1 Well! I call the Church to much more wisdom. And in this sense, I would like to say that a church member can appear good and yet, he is an agent of Satan among you. Even an assembly can be a synagogue of Satan. For example, a Brother who is severe during public confessions or an assembly which does not say anything when the pastor confesses, it is the devil. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
2 Whatever the sin, as soon as a Brother or Sister has had the courage to come and confess, your mission will not be to scandalize him or her but you should exhort him or her in all meekness so that he or she will not repeat this sin any more. Also remember Solomon before Abiathar, in 1 Kings 2:26.
3 If a Brother or Sister has been a model, made converts, supported the work with all his strength and falls and confesses it at once, be wise! You see? In the same way, take heed not to turn a weak Brother out or even one of the mixed multitude but rather the inside enemies and the Achan. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
4 We are also very proud of the Brothers Moïse, Benié and Coulibaly. They have also showed that a pastor and his assembly can conform to the midnight Cry. And I say it with all my heart… They had a better temple, a better pulpit with wall-to-wall carpet and others but humility prevailed! You see? May God also bless Sister Rachel who gave the money for all the edition of this book. May God bless all the sisters who bear witness everywhere, distributing the leaflets. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
5 Also Brother Fofana has told me that according to science, the spermatozoa going towards the ovum fight and even kill one another. It was a TV channel called "Planet" that showed that… I taught it and I did not know it. You see? It is in the sermon: The passage of the sons of the devil through the flood according to Genesis 7, Kc. 27.
6 Well. Before starting, I would like to answer one question: "Brother Philippe, the Darby version is the one God has recommended to us, but can errors be found in it"? As for me, I have not yet found any error in the Darby version. But remember the preaching "Man’s trace in the infallible plan of God ", talking about 2 Samuel 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 19:18, where I showed that that did not affect God’s infallibility.
7 Take the Bible and see that on the one hand it is said, "And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians SEVEN HUNDRED in chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host … "And over there in 1 Chronicles 19:18, it is said, "And the Syrians fled from before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians SEVEN THOUSAND in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and slew Shophach the captain of the host." You see?
8 God knows that man is fallible, but He can leave the angels and use the man knowing that this one will leave his trace there. But God does it because the trace of the man He has chosen and sent does not affect his infallibility. I do say the trace of the man He has chosen and sent… [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
9 I also preached a Message: History confirms the Revelation. But when I said that the Olivetan version was the best version, it was not that the Olivetan version was perfect and infallible for ages and ages but in those days, it was the version that fitted God’s Message. And you did notice that it was Calvin who wrote the preface.
10 And in this 21st century, it is the Darby version that has fitted the midnight Cry point for point and word for word before we even knew that it could. You see? It was in 2002 that the Revelation indicated the Darby version but from the first preaching to The Epistle to the Shulamite, Darby has never failed. You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
11 It is true that it is often spoken of differences in words but the most important thing is the Spirit of the Message of the hour and the spirit of the version from one end to another that must be one. For example, the midnight Cry says that five of the ten virgins of Matthew 25 did not fall asleep. And Matthew 25:7 of the New Testament and Song of Songs 2:7 of the Old Testament show it.
12 I met a Baptist pastor, he said, "What you’re saying is true but what can I do before a system that I have found in place? If I want to leave it, I have a great family to feed! … The facts are there but we’re obliged to present another side of the reality to people". He said, "We’re under the supervision of the State, becoming church-States like Catholicism for small subsidies…"
13 And to comfort himself, he ended by saying, "You know, God can pass through Caesar to bless you! Crows fed Elijah!" But I felt in him the uncertainty, at times he was thoughtful. You see? He knows that something is wrong, but he prefers to go to hell rather than to take the narrow Way. Thus it is of the sons of the devil! And before leaving him, he gave me all his phone numbers and he told me to visit him whenever I wanted to. You see?
14 Well. This morning, I would like to talk about the subject: The Meaning of the restitution. Thus, let’s take our Bibles in the book of the righteous. Let’s take the book of Job, Job 42:10 to 12. I have noted one passage in the book of Job and another in the book of Daniel. Let’s read that: "And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before... And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning".
15 First, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, everything God has created awaits a restitution. Man awaits a restitution… animals await a restitution… Trees await a restitution… Adam was God in the beginning. It was he who named all the living beings according to Genesis 2:19. And we will be Gods in the Millennium. And our hope received several seals over time.
