In
the 17th chapter of Revelation he said "Come hither;
I will shew unto thee the judgment (or truth) of the great
whore," old mystery Babylon. She brought forth harlot
daughters, and how did she bring them forth? The kings of
the earth, or the heads of human organizations committed
fornication with her. Now, how did they do that, my
friend? The men that head these protestant religions, they
commit fornication with Rome, spiritual fornication, with
old Rome, mother Babylon. When they set up their human
work, took some of that human creed and catechism and
mixed it together with God's eternal truth and set up a
creed and that is where the baby was born in bed. Come on
now, a little harlot daughter came forth. And the Word of
God said they take these names of blasphemy. Why - all
illigetimate children take their mother's name. Why?
Because there has been no marriage, just been a work of
adultery or fornication.
"I'll
kill her children with death and all her churches shall
know that I am He that searcheth the reins and the heart
and I will give unto every one of you according to your
work" -- what is He talking about? Brother, here is a
human operated something, men operating church doors and
taking people in. God said I am going to do a work here
that all men will know that I am the one that searcheth
the heart, that men cannot take men in churches and put
them out, because they cannot see their hearts. I want
every one to know that He said "I am the one that
searcheth the reins of the heart." The 17th chapter
of Jeremiah, the 9th verse, "The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know
it?" Someone said, well I know my heart. Better look
out! That old heart is deceitful. OH, I have a new one.
Look out! It will still cover you up and put all the blame
on somebody else. The heart is deceitful, it is
desperately wicked, who can know it?
Christ
said, "I search the heart, I try the reins."
Brother, when you won't let God search it, it just is not
searched. Throw your heart's door open and let God search
it. "I try the reins." What for? To give every
man the fruit of his way. My Lord, may we throw our hearts
open to God and let Him search us and then, own us.
"But
unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as
have not this doctrine." Who did He write it to? The
angel of the church. Thank God, the pastor of this outfit
was a good man of God. He had not got into it yet. Jesus
said unto you, and unto the rest at Thyatira that have not
this doctrine, -- what doctrine? This doctrine of Jezebbel.
God had good people in there that would not bow to that
thing. They would have no part of it. They would not join
any church. Unto you pastor, and the others that have not
this doctrine, and the next verse said, "and which
have not known the depths of Satan." Men today would
have you think that it is higher culture, greater liberty.
The Word of God says it is the depth of Satan. He has got
a special message for God's people down there. "But
unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as
have not this doctrine, and which have not known the
depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you no
other burden. But that which ye have already, hold fast
till I come."
Do you
think He meant the second coming there? No, hold fast to
that truth you have until I come with greater truth.
Somebody said, "How do you know?" Because the
next letter said, strengthen the things that remain. Amen!
He is going to come with light on holy living or holiness,
and it will strengthen that which He held onto here.
"But that which ye have already hold fast till I
come, and he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto
the end..." My friend, the end of this Jezebel age,
"to him will I give power over the nations."
Praise God!
What is
the first thing He is going to give? Power. And you get
that when the Holy Ghost comes. To him that overcometh
this age right here (1530-1880) I will give you power over
all nations. That is one thing you are going to get. The
next thing, you are going to take a rod of iron and you
know that is -- the Word of God. If you overcome this
business, you can have the Word and the Spirit just like
the morning church had. "And He shall rule them with
a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be
broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."
Thank God, you know the rod of iron is the Word of God,
that the church was supposed to take and reign. You go
back to the 12th chapter of Revelation and the 5th verse,
the man child, what was he given? A rod of iron that he
might rule all nations, but the man child was cought up to
meet God, but here the church is coming out of the
wilderness and what is God going to give her? The same rod
of iron the man child had back there (33-270AD) when he
fought the dragon -- and what will he do with it? You can
reign over all nations, you can rule over all nations and
what will it do to old babylon? That rod of iron will
break here like a potters vessel is broken to shivers. You
might as well tell me that the potter can make an old clay
pot that you could stand and beat on it with an iron rod
and not break it, as to take this Word and work on Babylon
and not hurt her. Brother, I declare unto you, that when
the Church has sworn alliance with old babylon, you can
remember they left the rod at home because about the first
time you use the rod down there it would break her to
pieces. About like, hitting a glass jar.
What else
did He do? Give you the morning star. The Word of God
declares Him to be so. You are going to get Christ in His
fullness. You are going to get Him as the head when you
people come out here and be the body, you will get the
Head, if you please.
Now, here
we see the Church is on the way out. She was in the
wilderness. There were two questions that always bothered
me when I started out in the ministry, and never could
find a man that could answer it, and I couldn't find it in
any of the books. Maybe you never questioned it, but I
wanted to know how the church got out of the wilderness. I
read in the 6th seal ministry... They would take her in
there and the next thing I knew thay showed her out her on
Mt. Zion, but no one ever brought her out until I stayed
before God's face and He showed me. Isaiah the 35th
chapter tells you how. An highway will be there, a highway
of holiness, the unclean will not pass over it. Where will
that highway be? Right here my friend where the desert
begins to blossom like a rose. When Christ comes into your
heart and life an highway will be there. The unclean will
not pass over it, but it will be for those, the redeemed
will walk and come to Zion. How did the church get out of
the wilderness? On the highway of holiness.
The
minute Martin Luther began to preach on holiness, thank
God, he began to lay the highway down. Wesley's came and
built it a little farther; they got it up to 1880. The
saints were heading back to Zion.
They did
not all know it, but that is where the highway of holiness
leads to. Brother, the minute holiness was preached, a
highway began to be layed before the saints. They reached
1880 and D. S. Warner and others laid the last few miles,
and later on into Zion and the people of God came on back
to Zion with songs of everlasting joy on their heads; they
obtained joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing flee
away. Jesus warned us in the 24th chapter of Matthew about
many false Christs and deceivers. What did He say?
"Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth." If
Christ was there, there would be no desert. When Christ is
there, it blossoms like a rose. He also said, do not go in
any of the secret chambers, because He wouldn't be there
either. You know where Christ is? Whereever He can find a
body to put His head on. The Son of man had no where to
lay His head until He could get a people baptized with the
Holy Ghost of God. Baptized into one body. He will put His
head on that body.
Do you
know where the trouble is today? We are trying to preach a
great, big, beautiful, strong head, and a poor, little old
withered up, dried up body. People cannot see the head.
Jesus said you can't. But they can see the body here. The
Word of God, my friend, was given, Paul said, that we
might grow up into a perfect man. He wants the body to be
as glorious as the head. Why? Man does not see the head.
They see the body. They see what the head is producing.
They see the head is leading the body and the way it
works. Why, don't you know, friends, you go to a lot of
places around some church congregations, a sinner would
think that God has died and the Church was holding His
funeral. Oh, No! He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. He is the God of the living too. Let us find this
life, let us overcome.
In
every one of the letters to the Church in every age, He
ended up by saying, you have got to be an overcomer. We
have got to be overcomers and we have a lot to overcome.
Here they had to overcome the dragon (A. D. 33-530), the
next group had to overcome the beast (1530-1880). Do you
know what we are overcoming? The 8th beast that is made up
of the seven. All of them consolidated in together to war
against us. That is what you have to overcome. It will
take God's help to be overcomers. I ask you as one who
dearly loves your soul, are you an overcomer? Have you
overcome that old false spirit, that still wants you to do
it some other way but God's way. Some other time, but
God's time. Repent of your failure. Hold fast to that
which you know is right and repent of everything that is
not right. Get straightened out with God. Put yourself on
the altar. Let God make you an overcomer.
