Ewald Frank

preached on 2. 6. 1991, 10:00, Krefeld, Germany

Topic: Isaiah 30:8–13: “The Word of God came to the seers, to His prophets, and not to the wayward sons who refuse to obey the LORD’s commands!”

broadcast on 2. 8. 2026

Once again this morning, we extend a very warm welcome to you all in the precious name of the Lord. We shall continue with the proclamation of the Word. We have recognized how important the Word is and how vital it is that it be placed on the lampstand, unadulterated and uninterpreted.

We have heard wonderful things in the Psalm. Once again, as so often before, one could pause at every line, at every utterance.

Here in verse 6b, we have read:

[5]…and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

[6] When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

[7] Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

It is simply marvelous when we have reached that level of faith and are secure in our God, knowing that nothing can befall us unless it passes by him. And whatever does befall us, even if the enemy intends evil by it, God will turn it to good, and will even transform a curse into a blessing for those whom he has blessed.

The lady who is here today, the one I spoke to yesterday, she will forgive me, nobody knows who she is, she said: “I went to the parson and had two crosses consecrated there.” You know how one feels about that.

It is not crosses that are consecrated and blessed. God blesses the whole person whom he has redeemed.

It is not objects, not cars, not fields, that are then given some sort of incantation. And this must also be stated clearly: God’s blessing is not present wherever someone utters a formulaic phrase. For that is something quite different from God’s blessing.

God’s blessing is found where people like Abraham are in fellowship with God, where he reveals himself to them and bestows his promises, and those who believe in them are blessed by the Almighty God.

I myself once witnessed how blessings are bestowed in a Catholic church in Witbank, South Africa.

No one needs such a false blessing bestowed by human beings. What we all need is the blessing of the living God.

According to the Scripture: “I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing.” [Gen 12:2]

And then, the connection to Galatians: “in thee shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” [Gen 12:3, Act 3:25]

And this blessing comes to us through Jesus Christ, our Lord, through him, the crucified one. We do not bless a cross. We receive the blessing that God has bestowed upon us through the one who was crucified. Amen.

We have recognized this very clearly.

And as I have already said, the blessing comes from God, not from a man.

But once again, we have an example of how people are led astray by pious words.

And so, as we considered yesterday evening, the canopy of lies, the entire building of lies, must be brought crashing down. And the Word of our God must become like a hammer that shatters rock, like a fire [Jer 23:29] that burns everything. The Word of our God must once again be endowed with power and then accomplish that for which it was sent [Isa 55:11]. When we reflect on the fact that through the Word of God everything that has come into being has come into being [Joh 1:3], the entire universe is the result of the spoken Word of God.

“God spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” [Psa 33:9]

He did not lift a finger, did not move a hand, no muscles were to be seen; he commanded, he spoke, and it came to be.

Our God still speaks today, our God still commands today, and he says: “what I have planned will come to pass, my counsel shall stand.” [Isa 46:10, Isa 14:24]

How marvelous it is to know that he is the Lord, seated on the throne, and that he reigns until all his enemies have been made his footstool. [Psa 110:1] We are dealing with a defeated enemy and with the victor of Golgotha, who has triumphed and risen again. And we have risen with him to a new life, so that we may serve God.

Verse 9 of Psalm 63 is also so precious: “My soul clings to you.”

As you know, when something clings, it doesn’t let go, it remains firmly attached.

“My soul clings to you; thy right hand upholdeth me.” [Psa 63:8]

Hallelujah!

How often have we gone through trials, let’s be honest, where we didn’t know how they would end. And then we have been able to look back and say and bear witness: The Lord’s right hand has guided me. The Lord’s right hand has secured the victory. And so we may give thanks to God again and again.

Then there is verse 9:

[9] But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

[10] They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes.

God has seen to it that even such men went through trials to set an example to us all, that we can trust God, that we may trust him in every situation.

Verse 4:

[4] Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

When Paul writes in the New Testament: “I want holy men everywhere to lift up holy hands and pray to God” [1Ti 2:8], he knew what he was saying.

