Prescence of God Unrecognized.
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William Branham.Read the full account in...
Prescence of God Unrecognized."The Unrecognized Presence." What could these people be thinking of? God has always... It's been that way every time He come. When Jesus was here the first time, He said, "You whiten and you garnish the walls and the tombs of the prophets, and you put them in there." See? Something happens, and it passes by. "And God hides it from the eyes of wise and prudent, and reveals it to babes such as will learn." Jesus thanked the Father for doing such. See? It goes right by the people and they don't know it.
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Now, in the days of the prophets, what happened? They did the same thing. They didn't recognize them till they had done come, ministry had finished, took out of that the elected, and then after they were gone they recognized that there had been a prophet among them. Jesus, He came to the earth that... Endowed within Him was the Father, God. "I and My Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me. It's not Me that doeth the works, but My Father. And if I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not." Now, if you notice, when He came, about one, one ninetieth of the world knew that He was even on earth at that time, and yet the Saviour of the world. And then they never recognized Who He was, even the church, or no one else, hardly, until they had crucified Him, buried, and rose on the third day, before they ever knowed Who He was.It comes in and goes out, and people does not recognize it until it's passed, and they-- because that it never fits their theology, it never fits the time of the day. You see what it is, they're always living in a glare of another age, always. The reason they didn't accept Jesus, because they were living in the glare of the law. And when Jesus came, was not contrary to the law, but come to fulfill the law, well, they couldn't accept Him because His Message wasn't exactly the way they had it all creeded out, and it was called then traditions. And they--He didn't come according to their traditions. He didn't keep their traditions. And really He upset it, and tore it up, and done things that was contrary to it, insomuch that they thought He was breaking up the churches. And they couldn't receive Him because of His Message. And we all know today that He come exactly in the line of God's prophecy, but they didn't know it then. And it could happen again, and we wouldn't know it. I imagine if He'd actually appear tonight, it would be so contrary to what we've all--got all figured up on our charts, and in our schools and things. It'd be a very few would recognize what was going on. He said it would be, that how He come.
Now, Jesus being there so Scripturally identified by the Scriptures, and the Scribes and Pharisees of that day could not recognize Him. Why didn't they? Why didn't they do it? Because they had it figured out some other way. That's where Jesus told them, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They that testify of Me." See? Now, He come exactly with the Scriptures. But they had it figured out maybe that if He would come, the Messiah would probably do what Moses did, or what Noah did, build them an ark or something else. But reason He come the way He did, they hadn't figured out, in the Scriptures with their traditions did not teach them; so the people were so confused they didn't know what was going on. Wonder if that could happen today? I wonder if it could be different than what our traditions has taught us? And it could come, and something would pass through, and we'd never even know until it's already passed, and then it's over. That's just about the way it'll come.
Do you know when John the Baptist came on the scene, that had been predicted all the way from the Book of Isaiah, hundreds of years about eight hundred years... Isaiah prophesied, I think, before the coming of Christ. Did you know John came exactly the way Isaiah said he would come; he come exactly the way Malachi said he would come, and even the apostles didn't recognize it? One day, in Matthew 11, John was in prison; and the apostles--some of his disciples went over to ask Jesus was He the One or--or should they look for another. Now, notice, Jesus did not give them a book of how to behave themselves, how to behave himself in jail, or how to conduct his character. He said, "Stay around and watch what happens, and go show John the things that you seen happen." That was the evidence that the-- He was that Word.
And now remember, the Word always comes to a prophet. We all know that. God does nothing without showing it to His prophets. That's the reason the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the full Fullness of Christ right here before us, the Book. Now, He'll have to send one-- someone to confirm that Book, reveal It, open the Seals, and so forth. But as far as any farther revelation of Christ, it's already recognized right Here. He's the Fullness of This, of the Revelation.
Now, notice, never does it fail, but the Word comes to the prophet. Look at John standing in the water, predicting, the prophet, that the Messiah was right then among them. He said, "There is One standing among you now that you don't know; He'll baptize you with the Holy Ghost and Fire." Now, remember, He was standing right among them, the Bible said so, and they didn't recognize it. One day when Jesus came walking down, John recognized Him, and he said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Now, watch, before He was recognized by anybody, He came to the prophet. He was the Word. John was a prophet.
I remember my old Baptist teacher told me, said, "You know what happened?" Said, "Jesus baptized John." I said, "I don't think so." He said, "Sure, John was never baptized; he come preaching, baptizing, nobody was worthy to baptize him. Jesus baptized him." I said, "I don't know." And one day while in study the Holy Spirit revealed it like this. See? Watch, He walked out in the water; he said, "Why comest Thou unto me? I have need to be baptized of Thee." Jesus said, "Suffer that to be so (Watch.), but thus it is becoming to us (behooving us) that we fulfill all righteousness." And John, being a prophet, knowing the Word: the Sacrifice He was must be washed before presented; then He was baptized, John baptized Him, because "It's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness." The Word came to the prophet in the water.
And then when He was baptized, still the people... And the Holy Spirit came down, not everybody saw It. John saw It. The Angel of the Lord could be right here tonight, and maybe one person see It, no one else. That Light, that Star that come over every observatory, where the--that the--the wise men followed; no observatory knows anything about it; no one else saw it at all but those wise men, because it was for them to see it. They saw it. It was real to them. When the Light, the Pillar of Fire smote Paul down on the road to Damascus, he recognized that he was in the Presence of God. Now, that Hebrew would've never called any other spirit, "Lord," besides he knowed That was the same Pillar of Fire that led his people out of the wilderness. He said, "Lord, Who are You?" "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" He said, "I'm Jesus."
