By “Hear Ye Him”
To the Church in Ephesus
Christ Revelation
Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Good Works Commended
Revelation 2:2-3 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Failures Pointed Out
Revelation 2:4-5 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
The Antichrists
Revelation 2:6-7 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The Reward for the Overcomer
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The reward that the overcomer receives is exactly according to the revelation of Jesus given unto him. Look at the revelation to Ephesus: Jesus is he who walketh in the midst of the seven lampstands, holding the seven stars, and the reward to the overcomer is that he shall be given to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Certainly, the very one who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstand is the same one who is the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God. The point here is that he is in the midst, that means the reference point, the central theme of your Christianity, the centre point, the pillar of your Christian life. If you make him the centre of your life, then you will be given to eat of him in paradise.
Look at it again, there are three things that go hand in hand:
1) The revelation of Jesus,
2) The good works of the genuine believers,
3) The enemy whom the overcomer has to stand against,
4) The reward to the overcomer. This applies to every age. The overcomer has to have the revelation of Jesus to overcome the antichrist.
The enemy stands exactly in opposition to the revelation of Jesus. What is the revelation of Jesus to Ephesus? Jesus is the one in the midst of the church, as the true head and leader of every believer; as the reference point; the one to be worshipped. What is the enemy? The Nicolaitan with deeds fighting to replace Jesus Christ as the head of the believer; to take the position of Jesus; to become the leader of the church; to become the reference point, to attract worship away from Jesus.
Then what is the reward for the overcomer? He is given to eat of the tree of life walking in the midst of the paradise of God! See? The very one who is in the midst of the church finally becomes the centre of all your satisfaction, enjoyment and refreshment in eternity! That is the reward for overcoming the antichrist who also is in the midst of the churches. The way the god of this world feeds all in the world with all his fruits of corruption, through their eyes, their ears, their nose, their mouth, their feelings, their minds, their hearts and thoughts, so will Jesus feed all saints through their true eyes, ears, nose, mouth, feelings, mind, hearts and thoughts.
Remember, it is the evil one who now dwells in the midst of the world and by whom all are fed; he is like that tree which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of by which all were fed. It is knowledge that leads and feeds this world in all their refreshment, entertainment and enjoyment. And that knowledge is Satanic! The world is in the people of the world and Satan is at the heart centre of the world, leading all, governing all and feeding all. But all his fruits are unto death. But the overcomer will be ushered into the kingdom of God, and there Jesus is the centre of all things. He will be the centre of all enjoyment, refreshment and satisfaction eternally.
Look! In the garden of Eden there were two trees: the tree of life which was Jesus Christ and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Devil. Now Adam and Eve were the church. They could only be rewarded with eating from the tree of life after overcoming the Nicolaitan serpent! The serpent paused before them as an apostle, yet he was false! So were there serpents in the apostolic church pausing as apostles, yet they were the branches of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So, the overcomer had to stand against those serpents, then would he eat of that tree of life.
Same thing today, those serpents are still there, in the midst of the church offering you the fruit of their knowledge, denying Jesus Christ as being the same yesterday, today and forever, for they say, “The days of the spoken word are over, Jesus no longer speaks by prophets.” Only Nicolaitan teachers are left, and they are the ones in the lead.” That is what those who deny further revelation of the Word are meaning! Now if you ever end up in paradise, to eat of the true fruit of life, you must fight and overcome these men, the men who point to their knowledge instead of the true revelation of Jesus Christ! All they know is the history of the church. They know nothing about the present tense revelation of Jesus, who is in the midst of the Church today!
Now, the four points we have just underlined apply to every church age message. First, the revelation of Jesus given to the elect; second, the works of the elect are commended; third, the antichrist whom the elect by that revelation must resist in order to overcome; and fourth, the reward of overcoming. They go hand in hand.
What does it mean by him walking in the midst…?
