JUDGMENT IS SET AND THE BOOKS ARE OPENED - 3

Charles Holmes, Pastor

10-26-86 E

Let us pray.   Blessed Lord, it's again that we come together now thanking You for the results, Lord, of the service already, for that that has been put on record now to go down into eternity.   The children and their program, the songs of Zion that's gone up, the prayers of the saints, Lord, the tears that has already been shed of joy unspeakable and full of glory.   We thank You, Father, for every move that You've given us down along the way, every step, Lord, that You've guided us through.   We're so glad that we're not serving an idol god but we're serving a God that's moving, a God that is performing things and we thank You for it, Lord.

I pray that Thy will be done tonight in every life that's here.   There may be some without a doubt here tonight that's not settled it with You or somehow Satan has kept them from getting that peace in their soul.   I trust, Lord, tonight You will pay a special visit to them.   Lord Jesus, reveal Yourself personally.   Let them receive the Spirit of the Almighty God that quickens the Word, Lord, that has been coming forth.   Grant it, Father.

Bless those out across the land tonight, Lord.   Those that will listen to the tapes, read the messages, I pray that the same Anointing will be upon them, Lord, that they might receive a portion of this. Grant it, Father.   May the grace of God be in abundance among us as we claim victory in the great Name of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, our Lord.   Amen.   Amen.   (You may be seated.)

Let us look now for a little bit back where we left off this morning.   I don't want to backtrack too much.   "Revelation, Chapter 4, Part II," Page 637.   I want to start in Paragraph 303 down at the bottom of Page 637.

"THAT 'ELDERS,' THE TWENTY AND FOUR ELDERS.   (Now, he said let's turn to Revelation.) ...WE FIND THIS.   IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, ABOUT 21ST CHAPTER, WE FIND THAT THE CITY OF JERUSALEM HAD TWELVE FOUNDATIONS.   IS THAT RIGHT?   AND HE HAD TWELVE GATES...   (I want to read that again.) ...AND HE (Not 'it.') HAD TWELVE GATES, (Huh?) THAT WAS THREE ON EACH SIDE, THREE FOUR'S IS TWELVE.   JUST EXACTLY THE WAY THE TABERNACLE SET IN THE WILDERNESS, FOR JOHN SAID EXACTLY AND SAW EXACTLY THE SAME THING THAT MOSES SAW WHEN HE WAS UP THERE, SAME THING THAT PAUL SAW."

Now, I read that to you this morning in closing, remember?

"AND NOW WE NOTICE THAT THE TWELVE FOUNDATIONS WERE NAMES OF THE APOSTLES.   (The twelve foundations were names of the apostles.) AND THE TWELVE GATES HAS A NAME OF EACH TRIBE ON THE GATE..."

That's the patriarchs.   So you take the twelve foundations, the names that are placed there and the twelve gates that are placed there and how many have you got?   Twenty-four.   And that's the twenty-four elders, see?   That's the twenty-four elders that's a part of the City.   Alright.

"...HOW WE LOOK AT THAT AND SEE THOSE TWELVE ELDERS, THE TWELVE TRIBES, THE TWELVE APOSTLES, THE TWELVE FOUNDATIONS, THE TWELVE GATES!   OH, MY!   TAKE THEM NUMERALS OF GOD AND YOU CAN'T MISS IT NOWHERE, SHE'LL RUN RIGHT SMACK STRAIGHT EVERYWHERE EVERY TIME."

Now let's go now and look at the Scriptures he pointed us to. Revelation, Chapter 21, and I want to read that beginning at Verse 9 and reading on down until we get a picture of the City, of the New Jerusalem.

AND THERE CAME UNTO ME ONE OF THE SEVEN ANGELS WHICH HAD THE SEVEN VIALS FULL OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES, AND TALKED WITH ME, SAYING, COME HITHER, I WILL SHEW THEE THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE.

That's what the subject is.   The subject is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.   So that's what John's going to look at.   He's going to see that.   Alright.