Men have stretched out their hands to God in prayer in the genuine expectation of receiving something from him, of being blessed by him.

Anyone who hands out a gift, you can see this particularly with children, how they then stretch out their hands to receive the gift that is given to them.

In the same way, the men of God expected not merely to pray, but to receive from God the gift for which they were asking. And they held out their hands before the Lord, so that their hearts might be filled with what they were asking for.

Is that not wonderful? Is that not an act of faith?

Brothers, let us take courage, so that we too may come to pray in this way, stretching out our hands, not like this, but like this, to symbolically say to the Lord: ‘We wish to receive what we have asked for and what you have promised us by your grace, and bestow upon us.’

God answers prayer, God helps, blessed be his holy name.

I was thinking of a passage from Mark chapter 1.

Here from verse 1, we are given the beginning of the New Testament.

I would just like to read one verse: Mark chapter 1, verse 5:

[5] And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

When one reads this verse and then thinks of the ministry of John the Baptist, as foretold in the prophet Isaiah chapter 40 and Malachi chapter 3, these two passages are after all cited here as parallels, and when it is then reported that the whole of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, then one might ask: “Where did all those multitudes go afterwards?”

You know, sometimes revivals happen, wonderful revivals. The question is: “What remains of a revival in the end?”

Someone gave me a recording of one of Brother Branham’s meetings.

I think it was in Kansas City in the USA, to show me the crowds who heard the Word at his meetings.

And if I can find a bit of time, we might perhaps display some photos of all those mass meetings in the showcase at the front.

When I think of how many listened, and Brother Branham said in a sermon: “I am connected to more than 10 million people all over the world through my ministry.”

When I heard the phrase ‘over 10 million’, I was delighted on the one hand.

Looking back today, I ask myself: “What remains of those millions?”

You must also picture it this way: In 1964 and 1965, Brother Branham spoke nationally through many broadcasts to numerous churches and so on.

There was a special network, and it was nationwide, covering all 50 states.

And so, in fact, it wasn’t just a few hundred people, say, in the Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, but truly millions who heard his sermons.

And Demos Shakarian, the man of the Full Gospel, or the chairman, he was a multi-millionaire, and many others ensured that this became possible.

However, if we ask today who even knows this man, let alone who is aware and knows what God has done and what he intended, then only a few remain.

And those few are still scattered to the four winds, following their own interpretations.

But, and I say this without any ‘but’, God will have a church born of the Word and the Spirit of God, the church of the firstborn, who do not run after every wind of doctrine and are tossed to and fro [Eph 4:14], but have been firmly established in the Word, according to the Scripture, “by grace let our heart be strengthened.” [Heb 13:9]

So, not the masses who turn up at some point, but those who remain.

We see this with our Lord too: thousands came, and then in the end, He had to ask: “Will ye also go away?” [Joh 6:67]

From Luke 1, I would now like to read the first verses relating to our topic: Luke chapter 1, verses 1 to 4.

[1] Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

[2] Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

[3] It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

[4] That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

We have repeatedly emphasized here that the New Testament sets out the manner in which the Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled.

There were men in the Old Testament who prophesied, and there were men in the New Testament who then accurately recorded and arranged these prophecies as they were fulfilled, and as is even written here, “in the correct order”.

I am glad that such a thing existed from the very beginning.

In the beginning, there was no confusion; in the beginning, there was divine order, and the servants of the Word, who were called to write down what had been from the very beginning as a testimony for all who will believe right to the end.

That was the very purpose for which it was written in the first place.

And then we are told very clearly here: “Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.” [Luk 1:2]

It is not enough simply to be a minister of the Word, nor is it enough simply to be an eyewitness.

Both things must go hand in hand here.

One must have been there from the very beginning, having become an eyewitness, and then appointed as a servant of the Word in order to place what is happening in accordance with the Word of God, and as it says here, to carefully investigate all these events from the very beginning and to record everything in chronological order.

