The return of the church of Israel from the Babylonian captivity is of special importance for us. We can read about it in Ezra and Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 8, we read: “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man…” The people gathered to hear the Word of God. The whole Israel newly experienced what God had ordained in His plan and what He wanted to do with them. They gathered with one accord, listened to what God wanted to tell them attentively and let the Word of the Lord enter their souls. Thus, living faith arose, accompanying their entire work. The original foundation was uncovered. The work to rebuild the Temple began. They were in unity and external threats made the people having returned home even more closely united.

The gathering of God’s people also meant departure from Babylon. The fulfilment of the promised God gave to His people cannot be experienced in Babylon. Babylon is a foreign territory and God cannot have His way with us there. Therefore, a call is going forth: “Come out of her, my people…” “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” (Revelation 18:2-3)

Already in the times of Joshua, the people of Israel came under a curse because Achan of the tribe of Judah had taken a beautiful Babylonian garment from Jericho. Under this garment, he could also hide silver and gold, which he had also stolen. Since the days of the Reformation, the Babylonian captivity of the church should have come to an end, but all Protestant organizations and free churches have taken things that were accursed from Babylon. They are represented by various doctrine, knowledge, traditions and practice. However, the hour of God has come now. It was the tribe of Judah, from which Christ was to come bodily, where the Babylonian garment was found – this was why God could not bless His people.

Today, the Lord is concerned about His church, out of which the man-child – the overcomer shall be born. Therefore, He focused His sight, which is like flames of fire, upon those with whom He wanted to accomplish His intention. As long as anything from Babylon is in our midst, He cannot reveal His victory as much as He would like to. It is not enough to leave denominations and reject the teachings that are clearly unscriptural, but we must accept every correction received from the Word of God to be restored down to the tiniest detail, examine ourselves and be separated from everything that does not agree with the Word of God and comes from Babylon. We are often not aware that we are in possession of such things and we may find them of little importance, but a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

In the times of Jesus, Jews were certain that they acted exactly according to the Law and Prophets. However, they in fact acted according to the Talmud, which originated as late as during the Babylonian captivity. The same tragedy is present in today’s Christianity. Christian organizations, free churches and fellowships are not based on the Word of God, but on what was decided during the “Babylonian captivity” at councils and synods. In Matthew 16:5-12, Jesus speaks very clearly: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” When the disciples did not understand, He explained: “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?” This is about unscriptural teachings that do not come from the Spirit of God, but from the enemy, who introduced them and gained access to churches and individuals through them. These do not only include things which are obviously demonic, no, most of them even seem very religious and “spiritual”. Through these teachings demons acquire the right to do their work and God’s restoration through the revelation of the prophetic Word is needed so that we can recognise all that is unscriptural and get rid of it.

It is not sufficient to confess with our own mouth that we have received the Word of God for this time. The Holy Spirit wants to lead us into all the truths of the revealed Word. We do live in the prophetic period, but God’s confirmation will not come as long as we only receive what God is saying with our intellect. Many have been puffed up through knowledge, but had no divine benefit from it. Yet, the Word Bride, having been born of God, exists in this time. The Bride shall receive and accept both the revealed Word and the Spirit and will soon experience the completion of God’s work.

In this time it will be manifested who are those serving God with their hearts and those serving Him only with their lips, those who have been saved through their faith in Jesus Christ and sought and found salvation only in the shed blood of the Lamb of God, who carry the Word of God as God’s seed in their heart and those who only have it in their mouth. All those who believe with all their heart that God speaks to us directly through His prophetic Word shall follow the last call and receive every Word of God as it was given to us. True children of God do not have experience with a servant of God, who is only used as a mouthpiece, but with God alone, who called them and reconciled them with Himself. They become a new creature through God’s work of grace. God’s working begins in their souls and then is manifested in their everyday lives.

Brother Branham spoke about the three realms of man and explained that one can be anointed with the Holy Spirit in the second realm, in one’s own spirit, even if such a person is lost in his/her soul and is not saved at all. The salvation of the soul is the most important thing. That is the only way for an individual that has come to believe to have peace with God. The seed of the Word is in the soul. The spirit fertilizes the seed and brings forth the new life of God. God’s law is: “…every seed shall produce according to its kind”. So it is everywhere in nature, with all species of plants and animals and so it is with God’s children, too. It can never change. God is true forever. God’s seed has always been God’s seed and it shall be God’s seed forever. As surely as the Word became flesh in Christ and took the form of a body, so is now Christ becoming reality in believers.

