Chapter 15

THE THRESHING OF BABYLON…

“He will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into his barn and will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, and his fan is in he hand.” Now, let’s turn back to the old threshing machine, where they threw the wheat in. The first thing that happened was, that the bundle of wheat went through the shaking stage. It shook and shook and when it got back there, the chaff was shaken loose from the wheat and the chaff was sill laying round it and it reached the back end and the fan was going and the wind blew the chaff away, and when it got the chaff blown away, it shot the wheat out into the bags.

That’s just exactly what the Gospel will do! The first thing it will do is to shake the wheat loose and then, one needs to be rid of the chaff. What’s the chaff? The chaff is that which grips the kernels. It takes a good machine to separate it. It’s the flesh, the human ways. The chaff must be burnt up, and the wheat, go into the bags. God says, Son of man, I have given you a sharp threshing instrument. Thresh old Babylon and get the wheat out of her. Where do we thresh? God spoke of His threshing floor. Where is that? It’s right in the congregations. What was the temple built on? What was Solomon’s temple built on?

God told David to go on up the hill to Ornan’s threshing floor and when he got there, he was threshing. Ornan did not want to sell it. He said “I am threshing”. But God had said for David to buy the threshing floor. So David said, “God wants it and sent me here.” The Scripture says David paid full price for it. He killed the oxen that were being used to tread out the wheat and offered a sacrifice to God and God said, “I want the temple built on this floor.” Why? It‘s a type. The Church is where we “thresh”. It seems there’s been everything going on in the church except threshing. But God has his fan in his hand. What is His fan? His ministry!

The Seven stars were in Christ’s hand. God still stands ready to gather His wheat into the barn or into the Church. And He will burn up the chaff, but He needs a preacher to fan the two apart. This thing of letting sinners feel that they are a part of the congregation of the righteous is not God’s plan. David in his first Psalm said a sinner couldn’t stand in the congregation of the righteous. Many have taken the Scripture wrong, and say that we must not be righteous people, because there are sinners in our midst and they don’t get saved. We want all the sinners to come to services---that will come. Sinners are the material we have, to make saints out of, for you can’t make saints out of hypocrites or professors. You have to have sinners, to make saints. What did David mean when he said a sinner could not stand in the congregation of the righteous? The sinners can come in and sit in our midst and feel welcome and at home. But when the man of God gets up with a measuring rod and begins to thresh, he divides the congregation then and there.

Every saint knows he is a saint, and every sinner knows he’s a sinner, and the congregation is divided by the Word of God and the sinner, feels out of all hope and alone. You want him to know that you love him and you want him to feel at home, yet the preaching of the truth has separated him and he knows he’s not a saint. This thing of taking in all kinds of people and swallowing them up and making them feel that they are a part of the church, again, is not God’s plan. The true message of the Church, will separate the saints from the sinners and the sinner will know that he cannot stand among the saints and feel righteous and worthy. That’s God threshing machine.

It’s sad to see when you travel over the country, it’s hard on professors. We still have the Pharisees and Sadducees. When John saw them in the baptismal line he said: you say you’re Abraham’s seed but you are the sons of serpents. We run into people all over the country that are like the scribes and Pharisees, or the religious professors. When I go to hold meetings sometimes, they come up to shake hands. They tell me they’ve been in the church for years. However, that has nothing to do with it. That won’t work. There are no great grand children in the church. The 12 chapter of the Revelation informs us that there was no place found for them---when the Word of God is turned loose and begins to pound and the wind begins to blow, there’s no place found for them

Paul, in the 19th chapter of Acts, went down to Ephesus and the power of the dragon was strong there, for the city was wholly given to idolatry. They worshipped Diana, the Goddess; and the dragon was there. Who, or what did Paul mean when he said he wrestled with the beast of Ephesus? He fought false ministers down there in that idolatrous city. Paul started to preach the Gospel---that God was not a God worshipped with hands. He was not made of wood and stone, but in him we live and move and have our being. Demetrius got so stirred up because he thought Paul would put him out of business, so he had a big celebration and got all the worshippers out with their images and they walked the streets for two hours saying “Great is the Goddess, Diana.” When they got though, Paul took the pulpit and preached on the corner; and the Word of God grew and prevailed. The stone was smiting the image and they brought their books of curious arts and false teachings and burned them, and the Word of God grew and prevailed and there was, in time, no place found for paganism.