AND HE CARRIED ME AWAY IN THE SPIRIT TO A GREAT AND HIGH MOUNTAIN, AND SHEWED ME THAT GREAT CITY, THE HOLY JERU­ SALEM, DESCENDING OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD,

Notice now, Brother Branham said that was not a holy mountain, the Mount of Transfiguration, but he said it was a holy God on the mountain.   He said it's not a holy man, it's a holy God in the man. So now we find a holy Jerusalem coming down, so it's not flesh and blood, for sure.   That's for sure.   If it's holy, it's got to be God.   So let's be careful as we read this holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.   You say, "But you said it was God."   It's a part of God; certainly, it is.

HAVING THE GLORY OF GOD: AND HER LIGHT WAS LIKE UNTO A STONE MOST PRECIOUS, EVEN LIKE A JASPER STONE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL;

AND HAD A WALL GREAT AND HIGH, AND HAD TWELVE GATES, AND AT THE GATES TWELVE ANGELS, AND NAMES WRITTEN THEREON, WHICH ARE THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL:

Now remember, this is at the gate, at the gates.   As we'll see next Sunday, as we draw on the board, you'll see those three gates on each side and the names on those gates as Moses sets them in order. He set that in order because he saw that in heaven.   That's what he saw, and that's the reason he ordered it that way.   Amen.   Alright.

...THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL:

ON THE EAST THREE GATES; ON THE NORTH THREE GATES; ON THE SOUTH THREE GATES; AND ON THE WEST THREE GATES.

"On the east three gates." Now who was the main person that was on the east gate? Judah.   Then who was the main one on the north gate?   Dan. Dan was, we believe, a Scorpio.   And "scorpio" means scorpion.   But yet Dan was representing something that was going to become powerful.   Read what Jacob said about Dan when he was blessing him or positionally placing him.   He said, "He will meet the adder in the way."   Isn't that right?   See?   That's what he was, Dan.   See?

Dan could not go into the Millennium, am I right?   But that thing that Dan had problems with...   The eagle was supposed to be on the north side.   Dan represented the eagle, even though he was of the Scorpio.   And the eagle was the thing that was going to destroy the scorpion or the dragon.

Now on the south side was Reuben.   And then, as we said this morning, on the west side we find Ephraim and Manasseh.   Now that's something that I don't want to get into right now, but if you'll notice in Deuteronomy, it is spoken of those two sons of Joseph as the two horns and they represented Joseph.   When Jacob's hands were crossed, it was a sign that the greater blessing will go to the Gentile, to the Bride, and the lesser blessing will go to Israel. Joseph had to represent both, and he could only do it with a Gentile bride.   But with a Gentile bride, she could receive his seed and then that could be a blessing to both of them,Israel and the Gentile.   Amen.

So we've got to understand that when it all comes together again in this age, we've got to look at something.   It just might be that those two horns are back again.   It just might be that the represen­tation of Israel and the Bride is back again.   Amen!   I can't hardly hold it when I get in that area because I know what it is.   It's not a man; it's the Son of Man because it has to be men that is used. But it is the Son of Man, it's the day of the Son of Man.   Amen! We just briefly said something about that this morning.   Verse 14:

AND THE WALL OF THE CITY HAD TWELVE FOUNDATIONS, AND IN THEM THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB.

Now you see the difference?   He said in the wall we find the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, the children of Jacob.   But when he comes to the apostles, it changes.   Then it brings in a different order.   It brings in the Lamb.   The Lamb is identified with that now,   see?   Alright, watch it close, now.   The foundations.   The foundations.   "And in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

AND HE THAT TALKED WITH ME HAD A GOLDEN REED TO MEASURE THE CITY, AND THE GATES THEREOF, AND THE WALL THEREOF:

AND THE CITY LIETH FOURSQUARE...

It's got to be some kind of a multiplication of twelve.   Watch it.

AND THE CITY LIETH FOURSQUARE, AND THE LENGTH IS AS LARGE AS THE BREADTH: AND HE MEASURED THE CITY WITH THE REED, TWELVE THOUSAND FURLONGS...

Now, you know what a furlong is.   It's 582 feet.   One furlong is 582 feet.   You multiply that by 12,000 and you'll come into close to seven million, I guess — something like that.   And then you divide that by 5,280 and you'll see how many miles it is, see?

