THE MINISTRY OF ELIJAH THE FORERUNNER
16-1015N BTL
[This Message was preached at a place in Bungoma, Kenya in a House of fellowship on the night of 15th October 2016. The Message is 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 57 Seconds long]
Before we pray, we shall read from the Book of 1 kings 18:25-41;
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the Word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy Word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
In reading this verse, we find that according to Elijah the prophet, being a type, the prophecy that will later be fulfilled after many days. There are two areas; the first one is in verse 37 where it is written: ‘Hear me, oh Lord, hear me that these people may know that thou hast turned their heart back again.' That means repentance or causing their hearts to turn back to God. Repentance means returning to God. So, that is one area where we realize Elijah's ministry of turning the people’s heart back to God. That was a prophecy to be fulfilled later according to God's Word in Malachi 4.
The second part is what we have not yet read, and it comes out from 1 Kings 18:42-46.
So, Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
That is where Elijah in the spirit, by inspiration, girds himself with his garments and runs before Ahab till he comes to the entrance of his city, all the way from Mount Carmel. It is quite some distance, going by the scale on the map. He runs ahead of Ahab as the latter rides on the chariot. He told Ahab to prepare the chariot and then he ran ahead of it, back to the city because of the coming rain. The Spirit got upon Elijah and made him run in front of that chariot. Amazingly! Don’t you see the spirit and power of Elijah there?
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:13-17
See? The spirit and power of Elijah, that power that inspired him to run before the horses of Ahab the king; so was John the Baptist as he prepared the way before the King; he drunk no wine nor any strong drink, exactly what Brother Branham was told, “Never drink, smoke or defile your body in any way, for you have a work to do when you are old.”
Exactly like John the Baptist! And as John the Baptist was given a sign of a dove to identify the coming King, so was Branham also shown the sign of the snow-white dove. God would identify the coming ministry, capstone ministry, by the snow-white dove.
We have seen that the first portion of Elijah’s ministry is where he preaches repentance or turning back the hearts to God; and secondly, we find that he runs in front of the chariot of Ahab, preparing the way. Then the third pull comes on and he identifies Elisha, the one before whom he prepared the way. So, the three give us a clear message of what it means by Elijah to forerun.
You see! There are three folds of his ministry. The first pull calls for repentance; the second pull he runs before the King, preparing the way; and the third pull takes him to Horeb, where in secret he receives a charge concerning the next ministry that he was forerunning: a three-faced third pull. 1) Anoint Hazael, 2) anoint Jehu, and 3) anoint Elisha. Whatever Hazael leaves Jehu slays, and whatever Jehu leaves Elisha slays… a three-fold third-pull sword!
And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 1King 19:12-17
Now, to come to where it is, we read something about the prophecy about Elijah. It is, of course, in the Book of Malachi 4: 5:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
We find here a scripture of prophecy promising Elijah the prophet. We have read about his ministry, that is, turning the heart of the people back to God in repentance and therefore we could summarize his message as that of repentance and turning of hearts of the people back to God, from Baalism. You know the religion of Baal is the religion whose worship was based on knowledge of good and evil, and that means Nicolaitanism. Because that knowledge of good and evil is what makes up the head of the people in this world. That kind of head is Baalism. It is from the serpent, and that kind of knowledge is contrary to God.
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Therefore, the religion of Baalism is of the serpent, which elevates the head of the serpent against God's Word. So, Elijah was fighting against that kind of head of knowledge and its system.
The Baalism system is just exactly the same as what the New Testament speaks about as Nicolaitanism, which is the system that makes the knowledge of good and evil the head instead of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Why does God hate it? Because it is that system that replaces the true head which the eternal Godhead by the head of the serpent – the devil, the knowledge of good and evil. That is a system that crowns the serpent; that is what Nicolaitanism does, it elevates man’s carnal knowledge above God’s revealed Word. It lifts up knowledge to be the head of the church, to be head of man.
Therefore, whatever that Knowledge was, by which the serpent deceived Eve, it was the devil taking over as the head of man and the ruler and the king of creation. Through Eve the devil eventually took over the whole world. That kind of head is what finally brought in the world Baalism, which always fought against the true spiritual worship based on God's Word revealed, which is Jesus Christ.
There was always war between Baalism and the true worship of God based on the revelation of the Word. Baalism represents the total sum of false worship based on the knowledge of good and evil – the antichrist head. It is that kind of knowledge that heads all religious systems. Every church today is led by that evil head of knowledge sown through Eve. Judaism is under that head, Muslim is under that head, Catholicism is under that head, Protestantism is under that head and finally, Pentecostalism is under it. The same devil has taken over most churches claiming Branham. All is Baalism in another name!
