A Word of life publication

It is
Written…

A Biblical exposition
by Missionary E. Frank
 It is written…

Foreword

The God of heaven-the Creator of the universe-has established His relationship with
humanity on earth. As the author of this booklet, I wish to acquaint the reader with the one, true
and living God and His plan with mankind. In this exposition we only touch a few things;
hopefully the Spirit of God will create a desire in the readers’ heart to search more deeply.
We don’t represent the view of a denomination, but rather let God speak for Himself by His
holy Word. As one recognizes God’s choice and decision with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the
other prophets, we do the same with the apostles and those men in church history whom the Lord
had chosen for specific purposes.
With deep appreciation towards Him we refer to the ministry of a man sent from God in
our time. In no way do we intend to lift up chosen vessel, but give the glory to the God of heaven
alone. We simply cannot afford to bypass whatever the Lord is doing right now. Please remember
that we are still in Bible days. The Lord is not dead- He is risen and is with us, as He promises,
right to the end of the world.
This brochure is published in the major language and will be read in over hundred
countries on earth. Possibly it may fall into the hands of people belonging to different religions
and faiths. Any sensible human being will know that everything that was started by a man is
fallible and subject to error. We therefore must turn to the only infallible source.
May every reader benefit spiritually from this brief exposition and find his personal
relationship with the Lord is my prayer.

The author

It is written
The greatest treasure we can hold in our hands is written Word of God, for heaven and
earth shall pass away, but God’s Word remaineth for ever. His plan for humanity is revealed
therein. The spoken Word came to the prophets and was written down. Later the apostles were
the chosen witnesses. So we have both, the Old and the New Testament. In the Old Testament we
find all the shadows, types and promises in the New we have the overwhelming record of how
every Scriptures is being fulfilled to the letter. That is the convincing part of it.
It is noteworthy that the New Testament starts with the actual fulfillment of prophecies.
John was a promised prophet, and our saviour the promised Redeemer. True faith is anchored in
the promised Word of God. The birth of Jesus Christ, His life, His ministry, His sufferings, death,
burial, resurrection and ascension: all happened precisely as foretold by the prophets. In fact, God
had history written hundreds and thousands years beforehand. That is amazing, that is majestic.
The historians are busy writing after events have taken place. God saw the end from the beginning
and therefore could have all things written in advance.
At the first coming of our Lord and Saviour over one hundred prophecies came to pass. The
predictions from Gen.3: 15 of the seed of the woman, who would come to bruise the serpents
head, right to Mal.3: 1, that the Lord would come to His holy temple, were fulfilled. It is advisable
for everyone to read the New Testament prayerfully with the intention to mark each place where
you find the terminology, “as it is written” or “as the Scripture says” or “that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets.” In Lk. 24 the Lord spoke to some of His
disciples, beginning at Moses, the Psalms and the prophets, confirming that it all was
accomplished. Because Jesus Christ remains the same, He would have point out the Scriptures
which are being fulfilled now. If we are to know what God will do, we must first find out
what He has promised.
The cry of Moses is also our, “I pray thee, if have found grace in thy sight, show me now
thy way…” (Ex.33: 13). God does everything according to His Word and says, “For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts” (Isa.55: 8-9). Any one who truly finds grace with God will recognize His ways with His
people and partake in whatever He does at this time. We must search the Scriptures as never
before to be sure what to expect.
A big problem of course arises because so many clergymen refer to the Scriptures saying,
“It is written,” while at the same time misinterpreting, misapplying and misplacing the Word of
God. Jesus found the religious teachers of His day in such state. They had made the true Word of
God of no effect to the people, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Mk.7: 13). The
Old enemy certainly does not deny the existence of God (Jas.2: 9) nor His Word (Lk4: 1-13). He
simply puts his own interpretations and question marks behind it. One could repeatedly say, “It is
written, It is written” and decorate himself with the Scriptures from top to bottom, and yet be
without divine revelation and totally outside the will of God, There is a vast difference between
revelation and interpretation. Ones come from God, the other one comes from Satan-one brings
life and one brings death. As long as Adam and Eve believed and obeyed the Word of God they
had eternal life, when they listened to the explanation of the old serpent they fell and death struck
them (Gen.3). Too many have left the tree of life for the tree of knowledge and have become wise
within themselves- having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (II Tim.3: 5).
When Christ was tempted by Satan during the forty days, it is noteworthy that the enemy
dared to say, “it is written…”. It is obvious since the Garden of Eden that he misconstrues the
Word of God. That is the dangerous part of it. He will do the same right to the end, deceiving
people by misusing the scriptures, which should not be privately interpreted (II Pet.1: 20). All the
false prophets (Mt.24: 24) and all the false apostles (II Cor.11: 13) present themselves as being
sent by Christ. Satan shows himself as an angel of light. “Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to
their works” (II Cor.11: 14-15.)
God’s promise Word must be experienced, not explained.
God’s prophetic Word must be watched as it is comes to pass.
Our Lord had a right to use Scriptures, and thereby overcame Satan. If the promise Word
for today is manifested through the believers, they have the right to refer to it. The question
arises, how can one know where the true Word is being preached, and who are those whom Christ
Himself has commissioned to speak in His Name? Jesus said of the ones He sends, “He that
received you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me” (Mt. 10: 40). He
also said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send received
me…”(Jn13: 20). Finally He said of those He chose for the ministry, “…as my father hath sent me,
even so send I you” (Jn.20: 21).
Every true God-called man must be able to say what Paul wrote, “But I make know to you,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not after man. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal.1: 11-12). Equally
important is what the apostle Peter said, “…And this is the word which by the gospel is preached
unto you”(1Pet.1: 25). The apostle john comes forth with the strongest statement, “we are of God.
He that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not to us. By this know we the
spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (I Jn. 4: 6).
Jesus our Lord said, “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God…” (Jn.3: 34).
In Jn.8: 43 he asked, “Why do ye not understand my speech Even because ye cannot hear my
word.” In v. 47 he continued and said, “He that is of God heareth God’s words, ye, therefore, hear
them not, because ye are not of God.” According to these words of our Lord, everyone has the
possibility to check himself as to whether or not he accepts and remains in every Word of God
without any inner resistance or argumentation. Usually the one who preaches just reads a Bible
text and then presents his own thoughts without remaining within the limits of God’s holy Word.
The time for the final check-up is here. We must prove all things.
All we believe and do must first stand the Word-test. Paul because of a revelation went to
Jerusalem to compare his preaching with the original Word that was taught from the beginning.
He gave an exposition of what he was teaching among the gentiles, stating, “…lest by any means I
should run, or had run, in vain” (Gal.2: 1-3). A successful ministry is no proof that preaching is
truth. In the sight of God even casting out devils, miracles and prophesying do not suffice (Mt.7:
21). Jesus warned us about the many anointed ones which would come on the scene in the last
days, “for there shall rise false Christ, and false prophets, and shall shrew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Mt.24”24). It is
most important that we compare our preaching and practice with the original “apostles’ doctrine”
(Acts 2:42) as Paul did.
Knowing about the deviation from the Word, our Lord would also say today, “However, in
vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mk.7: 7). God
rejects everything that is not done according to His Word. “God is a Spirit, and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn.4: 24). The Word of truth and the Spirit of
Truth will always be together. Those who preached and the ones who are listening must not judge
things from their point of view, but should take their stand on the infallible Word and look upon
the matter God’s way.