...THE LENGTH AND THE BREADTH AND THE HEIGHT OF IT ARE EQUAL.

AND HE MEASURED THE WALL THEREOF, AN HUNDRED AND FORTY AND FOUR CUBITS, ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF A MAN...

A hundred and forty-four cubits. ... THAT IS, OF THE ANGEL.

AND THE BUILDING OF THE WALL OF IT WAS OF JASPER: AND THE CITY WAS PURE GOLD, LIKE UNTO CLEAR GLASS.

AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WALL OF THE CITY WERE GARNISHED WITH ALL MANNER OF PRECIOUS STONES.   THE FIRST FOUNDATION WAS JASPER; THE SECOND, SAPPHIRE; THE THIRD, A CHALCEDONY; THE FOURTH, AN EMERALD;

THE FIFTH, SARDONYX; THE SIXTH, SARDIUS; THE SEVENTH, CHRYSOLYTE; THE EIGHTH, BERYL; THE NINTH, A TOPAZ; THE TENTH, A CHRYSOPRASUS; THE ELEVENTH, A JACINTH; THE TWELFTH, AN AMETHYST.

AND THE TWELVE GATES WERE TWELVE PEARLS; EVERY SEVERAL GATE WAS OF ONE PEARL: AND THE STREET OF THE CITY WAS PURE GOLD, AS IT WERE TRANSPARENT GLASS.

AND I SAW NO TEMPLE THEREIN...

Now you get this.   There was no temple in that City.

...FOR THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY AND THE LAMB ARE THE TEMPLE OF IT.

Amen.   Now you can get the picture, now, if you're spiritual enough to understand.   "The Lord God Almighty (the great Spirit of all spirits) and the Lamb is the temple."   That's the temple of it, right there.   Alright now, I won't read any more of that.   I want us to look a little bit at the number 12.

Now the number 12 has a significance.   It is a number that we need to look at and recognize.   Even as the number 7, as the number 3, as the number 4, it means something...the number 5, we need to look and see what these numbers mean.   12 is a perfect number signifying perfec­tion of government, or governmental perfection.   We have no perfect government here as far as the world cosmos is concerned, see, but this is an absolute perfect.

When 12 is set up in a government — in this government that we're reading about — it is a perfect governmental order.   Perfect governmental order, see?   It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule, see?   It is found in a multiple with everything that has to do with a rule.   Like if you're going to measure the City, you're going to find that it's foursquare.   You're going to find it, uh...I forget exactly, it's a multiplication of 12.   All of it, the whole thing has to be multiple order if it's to do with rule, see?   Now you watch close.

The sun.   The sun, now what did we say the sun is?   S-u-n. Now it's the Word.   Is it the Word made manifest?   It's the Word made manifest.   Alright.   The sun has to travel through the 12 houses. The 12 houses is the signs of the zodiac.   The sun travels through that.   Now the sun don't come back to its actual perfect position; it's off just a little bit each time — just a little fraction. So little that it will take thousands of years to make something out of it, but yet every two thousand years it kind of slips out into another more ... it's over into another area in the house, or in the signs.   Like the first two thousand years it was in a perfect orbit.   The second two thousand years, it changed a little bit. Now the third two thousand years, it changed again.   Brother Branham taught this.   Brother Branham said the earth is not standing upright; he said something has happened.   Alright, now.

When this thing, this sun, it's the Word of God.   And it travels through those zodiac signs.   It's got to do that.   Now you just bear with me.   We're going to study these lessons, and don't you go off and tell somebody, "Brother Holmes is gone into all this astrology." I am not touching no such thing.   There's a difference in astrology and astronomy.   How did the wise men know that Jesus was born?   Who taught them that?   Daniel, the prophet of God.   That's what the prophet said.   "Over there in India, way back down there in India," he said, "there they were.   They had been taught of Daniel."   So we don't want to miss these things, do we?

Now you watch that sun as it makes its   complete circle of 360 degrees.   That's the multiplication of 12 times 30, which is twelve months in a year.   Then it has the same significance; it makes a 360 degree for a 24-hour period, makes the same period of degrees for a number of times to make the years.   Just exactly right.   You can't change it, see?   It's the sun in its orbit, in its path.

