Why Did God Say “Let Us”?

Here is a question from a brother in Christ.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Why did God speak in the plural when He made man?

A_SUPER_SIGN  JEFF_IN 12-27-59 Morning

26 That’s a sign, that every unrepented sinner will perish in the judgment, that the righteous shall be saved by the mercy of God. He gave another sign at the burning bush. What was it when He caught His runaway prophet? “I have heard the cries of My people, and I’ve remembered My covenant”? He gave another sign there, that He was a covenant-keeping God, that He remembered everything that He said, every promise that He made. He gave a sign at the burning bush, “And I’ve come down to deliver them.” Watch God in His ways of work. When He created the heavens and earth, He called the Angels together, and He said, “Let us.” Every place in the Scripture where He did anything mostly, “Not Me, but My Father.” But when it come to the plan of redemption, He came alone; nobody was with Him. He was the only One that could come. An Angel couldn’t do it. Another man called His son, couldn’t do it. One called something else, a holy virgin, or a holy mother, or–or some saint, couldn’t do it. God had to come.

He was speaking to angels because he desired their participation in his work. First of all notice that after God says, “let us” first and then the scripture says in verse 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” 
See that Moses used the SINGULAR personal pronouns “HIS own image” “image of God created HE him, male and female created HE them.” 
So the plural pronoun by definition means he was speaking to someone who WAS NOT HIMSELF, ie not God. God is ONE person as evidenced by the THOUSANDS of scriptures that use singular personal pronouns. In this verse it clearly shows that he was speaking to someone OTHER than himself. 
A great example of this is in Isaiah 6. 

6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

God is speaking to the angelic beings surrounding his throne. He says whom shall I (singular pronoun pointing to ONE PERSON) send and whom shall go for US (the singular PERSON was speaking to the angelic beings who were NOT him).

Is there Death in the Millennium?

This is also from a discusion board on Facebook. If you’d like to join in there go to http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2210865263&topic=14480 and become a member.

I believe that the scriptures is not at all being unclear right there. There may or may not be a quote for it, but there is very, very clear scripture that says there is a sinner and that there is death.

THE_SIXFOLD_PURPOSE_OF_THE_VISITATION_OF_GABRIEL JEFF_IN 07-30-61 Evening
Now, anyone, any reader that knows that from Ezekiel the 40th chapter until about the 44th chapter is nothing in the world but the millennium Temple being erected on earth (anyone knows that. See?), when the glory of the Lord fills it and so forth like that. 

Read a few of these scriptures in Ezekiel 40 to 44. 

Eze 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. 

Eze 44:25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. 

Eze 44:27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD. 

As you can see here there are the following things in the millennium:

1. death (ie-dead person, widows)
2. sin (ie-divorce “her that is put away”, sin offerings)
3. sacrifice (ie-priests, “sin offering”)
4. marriage (widows, “not take for their wives”)

The word there in Isaiah 65:20 for die in Hebrew is “muth” and it means death, dead, destroy, kill or slay. 

Another point to be made about the millennium is that according to Isaiah 65:20 there will be children there. 

Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and A LITTLE CHILD shall lead them. 
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
Isa 11:8 And the SUCKLING CHILD shall play on the hole of the asp, and the WEANED CHILD shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 

There will be nursing and weaning and thus birth during the millennium. Clearly the children of the resurrection will not marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be like the angels of heaven. But those who are carried over in the ark so to speak from the time of Jacob’s trouble into the kingdom age will be able to do so. The saints will rule over the nations in that time. 

It also states that there are people that survive the day of the Lord and will come up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple of the Lord. 

Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 
Zec 14:10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. 
Zec 14:11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 
Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 
Zec 14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. 
Zec 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 
Zec 14:15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. 
Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that EVERY ONE THAT IS LEFT of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Isaiah 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundredyears old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” A brother wrote in regards to this verse, ”Maybe it is because they are in hell…” The context of this verse is not at all speaking of hell. Why would they speak of age in regards to someone in hell? The context of the verse is the millennium not hell. 

No one is raised from the dead to live in the millennium because it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. They are people that survive armageddon and the catastrophic judgment God brings upon mankind. 

Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that EVERY ONE THAT IS LEFT of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 

This scripture is speaking of Armageddon when all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against Jerusalem and the Jewish nation. Then it goes directly into the millennial reign of Christ. People are left or in other words they survive armageddon and they repopulate the earth as Noah and his family that was carried over in the ark. 