One in the Spirit

The longing to be one is as old as the world. Right from the beginning man has tried to
attain this unity. But unless something is achieved God’s ordained way, it cannot stand before
Him. The time for God’s people to be one is certainly at hand. One –but in what way? There are
burning questions which must be answered by the written Word of God. The time to hear what
men have to say about such an important subject should be considered over. This is God’s time
for His people to hear the plain Truth. The most important theme of the hour has become the cry
for oneness, for peace and for safety. Heads of state and influential religious leaders join in this
one great effort. Looking into the realms of the various full Gospel movements, we hear the same
cry, even with closer biblical emphasis. Everyone uses the verse of Jn.17: 21, “…that they all may
be one”. Whom did the Lord address, for whom did he pray, that they all might be one? Those
who speak of unity and about being one obviously have different motives and objectives.
In Gen.11 we read about people who were one. They had one language and one common
goal. It was to reach heaven by the tower they tried to build, and, as stated in the Scripture, they
wanted to make a name for themselves. Could this be the picture of today? A most important
lesson for us to learn is that God’s things cannot be done man’s way.
A few examples may be taken from Scriptures to show us different ways of being one. In I
Ki.22 and II Chr.18 we find 400 prophets who were one, speaking the same thing. Ahab, king of
Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, if he would go to battle with him. Of course the king felt
honored, agreed and said, “I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
Jehoshaphat, who was a God-fearing man, desired to hear from the Lord and asked king
Ahab, “inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today.” He was in doubt about what the 400
had prophesied. They were under a mighty anointing, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and
prosper; for the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hand”. Jehoshaphat could not rest in that
unanimous prophecy and asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might
inquire of him?”
Picture the scene: hundreds of prophets in agreement, and yet a king is asking just for one,
for one who has the true Word of the Lord (I Ki. 17:24)! This we need today. Many are in
agreement now in the so-called “brotherly spirit” Protestants, Catholics and various religions are
coming together. We have a right to know, however, what the Lord said in His unadulterated
Word.
Micaiah, of whom Ahab said, “But I hate him.” Obviously didn’t belong to the organized
association of the day. He was outside the ecumenical camp, but was one with God under the true
anointing of the Spirit. Zedekiah, the self-appointed head prophet, made himself iron horns and
said, “thus faith the Lord…”, and all the rest joined in one accord with him. What a mighty
meeting! But all under the lying spirit all deceived, prophesying the same thing, saying “Thus faith
the Lord…”!
The messenger who was sent to call Micaiah told him to join the others and say what they
said. The man of God answered, “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me that will I
speak.” Most certainly the prophets spoke the truth. He had seen a vision (11Chr.18: 18-22) and
actually heard the conversation going on in heaven. His vision was in full agreement with the
Word of the Lord spoken by the prophet Elijah concerning the judgment upon Ahab (I Ki.21: 19;
22: 38).
So sure was Micaiah, that he said to the king who wished to deal with him when he would
return from the battle, “If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me.” He
underlined it in saying, “Hearken, o people, every one of you.” Any true prophet at any time
will have to be in total agreement with all the prophets who have spoken in the
Name of Lord. The same applies to an apostles, teacher, evangelist- to any ministry in the Body
of Christ.