Alright now, these divisions govern the year like it governs the day, and so forth.   12 is the product of 3.   And what is 3? It's a perfectly divine and heavenly number.   Is that what Brother Branham said?   Brother Branham said 3 is that perfect number.   It's the perfect divine and heavenly number, is 3.   What's 4?   4 is the earth's number.   Watch the earthly; the number of the material and organic things, it is 4.   But if you put 3 and 4 together, what do you have?   7, which is complete, see?   And 4 is always dealt with with your 12, and 3 is the same.   3 fours is 12, see?

Watch, now.   While 7 is composed of 3 added to 4, 12 is 3 multi­plied by 4.   And of course this explains the words which the spiritual perception can at once appreciate — it is a perfect product denoting production and multiplication and increase of all that is contained

in the two numbers separately.   The two numbers, the 3 and the 4 separately, they have to be together to be a perfect organization. The Lord Jesus had to come join Himself to this earth; He had to become an earthly creature.   And when He did that, it was man and God One.   The divine order of God became a part of this earth, which made a perfect organization, a perfect group, a perfect unit. And the 3 and the 4 coming together making the 7, Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Amen!) in an earthly vessel.   Watch, the 4 is generally prominently seen in the 12.

Now let's notice the 12 patriarchs.   I told you last night there were more than just the 12 patriarchs come from Jacob.   Well if you'll study your Bible, you can find out that from Seth to Noah there was 12 patriarchs.   And from Shem to Jacob was 12.   But the ones that are identified in the temple is the 12 patriarchs from Jacob.   That's the ones that we are dealing with — the 12 sons of Israel.   Now there was actually 13.   You remember, Levi was not in there.   Joseph was not in there; the two sons of Joseph, see, were there.

Alright now, Levi was the priest so he was not counted in there. But he was counted in there when it come to the perfection of the sealing of the Elect.   How many of you remember how many times Brother Branham went over that when he was bringing...   What was that?   In the seals, he made it clear.   Watch, now.   13 in number.   There are never more than 12 named in any one list.   Even though there is 13 of them, there is never more than 12.   Now at times there is a different list of names, but the same number 12.   Never more, never less. It's always 12, see?   But not always the same names, see?

Alright now, each list one or the other is omitted.   Generally, Levi is not in the list, but not always.   You say, "Not always?"   No. You read Revelation 7, you'll find Levi there.   Generally speaking, Levi was not in the list of the number of the 12.   Now how could Levi be in there?   Simply because Dan was taken out.   That's the only way.   Joseph was there in the sealing.   In the perfect harmony of God, his perfect number, 144,000, he had to have the genuine, and they were there.   I said "He had to" — He does what He wants to, but that's His way of doing things, see?   That's His way, see?

Now in Revelation 7 both Dan and Ephraim are omitted.   But the numeration is still 12 so we find Levi and Joseph being introduced, and this is for a special sealing of 144,000.   They had to be there because they had to be sealed in that number.   And because of the Word of God that spoke against Dan and Ephraim that their name will be blotted out under heaven, it had to be done.   They could not be sealed in the 144,000.   Brother Branham made that clear to us.   There's no secret there.

Now let us notice another significance of the number 12 in the temple of Solomon and in a contrast between the tabernacle in the wilderness.   There was a significance in the numbers.   The taber­nacle did not have the number 12.   Let's see.   The temple of Solomon has the number 12 as a predominating factor in contrast with the tabernacle which had the number 5.   Now this agrees with grace, see? Like I said this morning, they were coming through the wilderness and the grace of God spared them — shoes on their feet, clothes on their back.   For forty years it was grace.

But then when Solomon stepped in and built the temple, there was a Millennium; it went into another order.   And when it went into a higher order, it went into the 12 predominate, see?   Now the grace which was there which shines in the tabernacle, and with the glory of the kingdom which is displayed actually in the temple,   but it's so much stronger seemingly in the temple there until the ministers couldn't even minister when they dedicated the temple.

