Tuesday, April 27th, 2021
"Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter by it. But the gate is narrow and the way to life is narrow, and there are few who find it. "(Matthew 7:13-14)
Satan sets up pitfalls, but we overcome them. All that God tells us and asks of us and all the ways God leads us are for our good. We are in the flesh and every day we face struggles "For the flesh has desires contrary to those of the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires contrary to those of the flesh" (Galatians 5:17) But we are more than conquerors. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. "(Matthew 5:7) "All of us also were of their number, and we used to live according to the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of our own minds, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest... But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, who were dead in our trespasses, has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Ephesians 2:3-5) Mercy is very important to us. God instructs us for our good. When we love Him, we believe what He says because He is true. God cannot lie. If He has made a promise to you, years may pass but God will fulfill His promise. We must be patient but man is by nature impatient. God deals with you in a certain way. God has a purpose for everyone. God speaks to you so that you are sure of where you are going. Others do not seek God but you seek His Will. God speaks to you, He knows you because He wants you to know where you are going. They continued in the apostles' teaching, in the fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers" (Acts 2:42). God wants us to be believers. We are in a terrible time. "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders, so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. "(Matthew 24:24) This is really very fine. We must know the truth.
Question of Brother Julliard: Do you personally believe that William Marrion Branham is the prophet? If yes, what kind of prophet is he?
One speaks about the Message of the Hour when one speaks about the preachings of Bro. Branham. God makes all things by His Word. For there to be a word, there must first be a thought and that thought must be expressed. The Bible is the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. Genesis, the book of the beginning and Revelation, the book of the end. This is 100% the Word of God. "If anyone adds anything to it, God will strike him with the plagues described in this book; and if anyone takes anything away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and of the holy city, described in this book. "(Revelation 22:18-19) For the salvation of souls, it is the Word of God that is necessary. Life is found in the Word of God. What changes us comes from the Word of God.
Question from Brother Julliard: Reverend Leonard, I was taught that the prophet is the mouth of God, the prophet has the ability to see and say things not written in the Holy Scriptures and to give it to the people as a “Thus says the Lord”, is that true?
When Bro. Branham baptized in the Ohio River, coming to the 17th person, the angel came down: "Just as John the Baptist was sent as the forerunner of the First Coming of Christ, you have a Message that will precede the Second Coming of Christ." (Brochure: How the Angel Came to Me and His Commission, paragraph 128) Yet Bro. Branham has preached thousands of messages, but the angel speaks about one message. Which message is it? He said that blacks and whites could not marry each other, he also said that Eve was not of the original creation but a derivative of the creation. All these are messages. So what is the message? In all preaching, there must be a message. There is more than the Message. The Message does not save you. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. "(Revelation 3:22) He didn't say he who has an ear should hear the messenger, NO. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations. "(Matthew 24:14) But what were these men preaching because it was the good news of the kingdom? The Lord only preached the good news of the kingdom, the disciples took up and did the same. The good news of the kingdom is the gospel!
Acts 10:42-43
It is not the message but a message.
John 1:19-21
John said that he was not Elijah however the angel of the Lord said of John "he will walk before God with the spirit and the power of Elijah" (Luke 1: 17) Personally, I cannot say that William Marrion Branham is prophet.
Revelation 1: 19-20
If Bro. Branham was a messenger, he must remain in his role of messenger. Was Wesley a prophet? Was Luther a prophet? They were reformers, not prophets. Bro. Branham said of his ministry, God said to him, "Do the work of an evangelist" (Brochure: The present stage of my ministry, paragraph 13 to 15)
Brother Julliard's question: Was Branham greater than Moses or like Moses, Isaiah and all the others of the Old Testament?
When God called Moses, He did not tell him to do the work of an evangelist but Moses was a prophet. Each one has its place. There are no absolutes outside the Word of God.
Exodus 4:10-17 / Exodus 7:1
Moses was placed at a certain level. Moses was a prophet and was born for this task. There are several stages in Bro. Branham's ministry. He started as an evangelist but it is afterwards that his ministry took another turn.
Brother Julliard's question: Is William Branham really the prophet of Malachi 4? Did he have the spirit of Elijah and the ministry of bringing the hearts of children back to their fathers? If yes, what is the proof that he is the one who fulfilled Malachi 4 (knowing that the Bible speaks black on white of Elijah the tishbite, of Elisha and Jesus Himself comes to confirm that John the Baptist was Elijah. But Branham, what confirms that he had the spirit of Elijah, is it the fact that he was hard on women in his ministry as Elijah the Tishbite was with Jezebel and John the Baptist with Erodias, making him the Elijah of Malachi 4?
It is thought that Bro. Branham has the spirit of Elijah because he was hard on women, but this is false.
Brother Julliard's question: What is the difference between a major prophet and a minor prophet?
Where did you see that in the Bible? There is no major or minor but there are only prophets.
Matthew 11:9-11
Was John the Baptist before Moses? No, he came after Moses. What is the miracle that John the Baptist did? Moses did many miracles. For us, humanly speaking, Moses was greater but God has a different look. To know the Word of God, you need the Spirit of God, otherwise you will mislead brothers and sisters. There is a big difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament they wrote the Bible but Bro. Branham did not write the Bible! Bro. Branham is not a prophet because he is a messenger. Each one in his place. When Satan came to Eve, he came with the Word but in a roundabout way. It is the same today.
Brother Julliard's question: Reverend Leonard, there is a book called the revelation of the 7 seals which is a series of preaching of William Branham on the 7 thunders of which the Bible speaks, in which Branham had to receive the revelation of the Angel of the Lord. Do you believe in this book? Is this book biblical? And what did the 7 thunders say according to William Branham?
The 7 thunders have nothing to do with the Bride. We are part of the Bride that is the Church. The time of the Church begins in Ephesus and ends in Laodicea. When Laodicea ends, the Bride goes to the rapture.
Revelation 3:14 / Revelation 4:1
This is the rapture. When the Bride leaves, God turns to Israel. So it doesn't even concern us.
Revelation 10:1-7
Here the book is open because all your names have already been mentioned. The rapture has already taken place. For us, Jesus is a lamb, but for Israel, it is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Something that is not written, how can I preach it to you? It is said that the 7th angel is Bro. Branham because he is the 7th messenger.
Revelation 8:1 to Revelation 9:15
The vision is not on earth but in heaven. Here there is fire, that is, it is no longer the time of grace. Here the Bride is already taken away.
Revelation 11:11-15
This has nothing to do with Bro. Branham, it is about the destruction. Bro. Branham even said, "All I know is that these Seven Thunders are holding back this hidden mystery" (Booklet: The Seventh Seal, paragraph 326) This is in the booklets, but no one pays attention. John was not Elijah but "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said" (John 1:23). The people were troubled. When one does not have the Spirit of God, one cannot understand the Word of God.
Luke 24:25-27 / Luke 24:44-45
We are talking about the prophets of the Old Testament because they all spoke. God used them because the Bible had to be written. But in the New Testament, we enter a new dimension. The Word of God is bitter to the mouth but good for the health. Our torch is Jesus Christ, He Himself is the Light.