First let us see the meaning of him walking… walking in the midst of the lampstands. What is the significance of him walking among us, walking with us, being with us in the churches, walking therein? The following scripture answers it:
Romans_4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. Romans_6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom_8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the scripture says, “By faith Enoch walked with God until he was translated.” To walk with God means to walk in His way; you can only do that by faith that comes through revelation of Him who is walking with you. Therefore, Christ walketh in the midst of the lampstands, so that we should walk with him, and that also means walking after him, following him. You don’t have to follow any man at all, whether prophet or apostle, they are all your brethren. Follow Christ who is in your midst, he may speak to you through a pastor, a prophet or an apostle, that does not mean you follow these men, but that you hear exactly who is that speaking to you. After hearing say, “Hear am I, Lord, speak for thy servant hears.” Many of us after hearing the voice of the Lord through some prophet or preacher, respond to that preacher and go out to follow him. Let me show you your example.
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 1Samuel 3:3-6
So many Christian church members do the same thing when the Lord calls them through some preacher, they arise and go to follow that preacher, a big mistake indeed! Such fellows are yet to know the Lord and his revelation. Though it is seemingly the voice of that man speaking audibly, yet if you hear a touch of the Lord in your heart, then it is not that man speaking to you, it is God speaking by that man. don’t arise and run to that man. Don’t go after that man in wonder and amazement worshipping him! Many of us fear the men that preach to us so much that we wonder after them. What are you doing when you look at your preacher in wonder and amazement? You are worshipping him! He has become your idol! Let me give you the scriptures for it:
Revelation 13:3-4 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
How were these deceived people worshipping the beast? By wondering after him, in other words they followed him as they wondered how great he was. They were amazed about him wondering, “who is like him…?” And so many of you out there wonder after your pastors and preachers exactly with the same mind. You exclaim in your hearts, “Who is like our pastor, who can preach and teach like him! Oh, he is wonderful, God has really blessed him.” You ignorantly wonder after flesh and blood like that worshipping the unprofitable servant, a brute beast like yourself!
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
You see it clearly before your eyes, that if you stand in wonder, in amazement, in admiration, being dismayed at something with fear or awe, then you are worshipping that object! That is what it means by adoration! You adore that fellow whom you fear and admire! That bishop of yours whom you serve with fear standing in awe before him, as he comes by your house, he has become your idol! Those preachers are mere servants! Little bit servants! They are not worthy any honour or fear. You are supposed to fear God and Him alone! Sanctify the Lord and let Him be your fear and dread, and He shall be your sanctuary!
For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary. Isaiah 8:11-14b
Whatever you fear and dread becomes your God and your sanctuary to defend you. If you fear and admire your pastor, he is the one you worship, and in time of trouble let him save you then! But the Bible says all of us are brothers and sisters, and all that we should have is love for one another! Love has no respect of persons! If that preacher of yours commits an error, you should point it out to him just like you do to any other man. Paul never respected Peter as to keep quiet after seeing him misbehaving. He rebuked him in the midst of the rest! That is it! No respect of persons. We walk after only one man, the man Jesus Christ! He is the one who called you. He is the one who preached to you when you got saved. You heard His voice, not the voice of your preacher. A man’s voice could have not awakened you from the dead! Don’t bind yourself to a man, a man in flesh as miserable as yourself! Please, read below the way you should have responded when you were called, not to go and be dismayed before Eli, the pastor/bishop of a fallen by-product gathering. All such gatherings end up failures to begin with!
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 1Samuel 3:7-10
You preachers should have enough understanding that you are mere servants, not leaders of the congregation of the Lord. The Lord himself is in their midst to be their leader. Direct all people to Jesus Christ. Wave them away from yourself! You have no salvation for them! You have no blood to wash the least of their sins! You have no atonement for them before God! You are not the mediator between them and God! Therefore, point them in the right direction! Stop them from worshipping you!
After preaching or teaching anything end it with a comma! Many of you pastors out there have taken the place of Jesus in the midst of the church. Your words are final. You are the A and the Z for them. You are their Alpha and Omega for them. What a fallen Lucifer you are!
Brother Branham taught you clearly that end your sermon with a comma! End your teaching with a comma! End your belief with a comma! Why? You are not the final man! You are not the first and the last! You are not the Alpha and the Omega! You are not the beginning and the end! You are not the one who walketh in the midst of the churches! You don’t hold the seven stars in your hand! Your eyes are not like lamps of fire! Your hair is evidently black or pale at best! Stop assuming the place of Jesus in the church. Deliver the message that the Lord has given you and go your way. End every sermon you deliver with a comma! God may send some little Samuel after you to point out your errors, for He is not a respecter of persons marque!
