Go Back to the Bible !

I enjoy gathering with my brothers and sisters in Christ, reasoning together in the Word. It is good to examine doctrines and beliefs, to search them out carefully. But it must be done the right way, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the Scripture says in the book of Isaiah,

“Come now, and let us reason together,”Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.—Isaiah 1:18

And as we read in the book of Acts, Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, showing them plainly what the Word said, and proving every point by the authority of God’s Word.

Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,—Acts 17:2

And as the Scripture says in 1 Peter 3:15, we, as believers, are to be always ready, always prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in us, but to do it gently, reverently, and guided by the Spirit of God, not by our own ideas or traditions of men.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.—1 Peter 3:15

Now, in the light of these biblical verses, if someone asks us about our faith, how do we answer them?

With the Holy Bible, the Word of God!

The problem is, instead of going back to the Bible when there’s a disagreement, many believers just start quoting Brother Branham’s sermons and threat the prophet's words as though it supercedes the Bible. They use the quotes from the sermons of the prophet as if they're above the Bible. That's a very unbiblical position! Brother Branham never told us to do that. Quite the opposite.

We believe Brother Branham was God’s prophet for this age (), but even he pointed us back to the Bible. The Word is our absolute (, ). When we leave the Bible behind and start building teachings on sermon quotes alone, especially when taken out of context, we’re walking on dangerous ground.

Idolatry in the Last Days

Brother William Branham never tell us to print paintings of likeness of Christ such as Hofmann's. As a believer, we are supposed to weave our Bride gown with the Word. Can anyone tell me where in the Scriptures that says a Christians must have a painting of Jesus Christ's look-alike ?

Brothers and sisters, Hofmann's painting Christ At 33 is just Hoffman's imagination. Brother Branham himself said no artist can paint His picture. If you insist that you get to hang Hoffman's painting in your house because the prophet did it, also Ask yourselves these questions:

And all these questions are far off the point in the first place because Brother Branham never told anyone to hang Jesus Christ's images in your houses. You won't be checking any words from the prophet against the Urim and Thummim because the prophet never said anything about venerating copies of Hofmann's paintings. You will be checking YOUR interpretations and opinions of what the prophet did. And YOUR interpretation is not in the Bible. The Word of God will never light up to confirm YOUR interpretation.

Remember the Bereans in . They listened to the Apostle Paul, but they also searched the Scriptures daily to check if what he said was true. If they did that with Paul, shouldn't we do the same today?

Let’s not just repeat quotes. Let’s go back to the Bible. That’s what the prophet told us to do. The Message isn’t a replacement for the Bible, it’s a call to return to it. Amen.

God bless you. May He lead us all deeper into His Word and keep us anchored in the truth.

In service of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Bro. Eric T. Cesar