16 When Moses spoke and things came to existence when waters and invisible things obeyed Moses, … when Adam saw that Joshua spoke and the sun obeyed, you see? That went beyond the position he had. You see? When Adam saw the manna descend from Heaven, angels’ food granted to humans, it was beyond the restitution he awaited. You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
17 According to the dictionary, restitution is a return to the first condition. To restitute means to return, restore, turn back to its first condition… but spiritually, it is more than that. Yet, if God allowed the fall, it was to show that He is the God of restitution. If God permitted disease, infirmity, sterility… it is to show that He is the God of restitution. You see? He not only gave a child to Sara, but He rejuvenated her so that King Abimelech coveted that old woman of more than ninety years old because Jehovah who rejuvenated her is the God of restitution. When He sent Samson, this liberator to Israel, after the fall, God restituted him his strength in such a way that the Bible says that Samson, at his death, killed many more Philistines than he had before.
18 But keep in mind that the restitution will have no significance but when our faith turns to that of the Apostles, that is to say to the faith they had in John 6. Not an apostolic faith but a prophetic one. Jews have the living prophet as their absolute … [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
19 You say, "Brother Philippe, by the grace of God, I understand everything you’ve preached… and I therefore believe it". If after having reasoned and examined, your intelligence was able to grasp and understand that and you believed, it is no more faith… and do not expect some blessings that the restitution orders. No! You did not believe through faith but through intelligence and your level of understanding. It is an intellectual faith!
20 If you say, "Oh! God be blessed! I had some questions, I did not believe but since I’ve been explained it all, I believe now!". If you believe because you have been defeated by the Message and [if] you believe for lack of argument, it is not a prophetic faith but an apostolic faith. Yet the perfect faith is the prophetic faith. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
21 A child of God says, "Brother Philippe, I do not understand it all, but I believe, what shall I do"? The devil’s child says, "There are many truths in it but we must discuss some points!". That one is a son of the devil, and if he is defeated, he will believe! One believes because he is convinced, the other believes because he is defeated. You see?
22 Faith comes from deep down the heart and not from the head… That is why Jehovah’s witnesses who are students of the bible are right not to expect any miracles. God does not deal with the head but with the heart. God does not deal with the intelligence but with faith. Revelation is not accepted by the means of intelligence but by faith. God does not deal and does not work with our intelligence but with our faith. You see?
23 It is good to sing, "When I can’t hear you, accept without understanding, I want to love you more …" on the tune of "O my God, nearer to Thee!" But it is the application that God looks upon. You must not sing that while you are not following the living prophet of your time. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
24 The promises of the restitution are only for those who follow by faith. And in the eyes of God, those who believe this Message are those who believe It, not through intelligence but by faith. They said in the vision, "We have not seen the Angel and the Lamb and we have not heard the Words the Lamb pronounced, but we entirely believe It …" How? By faith! And on the basis of this faith, within this physical and spiritual confusion, the restitution will always be significant for you in this age and the ages to come! And he that hath ears to hear let him hear! [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
25 In the beginning of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ granted a pure Word, a true Spirit and a great power that the devil replaced with theology, spirits of divination and a great power of deception. It was God Himself who allowed that in order to show that he is the God of restitution. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
26 Now I would like to come to the vision of April 24, 1993… After this baptism of restitution, Naaman said that he would not go to any church and that even if his master, the king of Syria leaned on his hand to enter into the house of the god Rimmon, may Jehovah forgive that to him! You see?
27 At the time of the restoration, men were seen like trees. We did not see clearly. A dictionary was seen as a Bible… an encyclopaedia was seen as a Bible… Louis Segond was seen as a Bible… King James was seen as a Bible… Tob, Scofield, Thompson, Colombe were seen… as Bibles but after the restitution, we can see clearly. You see?
28 At the time of the restoration, we saw any spirit speaking with tongues and ministering in a church as the Holy Spirit but after the restitution, we see clearly. Before the restitution, we saw fetish priests in jackets and we called them: "prophets, pastors, men of God" but after the restitution, we see clearly! You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
29 The Bible had promised an eye-salve in the age of Laodicea so that we can see distinctly and that’s what we are experiencing… Naaman did not understand the midnight Cry but when he went through the baptism of restitution, his mind opened, and he understood the depth of this Message …
30 The restitution can only make sense when our faith alone meets and accepts what God is doing, far from human wisdom. Not our intelligence or our reasoning or our understanding but our faith.
