„Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.“

Heb. 13:8

CIRCULAR January 1985

Beloved in Christ, special greetings to all of you in the precious Name of the Lord Jesus. The year 1984 has come and gone. No opportunity we missed will ever return. Together we should face reality and be prepared for the final battle. Before the Lord takes His people home, great victories must be won. We are not on a picnic, but on the battle ground.

In Ephesians 6, from verse 10, Paul writes, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

This Scripture passage is known to each and every one of us, but who has been aware of the reality thereof? We should ask God sincerely to help us, so we can defeat the enemy and fight the good battle of faith until we finally attain the victory. We are very grateful for the revealing of God's Word to us, also for all the mysteries that were made known through the prophetic ministry. But for this last battle we need the whole armour of God. We cannot be victorious by discussion with each other about certain doctrines and explanations; Satan is laughing at us, because we are wasting our time. We must unite with Christ and stand together against Satan and his devices.

Only if we realize that we fight against a defeated enemy, shall we have that scriptural faith and claim our God-given rights. In Colossians 2:13-15, we read the all-sufficient declaration, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

This happened when the Saviour died for us. It includes the total deliverance and salvation. Even before we were born, we were in God's mind and eternal plan – in fact, we were in Christ and died with Him, we were buried, and we also rose with Him. There is no need for any child of God to doubt the ever-valid work of redemption. The actual sin is unbelief; it leads to disobedience and is manifested as transgression. In such a case the person dies in that sin. To believe simply means: to acknowledge and embrace God's grace and pardon.

According to Ephesians 1:3, we were blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus our Lord, knowing that we were chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world, having been predestinated according to His own will. On calvary all the claims which God's Word and Law required of us were sufficiently paid for. There can never again be a charge laid against the elect of God (Romans 8:33). Every claim Satan brings up is a forgery. The handwriting written against us, on account of all the ordinances which we could not fulfil, was torn up and nailed to the cross. Through the disobedience of Adam we were separated from God, but through the total obedience and fulfilling of every requirement by Jesus Christ our Lord, we were reconciled to God.

We should realize that all the powers of the enemy were disarmed at Calvary, and the redeemed were given the whole armour of God to fight the defeated forces of the enemy. It is very peculiar, but the evil forces are not yet at their final destination. They are still in heavenly places, and from there influencing whomever they can. If they came from hell, then they could not speak so religiously and piously as they do. But because they are in high places, they know those things pertaining to the Kingdom of God quite well.

Brother Branham has spoken on the subject The Greatest Battle Ever Fought. The influence starts in our minds and then continues to take advantage of us through actions. Eve listened to the serpent, who took God's Word but presented it in a changed manner. That is how all deceptions happen up to this day. A wrong teaching is always taken from a right one, because it must have a scriptural appearance. Otherwise believers would not fall into the trap. As certainly as the Redeemer has used God's original Word to defeat the enemy who was misusing and displacing the original Word, so we as God's people will only overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by making the Word our testimony (Revelation 12:11). The enemy doesn't care who we are, but he will have to respect God's original Word and will have to bow to it. Therefore our God-given authority doesn't come by presumption; it comes only with the rightful use of God's Holy Word.

It is known to all of us that the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ right from the beginning was the casting out of evil spirits, the healing of the sick and the deliverance of those who were bound. When He called the twelve and the seventy, He gave to them the same authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. Finally He emphasized it in His great commission. If we are to continue the ministry of the Lord and the apostles, we have to measure ourselves with the restored apostolic ministry of our dearly beloved Brother Branham. He did not come with words and doctrines only, but truly the Kingdom of God was manifested in power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

Before we can see a repeat of such a ministry, there has to come the recognition that we must have it. Then we come into a state of desperation, asking God to take this reproach from us and restore us back to where the church was at the beginning. The promises of God hold true right until the end. As a biblical church we must step into those biblical footsteps. There is a need for a new start, not through a new doctrine or method, not through a new interpretation, but through the old established biblical ministries. We must be freed from illusions that have nothing to do with proved reality. Not one of all the unscriptural assertions will ever become scriptural. If something isn't right, it is simply wrong; if it's not from God, it's from Satan. If we take an inventory and search our hearts, we should be able to detect the motives and objectives that are prompting us.