The condition

On the day of Pentecost, the 120 were in one accord. They were “tuned in” with the Word of
the hour. To be one with God now, we too must be one with His Word for today. Jesus said, “that
they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee.” The son was the personal
manifestation of the Father- the same substance, the same Spirit, the same life.
The Son was born by the Spirit, as we find recorded in the promise given to Mary, Lk. 1: 35,
“The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee” The
same is confirmed in Mt.1: 20. The Holy Ghost came upon Mary who had received and believed
the promise Word. Thus the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The oneness of Father and
Son is not based upon agreement, but is a oneness in essence. The same is with all sons and
daughters of God. They are born again by the same Word, through the same spirit, and therefore
are partakers of the same divine nature (II Pet.1: 4).
Only those who have the same nature and the same life of Jesus Christ can be one in the
spirit. James writes, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind
of first fruits of his creatures” (1: 8) Jesus was the only begotten Son, and we must be after His
kind the begotten sons and daughters of God. In this respect, the scripture speaks of him, “…that
he might be the fist-born among many brethren” (Rom.8: 29). According to God’s law of
reproduction, ever since Genesis every seed brings forth after it’s own kind. From God only God
could come forth, from the Son of God only sons and daughters of God can come forth. Peter
emphasises the same truth in saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from death…” (I Pet.1: 3).
Jesus could say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (Jn.14: 9). Husband and Wife
are also spoken of as being one. But nobody could ever say, “If you have seen me, you have seen
my wife.” The spiritual oneness Jesus speaks about does not mean to agree with each other or to
be joined, but to be of the same substance, although a different manifestation. No one can join the
church of God –one is born, baptized and sealed into it.
Let us go back to the statement made in Jn.17: 21: “that they all may be one as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee.” This is the secret of the divine oneness: God in Christ –Christ
in His Church. Jesus is praying in this chapter, not preaching. What He expresses is meant for
prayerful consideration, in expectation of fulfillment.
Some of the criteria for this oneness according to Jn.17 are:
“…That he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”
“I have manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world”
“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them”
“…And have known surely that I came out from thee”
“I pray for them…and I am glorified in them”
“Sanctify them through thy truth-thy word is truth”
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we
are one”
“I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one.”
The whole chapter must be read carefully, and every thought expressed there is cause for
consideration: We must ask ourselves, Is it so with me? Only if these conditions are met namely,
that we have received eternal life, that His Name was manifested to us; that we have received His
word; that we are sanctified in the revealed truth; that Christ dwells in us as the Father dwelled in
Him, we are candidates for this oneness and can be made perfect in one. It takes divine revelation
to see these things clearly and grace to experience them.
God has his own way to bring about the oneness which our Lord prayed for. All His true
sons and daughters will experience the things Jesus mentioned in His prayer. They will fall right
in line with the Word and so become one with Him who is the head and one with each other as
members of His Body. “For by one spirit we were all baptize into one body” (I Cor.12: 13). To the
Ephesians Paul writes, “…endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one spirit, even if as ye are called in one hope of your callings, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all” (Eph.4: 3-6).
The fivefold ministry (v.11) was given “for the perfecting of the saints…for the edifying of
the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of knowledge of the son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (vv.11-13).

Does History repeat itself?