Take a look at this scripture speaking of the judgment before the millennium. It first says the Lord will make the earth empty and lay it waste and finishes with the statement there will be FEW men left. As in he destroys almost all people, but there are some people that survive. 

Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

3The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

4The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

5The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

6Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and FEW MEN LEFT.

What Are You Looking Forward To?

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. (Proverbs 23:7, King James Version)

This is an awesome truth. As a man thinks in his heart so is he. The popular saying goes, ‘you are what you eat” and while that may be true here we understand that “you are what you think.” This is very powerful. Whatever you think you are that is what you are.

How important is it then for us to be in control of what we are thinking? Sometimes we forget that all around us there is a battle taking place in another dimension over our life and eternal destination. There are angelic beings and demons fighting over us. These demons will speak things into our mind. When something vile or filthy enters our head we tend to identify that it is our thought. When this takes place we need to quickly recognize that a battle is about to ensue. A demon has spoke something to us and we can’t identify with it. We have to fight against it.

How do we fight against those thoughts?

We take the Scriptures that we have hidden in our heart (you have memorized scripture right?) and speak it back to the demon. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

With that said, what is occupying your thought life? What are you looking forward to?

I find that in my own life I’m looking forward to some circumstance taking place. I very much would love to be able to work from home and spend more time with my family, but sometimes I look forward to that so much that I get obsessed with finding the way to do it and spending so much time on that and when it doesn’t happen overnight I’m so disappointed and frustrated. Then I tend to get upset and depressed about it.

Instead of letting those things occupy my mind the things that need to occupy my mind are the things of God and how can I serve Him and others right now and not chasing something that is ahead. If I serve Him today and seek Him FIRST and let Christ be my dominate thought he will give me the desires of my heart.

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4, King James Version)

If my thoughts are dominated by delight in the LORD God and I seek after His kingdom and His righteousness the desires of my heart will be fulfilled. Unfortunately when the desires of our heart are set on things that are temporal you won’t receive those desires. If your mind and your desire is focused on the delight that comes from God alone then those desires can and will be fulfilled. See many of our desires are short sighted. We want bigger houses, nicer cars, a better cell phone, a newer laptop or a different job when eternal delight is right before us in the person of God.

So my thoughts need to be on God and not on myself. When my thoughts are on God then if that desire is truly from Him to work at home and spend more time with my family it will come to pass. If that desire isn’t from Him then guess what? That desire will slip away and I will find my contentment in Him. My desires will be quenched by the unsearchable riches of Christ.

My prayer as you read this post is that the Holy Spirit would search your heart and reveal to you the places that need to come under the gentle yoke of Christ.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5, King James Version)

Make sure to subscribe to our updates via email and if you have enjoyed this post, have questions or thoughts to add please comment below.

Jason DeMars

Stick with the Bible

Preach the Gospel

I have a deep burden in my heart to see the gospel preached here in America amongst and through believers of the end-time message. Here is the reason I have this burden.

I have seen and heard of many people being so disturbed because someone presented them with William Branham and his ministry. They say something like, “the worship William Branham” or “they are exalting a man.” What a reproach this brings upon the word of God!

What happened to following William Branham’s example and preaching the same gospel that he did. Not just a powerless presentation of the powerful ministry of William Branham, but preaching the gospel with signs following. When I say the gospel I mean, the apostolic fathers’ faith, the original faith preached by the apostle Paul. I’m talking about water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, the oneness of the Godhead, the work of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Christ, sanctification of the Spirit, holiness living and salvation by faith alone. The mysteries of the scriptures are important, but people need to hear the original faith and gospel. I am seriously in prayer that the Lord would raise up a generation of brothers that would preach the word and not preach quotes of God’s servant or about the miracles of God’s servant.

As glorious and wonderful as the ministry of brother Branham was we are never called to lift up a man. We are called testify of God’s work, but not before we testify of the real true gospel of the bible and Jesus Christ. My hope is there would be a group of men raised up to preach out of the scriptures and not a bunch of quotes and statements piecemealed together. The gospel (that is the good news that Jesus is Lord and Christ, that he has raised from the dead and that through his name there is remission of sins) comes not in word only but in power and demonstration of the Spirit that faith might be in God and not in the words of men.

My hope is that the saints in America would be revived to this and would go out in our local areas and present the truth we have been restored to in a scriptural means and not as the seven sons of Sceva who said, “we adjure thee in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Many times that is what we do as we preach, “bro. Branham said this out of the bible and bro. Branham taught that out of the bible.” PREACH THE WORD!

I pray the Lord helps us all!