Now, the forerunner started the destruction of that evil mammoth system by the revelation of the church ages and the seals, but just like Elijah, he did not completely destroy it; it awaits the three-fold third pull sword to root it all out of the mind of the elect paving the way for perfection.
Now, as much as Baalism was in various religions and all kinds of idolatry, the center and focus of it all is the knowledge of good and evil being made the head of man. Whatever religion, whatever organization or whatever system, the whole theme remains the enthroning of the wrong head; that is to worship the wrong head. That is always the root of the whole matter. Your worship depends on the knowledge that leads you.
So, Baalism, like any idolatry or any worship of idols, was that kind of religion that always crowns the head of knowledge of good and evil to be the head of the world, to be the god of this world; to be the head of the church and the head of man. That is why God hates it, as it is written in Revelation 2:6; ‘But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.’
Therefore, that which was Baalism against that was against the truth in Israel, is the Nicolaitanism against the church in the New Testament, crowning another head, which is of knowledge, against that which is of life, faith, and revelation by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice this: Nicolaitanism is chiefly against further revelation of the Word. It exalts human leadership above the revelation of the Word. Any knowledge which stands against the progressive revelation of the Word is antichrist!
As you read the history of the church, Nicolaitanism sprang from the anointed teachers, who were presenting knowledge to the church. They boasted of great knowledge, trying to lead the church to knowledge against faith. The devil, by deception, finally stole the church away from the revelation of Jesus Christ to the knowledge of good and evil, then known as Gnostics – explaining God by the wisdom of this world.
Therefore, the ministry of Elijah was fighting against Baalism and finally brought about repentance from Baalism back to God. His ministry was leading the people away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and away from the knowledge of that kind of head unto the knowledge of Christ, which is the revelation of Jesus unto true faith.
Now, besides that, we also find that though Elijah prepared the way like that, as he fought the antichrist in Israel, the complete destruction of the worship of Baalism was not until the days of Elisha. God sent Elisha to anoint Jehu by one of the sons of the prophets. And by Jehu, the worship of Baal was completely destroyed from Israel. That was the third pull sword. And that is where we are heading to. By the third pull sword, the antichrist shall be rooted out of creation.
Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 2Kings 10:28
But it is Elisha who anointed both Hazael of Syria and Jehu of Israel. So, it is clear that the complete destruction of the antichrist in Israel was not done by Elijah, but by Elisha. That tells us clearly that the complete destruction of the antichrist from the elect was never done by Branham, and that is why the elect have ever looked forward to perfection which brings about the complete redemption from that wicked head of knowledge of good and evil. “When I would do good, evil is present… the good I want to do, I do not, but the evil which I don’t want to do, that I do…” why? A wrong head within the heart of man! That scientific head that stands against the will of God in your life is the very tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the very citadel of Satan. You dwell where Satan dwelleth. That is why many times you are a miserable failure. But praise the Lord, the hour has come when Elisha is anointing some Jehu! Hallelujah! Glory to God! The day of redemption is near at hand! Lift up your head, for your redemption draws nigh! Hallelujah!
Therefore, we find that Elijah prepared the way – he laid the foundation. He is the one who started the fight against Baalism. Then it was finally completely wiped out in the days of Elisha, who took the place of Elijah after he had gone up in the chariot.
We find that Elijah’s message of repentance was not just repentance from some sin, or from some transgressions at the individual level, but the preaching of Elijah and his entire ministry was to turn the heart of the people back to their God. It wasn't just repentance from some sin, or from some transgression, some local affair, or individual backslidings. No! As you watch it carefully, he was leading a fight against the origin of sin; that head which is contrary to the head of truth. He was waging warfare against the very root of sin in Israel; he was fighting against the rulers of darkness enslaving man by false worship… so was Branham! Look at Branham’s third pull ministry, it was all about the exposing of the antichrist right from the garden of Eden. All false religion is a form of Baalism! Baalism was worship that exalted sensual knowledge above faith in God’s Word… and that is what every religion does! That is the seed of the serpent! That which exalts sensual knowledge above faith in God’s revealed truth.
Knowledge in itself causes death! It is the root of death, whether it be religious or scientific knowledge, for it is written that the letter killeth, but the Spirit gives life. Thus, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the letter… a religion based on knowledge. But life is by spiritual revelation of the Word. Praise the Lord! We live by hearing from God constantly! No more revelation means death!