Are you not glad that we are not dealing here with a jumble, but with a clear account of what happened at the beginning?

We have the same right to receive at the end a clear, chronological overview of the plan of salvation.

Not only a most excellent Theophilus, but whoever we may be and whatever our names may be, if we belong to the people of God, then we are entitled to this.

And let me emphasize this once more: it is said here that many have undertaken this task and that many have written.

That did not interest this man in the slightest.

Whether a hundred or a thousand had written, that was not the point.

The question was whether, as a minister of the Word, he had been called to investigate these matters from the very beginning, not merely to take part in or copy down what others had already said and put down on paper, but rather he turned to the eyewitnesses, the earwitnesses, those who were there and who had themselves been ministers of the Word.

These are the right people, not just anyone who comes and goes and does not know exactly what it was all about, but simply those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word.

I believe that we are now experiencing a similar phase at the end of the time of grace.

Many are writing, and let me make this clear, many are also writing about what happened in our generation, and then their own thoughts creep in, and in the end, it is no longer possible to tell what it is actually about, because they were not servants of the Word who were authorized by God to do what they do.

That is what matters.

Not everyone can do as they please in the kingdom of God; it must have been ordained by God.

I do not know where I said this, it was probably here, yes, certainly, with the picture of the pillar of fire above Brother Branham’s head.

Did I tell you here how I flew to Washington to search for and find that picture there?

I am indeed one of those who were not skeptical, but who must always be eyewitnesses in order to be able to say with absolute certainty, ‘Yes, that is how it was.’

And I am very grateful to the Lord that I was able to investigate these things which have been said and which have happened in a truly sincere manner.

And it is simply part of the process that they are then placed in their biblical context, so that everyone may have certainty of faith and know it was not a man who brought this work into being, but here God has acted, working and confirming in a supernatural way, because we are living in the last days and the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord, is imminent.

I would like to read this passage once more, and then we shall continue.

Here in Luke 1, verse 2:

[2] Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

[3] It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

[4] That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

There is, therefore, a Word that is reliable and certain, and that is precisely God’s holy Word.

And I think, in this context, we need not look it up, you all know the passage from 2 Timothy 4, verse 2: “Preach the word… for the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but will turn away from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.” [2Ti 4:2-4]

That time has certainly come.

But now, God has given a further promise: that He will “send a famine upon the land, not a famine for water or bread, but a hunger for hearing the Word of God.” [Amo 8:11]

You are all familiar with these Scriptures from the Old Testament, which have been handed down to us as a testimony, that they too will be fulfilled when the time comes.

Amos chapter 8, verse 11. Amos 8, verse 11:

[11] Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.

So, when God sends a famine, He also ensures that this hunger can be satisfied.

Then He ensures that there is food in the house of God, fresh manna, the revelation of the Word by the Holy Spirit.

And we believe that God has ordained it thus right up to the present day, so that we may take in the living Word of God, and it may become our food.

Now, some passages, admonishing Scriptures from the prophet Isaiah, and then from Jeremiah, and then we return to the New Testament.

I enjoy reading the Old Testament because God had already spoken these things through the prophets beforehand.

Isaiah chapter 30. Isaiah chapter 30, from verse 8, perhaps up to verse 12.

[8] Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

Do you see? What God had spoken was to be written down and serve as an everlasting testimony for all future generations.

And then comes the rebuke:

[9] That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.

This too is a solemn word.

Perhaps only those who themselves have sons who do not follow in their father’s footsteps can truly understand it.

A thousand sons, a thousand others are not the heartache of the father whose sons do not walk in his ways.

Here, we are addressed as sons of God, as children who are disobedient, who do not follow their father’s instructions, but go their own ways.

Here, these sons are declared to be wayward children, sons who refuse to obey the Lord’s instructions.

I ask you: what can a father do with disobedient sons?

They are his sorrow, they are all his distress.

What is he to do with them?

When he sees them and thinks of how they go their own ways in disobedience, the wound is torn open again and again, and the pain grows ever greater.

Only a father can understand this.

