The Lord God always works in the same manner. He Alone decides what must take place, and how, when, and by whom it shall be done. The entire Holy Scripture is God’s Word and informs us about God’s plan of Salvation. God has spoken through men whom He sanctified. Therefore we must listen thereto and believe in accordance with the actual, respective Scriptures. The Old and the New Testament are in perfect harmony: In the Old Testament God foretold everything that pertained to His plan of Salvation, in the course of the New Covenant it is coming to pass, leading right to the final moment, when time shall merge into eternity.

Every man of God had a direct responsibility that was placed upon him by his divine calling. Noah had a special responsibility for his time and its knock-on effect even reaches all the way to the end time. Our Lord said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Lk. 17:26). He precisely carried out the divine commission he had received, by warning the people about the impending judgement and building the ark by faith and in obedience (Gen. 6:22). Noah found grace with God to do the Will of God. The unbelievers did not pay attention to the warning message; they would not enter the ark and perished. It was of no avail to them when Jesus came down in the Spirit and preached to the spirits in prison: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah …” (1. Pet. 3:19-20) — it was for ever too late.

Noah walked with God and did everything exactly as he was commanded. We also have to walk with God and do all things according to the Word. First God entered into a covenant with Noah and then with all of humanity, even providing a token for that covenant, which was the rainbow, and He gave the promise that the earth would not be destroyed by a flood again. “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” (Gen. 9:12-13). God also made an eternal covenant with us by the blood of the New Testament on the cross of Calvary. “… And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.” (Mk. 14:24). In Revelation 10, right before the commencement of His reign, the Lord comes down as the Angel of the covenant with the rainbow over His head to claim the earth as the rightful owner, by placing His feet on the land and on the sea.

Abraham is known as the father of faith. He did not get distracted by circumstances, instead he looked to the Invisible as though he could see him. Therefore he saw the promise fulfilled which God had given to him. With Abraham the plan of Salvation begins to take on shape. Our Redeemer is also called “Son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1). The Lord said to Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3). The Apostle Paul summarised it for us like this, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Gal. 3:6-14). Abraham’s responsibility was an example for all believers, “… who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham …” (Rom. 4:12). Finally God gave him the promised son by Sarah. Abraham followed everything God told him in perfect obedience, he was even prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, for he believed that God would raise him up from the dead (Gen. 22:5; Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:19). That is true, living faith in direct responsibility before God. If we believe the promises of God as Abraham did, we shall see them fulfilled, because in Jesus Christ they are yea and Amen (2. Cor. 1:20).

Moses had a great responsibility for Israel, in accordance with his commission. The Lord God appeared to him in the burning bush and told him to deliver the people, assuring him that He would go with him. “And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex. 3:15). Moses carried a great responsibility for Israel in connection with the fulfilment of the promise that the Lord had given unto Abraham, stating that He would deliver the Israelites out of Egypt after four hundred years (Gen. 15:13-14). Moses saw the promise fulfilled and led Israel out of slavery. He lived to see Israel become “the firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22-23), “the people of God” (Ex. 5:1), and “the Church of God” (Ex. 12).

“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Ex. 33:11a). And Moses asked the Lord, “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Ex. 33:13). That is the desire of every true servant of God. The responsibility Moses had before God was to do all things precisely as he was told and to give testimony of what had been revealed to him, as it states in the New Testament:

“And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Heb. 3:5-6).

Joshua also had a special responsibility, namely to lead the people that had been brought out of bondage across the river Jordan into the Promised Land. The Lord God said to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.” (Jos. 1:2). Then we read, “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.” (1:10-11). The natural food was needed to strengthen the people to take possession of the Promised Land. We need the spiritual food to be strengthened, so we can take possession of all that God promised unto us. Joshua had a great responsibility in connection with the children of Israel as well. Under his ministry the work which God had begun through Moses was completed. The Word that had been revealed to the Prophet Moses was placed into the Ark of the Covenant, which was carried by men who had been specially ordained for that task. The walls of Jericho fell and the sun stood still in the sky until God’s people experienced the complete victory (Jos. 10).

