It is hard for us to imagine how it was possible that the prince, the son of the morning, could rise up in heaven. He wanted to set up his own throne on the mount of the congregation, to make himself equal to the Most High (Isa 14, from v. 12). Because of his desire to exalt himself, “I will ..., I will ...,” he bears the responsibility for his own fall and fate and has become the archenemy of God and the enemy of all believers. He carried away all the angels who followed him. In Rev 12:7-9 we are told that the final battle takes place in heaven: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

It is also not easy for us to understand that after the uprising in heaven and his fall as an adversary of God, Satan continued his plan on earth and brought about the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Brother Branham spoke about it often, also in the seventh seal. Who can comprehend that the Lord God, Who had walked in the Garden of Eden, allowed Satan, the old serpent, to entangle Eve into a conversation and cast doubt on the Words of God: “Did God actually say …?”

At the very moment when Eve lent him an ear and Satan managed to sow doubts about what God had said to Adam, it happened. That is how Satan was able to triumph over the Word, as Brother Branham emphasized. He further said that unbelief is the actual sin that causes all other transgressions. Whoever does not believe what the Lord God has said is condemned to believe the lie of Satan.

Brother Branham wanted to preach about the “Trail of the Serpent” on December 24, 1965, and had made some notes about this, but was called home that very day. The serpent at the beginning operated by guile and seduction, and the serpent at the end does the same. The seduction of Eve happened under the permissive Will of God so that the Plan of Salvation could be realized in the perfect Will of God. As a seduced woman, she brought Adam under her influence and pulled him into the fall. The two fundamentally different seeds were manifested in Cain and Abel; the enmity came forth. But that was the only way God’s Plan of Salvation could come into force. Immediately thereafter, the Lord God made the promise that the divine seed would come through the woman and bruise the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). Then followed the statement of blame for Adam: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife …” (v. 17).

Sadly, at the end of the 1970ies, Satan, the old serpent, crept into our midst here as well, through the gift of prophecy. It happened under the cloak of Thus saith the Lord: “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, My servant …” became “Thus saith a woman …” The calling and what the Lord had said to His servant on April 2, 1962, was drawn into doubt. What had happened in the Garden of Eden was repeated here: “Did the Lord actually speak to him?” However, as with Cain and Abel, this was the only way for the two seeds to be revealed.

With malice and arguments and under the direct influence of the serpent, it was loudly propagated: “The Lord did not speak to him at all.” The local church was destroyed. The believers of the end-time message all across the world were dragged into the seduction.

Who can comprehend it? On June 16, 1979, the Lord God spoke the same words as in the Garden of Eden six thousand years ago, with a thundering roar: “Because you listened to the voice of your wife!” The permissive Will of God had to happen here as well so that now the perfect Will of God can happen in the true seed, the true believers.

What transpired in heaven and in the Garden of Eden is behind us. But what happened in our midst has had a grave effect. Two different spiritual seeds have emerged: There are those who believe in the divine commission, and then there are the ones who despise and ridicule it. All those who are under the wrong influence have not set foot into the church building at the Mission Center since May 1979, even until today.

Even now, it is about the two seeds. Some believe that the Lord Himself has given this commission as part of the Plan of Salvation through a direct calling, a ministry that has been carried out worldwide for more than half a century. The others remain in the teaching that not the message but the prophet was the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ, and they are waiting for him to return and complete his ministry in a tent.

His unique ministry, which I witnessed personally, was a repetition of what had happened in the ministry of our Lord. Brother Branham repeatedly emphasized this and then referred to Gen 18, the conversation of the Lord with Abraham, and also to Jn 5:19. But now the prophet is being glorified through heresies, leading even to the idolatry that is built around him. They are bypassing what God is presently doing by rejecting the carrier of the message of the Word. In doing so, they are making the Lord Himself, Who gave the commission, a liar and also the prophet, who confirmed it. God says unto them, “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” (Acts 13:41).

In Eph 6 we are commanded: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (vv. 11-12).

