This is certainly a difficult issue to tackle for the PTM Contender, but I feel it is a critically important subject to cover. If we go the wrong way in either direction, we will be critically out of balance way down the road. Some of you may be well aware of these issues and some of you may not. I want to do my best to present this to you succinctly. Here is a basic summary of the two viewpoints:
- Jesus left the mercy seat, took the book, opened the seals and now is on the judgement seat. [The views vary on this side, but they mostly start with: for the Bride there is mercy, but for everyone else there is judgment. Or they say that the Bride is the intercessor now and through the Bride the foolish virgin, etc. receive mercy].
- The seals will actually and completely be opened at the time of the rapture. Jesus is on the mercy seat because the seals are not open yet. [Some views differ on this, but some say none of the seals are actually open, just revealed, and others say that six seals are open and the seventh will be opened at the time of the rapture]
My purpose would be to present to you a third view which, I feel, is more in balance with the Message and the Scriptures; but first, let’s review some various statements from Brother Branham that lead people to these views:
“394. Well, I believe, with all my heart, the seat is still open. I believe He is still on the Throne of God. But soon He’s going to rise now, and come forth, to claim what He has redeemed. He is doing the work of Kinsman Redeemer, while Ruth is waiting.
- But soon, you know, after Boaz done the kinsman work, then he come and claimed his possession. And that’s exactly what the Bible said He done, ‘He come forth and took the Book.’ Then intercession is over; He is off the Throne; there is no more Blood on the Mercy Seat. And then what is it? Judgment Seat.” [1]
This was spoke in the sermon “The Fourth Seal.” Here, Brother Branham illustrates very vividly, clearly and starkly he believes there is still mercy and that Christ is still interceding for us; but he says that soon Christ will take the book and claim his possession. When that happens, there is no more Blood on the Mercy Seat and intercession is over. He doesn’t say that intercession takes on another form. He clearly denotes, when the seals are opened and he claims his possession, mercy is finished and turns to judgement. Here is a quote that is taken by some to show that indeed there is still mercy because only six seals are open.
“170. You think that little noise out here in Tucson was something, when He opened the six Seals, that shook the country around about, and caused the talk.” [2]
Thus, it is said six seals are open and when the seventh is opened it turns from mercy to judgement. However, I want to show you multiple spots where it is clearly iterated that seven seals are open.
“But now He promised us a full square Meal, the full seven course Menu, for all the Seven Seals are opened, and everything is ready for the Word of God, to those who can receive!…?” [3]
“We find out that, during that time, I saw seven Angels in a—in a form of a pyramid, that swept down and picked me up. And I was brought East, to open the Seven Seals for God.” [4]
“141. The mysteries was in the Seven Seals. When these Seven Seals was opened, that opened up the entire Bible. The Seven Seals; It was sealed with Seven Mysteries, and in these Seven Seals held the entire mystery of It.” [5]
“279. It’s all revealed in There, and the Seven Seals opened up the revelation of what That was.?” [6]
There are four quotes saying clearly that the seven seals are all open. If only six seals are open, then the scroll is not finished being revealed; and as such, the mysteries of the New Testament cannot be revealed completely: Malachi 4 could not have been accomplished restoring us back to the original faith. All seven seals are open. Now, this question came up in 1964, I want you to read it closely:
“197. ’Brother Branham! Some says mercy is over and no one can be saved. Now, is this true?’ (I’m glad I got this one.) We watch and pray…We watch the prayer lines, and it seems some are still finding mercy.
Now, that’s the first question: you got two.
- ‘Is mercy over?’ Don’t never think that! See? Just keep right on doing everything you can until you’re taken away. See?
199 We notice in the prayer line some finds mercy. Sure! Mercies, the doors are open. See? I think where you got this, this thought might lay between…See, I don’t have time to give each one of these Scriptures their right place, (you see?), each one of these things their right place. They…In the prayer line you find mercy, certainly.
200 If I knew Jesus was coming this afternoon, I’d be doing just the thing I’m doing right now (see?), just continuing right on. Mercy is always open. See?
201 And now, where I think you get it, is about the finishing of the Seven Church Ages and the Seven Seals being loosed. See? The Seven Seals, it’s manifested what takes place has… what has took place. The Seventh Church Age, we’re at the end of the Seventh Church Age. When I say the end, that doesn’t mean it’s this very hour, this very minute. You remember, the Bible said, back in the times of—of the Lord Jesus, Paul said, ‘For the time is at hand.’ Do you realize how long that was in God’s time? That was yesterday. My time, it’s been two thousand years. See? The time is at hand. See? What God calls at hand is not what we call at hand. See?
202 So just keep on believing, keep on praying, keep on… God’s still got mercy open; just keep flowing into it as fast as you can. God will do the stopping when it’s time to stop. See?” [7]
This had become a doctrine, that mercy is over, among message believers and Brother Branham is asked to solve the issue here. He says you may have gotten that from listening to the Seven Seals, being loosed. He says it is the manifestation of what has taken place and then clearly states that God still has mercy. For those that state that mercy is over or has taken another manifestation you really have to misinterpret things. We have Brother Branham clearing up this issue. The question comes, “Is mercy over?” The answer comes back, “No.” Some message preachers come back and around and say, “Well, Christ was interceding for the ignorance of the people. Now, the seals are open and there is no ignorance anymore, so there is no mercy anymore for the denominations, but there is mercy for the Bride.” You will never find Brother Branham say anything close to this. Notice what he says in the sermon, “Proving His Word” in 1965.
“362. And Jesus came to—to redeem those that were in the Book. In the Bible, the Lamb came from behind the curtain, and taken the Book and opened the Seals that It was sealed with, for He came to claim all He had redeemed. He’s the Intercessor now, an Intercessor making intercessions for those who He has redeemed. All whose name was written on the Lamb’s Book of Life, is redeemed.” [8]
- The Lamb came and opened the Seals to claim all he had redeemed.