Here, God presents Himself to us as a Father and says:

[9] For this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.

But that was not enough. It goes on:

[10] Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things.

Do you see who the wayward sons are? The wayward sons in God’s eyes are those who cannot make sense of what seers and prophets are commissioned by God to do, who even say: “Leave me in peace”? That is what we find here in the Word of God. Do you see what is all about? It is not simply a matter of saying, “Lord, Lord” and then entering the kingdom of heaven.

When God sends a seer, who is familiar with the Old Testament? Before the prophets were called prophets, they were called seers, because they saw visions. God spoke to them through visions. They saw the events which they then described and passed on using the words, “Thus saith the Lord.”

In the days of Saul, it is written: “Is there no seer left here, that we may inquire of God?” Or “Let us go to the seer.” [1Sa 9:9]

And the seer then saw where the donkeys were [1Sa 9:20], the seer saw what God had revealed. The seer stood here on earth, but his eyes were anointed with the holy anointing, and he saw, he saw from God. God looked through his eyes, and he spoke through his mouth.

Take John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos. He is after all called the seer, he saw what was shown to him. An angel was even sent to him. Huh, today some would say that if someone were to claim, “An angel came to me and spoke to me,” then those wayward sons would immediately think to themselves, “Well, I don’t believe that.”

I believe it. And I feel I must issue this warning: Let no one sin by disregarding the supernatural things that God works on earth. Anyone who cannot yet believe it should leave it at that, in accordance with the Word of Scripture to the Philippians: “If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” [Php 3:15]

Here we have a wonderful Scripture.

I shall read once more from verse 9 of Isaiah 30:

[9] For this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

Why then does Paul write: “Live as obedient children of God” [1Pe 1:14]?

The point is that we should become obedient children, walk in God’s ways, and follow his instructions, so that he need not be angry with us, but may take pleasure in us, just as a father takes pleasure in a son who serves him. This is already written in the prophet Malachi. [Mal 3:17]

God wants to make us the sort of people who walk in his ways, do his will, are at his disposal, and wish to please him. Such sons and daughters is what he wants, and we mentioned this right at the end yesterday.

Only when we can say, as the Son of God said, “Not my will, but yours be done” [Luk 22:42], only then can the answer come: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I’m well pleased” [Mat 3:17].

God’s well-pleasing rests upon us only when we are in Jesus Christ. And when we are in him, our own ways, our own deeds, our own lives have come to an end, and whatever we now live, we live by faith of the Son of God [Gal 2:20] and follow in his footsteps.

This concerns sons who do not wish to obey the Lord’s instructions. One question: Are there such people amongst us who do not wish to obey the Lord’s instructions? Then may the hand of the Lord our God come upon us today. May it remove all stubbornness and grant us the grace to humble ourselves before the Almighty God. According to the Scripture: “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God” [1Pe 5:6], and “the devil will flee from you” [Jas 4:7].

So, these wayward sons who do not follow the Lord’s instructions, who say to the seers, “You must not see” [Isa 30:10], and yet that is precisely what is necessary.

There are after all plenty of blind men leading the blind [Mat 15:14] in every denomination.

In the church of the living God, there must be an eye, there must be clarity, there must be light. And there we have that one Scripture, I don’t know exactly where it is, but it is also in the prophet Isaiah, that the eyes, namely the seers, have been veiled, and that as a result, the whole revelation has become like a sealed book. [Isa 29:10-11]

I shall read it to you at some point later today.