The Bible is THE Absolute

What is God Doing Today?

Is there a living God that speaks, works miracles, and manifests himself TODAY, or is

that a thing of the past or is it simply a myth?

Are you sensing there is more to biblical truth than what you are experiencing right now?

There is a message that God has sent to this generation!

The answer to these questions is in the Scriptures and that is what I stand for in this ministry. He is calling his people back to the bible and the apostolic faith. He hasn’t simply left it up to us to figure it out. He sent a ministry and vindicated His presence with it. So let’s go back to the Bible. I’m not standing for my own thoughts or ideas, but the teachings of the Scriptures, pure and simple without the interpretations, creeds and historical confessions of the church.

Please read through and find out more. But don’t just come to this site to read the articles. Get in contact with me! I’d love to hear your questions and talk with you about what Christ is doing today.

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” 2 Peter 1:12

Through the Holy Spirit we have been given the apostolic understanding of the Godhead, water baptism, the original sin, the new birth, holiness, predestination and the spiritual gifts operating in the body of Christ.

What is the Message of the Hour?

While it is true that God is no longer adding to the canon of Scripture and all truth that God desires us to know as Christians is in the Bible, it is also true that the Church fell away from the original doctrine of the apostles and God since the Reformation has been continuously restoring the Church back to the pure Gospel. To put it in another way God is continually unfolding what is already contained within Scripture. Prophecy is not always immediately understood when written or spoken by a prophet or apostle, but as time goes on God reveals it.

It started with John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and on down the line. While each of these leaders sent from God had a glorious truth to proclaim it was not all that Christ was seeking to accomplish. He continued to work as the years went by, each leader was anointed by the Spirit and sent for a specific purpose. So in our generation has there been a leader sent from the Lord to gather together all these truths taught by the various reformers.

In each generation he sends men to stand as a beacon to reveal what God had in mind for that period out of the scriptures. He requires that truth from our mouths. If someone were to hear the message of Martin Luther in his days, “the just shall live by faith” and reject it they would be rejecting the gospel. Even if they continued in the current religion of the day, which was Roman Catholicism. They were rejecting the word. So is it today when God restores more of His truth to his church. If you reject the word of God in this day you are rejecting the Gospel of Christ. Just because something is not mainstream does not make it wrong. John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin were by no means mainstream Christianity. They were viewed by mainstream Christianity as heretical.

So then what is the message?

William Branham lived from 1909 to 1965. He had many supernatural experiences throughout his lifetime leading to his calling and ministry. Click on the name above to learn more specifics about the mighty signs and miracles God did through him. William Branham went forth with mighty signs and wonders showing that he was a teacher sent from God. This is not about that specifically, it’s about the restoration of the Church to the doctrine of the apostles.

Malachi 4:5-6 says this, “Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers’ lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

Now, first of all, understand that this is a two fold prophecy with a fulfillment in two specific prophets. First, John the Baptist and second William Branham.

To prove this lets read Luke 1:17, “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.”

Here we see John is to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” The Scripture does not say that John turns “the hearts of the children to their fathers.” He turns the hearts of the fathers to the children. John the Baptist does not complete the prophecy of Malachi. So another prophet is going to fulfill the last part of the prophecy.

How did John the Baptist Fulfill Malachi’s Prophecy?

John was the link to the changing dispensations. He preached the baptism of repentance and called the religious leaders vipers. He was called to turn peoples hearts from the doctrine of the Jewish “fathers” to the apostolic “children”. He went before Jesus the Christ as a forerunner to his coming and turned their faith off of the traditional doctrines on to the true faith of Israel and in the coming Messiah.

Then the next part of Malachi’s prophecy does the reverse. It turns the heart of the children to their fathers. Here we see the children whose hearts were turned away from the doctrine of their fathers. There was a restoration needed just as in the days of John the Baptist.

Starting after the death of the first apostles of Christ there was a gradual shift away from the original apostolic doctrines. There are many specific examples and there are other articles written on these specific topics, but two specifics are the doctrine of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. The Gentile believers began to unwittingly apply Greek philosophical thought to scriptural teaching. Thus began the shift from believing in the one God of Israel and his Son, Jesus the Christ to a belief in three co-equal, co-eternal Gods. This is not a Jewish biblical teaching. It is the result of combining Greek philosophy, Gentile religion and Christian teaching. The second, water baptism is a result of this shift from the one holy Name, the Lord Jesus Christ to the titles, Father, Son and Spirit.

The church also shifted from the teaching of justification by faith alone through the sovereign grace of God. They taught that certain works needed to be done in order to complete salvation.