And you laymen, so called church members, stop being dismayed before the carcasses of those men in your pulpits. I don’t care how anointed he may be as he delivers his message, if his words help you at all, then it is not him who speaketh to you, but the Lord! If the word of God is revealed to you, you won’t run to that preacher at all. You won’t be so confused as to walk in honour of that man. No matter how anointed the man can be, without the grace of God upholding him, he will end up a fallen cherub, perfect in all his ways at the beginning of his ministry till iniquity is found in him, the iniquity of self-exaltation. And you who seem to be anointed, be very much aware of that temptation of thinking you are anything better than any man on earth. You are a mere servant, a doormat!
Thus, Jesus walks in the midst of the churches so that you may walk with him; so that you may walk after him; so that you may walk in him; so that you may always follow him. So that he may be always your light and point of reference. The messengers who speak to you are held in his hand, so that they are his tools by which he directs you. The whole message can simply be summarized as follows:
Ephesians_2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians_4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Ephesians_4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Ephesians_5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Philippians_3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Colossians_1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians_4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. 1Thessalonians_2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. 1Thessalonians_4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
1Thessalonians_4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 2Thessalonians_3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 2Peter 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
1John_1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 1John_2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 2John_1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 3John_1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Jude_1:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
He is the strong tower in our midst so that if we trust him and walk in him, we shall never be moved. So we are called to walk in the Lord, to walk in his workmanship; to walk as he walks; to walk in his ways as he reveals himself to us by the Holy Ghost; to walk as he walked; to walk in his light; to walk according to his will; to walk in such a way that he remains our centre point, the pillar in our midst, the man who has all for us: our Pastor, Bishop, Shepherd, King, Prince, Saviour, Helper, Bread, Water of life, Riches, Sanctification, Wisdom, and all things … there he is, in our midst!
So, don’t be dismayed before those signs, heavenly signs of fallen angels in the name of preachers, pastors, church leaders, teachers or any clergyman. Those are mere signs! They are mere servants! Many of them are the very hateful 21st century Nicolaitans! Walk after the Lord who is in your midst, if so, be it that you have received him! Stop all that idolatry of yours!
Who is a Nicolaitan? Let us study him a little:
Exodus 20:1-11 KJV
And God spake all these words, saying, [2] I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: [5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; [6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: [10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: [11] For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
These four statements declared the way that the freed captive should walk before the throne of God, who had set them free. And that applies to every believer in every age. You have only one God who saves you and sets you free! Your pastor cannot! Your preacher is helpless! All those clergymen can be mere idols by which you stand chained, twice a child of hell than before you came under them. God never entrusted His children to any pastor or clergyman. He entrusted them to the Holy Spirit. Ensure you believe unto receiving the Holy Spirit. Then “My sheep know my voice” will be your lot. You won’t rely anymore on a deaf, blind clergyman, half-drunken with the spirit of money in the offering bag!
All of us can be led by the Spirit of truth. There are gifts among us by which we are edified, that is all. All those gifts are meant for edification; that is to supply some spiritual sustenance to your soul, but you have only ONE HEAD; THE GODHEAD REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST is the only one to lead you!
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:14-15
Not as many as are led by some bishop with a bunch of books in his shelf, but as many as are led by the Spirit. God speaks to you through Jesus Christ by the Spirit directly, if so be it that you have diligently sought Him and found Him. Never rely on a man!!! Never fear a mere man, mere flesh and blood, yea, poor flesh already wasting away! They are as miserable as yourself! All you need is Jesus Christ in your heart.
Never sell your birth right to a man! Never betroth yourself to mere flesh and blood – poor, miserable, blind, naked and don’t know it. Come out from among them and be ye separate! Stop worshipping idols in form of some big man in some modern pulpit! It is so stomach-sickening! God will spue you out of His mouth if you don’t repent. It is a curse for you to put your trust in men!
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5
When you enter into this covenant, only God is your head, and you walk in Spirit by His leadership. All your preacher does is to feed you by the Spirit. But if he doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, then he becomes an idol, and there you will be found in a house of dumb idols, who claim that God no longer speaks by man. They claim that God stopped speaking by men.