Elijah had the commission to bring Israel back to the Lord, their God. He went up to Mount Carmel, took the twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel, rebuilt the altar, placed the sacrifice upon it, poured water on it, and called upon the name of the Lord God at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. The answer came immediately, for Elijah had done it all according to the Word of the Lord. He prayed, “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.” (1. Kings 18:37). God answered by fire which consumed the sacrifice and the entire altar. “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.” This day marked the end of the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah. Elijah had the greatest responsibility on earth at that time. By the power of the divine calling he obediently followed through with what the Lord had commanded, and the Lord God turned all the hearts of the people back to Himself.

All the prophets sent by God throughout the Old Testament period had a divine calling and therefore an immense responsibility before God, unlike anyone else in their time. At the beginning of the New Testament John the Baptist carried a special responsibility in connection with the plan of Salvation. He was the promised prophet who had been sent to introduce the promised Messiah. He was the man sent from God with the message for God’s people, “… that all men through him might believe.” (Jn. 1:6-13). In accordance with God’s eternal Counsel he prepared the way of the Lord and turned the hearts of the Old Testament fathers to the faith of the New Testament children. He was ordained for that purpose, to prepare a people pleasing unto the Lord. It states this in Lk. 1:16-17, “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.”

Who can possibly comprehend the responsibility that goes along with a divine commission and a divinely promised ministry that is directly connected to the plan of Salvation? The Lord had promised this in Mal. 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me …” Through the Prophet Isaiah it was foretold, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD …” (Isa. 40:3). In the New Testament we can find confirmation of this ministry in several Scriptures: Mt. 11:12-13; Mk. 1:1-4; Lk.
7:27-30; Jn. 1:19-28.

Our Lord was the promised Messiah and Redeemer. Some received Him, others rejected Him. Those who received Him were divinely given the power to become the sons of God (Jn. 1:12-13). When He came in the flesh, He held the utmost responsibility, which was to complete the work of Redemption. The Apostle Paul states, “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again …” (Acts 13:32-33). Our responsibility today is to proclaim the accomplished work of Redemption to all of humanity. That is the commission of the New Testament Church since her foundation on the day of Pentecost.

The Apostle Peter was chosen to arise from among the brothers when the hundred and twenty were gathered in the upper room. He, too, was a man with a commission in direct responsibility before God. Peter was the first one whom the Lord entrusted with the keys of the Kingdom, on account of the divine revelation of Jesus Christ that he had been granted (Mt. 16). He acted under the direct instruction of the resurrected Lord. The man of God of the first hour preached the first sermon under the direct guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. At this point it must be reiterated that the final sermon preached by a man of God before the Return of Jesus Christ shall be just like the very first sermon was back then. The last baptism will be carried out exactly as the first one was at the time when the New Testament Church was founded.

The biblical pattern is valid from the first to the last day of the time of grace. First comes the preaching of the sermon, which brings about the faith, then the Holy Spirit leads the individual to repentance, followed by the conversion to Christ, the Redeemer, and thereafter comes the baptism of each true believer in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The conversion and commission of the Apostle Paul are known to every Bible reader. His ministry came with a unique responsibility for the New Testament Church. He placed all things within the Church into their divine order, showed forth the correct integration of the ministries and the gifts of the Spirit, which were given for the edification of the congregation, and dealt with every biblical subject in detail. His commission was the most important one for the New Testament Church. It was the Apostle Paul who uttered the curse upon everyone that would preach another gospel (Gal. 1). Today the religious world is overflowing with people who preach another Jesus and another gospel, because they have received another spirit (2. Cor. 11:4).

The Apostle John, who was banned to the Isle of Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9), also had a special responsibility before God. There, in total seclusion from civilisation, the Lord showed him all the things that would happen, right to the end of time. He saw the Lord on His throne (Rev. 4), he saw the mysterious book sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5), he saw the Bride in heaven and heard the overcomers sing the great Hallelujah (Rev. 19). He saw the Millennial Reign of Christ, he saw the first and the second resurrection, he saw the judgement before the White Throne (Rev. 20). He even saw the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21). No one else at that time had the same calling and therefore a direct responsibility before God. He had to write down all that he had seen and heard (Rev. 1:11), so that we may have it until today. Amen!