So, the repentance that he was presenting was not just repentance from some evil works that somebody had done. But it was complete repentance from apostasy. When we say apostasy, it means a false form of worship, or being under the leadership of a wrong head that propagates lies in form of knowledge. It was total repentance from the very source of evil, the source of corruption caused by the original fall. He was leading complete repentance all round from that which is the cause of all sin, all idolatry, all failures, and from the religion of the knowledge of good and evil. His message of repentance was calling people out of total corruption back to God. His ministry was quite strange and far-reaching. It called for repentance from the very seat of knowledge within us! Not repenting from some deeds you have done but from the very head of evil that rules your soul unto death!
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: Revelation 2:13 And chiefly, that is where every son of Adam dwells! That is your dwelling place! Your very house is Satan’s citadel! Oh, you need redemption from that venomous serpent! Your very house of clay is from Satan’s seed, how cannot Satan be found there. In fact, you have no least say about the matters in that house. He dictates to you all that you do.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Rom 7:19-23
That is how much a slave you are. You were born a slave under Satan’s rule. The first forerunner prepared the way for an earnest destruction of your enemy by the Messiah, now the second forerunner prepared the way for the total destruction of the head of the antichrist which bears rule over human flesh. Wonderful news, isn’t it?
As Elijah was a type, so there has to be an antitype. If it was a type, then the real thing has to be somewhere. We find that when John the Baptist came, he had a message of repentance unto baptism in Jordan River. This repentance that John was preaching was typed by Elijah, who preached against Baalism, calling for repentance. When John came, he preached repentance to the Jews. They came to him, and he baptized them in river Jordan.
Now, baptism means dying! The repentance that he was preaching went together with baptism. And when one was baptized in the river, it was a sign indicating that he was dying. And when he was removed from the water, it meant rising or resurrecting. So, what was the meaning of that sign? It meant that after somebody repented, he was then baptized unto death, to die from the old head and from that tree of knowledge of good and evil, so that he could escape from that old head. Hence that kind of knowledge ends up sunken in the water. Just like Pharaoh ended up sunken in the Red Sea and the one who was baptized escaped from that kind of knowledge as he rose out of that water.
So, John was preaching the same message as Elijah. The only difference is that John was more advanced because he wasn't only getting people away from the worship of Baalism, but he was getting them to repent from the knowledge of good and evil, the very origin of sin, and turning to God. That was what he was preaching, not just against Baalism as religion, which was a system of religion based on that contrary head, but it was all-around. That was how those who came to John were repenting and turning to God. It meant dying from the head of that knowledge that brings sin, that makes somebody a slave of sin – serving that wrong head, which makes somebody to be a servant of sin and a prisoner to that kind of head.
Therefore, John was fighting against the internal system of Baalism, of that evil head. He preached that repentance and baptizing each of them, telling them to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.
When he introduced Jesus unto them, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world". Not sins (plural) but sin (singular). Which sin is that? The sin from which every child is born! That was the message he was preaching while presenting the Saviour to the world, pointing to them their Redeemer and Saviour.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. Leviticus 12:1-7
See? Any woman bearing a child had to offer a sin offering… that means she sinned in her deed of conceiving! And she was to bring a lamb and a dove for the same… Look on Jordan when Jesus was baptized by John, John declared him to be the Lamb of God that takes care of the sin of the world, the original sin from which every child is brought forth, a sinner to begin with! And the Holy Spirit like a dove descended on the Lamb, a burnt offering and a sin offering together! A two-fold offering representing the fallen man. Hallelujah!
Elijah came preparing the way for the Redeemer to come in and provide the way of Salvation and escape from sin; so that the creation and creatures may receive their Redeemer and be saved.
Now, the first Elijah was just a type of the real ministry of turning the hearts and restoring people from the wrong head and wrong religion back to the true Way. The whole trouble of the human race is about a wrong head: the root of the matter is that knowledge which was injected by the serpent's lie into the human race through Adam and Eve. That is what has caused trouble by making man evil, sinful and walking contrary to God's Way and God's Word; because he has carnal knowledge contrary to the right knowledge. Then we find that, if Elijah was a type or a shadow, then John the Baptist was an earnest of fulfillment of that Message. The earnest of Baptism unto death of that kind of head. Finally, by John, we received such Salvation or such redemption through Jesus Christ in earnest. Now, John being the forerunner as Elijah was presenting the Message of the earnest of repentance unto Salvation in Jesus Christ in earnest: but the completeness must finally come.
So, if the earnest was John the Baptist, then we expect the fullness of Elijah to follow. When you read about brother Branham you will realize, by the help of the Holy Spirit, that he presents the fullness of that forerunning Message that digs out all the Nicolaitanism and Baalism. It digs the whole knowledge of good and evil and exposes it; he goes back to the Garden of Eden to show clearly where the trouble originated; how Adam and Eve fell, and whatever was sown then as the seed of the serpent. He discovers and exposes it. Why? To slay it! He does more like what Elijah did! To slay the antichrist teachers!