If we have received God's Life through the new birth, then we are partakers of His divine nature. As redeemed we will automatically display the virtues of the Redeemer. It's not something that we talk about, but which we possess. As we are placed in this final spiritual battle, we have to recognize by faith that Jesus Christ our Lord fought this battle in Gethsemane and went right on to Calvary to cry out, “It is finished.” We must recognize that at Calvary the great day of the all-sufficient Atonement has taken place and also that we were taken out of the kingdom of darkness and placed in the Kingdom of God. Our scriptural faith in Jesus Christ our Lord is the victory in itself by which we overcome all the attacks of the enemy. We shall notice that all wrong doctrines are caused by the influence of wrong spirits. They originate from reasoning of the mind, and scriptures are being misused to support those ideas.

The Return of Jesus Christ

About this subject various views will be propagated until the Lord returns. In the Scriptures we find the events described that pertain to the first coming, the second coming and the third coming. Brother Branham said, “Watch Christ. First coming, He came a mortal to bleed and die. Is that right? That's His first coming. The second coming is the Rapture. We meet Him in the skies – immortal. His third coming – He's the incarnate God. Amen! God Emmanuel to reign on earth. That's right. Only three.” (Seal book, page 308).

In the sermon The Spoken Word is the Original Seed, on page 5, he said, “There are three comings of Christ. He came once to redeem His Bride, He comes the next in the Rapture to catch away His Bride, He comes again in the millenium with His Bride.”

We should not judge somebody too quickly, because even the disciples did not properly differentiate in regards to the promises of the first coming. "… they asked of Him, saying, 'Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'” (Acts 1:6b). When our Saviour spoke of His sufferings, Peter cried out, saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee.” We all know that He turned to him and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offence unto me; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:22-23). This shows very plainly, that if we speak of divine things from our natural understanding, we are under the influence of Satan, as Peter was at that moment. But Peter did not make a doctrine, it was just spoken once and finished through the correction.

The second coming of Christ can be expected at any time. We recognize God's day of visitation and see the signs pointing to that event. The imminent return of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ will be the crowning event for all who love His appearing.

The teaching that Christ already came must be rejected as false and totally unscriptural. Not one of all the promises connected to that event was fulfilled. The revealing of the mysteries hidden in the Word of God was not the second coming of Christ. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was not the second coming of Christ, but the experience of Christ taking His dwelling place in us. The appearing in the supernatural cloud on 28th February, 1963 was of great importance; thereafter the seals were opened, the spiritual food, the hidden manna, was stored up, so all hungry souls can be fed. But it was not the catching away of His Bride which will take place at His second coming.

There is also not one place where Brother Branham mentioned that Christ at that time has made a new covenant. Not one time did he say that Revelation 10 was the second coming. Not once did he teach that the time of grace is finished, that we are now having the marriage supper, neither is he responsible for all the doctrines which are now in circulation. On 26th April, 1965 in his sermon Proving His Word, Brother Branham still gave an altar call. What for, if the time of grace was over? He said, “You'll probably never be closer to Him until you see Him in person when He comes in His visible body from the Heavens.” Right until his end he expected the return of the Lord, as all true believers since the days of the apostles. How can somebody uphold the doctrine "Christ came in '63", if Brother Branham himself still waited for His coming in '65? From the Holy Scriptures and the sermons of Brother Branham, which are always based upon the Bible, the events which surround the second coming of Christ are clearly taught.

In II Thessalonians 2, Paul admonishes us with these words, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word …” People are being shaken, because someone presents a doctrine using the appealing words “revelation” and “mystery". They overlook the fact that the return of Christ is an event, not a doctrine. So is the resurrection, the translation, the catching away and the wedding supper of the Lamb an event. In the German Bible and other main translations the word “rapture” is used in I Thessalonians 4:17 and Hebrews 11:5. Henoch, the seventh from Adam, was taken up and not found on earth (Genesis 5:22-24). So will it be at the end of this seventh church age with all in whom God is well pleased.

Some claim, the resurrection has happened; they teach, the graves which opened are the dead denominations. What a perversion of the Scriptures! In I Thessalonians 4 it is very clear that not those who presently live will raise from the dead, but those who are asleep in Christ will come forth. Some believe, the Bridegroom has come and the wedding supper is going on. If this already is the marriage supper going on now, with all the confusion, we were better off without it! Some even go as far as to pray, using the phrase, “I ask it in the Name of Jesus Christ, my husband.”