Now when we look at the New Testament, we pick up 12 again. When Jesus went to choose His disciples, He chose 12, is that right?   Now actually there were 13 of them.   You say, "Well, what about Matthias?" He was chosen by man; he wasn't in the order.   But you see, Paul was chose by God and so was Judas.   Judas was chosen by God to be in that number.   Jesus said, "Have I not chosen you twelve, though one of you be a devil, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled."   He knew what Judas was going to do.

Judas had to do that.   He had to walk with Him and take part in the ministry before he could turn against it.   Brother Branham said you've first got to be brought to the truth before you can be a disbeliever.   Then when Judas went off the scene, the disciples through they had to have the number 12.   The Lord already had that one waiting.   It was the Apostle Paul which at that time was named Saul.   So you find one thing Matthias ever did.   Nothing that we have recorded.   See?   Alright.

So in the New Testament we find some great principles... Actually, the apostolic government as we see in the patriarchial and national, for we have the 12 apostles, the 12 foundations in the heavenly Jerusalem, the 12 gates, the 12 pearls, the 12 Angels. All of those things are to do with the apostles and the patriarchs.

Now even the measurements as we looked at in the Bible...   Now I know you're not going to keep all of this, but you could get access to it.   And if you want to, you can look at it.   It's good to know these things.   I don't feel like I'm taking up God's time.   I feel like somebody feels like that.   I don't want you to do that.   This is important, see?   This is important.   Brother Branham said Bible numerology is perfect; and that's what we are dealing with, it is not a fortuneteller.   Numerology, we're dealing with Bible numerology, Biblical facts.   Amen.   And proving it by the Scripture, see?

The measurement of the New Jerusalem is 12,000 furlongs square while the wall is 144; that's 12 times 12 cubits.   The wall is 144 cubits, which is 12 times 12.   And your 12 thousand also is a multiple number of 12.   We read that in Revelation 21:16- 17.   Now the number of the seal in Revelation 7:4 is 144,000; that's 12 thousand out of each tribe.   We're still dealing with the number 12, see?   Alright, now.

All that has to do with the 12 tribes is necessarily pervaded by this number, such as the stones in the high priest's breastplate is 12.   Why weren't there 13?   Because 12 is the perfect governmental order, not 13, see?   Now the stones that was taken from Jordan as they crossed over as a memory, how many was that?   Twelve.   They built an altar with 12 stones as a memorial that God had visited them in that place.   Now, so how many spies went over?   Twelve.

You see?   All of these things has something that we need to know about.   We need to understand these things because it may help us somewhere down the line.

There was 12 persons anointed for government of various kinds. Now there was many other people anointed, but these were specially anointed people.   And one of them was anointed three times.   I wonder who could tell me who that was — David.   He was the perfect one chosen of God.   Not perfect in his ways, in his action, but in his heart.   He was a man after God's own heart.   He was a chosen vessel of God, a number 7.   He was the seventh son of Jesse; he was not the number 6.   Saul was six.

Now let's notice, there was five priests — which of course means grace, you know.   Five priests were anointed by Moses.   Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazer, and Ithamar.   That's the five priests.   Then the kings that were anointed was Saul...Saul was anointed, David was anointed, Absalom was anointed, Solomon was anointed, Jehu was anointed, Joash was anointed, and Jehoahas was anointed.

Now David was anointed three times.   He was anointed first of all by Samuel.   You set these Scriptures down if you want them. I Samuel 16, Verse 13, Samuel anointed David.   Alright, he was anointed by the men of Judah in II Samuel 2:4, and he was anointed by the elders of Israel in II Samuel 5:3.   David was the only one that was anointed three times.   Also, we'll find that Saul, the man of man's choice — and I want you to get this good and clear. Saul, the man of man's choice, is stamped with the number 6.   David, the man of God's choice, is stamped with the number 7.   Saul and David are the 6 and 7th, respectively, in order.

Now the words "a man after God's own heart," it simply means a man of God's choice, see?   A man of God's choice.   Regardless of what David's failures were, God chose him, and it's God's obligation to straighten him out.   He was chosen.   Nobody could straighten Saul out; he was a number 6.