He did slay those false teachers, exposed that whole Nicolaitanism system, and restored the heart of the children back to the fathers by the sword of the Word. Now, the Message given to brother Branham went back to the origin of the problem. He addressed the real problem and where it came from, addressing the whole thing – the whole disease. It shows where the wrong head originated and follows its trail up; how the church fell like Eve in the Garden of Eden, and now they have taken up a head which is contrary to Christ. The devil, as an antichrist throughout the ages, took over the leadership of the church just like he took man's head through Eve in the Garden of Eden.
We can classify the whole Message of brother Branham as a message of repentance, and that is, returning from the wrong head of the knowledge of good and evil to the right and true head. The Message presents to the people repentance because of their transgression of desolation by which God departed from man.
So, the message of Brother Branham can be seen in that line, just like that of Elijah against the system of Baalism, which offered repentance to Israel. Then John the Baptist preached a message of repentance unto the baptism in the water – returning back to God through death and resurrection. Then, we see brother Branham with a revelation; and his revelation exposes Satan.
So, his Message and his baptism are of repentance away from that kind of head. That is why his baptism brought about the correction of baptism, showing clearly that the baptism was to be in the Name of Jesus. Because that is the Name of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It made it clear that the trinity is of the Nicolaitanism system, which crowns the serpent as the head.
Therefore, we see that Branham was a forerunner with the same light as Elijah preaching repentance and fighting against Baalism. The repentance which he is offering us is the repentance from the fall of the human race; that original falling away which brought death. He brings a message putting plainly that corruption of the house of man.
Why should that Message be preached? What caused the trouble? Where did the problem come from? Why should the serpent, his deeds, and his seed be exposed? To destroy the wrong head from us! He is offering repentance from the wrong head, the wrong system – from being under a wrong head; so that we should not serve under that head anymore, but under the baptism of dying from that evil head, we rise with a new head. As he preaches repentance and turning back to God, that means rejecting the wrong head and receiving the right one.
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After Elijah the Tishbite, came Elisha – the one whom he foreran by preparing the way through repentance. Now, all that believed were ready to receive the true head; because he preached to cut off the evil head, which was Baalism, so that those who believe may receive the true head, the very one whom he was forerunning. So was Branham doing the same thing! He prepared the way to bring in the true head, the headstone! In Eden he was rejected, and the serpent took his place; now the head of the serpent is cut off so that the elect can receive the true head, the headstone! Praise the Lord! There he is, Joshua in filthy garments with the headstone engraved with seven eyes! (Zechariah 3) Hallelujah! That is the promised Joshua! That is the messenger with the headstone ministry.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at; for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Zechariah 3:8-9
What is that stone having seven eyes?
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Revelation 5:6
There is the stone of seven eyes, the very message of Joshua! Don’t forget, a messenger and his message are one!
Thus, Elisha comes on after Elijah goes away. When John the Baptist was preaching repentance and people received him, he was destroying the wrong head, so that people could repent from that kind of head to receive the right one. Those who sincerely repented, came to John and were baptized, were freed from the wrong head; that is in earnest. Therefore, they were ready for the true head. That is why he presented them to Jesus Christ; to take His rightful place as the right head.
Jesus was the coming the king. Remember, Elijah the first forerunner, foreruns the king; and that king being forerun is the right head.
When Brother Branham came with a message against the whole Nicolaitanism, Baalism, and the head of knowledge of good and evil in religion, politics, or in the man as a creature, that was rebuking the wrong head and exposing it so that people may repent from it. The Message of brother Branham was a complete revelation of what this wrong head is – the antichrist system. This antichrist seed gave rise to a religion that finally took over the world and gave the wrong head to the church, since man had already been given a wrong inner head, he fell for the same thing outwardly. Brother Branham’s Message completely exposed and rebuked that. He fought against that Nicolaitan spirit in the church. He fought Nicolaitanism offering repentance from it, so that an individual repenting from that Nicolaitanism, would receive the right head.
Therefore, the ministry of Elijah is to provide room for repentance and prepare the people for the right head by delivering them from the wrong head of knowledge of good and evil, by his baptism. So those who received him were made ready to receive the right head. That is how he prepares them; and the king that comes, comes in as the right head.
This is not just an outward organized war, but it works in an individual, destroying Nicolaitanism from within, and setting him free from that kind of head to make him ready to receive the right head, which is the true king. That is shown clearly by the ministry of Elijah forerunning Elisha; John the Baptist forerunning the First Coming of Jesus in earnest, and brother Branham forerunning the second Coming of Jesus Christ in fullness.