Pardon? Isaiah 29? Pardon? Tell me only if you know exactly where it is. Isaiah 29. Verse… Yes, of course, here it is indeed. I’ll read it, yes, sir. Here it is. Isaiah 29, verse 9:

[9] Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

[10] For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

Do you see what it is about? If the people are not prepared to receive one sent by God, whose eyes have been opened and anointed, for he then becomes the eye for the whole body of the Lord. You know, every body consists of many members. The hand cannot see, but it is very useful. The foot is also useful. The whole body is useful. But Paul writes to the Corinthians: “if the whole body were an eye, where would the functions of the other members be?” [1Co 12:17]

God has organized the Lord’s body in such a way that the various parts can be perceived. And the eye in the body is simply the seer, the prophetic ministry. And as we have read here in chapter 30, that they do not want this ministry, and it goes even further. I’ll quickly read on from Isaiah 30, perhaps verse 10 again, and then up to verse 12:

[10] Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

[11] Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

I’ll tell you how it came about. They always wanted a very beautiful sermon, but they didn’t want the ‘thus saith the Lord’ from the Holy One of Israel. They wanted a beautiful service, a nice framework, atmospheric setting, the ringing of bells, the incense, singing psalms beautifully, hallelujah, amen. But a man of God, a seer, a prophet, who after all does not ring the bells and does not need incense, but who appears with a ‘thus saith the Lord’, that they didn’t want. They didn’t say to any priest, ‘Stop ringing the bells now.’ They didn’t say to a minister, ‘We don’t like incense anymore, it’s getting up our noses.’ They left everyone else in peace. Who did they attack? The seers, the prophets. Who is being attacked today? Evangelists, teachers, and preachers? No, today it is the prophetic ministry that is under attack, the very ministry that is so vital for the end times. But this shows us that we are in the right boat, for what is happening now is simply a repetition of what has always happened at various times throughout history.

So, if we are not wayward sons and daughters, but those who are pleasing to God, then we have a longing for more. Then we do not say to the seer, ‘Stop now, that’s enough.’ Instead we say, ‘Speak in the name of the Lord, and we are ready to listen.’ Let’s be honest, haven’t we acquired a taste for it? Ever since God’s Word has become a revelation to us and continues to do so time and again, we want to hear more and more, and we are grateful that the Lord has spoken. But it goes on here in verse…

In verse 11: “Turn aside from the right way.” [Isa 30:11]

That is what we have read. Then we can move straight on to verse 12, for that adds the finishing touch to the whole passage, verse 12:

[12] Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel: Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon,

[13] Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall.

So, the context is clear. “The seers shall not see. The prophets shall not speak. Leave us in peace, O Holy One of Israel.” [Isa 30:10-11]

And then comes the answer: “Because ye despise this word…” [Isa 30:12]

What word? That which the seers and the prophets have brought in the name of the Lord.

What matters is that we accept the words of God given through revelation sincerely and honestly. If we reject the prophetic Word, then God will reject us.

And if we say to the seers, “Do not see anymore,” then we shall be the ones who will no longer see. And if we say to the prophets, “Do not prophesy anymore,” then we shall remain in darkness.

For it is written: “Where there is no prophetic revelation, the people go astray.” [Pro 29:18]

It must be a prophetic revelation of the prophetic Word.

Woe betide us if the Lord must then veil the seers from us for the sake of judgment. For then its meaning will become to us like the meaning of a sealed book.

I could add other scriptures from this scripture of Isaiah 28. But let me read on from this one, Isaiah 29, verse 10:

[10] For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

[11] And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed.

Is this not the case today? And I do not wish to take this to extremes or be confrontational, but is it not true that for those who do not accept the prophetic ministry for our day which God has sent and established, the book with seven seals remains the book of seven seals.

And they will continue to have their own interpretations of it, but will never be able, through revelation, to glimpse what was previously hidden.

God has a specific order when he sends his servants and prophets, whom he describes as eyes, that see in his stead, speak in his name, they have the right to speak in the Lord’s name because God has sent them. And whoever receives them receives the one who sent them. [Mat 10:40]

Verse 11 once more:

[11] And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he says, I cannot; for it is sealed:

[12] And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he says, I am not learned.

Indeed, in the end, both are in the same position. One can read and yet cannot read, and when he reads, what he has read remains sealed to him, and the other simply says, ‘I cannot read.’ Where is the help? The help is here. And let me make this very clear: When God sends a prophet, the holy anointing rests upon that man to convey divine revelation to the people of God. And all who respect and accept this God-given ministry then stand under the same anointing of the Holy Spirit. And what a seer has seen, they too see. And what a prophet has proclaimed, they too have received in that proclamation, and it has become a revelation to them. This is God’s way with his people. There is no other way.