In the course of church history various men appeared on the scene without a direct commission and ministry. They were men who, excited by religion, had come out of heathenism and converted to Christianity, but not to Jesus Christ. Since the Council of Nicea, ad 325, a completely unscriptural creed was formulated and the people’s church was founded in the Roman Empire without apostles and prophets – that was entirely contrary to the original Church, which was built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).

After a thousand-year reign by the Catholic Church, the mighty spiritual breakthrough came about during the time of the Reformation. Men like Wycliff, Hus, and others were enlightened by the Spirit of God, because they took the Holy Scripture into their hands and the Word of God into their hearts. They already paved the way for the reformers. Then came Martin Luther, Philip Melanchton, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and others who stood for the free proclamation of the Gospel. Other revivals followed with John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, John Smith, the founder of the Baptist Church, Menno Simons, founder of the Mennonite Church, right to Dwight Moody and many others. The world also knows about the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal revival at the turn of the 20^th century. Simple preachers were filled with the Holy Ghost and testified of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and also of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire (Mt. 3:11-12; Acts 11:15-16; a. o.).

After World War II William Branham came on the scene. He had a special calling and commission and a prophetic ministry. Even his opponents have to concede that such a ministry has not been present on earth since the days of our Lord. May 7^th, 1946, was a very special day, the day God had chosen to commission His servant and to tell him the purpose connected to his calling. With this we come to the main promise for our time, which could not remain unfulfilled. Repeatedly I have stated that God does all things related to His plan of Salvation according to His Word, so that it can be verified at any time. The test must always be based on God’s Word. Every prophecy and promise in reference to the first coming of Christ were literally fulfilled back then, but the scribes and teachers did not recognise them, because they were spiritually blinded by their own interpretations. Today history seems to be repeating itself in that regard. Bible prophecy may not be interpreted under any circumstances (2. Pt. 1:20); it must be seen and recognised in its fulfilment. Interpretations are always the work of the enemy and only stand in our way, in fact, they keep us from seeing the fulfilment by revelation.

For this very last part of the time of grace God Himself gave the promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” That is Thus saith the Lord. We are still living in the time of grace, which is also called the “Day of Salvation” (Isa. 49:6-8; 2. Cor. 6:2). The time of grace began at the first coming of Christ and will end for the nations with the Return of Christ, as promised unto us in Jn. 14:1-3. Only then shall the last and terrible day of the Lord commence. The ever true God watched over His Word and fulfilled what He had promised. How could it be otherwise? Indeed, He has sent unto us a man whom He ordained to be a prophet the likes of Elijah. Whoever does not recognise or accept it is living in spiritual darkness and is not in the Kingdom of God, or has not yet recognised the merciful visitation of God. Only after the prophetic Scripture has been revealed to us does it shine forth as a bright light in the darkness (2. Pt. 1:19).

In this context the following question poses itself: What is the day of the Lord which was to be preceded by the sending of a man the likes of Elijah? We have already briefly mentioned Elijah’s deeds. The issue at hand is the commission for our time, which is to turn the hearts of God’s children away from all things that do not coincide with the Word and to bring them back to the Lord. Now the original doctrine of the twelve apostles, as it was proclaimed at the beginning, must be preached to the Church in this end time, so that she can be returned to her original harmony and built upon the true foundation of the apostles and prophets, whereby Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:13-22).

What does the Holy Scripture predict? On one hand it states that numerous false prophets and false christs will rise and deceive a great number of people — if it were possible, even the elect (Mt. 24). On the other hand we have this all-inclusive promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” (Mal. 4:5-6). Our Lord confirmed this very important promise again in the New Testament: “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” (Mt. 17:11).

“And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things …” (Mk 9:12). He also referred back to the already completed ministry of John the Baptist, who had come in the spirit and power of Elijah: “Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed …” (v. 13).

The following are some of the Scriptures which show forth what will take place when the day of the Lord comes:

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” (Isa. 13:9).

“… The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:31).

“For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen.” (Oba. 1:15).

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light …” (Mt. 24:29).

