the devil; a bedding ground for pride; a bedding ground for lust and a bedding ground for all kinds of worldly desires.

I John 2:15 <… If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.>

Now, bear a little patience; I am going to climb a little higher after awhile and triple prove this. Now, I am answering a question in this message that I asked in my preaching, and that is, “How is it that after a man hears God’s revelation for so many years, he could fall to satanic delusions?” The answer is very simple; he has to meet a certain heart’s condition, and that is, he never denied self; self is still in him. That’s the only thing that the devil could use; the evil nature that is in man. And in order to follow Jesus and come out right, you have to deny self; to be born again you have to deny self. Let me warn you as a congregation and wherever this tape may go; that self will hinder you from receiving divine revelation; self will cause you not to be born again; self will cause you not to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost! Yes. That is why I preach the way that I preach because I want the individual to deny self and empty out. We are full of self! Empty out! Yes, self is of the devil, pride is of the devil.

Now, I have checked out these men for years upon years and the answer that I came up with as to how a man gets in that condition, is that there was some self in him, that remained in the man, that he never denied. And that ambition might have been in the world, where you were a number one in everything! That ambition might have sprung from so-called Pentecost, where you were a number one in everything! That ambition might have been way over there in the plain message where you were a number one in everything, and then when you hit God’s revelation, you never gave up that ambition! Then secretly in your heart; selfishly down in the heart; subconsciously down in the heart, you still looked forward to that! My beloved, that is going to take you to your grave, hell, the lake of fire and the second death.

HOW CAN I OVERCOME- BORN AGAIN EXPERIENCE

I want this lesson to be understood by everybody who is following this revelation. Beloved, herein lies the born again experience! Herein lies the revelation of the son of man! Herein lies the baptism of the Holy Ghost! Beloved, you have to get rid of that self. You say, “How will I get rid of self?” Beloved, beg God to make you humble, beg God to take away self from down in there! Yes, only He could remove it; be honest in your prayer. Brother Bob said, “Purge that thing out by prayer and fasting, instead of praying for a ministry.” Instead of praying for power, instead of praying for perfection, instead of praying to get up into the Shekinah glory, pray against yourself. That’s the plan to be born again: “Lord, empty me of myself.” Brother Branham said:

GREATNESS GRACE HUMILIATES SELF

Quote: 99 Jesus gave us the example how to do it. Now, we want to know how to overcome. Jesus told us how to do it. See, humility, girded Himself took a towel, and washed the disciples' feet, and wiped them. The very God of heaven humiliated Himself.

We don't want to be humiliated... (I'm going to say something.)--greatness humiliates itself. Grace humbles itself: greatness. (How Can I Overcome 63-0825m).

NO SERVANT OF GOD IS A SHOW OFF

Quote: 129 The next great assault was that he made upon Him, that He would be a show-off. And how that does hit God's servants, to be a show-off, to show what you can do. "Glory to God. Hallelujah, I'm a deliverer. I'm something." See?

Quote: No true servant of God ever does that. You see a man showing off, his chest out, and all like that, just remember, there's something wrong there. No, God don't want that. Jesus set the example. He could've done it. He certainly could've done it, but He didn't do it. No servant of God is a show-off of hisself, to try to take God's power and show himself above somebody else. (How Can I Overcome 63-0825m).

MUST DENY YOUR SELF TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Quote: E-61 And the only way you can be Abraham's seed is to deny your own self, and die to your own self, and be born again of the Holy Spirit, because the Life that was in Christ makes us Abraham's seed. We take on his seed by the Holy Spirit which was given to us by the promise of God. "And the promise is unto you, and to your children, to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Seed Shall Possess The Gate 61-0212e).

DIE TO YOUR OWN SELF-BORN AGAIN

Quote: It takes death to produce life. You've got to die to your own thinking. You've got to die to your own theology. You've got to die to your own self, to your own human ways. You've got to be regenerated, a new creature, a new creation. Before you can be that... You can't be two at the same time; you got to die to one in order to be born in the other. It brings a mess, and it causes a mess too. But you're--you got new life. What difference does it make? You got to do it. (The Way Back 62-1123).