Their God must be funny indeed! He must have died, I am sure, or grown so tired that he fell asleep unknowingly, or he is so careless that matters get worse and worse each day, yet he cares for nothing! I just can’t understand him, or is it that he went on a long journey 50 years ago? I don’t think I can ever desire such a god! I have nothing to do with him! You can have all of him! I have no need of him! To me he is a mere idol, who hasn’t spoken for over fifty years! He doesn’t care about the rotten things in the church that is supposed to be the bride of his Son? I suspect him to be a god of the Moabites or of the Ammonites; of course, they claim some relation with Abraham, the seed sower during the former rain, the moureh rain. They argue vehemently that he was the last known prophet; that anything else in the name of a prophet must be impersonating their great patriarch, who is already in a tomb!
But my God speaks even today, as He spoke on mount Sinai. I care for nothing for all your mourning! My God is I AM! He ever speaks, for He is a lively Oracle!
And first is the statement of their marriage unto Him, that is their union with Him:
And God spake all these words, saying, [2] I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
By that, they are freely united with Him and will be forever free so long as He remains their God. In Him is all liberty, but outside Him is all bondage. He was their liberty. He was their only freedom. He means liberty for them. In faith, as they remain united and separated unto Him, only liberty will abound; liberty from the bondage of sin, from the bondage of death, from the bondage under Nicolaitan heads in the name of pastors; liberty from chains of darkness in the name of a lukewarm Laodicean church system, a church that blindly worships devils in the name of some sleeping saint. For He is the Spirit of truth, and where the Spirit is there is liberty. The trumpet is the voice of the Spirit of liberty. With that, you are free and free forever. Come out from among these dead fellows, for the trumpet has declared your freedom!
“Yea, come out of Laodicea and separate yourselves from her ways,” Saith the Spirit, “for her sins has reached unto heaven and God has remembered her iniquities, to give her the cup of His indignation. How delicately she sits in the world, deep in the world amassing riches, the treasures of the night moth; claiming to be the Bride of my Son, yet deep in the moth-eaten riches of Mammon, already beguiled into adultery with every unclean beast! Separate from this whorish woman and touch not her unclean ways, lest I pour all my wrath upon thee, and make thee most desolate! For the hour of my vengeance is come, and my wrath is come up in my face, to give her according to her ways.”
Remember, you have only one true head; you have only one true Father; you have only one true leader; you have only one true king; you have only one true Godhead and the same is revealed in Jesus Christ, and given to dwell in you by the Holy Spirit. Any other man between you and the God of Jesus Christ, who is the I AM, the same yesterday, today and forever, is an idol!
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. Colossians 1:15-19
There he is! The only true head of the true church! God never sent any other man, in the name of bishop Jones, to be your head! All those are your brothers! I don’t care how many members attend his church, he is a mere brother! I don’t care how forceful he is in his preaching, he is a mere brother! I don’t care how much knowledge of the message of Branham he boasts, he is a mere brother! I don’t care how anointed he is in preaching; he is a mere brother and has nothing in himself good for you!
Get it straight! He has totally nothing from himself to help you! Either God puts it in his heart to give you, or else you will never get any good out of him! And if God is the one who has given him to give you, then he is a mere servant for you, worthy of no honour at all! Yes, God has sent him with some gift to give you, then in that capacity he is your servant, a mere servant to you! How can you then stoop so low as to worship your servant?!
Get this clear! If I was a great man somewhere having many servants, and I call one of them and send him with a letter to call some of my fellow friends for a feast, and he obeys me and faithfully takes my message and delivers it to my friends; has not that servant of mine also become a servant to my friends? Can he stand before them as the leader of my friends? No! Never! He will be sacked the same day! So are all preachers, pastors, evangelists, teachers, prophets and what have you. They are mere servants sent to you!
Yes, what do you call them? Ministers! Good, there we go. Who is a minister?
Hebrews 1:6-7
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Angels like who? Like Branham, like Wesley, Like Luther, Like Columba, Like Martin, Like Irenaeus, Like Paul, Like your pastor if he is not an evil angel, for many of them out there are evil angels, usurping the position of Jesus Christ in the Church. Yes, ministers are angels, they are spirits, and that means mere gifted or talented servants! If your minister is a true spirit from God, then he should be humble, meek, lowly, poor in spirit, boasting of nothing, bragging about nothing; always crying to God to have mercy on him that he should not exalt himself to become vain and thereby become a fallen angel; a Nicolaitan, loathsome fallen spirit.