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light ...” (Mk. 13:24).

“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come …” (Acts 2:19-20).

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1. Thess. 5:2).

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2. Pt. 3:10).

The Apostle John was taken in the Spirit right into the day of the Lord (Rev. 1:10). He saw the book sealed with seven seals in the hand of Him that sat on the throne (Rev. 5:1). He further saw the Lamb taking the book and opening the seals. It was Brother Branham, who was given the supernatural revelation of the seven seals in March 1963.

The first four seals run parallel to the seven church ages. The fifth seal speaks about the martyred Jews and also about the Jews that will likewise be killed in time to come (Rev. 6:9-11). That, of course, will take place after the rapture and after the ministry of the two prophets is completed (Rev. 11). With the opening of the sixth seal we learn more about the commencement of the day of the Lord.

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood …” (Rev. 6:12).

Oh, how clear is God’s Word! Before the sun turns into darkness and the moon into blood, before all the works of men will go up in flames, before the “clean-up” takes place, God promised to send us a prophet. That is the most important promise which had to be fulfilled in our time.

Whenever a true prophet arrives on the scene whose ministry is confirmed by God, then our attention is to be drawn to the message he brings. Once again we have arrived at the important point, the calling and commission which Brother Branham was given, and we are not ashamed of God’s choice.

A very special event was the supernatural experience Brother Bran-ham had on June 11^th, 1933, at his first baptismal service in the Ohio River after his first evangelistic campaign. From within the supernatural light he was called three times, “Look up!” When he looked up, he saw that supernatural light, and the mighty voice of the Lord said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, so are you sent with a message that will forerun the second coming of Christ.” In April 1966 I met several people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA, who were eyewitnesses of that great experience. Connected to this supernatural commission is a responsibility for the Church of Jesus Christ unlike any previous one. Gifts and callings given by God are irreversible (Rom. 11:29). This is still true, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). That is how it is written, so that is the way we believe it. The promise that God would send a prophet at the end of the time of grace, before the beginning of the day of the Lord, is thereby fulfilled and confirmed. No child of God may bypass a God-ordained ministry, otherwise the following will be fulfilled: “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).

God does not need to seek advice from anyone about what He should do. He Alone watches over His Word and carries the entire responsibility for all that pertains to the plan of Salvation and the whole Counsel of God. He sends His servants with a direct commission, who thereby also partake in that responsibility. In the 20th century —whether or not people believe it or accept it —there was no other man on the face of the earth who had a direct calling and commission like Brother Bran-ham. This man acted in direct responsibility toward God according to the plan of Salvation for the end time.

Many of the evangelists of the first revival wave are still alive today, as well as some of the charismatic personalities of the subsequent revival waves. We could ask each one of them if they had received a direct calling, and whether they know the day, hour, and place where the Lord had entrusted them with a divine commission. Never before has there been such a heightened level of religious activities as we see it in the present time, but with their impressive programs they are more or less all building their own kingdom within the Kingdom of God. The careful observer recognises it for what it truly is — religious entertainment, decorated with Bible stories.

On account of my own responsibility before God, I would like to reiterate it one more time: With the ministry of Brother Branham the promise stated in the Scriptures by the Prophet Malachi is fulfilled. The way of God leads into the divine commission instead of bypassing it. Everyone knows that we are now living in the end time and also that the Return of Jesus Christ is very, very near, even though no one knows the day or the hour. Since Brother Branham was told that the message entrusted unto him would forerun the second coming of Christ, it is hence binding for all of us who wish to be ready when Christ returns.

God only called certain individuals for an extraordinary service and thereby also gave them a great responsibility. It was always one man for his particular time. Such men were commissioned by God according to the plan of Salvation. Only a person who recognises this will accept such a ministry and believe the Word that God revealed and spoke through His servant. Blessed are those who receive a man sent from God, woe unto them that do not. What the Lord says of those He sends remains true for ever: “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (Mt. 10:40).

“He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.” (Lk. 10:16).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (Jn. 13:20).

We need to emphasise this once again: Whoever bypasses a ministry promised and ordained by God, that person scornfully bypasses God Himself and His work.