WORST ENEMY IS YOURSELF – GET YOURSELF OUT OF THE WAY

Quote W.M.B: E-28 I used to preach over in the Baptist church a little sermon; I called it, "Let Loose And Let God." That's right. Just let loose and let God; as long as you got yourself into it, there ain't no way. You know who the biggest enemy I got's William Branham. He's always in God's way. If I can just get him out of the way, then God can go to work. That's your worst enemy is yourself. Just get yourself out of the way, and then God can go to work.” (Separation from unbelief 55-0228).

Quote: 71 The thing you have to overcome is yourself, your ideas, your things, and surrender yourself to Him. He overcome for you. He knows the way; we don't. (How can I overcome 63-0825M).

That is how you become an overcomer; first overcome yourself; that “I man.” Anytime you hear that expression, it is self speaking. “Self!” That is our enemy friends! That is the fellow that is hindering you from being born again. That is the fellow that is hindering you from receiving the revelation of Jesus Christ. That is the fellow that is hindering you from going up to Pentecost. That is the fellow that brings delusions upon people.

Think of what I am saying. Self could work so deceitfully and cunningly that another man does not know that is inside of a man. I slept together with preachers, ate with them, they hugged me at the feet washing and you talk about wonderful personalities and men that had loved me and I had loved them, for years. We came to this revelation together, and I never knew that there was self in those men. Later on, after years, it manifested itself. Do you know where they are tonight? Believing that they are prophets to lead the Bride with a deeper revelation. Now, that is what self does. If you ever listened to “Bethel Experiences”, you will hear me talk about some of those same things.

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Anytime you have self after sitting under the Word of God, you are an open target for deception, because a demon will offer you something off the Word of God and you are going to grab it. Now, you could say how sincere you are, how righteous you live or how pure your motives are, but when a demon passes and you accept it, it disproves all that you have claimed. That could not have happened to you unless there was some self down in you! I am saying that such spirits do not come by accident; they come by premeditation of self, pride and ambition.

HOW ART THOU FALLEN FROM HEAVEN, O LUCIFER

Isaiah 14:12-15 <How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!...?>

Now, this is a question. It must have an answer. In other words; “Lucifer, you were a bright and shining daystar. I made a daystar in the sky that represented you. Your name is called the daystar, you are called the covering cherub. You were mighty in valour. You were the song leader; I made the musical pipes within you. How did you fall Lucifer?” The Lord has to give us the answer. It is going to prove what I am saying.

<…For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.>

Alright, here is a man following the Word; Judas. How did you fall away from grace Judas Iscariot? Well, it is the same reason that caused Lucifer to fall.

<How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer?>

He was in heaven. How did he fall? You had better be careful since you are on earth. If he could fall from heaven, what about you who are trying to climb into heaven? The reason that he fell from heaven, God is now expressing:

<For thou hast said in thine heart…>

It was a certain heart’s condition that caused him to fall from heaven and the grace of God.

<… How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer… For thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into heaven…>

He was in heaven, but he wanted to climb up to where God was, to do a certain thing.

<…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…>

Above the stars of God.

<I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:…>

That word, “mount” means “in place of control.” “I will sit in the place of control, over the congregation.” That was his heart’s condition.

<…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.>

This reveals what I am telling you, just from the reading of the Word.

Lucifer was in heaven, and everything was running right; everything was running smoothly in heaven; everybody recognized Michael. Lucifer held to his position. Michael held to his position. But war broke out in heaven. What caused war to break out in heaven? War broke out in heaven because somebody said in their heart:

<… I will ascend into heaven…>

In other words, “I will take a position that God never gave to me.”

<…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:…>

All this here speak of self. Do you know it amounts to ambition? He was a highly ambitious creature! And what caused the problem in heaven was self, and out of self came forth ambition. He drew a third of those angels by his tail and he is now their master. He desired to be in control of God’s congregation. That was in his heart. He was righteous.

Ezekiel 28:15 <Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.>

INIQUITY IN LUCIFER: PRIDE, SELF, AMBITION, LUST, SIN, UNBELIEF

Now, the iniquity that was found in Lucifer was pride and self. He was a good creature; a righteous, holy and perfect one. He had a nice testimony until the day iniquity was found in his heart. That iniquity was self, pride, ambition, lust, unbelief and sin. The word “self” covers all such terminologies.