When the Gospel truth is turned loose, there’s no place found for the false belief that had bound men. If you are sure that the false teaching of the millennium is right, let the stone pound on it for a while. When truth is rightly divided, there’s no place found for manmade creeds and doctrines. You cannot find any place for it in the Word of God---in either the Old or the New Testaments.

Chapter 16

THE MOUNTAIN ON FIRE…

We were asked recently, if we did’t tire of going back to Pentecost and coming down through the Christian eras. No, I replied. “Every time I come through I bring somebody out with me and I go back and start up through again.” I don’t know how many times I’ve been back there. These trumpets are warnings.

In Daniel the second chapter, we have to find out what this mountain was, which was on fire. The 35th verse of the 2nd chapter, gives us understanding. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away, that no place be found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. The 45th verse, tells us that the stone was cut out of a mountain without hands and became a mountain and filled the whole earth. There are two testaments in the Word of God (Old Testament and New Testament), two tabernacles or temples built and two mountains---Mt. Sinai and Mt Zion.

In the 12th chapter of Hebrews Paul writes, you are not come to that mount that cannot be touched, you are come to Mt. Zion. Daniel said that the stone was cut out of the mountain and became a mountain when the body of Christ, the Church of the living God, made the new mountain, the mountain of the Lord’s House and it filled all the earth.

God said, “I am going to bring earth and heaven together.” The day the baby was born in Bethlehem, His father was in heaven, and His mother was on earth, and He brought heaven and earth together, and the babe was born not of the will of man. What a mystery! He that made the first woman---was born of her. Talk about condescending. He stooped when He was born of a creature he had made. It reminds us of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

THE BEAUTIFUL PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN…

In the 10th chapter of Luke, a lawyer tried to tempt Christ as to whom his neighbor was and Jesus taught him who his neighbor was and taught us the truth. He showed us man’s fallen condition. He went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. From a holy state to a fallen one, and on the way he met the very devil and sin, that robbed him of his raiment and left him half dead. When sin gets done with you, you’re half dead. You’re alive physically, but dead spiritually. A priest came along and he wouldn’t help him. But, it wasn’t a question of “wouldn’t help him---He couldn’t help him. The old law was weak through the flesh. He came by and looked on him and said, “You’re a sinner”, and kept right on going, because the law could not help him. The next who came by, was a Levite, representing the Levitical law, and he came down closer and taught him of sin offerings and peace offerings and that sin cost something and that it would take a terrible price to pay for his sins.

I’ve said, that back under the law they didn’t sin freely like the people do today. When you sinned back under the old law, it cost you the best heifer you had. Why, if they’d broken the law and transgressed as freely as men sin today, they would’ve soon been out of the cattle business. The devil has the people feeling that they are living under grace, now, and are freer to sin or not as they choose. In reality, sin costs more today than it did back then. Sinning, today, is against the blood of Jesus Christ. The Levitical law, taught a peace offering---and sacrifices could not touch him.

Then, along came a good Samaritan. He was a man that owed the Jew nothing. He came right down where he was. This is why Christ had to be born of a woman. He had to come down to the very human plane we are on and he poured in the oil and the wine and healed up the wounds. The oil and the wine will heal the sin business. But he didn’t leave him there. If he had left him there, he would have been beaten and bruised again. But the Word of God says he picked him up and put him on his own beast. What does this mean? The same power that upholds Christ, is today upholding us. The same way, Christ overcame sin, we can overcome sin. Even the very power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power, which Paul declared when he said: “We walk in the newness of life.” But he didn’t stop there. He brought him to an inn and said to the host, “here are two pence. That will take care of him till I come again.”