The Lord God always works in the same manner. He Alone decides what must take place, and how, when, and by whom it shall be done. The entire Holy Scripture is God’s Word and informs us about God’s plan of Salvation. God has spoken through men whom He sanctified. Therefore we must listen thereto and believe in accordance with the actual, respective Scriptures. The Old and the New Testament are in perfect harmony: In the Old Testament God foretold everything that pertained to His plan of Salvation, in the course of the New Covenant it is coming to pass, leading right to the final moment, when time shall merge into eternity.

Every man of God had a direct responsibility that was placed upon him by his divine calling. Noah had a special responsibility for his time and its knock-on effect even reaches all the way to the end time. Our Lord said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Lk. 17:26). He precisely carried out the divine commission he had received, by warning the people about the impending judgement and building the ark by faith and in obedience (Gen. 6:22). Noah found grace with God to do the Will of God. The unbelievers did not pay attention to the warning message; they would not enter the ark and perished. It was of no avail to them when Jesus came down in the Spirit and preached to the spirits in prison: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah …” (1. Pet. 3:19-20) — it was for ever too late.

Noah walked with God and did everything exactly as he was commanded. We also have to walk with God and do all things according to the Word. First God entered into a covenant with Noah and then with all of humanity, even providing a token for that covenant, which was the rainbow, and He gave the promise that the earth would not be destroyed by a flood again. “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” (Gen. 9:12-13). God also made an eternal covenant with us by the blood of the New Testament on the cross of Calvary. “… And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.” (Mk. 14:24). In Revelation 10, right before the commencement of His reign, the Lord comes down as the Angel of the covenant with the rainbow over His head to claim the earth as the rightful owner, by placing His feet on the land and on the sea.

Abraham is known as the father of faith. He did not get distracted by circumstances, instead he looked to the Invisible as though he could see him. Therefore he saw the promise fulfilled which God had given to him. With Abraham the plan of Salvation begins to take on shape. Our Redeemer is also called “Son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1). The Lord said to Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3). The Apostle Paul summarised it for us like this, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Gal. 3:6-14). Abraham’s responsibility was an example for all believers, “… who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham …” (Rom. 4:12). Finally God gave him the promised son by Sarah. Abraham followed everything God told him in perfect obedience, he was even prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, for he believed that God would raise him up from the dead (Gen. 22:5; Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:19). That is true, living faith in direct responsibility before God. If we believe the promises of God as Abraham did, we shall see them fulfilled, because in Jesus Christ they are yea and Amen (2. Cor. 1:20).

Moses had a great responsibility for Israel, in accordance with his commission. The Lord God appeared to him in the burning bush and told him to deliver the people, assuring him that He would go with him. “And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex. 3:15). Moses carried a great responsibility for Israel in connection with the fulfilment of the promise that the Lord had given unto Abraham, stating that He would deliver the Israelites out of Egypt after four hundred years (Gen. 15:13-14). Moses saw the promise fulfilled and led Israel out of slavery. He lived to see Israel become “the firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22-23), “the people of God” (Ex. 5:1), and “the Church of God” (Ex. 12).

“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Ex. 33:11a). And Moses asked the Lord, “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Ex. 33:13). That is the desire of every true servant of God. The responsibility Moses had before God was to do all things precisely as he was told and to give testimony of what had been revealed to him, as it states in the New Testament:

“And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Heb. 3:5-6).

Joshua also had a special responsibility, namely to lead the people that had been brought out of bondage across the river Jordan into the Promised Land. The Lord God said to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.” (Jos. 1:2). Then we read, “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.” (1:10-11). The natural food was needed to strengthen the people to take possession of the Promised Land. We need the spiritual food to be strengthened, so we can take possession of all that God promised unto us. Joshua had a great responsibility in connection with the children of Israel as well. Under his ministry the work which God had begun through Moses was completed. The Word that had been revealed to the Prophet Moses was placed into the Ark of the Covenant, which was carried by men who had been specially ordained for that task. The walls of Jericho fell and the sun stood still in the sky until God’s people experienced the complete victory (Jos. 10).