Now take it down to our day.   There was a leader that walked among us that fulfilled Malachi 4:5-6 to come to the seventh church age and he would be chosen by God.   And not from a seminary, not from an organization, but the choice of God.   And his name will have seven letters.   But man's choice is a different man.   He's a seminary man, he's a theological man.   And his number is 6 — Graham.   Both of their names ends in "h-a-m," but one of them is in perfect order in the heavenly things, the supernatural things; the other one is with the earthly things, the world, see?   Branham and Graham.   You notice, Brother Branham never said much about Oral Roberts.   He talked about Graham, see?   So now we can look and see some of these things.   I hope that will help you a little bit.   Maybe you already know them.

Now it was God's choice.   Infidels are never tired of asserting that God approved of all of the sin that David fell into, see?   Now the infidel, some of their argument is, "Well, if you're serving a God and you say there is a God, look what David done.   How did he get by with that if he is a holy God?"   David didn't get by with it!   No, he didn't.   He paid a bitter price in this flesh.   His own son Absalom turned against him.   Absalom ravished his own sister and took the kingdom out of the hands of his father, turned against him, got a false anointing.   And yet the man that brought the news to David signed his own death warrant simply because David loved Absalom.   He said, "Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!"   He saw the bitter things he was reaping. But yet in the sight of God, Christ was in that man's life so much, that's what made him love Absalom under all of the things that he was doing.

And when this little crippled fellow spit on him and one of the guards reached and got his sword to take his head off, he said, "I'll take the head of that dog off of his shoulders!"   Christ in David said, "Let him alone.   God told him to do that."   Remember, David never had a chance to have the new birth.   He could never become the new creation.   Amen.   He did not get that until Jesus made a trip in a theophany and went and brought them out.   Amen. Then it was all settled.   Amen.   So I hope you see what we're talking about.

Alright now, I want to go just a little bit in here. I'm not quite through and I know that the time is moving on and I took a little time with that number, but next time we'll take the number 24.The number 24 is a multiplication of 12. So it's all there. We'll find out why it stepped into another order and became 24 other than 12, because it's the two coming together. Alright, like 3 and 4 coming together.

We're going back and Brother Branham is going to tell us a little bit about this numerology now and about the earth, the world, and so forth.   "Revelation, Chapter 4, Part II," Page 638 on Paragraph 305.

"THAT'S THE REASON, YOU SEE, WE GOT THESE SIX DAYS THAT THE WORLD HAS LABORED IN, (See?)   AND WE'RE WAY UP CLOSE TO THIS SEVENTH DAY NOW.   THE FIRST TWO-THOUSAND YEARS, GOD DESTROYED THE WATER...THE WORLD WITH WATER.   SECOND TWO-THOUSAND YEARS, CHRIST COME.   (Now of course, this was 1961 when Brother Branham was speaking this.   He said now:)   ...THIS IS 1961, RIGHT AT THE DOOR, JUST A LITTLE TIME.   AND LOOK, JESUS SAID, 'NOW, IT WON'T RUN ALL THE WAY OUT..."

All the way out to what?   The two thousand years.   He said it won't run all the way out to the two thousand years.   We are now in 1986 — fiscal governmental year 1987.   A perfect time cycle, in type, for the promised Son.   That's true.   Alright now, let us look and see what Brother Branham said.   He said, "I'll have to cut the work short." Who said that?   Jesus said that.   "I'll have to cut the work short." Why?   Because there'll be no flesh saved.   There would be nothing for Him to work through if He didn't cut it short.   He's got to cut the work short, bring it to a short climax because He's got to have flesh on this earth to change.   He said:

"...'IF I DON'T, THE ATOMIC BOMB WILL DESTROY ALL FLESH. YOU SEE?   FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE, I WILL CUT THE WORK SHORT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.   CUT IT OFF BEFORE THE TIME.'   SEE, THEN THE THOUSAND-YEARS' MILLENNIUM, THE GREAT DAY."

"Then the thousand years' Millennium, the great day."   Now.