At the first coming of Christ Gods people were under the great expectation to see the
Messiah. At the same time not one of the religious leaders recognizes the forerunner and his
ministry. With the word of GOD in their hands and with the temple worship, they later reject the
Messiah. Incomprehensible but true: He came to his own, and His own received Him not (Jn.1).
Someone might say, “Shame on all the spiritual leaders of that day who were smitten with
blindness!” They had their own interpretations but not the revelation of the scriptures.
Could it be that history is repeating itself? Could it be that our church service and
evangelistic campaigns have become a routine, a spiritual entertainment? It certainly is possible
to preach about the Messiah and what He will do, at the same ignoring completely what He is
doing now. The religious teachers of that day refer to Abraham and Moses, but did not realize that
things which they spoke about had become reality in their midst. Our Lord had to say, “for had
ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me” (Jn.5: 46).
It is certainly possible to refer to Peter and Paul, and to the men of our choice within
church history and still not realize what God is doing now. Once again we may ask ourselves,
“How could it be that those holy men –who studied the scriptures day and night –did not see all
the prophecies were fulfilled?” When Jesus opened the Bible in the city of Nazareth, He read from
Is. 61 and then made the notable statement, “this day this scripture fulfilled in your ears”
(Lk.4: 21).
Without question we are now living at the end of the end time. Any Bible reader expects
eschatological events to happen without delay. In fact, the signs of the time, the condition of the
church, the gathering of Israel and the political developments show very clearly that the coming of
the Lord is imminent. Could it be that God has sent a ministry which was misunderstood and
reject, even by those who greatly benefited from it?
It is not difficult to judge the past, discern what was done wrong and nourish hopes for the
future, while at the same time being unaware of what Lord is presently doing. We must first
comprehend the key statement found in Amos 3:7, “surely the lord God will do nothing,
but he revealed his secret unto his servants the prophets.” We are now most certainly
living in the greatest prophetic age of all times. There were two special generations carrying great
responsibility: the generation at the first coming of Christ, and this one now-our own generation-
before the second coming of Christ. The New Testament began with the actual fulfillment of Bible
prophecy, and it will end in the same way.
We don’t need a man to prophesy his own imaginations of the great things God has in store.
These imagined ideas have not and will never come to pass. We certainly need a clear
understanding of the promised word for this day. Because this is a prophetic age, the ministry of a
major prophet would fit into God’s plan and programme. Before special events have taken
place, in the past the Lord has usually sent such a man with an outstanding commission. Before
the flood He had Noah, the prophet, of whom we read in Gen.6: 22, “thus did Noah, according to
all that God commanded him, so did he.’’ Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah the
Lord visited his prophet Abraham (Gen.18). In verse 17 we read, “And the Lord said, Shall I hide
from Abraham that thing which I do?” In Lk.17: 26-30 the Lord refer to those times and said,
“Even thus shall it be in the day when the son of man is revealed.” God cannot change. He says,
“For I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal.3: 6) His decision are perfect for ever. He works according
to the same partten all the time. When he was ready to fulfill the promise given to Abraham
(Gen.15: 13), he appeared to Moses, the prophet, in the bush. He had an Elijah and Elisha, he had
Jeremiah and Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel and so on.