Here is a creature that was very ambitious. What made him so ambitious? Look at the plan he had in his mind; he wanted to rule over all the stars of God; not only a little portion; he was aiming at the whole thing. Yes sir! He got that self, pride and ambition carried over to another angel, in order to make a conspiracy and a plot. Then he went to another angel and that angel understood just like him. He said, “When we set up our kingdom, you will be the second man. Because of your abilities, you should be doing something higher here, but for years we had been serving tables. I will give you a better position. Listen to me, don’t you ever let that out, don’t you ever tell anybody about this plan.” Lucifer dealt with another angel, and then another angel, and everybody was tight-lipped. The only way that the next angel could have received it, and the other angels likewise, it was because there was self and pride in them also. There was a lacking of revelation.

In heaven, in the presence of the great Michael the Archangel, Lucifer was able to convince one third of the angels with an interpretation, thus carrying them down to hell. In the presence of the Almighty and the mighty Archangel, Michael, that spirit started moving, and everybody was tight-lipped. He took his ambition, pride and self and passed them on to some head angels and made them demons. Afterwards unto many millions or billions. Many demons are upon the face of the earth. Those fallen angels became the demons. Demon is just another name for them because they fell. Lucifer held a certain office, but when he fell he became Satan, which means the adversary of God, the devil. Those fallen angels became demons, evil spirits, but they are fallen angels. And that tale that Lucifer told in the heavens, they believed it! When you believe a lie, that lie is going to damn you! Yes sir! It is going to damn you! Don’t believe a lie. A third of the angels were persuaded and damned in heaven, much more for sinful man on earth. Those spirits want to get in amongst us and spoil the people of God who follow God’s revelation.

I cannot get over, that right in the presence of Michael this evil was working. Michael looked around and saw that fellowship was broken. He saw that the countenance of certain angels fell, and said, “I have their number.” Michael had the majority. “Get your swords sharpened and wait on my command until you hear me say, ‘Fire!’ Just behave like you don’t know what is going on. I discern that there is something evil going on.” When they had their plot made up Michael said, “Fire!” Yes sir; they were ready. The war was finished in a few minutes, in God’s time.

Jesus told His apostles and disciplines:

Luke 10:18 <… I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.>

The only man that brought out that revelation was Brother Lambert. He said, “Because Michael was in heaven and he kicked Lucifer down. And he looked over and saw when he fell down, and the place where he fell was Eden.” The garden was not yet planted.

When Jesus came, they thought it was Jesus speaking but that was Michael the Archangel. In other words, He was trying to tell them that He kicked him down. Michael has a kicking ministry, and everything that cannot behave itself in the Kingdom of God will be kicked out.

TWO KINGDOMS BECAUSE OF SELF

Now, let me bring a very vital point to you. Before the heart’s condition was met in Lucifer, there was only one kingdom and there was only one ruler, one church, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God that they were serving. The glory was going to one God! But when pride entered Lucifer’s heart, it made two kingdoms! You belong to one of those kingdoms. There was only one kingdom until a being got jealous and envious. The two kingdoms could not associate together, and one came down to the earth and the other one was going to rule over the saints from heaven. When Jesus came down He said:

John 18:36 <…My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight…>

Now, Satan established his kingdom here on the earth and it is both a natural and a spiritual kingdom. You and I were born in that kingdom of Satan and, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Only when you get born again you will be able to see God’s kingdom. If you are not born again all that you could see and live for is Satan’s kingdom: This kingdom of money, houses, land, women and popularity, speaking about carnal things, loving carnal things, and appreciating carnal things. Talking about the new car that was invented; and you will spend half an hour talking about that. The new bomb they invented. And you will talk about it for two hours. It sickens me! I don’t want to hear any of those foolishness! Tell me about the kingdom of God, let me know what the message is doing to you, let me know what Brother Branham said somewhere, let me know if you understand the seals and if you understand the Church Ages; it is life to me. A natural man speaks of natural things.

DROPPED DOWN TO EARTH - DRAFTED IN MAN

Romans 8:6 <For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.> Now, is that not plain enough in God’s Word? There was one kingdom ruled over by one Michael until pride entered into Lucifer’s heart. When that pride entered into his heart, it became two kingdoms and one of the two kingdoms dropped down to the earth and it involved man. It drafted man into the kingdom of Satan, but that never destroyed the Kingdom of God. Michael, who is the head of the original Kingdom, came down in the form of Jesus, to finish up this great battle that started in Genesis. Oh yes!

But you would not forget this message. It has to do with your birth, it has to do with a revelation, it has to do with a minister; it has to do with delusions. Now, after a man hears a message like this he needs to hate “self.” If you don't hate it you are not going to enter into God’s Kingdom. Your greatest enemy is yourself.