Putting things together, one has to come to the realization that evil spirits have disturbed the clear thinking of such people. This has nothing to do with the attitude towards a minister, but we shall see that every false doctrine pertaining to the second coming of Christ does not only originate from wrong spirits, but from the antichrist spirit itself! Doctrines wherein the visible, bodily return of Christ, as Brother Branham stated it and the Scriptures teach it, is being denied, are of the antichrist spirit.

"By this know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, of which ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)

In II John we read from verse 7, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

These Scriptures certainly are THUS SAITH THE LORD. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). God was manifested in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16). The quoted scriptures don't speak of an experience believers have, but of their confession. Therefore it does not say, "Every believer who does not experience Christ to come into his flesh …", but it says, “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh …" Therefore, any one who confesses that Jesus Christ has or will return in any other form except bodily is deceived by the antichrist spirit.

This is not changed by simply speaking about revelations, twisting the Word and quotes. It states specifically beyond any shadow of doubt, that any spirit who does not confess that Christ has come in the bodily form is not of God. With gratitude of heart we acknowledge the special revelation of the Word in our time. We are grateful for the direct working of the Holy Spirit and also for the meetings wherein the Lord is present as He promised, but all these things are not the greatest event at the end of this age: the return of our Lord!

The scriptures we read are in complete harmony with all the rest dealing with this subject. The same Jesus Christ who was born into this world and lived here in a body of flesh, suffered and died, was buried and rose on the third day, the same Jesus went to heaven and will return in the same way. “This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11b).

In Luke 24:51 we read, “And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” The birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the ministry of Christ, everything right up to His going to heaven and His returning are not doctrines but facts, events which are clearly promised in the Word and literally fulfilled.

Those who put the Word aside should not claim to make up the Word-Bride. Our Lord warned us and said, “Then if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.” (Matthew 24:23). How can people say they believe the Scriptures or the message of the hour and listen to a minister who shouts, "Christ has returned! HE is here. We are at the wedding supper. We are raptured." and so on? The listeners, being under delusion, reply enthusiastically, “Yes, He is here!” Where, in the desert? In the U.S.A., Europe, Africa or Asia? What a mocking nonsense!

Once again it must be emphasized that every promise connected with the second coming of Christ will be fulfilled to the letter. In I Thessalonians 4:16 we read, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven …" – not a doctrine, not an explanation, but the same Lord who went to heaven shall return. In verse 14 we read, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." Where are they, if Christ has come back? All who are asleep in Jesus will come with Him and take up their resurrection bodies. Then we who are alive shall be changed, and together we shall be taken into glory.

In John 14 the Lord promised to go and to prepare a place and then to return and take us into the mansions above. In I Thessalonians 3:13, Paul states, "To the end he may establish your hearts un blamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” This corresponds with what we just read in chapter 4, verse 14. Where has this happened and when? In verse 15, Paul writes, “For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep.”

The whole subject is very clear; a fool cannot err, and a child will understand. In verse 17 we read, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” All the explanations on this subject are null and void, because they are theories separated from the reality attached to it. If the preacher says, “We are caught up in the spirit; we are all in rapture”, that has got nothing to do with the literal fulfilment of the Word of God. Actually, it is astonishing how ignorant believers are of the Word and plan of God.

In Revelation 19, from 1-10, the rejoicing of those who partake at the marriage supper of the Lamb is heard in heaven, not in any country or place on earth. In Philippians 3:20 we read, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” In I John 3:2 the Scripture says, “Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” The emphasis is on the facts, “when He shall appear … we shall see Him." This doesn't happen by doctrines and imaginations; they only cause confusion. This will be the reality of realities. Amen!

In Romans 8:23 we read, “And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body." So again it's not a doctrine, not a subject to be discussed, it is something that will actually take place. Until now everybody is still mourning and groaning. Only in the meetings some pretend to stand above everything, but you should see them a little while after the service is over! Some even tell the same old jokes and think nothing of it.

In I Corinthians 15, from verse 35, we find a complete description of what will take place at the second coming of Christ. Consider the statement, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'” Many more scriptures could be given to this important subject. "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (II John 8-9).

