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    {{7 Seals}}
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    William Branham preached a series of sermons in March 1963 on the Seven Seals of the book of Revelation.  This article contains a summary of these sermons as taught by William Branham, who taught that each seal identifies a religous disturbance.  Much of William Branham's teachings on the Seven Seals can also be found in the works of Clarence Larkin, a dispensational Baptist author. 
    William Branham compared Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:7 with the Third seal.   
     
    Each seal opens a new chapter in the book sealed with seven seals.  This page reviews William Branham's commentary on the third seal, as found in the fifth and sixth verses of Revelation Chapter 6. 
     
    <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Revelation Chapter 6 Verse 5</div>


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    {|style="width:100%; background-color:#cedff2; border:1px #a3b0bf solid; text-align:center;"
    |''And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.''  
    |Matthew 24:7<br>
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    ''For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.''<br>
    <br>
    Revelation 6:5-6<br>
    ''And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ''
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    ====The Lamb opens the third Seal====
    ==Paying for Heaven==
    The Lamb of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, opens the third seal.   
    The third seal is rider on a black horse, with balances in his hand.  A voice speaks telling the rider not to hurt the oil and the wine. William Branham said the beast in this seal is the man-angel and represents intelligence.   


    During this sermon, William Branham identifies the Black horse rider as vicar over the trinity of earth, purgatory, and heaven.  He says that this rider makes other people pay to enter heaven, pay for prayers, pray for “novenas” and “hail Mary’s”.


    ====The third beast====
    ==No Forced Conversions==
    The third six-winged beast, which has a face as a man, says "Come and see."  William Branham taught that like the Gospel of Luke the physician (the third of the four gospels protecting the testimony of Jesus Christ, and giving witness to the book of Acts), the man testifies of the humanity and wisdom of Jesus Christ.  Under the anointing of the man, the Medeival Christians passively resisted the spread of Catholic Orthodoxy, changed the course of history by preparing the world for the emergence of Luther, and spread the message of the Reformation.  
    William Branham calls the oil and wine the Holy Spirit, and the stimulation of Revelation.  The rider is instructed not to touch these things.  In other words, there will be no forced conversions or attempted conversions of true believers during this time.


    :''"Like this: "If you catch some of My little flock that's filled with My oil and wine (See?) wine and oil of the pure Word (See?) and you're going to kill them, 'cause you--you're doing that, that's what you're doing, don't you force them to say any "hail Marys," or do anything like that or some of your creeds. You keep your hands off them, they know where they're going."''


    ====The Black Horse====
    But does this explanation match history, which is full of inquisitions and forced conversions by most religions?  Even the 20th Century has seen significant persecution of Christians, especially those who convert from a Muslim background.  But why does William Branham's explanation of the Third Seal ignore this?
    William Branham taught that a horse represents power, and black represents blindness.   


    After the fall of the Roman Empire, much of Europe became illiterate, with only the rich and the priests having time for education.  It was during these turbulent years that the fame of [[Columba]] and the Celtic Christians spread throughout Europe as they evangelized and taught the peasant people from hand-copied Bibles. By the 1200's the Cult of Columba had spread across Europe, and many independent Christian groups were reproducing scriptures of ancient Celtic origin as they found the means. 
    ==Avoid other Christians==
    During this sermon William Branham also encourages his congregation to [[Amos 3:3|dis-fellowship from other Christians]], saying ''“The Message going out right here is to “Stay away from that poison thing!” See? See? 'How can two walk together lest they be agreed’”''?


    The Roman Catholic Church followed a distinctly different pattern.  The First council of Nicea in 325 A.D. condemned the writings of Arius (his book "Thalia") in the Church's first official act of censorship.  By the end of Medievel times, the Catholic Church had gone so far as to condemn the reading of the Bible in the vernacular - the language of the peasants - in decrees from the synod of Toulouse (1129), Tarragona (1234), and Oxford (1408) [Censorship of Books, New Catholic Encyclopedia, www.newadvent.org]. 


    This censorship of scriptures is the darkness of the black horse, which was conquered only by the Spirit of God moving through the wisdom of man: the invention of the printing press and mass-production of the Bible.
    ==Plagiarism==


    {| class="wikitable"
    !What William Branham Said <ref>William Branham, March 23 1963, The Sixth Seal</ref>
    !What Clarence Larkin Said <ref> Clarence Larkin, The Book of Revelation: A Study of the Last Prophetic Book of Holy Scripture, 56 (Philadelphia, PA: Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate, 1919)</ref>
    |-
    | style="width: 50%; background-color: white;"|
    | style="width: 50%; background-color: white;"|
    |-
    |Now, we're going to open the Third Seal. It's found in Revelations 6:5 and 6.
    And when he had opened the third seal, I--I beheld the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that set on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
    And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts saying, A measure of... penny--a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and... wine.
    Famine, see? Exactly the same Seal, same thing Jesus said. All right. 