"WHILE THE CHURCH AS LABORED AGAINST SIN FOR SIX THOUSAND YEARS, AND THE SEVENTH THOUSAND IS THE MILLENNIUM.   LIKE GOD MADE SIX THOUSAND YEARS TO BUILD THE WORLD, AND THE SEVENTH THOUSAND HE RESTED FROM ALL OF HIS WORKS.   AND THE CHURCH LABORS AGAINST SIN FOR SIX THOUSAND YEARS, AND THE SEVENTH THOUSAND THE CHURCH RESTS."

"THE WHITE ROBES THAT WAS ON THE ELDERS IS THE RIGHTEOUS­NESS OF THE SAINTS.   (Are you listening now?   "The white robes that was on the elders is the rightousness of the saints.")   THE WHITE MEANS “RIGHTEOUSNESS.” AND BECAUSE THEY WERE ROBED SHOWED THEY WERE 'PRIESTS OR JUDGES,' WHITE-ROBED, PRIESTS, JUDGES, PROPHETS, SO FORTH; SEE, WHAT THEY WERE.   THEY WERE WHITE-ROBED, THE TWENTY AND FOUR ELDERS.   THERE WILL BE TWENTY AND FOUR ELDERS. THERE'LL BE TWELVE OF THEM FOR THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL; THE TWELVE APOSTLES FOR THE CHURCH."

AND THEY SET IN THE COURTS OF THE GREAT KING.   REMEMBER, THEY'RE SITTING OUT THERE, THESE ARE.   AND HERE IS THE BRIDE AND CHRIST SITTING ON HIS THRONE, ("Here is the Bride and Christ sitting on His throne.") AND HIS WIFE SITTING BY HIM, THE CHURCH.   THE TWENTY AND FOUR ELDERS...THE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND EUNUCHS OF THE TEMPLE MINISTERING TO HIM.   (Are you getting it now, the picture?) WHEN HE GETS UP, HIS WIFE GOES WITH HIM..."

Are you listening?   "When He gets up, His Wife goes with Him." He don't go off and leave Her!

"...OH, MY!   THROUGH THAT GREAT AGE THAT'S COMING, WHEN ALL THE SIN AND THE RESEMBLANCE OF SIN IS..."

Won't be no more.

"ALL THE BIG, FINE BUILDINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE SO CHERISHING TODAY, ALL THE MONEY AND LUST AND ALL THE SIN AND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND MAN, WHATEVER THEY TRY TO MAKE THEIR BODY, SOME­THING OR OTHER, TO BE A TRAP FOR THE DEVIL TO SEND THEIR SOULS INTO HELL, WILL PERISH AND ROT, AND SKIN WORMS WILL EAT IT UP.   AND FIRST THING, THE SKIN WORMS...ALL THAT THEY EVER WAS WILL JUST GO INTO A VOLCANIC FIRE TO RETURN BACK TO NOTHING BUT FALLOUT AND NOW VOLCANIC ASH."

Now that's something — for a little woman to live her life in such a way that she feels like she's going   to be a beauty queen all of her life and so she goes out to deceive and to seduce.   She don't realize that the skin worms that will destroy her body is already in there.   And where the pretty plump, round, rosy face used to be, just a few years down the road there will be wrinkles.   Where the pretty black or blond or brunette hair, it will be gray.   The upright shoulders and the twisting hips, they'll cripple with age.   All of the things that she did by seduction, seducing and presenting her body a trap for men, now she can't trap nobody.   Her beauty is gone. Her life has dwindled.   She has nothing now left.

That's exactly what's happened to the church today.   Brother Ben, she's all wrinkle-faced, all crippled and distorted.   When they put Him out, that was the end.   That was the end.   They began to age, they began to cripple, they began to be distorted, deformed. No more blessing.   You say, "Oh, I see them shout and speak in tongues."   That's got nothing to do with it; the devils do the same.   But she's gone.   She's gone.

The Bride and the Bridegroom is together.   How many of you believe the message that was preached here not too long ago just the other week, "Seated at the Marriage Supper"?   Amen.   If we don't believe these things, there is no use for us to hear them.   But if we hear these things and believe them, then we begin to put in action that it is real.   It is real to us.   Things have happened.

"BUT ONE OF THESE MORNINGS, FRIEND, ONE OF THESE MORNINGS, WHEN THAT'S ALL OVER..."