WAY OF DELIVERANCE FROM SELF

There is a way of deliverance from self; that is; you have to pray against self. Your greatest prayer is not for a ministry, not for the Token. You could pray how much you want for the Token, if self is not denied, you are not going to get it. Jesus set the example of what He preached: “self denial.” He was tempted in all points as we are, yet He denied self, appetite for sin and lust. He sanctified Himself, denied self and did not marry a wife. It was expressed in His prayer on Mount Olivet when He prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done.” He denied self and forsook His own will to do the will of the Father.

James 4: 1 < From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

ROOT OF FUSSES, CONFUSION, DIVISION

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.>

How do wars come in the church brethren? How does a war start in the church? How does a war get started in the church? What is the root of these wars? What is the root of a division? What is the root of the fussing? What is the root of the confusion? How do wars happen amongst brethren and amongst Christians? How did war start in Heaven? That's the way it starts in the church. The way that war started in Heaven is the way that it starts in the church. It is because of lust. Lust means; desires, ambitions and self. That is how wars start in the church.

Well, from whence come wars brethren? James said, brethren, from whence come wars and fightings among you? In other words: spiritual wars and fightings amongst you? Let me tell you something, this is where it came from: it is because of your desires that are buried in your hearts that you never surrendered. Brethren, why do you pray and your prayers are not answered? You pray for the Token, you pray for a revival, you pray to get up in the Shekinah glory. Why were your prayers not answered brethren? Because you were going to consume it upon lust. In other words, you were going to lift up self with it, you were going to edify self. You were praying for a greater ministry than Michael's, to equal God's. He said, that is why you did not get it. That is why you did not get it. You are praying and praying. He said, why have your prayers not been answered brethren?

There is a reason why your prayers are not being answered, because when you pray, you pray with a selfish motive, you pray with a worldly ambition, you pray with self down in there, and self was not denied when you were praying. Yes. You prayed to get a pretty woman to marry and you did not get her because your motive was selfish. You wanted to show that you got the prettiest woman in the church. That is just an example. You prayed and you prayed, but something was hindering your prayer. What was hindering your prayer? Self was standing in the way, desires were standing in there, lust was standing in there brethren. That is what hindered your prayer.

Why all the fussing in the church? Why can’t somebody give away their rights? Why all the confusion? From whence come these wars man, and fightings among you? He said, come they not of your own lust? In other words, I am showing you the center of all the problems; it's your self.

You could say how much you are sincere; (I believe that); that you are honest; (I believe that); and you have a good testimony; (I believe that); you could preach; (I believe that); you are anointed; (I believe that). But did you deny self? If you deny self the devil cannot give you something to exalt self above the stars of God and a God-sent pastor. When you try to exalt yourself above those that had the revelation before you, it is the devil. Is that the devil? [Congregation says, "Amen!"] It has to be the devil! It has to be the devil! It fits every quality of the devil.

That's why tears do not fool me; soft speeches don't fool me. You say, "Somebody has a marvelous testimony.” Let me hear what they are doing with that Word. Let me see how they react to correction. If that spirit cannot be corrected, the person is anointed of the devil, on their soul. Peter was anointed on his body and he responded to correction. Judas was anointed by the devil on his soul and he did not take correction; he went out and sold Jesus for money.

The devil has one motive in coming into our midst. The enemy comes not but for to? [Congregation says, "Steal."] steal; and to? [Congregation says, "Kill."] kill; and to what? [Congregation says, "Destroy’"] destroy.

“Now, what shall I do to be saved, Brother Bruce?" Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow the Lord. If you ever said a prayer and if you ever begged God for something brother, let your prayer go up to the Lord and say, "Lord, help me to deny this self, this ambition and this pride that is in my heart." Yes. Out of self and pride come forth envy, come forth jealousy, and out of envy and jealousy come forth all manner of confusion and evil work, because it is the wisdom of the devil. Yes sir!

      James 3: 15-17 <But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.>

7^TH SEAL/7 THUNDERS VS LACK OF SELF DENIAL

At the event of the seven seals the prophet warned message ministers and believers to humble themselves, in the message; “God Hidden And Revealed In Simplicity.” He repeated the same with greater emphasis on “Questions And Answers”, seals pages 458-461, prior to the preaching of the seventh seal. He knew that self-exalted, proud and ambitious spirits were prevalent and that they would try to interpret the 7^th seal, which will cause spiritual death to many sincere people.