But what’s the inn? It’s the Church, the body of Christ. That’s the only place Christ leads anybody here on the earth when they get saved. Christ never led any man to join an organization---only men lead people to join earthly institutions. He brought him to an inn and said to the host, “Take care of him.”

Let’s get this message today: The new born babes are on our hands. This old complacency where men are seeking their own convenience and forgetting about the new converts, is also not God’ plan. These babes in Christ are on our hands. He brought him to the host and laid him there before him and said, “Here are two pence. That will take care of him till I come again, and anything else you spend; when I come again, I’ll repay you.” How do we know this was the Church? What are the two pence? What does it take to keep God’s people till He comes again? It takes two pence---the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit.

Again we read, he said the kingdom is like a man that went away to a far country, but before he went he called his servants and gave them his goods. We have the same goods that Jesus gave the people then. What did he give them? He gave them the Word and the Spirit, the same as he gave all the way through. Thank God, He has delivered unto us, (the Church) His goods.

Well, what more can we spend than the Word and the Spirit? We can spend our bodies in service for Him. He told us, if we wore this one out in service to Him, He’s going to give us a new one, when He comes again. Thank God.

The stone was cut out of Mount Sinai and it became a mountain. When did that stone become a mountain? It became a mountain on the day of Pentecost. After Christ rose from the dead, went up to the right hand of God, sent His Holy Spirit, organized the Body of Christ, (the Church) gave her power and understanding---then, that stone became a mountain.

GOD’S HOUSE ESTABLISHED IN THESE LAST DAYS…

In the second chapter of Isaiah, we read, “It will come to pass in these last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established in the top of the mountain and all nations, the black, the white, the red and yellow will flow into it.” The government of our great land and movements of men are trying to pound men together. They’re fighting across the tables they sit around, and exchanging their own opinions of the whole matter. Man never did have a law, and never will have, that will make a white man respect a black one, or a black man respect a white one. But God has a law the will make them love one another and flow together.

Brethren, we will have to acknowledge the fact, that the thing most needed, is to have the wine press set up. We cannot have unity until we’re liquidized. Rev. 14, tells us all about the wine press and how God will send men to gather the clusters, (God’s people) hanging on the vines in Babylon---gather them off and harvest the earth, because the grapes are ripe.

And then, what does he do? He brings them to Zion and puts them in the wine press. Is this the wine press? Jesus said: “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy Word is truth.” He puts us in the wine press, and puts the squeeze on us. Then, the juice of all the grapes is squeezed out and flows together as one. When we get liquidized, you can’t tell one grape from another. When God unifies us, there’s no man can make grapes out of us again. You can’t legislate them in, you can’t force them, but they are flowing together. It makes no difference what the color is. They flow together (in Mount Zion) with love and care for each other.

This is the greatest day the Church has existed in. We, (as the children of the King) through the leading of the Holy Spirit, have the answer to the problems that are concerning our national leaders. They have no answer; they’re in distress. But we have the answer. We have the message the whole world needs, today; the only thing that will bring all nations together in peace and unity before God. It’s found right in the truth of this very seal (or portion of scripture) we’re studying. We were called to Louisiana to preach the Word, down there. Did we preach this unity, there in the very heart of the southland? Yes. God has promised, if we’ll be true to Him, no one could touch a hair of our head, unless he permitted it. They were raising money to send to Africa to help the black man find Christ. But in that very city they caused him, (by their customs) to have to step off the sidewalk, when a white man came along. Where, then, was their Christian love for the soul of the black man?