Rightly dividing the Word

From the very beginning of the New Testament church the apostles Peter showed that
everything happened according to the Scriptures. When asked about the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, he said “but this is that which was spoken through the prophet, Joel” (Acts 2:16). In chap.
3: 20-23 he speaks about the times of refreshing that should come from the presence of the Lord.
He also states that Jesus Christ, who was preached unto us, will return “whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of
all his holy prophets since the time began.” If words still have a meaning, this is to say that a time
of refreshing and of restitution of all things must come first, before Jesus, the bridegroom, will
return to take His beloved Bride home.
James writes, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
farmer waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it, until he receive
the early and the latter rain”(5:7). Before the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit takes place and
the harvest is brought in, the promise in Isa.55: 11 the word of God cannot return void, but will
accomplish what it was sent for. In Jas.5: 11 the restoration Job experienced is given as an
example. Everybody is familiar with his story, the afflictions he had to endure, how Satan destroy
everything around him, and how at the end God restored unto him a double portion (Job 42: 10).
We must first come to know and believe what God has promised, and then experience the
marvelous restoration in reality.
The precious of God’s Word is overwhelming. When speaking of the ministry of John the
Baptist, the word prepare is always used (Is.40: 3; Mal.3: 1).When the angel Gabriel announced
the birth of John, he said, “and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 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” (Lk.1:17).Zachariah prophesied, “and thou, child, shall be
called the prophet of the highest, for thou shall go before the face of the lord to prepare his
ways”(Lk.1:76). Our Lord confirmed this Mt.11: 10, “for this is he of whom it is written, behold, I
send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.”
Not one time is the Word restore used in connection with the ministry of John. On the
other hand it is repeatedly found in reference to the ministry promised for the end time. Already
through the prophet Joel the Lord said, “I will restore to you the years …” (ch.2: 25). In Mt.17 we
read about the Mount Transfiguration experience. Our Lord took Peter, James, and John with
Him, and also Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Him. Peter, as usual, was very quick
and said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here, if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one
for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
After coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked our Lord, “Why then say the
scribes that Elijah must first come?” Right after this the Lord made two statements. The first one
was then in the future, the second one in the past. The first one is found in vs.11, “And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things.” Without any
shadow of doubt, that verse was spoken in future tense and refers to the ministry prior to the
second coming of Christ. Dr. Schofield, who is internationally recognized as a Bible scholar and
translator, writes in his footnote as follows, “Christ confirms the specific and still
unfulfilled prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6”.
As we noticed John was confirmed to be Mal.3: 1. When he was asked, “Art thou Elijah?”
He answered, “I am not” (Jn.1: 21). Right after that statement, the delegation which was sent by
the Pharisees asked him, “why baptized thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither
that prophet?”(Jn.1: 25). The prophecy of Mal. 4 must be fulfilled shortly just before the day of
the Lord comes- the day of vengeance (Is. 61: 2), which will burn like an oven (Mal.4: 1) and will
come like a thief in the night (II Pet.3: 10; I Th.5: 2).
Since the ministry of John about 2,000 years have elapsed, and the Day of the lord has not
yet been. There are many scriptures describing the Day of the Lord. The interested reader is
referred to Is.13: 6-13, Joel 2: 30-31. Peter spoke of it in his first sermon, “Then sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord
come” (Acts 2:20). The events connected with the Day of the Lord are found in the sixth seal
(Rev.6: 12-17), “…for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” Most
certainly at the time the mercy seat becomes the judgment seat.
In the last two verse of the Old Testament’s concluding chapter we find the promise to
which Jesus referred: “Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great
and terrible day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” The
fist part, to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, was accomplished through the
ministry of John the Baptist. Gabriel confirmed this to Zachariah, “And he shall go before him in
the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” (Lk.1: 17)
According to Heb .1, God in times past spoke unto the fathers by the prophet. At last He
spoke by His Son. The son was the answer. John bridged the Old to the New Testament. In the
sense he was spoken of to be more than a prophet (Mt.11: 9). The prophets spoke about the
coming Messiah. John had the privilege to introduce Him. Jesus referred repeatedly to his
ministry in reference to Mal.3: 1. The statement in Mt.17: 12, “But I Say unto you that Elijah is
come already, and they knew him not”, was necessary, because the first part of the Elijah-
promise was accomplished. We are dealing with two special ministries: one at the first coming of
Christ, the other one before His second coming.
In various places in the scriptures we find that even in one and the same verse the different
comings are mentioned. Ps.2: 7-8; Acts 13: 33; Heb.1: 5 deal with the first coming. His second
coming will not be noticed by the world. Then he will take his blood- washed (Rev.1: 5), His word
cleansed (Eph.5: 26), His Spirit –sealed (Eph.4: 30) bride-church home (I Th.4: 13-18) to the
Marriage supper (Rev.19: 1-9). The rest will not even know about it. Ps.2: 9; Rev.2: 27; 12: 5 and
many other Scriptures deal with his coming in great power to finish with His enemies and to
commence His reign on earth. In Lk. 4: 19 Jesus stopped in the middle of the second verse while
reading from Is.61, simply because only the first part applied to his ministry then. The
day of vengeance will come when the time of grace is over. As we stated before, Mal.3: 1 pertains
to the first coming, and, as the context reveals, Mal.4: 5-6 is in connection with his second
coming.

Very important

The commission now is to turn the hearts of God’s children back to the faith of the
apostolic fathers. It takes a man sent from God-a prophet like Elijah, one who would have a
vindication beyond any shadow of doubt. He of necessity must have two things: the promised
word for the hour and also a true restored apostolic ministry. This would be the convincing proof
of his direct, unique commission, whereby the attention of God’s people would be drawn to the
message of the hour.
Of Elijah we know that he rebuilt the altar of the Lord that was broken down. To do that he
took the twelve stones according to the twelve tribes and called God’s people together for a
decision. He could say, “I am thy servant, and I have done all these things at thy word.” In his
prayer he said, “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” (Ki.18: 37). The first Elijah and also
John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah, as well as the “Elijah” of today has one thing in
common: to turn the hearts of God’s people back to the word.
Through the final ministry the doctrine of the twelve apostles should be restored and the
heart of God’s people be turned to Him and His Word. Those who do not have the love for the
truth are given over to strong delusion that they should believe the lie (II Th.2: 11). “And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (IITim.4: 4). The
tossing-about by every wind of strange doctrines will end for the ones who are restored to the
truth. They are called out from the Babylonian camps and embrace the sound teaching (Ti.2: 1).
Just as John knew precisely the scriptures pertaining to him, so this promised end time
prophet would have to know the promised Word for the hour by divine revelation, including the
word of prophecy, as Peter stated, “we have also a more sure word of prophecy…” (II Pet.1: 19)
and also have the Spirit of prophecy, as John was told on the isle of Patmos, “I am thy fellow
servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God; for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev.19: 10). The spirit of prophecy is not connected to the
gift of prophecy, but rather to the word of prophecy and is testimony of Jesus Christ. The whole
matter is so important that no one can risk going by presumption or by impressions. Finally the
true church will know her task and take her stand upon the promise given to her and be one with
Him. That will be true unity in the spirit!

