Of Dreams and Visions I

At this juncture in my walk with God facing some critical changes, turning that corner and sensing an urgency in our Christian walk. We see the unfolding of prophesy and events before our very eyes. The recent earthquake in the Cebu or Bohol area shook me much as we hear ofpeople dying and ancient monuments destroyed. So how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation sparing us of this terrible destructions. This article we review the dreams and visions in this end time ministry. 
 

The Birth of The Faith Assembly Church

It was in the month of April 1950 that the Lord began to deal with my soul and I had to surrender my heart to him. A hunger began to build up in my heart not only to want to live for him, but also to know the truth of God's word. It was from April 1950 - February 1952 that God began to teach me truths from His book, the bible.

One morning in February, 1952, I sat down on the living room sofa. As I picked up my bible, it fell open to the gospel of Luke in the first chapter. I read how Zacharias went into the temple to burn incense and to pray. The angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that his wife Elizabeth was going to conceive and bare a son and the son's name was to be John. The angel also told him that his son was to go before the coming of the Messiah in the power and the spirit of Elijah, to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the spirit of wisdom to the just, and the angel never quoted the rest of the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6. This stood out to me as clear as anything could be. I knew right then that God would send the spirit of Elijah again on someone here in the end time in order to turn the hearts of the children in this Grace Age back to the apostolic fathers.

That summer a gentleman came to my farm to squirrel hunt. He told me about a man who had an unusual ministry. He said the man's name was William Branham. As this man told me what the spirit of God had spoken in 1933 while Bro. Branham was baptizing in the Ohio River, something spoke to my heart, I knew if all this was true, then this must be the man that is to fulfill the End time ministry of Malachi 4:5-6.

It was just a few weeks later in August that I had the privilege of being in a meeting at the church where Bro. William Branham was pastor, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Upon hearing him preach and seeing the way God used him, as I walked out of the church that night I knew within my heart this man was truly the Elijah spirit that was to come.

It was at this time that the spirit of God began to deal with my wife and myself about getting out of the Methodist church. While sitting under Bro. Branham, he preached on the need for every true Christian to be filled with the Holy Ghost. In the months to follow, we both received this great gift and left the Methodist church. We began attending the Branham Tabernacle. We sat under Bro. Branham's ministry from 1952 - April 1955. I thank God for the privilege that he gave me during those years to be taught by Bro. Branham. I am a firm believer in the life that Bro. Branham lived and the ministry that God manifested in him. However, I am one of a few that sat under his ministry that never did deify the man and call him the Messiah. I know of many that did and they are still looking for him to come back again from the dead.

In April 1955, the Lord told me to start a church. I felt at first that this would be only a small mission that would last for but a short time. Little did I know that this was to be the beginning of something that God would use and it would grow into a fellowship that would one day be known throughout the world.

It was in January 1969 that we started printing the "Contender". God has blessed this paper. At the present time, it is sent throughout all the world.

Bro. Raymond M. Jackson

In February of 1961, after the church ages were preached in December of 1960, I saw myself in this dream walking over rolling countryside. I knew that I was going to a certain point, where, when I arrived, I would find the place very congested, with many people that had gathered there from every direction. This was all in my mind as I was walking. Then after a period of time I began to notice that from every angle, I could see people approaching, coming from the north, south, east, and west. I could see myself still walking, constantly moving closer to a certain place where I knew that we would all gather. Finally, I saw myself as I came up over this last little knoll, in a rolling countryside, and looking down through a long valley in front of me, I saw a little figure standing by a rock, protruding out of the ground. As I saw the little figure standing there, I immediately knew who the man was. By this time the whole landscape was covered with a great throng of people, converging into a great circle, around that little man, there in the valley. As we all began to get closer, the circle became very congested. People were rubbing elbows with each other, but kept on crowding, moving in closer until we were within just a few feet of the man. Then, I hear myself, in the dream, yell out, really loud, saying, LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS, FOR HE WILLNOT ALWAYS BE HERE! (Now he never told this, that night, when he referred to the dream, in the message, Sirs, is This the Time.) I kept on walking until the whole circle was really pressed in tight around him. Then, I spoke the second time, and said, LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS, FOR HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE WITH US. (Now you will notice that the two statements are different.) The first, was, HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE HERE, and the second was, HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE WITH US.