Elijah had the commission to bring Israel back to the Lord, their God. He went up to Mount Carmel, took the twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel, rebuilt the altar, placed the sacrifice upon it, poured water on it, and called upon the name of the Lord God at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. The answer came immediately, for Elijah had done it all according to the Word of the Lord. He prayed, “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.” (1. Kings 18:37). God answered by fire which consumed the sacrifice and the entire altar. “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.” This day marked the end of the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah. Elijah had the greatest responsibility on earth at that time. By the power of the divine calling he obediently followed through with what the Lord had commanded, and the Lord God turned all the hearts of the people back to Himself.

All the prophets sent by God throughout the Old Testament period had a divine calling and therefore an immense responsibility before God, unlike anyone else in their time. At the beginning of the New Testament John the Baptist carried a special responsibility in connection with the plan of Salvation. He was the promised prophet who had been sent to introduce the promised Messiah. He was the man sent from God with the message for God’s people, “… that all men through him might believe.” (Jn. 1:6-13). In accordance with God’s eternal Counsel he prepared the way of the Lord and turned the hearts of the Old Testament fathers to the faith of the New Testament children. He was ordained for that purpose, to prepare a people pleasing unto the Lord. It states this in Lk. 1:16-17, “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.”

Who can possibly comprehend the responsibility that goes along with a divine commission and a divinely promised ministry that is directly connected to the plan of Salvation? The Lord had promised this in Mal. 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me …” Through the Prophet Isaiah it was foretold, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD …” (Isa. 40:3). In the New Testament we can find confirmation of this ministry in several Scriptures: Mt. 11:12-13; Mk. 1:1-4; Lk.
7:27-30; Jn. 1:19-28.

Our Lord was the promised Messiah and Redeemer. Some received Him, others rejected Him. Those who received Him were divinely given the power to become the sons of God (Jn. 1:12-13). When He came in the flesh, He held the utmost responsibility, which was to complete the work of Redemption. The Apostle Paul states, “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again …” (Acts 13:32-33). Our responsibility today is to proclaim the accomplished work of Redemption to all of humanity. That is the commission of the New Testament Church since her foundation on the day of Pentecost.

The Apostle Peter was chosen to arise from among the brothers when the hundred and twenty were gathered in the upper room. He, too, was a man with a commission in direct responsibility before God. Peter was the first one whom the Lord entrusted with the keys of the Kingdom, on account of the divine revelation of Jesus Christ that he had been granted (Mt. 16). He acted under the direct instruction of the resurrected Lord. The man of God of the first hour preached the first sermon under the direct guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. At this point it must be reiterated that the final sermon preached by a man of God before the Return of Jesus Christ shall be just like the very first sermon was back then. The last baptism will be carried out exactly as the first one was at the time when the New Testament Church was founded.

The biblical pattern is valid from the first to the last day of the time of grace. First comes the preaching of the sermon, which brings about the faith, then the Holy Spirit leads the individual to repentance, followed by the conversion to Christ, the Redeemer, and thereafter comes the baptism of each true believer in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The conversion and commission of the Apostle Paul are known to every Bible reader. His ministry came with a unique responsibility for the New Testament Church. He placed all things within the Church into their divine order, showed forth the correct integration of the ministries and the gifts of the Spirit, which were given for the edification of the congregation, and dealt with every biblical subject in detail. His commission was the most important one for the New Testament Church. It was the Apostle Paul who uttered the curse upon everyone that would preach another gospel (Gal. 1). Today the religious world is overflowing with people who preach another Jesus and another gospel, because they have received another spirit (2. Cor. 11:4).

The Apostle John, who was banned to the Isle of Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9), also had a special responsibility before God. There, in total seclusion from civilisation, the Lord showed him all the things that would happen, right to the end of time. He saw the Lord on His throne (Rev. 4), he saw the mysterious book sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5), he saw the Bride in heaven and heard the overcomers sing the great Hallelujah (Rev.19). He saw the Millennial Reign of Christ, he saw the first and the second resurrection, he saw the judgement before the White Throne (Rev. 20). He even saw the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21). No one else at that time had the same calling and therefore a direct responsibility before God. He had to write down all that he had seen and heard (Rev. 1:11), so that we may have it until today. Amen!