You shout, “No, no, no! The scripture is not referring to a minister on earth, it is referring to angels in heaven!”
How blind must you be! Look, He says, “when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” These are angels in the world, not in heaven, for those in heaven whorship him while he is in heaven! They don’t have to wait till he comes on earth!
Yes, look at Hebrews 1:1 and 2:1-2
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Hebrews 1:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward. Hebrews 2:1-2
Yea, who are the angels that Paul is referring to here? Prophets? Men in flesh! Men on earth! What are they? Mere angels! I don’t care how gifted your pastor is, if he does not humble himself in all humility, with fear and trembling, walking in all lowliness and meekness before God and before men, but instead if he brags around, boasting of great things by his vain imaginations, purporting to know a lot, he may be a fallen LUCIFER preaching to you.
Get it clear ye so-called ministers yet going about like bosses in Gentile offices; if your service is to be ever accepted before the throne of my God at all, the litmus test is how humble and lowly you have walked while serving! If you fail at that level, all your boasting is in vain! You haven’t done anything of any slightest meaning before God! I don’t care how a great cherubim you are, with a voice like a thunder, if there is any leaven of selfishness in your service, if there is any leaven of self-will in your service, if there is any leaven of pride in your service, if there is any leaven of being a lord in your service, if there is any leaven of thinking you are better than so and so; if there is any leaven in your service of bragging, if there is any leaven in your service of carnal comparisons, then all your offering is corrupted and thus is rejected by my God! All your Cainite offering is an abomination in the eyes of my God! It is rotten! It is full of maggots!
Get that litmus test clear! A minister is a servant, not a lord! And for your service to be acceptable to GOD and be pleasing to Him, you have to offer it to Him with all the virtues of a servant! Full stop! Your boasting is a vain thing! Your high-minds and know-it-all attitude are the shame of your nakedness.
Fallen angels, all of you are! Fallen from your estates wherein ye were appointed! Why and how? You were appointed to minister with all humility, in meekness, in fear, in trembling before the Word of God; in all lowliness and gentleness, counting yourselves as nothing; for that is an estate of a minister, a mere servant, who should not be regarded at all by anybody. That was your estate to which you were appointed! Yet most of you have exalted themselves into thrones, bragging about almost anything; being high-minded, and like Lucifer, ye have fallen from your former estate and now you are most loathsome before my throne. Thus will I judge all of you, even as I did cast out the angels that exalted themselves before me vainly, so will I judge every one of you. I will cast you into outer darkness and forget all about you, unless you quickly repent in all humility and lowliness and go to my servant who is among you with prayers and supplications, and let him pray for you that I may forgive you and heal you, for him alone will I hear; if you don’t do that then know that thou art cast out forever.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:10
There you are! Whoever you are, whatever you are, means nothing! You are merely a sinner saved by grace! Unprofitable servant to begin with! A debtor to begin with! Tell me, what could Paul boast of? What good thing did he do? A persecutor of the saints to begin with! Unprofitable servant! Why? A sinner saved by grace! Full stop! Who are you after all, thou big clergyman bragging about? What are you but a stinking sinner, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; a debtor to every good thing!
For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. Roman 4:2
Oh, how your bragging has become so hateful before my God! You are poor, blind, miserable sinner’s worth of no title whatsoever, yet you have filled your mouth with pride and haughtness as if ye are not mere sinners! And if saved at all, then only by grace! That “so and so is a great servant of God“, what a perverted tongue that is! When was a servant ever great! How perverted must you be! A servant should be humble! A humble servant of God!
Look at Peter, the so-called great apostle. What greatness was in him more than in any other believer? He was the lowest of them all! He denied Jesus three times, swearing and cursing the very idea of being identified with Jesus. So, say on now…! A man has nothing!
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. Matthew 26:69-74
So, where is the greatness of Peter? “Peter, the great apostle?”
