The name written on her forehead was a mystery:  BABYLON THE GREAT — THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES — AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth

Revelation 17:5, 18

The great harlot of Revelation 17 is a point of conjecture and debate by students of Eschatology.  Despite its strong symbolism and ties to the city of Rome, being the most notable “city on seven hills” of its day, many have attempted to lay claim that it refers instead to either Jerusalem, or, a some-day-to-be-rebuilt Babylon. Yet, as we study out this passage, it becomes apparent that this part of the vision of John is about Rome, but not just the city, but about something else.

When we refer to “Rome”, we may in fact be referencing more than one thing, and it is necessary to identify to what this name can refer to.  First of all, Rome was a world-ruling empire that dominated the entire “known-world”.  Second, Rome was a city, which was the capitol of the empire with the same name.  Additionally, however, Rome was ALSO the name of the the goddess that personified the city, Rome, or Roma.  This third entity called Rome, or Roma, it is said, “…has been seen as a goddess, a whore, … and as the symbol of civilization itself”.

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From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

The revival we are seeking is the “revival of repentance”.  We could say, we see a measure and we must prepare our hearts more for the coming thing that God has, but the heart of every true revival must always include a increasing draw towards holiness, from the head to the foot.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:41-42

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And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them:

Deuteronomy 7:2

After hundreds of years of slavery, who wouldn’t want want to feel a little more secure?  After wave after wave of persecution, what normal person wouldn’t want to take every precaution to make sure that they are not overthrown again, and not dragged back into slavery?

But, God’s had a plan, namely Himself.  To the eye of man, allies are a good thing.  To Jesus, they are merely barbs, hooks, and thorns in the flesh.

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But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:14 NIV

As C. S. Lewis said, there is a ditch on either side of the road.  But, as it must also be pointed out, between the two ditches on either side of the road is, namely, the road!

Between the ditch of trying to please God through dead works (Hebrews 6:1-2) and the other of “faith without works”, which is dead as well (James 2:20), is a narrow road called The Highway, and its keeper is the Great I AM, the Holy Ghost.

But, There is a road that leads to life, and His Name is Jesus Christ.

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I just love teaching. Oh, my. I–I–I think it’s wonderful. It gives the basis and settles the church.
And in preaching, now, there’s some people that are preachers. They can pick up the Word with inspiration, and sway It out there in places. That’s watering the Seeds that the teacher has taught. See? Now, you got to put some Seed in first, and then water It. And the watering comes from the preaching of the Word.
There’s a great vast difference between a teacher and a preacher. See? It’s two different gifts of the Spirit altogether, two different gifts. And I humbly say this, but I haven’t a gift of either.

But mine, as of usual, is praying for the sick. That’s what the Lord called me to do. And then, in this time it gives a relaxation of my mind to study on something different, not having Divine healing services, just–just teaching the Word. And oh, we get along pretty good here. We… I remember, you put up with me for a long time, about twelve years around here, on it.

–William Branham, The Seven Church Ages (54-0512 p16-19)

The Bible is clear when it comes to judging the motives of one’s heart out of our own fleshly, soulish pride.

 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Luke 6:37

Unless by the Spirit the Lord reveals the heart of another, the fate of another, or the motives, we must not give way to soulish judgment, wisdom of the flesh, or the like.

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It was not until after he had start preaching in 1933 that the Lord informed him of “the importance” of the ministry he would fulfill. While baptising converts in the Ohio River, the Pillar Of Fire descended from the skies and hovering over Brother Branham, a Voice spoke and said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, even so, you are sent with a Message to forerun His Second Coming.” Still, there was no indication of the “type” of ministry it would be or “how” it would climax.

On the Life of William Branham

One thing we must remember when dealing with God’s servants is that they are men.  They always have been men, and they always will be men.  Legitimate men and women of God were used, some with substantial flaws, all throughout the Bible.  And, while some ended well, some did not.  Of those that ended well, most of them also had serious issues along the way.  Of all the notable persons of the Bible, there are only a small handful of which very little negative was said.