Genuine prophets

The prophets were ordained since their mother’s womb to the designated purpose and
ministry (Jer.1: 5). At first they were called “seers” because they saw a vision (I Sam. 9: 9, 18, 19).
They received the inspiration while seeing a vision, and so brought forth the revelation from God
(Jer.1: 11+12). The word of God always came to the prophets, “And he said, hear now my words if
there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself know unto him in a vision, and will
speak unto him in a dream” (Num .12: 6). A true prophet is a mouthpiece of God. Like John and
the rest he would need to have the “thus saith the Lord” for his day. All who receive such a
prophet and embrace his ministry would be given a prophet’s reward (Mt.10: 41). The Lord
himself said, “Do my prophets no harm” (I Chr.16: 22; Ps.105: 15).
The Old Testament prophets were until John, from that time the Kingdom of God is being
preached (Lk.16: 16). This scripture is sometimes used to defend the idea that God would not have
a prophet in the New Testament period. But John himself was a prophet, Symeon was a prophet,
and Jesus, our Lord, gave the promise, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and scribes…” (Mt.23: 34; Lk.11: 49). The word “scribes” here certainly does not refer to
anyone who sat at the feet of Gamaliel. “Then said he unto them, therefore, every scribe who is
instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is an householder, who bringeth
forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Mt13: 52).
Anyone who reads the book of acts will find the trace of various prophets, ministering in
the churches (ch.13). In ch.15: 32 we read, “and Judas and Silas, being prophets…” In I Cor.14
Paul places the ministries and finally makes the statement, “if any man think himself to be a
prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord” (v.37). In Eph.3 Paul writes about the revelation he received. He
speaks of the mystery of Christ, “which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men,
as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit” (v.5). In Eph.4: 11 and I
Cor.12: 28 the office of a prophet is included in the different ministries which God has placed into
the church. The prophetic part of the plan of salvation requires a major prophet.
All who are acquainted with history will know that early Mohammed and a number of
others have claimed to be the prophet referred to in Mal.4: 5, who were to come before the great
and terrible Day of the Lord. In fact, some have openly called themselves “Elijah” or spoken about
the “Elijah ministry”. But not one of them has turned the hearts of God’s people back to the Lord
and His Word. In the contrary: they themselves were far away from the true apostolic and
prophetic teaching and made their own followers. However, all these imitations will not hinder
God to accomplish his promise at his time.
 Challenge
‘
Knowing the Bible and taking into consideration how God has dealt in the past, we have to
expect Him to do something supernatural now. If my information is correct, God used a man of
his choice to spearhead the present revival movements which started after World War II. Trough
his ministry incredible things happened right on the platform. The blind receive their sight, the
lame could walk, the dumb could talk, the deaf could hear instantly. In the book “A man sent from
God”, written by the late Rev. Gordon Lindsay in 1950, then editor of the magazine “the voice of
healing”, and in the book “A prophet visits South Africa” published by Rev. Julius Stadsklev in
1952, and also in the book “the Acts of the Prophet” by Rev. Perry Green of Tucson, Arizona, and
various other literature outstanding things are recorded. Even hopeless cancer-cases were healed
and creative miracles happened. We even read about a special commission given to him on the 7th
of May, 1946.
For years many reports were published in different American magazines, for instance in the
“Herald of Hope”, “The Voice of Healing”-later named “Christ for the Nations”-and others. The
actual breakthrough of this spiritual revival took place before any other evangelist (who later
became well known) were yet on the scene. In fact, those who started out towards the end of the
’forties, in the ’fifties and into the ’sixties should admit to have received their inspiration while
attending some of his meetings. Of course they will not consent to this; they rather will conjure up
all kinds of impressive stories.
As a personal witness-among many others-of this man’s ministry, I can say that the impact
of what one saw and heard was beyond description. Hundreds and thousands experienced the
infallibility of the gift of discernment and divine knowledge in the meetings right to the end of his
ministry in December 1965. Regardless of country, continent and language, through an open
vision this humble man saw who the person was, what sickness they had, where they came from –
even cities, streets and the names of the individuals were shown to him. Each vision was perfect
every time, not one failed in his world-wide meetings for so many years. There are two
characteristics which have to be identified with the ministry of a true prophet: firstly, what he
says must come to pass (Dt.18: 20-22), and secondly, his teaching on God must be correct. If what
the man says comes to pass, but he presents other gods instead of the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob he is still a false prophet, and God is only testing the people (Dt.13: 2-6).
As a son of man, Jesus was “the prophet” (Dt.18: 15-19; Acts3: 22-23), and therefore by way
of vision saw what the father was about to do. Then He did accordingly (Jn.5: 19). To Peter he
said, meeting him for the first time, “thou art Simon, son of Jonas”(Jn.1: 40-42). He told
Nathaniel whom he had never met, “before Philip called thee, when thou was under the fig tree, I
saw thee” (Jn1: 43-49). The woman at Jacob’s well was quite surprised when he told her, “Thou
hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (Jn.4: 5-30). Jesus even
knew the very thoughts of the heart-every secrets was revealed to him . Because of this prophetic