Nonsense! You should be ashamed of yourself to harbour such Nicolaitan thoughts about a mere man. The best that Peter ever was as a man, was to be a fisherman. That is all! Tell me any good thing Peter ever did without the Holy Ghost. It is a marvel how men can be blind! Peter was nothing until the Holy Spirit came upon him. He wasn’t better than any little maid roaming anywhere in the streets of Jerusalem! All you see as good in Peter is the work of the Holy Ghost! And no time were you ever better than Peter! In fact, you are worse! A poor sinner, twice dead, yet you act as if you are the king of heaven.
Get it clear! Your ministry is as high as your level of humility, meekness and lowliness. You are only received on that basis. The domain of flesh means servanthood, so strife hard to stay true to that estate, for that is an estate for you to keep. Any slight deviation from that means falling from your estate. It means you become a fallen angel!
Go to now, ask Moses the secret behind his finding such great favour before the Most High, that He could speak face to face with Him:
And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) Numbers 12:1-3
There is the secret! There is the litmus test, why Moses could find favour before God as to fall in the gap and make intercessions which God could hear! The meekest man on earth in his days: he could not argue out anything in self-defence when accused. God Himself had to come on the scene and defend him! When Miriam and Aaron accused him, he simply kept quiet.
What about if it were you, if you could hear that some of your church members are uncomfortable with your way of running church affairs? You will strike them like lightning. Instead of being a pastor, you will quickly assume the seat of a judge, and most vehemently defend yourself with quote after quote. No meekness at all. No wonder, God can’t speak to you even in dreams, leave alone face to face.
What of David? What is it that God saw in him that He chose him to be king in Jerusalem, after the order of Melchizedec? That he was a man after God’s heart?
So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed.
Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 1Samuel 24:7-14
Yes, pastor, you are too big to bow before your enemy; before those who strife with you; before those who have a different opinion from yours; yea, too big to bow down. According to you, David was stooping too low to bow before backslidden Saul, calling him “My lord the king”, yea, and he was a man after God’s heart too! What of you? You are a man after whose heart? Full of strives, anger, malice, envey, hatred, debate, name them! Yet a pastor!
Look at how a man after God’s heart rates himself before his enemies, and be ashamed of yourself, thou clergyman: After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. Oh, and you? How do you rate yourself before your congregation? A very prince of heaven! Isn’t it? The best that your church ever found! Isn’t it? After you they may never get the like? Isn’t it? Just an angel in flesh anyhow? Isn’t it?
Well, you say, “But I have never rated myself like that?”
Oh, you have done it, twice told! Your actions speaker louder, drowning all your words! I strain to hear your words! Your actions are too loud for your words to be heard!
What of Jesus? What is in him that makes God exalt him so high?
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2:3
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
Flesh and blood is an estate of servants, and if thou will overcome, you must fully surrender all, to remain humble and meek, or else you will become a fallen angel. Harbouring any selfishness, you fall from grace!
What are the deeds of the Nicolaitans? Striving for masteries!
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. Mark 9:33-37
So, if you think you are the first among those of your group, then know today that you are the very last! In fact, heavens strain to recall your name!
And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. Luke 22:24-26
There you see the very deeds of the Nicolaitans! You thought they were very far fom you! You might be a very Nicolaitan, yet you teach against it! A Nicolaitan is a fellow whose heart is uncircumcised! Is a fellow who strive to be above others. It is a fellow who desires to be seen as the leader. Is a fellow who rules over others. Is a fellow who exercise authority over others by which he receives a benefit. It is a fellow who never works but collects offerings (taxes) from others and spends on himself. It is a fellow who ascends to power through a popular church vote and strives to remain popular. It is a fellow who exercises power and authority over others in the place of the Holy Ghost. It is a fellow who is ashamed of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is a fellow who claims that the days of prophets and apostles are over. He is a leader in church who has no divine leadership; one to whom God’s Word never comes. He is a fellow who uses his natural abilities to lead! He is a fellow who cannot hurt a fly in his sermons. He is a son of Kish, a Saul who is desired by many to be the leader, a man chosen by men to lead them.
Go, find out the meaning of the name Saul: It means “One who is desired!” What did Samuel tell him?