We are not playing with words here. These are the most important divine facts. It is written about our Lord and Saviour: “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” (Isaiah 53:11). He alone underwent the greatest suffering of the soul so that our souls could be saved. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the firstborn among many brethren. He is the beginning of God’s new creation. As sons and daughters of God, through the same Word and the same Spirit, we shall become the firstborn having the same qualities and the same nature as He. Who really believes the promises will become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1). This is the test we have to undergo ourselves. It is written: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18) We are called into being through the uttered Word. So we read it. The Word, the Blood and the Spirit work together in a believer. The full gospel includes it all. Each seed shall produce according to its kind from the beginning till the end. If we are God’s seed, we will be the same kind at the end as God’s children were in the beginning.

The Holy Scriptures show us the characteristics of both opposing seeds which were on the earth from the beginning. Especially the story of Cain and Abel has a lot to tell us. Both were devout, both prayed, but only one of them received an answer from God. The other then demonstrated his own nature and killed his brother.

When Saul was anointed as king, the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied, but his soul was not changed. It was something completely different with David. He was anointed by the same man, but in him the Holy Spirit did not only enter the “second realm”, but the innermost part, his soul, because that is where the Word of God was, which was given to him as a promise and produced a new divine life. This is that mystery of God. David could not hate, Saul could not love. When David could overcome Saul, he said: “And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” David who represented the true seed of God, who received God’s promises, who made prophetic statements with his mouth, respected the anointing of the Spirit given to Saul, who had no Word of promise.

Saul was only affected in the “second realm”. He could prophecy and then attack David. However, David was filled with the Spirit in the “third realm”, in his soul, because through predestination the Word of God was placed into him. Saul also acted as a prophet outwardly and prophesied mightily, but his nature was completely different. Through this example we can see even more clearly why brother Brahnam placed so much emphasis on the seed of the Word of God in his sermons. David was predestined to be king, the Word of promise was in his soul. Saul was chosen by human standards, therefore God had no reason to bear responsibility for him. The whole mystery lies in God’s predestination according to election manifested through free will (Romans 9:11).

It is especially in the sermon titled The Anointed Ones At The End Time where brother Branham clearly speaks about the anointing of the Spirit, which can come upon everyone including those who have not received the Word of God in their souls. Neither natural nor spiritual rain produces a seed, it only waters it. So is it with the natural Sun and the Sun of righteousness – it will only cause the seed that has been planted to sprout. So it does not depend on the rain or the Sun, although both are necessary for growing, but on the kind of seed. May we experience the perfect transformation and renewal in our souls so that the being of Jesus Christ could be fully manifested in us and God could carry out His final work in His Bride as He intended.

The return of the church of Israel from the Babylonian captivity is of special importance for us. We can read about it in Ezra and Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 8, we read: “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man…” The people gathered to hear the Word of God. The whole Israel newly experienced what God had ordained in His plan and what He wanted to do with them. They gathered with one accord, listened to what God wanted to tell them attentively and let the Word of the Lord enter their souls. Thus, living faith arose, accompanying their entire work. The original foundation was uncovered. The work to rebuild the Temple began. They were in unity and external threats made the people having returned home even more closely united.

The gathering of God’s people also meant departure from Babylon. The fulfilment of the promised God gave to His people cannot be experienced in Babylon. Babylon is a foreign territory and God cannot have His way with us there. Therefore, a call is going forth: “Come out of her, my people…” “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” (Revelation 18:2-3)

Already in the times of Joshua, the people of Israel came under a curse because Achan of the tribe of Judah had taken a beautiful Babylonian garment from Jericho. Under this garment, he could also hide silver and gold, which he had also stolen. Since the days of the Reformation, the Babylonian captivity of the church should have come to an end, but all Protestant organizations and free churches have taken things that were accursed from Babylon. They are represented by various doctrine, knowledge, traditions and practice. However, the hour of God has come now. It was the tribe of Judah, from which Christ was to come bodily, where the Babylonian garment was found – this was why God could not bless His people.

Today, the Lord is concerned about His church, out of which the man-child – the overcomer shall be born. Therefore, He focused His sight, which is like flames of fire, upon those with whom He wanted to accomplish His intention. As long as anything from Babylon is in our midst, He cannot reveal His victory as much as He would like to. It is not enough to leave denominations and reject the teachings that are clearly unscriptural, but we must accept every correction received from the Word of God to be restored down to the tiniest detail, examine ourselves and be separated from everything that does not agree with the Word of God and comes from Babylon. We are often not aware that we are in possession of such things and we may find them of little importance, but a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

In the times of Jesus, Jews were certain that they acted exactly according to the Law and Prophets. However, they in fact acted according to the Talmud, which originated as late as during the Babylonian captivity. The same tragedy is present in today’s Christianity. Christian organizations, free churches and fellowships are not based on the Word of God, but on what was decided during the “Babylonian captivity” at councils and synods. In Matthew 16:5-12, Jesus speaks very clearly: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” When the disciples did not understand, He explained: “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?” This is about unscriptural teachings that do not come from the Spirit of God, but from the enemy, who introduced them and gained access to churches and individuals through them. These do not only include things which are obviously demonic, no, most of them even seem very religious and “spiritual”. Through these teachings demons acquire the right to do their work and God’s restoration through the revelation of the prophetic Word is needed so that we can recognise all that is unscriptural and get rid of it.