Jesus said, "I come from God, and I return to God." He was that Fire that was in the burning bush that led Moses through the wilderness, and He returned back to That. And now here he was on the road down to Damascus, was stricken down. And all the men was with him, they never saw that Pillar of Fire. And it was so--so real to Paul, till it put his eyes out, and he had to be led down to the street called Straight in Damascus. He was blind. Ananias, a prophet down there saw in a vision and went and laid hands on him, and he received the Holy Ghost, and the scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. It was so real to him till it put his eyes out, and yet none of the rest of them recognized It being there, could see It. So--so is it tonight. There's somebody setting right there can bring God on the scene, when the others know nothing about it. See, recognizing God...
And Jesus, when He was here on earth, and had fully performed the sign that the Bible said that He would do, but they didn't recognize it, because it wasn't according to their tradition. For that age He wasn't to come and do what Moses did. He was to come and be borned of a virgin. And He... And according to Deuteronomy 18:15, He was to be a Prophet. And exactly He did those works and signs. The Jews always sought signs. They were taught to, never to depend on intellectual speeches; the Jews knowed better than that. The Greeks taught that. But not intellectual speeches, but upon signs. "Show us a sign." These people, one said, "Rabbi (or Master), show us a sign." They wanted to know. And He'd already showed them the sign, and they wanted a different kind of sign, but He could only do the sign of that age. So does He today; this pouring out of the Holy Ghost is the sign of His appearing even in this age, as He promised. They want a sign, and He had give them the Scriptural sign, but they wanted a different sign.
That's where that so many people today is going to be confused. You know, the rapture might take place, and just think of the sadness of it. Let me go back to where Jesus--or John sent his disciples over to see Jesus, if He was the Messiah or not. That hour He done many things. When he returned back, the disciples, to tell John what they had seen, Jesus said to those setting there, said, "What went ye out to see in the wilderness? What went ye out to see when John was preaching? Did you go out and see a man clothed in white raiment, and so forth, or soft raiment?" Said, "They are in kings' palaces. They bury the dead, and kiss the babies, and marry the young, and so forth, that. They don't know the handling of a two-handed sword." Said, "What did you go out to see then, a reed shaken with any wind, somebody, some group will offer him a little more money and he'll go over to this one instead of going of the calling of the Lord? Not John. Somebody could twist him around, say, 'We'll give you more if you'll deny this and take this'? Not John." He said, "What did you go out to see then, a prophet?" He said, "I say unto you, more than a prophet. And if you can receive it, this is he who the prophet said, 'Behold, I send My messenger before My face, which will prepare the way.'" And that was Malachi 3, where he did it.
One day the disciples asked Him, said, "Why did the Scribes say that Elias must first come?" Jesus said, "He's already come and you didn't know it," and they understood that it was John the Baptist. Those elected apostles still couldn't see who he was. That was the Elijah. Now, look. You know, the--the coming of the Lord's going to be a secret coming. He said, "There'll be two in the bed, and I'll take one and leave one (That's where the night is.), two in the field, I'll take one and leave one." You know, there's so many people disappear every day off the face of the earth that nobody can account for. One of these days it might be that people might say, "Well, you mean the tribulation, the thing's on us now? I thought the Church was to go before the tribulation." They don't realize and understand that the rapture could take place and they'd know nothing about it; it's the secret going of the Church.
And, think, people will go right on preaching, saying they believe they're getting saved, and adding in the church, and building churches, and going on just like they did in the days of Noah, and so forth, and not know it; and the rapture done past, "It's already happened and you didn't know it." There's hundreds of people disappear from the earth and people know nothing about where they went to; they can't account for it; somebody was going somewhere, they never hear from them no more. And that could be the rapture.
I tell you, friends, just because that we're members of the church, or something like that, that doesn't mean too much to us. You better buckle up that armor. You better take that whole Word of God and hold onto It, and quit this Hollywood acting around here. It's got right into the church, and it's a shame. But Hollywood glows, just makes a bright light, and the church today is trying to compare with Hollywood. Christ is not in Hollywood. Christ is in the individual. Hollywood glow or... Hollywood glares, while the Gospel glows with humility. God ain't in these great fine fancy places and all this stuff that we see. He comes in in humility, in form of meekness and gentleness, pass right through. And if you're acquainted with the Word, you'll see It. He that has an eye, to hear, "let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." See?
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Look at the day we're living in, what's promised for this day. Where are we? We've moved on up. The Pillar of Fire moves, and the children of Israel moved with the Pillar of Fire or they went back to Egypt. We've got to move with the Word. And today we're getting so slothful, the church is getting so worldly, and so indifferent, and so their minds so muddled up with television, and "We Love Sucy" and some of these old things, and staying home. That shows where the people's hearts are. You can tell them these things are wrong, and they think you're crazy. What is it? "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." See?Oh, the greatest pleasure I know of, is to be to pray until I can realize that I'm in the Presence of God, and recognize it. I think that ought to be the thrill of the church is the Presence of the Holy Spirit, seeing the God that made the promise standing among us, feel His Presence, and see His Word, and see It vindicated. It ought to give faith to make cripples walk, blind see, deaf hear, dumb speak.
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Prescence of God Unrecognized.
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