One night, there were several ministers there, and about four of them stood up and “talked back to me”. They said, “You’ve come down here, trying to change in a week’s meeting, what it took fifty years or more to establish as a custom.” But I answered: “The Word of God is quick! It may have taken sixty years to get that old practice in your hearts, but God can take it out in six seconds, if you’ll meet the conditions.” I’m talking now, about something the wind will carry away (the Holy Spirit will clean it up). If you’ll let the wind carry it away, you won’t be troubled with it anymore. Because, there’s no place found in the true Church of God, for race prejudice or respect of persons, because it’s sin. You’ll never get the white and the Black together, by negotiation. The need is, a real baptism of the Holy Ghost, that will put them on the same level and cause them to love one another. Another minister stood up and said, “You’re handling a subject that’s too big for you.” President Eisenhower was our president then, so he said: “Eisenhower can’t handle it and you’re trying it.” I replied, “I have a different instrument then he has. This instrument (the Word and the Spirit) will handle it.”

Yes, there are some things for which there is no place found, in the true Church of God. How did they get in our midst? Too much letting up, on old fashion preaching, has let these things creep in. It’s simple carnal pride; and what have we to be proud about?

A brother preached a sermon, dealing with worldliness. He said that an old peacock strutted because of her feathers, and that, if her feathers were all pulled out, it would take the strut out of her. When he was through preaching, my father went out at the back of the tabernacle and met him, saying, “I can’t go along with you this morning. You may know the church doctrine, but you know nothing about peacocks. It’s the nature of a peacock to strut. You can pull out all her feathers and she’ll put up the stubs and strut. It’s simply her nature.

Worldliness is a heart condition, but in the true Church of the living God, there’s no place found for it.

Well, the stone became a mountain and filled the whole earth. We’re now speaking of the mountain on fire. For the mountain on fire, was the Church of the living God. How did it get on fire? It got on fire by the preaching of the early days of history---the preaching of hail and fire. Some of you have been enjoying the good spirit in the camp meeting. How did we get it? We got it by hail, fire and blood. That will make a fire. That’s what set the mountain on fire and it will set the church on fire, yet. Go into some of these dry atmospheres, and if you can get on the program and be under the anointing of God and start preaching old time Bible truth, the first thing you know, the fire will begin to burn.

Chapter 17

THE STONE BECAME A MOUNTAIN WHEN IT BECAME MOUNT ZION…

Some people don’t understand. They think Mt. Zion has a geographical location. They don’t take you into the church unless you come from this place or that place. The Lord will show us where Mt. Zion is, however. In the 4th chapter of St. John, Jesus carried on a conversation with the woman at the well. He told her he would give her a drink and she would never thirst again. Some people even think that He gave her a cup of water. He began to give her a drink when He began to expound the Word of God to her. The very truth of the Gospel and the Spirit of God began to envelope her soul and work a change in her.

There are many who could work for the Lord, but wouldn’t be acceptable to work with you. This woman had had several husbands; and the man she was living with, at that time, was not her husband. Nevertheless, Jesus said, “I’ll give you a drink.” She said, “Our father’s worshipped in this mountain, (in that day also, mountains were an expression of different places of worship) but you say Jerusalem is the right place to worship.” He answered, “The hour cometh and now is when the true worshipper will worship the Father in this mountain.” What mountain? The mountain of Spirit and truth!

This is the high mountain that the angel took John upon, when he saw “the City”. “He carried me away to a great high mountain.” You can’t go down in the lowlands or you’ll never see the City. You have to be “carried away under that great high spiritual position”. Only spiritual men and women, whose spiritual condition is in a good shape, can see that city in all her glory. Daniel said that this would become a mountain and fill all the earth. Isaiah and other prophets, pointed to a day, when the knowledge of the Lord would fill the whole earth, but millennialists pick that up and say there’s going to come a day when the knowledge of the Lord will fill the whole earth. The stone became a mountain, when it became Mt. Zion; when Christ acquired His spiritual body, the Church. When does it fill the whole earth? What does that mean? Earth? Man and woman. Eph. 1:19: “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (20) Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. (21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. (22) And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (23) Which is His Body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” What earth gets filled with His knowledge? Not the soil, but this earth: mankind. When we get filled with His fullness, we are filled with the fullness of Christ, or truth. So the mountain on fire symbolizes the morning church, baptized with the Holy Ghost.