That shows the kind of way which was prepared, so that the king may come in. That way reverses what happened in Genesis 3, what happened in the human race in the Garden of Eden. That's a message that prepares the ground for the reversal. It is not just a fight against a political system or a religious organization, but it is an experience in the heart and soul of a man, to cut off the evil head and restore the right head. that is what it means by Elijah coming to restore all things, back to what they were before Satan to over.
Do you see the wrong head being destroyed, and reception of the right head by experience? By brother Branham, the ground is laid, and now we expect the king. Now, watch how the mystery comes in the light clearly. The king you are expecting, and the purpose of his coming is by the way of Elijah. So that He may be restored in his place as the true king, in the place of that which has been destroyed. So, the king is coming to take the place of the wrong head.
How did the wrong head come in? It did not come in by politics, by the fight of flesh, or the fight of the sword outwardly. We know that it was sown as the seed of the antichrist. And that is what brought the headship of the serpent to man. Now, to remove this wrong headship from man, the man in faith must die and rise again, and another seed, even the true original seed must be sown. Thus, Christ becomes the head of the human race or the head of man by the sowing of the original seed which is the spoken Word.
The new head comes not so much from the air, to destroy the enemy outwardly, but he comes to be the head in the human heart. To become the head of man, it must be by the sowing of the right seed. So, there we expect this ministry to be of sowing the right seed, to bring in the right head. It means that the true head must be in a man to take over his mind and thoughts.
Elijah being the forerunner, his message was to destroy the church of Baalism, which was outward; but it could not really touch the inward Nicolaitanism – the headship of the knowledge of good and evil. So, after he has prepared the way, the people who have received his message are ready for the final work – God's Word, which comes by Jesus Himself. He brings the Kingdom of Heaven to the people by preaching it, and that Kingdom has a king. He says in Matthew 3:2; ‘Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’. That means he is presenting the king of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of the world has been destroyed and the Kingdom of Heaven is in you. It means, the King of Heaven is the one reigning in your heart; and that is the right head and the right King.
We find that Elijah prepares the way for the king, so that the Kingdom of heaven may come in in fullness for man to be under the headship of God Himself, the right head. Then you are in the Kingdom of Heaven, and you are under the King of Heaven – the King of Heaven is reigning in you.
So, when Jesus comes, He says in Matthew 4:17; ‘Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’; and in John 18:3; ‘My kingdom is not of this world’. To those who receive him, he rules inside them; so that they are delivered from the kingdom of this world. You find that the accomplishment of the ministry of Elijah is repentance from Nicolaitanism, and from that antichrist head.
Many times, the religious teachers mislead the people with their intellectual understanding. At Christ’s first coming the rabbis had mistaught the people to expect a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman rulers; now, at this time the modern-day rabbis have mistaught the people to expect a Jesus who comes to fight against the political systems. That is not the source of the problem! The real problem was sown in the heart of man; that is where Satan seats and reigns over man. That must first be dealt with. Once the heart is made right the devil would have lost the kingdom! Hallelujah!
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 2Peter 1:19
That is where Jesus comes first, to set up the fullness of His Father’s kingdom within. Once that is done, the rest follows suit. Your main enemy is not the outward religious or political system, rather it is that antichrist system within you!
Once people have received that Message, they are ready for the second action which comes in presenting the Kingdom of Heaven, after destroying the kingdom of this world. Whoever receives Jesus, enters into the new Kingdom, and the old kingdom is destroyed. So, it is great work, tremendous work. It means total deliverance and total redemption which was forerun by Elijah.
Thereafter, we receive the right head. First in seed, then watering by the Holy Spirit to quicken it; and then the Kingdom of Heaven takes over. At this spiritual juncture, you are now totally under the Kingdom of Heaven while still walking here on earth. So, the knowledge of the world and the head of the antichrist won’t have rule over you anymore.
As I said, the wrong head came through planting the wrong seed, which crowns the devil as the head. So, the right and true Kingdom also comes by the planting of the right Seed. Once the right Seed is planted, it requires the right water, which is the Holy Spirit to quicken it, then you experience the kingdom. You then realize the power, the glory, the blessings, and the victory. That is how far we expect total repentance, total deliverance, and total redemption to come to a true believer. All in completeness, that is what Elijah prepared for.
After the ministry of Elijah, we expect our perfection by complete deliverance, destroying the wrong head, and receiving the right head. That is what we wait for when that power comes. Amen.
We'll walk in the Light, such beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright,
Shine all around us by day and by night.
Jesus the Light of the world.
[Prayers not clear on the recorder – Ed]
End