It is not sufficient to confess with our own mouth that we have received the Word of God for this time. The Holy Spirit wants to lead us into all the truths of the revealed Word. We do live in the prophetic period, but God’s confirmation will not come as long as we only receive what God is saying with our intellect. Many have been puffed up through knowledge, but had no divine benefit from it. Yet, the Word Bride, having been born of God, exists in this time. The Bride shall receive and accept both the revealed Word and the Spirit and will soon experience the completion of God’s work.

In this time it will be manifested who are those serving God with their hearts and those serving Him only with their lips, those who have been saved through their faith in Jesus Christ and sought and found salvation only in the shed blood of the Lamb of God, who carry the Word of God as God’s seed in their heart and those who only have it in their mouth. All those who believe with all their heart that God speaks to us directly through His prophetic Word shall follow the last call and receive every Word of God as it was given to us. True children of God do not have experience with a servant of God, who is only used as a mouthpiece, but with God alone, who called them and reconciled them with Himself. They become a new creature through God’s work of grace. God’s working begins in their souls and then is manifested in their everyday lives.

Brother Branham spoke about the three realms of man and explained that one can be anointed with the Holy Spirit in the second realm, in one’s own spirit, even if such a person is lost in his/her soul and is not saved at all. The salvation of the soul is the most important thing. That is the only way for an individual that has come to believe to have peace with God. The seed of the Word is in the soul. The spirit fertilizes the seed and brings forth the new life of God. God’s law is: “…every seed shall produce according to its kind”. So it is everywhere in nature, with all species of plants and animals and so it is with God’s children, too. It can never change. God is true forever. God’s seed has always been God’s seed and it shall be God’s seed forever. As surely as the Word became flesh in Christ and took the form of a body, so is now Christ becoming reality in believers.

We are not playing with words here. These are the most important divine facts. It is written about our Lord and Saviour: “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” (Isaiah 53:11). He alone underwent the greatest suffering of the soul so that our souls could be saved. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the firstborn among many brethren. He is the beginning of God’s new creation. As sons and daughters of God, through the same Word and the same Spirit, we shall become the firstborn having the same qualities and the same nature as He. Who really believes the promises will become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1). This is the test we have to undergo ourselves. It is written: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18) We are called into being through the uttered Word. So we read it. The Word, the Blood and the Spirit work together in a believer. The full gospel includes it all. Each seed shall produce according to its kind from the beginning till the end. If we are God’s seed, we will be the same kind at the end as God’s children were in the beginning.

The Holy Scriptures show us the characteristics of both opposing seeds which were on the earth from the beginning. Especially the story of Cain and Abel has a lot to tell us. Both were devout, both prayed, but only one of them received an answer from God. The other then demonstrated his own nature and killed his brother.

When Saul was anointed as king, the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied, but his soul was not changed. It was something completely different with David. He was anointed by the same man, but in him the Holy Spirit did not only enter the “second realm”, but the innermost part, his soul, because that is where the Word of God was, which was given to him as a promise and produced a new divine life. This is that mystery of God. David could not hate, Saul could not love. When David could overcome Saul, he said: “And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” David who represented the true seed of God, who received God’s promises, who made prophetic statements with his mouth, respected the anointing of the Spirit given to Saul, who had no Word of promise.

Saul was only affected in the “second realm”. He could prophecy and then attack David. However, David was filled with the Spirit in the “third realm”, in his soul, because through predestination the Word of God was placed into him. Saul also acted as a prophet outwardly and prophesied mightily, but his nature was completely different. Through this example we can see even more clearly why brother Brahnam placed so much emphasis on the seed of the Word of God in his sermons. David was predestined to be king, the Word of promise was in his soul. Saul was chosen by human standards, therefore God had no reason to bear responsibility for him. The whole mystery lies in God’s predestination according to election manifested through free will (Romans 9:11).

It is especially in the sermon titled The Anointed Ones At The End Time where brother Branham clearly speaks about the anointing of the Spirit, which can come upon everyone including those who have not received the Word of God in their souls. Neither natural nor spiritual rain produces a seed, it only waters it. So is it with the natural Sun and the Sun of righteousness – it will only cause the seed that has been planted to sprout. So it does not depend on the rain or the Sun, although both are necessary for growing, but on the kind of seed. May we experience the perfect transformation and renewal in our souls so that the being of Jesus Christ could be fully manifested in us and God could carry out His final work in His Bride as He intended.