31 God gave us this intelligence and wisdom we have, just for earthly things. And we must not mix that with the plan of Salvation. The Word of God comes by the Revelation of God to a prophet and is accepted by faith. Not on the basis of our great Branhamist knowledge according to Daniel 12:4 but on the basis of faith. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
32 Reasoning, wisdom and intelligence in the walk are an abomination. God can tolerate that for a very small time but if all our walk is grounded on our great Egyptian knowledge, then it is wrong. Whoever walks by the intelligence and comprehension has not grasped the notion of a prophet. And yet, it is on the basis of the call and commission that our faith has to be triggered. You see? And what is to produce this faith once for all, God needs to have granted right from the beginning.
33 What do names like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Abdias, Haggai, Zephaniah, Hosea, Joel and others remind you of? Miracles? No! Perhaps they performed some but in the report of the exercise of their ministry, that was not even reported. You see?
34 When Paul presented himself before nations in Acts 26, before Festus and King Agrippa, what did he talk about? Had he tried to show how glorious was Jesus’ ministry? No! Had he tried to show how glorious was the Jews’ departure out of Egypt? No! Had he tried to show how glorious was his miracle in Lystra in Acts 14:8 when that paralytic from birth walked and they wanted to sacrifice bulls to him? No brethren! He spoke about one thing, Paul spoke about only one thing. You see? Only one thing: his experience on the way to Damascus. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
35 He showed how in broad midday a light shone around him and he fell down and a voice spoke to him from Heaven in the Hebraic language, commissioning him… And he concluded in verse 19 saying, " Whereupon, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision". You see? But that meant nothing for those who were listening to himbecause they do not have the notion of prophet.
36 In verse 24, Festus said: … let’s read that, "And as he answered for his defence with these things, Festus says with a loud voice, Thou art mad, Paul". You see? They said in themselves, "But what is he talking about? Instead of saying interesting things… he is telling us about the light that shone around him". But, brethren, pay close attention! Notice! What question does Paul ask to king Agrippa in verse 27?
37 Paul says, "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest …" Paul means that he has the call of a prophet and on the basis of this call as with Moses before the burning bush, all those who were listening to him should believe. Paul means that if King Agrippa believes in the prophets, he must know that this call is the call of a prophet of God! You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
38 When God said to Moses, "Go!", Moses was not with his brethren in Egypt; then he went to Egypt to bring them forth. He was a prophet. When God said to William Branham, "Do not drink, do not smoke, do not defile yourself with women", he was not Christian, but he went to Egypt to bring them forth.
39 When God said to me, "Go!" I was not a Christian then I went to Egypt to bring you forth. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”]. You see? When God said to Paul: "Go!", He was not a Christian then he went to Egypt to bring them forth. Thus does God arouse his great prophets. It was not in synagogues that the Lord Jesus Christ went for his apostles.
40 Malachi 4 says that our faith will turn to that of the Jews which does not rest upon the wisdom of some pharaoh but upon a living prophet. That is what the Branhamists have not understood. As soon as a prophet brought them out of the Babylonians’ pastoral and pharaonic regime, they went back into it, setting up again richer, wiser and smarter pastors over them. You see?
41 But the reason why the nations like pastors, who lead them with human intelligence and force rather than a prophet, is that they have always had emperors, pharaohs, kings, presidents and heads of village established over them. Wise and intelligent people, the type of the pastor. They do not have the notion of the prophet but that will however not be an excuse for them before God. And that has been carried on into the churches.
42 And yet, the greatest priest that God sent on earth, it was Aaron. And Aaron is the type of the four ministries of Ephesians 4:11 which are apostle, prophet of church, evangelist, and teacher. But as soon as the prophet messenger Moses moved away, Aaron raised a golden calf. And that Jewish people ― more spiritual than you ― bowed down to that. You see? Apart from the prophet messenger, they are golden calves… [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
43 And instead of Prophet Samuel, even Jews wanted a king forgetting Hosea 12:13 which says, "And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved." You see? They had not understood anything. And that is why God destroyed those thousands of Jews who went out of Egypt and raised up in their place, their own children who were born and grew up in the desert under the supervision of a living prophet. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
44 In the beginning of the redemption of Israel, the Angel appeared to Moses! In the middle of the Bible, at the beginning of the redemption of the nations, the Angel appeared to Paul and at the end of the Bible, the Angel appeared here again. You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”]. That’s exact!