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? 1Samuel 9:18-20
Now, check the meaning of Saul in the Bible dictionary. It means one desired! Samuel was telling him all that was in his heart. As he was the desire of all Israel, so he also harboured the same desires! He desired secretly in his heart to be a king, so as to replace Samuel who was a prophet with the Word! The spirit on him was an antichrist spirit. For God always led Israel by a vindicated prophet; that is by “Thus saith the Lord.” But they rejected that and demanded for a king to be like all other churches!
Notice closely. A prophet of God is never popular, neither is he a choice of men! He is never a Saul! It is Nicolaitan church rulers who are the choice of men; they ascend to power through a popular vote! And thus, become benefactors – you know, collecting offerings, tithes, gifts, etc. Just the way Saul the son of Kish ascended to power by the popular vote of the people – why, he was the choice of the people; and he became a benefactor too, collecting tax! Whether you call it tax or offerings or tithes, what difference does it make. It is the same thing, a benefit! So, all you who survive on church tithes and offerings because of your positions are called benefactors by the scriptures!
The Spirit that was stirring the hearts of the people to ask for a king was centrally on him! That name he had was not given him by chance! Never! It was prophetically given him by his father! Some spirit moved Kish to name his elder son as Saul. And that is exactly what he was! Samuel told him, “I am going to tell you all that is in your heart,” according to your name; how that you harbour desires to be a leader. Thus, the people are crying after you! You are causing people to thirst after a leader against the Word. They don’t want a prophet anymore. They don’t want prophetic utterances anymore! They don’t want “Thus saith the Lord” anymore! They are tired of it anyhow! They claim that Moses’ records are enough for them. That Moses revealed all mysteries anyhow! So, no need of people like Samuel who claim to reveal mysteries which are non-existent!
What about you, you who reject “Thus saith the Lord” today, claiming the days of prophets are over? What is your name by the way? Saul, very Saul the son of Kish you are! Yea, your speech identifies you with that spirit! You desire to be a leader in the room of a prophet. You don’t want prophets no more because you are occupying their position; their arrival means your being dislodged, means loss of all your power, authority and benefit! So, you are scared! That is why you have come up with such slogans like “no more thus saith the Lord”, “Branham was the last prophet”, “no more revelation of the Word”, “all mysteries were revealed by Branham” to brainwash your congregation so that you may continue subduing them under your feet.
Thus, in denying Samuel, and maintaining that Moses finished all things regarding divine revelation, they confess that they worship a finite godhead, a godhead whose stores were depleted by Moses! So, they want a leader of their choice; one who goes for a popular vote. Yes, no more prophets mean Nicolaitans takes their room! But for the true church, the body of Christ, God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. Psalm_46:5
Next, we look at the reward. Remember, for you to have that reward, you must make him the centre of your life. Not your church, not your pastor, not your job, not your business, not your friends, not father, mother, wife, husband or any other thing should be your centre of life, but Jesus the Word of God! He should be your principal man in all your life.
How shall we then eat of him seeing that he is a person, a man? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. John 6:32-58
So, if to get life we have to eat him, then to sustain that life we shall continue eating him. But the question remains, how shall we eat him? Eating is a fellowship by which you draw in a refreshment. Our fellowship with him shall be a reality of obtaining from him a real substance that we shall be taking in. Look at this scripture here,
And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. Luke 8:46
That little believing woman literally drew virtue out of Jesus into herself by which she was healed. This virtue came out of Jesus in form of strength and entered into her body, and that virtue acted against her sickness and removed it, so she was healed. It was just the same way you drink some syrup and get healed. So, shall we eat of him as we unite with him in fellowship.
Now notice, he is as a tree, therefore what we eat or shall eat from him is fruits. He is richly adorned with fruits which you can’t exhaust. The first fruit we shall eat from him is the fruit of divine love. Now we hardly have a drop of it! In paradise he shall shine on us his full light. That light has the fruit of divine love ripe and mellow. When that light shines on you in comes divine love right into your heart, bathing you with love as the sweetest purest drink. The next fruit is joy. We shall eat of his joy forever. How? In the midst of the congregation he will sing songs. These songs are the juices of the fruit of joy from his heart. No one has tasted it yet. Thirdly we shall eat of his peace, that fruit comes to our hearts by his presence. His presence is full of peace. We shall ever eat that fruit from him and many others unnamed.
Echoes From Paradise 