In the course of church history various men appeared on the scene without a direct commission and ministry. They were men who, excited by religion, had come out of heathenism and converted to Christianity, but not to Jesus Christ. Since the Council of Nicea, ad 325, a completely unscriptural creed was formulated and the people’s church was founded in the Roman Empire without apostles and prophets – that was entirely contrary to the original Church, which was built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).

After a thousand-year reign by the Catholic Church, the mighty spiritual breakthrough came about during the time of the Reformation. Men like Wycliff, Hus, and others were enlightened by the Spirit of God, because they took the Holy Scripture into their hands and the Word of God into their hearts. They already paved the way for the reformers. Then came Martin Luther, Philip Melanchton, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and others who stood for the free proclamation of the Gospel. Other revivals followed with John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, John Smith, the founder of the Baptist Church, Menno Simons, founder of the Mennonite Church, right to Dwight Moody and many others. The world also knows about the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal revival at the turn of the 20th century. Simple preachers were filled with the Holy Ghost and testified of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and also of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire (Mt. 3:11-12; Acts 11:15-16; a. o.).

After World War II William Branham came on the scene. He had a special calling and commission and a prophetic ministry. Even his opponents have to concede that such a ministry has not been present on earth since the days of our Lord. May 7th, 1946, was a very special day, the day God had chosen to commission His servant and to tell him the purpose connected to his calling. With this we come to the main promise for our time, which could not remain unfulfilled. Repeatedly I have stated that God does all things related to His plan of Salvation according to His Word, so that it can be verified at any time. The test must always be based on God’s Word. Every prophecy and promise in reference to the first coming of Christ were literally fulfilled back then, but the scribes and teachers did not recognise them, because they were spiritually blinded by their own interpretations. Today history seems to be repeating itself in that regard. Bible prophecy may not be interpreted under any circumstances (2. Pt. 1:20); it must be seen and recognised in its fulfilment. Interpretations are always the work of the enemy and only stand in our way, in fact, they keep us from seeing the fulfilment by revelation.

For this very last part of the time of grace God Himself gave the promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” That is Thus saith the Lord. We are still living in the time of grace, which is also called the “Day of Salvation” (Isa. 49:6-8; 2. Cor. 6:2). The time of grace began at the first coming of Christ and will end for the nations with the Return of Christ, as promised unto us in Jn. 14:1-3. Only then shall the last and terrible day of the Lord commence. The ever true God watched over His Word and fulfilled what He had promised. How could it be otherwise? Indeed, He has sent unto us a man whom He ordained to be a prophet the likes of Elijah. Whoever does not recognise or accept it is living in spiritual darkness and is not in the Kingdom of God, or has not yet recognised the merciful visitation of God. Only after the prophetic Scripture has been revealed to us does it shine forth as a bright light in the darkness (2. Pt. 1:19).

In this context the following question poses itself: What is the day of the Lord which was to be preceded by the sending of a man the likes of Elijah? We have already briefly mentioned Elijah’s deeds. The issue at hand is the commission for our time, which is to turn the hearts of God’s children away from all things that do not coincide with the Word and to bring them back to the Lord. Now the original doctrine of the twelve apostles, as it was proclaimed at the beginning, must be preached to the Church in this end time, so that she can be returned to her original harmony and built upon the true foundation of the apostles and prophets, whereby Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:13-22).

What does the Holy Scripture predict? On one hand it states that numerous false prophets and false christs will rise and deceive a great number of people — if it were possible, even the elect (Mt. 24). On the other hand we have this all-inclusive promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” (Mal. 4:5-6). Our Lord confirmed this very important promise again in the New Testament: “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” (Mt. 17:11).

“And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things …” (Mk 9:12). He also referred back to the already completed ministry of John the Baptist, who had come in the spirit and power of Elijah: “Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed …” (v. 13).

The following are some of the Scriptures which show forth what will take place when the day of the Lord comes:

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” (Isa. 13:9).

“… The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:31).

“For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen.” (Oba. 1:15).

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light …” (Mt. 24:29).