The apostle John was not impolite, he was full of love, as we all know, but this love was for the Truth. If anyone has lost the love for the Truth, only strong delusions are left. John goes on and writes, “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed." Upon the authority of these verses in II John 7-11, we are forbidden to fellowship with anyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ was manifested in a body of flesh and will come back in the same body. It's easy to preach about the Antichrist and not realize that the antichrist spirit is working all over the world in disguise, deceiving those who forsake the Truth.

With the greatest respect we have published the most significant event which has taken place on 28th February, 1963. We have also clearly set forth that it was not the return of Christ, neither could it be the fulfilment of Revelation 10. That was before the opening of the seals, and the book was still closed. Revelation 10 states that the Angel with the rainbow above His head comes with the open book in His hand, so that must of necessity be after the opening of the seven seals, if language makes sense.

In Colossians 1:18 and other places in the Scriptures the Lord Jesus Christ is described as the Head of the Body. We, the true believers, are many members making up that one Body. But Christ is the Head. If you look at the cloud picture, you see the face of the Lord. Why don't we recognize Him to be the Head who has spoken through His prophet William Branham? Especially since the opening of the seven seals all the members of His Body, which make up His Bride, prepare to meet the Bridegroom. The rest will not pay any attention to what the Spirit says unto the churches.

Through the opening of the seals the redeemed were acquainted with the hidden mysteries of the plan of salvation. All who belong to the Body of Christ will recognize His voice and also will accept Him as the Head and submit to His Lordship. They are the only ones who will hear and rightly understand the revealed Word — privileged to meet the great Conqueror in the air. With thankful hearts we acknowledge and respect the Lord and all He has done, but we shall never go any further. We will stop where He stopped and say what He said. All of God's sons and daughters will pay attention to the last message and stay within the Word of God.

Clarifying Statement

Because of the rumours spread everywhere, the following state ment must be given: Never have I or any brother at the church in Krefeld or in any other church, city or country ever preached the polygamy doctrine. On the other hand, I met those who, with a smile, would ask, “What do you think about ‘Marriage and Divorce'?” My reply was and will always be, "I believe as the Scripture says, just as Brother Branham expounded it.” At such occasions it happened, that those who were asking then asserted that I and the brethren at the Krefeld church teach the polygamy doctrine. That was not, is not, and never will be.

There is no need for anybody to preach another sermon on that subject. We just need the fear of God and respect for His Word. Without realizing it, people don't pay any attention to what God actually revealed, but they keep on repeating old traditional thoughts. What God spoke through Moses and what Paul wrote, everyone can read in the Holy Scriptures. Also in the message of Brother Branham entitled Marriage and Divorce the subject is thoroughly dealt with. I have never preached one sermon about it and I don't intend to do so. According to his own statement, it was not only at the beginning and the end, but THUS SAITH THE LORD all the way through. We shouldn't add anything nor should we twist it; it is not even necessary to comment on it.

This is the oldest problem and goes back to Eve who was seduced by the serpent and became the first adulteress. This is the reason why Satan tries his hardest to confuse and prevent clarification coming into the hearts and thinking of the believers. If in spite of the profound teaching things are not clear, then it is because the Truth has not yet been made known personally to us. If we profess to believe what God said, then we cannot choose what we like to believe and what not. We are obligated to believe every Word.

As with all other doctrines, we also find the extremes in this case. Some profess that they have been restored physically to the condition which existed before the transgression, that is, the fall. Some even teach that women will bear their children without sorrow and pain, and henceforth the children of the coloured race will remain white. They say, “Christ has brought us back to the beginning before the fall.” The explanations are given in a comprehensive way. But those who propagate such teachings or believe them know it's a fantasy and not reality.

By God's grace we shall place every Word in its rightful connection and if we are sincere and humble, we shall also understand this difficult subject. From God's point of view the redemption has happened, death and hell are overcome. At the same time death and hell are still in existence. According to I Corinthians 15:54, death will be swallowed up in victory, when this corruption puts on incorruption, and mortality puts on immortality.

Some are of the opinion that the message was given for one reason only, that is to announce to all men and women, who were divorced and remarried several times, to be pardoned. Certainly that was a most important point in that message. A big load was taken away from all those who had long enough been tormented in their conscience and were in great need of an answer from God. They received from God direct forgiveness spoken by a divine commission. I don't recall another meeting where the hearts were more touched, where more tears were flowing and where more joy of forgiveness and praises from thankful hearts ascended to God Almighty.