Every verse in this chapter is an important appeal, which we should heed and obey.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God …” (v. 17).The apostle referred to the Word of God as the “Sword of the Spirit” in the context of the spiritual battle. He called on the believers to pray for one another and also asked for prayer on his behalf in verse 19: “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel …”

In Rev 12:10-11 we read about the ones who have overcome and have been raptured: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

It is hard for us to imagine how it was possible that the prince, the son of the morning, could rise up in heaven. He wanted to set up his own throne on the mount of the congregation, to make himself equal to the Most High (Isa 14, from v. 12). Because of his desire to exalt himself, “I will ..., I will ...,” he bears the responsibility for his own fall and fate and has become the archenemy of God and the enemy of all believers. He carried away all the angels who followed him. In Rev 12:7-9 we are told that the final battle takes place in heaven: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

It is also not easy for us to understand that after the uprising in heaven and his fall as an adversary of God, Satan continued his plan on earth and brought about the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Brother Branham spoke about it often, also in the seventh seal. Who can comprehend that the Lord God, Who had walked in the Garden of Eden, allowed Satan, the old serpent, to entangle Eve into a conversation and cast doubt on the Words of God: “Did God actually say …?”

At the very moment when Eve lent him an ear and Satan managed to sow doubts about what God had said to Adam, it happened. That is how Satan was able to triumph over the Word, as Brother Branham emphasized. He further said that unbelief is the actual sin that causes all other transgressions. Whoever does not believe what the Lord God has said is condemned to believe the lie of Satan.

Brother Branham wanted to preach about the “Trail of the Serpent” on December 24, 1965, and had made some notes about this, but was called home that very day. The serpent at the beginning operated by guile and seduction, and the serpent at the end does the same. The seduction of Eve happened under the permissive Will of God so that the Plan of Salvation could be realized in the perfect Will of God. As a seduced woman, she brought Adam under her influence and pulled him into the fall. The two fundamentally different seeds were manifested in Cain and Abel; the enmity came forth. But that was the only way God’s Plan of Salvation could come into force. Immediately thereafter, the Lord God made the promise that the divine seed would come through the woman and bruise the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). Then followed the statement of blame for Adam: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife …” (v. 17).

Sadly, at the end of the 1970ies, Satan, the old serpent, crept into our midst here as well, through the gift of prophecy. It happened under the cloak of Thus saith the Lord: “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, My servant …” became “Thus saith a woman …” The calling and what the Lord had said to His servant on April 2, 1962, was drawn into doubt. What had happened in the Garden of Eden was repeated here: “Did the Lord actually speak to him?” However, as with Cain and Abel, this was the only way for the two seeds to be revealed.

With malice and arguments and under the direct influence of the serpent, it was loudly propagated: “The Lord did not speak to him at all.” The local church was destroyed. The believers of the end-time message all across the world were dragged into the seduction.

Who can comprehend it? On June 16, 1979, the Lord God spoke the same words as in the Garden of Eden six thousand years ago, with a thundering roar: “Because you listened to the voice of your wife!” The permissive Will of God had to happen here as well so that now the perfect Will of God can happen in the true seed, the true believers.

What transpired in heaven and in the Garden of Eden is behind us. But what happened in our midst has had a grave effect. Two different spiritual seeds have emerged: There are those who believe in the divine commission, and then there are the ones who despise and ridicule it. All those who are under the wrong influence have not set foot into the church building at the Mission Center since May 1979, even until today.

Even now, it is about the two seeds. Some believe that the Lord Himself has given this commission as part of the Plan of Salvation through a direct calling, a ministry that has been carried out worldwide for more than half a century. The others remain in the teaching that not the message but the prophet was the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ, and they are waiting for him to return and complete his ministry in a tent.

His unique ministry, which I witnessed personally, was a repetition of what had happened in the ministry of our Lord. Brother Branham repeatedly emphasized this and then referred to Gen 18, the conversation of the Lord with Abraham, and also to Jn 5:19. But now the prophet is being glorified through heresies, leading even to the idolatry that is built around him. They are bypassing what God is presently doing by rejecting the carrier of the message of the Word. In doing so, they are making the Lord Himself, Who gave the commission, a liar and also the prophet, who confirmed it. God says unto them, “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” (Acts 13:41).

In Eph 6 we are commanded: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (vv. 11-12). 

Every verse in this chapter is an important appeal, which we should heed and obey.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God …” (v. 17).  The apostle referred to the Word of God as the “Sword of the Spirit” in the context of the spiritual battle. He called on the believers to pray for one another and also asked for prayer on his behalf in verse 19: “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel …”

In Rev 12:10-11 we read about the ones who have overcome and have been raptured: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”