1 Kings 13 tells of a true prophet of God who was deceived by an old prophet.  Why the old prophet lied to the young prophet leading him to get killed is not indicated in scripture, but it does call both of them prophets.  Yet, the young prophet, who was told not to eat nor drink on his mission from God, listened to the deception of the old, and was killed by a lion as a result.  He was a prophet; he delivered a right word from God correctly but got side-tracked and lost his life prematurely because of it.

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Only let us live up to what we have already attained

Philippians 3:16

I am glad that Martin Luther posted His 95 thesis to the door.  Despite what other things he may have gotten wrong, including anti-semitism, he saw faith, and knew it was worth losing everything else in his entire life to not only obtain it himself, but to have it overflow and spark a revolution.

I am also glad, however, that John Wesley was not satisfied with the Lutherism of his day.  In this conversation between Wesley and Count Zinzendorf, the two saw eye to eye.  John Wesley separated from the Moravians after this conversation, and was known for his holiness church of Methodism.  What Martin Luther had brought forth with justification by faith, Wesley saw a step to sanctification, to holiness, not in exclusion to it.  What Count Zinzendorf couldn’t see, John Wesley couldn’t deny, and so they had to part ways.

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Then I seemed to go into still another higher dimension. The fishing line I had in my hand turned into a shoestring, about one-half an inch in diameter. I was holding a baby’s shoe, with eyelets about an eighth of an inch in diameter. I was trying to put this half-inch shoestring through one of the eighth-inch eyelets, and I had broken many threads in the shoestring. The Angel of The Lord was still standing in front of me, and he asked sternly, yet kindly, “What are you trying to do?” I answered, “I am trying to lace this shoe.” He said, “You are using the wrong end of the string.”

I looked down at the other end of the string and noticed it was reduced and bound with a metal tip that would easily go through the eyelet. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Sir, I hadn’t noticed that I was using the wrong end.” He said, “You can’t teach babies supernatural things without causing carnal comparisons!”

Portion of a vision given to William Branham

In understanding this portion of this vision given to William Branham, the most important part is the lesson at the end.  You can’t teach babies supernatural things without causing carnal comparisons.  Jesus indicated that the same was true as He was departing, saying, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12).

This lesson was important for the work of William Branham, and it is important for us to understand the principle as we enter into the deeper things of God today.  Let us consider the parable presented by the angel of the Lord.  As we are faithful with what we have (someone else’s revelations), perhaps God will be so gracious as to give us our own.  Only, let us go on to maturity, holding fast to the head, not forsaking the Word.

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Then, from my right side, behind me, came the same voice of The Angel of The Lord, who had spoken to me since I was a child, saying: “I will teach you how to fish; but you must keep quiet-don’t say anything about it!” I answered, “I will.” He said, “Fasten on your lure.” This I did. Then he said, “Now, to catch those big fish you have to go way out in the deep water.” I swung and cast with all my might, and the line went out its full length. He said, “That was good!”

. . .

I got so excited trying to show the ministers how to fish that I jerked the lure completely out of the water, catching a fish about the size of the lure, seemed as though the skin of the fish was stretched tight over the the lure. I wondered how I would ever get it off!

(William Branham’s Third Pull Vision, excerpt)

William Branham was a man sent by God.  He was a prophet, but he was also a man.  When he spoke for God, he never made a mistake, but, in the day to day of his life, he admittedly made a few (as he points out himself, especially as regarding certain personal decisions).  He was no more infallible than the young prophet in 1 Kings 13, who, after he delivered a true word from God, was deceived by an older prophet who deliberately lied and deceived him to eat when he had been told not to.  That prophet, a true prophet, whose prophecies were later fulfilled exactly, made a mistake in his personal life (not his prophecies), and died prematurely because of it.  The same is true of William Branham.

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They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

After the day of Pentecost, after the outpouring of the Spirit, and after the 3000 who were saved in an afternoon through Peter’s stand and preaching, this short verse describes what they considered important.

This verse has several similar to it in the New Testament, as a word study on such words as “devoted” demonstrates, but it is the first, listing four parts that were what they “devoted themselves to”.  Whether it was an exhaustive list is not the point, but simply that these four were important enough to be mentioned.

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