They refused to heed his warning because of their proud spirit. Based upon the 7^th seal/7 thunders they formulated many heresies and became false anointed ones, false christs, false prophets, “eighth messengers” and even “God manifested in human flesh.” Some of the chief heretics around the message are internationally popular and hailed as the great powers of God. The secrets of the inner recesses of their souls are exposed by this message. All their heresies, lies, hypocrisies, deception, sins, unbelief of the truth, the message and God himself, their popularity, love of money and immorality are summed up in the simple fact of not denying “self” as the Lord commanded.

Matthew 23:12 <And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.>

Quote: 142 Overcome the thing. How do you do it? By the Word. What the Word says, you do it. Walk humble; live before Jesus.

He endured all things for you and I. He is our Example how to overcome our evil generation as He overcome His evil generation. (How Can I Overcome 63-0825m).

Quote: 180 You told us how it's done. You didn't only tell us, but You showed how it was done. You led us. You showed us how to do it: receive the Word inside of us and be sure to hold that Word, "It is written," in every temptation, but be humble, walk humbly. Then we have conquered through You, through Your power, which has already conquered our enemy. And the only thing we have to do is--is just walk humble with faith believing that and our badge of identification of the Holy Ghost, and Satan has to move. (How Can I Overcome 63-0825m).

MAN WITH A REVELATION CANNOT BE DECEIVED

In conclusion, what I have preached from the Word of God to you, automatically proved that a minister with the new birth, a born again experience, a divine revelation of the son of man cannot accept the devil's ministry and try to twist the church off the Word of God. He could not, according to the Word of God. It is impossible for the devil to deceive a man who has a divine revelation, into any kind of ministry. Impossible! Yes sir! If that was possible, the seals were opened in vain. The very opening of the seals was for us not to be deceived by the devil. Anytime a man is deceived by the devil, it shows that he never had a divine revelation.

Yes my brother, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him, if you want to enter into the kingdom of God. If you want to find the way of Life, you have found it tonight.

Many questions were answered and this is going to be a blessing to many who have not heard it. Brother Sam, will you dismiss us in a word of prayer? [Brother Sam Jones prays.] Thank you Lord! Give Him a praise offering. [Congregation praises.] Thank you Lord. The Lord bless your hearts saints. Amen!

BETHEL EXPERIENCE WHICH WARRANTED THIS TEACHING

This message entitled: “Self and Satanic Delusions: Pride, Ambition And Demon Possession”, was preached in 1993 at Guayaguayare, South Trinidad at “Little Bethel.” The little flock experienced many trials but the Lord delivered them with a mighty hand. The church is yet standing strong by the grace of God.

The church experienced one of her greatest attacks of Satan through an ambitious and self-centered preacher, who was appointed assistant pastor of the flock. Such attack caused me to preach this message. It was on hold upon the condition that the man would repent, and if not it would be released to Bethel’s saints and message believers for their edification.

Mr. Ed was an enthusiastic preacher with a lovely family. He was associated with a heretic from Trinidad, who propagates himself as the Indian chief authority, Dove led eagle etc. He helped in the operation of a church. He came to Bethel with a group and accepted the revelation of Brother Branham’s message and denounced the heresies of Vin. Many of the believers did likewise. They all attended the services at Bethel for about five years which took a six hour round trip for each service, since they had lost their place of worship.

He judged himself unfit for preaching. He hoped to empty himself of all heresies. He seemed obedient, humble and a man with an attractive personality. His testimony was outstanding, giving much praise to the Lord for his deliverance and the high standard of morality and the truth preached from the pulpit at Bethel. His deep seated pride, self, ambition and lust for a greater position were undetected by all. His testimony amongst the believers seemed to have been respected.

God provided a place of worship for the saints at Guayaguayare at the expense of Bethel. The property was placed on his name and also another brother’s name. He was appointed assistant pastor of the flock. All seemed well for about one year, then suddenly the tone of his voice changed and his reverence and respect for the ministry deteriorated. He spoke boastfully, found fault with the ministry, and thought that God was using him to bring deliverance to all at Bethel. At Little Bethel he expressed independence, spoke many blasphemies against the ministers and made them a laughing stock. His wife had no confidence in his preaching nor private tutoring at home. He spent much time in studying the message to get a greater revelation for his elevation. In the absence of the pastor he declared that Bethel’s policies are not his policies nor the policies of the church at Guayaguayare. He had a few dreams. One he mentioned to me with tears, stating that he had turned against the truth in a rebellious manner. I comforted him, but after a short while he manifested the same.