    ====The Rider with balances====
    |
    William Branham taught that the Rider on the third horse is the same rider that came on the white horse and the red horse.  The Antichrist Spirit of the white horse became the false prophet of the Red and the Black Horses. 
    When the “THIRD SEAL” was broken John heard the third or “Man-like Living Creature” say—“Come,” and a “BLACK HORSE” appeared... The “BLACK HORSE” signifies famine...  
     
    The balances in the hand of the rider represents economic control, and substitution.  After the fall of the Roman Empire most economies were barter societies. It was only after 1000 A.D. that the merchant economy of the Muslims began to heavily influence trade in Europe, re-creating the monetary society of the Roman Empire.  Instead of trading goods for goods, money was again substituted for everything.  The Catholic Church also picked up this advancement, and began selling indulgences for money (i.e. I'll sell you my extra good works to cover your sins) until this practice caused [[Martin Luther]] to nail 95 thesis on the door of a Catholic church demanding an end of this practice.
     
    In addition to substituting salvation for money, the Catholic Church also substituted the Holy Ghost with traditions, grace with judgement (the Inquisition), revelation for political power, and the Bible for "mystery religion".  With regards to political power, the feudal system of Medieval Europe began with the rule of Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, and gave the Catholic Church the authority over the people through the ignorance and economic chains that held the peasants.  To object to this system was considered blasphemy, as the kings were ordered by God, and this sustem supported the "Millenium" of the Catholic Church.
     
     
    <div style="border-bottom:1px #B87333 solid; text-align:center; font-size:140%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">Revelation Chapter 6 Verse 6</div>
     
    {|style="width:800px; background-color:#cedff2; border:1px #a3b0bf solid; text-align:center;"
    |''And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.'' (Revelation 6:5-6)
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    ====The Voice in the midst====
    The four beasts guard the throne of God.  The voice in the midst of the beasts is God himself. 


     
    ==Questions you should ask yourself==
    ====The Wheat and the Barley====
    '''If William Branham discovered the errors of Denominations during the Third Seal, why did he preach “Why are we not a denomination” (also titled “The Great Harlot”) on September 27, 1958 and identify “the mark of the beast, which is Romanism; and the image of the beast, which is Protestantism” in a sermon on March 18, 1962?'''
    William Branham taught that wheat and barley was the staff of life for the Children of Israel.  They were harvested at different times during the year (Barley at the start of the year, and wheat at the end of summer) and required the former and latter rain to mature.  For the Christians, the wheat and barley represents the staff of eternal life, which need the presence of God to mature.  In order to mature properly, a Christian needs both prayer and scripture. 
    :''“That denominational System, now I see it right here.  I never knowed it till now.”''  
     
     
    By controlling access to the scriptures, and access to God (saints serve as mediators instead of Jesus Christ himself, who is the only true mediator between God and man), the black horse creates a famine for the Word of God. 
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    [[Category:Doctrines]]
     
    [[Category:Plagiarism]]
    ====A penny====
    [[Category:Eschatology]]
    William Branham said:
    [[Category:The Seven Seals]]
     
    [[Category:William Branham pointing to himself]]
    :''We can scarcely get anything from Christ's ministers but for money, at bishopping money, at marriage money, for confession money - no, not extreme unction without money! They will ring no bells without money, no burial in the church without money; so that it seemeth that Paradise is shut up without money. The rich is buried in the church, the poor in the churchyard. ...The rich man may readily get large indulgences, but the poor none, because he wanteth money to pay for them."''
    [[Category:The Message]]
    :(Juan de Valdez, a Roman Catholic and brother of the secretary of the Emperor Charles V) [Professor Arthur Noble, European Institute of Protestant Studies, The Resurrection of Indulgences or Is Tetzel really dead? 1/15/1999, http://www.ianpaisley.org]
     
    In the Old Testament, the book of Job records that God set barriers that Satan could not cross in his persecution.  God's word in the third seal also set barriers for Satan to work within: he was free to rule the economy and charge for prayers and salvation. 
     
     
    ====The Oil and the Wine====
    William Branham taught that the oil represents the Holy Spirit (Lev 8:12, Zach 4:12, Mat 25:3-4), and the wine represents stimulation by revelation (Acts 2).  Touching the oil and the wine would result in pollution.  God's decree for the Black horse rider not to touch the Oil and the wine has a two-fold meaning: first the rider does not have the Holy Spirit or stimulation by revelation, and secondly, he is not allowed to take the Holy Spirit or the stimulation by revelation from anyone. 
     
    '''The Catholic Church without the Holy Spirit:'''  The lives of the Popes in the Dark and Medieval Ages and the Reformation age are mainly secular, and highly immoral.  For example:
     
    *Pope Benedict IX (d. 1048) was pope three times (abdicated for money twice), and was perhaps the most morally perverse of any other pope.  
    *Pope Nicholas V (d. 1445) Legitimized the slave trade of "unbelievers"
    *Pope Boniface VIII (d. 1303) imprisoned the previous pope, who died in custody, and wrote that ''"is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff"'' and ''"The Christian religion is a human invention like the faith of the Jews and the Arabs."'' (Based on a posthumus investigation held from 1303-1311 republished by J. Coste)
    *Pope Clement VII (d. 1534) (caused the English schism (and the Anglican Church) by denying the divorce of King Henry VIII - yet he was the illigitimate child of Giuliano de' Medici and was also the father of an illigitimate child whom he installed as the Duke of Florence.
     