Those who read the sermon prayerfully will notice the other things which are also contained therein. Some expressions and examples used are hard to understand. There are those who even say that Brother Branham did not use the right Scripture references; others say that the sermon should never have been published. But if we look at it the right way, we see everything illuminated from Genesis to Revelation in

The exposition is of great significance for all of us. We should not treat a case as we like, but judge from the Scriptural point of view. Actually the spirits are being separated. Nobody can continue in the old denominational tracks. We are forced to take the Holy Scriptures and everything Brother Branham said and get the clear, indisputable answer from God. We cannot go on in our wilfulness or pronounce our own judgment, we must acknowledge God's book of law. Sin is the transgression of God's law – nothing else. The Spirit of God will convict us upon the basis of God's law and commandments.

James 4:12 states, “There is only one lawgiver and judge…” HE can only judge according to His own book of law. Christ was put under the law to redeem those who were condemned by the law. HE took the curse of the law upon Himself, so that we may be set free.

God gave instructions for the natural and the spiritual realm in the Old and the New Testaments. Not one of us could claim to understand everything. Let us take just two scriptures, and you will see that the Lord gave one piece of advice and later another, which seems contrary to the natural mind. In Genesis 2:24 we read, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” This pertains to the beginning before the fall, right after Eve was taken out of Adam. This is the verse our Lord referred to in Matthew 19, when He said, “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

While giving the law, the Lord said in Exodus 21:2-10 what should be done with a Hebrew servant. In the seventh year he could return and be free, but there were conditions connected with it, which we today could never understand: “If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.” One could rightfully ask why a family should be torn apart in such a way. How can we reconcile these two scriptures? No one today could comprehend the decision the Lord has made there. If the man decided to stay with his wife and family, he had to remain with his master, then his ear was pierced with an awl and he was marked a servant for ever (verse 6).

We comprehend why Brother Branham had to say that after the fall another covenant was made. He gave many scriptures to prove it. Those who speak up say, "That was in the Old Testament!” That is true, and thanks be to God that it is not so today. But we are meeting the same God in His Word all the time. Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New. Would not the Lord in principle have to say the same thing all the time in such a vital matter?

In Deuteronomy 24:1 the Lord permitted the man to give his wife a bill of divorcement. But there is no place where a woman could give a bill of divorcement to her husband. When Jesus was asked about this scriptures, He said in Matthew 5:32, “But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of for nication, causeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Also in the New Testament the Lord doesn't change His pattern. HE does not permit the wife to do so with her husband. That is why Brother Branham emphasized that it has to stay in continuity. Whether in Matthew 5:32 or 19:9, I Corinthians 7:10 or other places, we clearly see the distinction made between man and wife in the New Testament also.

There is only one exception of which Paul writes to the Corinthians: if one part does not believe. “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases; but God hath called us to peace.” (1 Corinthians 7:15). The guilt will be upon the unbelieving part, not upon the brother or the sister. Perhaps the two were not joined by God. Paul was so realistic, that he did not say, “You must fast and pray and believe;” but he wrote, “For what knowest thou, o wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, o man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” (verse 16). Compare this statement with those who hand out a recipe like a druggist.

The statement Brother Branham made, “A man can put away his wife and marry another, but not the woman put away her husband and marry another”, must be seen in the light of the Scriptures. Already in the year 1933 it was shown to him how women would forsake their God-given place. We live in a time of emancipation and of women's rights movements. For almost 6,000 years of history it must have been unthinkable that women would act as they do today. Thanks be to God for all our dear sisters who have found the right place towards their husbands. They need not worry at all how they stand before the Lord, they will be happy and blessed. They might have heaven on earth.

Certainly the possibility of divorce was not a suggestion for the men, but only permissive, if it cannot be avoided under all circumstances. Woe unto the man who only seeks an excuse to do it! Woe unto the woman who forces him to do so! Those women who believe shall take notice of the fact that God has given them a subordinate place. That is also valid throughout the New Testament. If they forsake their God-given place and try to take authority over the man, God's order is disturbed. A woman who does not consciously submit to her husband, is unconsciously submitting to the enemy. She then is in rebellion against the Word of God.