- He’s an intercessor now.
Brother Branham is perfectly comfortable saying both of those things in the same sentence.
“But He had to redeem Her, which is His Body. She has to be redeemed in order to come to Him. Do you see it? [Congregation says, ‘Amen.’—Ed.] Oh my! See, it couldn’t have happened then. The redemption is going on.
- Now you see the Seals? When He’s in His mediatorial work back there, redeeming, but some day He comes forth to get this Book that He’s redeemed. And all that’s in this Book would be Him, for that’s the believer, the words in the Book, and the Word is Him. And all that’s in that, He come forth for this Book of Redemption, whose names are written on the Book before the foundation of the world, when He was slain as a Lamb.” [9]
Notice what Brother Branham says here, about redemption: He says it, “is going on.” Then he says “Now [do] you see the seals?” He is in his mediatorial work redeeming and takes the book that he’s redeemed. So, he already has taken the book in March of 1963. He already opened the seven seals. And Brother Branham tells us that, “… redemption is going on.” I want to show you one more quote that shows this final redemption process is going on prior to the seals being opened. That is, that the seals set something in motion. It is not the seals being opened and suddenly redemption is over with.
“149. The Lamb came forth, walked up to Him that had the Book in His right hand, and received the Book; climbed up on the Throne and sat down. That’s it. It was over (when?) when the Seals was revealed. When the last one, that was everything that He had redeemed, there was nothing… He come to redeem.
- Say, ‘Why didn’t He redeem them forty years ago? Two thousand years ago?’
- See, their names are on the Book of Life, in that Book. And He had to stand here, because it was God’s purpose to redeem them. Their names were put on the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world. The Lamb was put there with it, to be slain. Here come the Lamb, when was slain, come back to make intercessions.” [10]
In the middle of this quote he makes the comment “Why didn’t he redeem them forty years ago? Two thousand years ago?” This demonstrates that when he says redemption, he is not speaking of the act of Christ shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins. He is speaking about making his claim upon all the elect who are written in the Book of Redemption. On the one hand, he says it is all finished when he took the book and revealed the seals. On the other hand, he says, in the previous quote we referred to that, “… redemption is going on.” When he takes the book it’s finished; but on earth it sets in motion a process of redemption that is taking place now. Remember, just in 1963 after the seals were opened Brother Branham refers to Jesus Christ as our High Priest 41 times. High Priest, of course, is the office of a mediator. As we read earlier Brother Branham said, “The Lamb… has taken the book and opened the seals… He’s the Intercessor now, an Intercessor making intercessions for those who He has redeemed.”
“109 Now that, the Blood, see, we are saved by Blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.” [11]
“Oh, He might—He might have been all of that; He was all in all. But above all that, He was God Himself. The Bible said, “We are saved by the Blood of God.” God Himself, not a third person or a second person. The Person, God Himself, great Jehovah, overshadowed Mary; and the Creator, and created both the blood cell, the life, and also the egg.” [12]
“270. You’re the virtuous Bride of Christ, washed in the Blood of Christ. Precious, virtuous, sinless Son of God standing with a pure, unadulterated Bride-Word that He washed by the Water of His Own Blood; that become flesh and manifested, that He might take you which were predestinated in the bosom of the Father, before the beginning, the same as He was. He was that great attribute of God, called “love.”” [13]
The Bride of all ages is washed in the blood of Christ. It is not through only faith in the Message that we receive forgiveness of sins. The blood of Jesus Christ is the means of our salvation. It is applied to us by faith. This does not change in Brother Branham’s teachings after the opening of the seven seals. Yes, in 1963, in the sermon “The Indictment” he says, “… And the day that the denomination crucified the Word of God and accepted a creed in the stead of the Word, that’s the day that the Word come into full effect. That’s just been recently.” He also says it is through the Blood, the washing of the water of the Word is a Scripture he often refers to. It is in the end time that this truly comes into effect, now that the restoration of the original faith comes and Christ is preparing for himself a Bride without spot or wrinkle. But he never disconnects this from the blood.
“274. Pure, unadulterated; oh, hallelujah; leaving soon for the skies; amen; standing ready. Think. Your garments, washed by the Water of the bleeding Word! The Word become Blood. The Word bled for you, and you are washed in bleeding Word. The Word, bleeding!” [14]
“No! They want to come here to the church for the perfecting. See? That we—we get fellowship one with another here at the church, but the perfecting comes between us and God. The Blood of Christ is what perfects us in the Holy Spirit.” [15]
[1] 63-0321, The Fourth Seal, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[2] 64-0802, The Future Home Of The Heavenly Bridegroom And The Earthly Bride, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[3] 65-0218, The Seed Is Not Heir With The Shuck, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[4] 63-0623m, Standing In The Gap, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[5] 63-1110m, Souls That Are In Prison Now, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[6] 64-0614m, The Unveiling Of God, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[7] 64-0830m, Questions And Answers #3, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[8] 65-0426, Proving His Word, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[9] 63-0728, Christ Is The Mystery Of God Revealed, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[10] 63-1110m, Souls That Are In Prison Now, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[11] 64-0404, Jehovah-Jireh #3, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[12] 65-0429b, The Seed Shall Not Be Heir With The Shuck, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[13] 65-1125, The Invisible Union Of The Bride Of Christ, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[14] 65-1125, The Invisible Union Of The Bride Of Christ, Rev. William Marrion Branham
[15] 64-0830m, Questions And Answers #3, Rev. William Marrion Branham
Discover more from Present Truth Ministries
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.