No more twisting and enticing spirits to pull the sons of God. No more tricky men with their slicked-back hair to trick the little sisters. No more of it. One morning it will end. Then:

"...SHE'LL BLOOM FORTH AGAIN .   (in a new life.) THE FIELDS WITH ITS WHITENING CLOVER AND THE — THE FRAGRANCE OFF OF THE ROSE WILL BLEND IN WITH THE BLOSSOM OFF OF THE TREE OF LIFE, AND CHRIST WILL RETURN SOME MORNING.   WHEN THE BIG BIRDS, THE DOVES, WILL SIT IN THE TREES AND COO, AND THERE'LL BE NO MORE DEATH AND NO MORE SORROW.   CHRIST AND HIS REDEEMED WILL RETURN TO THE EARTH; NOT OLD PEOPLE, BUT YOUNG FOREVER..."

No more wrinkles, no more missing teeth, no more falling hair, no more impairment of eyesight, hearing.   It'll all be back again to perfection.   As Sister Burdette sang that song tonight, "Beulah Land," I tried my best to look across the horizon, look back 61 years ago when I was born in a old country house.   Brought into this world by an old country doctor that said, "He can't live."   Never even fixed the navel cord — just laid me over in a little old box or something and left.

And the next day my daddy got on a mule and went to find that doctor and said, "Come and fix this boy."   "Well," he said, "I thought that he'd be dead by now."   And he said, "He's very much alive." And the doctor came back and did the job.   He didn't think I'd live.

Sixty-one years.   Now the shoulders are stooping, now the hair is graying, the grinders are ceasing to grind, the eyes are getting dim, the ear is failing — the hearing.   But while she was singing that song, "Beulah Land," I looked into another area.   Brother Ben, I haven't lost nothing!   Just at the moment that that little body was laid there, come forth from Mama, there was another body that come forth, and that was a spoken Word body.   And it was already pre-determined that there's something inside of this body that was going into that one.   Now I'm not worried about this body.   I'm thank­ing and praising God for that one over there!   Amen!   I know my Redeemer liveth, and I'll stand again and I'll see Him as He stands.   As we see Him today by revelation, we'll see Him in reality one day.   How great is my God!

Would you like to raise your hands and praise Him and thank Him for a little bit?   Let us do that.   Lord Jesus, I pray that You'll accept this little offering tonight of upraised hands in Your presence, Lord, in Your presence!   Lord Jesus, may the sweet­ness of the Holy Spirit move up and down as an invisible Being tonight, yet as One that can be felt; the strong impression, Lord, the strong feeling.   Lord, we know that You are here!

And we want to thank You, Father, for letting us be a part of this day, be a part of that City, be a part of that Deity.   Lord, we know that this flesh cannot be deity, but we know, Lord, that Deity can dwell in this body of flesh.   I trust, Father, that all of us tonight with upraised hands will praise You from the depths of our hearts for choosing us to be Your offspring.   How we thank You, Father!

Oh, how we are so thankful, Lord, that we're bound for that beautiful City — the time when It comes down in such a way, Lord, that it all will be perfect then.   No more impairment, no more cripples, no more crying, no more sorrow.   It will all be joy and peace.   No more disappointments in the homes.   No more wayward children.   No more unbelieving companions.   No more discrediting one another, but always looking then, Lord, to that great Spirit, the Almighty God, the One that brought again Jesus Christ from the grave and stirred up our pure minds to serve a true and living God.   Thank You, Father.

Thank You, Lord, for this night.   I trust that everyone that's assembled here will realize that You're here and that Your presence is real.   Lord, if there's any sick among us tonight, I pray that by faith, Lord, that You'll vindicate Your Word.   Let them by faith, without a waver of doubt, Lord, reach forth and claim it now.

Those, Father, that You've chosen in You before the foundation of the world that has not yet saw the real true essence, the new birth, reveal Yourself to them, Lord, tonight.   Let them see that it is the Word of the age, the great Body Word of the Son of Man, the revelation of Jesus Christ personally coming to them.   Break it to them, Lord.   Let the waters flow freely from the everlasting Fountain.   We ask it in Jesus' Name, the Son of Man.   Amen.