Now watch this doctrine of Balaam most carefully. Notice above all, that it is the deliberate maneuver of a corrupt clergy to bind the people to them, by leading the people deliberately into the sin of unbelief. The Nicolaitane doctrine was the corruption of the clergy as they sought political power amongst themselves, while Balaamism is the subjection of the people to their system of creed and worship in order to hold them. Now watch this carefully. What was it that bound the people to the nominal church and thereby destroyed them? It was the creeds and dogmas formed into church tenets. It was the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. They were not given the true food, the Word. They were given the food that came from idol worship, Babylonian paganism wrapped up in Christian terminology. And that very same spirit and doctrine is right amongst all Protestants and it is called DENOMINATION. Nicolaitanism is organization, humanizing the leadership of the church, and thereby deposing the Spirit. Balaamism is denominationalism which takes the church manual instead of the Bible. And right to this hour, many of God’s people are caught in the snare of denominationalism and God is crying to them, “Come out of her My people, lest ye be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not her plagues.” You see they are ignorant. But if the rapture should take place at this moment, ignorance would be no court of appeal from the judgment of God for being in the wrong ranks.

William M. Branham, a prophet from 40’s and 50’s, wrote the above words towards the end of his book on the seven church ages.

 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

John 18:36

Jesus said His Kingdom was not of this world, nor of this realm.  It was the Kingdom of the Heavens.  John 3:3-5 indicates that the Kingdom cannot be seen nor entered unless one is born again, born of the water and the Spirit.

Whether a reign on the Earth is a physical one or not, the Kingdom will never change.  It will never be of this realm, it will never be primarily Earthly, it will never be anything but what it is.  It is Eternal, and while heaven AND Earth will pass away, it remains forever.  It is ever increasing.

If there is to be a physical outworking of the Kingdom, even as our prayer is, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”, the manifestation of the Kingdom in the physical universe is witnessed, but the Kingdom itself is not, except to those born again.

When we consider the words of William Branham compared to the church today, the results are stunning.

The Word says we will all be taught by God, but now we people who teach us.  The Word says the law will be written on our hearts, yet lawlessness is increasing in the organized church.  The Word says that they will know that we are Christians by our love, and yet, when was that the thing that struck you the most about a group of Christians?

On top of this, how often do you hear someone preach a sermon such as the Sermon on the Mount back to back with a miracle meeting?  Jesus did, and said that He was The Way.  Tradition is a powerful force, and often not for good.

Until we understand Gospel faith, we will understand nothing.  Until we see the Kingdom, not the miracles, and not the church, we are useless for bringing about God’s righteousness in the Earth.

It is only when we sell all and buy the treasure, the pearl (Matthew 13:44), that we have something of real value!  Until then, we are in the same boat as John the Baptist, only not as disciplined…

Until we see the Kingdom as the higher road, the truly spiritual one, and not the false religions of this world, not even comparable, we do not walk in deep, Kingdom life, with power, love, authority, and His authority.

William Branham, in his own simple way, identified some of the primary ways in which we lose the anointing.  The moment we organize, and rely upon our own institutions, we have begun to buy into the anti-christ system.  The moment we begin to bind people to ourselves, our organization, or anything other than the Word Himself, we have stepped into the doctrine of Balaamism, and the path is getting darker.

The fires of revival die when we organize.  Why?  Because, most happy are those who are poor in Spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom.  The power of the Kingdom flows most freely on the edge, where you’re not sure if you’re going to make it.  If you’re not on the edge, you’re taking up too much room!  Why?  Because, when you’re dependent upon Him, you get the most done.  You know every move matters.  Yet, when things are running smoother, they matter more, even when we cannot see!

Organization is the strong arm of the flesh attempting to balance the ark upon the ox-cart we are illegally transporting the glory upon (the name Uzzah, the man who died touching the ark of the Covenant in 2 Samuel 6:8, means “strong arm of the flesh”).  If God killed that man for improperly handling His Holy things, let us take caution to know how the Spirit wants us to handle them.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  This is the only Biblical way that Faith comes.  Books can be helpful, but when it comes to healing, why do we need another handbook on how to do it?  If you didn’t believe the first one, the Gospels, why will you believe another?  There can still be a place for testimonies, experience, and the like, but nothing will bring Faith but the Word itself.

The point of Christianity is to get to know God.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:3

Anything that looks like the Old Covenant of ritual and formulas is a broken shadow, and is a yoke of bondage according to the book of Galatians.  Anything else, done in any type of hope that it will bring you to know Him, or bring you into right standing, other than faith in the grace through the cross of Christ, is also witchcraft.  And, as William Branham pointed out, any attempt by the church to bring people’s focus to anything other than God through His Word and Spirit, is not only vain, but is training the people into the sin of unbelief and binding them to themselves and their organization.

We must come to see the Kingdom.  We must come into it more and more.  We must, fully, bring it to Earth as in Heaven, as Jesus demonstrated each time He destroyed a work of the enemy.

God is  spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

If what we are doing does not lead us into a deeper relationship with Him, and get to know Him, and fall more in love with Him, we must STOP IT, repent from that dead work (Hebrews 6:1-2, dead, because it does not lead us to the life of God that is found in Christ), and rely upon the one and only source of our life, the one and only source of our Spirituality, the one and only source of truth, our Lord.

Failure to do this, actually scatters.  Those with a bent towards power, seeing a dead church, will gravitate to the new age and the occult.  Those with a bent towards religion will settle in and, so long as things LOOK nice, but don’t threaten them personally, will overrun the place and make sure nothing ever grows, and will kill everyone who tries.

But, the life in Christ, that receives His word, and allows a place for it to grow, separating themselves from the concerns of this life by fully identifying with the crucifixion of Christ, produce a harvest.  It is an Eternal Harvest, it is of the Spirit, although there is a manifestation of that which is in the Spirit in the Natural, and it is Christ.

Is your way getting to know Him as a person?  Do you find yourself growing in love, and brotherly kindness, and who He is?  If not, get out of organization, fall on your face in desperation, cry out with all of your heart, and when you seek Him with all of your heart, you will find Him…  But, probably not before.