45 In the beginning, God called, out of Midian, Moses who was not amongst Jews to take the lead of the scene. In the middle of the Bible, God called Paul who was not Christian from among Pharisees. And in the end, He does it again. You see? He called Elisha who was ploughing his field, He called Amos who was shepherding his flock. And you need to accept it and believe it.
46 And like Joshua and Caleb, we have believed without us having seen and heard. And shall not God reward such a faith? He shall! Because it is the faith of the elect, it is the faith of the winners of the age. We are the spiritual posterity of the prophet, conceived under the reign of God by a living prophet.
47 And believing in the prophet, God has sent us a prophet to cross the Waters of the Jordan for the restitution of the heavenly Canaan! Our fathers remained on the other side, Egypt and its pharaohs caught them up! But we have overcome because we have the prophetic faith. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
48 Brethren, there is one faith above the apostolic faith, and it is the prophetic faith. 1 John 1:1 to 3 talks about the apostolic faith, "… that which we have seen and heard we report to you, that *ye* also may have fellowship with us". And one of the Apostles is called Thomas. And like the Bereans, Thomas was the most spiritual apostle. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
49 Yet the prophetic faith says, "We have not seen the Angel and the Lamb and we have not heard the Words the Lamb pronounced, but we entirely believe It …". You see? The apostolic faith says, "… that which we have seen and heard we report to you, that *ye* also may have fellowship with us ". The prophetic faith says, "… that which we have not seen and heard, we report to you, that you also may have fellowship with us". [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”] …
50 […] Well, now I would like to say that whatever the blessing Joseph had in Egypt when he belonged to the Catholic or evangelical church, the land of restitution for him remained Canaan! You see? Brethren, remember that Canaan was Jews’ land and that God simply restituted it to the Jews. Amen!
51 In Genesis 17:8, God had said to Abraham, "And I give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be a God to them." You see? And in Genesis 35:12, God said that to Jacob.
52 But now, I would like to say this, brethren: between Egypt and the restitution of Canaan, there was a desert; and between Matthew 25:6 and the restitution in which we trust, there is the desert of Revelation 12:14. You see? We can receive all the blessings of the earth in Egypt but when the call sounds, you must go forth. It is by revelation. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
53 And to close, I would like to say that in that vision of 1993, the multitude said, "We have not seen the Angel and the Lamb and we have not heard the Words the Lamb pronounced but we entirely believe It, because what God gave and that the devil took, has now been restituted to you."
54 What is this? It is first the restitution of the true faith which brings the blessing to justice as a right for he who believes and who gives the place of God to God and the place of man to man. So that what God gave to the earth and to man and that devil caused them to lose, may be now restituted to them. You see? That had returned to God, its original owner but now that was to be restituted to the earth. You see? [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
55 What God gave to the Church and that devil caused her to lose, has been restituted to her now. But she must recover this true faith. What God gave us as blessings and that the devil took away from us, has now been restituted to us. You, the living Church, because you believed without having seen nor heard, "all God gave you and that the devil took away from you, has now been restituted to you." [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”].
56 Let’s pray now… O God of Moses, Elijah , William Marrion Branham and Kacou Philippe! That makes three times that I preach on the restitution and I have got the impression that it is now that I address it! It is a capital subject for us because the whole atmosphere both natural and spiritual awaits the restitution. There is not only one creation which does not await that! And it is because of the restitution that Thou came to die on the cross because the restitution is man’s divinity and eternity!
57 Lord, may this restitution begin this morning with all those who believe this Message here and elsewhere throughout the world! They are worthy of your grace because they believed without having seen nor heard. May this restitution break the walls of sterility, failure, diseases and poverty! May this restitution break the walls of impossibility that Satan has erected in our lives. May all those who believe this Message experience the meaning of the restitution.
58 May our fleshly, physical, social and spiritual lives be able to flourish again because Thou are the God of restitution. Through our lives and our conditions, Thou have the power to give sense to the restitution! Grant us that and may the honour, glory and the magnificence be to You to the ages of ages, Amen!