ministry, the Scribes and the Pharisees accused him to be Beelzebub –a kind of a soothsayer and
mind reader.
Time and again this man sent from God, William Branham, referred to the quoted
scriptures. After preaching the sermon and the call for repentance he prayed for the sick. He
waited until he saw in a vision what God has about to do. Accordingly he spoke and prayed.
Hundreds of services were tape-recorded and are a convincing testimony for anyone who whishes
to verify the statements made here.
He actually saw a supernatural light come down over the person he was to pray for. This
light was first photographed during a campaign on the 24th of January, 1950, at the Houston
Coliseum. Unbelieving, critical newspaper photographers were much surprised to find this halo of
light over the heads of God’s servant during the development of film intended to defame him.
The prophet Ezekiel saw the “Shekinah Glory” many times (Ez.1: 28; 3: 12+24; 10: 4+18).
Saul met the same supernatural light on his way to Damascus and asked, “who art thou, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes” (Acts 26: 15). Throughout the journey of Israel
the Lord was above them, during the day in the supernatural cloud, by night in the pillar of fire.
God is light and dwells in light. Jesus came as light into this world. The lord remains for ever the
same.
On the 28th of February, 1963, the supernatural cloud came down over the mountains in
Arizona, to the precise spot where this man of God was. There he was told to return to his home
church for the specific purpose of preaching on the seven seals of the book of revelation. For
seven successive days, 17th through 24th of March, 1963, that supernatural light hovered in his
room each day and seal he would speak on was divinely revealed to him. In view of all this it is
hard to understand how those who called themselves “God’s man of the hour” “God’s end time
prophet” and what more, cannot or do not recognize what God has done.
 As far back as on the 11th June, 1933, during a baptismal service in the Ohio River at
Jeffersonville, Indiana, U.S.A., something supernatural happened. About four thousand people
were present, and hundreds were being baptized, when this light came down over him and a voice
said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, you are sent
with a message which will forerun His second coming.” Many, many other outstanding
events could be listed.
If we are confronted with things which could not be influenced by a man but happened in
the sovereignty of God, we cannot remain neutral but must make a decision. Indifference is
certainly not the answer. Everything God does happens for a purpose. Could it be that we find
ourselves in the same situation as in the days of the Lord, continuing in our routine services as
though God has done nothing special, and then even ask, “Should not Elijah first come? Should
not a prophet rise?” Today we would be given the same answer, “He has already come and gone,
but you knew him not and have done unto him whatever you desired.” If it is true (which I know it
is) that we had man sent from God in our time, but did not recognize the day of our visitation, it
could be that we simply were blinded and misled. Should it not behove us to search the Scriptures
with all honesty until we find the actual message of the hour therein?
As usual, it may have happened again that churches and clergymen remained in their ways
and looked upon what God has done purely as an unpleasant disturbance, declaring it to be the
work of the enemy. The Trinitarians says, “This man is a ‘Oneness’”, and the “Oneness”-believers
said, “He is a Trinitarian”. In both camps only a few recognized him to be a true man of God. He
did not take sides, but simply preached the whole council of God. He stressed the fact that God
manifested Himself very distinctly as Father in heaven, as Son on earth and dwells in the
Redeemed by the Holy Ghost. He took his stand with the apostle Paul who gave his summary like
this, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory” (I Tim. 3: 16).
It is even possible that evangelists who received their inspiration through the ministry of
this humble servant of the Lord – and churches who benefited tremendously from it – did not
comprehend the God-ordained purpose of this last move of the Spirit. We have truly been
acquainted with God’s plan of salvation for today. The believers will move right into the promised
Word, because they themselves are, as Isaac was, the children of the promise (Gal. 4: 28), and
they being children receive the promise of the Father (Acts 1: 4).
In general, however, we find the same situation that prevailed at the first coming of our
Lord. Clergymen, in particular, because of different motives, points to such statements as the
supposed quote about the termination of world systems and the ushering in of the millennium by
1977, found in the book “The Exposition of the Seven Church Ages” on pg. 322. A simple perusal
of the part on the tape-recorded sermon quoted will reveal the clear fact, that Rev. Branham never
made such a statement. Why do these clergymen – giving them credit for intelligence – not
bother to verify their “fact”? A number of other things which are unjustifiably being ascribed to
him, have been put in circulation to scarce the people. Whoever is not prejudiced will admit that
this man of God had a deep understanding of the Scriptures through divine revelation. Yes, all the
hidden mysteries in the Word were brought to light, and for this we are grateful to the Lord.
Perhaps this humble exposition is meant to be used of God to force some to stop in their
ways and programmes and become part of His end-time plan. It may be so that some did believe
hearsay “evidence” and therefore have rejected the God-sent ministry, and that others became
fanatical and have brought reproach upon the messenger through the many unscriptural
assertions and interpretations of the message.
Everybody is invited to search the Scriptures and prove all the teachings by the Word of
God. Do not lean on your own understanding and do not believe blindly in hearsay. “These were
more noble …, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17: 11).