The grass was burned up. We told you that the grass was a symbol of the old fleshly nature of man. It is a beautiful and awesome sight to behold a mountain on fire. But it’s a sad picture when we think of her being cast into the sea.

God tells the truth when He gives the story of man and relates the bad as well as the good about him. He relates how Moses became angry and broke the tablets of the law. He also told about Abraham and how he failed to tell the truth when he was down in Egypt. There are people who are willing to hear the good things about the church of today, but they don’t like to hear or to talk about an apostasy or a falling away. However, this is true as anything else and the trumpet needs to be sounded out to warn men and women today. The apostasy was a deceptive thing, and it wrecked a good part of the kingdom of God before men ever realized what was happening. Paul tried earnestly to show them that the mystery of iniquity was already working. You have a terrible time getting it over today. You can go to any sect or to their leaders and say, “You people have apostatized”. They reply, “We have a broader view of the thing. We’re getting along better than we ever did.” Again, if you go to the compromising leaders of the church of God---and you will have the hardest kind of time, trying to convince them that they’ve fallen from truth. Why? Because, they don’t see it--- the thing is so deceptive. It has stolen the very vitals out, and left them with a mere profession and a certain feeling that they are in better shape than they ever were, before. The Bible tells us that they say, “We are rich and increased with goods,” and know not that they are poor. But the Revelation tells us that the second angel sounded, and as it were, a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea. We have found out what that mountain is.

THE CASTING DOWN OF THE GREAT MOUNTAIN…

This casting down of the great mountain---symbolizing the apostasy that took place in the morning church, happened because of the way the trumpet was sounded. This followed the sounding of the trumpet. If the trumpet of this age, had continued to sound the same as the first trumpet, this would never have happened. People say today, that it doesn’t make too much difference what you preach. It makes all the difference. The second trumpet failed to sound out and preach a straight (all truth) message, and a sad condition came, in the church. So the mountain on fire was cast into the sea.

In Daniel 8:10-12, we read about an abomination that would practice and prosper, and the truth would be cast down. Daniel 8:10, “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them (11) Yea, and he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, An by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. (12) And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced and prospered.”

The same thing is prospering today, that the morning church laid hold of and caused to crumble. How can it stand today? It can stand because the church now, in our time, is failing to put out the unadulterated Word. We should all live the Word of God more than we love America. Why? This earth is going up in smoke one of these days, but the truth will carry us to a new earth where we will live forever. The Church was falling out of God’s hands, not as a whole, but a great part of it fell out of the hands of God, and into the hands of men. As soon as men began to take over the church, it began to lose its lofty position and came down. Acts 20:28-31: “Take heed to yourselves and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers.” There’s where we need to take heed. As to what we feed the flock, or preach to here; for what is preached causes her to become what she is---weak or strong. Take heed to yourselves. Why? You can understand the doctrines of the church, but you can’t preach it, if you don’t live it. There will be no power in your preaching, unless you live a life that backs it up. There’s a cry today in the church of God ministry. It’s, “Take heed to yourselves and feed the flock.”

If we can get the ministry straightened out, we’ll be able to straighten out the saints. The enemy knows where he can work and where he can’t. He also knows whether or not you have power to resist him.

Paul was working faithfully and casting out devils, and the Jews said: “Well, let us try to do it.” So they laid hands on the man who was devil possessed, and said, “We adjure you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, come out of him.” But the evil spirit replied, “Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you?” And the result was very disastrous. But when a real man of God rebukes Satan in the name of Jesus, he has to go. In His name, we have power over every effort of the enemy and we can still put scorpions and also serpents under our feet. The devil has to go. Peter tells us the same thing. Jude said to earnestly contend for the faith. And why? Certain men had crept in unawares. Jude 10, “They speak evil of those things which they know not, but what they know naturally, as brute beasts. They creep in, not even sparing the flock today, leading away disciples after themselves.”