Let me briefly read on from Isaiah 30, verses 19 to 21: Isaiah 30, 19 to 21.

[19] For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

[20] And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

[21] And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

God gives this instruction through the prophetic word. He shows the path that must be followed to reach the goal. By way of comparison, I shall read to you from Jeremiah chapter 6, a few verses. From Jeremiah chapter 6. The prophets were after all used by God one after the other. Jeremiah 6, from verse 13:

[13] For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest everyone dealeth falsely.

[14] They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

[15] Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

I recall an experience with a prophet. This man claimed to be a prophet. And he said he believed that Brother Branham was a prophet, but that I should also take note that he himself was a prophet, and that as a called prophet, he wished to show me where Brother Branham had gone wrong. You can rest assured that I then showed this prophet very briefly, concisely, and convincingly where he was mistaken. I know a little about the Bible, too.

In any case, when it is written here that prophets and priests deal in falsehood, these are prophets like the four hundred who had Zedekiah as their leader, who cried out, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ when the Lord had not spoken at all. [1 Kin 22:11-12] Only where the Word of God has truly been spoken has God spoken, and that is where we find, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ And where God has not spoken, where people’s own thoughts are pieced together, that is precisely where the ‘Thus saith the Lord’ is not to be found. Shall I say it again? Only where God has truly spoken is there a ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ and only then can it be passed on. Where people sit at home thinking about what they will prophesy in a service and putting their thoughts together, those are prophets who are as good as nothing. The wind might just sweep them away and carry them off somewhere. True men of God are the mouth of the Lord. Through them God speaks. It has been that way from the very beginning.

And those who deal in falsehood see salvation everywhere. Here and there is salvation. They proclaim peace and salvation, whilst the Lord says, “There is no peace.” [Jer 6:14]

How great will the disappointment be when people were told, ‘Here is peace,’ and so on, and in the end, the terrible calamity is revealed.

Brother Russ has already said it: there is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus. [Act 4:12]

Where this name is not made known through divine revelation in its meaning as Savior, where is salvation to be found? “You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” [Mat 1:21]

And when we speak today to the many who proclaim salvation about this name in which God’s salvation was bestowed upon humanity, including amongst others the chosen prophet, they become furious and hurl various titles and names at us, failing to realize that they are in error.

From Jeremiah chapter 6, verse 16, also a well-known passage: Jeremiah 6:16:

[16] Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

Amen.

“Look for the paths of old.” Do you know what we are doing? We are not looking around to the right and left. We are looking straight back to early Christianity. We are looking right back to the beginning and seeing what was there. The Lord was the way, the truth, and the life. [Joh 14:6]

As has been said so often, in the beginning there was no mixing, no false brothers, no false prophets, no false teachers, no false practices in the church. Right at the very beginning, for a very short time, there was only what was genuine, wrought by God. And so it will be now for a short time at the end. At the very end, it will come to pass that “the unclean shall remain unclean, and the holy shall be made even more holy.” [Rev 22:11]

Those who are outside shall remain outside; those who are inside shall remain inside.

You will see that God will yet do great things amongst his people. He will not leave us without an answer; on the contrary, he watches over every Word to fulfill it. Let us not press him to do so, but simply stand ready when the time comes for it to be done with us and upon us.