Putting together his dreams, sensations, imaginations and interpretations, he exalted himself to think that he had the revelation of the seven thunders, tutored the congregation privately to pray until they rise into the dimension of the Shekinah glory to catch that revelation. He influenced the minds of great men of the church and outstanding believers. Much fear for him was instilled in them, as a special man of God who was hearing directly from God, insomuch that the majority of the congregation did not want to meet the pastor and several fled when he visited the church. Mr. Ed, after much schooling of the believers, desired a separation by throwing out the pastor, now that he had the property on his name and another brother, whom he also won to his heresies.

Mr. Ed was given a ministry of Satan. He was directed to Isaiah 41:9-12. He assumed that it spoke of him as God’s servant, when in fact it referred to Israel – God’s servant-nation. He said, whosoever resist him will perish and saw the pastor behind the pulpit trying to move the congregation off his revelation and foundation but he shrank and crippled up after leaving the pulpit.

The pastor exposed his experience as false and his ministry as of the devil. Mr. Ed came to the pulpit and confessed that he was deceived once again. However, he tried to change the story of his true intention to divide the congregation, making it appear like a conflict and misunderstanding amongst a few brothers. He was further exposed for his lies and proved that because of his selfish ambition, he was deluded of Satan. Also, the pastor did not wear the type of clothing which he was shown by Satan in his experience, nor was the pastor crippled, after preaching the Word and delivering the sheep. The solid foundation he boasted about was sinking sand.

He believed that Eve was designed by Satan, that he was gifted to bring the faith of the seven thunders and take the people up into a certain dimension. Some expressed that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit would fall amongst them. He said that the pastor stood in need of deliverance, along with the Bethel congregation. He spoke with great authority, with expressions of pride and self exaltation at Bethel’s pulpit. The pastor corrected him privately and he rebelled against the truth. He thought to bring about a separation with the majority on his side. With that confidence he approached the pastor and argued about policies and doctrines, trying to prove him wrong. He was quickly put down by the Word of God and the chief men who he deceived by his heresies were delivered. The showdown in the congregation lasted several days. Each one confessed how they were deceived and the heresies by which they were deceived. He was angry and very disappointed. He felt betrayed by his own men.

His wife arose and publicly stated that she did not believe his doctrine and denounced it as antichrist. He made his way to the pulpit and confessed that he was wrong, hoping that the pastor would continue to leave the church in his care. All these things were recorded on magnetic tapes. The pastor saw that his repentance was hypocritical and deceitful, as he refused to shake the hands of certain brethren and persecuted his wife at home, calling her a traitor and Jesuit. He ran to the pastor’s wife for her to intervene, saying that his “chief men could have killed him and they are all betrayers. They put him up on a tree and then cut it down”. She told him if he was wrong, to repent and all would be well, as she knew that the pastor was full of mercy and consideration for his soul’s salvation and decided not to cast him out of the church but only remove him from office in the interest of the people’s salvation. Nevertheless, he was very disappointed when the pastor placed another to look over the flock in his absence. His plans to butcher the sheep for exposing him failed! He continued with his heresies, evil-speakings and false doctrines, and persecuted his wife because she was an unbeliever in his teachings. She continued to attend church with the children but became anointed by that spirit and told lies to defend him. Mr. Ed’s cup was full with his sin, unbelief, heresies, pride and ambition. He was finally dismissed. His wife and children followed him and lied to save his face and also theirs as the family had been around the message for several years and five years under the truth and revelation of the message preached at Bethel. Mr. Ed boasted that he sat for five years and had learned his lesson well. However, he did not know his ABC’s of self denial.

Ed and his family were the only ones carried away by his heresies, interpretation and ism on the thunders. He quickly associated himself with “prophets” Mac and Ken. He told lies about his separation which they gladly received. He spoke blasphemies against the pastor of Bethel and the congregation. His wife and children are back in the world. May God have mercy upon their souls. To further prove, support, confirm and encourage men to obey the commandment of our Lord to deny “self” and humble their hearts to God, I will document a few major experiences of Bethel - the House of God and Grace Covenant Church (G.C.C.), under the subject of “False prophets.”