How do we start leading away disciples? When the truth plainly teaches doctrinal points, and we start saying, Well, we don’t believe in that, we don’t practice that, then, some or many of the flock starts following us, and we meet on the campgrounds and hear more plain truth and…Well, we decide to follow what our pastor preaches instead of taking a stand for truth. That pastor is leading us away after himself. When we leave the pathway of holiness and the Word of God, people should refuse to follow us. People tell me my people are following me. I answer that they are supposed to follow me, as I follow Christ. The pastor is the overseer, but it is the privilege of every saint to make sure the pastor stays in line with truth. Paul said to follow him, as he followed Christ. Keep your eye on Christ and follow him, regardless of leaders. Jude is speaking of these men that crept in unaware. I don’t like this creeping business. Peter points them out for us. They go around privy with their doctrine. May we be able to mark such, so that you will know who they are.

A man of God has enough confidence in his message before God that he will get up and preach before great numbers. Paul knew that he had the will of God in his ministry to the Gentiles and said: “I withstood Peter, face to face.” I said, “Peter, you are a good man, but you have not seen all the truth yet. The Gospel is for the Gentiles too.”

We love God’s people, but we must tell them the truth. We need to be more careful with this matter, of some speaking boldly, as the Spirit of God leads, and others gathering in little groups to criticize and to disagree privately; it divides the flock. “They speak evil of the things they know not and what they know naturally as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves; woe unto them.” They went the way of Cain. What did Cain do? He killed his brother. Why? He killed his brother because his brother’s prayers went up and his didn’t. They have Cain’s spirit. Again, why did Cain kill Abel? Abel truly worshipped God and his smoke went up and Cain’s didn’t. These critics are just working to kill your influence. Your smoke is going up and theirs is not.

BALAAM STROVE TO PROPHESY FOR REWARD…

“They went the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam.” Balaam was a man of God that was requested by Balak to curse Israel. Balak was afraid of the Israelites. He knew he could not stand against them, so he talked the prophet into going over and cursing them, and then he could handle them. Balaam wanted the gifts they offered and wanted to go before he even prayed. If we want real direction from God, we had better go with an open heart, because if God sees that you’re set in your heart to do a certain thing, he’ll let you do it.

Now Balaam prayed more than once, so God said, go ahead. He would go with him. God letting this prophet go down to curse Israel? So on down the road they went, but soon an angel of the Lord stood in front to the mule on which Balaam rode. Well, the mule balked and would go no further. When men get started going contrary to God’s will they become dumber than an ass. The ass could see the angel, but the man couldn’t. Why couldn’t he see it? As he had gone on riding along, he kept thinking about that gold. He still wanted to be true to God, but he also wanted the gold. So he was so wrapped up in what he was thinking, he couldn’t see spiritual things. So he began to whip the mule.

Finally God put a voice in the mule, saying, “What’s going on here?” But God let him go on down. Balak said, “Are you ready to curse Israel?” He said, “Yes, I’m ready.” But every time he arose to curse Israel, he blessed her instead. He even began prophesying about the star that came forth out of Jesse and other prophecies. Balak told him he didn’t get him to come to bless Israel, and Balaam replied, “How can I curse what God blesses?” He tried it again and again, and every time he got ready to curse Israel, blessing would flow from his mouth. Balaam ran greedily after reward.

How many today have misled the children of God, for the sake of reward, position, salary, or reward of some kind? But, again God says such men perished in the gainsaying of Core. Perhaps you’re well acquainted with what Core did. She led a delegation against a man of God. God worked through Moses to lead Israel. Core rose up and said, “Is Moses the only one who hears from God around here?” Well, she began to divide Israel. She led a delegation against the very leadership of God

The 12th verse reads: These are spots in your feasts. Do you want to know why we’re not having greater feasting time in the Lord? We need to clean house. The thing has gotten so spotted, there’s not much of a feast to it in many places. How shall we clean them out? Just start preaching the truth and putting the Word on these conditions.