From Jeremiah 8, verses 8 and 9, an illustration of all scriptural scholarship throughout the ages. Jeremiah 8, verses 8 and 9:

[8] How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

[9] The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

Is that not the crux of the whole matter? What use is all their scholarship of Scripture, all their interpretations, all their presumption of knowing something, if in the end it must be said:

[9] The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

Oh, you say, but they do have the Bible. I have the Bible, too; everyone has the Bible. And our brother Andre told me, if that particular stamp isn’t in a Bible, that particular Catholic stamp, then what’s written there isn’t quite right. By the way, he told me how many billions the Pope’s visit to Poland is now costing. I can’t quite recall off the top of my head exactly how many billions. All the stops, all the towns are listed, and how much it all cost, which he then steps onto for a few minutes. These are astronomical sums. But perhaps we should spare a thought for the poor church. Well, I don’t want to make fun of it. Our Lord had nowhere to lay his head. [Mat 8:20] He had to borrow a donkey and her colt so that he could ride into Jerusalem. [Mat 21:2-7]

And here is a man resplendent in pomp, adorned with gold and precious stones. Here it is written:

[9] The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

I would like to be specific about what is being said here. We read earlier from the prophet Isaiah: The Word came to the seers. God had prophets to whom the Word came. And here we are dealing with a group that boasted of their knowledge of the Scriptures, yet possessed their own understanding, and they will be put to shame. They consider themselves wise, but they are trapped in their own wisdom. And then it is said that they have rejected the Word of the Lord. What sort of wisdom do they have then? Beloved, I must put it plainly: Whoever in this generation does not acknowledge the divine order and the work of salvation in accordance with the promises of God’s Word and does not respect what God has done, let them have the Russian Bible, the German, the English, the French, the Greek, the Aramaic, let them have all the Bibles, they will not understand what it is all about.

God has seers and God has prophets to whom He reveals His Word, not to add anything, but to reveal what is written and to set it upon the lampstand.

All those who bypass this, who consider themselves wise today, will realize on the day when everything that has not submitted to God comes crashing down, and everything belonging to the same category is taken captive, then will they realize that they were not wise, but have truly become fools.

It is written here: “They have rejected the word of the Lord.” [Jer 8:9]

They have not thrown the Bible away. Ask the Catholic Church. True, there was a long period when reading the Bible was forbidden, but ask any church, any Christian fellowship today: Do you know of any that has thrown the Bible away? No.

But there are many who reject the prophetic Word and seek an excuse, find a pretext, so as not to have to submit to God’s authority and surrender their own pride to death, thereby allowing themselves to be buried.

To others they say and ask whether they have truly experienced God. These people must be asked earnestly whether they have experienced God.

Have we understood this Scripture correctly? God also sent apostles, prophets, shepherds, teachers, and evangelists into the New Testament church. Why? So that the church might be prepared and might come to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, and might reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. [Eph 4:11-13]

What do the brothers do who reject such a ministry, which is necessary for perfection? They do it their own way. They say: “We’ll do it as we’ve always done it.” Have you heard that before? “We’ll stick to the old ways. That’s how we’ve always done it. That’s how my grandpa did it, and my granny, and it was fine for them.” Right?

But it won’t work like that. Even if that sentence sounded a little flippant just now, it won’t work like that with God. No one can get past God. On the contrary, the question will be asked: “Why did you stone and persecute the prophets and those sent by God? I sent them. I wanted to speak to you. And yet, you went on your own ways.”

Oh, if only the preachers knew what God’s plan looks like and would submit to it and say: “Lord, let me too find my place, the place and the ministry You have assigned to me.”

And then, it will not merely be a matter of reading out and interpreting a few passages from the Gospels, nor of much atmospheric decoration and idle pastime. Then the Word of the Lord will be put upon the lampstand.

But as it is said: “If they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom is then found in them?” [Jer 8:9]

The same applies to all who reject the revealed Word of the Lord in these days.

Now just be honest: what wisdom remains to them if they reject divine wisdom, which has after all been revealed, and cling to their own self-made, traditional wisdom?

It should be clear to everyone that what has been done according to tradition for generations is not necessarily up to date, let alone biblically correct. Everyone is called upon to examine this, and it would do everyone a great deal of good.

May God bless these words for us all and remind us once again that there are wayward sons, sons who do not follow the Word of the Lord, who belong to that category. They are sons. One cannot deny their status as children of God. One cannot say, “You are not believers at all.” They sing to the Lord, they speak in tongues, they praise Him, they give thanks, they do everything, just as Israel did. And yet, at the same time, they rejected and did not acknowledge John and then the Messiah. They are sons, but as the Bible says, wayward, disobedient sons.