Now remember, brothers and sisters: I had that dream in February 1961, but I carried it in my bosom until October 1962. In the dream, as we all stood there, I noticed, laying on top of that big rock, a large pinch bar, like they use in rock quarries. I knew that the little man standing there was the only one who knew how to use it. I noticed in the top layer of that rock, was a little hair line crevice, which let me know that there was a crack in the structure of that layer of the rock. And I noticed, in that top layer, large, engraved, words which read, THE ROCK OF REVEALED TRUTH, beautiful letters! Then, as everyone had stopped, and was standing there, he took that bar and drew back, and jabbed it into that little crevice, and lifted that whole shelf of rock. With that, he began to work it, till he slid the whole top layer of that rock all the way off, exposing fresh rock, that had never been exposed to sunlight nor weather. After he did that, he laid that pinch bar on the shelf of that rock, then he turned to look at the people, and said STAND BY THIS. Then he began to slowly move out of the circle, as the people crowded in to look. Something inside of me said WATCH HIM. Therefore, I just sort of turned side ways, so that out of the corner of my eye, I just watch his little profile, while noticing that he had began walking westward. As he continued walking westward, I could see him going over little summits, and then down in the valleys, up and down, until I began to notice that each time he came up, his silhouette was getting smaller, and smaller. Then I noticed that the sun was going down in the west, casting its evening shadows back across the earth. As I stood there watching his little silhouette go over the horizon, there was a feeling came into me; I will never see him again. Then as I turned back to look at the rock for just a moment. I could see that everyone was very busy, looking at that fresh rock, but then they began lifting their heads from looking at the rock, and realizing that Bro. Branham was no longer there, they began to say, WHERE DID BRO. BRANHAM GO? WHERE IS BRO. BRANHAM? WHERE IS BRO. BRANHAM!? Becoming frantic as they asked the question. Suddenly, there was mass confusion, as they all began running in the many directions, and screaming, yelling, and crying. All you could hear, was OH, BRO BRANHAM! WHERE IS BRO. BRANHAM! OH, BRO. BRANHAM! On, and on they went, running in every direction, calling his name in this frantic way. Even as I came out of the dream, I could still hear them yelling, Bro. Branham! It was just like an echo, as I heard it over and over still. With all of that, it left only a few of us standing by the rock, and standing there together, looking toward the west, we had a great feeling of sadness, as we realized that he was gone, never to return anymore. Yet I could see us still standing by that rock.

DREAM RELATED TO BRO. BRANHAM

I never told that dream until October 1962. Bro. Branham came to our church on prayer meeting night, when we were still over here in Clarksville at the old building. After he had finished preaching and the service was dismissed, people began to gather around him to talk and ask questions. I wanted to tell him this dream, but I did not know how to do it without being rude. Just then, someone pulled up in front of the church with someone sick in the car, and asked Bro. Branham to come out and pray for the person. He turned to me, and said, Bro. Jackson, let us go out there and pray. When we were finished praying, and the car had pulled away, I was standing there with Bro. Branham and Billy Paul. I said, Bro. Branham, I have a dream that I would like to tell you. He responded by saying, let us go sit in the car. With Billy Paul as a witness, I sat right there in his station wagon and related that dream to him. When I finished, he said., Bro. Jackson; no one else knows this yet, but that is about to happen. We are planning to move west. That would mean he would no longer be here in this area. After that he said, Bro. Jackson; when this all comes to pass, STICK WITH THE WORD, (as he laid his Bible over on the dash), for they will go after everything, teaching everything.

Then in December 1962 he made reference to that dream in his message Sirs, is This the Time, just a few nights before they left, to move to Tucson, Arizona in the beginning of 1963. Then in March, of 1963, he came back and preached the seals, you know how long he lived after that. Now we no longer have him with us. Do you see why the dream had the two different statements in it? HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE HERE, pertained to his moving away from this area, but HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE WITH US, PERTAIN TO HIS DEATH. We can see that most of the element of people that followed his ministry has gone and done just exactly as he said they would do. They have taught everything. Then they will say, now, Bro. Jackson, I think we ought to try and understand each other, and love one another, and let each man teach the message as he sees it. Brother! That might be the way you would interpret the message, but God will never accept it like that. God did not send that man to produce a church, and a ministry like that. He sent him to bring us a message, so that we could see and hear by the Holy Ghost a message of restored truth to God's word.

I will never forget, as he came back here and preached those seals, referring to this dream, and how it was being fulfilled even then, how conscious I was of the part of the dream that said, He will not always be with us. Now I am thoroughly convinced that the rock in that dream was the TRUE REVELATED WORD OF GOD, even though many of the people have gone after the man, rather than the word of God that the man brought to us. Nevertheless, I am grateful to God that he gave me the privilege and opportunity to sit under that man's ministry. Furthermore, I want you who would read this message to know that I loyally stand behind this man's character, God's purpose in his life, his testimony, and the true Christian example that he set before us. I stand firmly upon the revelation that he brought, to place us back in the word of God, so that we might have our feet planted on that sure foundation, which is Jesus Christ, the true and living word. All of these things have worked together, to make me even more determined and firm, in standing for the word of God. My critics will come and go, but the word of God will stand the test through it all.

(continue.....in Of Dreams and Visions II )