The Lord has warned them earnestly through that particular sermon. They should not think by themselves to be secure, because their husbands must depend on them. The Lord wants to establish His order among His people according to His Word. The husband must take his stand as the head of the wife, and Christ must be recognized by the husband as the head. A wife who is beheading herself does not know what she is doing. How many wives who claim to believe just ignore all the scriptural advice and actually tread God's Word underfoot, while still thinking themselves to be very spiritual! They say, the civil law has granted them this liberty.

The sermon preached by Brother Branham is never meant to give liberty to the husbands. It should be used to bring all things into God's original order. Moses, the Lord Jesus, Brother Paul and Brother Branham have all given the man his place and advised the wife as to her place. In I Corinthians 11 we read, “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man.” (verses 6-9)

The wives had to have long hair to show their submission to their husbands. That is the reason why Brother Branham made the statement that a man can divorce his wife, if she cuts her hair, and marry another one. It shows the seriousness of the matter. “For rebellion”, or disobedience, “is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:23) The idea is not to subdue the wives, not at all, but they must find and take their place. If someone is not willing to take this final correction, it could be that such a person will miss the last visitation of God upon His people.

Our dearly beloved Brother Branham was 100 percent in agreement with Paul and the whole Scripture. He said, “Therefore God doesn't permit her to teach or to do anything in the church, but sit still with a veiled head." Compare this with I Timothy 2:11-12, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” This is the ABC for all women. God is holy, He uttered every Word, and He means well. HE knows the reason and doesn't need to explain anything to anyone. If His Word penetrates into our soul and spirit, the fruit will be shown in our daily life. It will be manifested in the marriage, in the family and in the church. We are overwhelmed by the love of God, but also understand how earnestly He speaks to us. At the end everything must be brought and restored to its original place and order. Then we shall finally see the result of the prophetic message that was entrusted to us.

The Year 1985

By God's grace we have entered the year 1985, knowing that His promise to be with us right until the end shall not fail. Looking back to the year 1984 we see that all the predictions again failed miserably. July was set as a special month, and so was the whole year announced as the final one. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to, I published in circular letters that the year 1977 would come and go and also that 1984 would come and go without anything materializing that anyone had predicted.

I am certain that we have entered the very last period before the second coming of Christ. It would be good if all true believers would find their relationship with God and their fellowship with one another. All the erected differences should be put aside, and Jesus Christ and the Word of God should have the preeminence in all things. The Lord has a rightful claim to all of His blood-bought sons and daughters. As I have made clear previously, God's Holy Word as the seed in our soul has to be there before a new birth can be experienced. In the light of God's revealed Word all our experiences don't count, unless our own life bears the testimony that our soul is redeemed and our heart is changed and we have the nature of Christ and His virtues.

Brother Branham has spoken about the three realms. Many are immensely anointed in the second realm, that is in their spirit, but the soul need not be touched. That is the reason why we still see all the attributes of the old man. But now, since we have the true seed of God's Word, we could be and should be truly born again, not as a doctrine we talk about, but as an experience, according to the scriptures found in James 1:18 and I Peter 1:23.

In every revival in the first round the Truth which was proclaimed was also experienced; in the second round not only children but grandchildren” started to come in acknowledging the doctrine with their intellect but without the experience in their heart. This was the case in all movements since the days of Reformation. Now we have to watch that we don't walk in the same pathway and be satisfied with all the doctrines about justification, sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit and so forth, but rather make sure that we have the experience that compares with the Word of God, directly witnessing in our own lives that it is so.

Beloved Brethren and Sisters, by God's grace I am determined more than ever before to take up the challenge of this great commission. In the midst of all the confusion it is necessary for the sermons of Brother Branham to be read carefully. There is no End-time Message by Brother So-and-so or Brother So-and-so. There is only one Message sent from God by the chosen vessel of God, our dearly beloved brother, William Branham. He alone had the unique and indisputable vindication from Almighty God.

We put our trust in Him Who is more than able to bring His people back to His Word and unite us under one head: our Lord Jesus Christ.

With all my heart I wish to thank those who have supported this work. May God reward you richly, may He open the windows of heaven and shower down His blessings upon those who put the Lord and everything connected with the Kingdom of God first, not in words only but also in deeds. Please remember me in your daily prayers. The Lord bless you and be with you.

By His commission￼