And they can be recognized by the fact that they attack the seers, not the evangelists, not the teachers, not the priests, the seers. Straight away, their sights are set on the seer, the prophet. “You must not see. You must not be a prophet.” And then, of course, they declare, “He is not a prophet.” For if they were to say, “He is a prophet,” then they would have to listen to what God speaks through him.

And so they are constantly seeking new excuses, new escape routes. But the day is coming when everything will come crashing down, as we heard yesterday, when even the refuge of lies, the entire canopy they have built over their own house, will all come crashing down. And then it will become clear how necessary it was to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

And God has had from the very beginning and will continue to have His servants and messengers right to the end.

I’ll tell you quite honestly, I would be a fool if, as an eyewitness and earwitness to what God has done in this generation, I were to walk right past it. That is simply impossible, impossible for me. But many others turn a blind eye to it.

And when I hear Brother Branham give his testimony, I always enjoy that so much. It cuts right to the bone when he recounts how the angel of the Lord told him back then: “Just as John was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, so you are sent with a message that will forerun the second coming of Christ.”

The messenger has been taken, but the message remains with us, namely the proclamation of the whole revealed Word, the proclamation of the whole counsel of God. This includes all the revelations which the Lord has graciously bestowed.

Anyone who bypasses this ministry ordained by God, which is so necessary in this prophetic age, is bypassing God and what God is doing.

And according to the Scripture, they must be classified among the disobedient and wayward sons who were always out to get the seers and the prophets and simply wish to silence the seers and tell the prophets: “Stop! We’ve got it all anyway.”

Do you see just how precise God’s Word is? Do not worry yourselves. It is written: “The Lord catches the wise in their own wisdom.” [1Co 3:19]

They leave here thinking themselves so wise that their backs already look like rucksacks, so much wisdom do they carry with them, and they labor under its weight. And the Lord of heaven laughs and mocks them, and would gladly call after them: “If you had even a little divine wisdom, you would recognize what I have done.”

Do you all believe this? Then say, “Amen.”

This has time and again been the test of whether people in their own time recognized what serves their peace. People are always good at judging other eras. We must judge our own time. We must recognize the signs of our times. We must accept the message that God sends us.

We are living now, and God is speaking to us now, and He wants to do the finishing with us. We need to listen to what the seers and prophets have said, to what is written in the Old and New Testament, and to what has been placed anew upon the lampstand in our day.

The beautiful thing is that Brother Branham would not have added a single thing to the completed testimony of Scripture. That is the proof of a divine commission. He merely set what was hidden therein upon the lampstand through the revelation of the Spirit.

And we do not presume to tell him: “Seer, do not see,” or: “Prophet, do not prophesy,” but rather we say: “Lord, we give You heartfelt thanks that You have looked upon us with favor, and that You have sent us such a prophetic ministry, a seer like John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos.”

This is how God has acted in these days. I know it, and I believe it. I believe it, and I know it, because it agrees with the Word of God. And that is why we can all say, “Amen,” to this, and not be among the rebellious, the wayward, the disobedient, but rather among those who submit themselves, for whom the revealed Word becomes a revelation, and who share in what God is doing in our days.

I would like to shout for joy. My heart is full of gratitude. I wish to praise the Lord for His goodness, grace, and mercy, that He has inclined Himself so favorably toward us, and on the day of salvation shown us the way of salvation, and placed the divine message of salvation anew upon the lampstand. We have been allowed to experience God’s salvation in its entirety. To Him, the living God, be praise and honor.

It still moves me: whoever rejects His Word, rejects Him. And what then remains? A head full of knowledge, nothing more. And that may be beautifully painted and decorated, but this wisdom will come to an end.

May God grant us grace, speak to us, and make us aware of the gravity of these times. And the sooner we consecrate ourselves wholly to God, the better it will be. May the Lord bless us and be with us. Amen.