Personal testimony

As the writer of this brochure, I am prompted to finally say a few things, hoping they will be
considered prayerfully.
I had an outstanding privilege to become acquainted with my Lord already as a youth.
Since 1949 I heard from American preachers of the mighty things God was doing through this
man. I availed myself of the many opportunities to attend revival and healing campaigns in
Europe and the U.S.A. In August 1955 I attended a week long campaign conducted by William
Branham in Germany which made a never-to-be-forgotten impact upon my spiritual life. A
turning point for me was at the “Voice of Healing” convention in June 1958 in Dallas, Texas. In
the meetings during the day various evangelists were preaching. In the evenings this humble man
sent from God was the main speaker. What I saw in many of his services in Germany and in the
U.S.A. had a direct similarity with the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
I received a call from the Lord to preach the Word by an audible voice at daybreak on the
2nd of April, 1962, which was confirmed by Rev. Branham on the 3rd December of the same year in
the presence of two witnesses. In this way my ministry is directly connected to his. After having
spent over 20 years in many Asian and African and also the Eastern European countries including
Russia, I feel the time has come for all of God’s people to be informed of the things which have
happened. Remember, it was not said to Rev. Branham that he would forerun the second coming
of Christ, but he was told, “you are sent with a message which will forerun His second
coming”. God took the messenger, but left the message with us. This message is God’s promised
and revealed Word for today. It is part of the everlasting gospel which must be preached to all
nations as a witness (Mt.24: 14; Rev.12: 6). The full gospel includes the prophetic Scriptures for
the end time.
We are now entering the last phase in which Heb.13: 8, Jn.14: 12, Mk.11: 22 and many other
Scriptures will be vindicated. These were the three favoured verses Rev. Branham referred to. He
saw them literally fulfilled as no one else until the days of Jesus Christ. We must make sure that
everything complies totally with the written Word of God. The question is not whether we receive
or reject such a man, but whether we embrace what God has done. We are faced with the fact that
the Lord once again has manifested Himself in simplicity. We will have to answer to Him on the
day of judgment and not to a man. Where such supernatural vindication has taken place, all man-
made arguments come to naught.
I am convinced that the message brought from God’s holy Word in this last
church age will forerun the second coming of Christ. All true believers will line up
with it. We soon can expect the mighty things God promised to happen through the restored
Bride-church. We all must find our place in the Body of Christ. The Lord will unite us with
Himself and lead the elect to the greatest victory of all time. They will be overcomers to whom the
promises are given. We can expect the final breakthrough from Almighty God as soon as we
coincide with the written Word. It will become the “living spoken Word” by which the power of
God shall be demonstrated.
As promised, God will once more shake the earth and the heavens (Heb.12: 26). At that
time, the following Scripture will come to pass, “I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the
heavens, and they shall hear the earth” (Hos.2: 21). The believers will have their part, as it is
written in Zech.10: 1, “Ask the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make
bright clouds, and give them showers of rain …” As stated before, that will be the time refreshing
which has to come before Christ returns. Truly it is harvest time! As the Lord of the harvest told
us, we shall do, “Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers
are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest” (Mt.9: 37-38).

Our Father who art in heaven,

“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” (Heb. 13:8)