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light ...” (Mk. 13:24).

“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come …” (Acts 2:19-20).

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1. Thess. 5:2).

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2. Pt. 3:10).

The Apostle John was taken in the Spirit right into the day of the Lord (Rev. 1:10). He saw the book sealed with seven seals in the hand of Him that sat on the throne (Rev. 5:1). He further saw the Lamb taking the book and opening the seals. It was Brother Branham, who was given the supernatural revelation of the seven seals in March 1963.

The first four seals run parallel to the seven church ages. The fifth seal speaks about the martyred Jews and also about the Jews that will likewise be killed in time to come (Rev. 6:9-11). That, of course, will take place after the rapture and after the ministry of the two prophets is completed (Rev. 11). With the opening of the sixth seal we learn more about the commencement of the day of the Lord.

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood …” (Rev. 6:12).

Oh, how clear is God’s Word! Before the sun turns into darkness and the moon into blood, before all the works of men will go up in flames, before the “clean-up” takes place, God promised to send us a prophet. That is the most important promise which had to be fulfilled in our time.

Whenever a true prophet arrives on the scene whose ministry is confirmed by God, then our attention is to be drawn to the message he brings. Once again we have arrived at the important point, the calling and commission which Brother Branham was given, and we are not ashamed of God’s choice.

A very special event was the supernatural experience Brother Bran-ham had on June 11th, 1933, at his first baptismal service in the Ohio River after his first evangelistic campaign. From within the supernatural light he was called three times, “Look up!” When he looked up, he saw that supernatural light, and the mighty voice of the Lord said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, so are you sent with a message that will forerun the second coming of Christ.” In April 1966 I met several people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA, who were eyewitnesses of that great experience. Connected to this supernatural commission is a responsibility for the Church of Jesus Christ unlike any previous one. Gifts and callings given by God are irreversible (Rom. 11:29). This is still true, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). That is how it is written, so that is the way we believe it. The promise that God would send a prophet at the end of the time of grace, before the beginning of the day of the Lord, is thereby fulfilled and confirmed. No child of God may bypass a God-ordained ministry, otherwise the following will be fulfilled: “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).

God does not need to seek advice from anyone about what He should do. He Alone watches over His Word and carries the entire responsibility for all that pertains to the plan of Salvation and the whole Counsel of God. He sends His servants with a direct commission, who thereby also partake in that responsibility. In the 20th century —  whether or not people believe it or accept it —  there was no other man on the face of the earth who had a direct calling and commission like Brother Bran-ham. This man acted in direct responsibility toward God according to the plan of Salvation for the end time.

Many of the evangelists of the first revival wave are still alive today, as well as some of the charismatic personalities of the subsequent revival waves. We could ask each one of them if they had received a direct calling, and whether they know the day, hour, and place where the Lord had entrusted them with a divine commission. Never before has there been such a heightened level of religious activities as we see it in the present time, but with their impressive programs they are more or less all building their own kingdom within the Kingdom of God. The careful observer recognises it for what it truly is — religious entertainment, decorated with Bible stories.

On account of my own responsibility before God, I would like to reiterate it one more time: With the ministry of Brother Branham the promise stated in the Scriptures by the Prophet Malachi is fulfilled. The way of God leads into the divine commission instead of bypassing it. Everyone knows that we are now living in the end time and also that the Return of Jesus Christ is very, very near, even though no one knows the day or the hour. Since Brother Branham was told that the message entrusted unto him would forerun the second coming of Christ, it is hence binding for all of us who wish to be ready when Christ returns.

God only called certain individuals for an extraordinary service and thereby also gave them a great responsibility. It was always one man for his particular time. Such men were commissioned by God according to the plan of Salvation. Only a person who recognises this will accept such a ministry and believe the Word that God revealed and spoke through His servant. Blessed are those who receive a man sent from God, woe unto them that do not. What the Lord says of those He sends remains true for ever: “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (Mt. 10:40).

“He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.” (Lk. 10:16).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (Jn. 13:20).

We need to emphasise this once again: Whoever bypasses a ministry promised and ordained by God, that person scornfully bypasses God Himself and His work.