    '''The Catholic Church without stimulation''': While many of the Protestant and pre-protestant churches were lively, musical, and demonstrative in praise, the Catholic Church praised the glory of form, tradition, sanctity (in public), and hierarchy.  As evidence of the lack of "stimulation" in the Catholic church, from 800 A.D. to 1300 the music of the Catholic Church was the plainsong and Gregorian chant.  In 1364 Pope Urban officially sanctioned polyphony for use in sacred music; however, even after this time the worshiper and the musicians were separate - one part listened, and the other party played.  While the Catholic Church does integrate musical worship in its congregations today, it also accepts non-Christian forms of worship.  For example, Pope John Paul invited Bob Dylan to sing at the Vatican in an act of acceptance of Rock and Roll.  But music only represents stimulation, it does not represent revelation. 
     
    '''The Catholic Church without revelation''': Bishops, Cardinals, theologians and all church members are censured by the Vatican as to what they can say or do, or face excommunication.  This form of discipline is most commonly exercised over priests and bishops.  As an example, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church very soon after he was given the revelation that the "Just shall live by faith."
     
    '''The Catholic Church not able to take the Holy Spirit or Revelation from the people''': The Catholic Church did set up the Inquisition to examine and reconvert "heretics".  However, this was a slow process, and the majority of the martyrs during this time were not given the option to recant prior to their execution.  For example, in 1209 the crusader army attacked the Cather town of Béziers.  Instead of separating the Catholic faithful from the Cathar "heretics", the papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, Abbot of Cîteaux, declared “Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own”.  Arnaud, later wrote to Pope Innocent III and declared: "Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex".  These "heretics" therefore died in the faith, and were not given space to recant as was given the early Christian Church during the reign of the pagan Roman empire. 
     
     
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    Revision as of 21:39, 23 August 2015

    Click on headings to expand them, or links to go to specific articles.

    Links to other articles in the series

    This article is one in a series of studies on the Seven Seals - you are currently on the topic that is in bold:

    William Branham compared Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:7 with the Third seal.

    Matthew 24:7

    For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

    Revelation 6:5-6
    And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

    Paying for Heaven

    The third seal is rider on a black horse, with balances in his hand. A voice speaks telling the rider not to hurt the oil and the wine. William Branham said the beast in this seal is the man-angel and represents intelligence.

    During this sermon, William Branham identifies the Black horse rider as vicar over the trinity of earth, purgatory, and heaven. He says that this rider makes other people pay to enter heaven, pay for prayers, pray for “novenas” and “hail Mary’s”.

    No Forced Conversions

    William Branham calls the oil and wine the Holy Spirit, and the stimulation of Revelation. The rider is instructed not to touch these things. In other words, there will be no forced conversions or attempted conversions of true believers during this time.

    "Like this: "If you catch some of My little flock that's filled with My oil and wine (See?) wine and oil of the pure Word (See?) and you're going to kill them, 'cause you--you're doing that, that's what you're doing, don't you force them to say any "hail Marys," or do anything like that or some of your creeds. You keep your hands off them, they know where they're going."

    But does this explanation match history, which is full of inquisitions and forced conversions by most religions? Even the 20th Century has seen significant persecution of Christians, especially those who convert from a Muslim background. But why does William Branham's explanation of the Third Seal ignore this?

    Avoid other Christians

    During this sermon William Branham also encourages his congregation to dis-fellowship from other Christians, saying “The Message going out right here is to “Stay away from that poison thing!” See? See? 'How can two walk together lest they be agreed’”?


    Plagiarism

    What William Branham Said [1] What Clarence Larkin Said [2]
    Now, we're going to open the Third Seal. It's found in Revelations 6:5 and 6.

    And when he had opened the third seal, I--I beheld the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that set on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts saying, A measure of... penny--a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and... wine. Famine, see? Exactly the same Seal, same thing Jesus said. All right.

    When the “THIRD SEAL” was broken John heard the third or “Man-like Living Creature” say—“Come,” and a “BLACK HORSE” appeared... The “BLACK HORSE” signifies famine...


    Questions you should ask yourself

    If William Branham discovered the errors of Denominations during the Third Seal, why did he preach “Why are we not a denomination” (also titled “The Great Harlot”) on September 27, 1958 and identify “the mark of the beast, which is Romanism; and the image of the beast, which is Protestantism” in a sermon on March 18, 1962?

    “That denominational System, now I see it right here. I never knowed it till now.”


    Footnotes

    1. ↑ William Branham, March 23 1963, The Sixth Seal
    2. ↑ Clarence Larkin, The Book of Revelation: A Study of the Last Prophetic Book of Holy Scripture, 56 (Philadelphia, PA: Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate, 1919)


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