These shifts away from the bible caused the necessity of God bringing forth the Reformation and all the resulting denominations from them. Most denominations have some form of truth that they focus on and is a teaching that God desired to restore to His elect. However, it was not God’s purpose that each of these truths be divided and separate into various factions. He wanted this truth to all be there and available for his elect to embrace and proclaim.

This was the purpose of God in William Branham.

He came and turned “the hearts of the children (of God) to their (apostolic) fathers.” His ministry has turned the Church back to the original faith and doctrine of the apostolic fathers. He told us to get back to the Bible over and over again.

Each denomination has their own take on what the bible teaches. So how do we know the difference? God proved the difference by manifesting himself and showing that William Branham was a teacher sent from God. He was a man approved of God among us by signs and wonders which God did through him.

Of course the objection tends to come up, “why have I not heard of this?” There’s a very good reason for that, but first let’s explore the times when Jesus Christ was here ministering on earth. First of all, was he rejected? Yes, he most certainly was, only the minority of simple people who were not religious authorities accepted him. Second, who were the people that hated him so much that they sought to kill him? Again, it was the religious authorities who were in power and were afraid of losing their power and control over the people.

Search through the Scriptures and find out if any prophets who were totally accepted and applauded by the “orthodox” church, synagogue or temple leaders. Of course they were not accepted by the majority because their ministry came as a rebuke to that majority.

Is different in this day? Unfortunately it is not. William Branham came with a strange ministry to most people. He did not join with any organization or group. He heavily criticized them and was in turn rejected by them, but that did not stop God from accomplishing his purpose through that ministry.

Now, William Branham has been dead for 40 years and MOST people refuse to accept his ministry. Things have not changed, but there are a few who receive the benefits of what God has revealed to us.

Remember, the man is just a means for God to accomplish his purpose. He is simply a chosen vessel God uses for his eternal glory.

What specifically is the message?

The message is what the end-time Elijah is sent for…to bring the Church back to the original faith as taught by the apostles. John 1:5 tells us, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” There is no traditional darkness in God. He is Light! “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” If God is light and the light is what is made manifest then the message itself is a manifestation of God himself.

The message makes manifest God himself as He brings the Church back to the original Bible faith and life of the Gospel.

God is One

I would like to lay out a basic template for a return to the biblical understanding of God and Christ. This is not in any way considered a creed or a final statement as I realize that God continues to unfold himself to each of us as we “grow in grace and the knowledge” of God.

All Christians believe there is one God. However, some teach that the one God exists as three persons, effectually changing the historic belief of a one person God that was and is believed on by the Jewish faith. This faith was not changed when Gentiles were allowed to come to the faith of Christ. The faith was continued. There is still only one God, the eternal and invisible Spirit.

1 Corinthians 8:6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
John 17:3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

According to these verses the Father is the only true God and Jesus is the Lord Christ.

Matthew 16:16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

For the Jew this was not a complex theory about God existing eternally as three persons. They did not seek to understand God inside of himself. They sought to understand God as he related to them at present.

It was clear to the apostles that they worshipped and served the one God of Israel through the Messiah Jesus, the Son of the one God of Israel.

Jesus was a perfect man created by the Spirit of God in the womb of Mary and thus he was the Son of God.

Luke 1:35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Therefore or because of the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost the child born to Mary is called the Son of God, not because of some theory of eternal generation, etc.

Colossians 1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Very simple, Christ is the image or the perfect manifestation and revelation of the invisible God. God was housed, embodied in his Son, Jesus Christ.

How about the Holy Spirit? God is a Spirit, when he condescends and sends forth his Spirit to work amongst mankind it is the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ.

These are very simple and easy to understand issues. You don’t have to have a complex theory and explanation to understand them. The problem is that the philosophical mind approaching them with a pre-existing standard for understanding “things” about the world will want to impose certain ideas on pre-existence of the Son or how the Son was both God and man.

As you seek to explain these issues and use ideas generated outside of the bible you begin to darken the counsel of God and make his word of no effect to the people.

Leave the simplicity of the Scriptures alone and allow the Spirit of God to reveal the Scriptures themselves to the people and not creeds or false ideas.

Of course there are other Scriptures to touch on in future issues like John 1:1, Ephesians 3:9 and Philippians 2:6-9. If the Lord is willing we’ll touch on these sometime in the future

Feel free to get in touch with me with questions by posting comments here on the blog.

I pray that each of you reaches new heights in the Spirit and power of God!