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The Eltham Message Church is one of hundreds, probably thousands, of message churches around the world.
There is no “Message Church” head office, there is no binding doctrine or creeds, each is an independent sovereign church, and each will probably have a different name.
But we all believe that God has sent a message to this generation in the same way He has always sent key messages, through a God appointed man.
But this is about us and our story:

Revelation 10v7

But in the days of the voice of
the seventh angel, when he
shall begin to sound, the
mystery of God should be
finished, as he hath declared
to his servants the prophets.

About Us

We are a small Bible Believing Christian Church with a desire to share what we believe are basic Bible truths with any who are interested.

We meet in the Old Folks Hall on Bridge Street, Eltham, New Zealand at 10.30 am each Sunday.

Our History

Back in 1976 Richard Oliver, as a company representative first called on the Eltham Paint and Revival Book Centre (see separate PDF article, in the Poems Page/About Us: The Eltham Paint and Revival Book Centre) to sell paint and wallpaper. He there met Bill Bailey the owner operator. At that stage Richard was an ordained Presbyterian Elder.

On one visit Bill was reading his Bible and Richard, wanting to expound and show

off his knowledge of the Bible, asked Bill what he was reading. The answers Bill

gave made the Bible a new book to Richard, one that no longer just dealt with history but that was alive and very relevant for today.

It wasn’t long before the various Bible Study groups Richard led were being taught what he had learnt. He then found that the source for much of what he was learning was from an uneducated Bible based American preacher with an incredible healing ministry, William Branham. Always distrustful of any “out of the ordinary preachers”, especially Americans, Richard was nonetheless impressed with William Branham’s preaching as it not only revealed new truths hidden in the Bible but all that was said tied up with other books in the Bible and were in fact major Bible themes. It was only some years later in the early 1980’s that Richard realised that William Branham’s ministry was that of a God sent prophet. It was even later still he realised that this prophet is the one foretold in Malachi 4 and Revelation 10 v7. God both bringing the faith of His children back to that of the apostles and also revealing the mystery of God that no one was to know until the evening time.

In 1981 Richard and his wife Margaret moved to Eltham and under Bill’s encouragement a new Bible Study group was formed. Soon many of those from a previous group in North Taranaki added to the numbers. Within ten years this group had grown to a church that is now the Rapturing Grace Tabernacle in nearby Stratford.

Bill and Richard then started a new group in 1994 that met in Eltham, New Plymouth and Opunake. This group is the Message Church with Sunday services in Eltham, a Monday evening Bible Study in New Plymouth and a video tape evening (of sermons from sister churches) on Wednesday in Eltham.

Bill Bailey was the elder of the church until he died in February 2006.

Richard Oliver is the Pastor.

Richard is very happily married to Margaret and they have eight adult children, four boys and four girls, plus there are now nine grandchildren.

Our Beliefs

We believe that the Bible is God’s written Word. That Jesus Christ is God’s Living Word reconciling the world to Himself, and that the Spirit of Jesus has returned to live in the lives of true believers.

Without restricting or limiting our faith by making statements we also believe that:

God is creating a Bride, His true church, the citizens of the New Jerusalem

He is doing this by revealing His Word for today

A true revelation of God’s Word will always agree from Genesis to Revelation

The churches of the world have fallen into error and unbelief and although there are fine Christians in them the church organisations controls the people instead of the Holy Spirit

As always God has sent a prophet for this time to bring His people back to His Word

Historical, spiritual and Biblical evidence has confirmed William Branham is that prophet for our generation and that Luther, Wesley and the original Pentecostal blessings were moves of God for their day

That the Message the prophet William Branham brought is God’s move for this time

That the choice for many today is to either accept God’s Word or their denominational teaching as the Truth

Why An Eagle Logo?

The eagle is the emblem of the move of the Holy Spirit in this day. It is the fourth beast that surrounds the throne of God and is the only one that is not earth bound.

An eagle in Bible terms is a prophet.

The logo depicts a prophet bring the Word of God in the evening time.

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This Weeks Message

Christmas is the reminder that God came to earth in a human body. Born in a stable to an average family His birth was marked by angelic beings announcing His arrival to shepherds out in the local fields around Bethlehem.
Wise men in the east saw a conjunction of three stars and recognised the significance. They travelled to Israel looking for the new born King and new High Priest and found Him, not in the Jerusalem but in the town named House of God’s Bread, or Bethlehem.
As He grew He was stigmatised for being born illegitimately and his adopted town of Nazareth did not have the best reputation. Living in a country oppressed by a foreign power he suddenly became famous at the age of thirty when for three and half years His preaching and miracle working became the talk of the land.
Falsely accused, the religious leaders arranged with the Roman authorities to have Him put to death in one of the most painful ways possible; crucifixion.
Just to ensure the body couldn’t be stolen and another miracle claimed the tomb was guarded by armed soldiers.
But on the third day the body rose from the dead, resurrected, as had been prophesied. Even the followers of Jesus had difficulty believing what had happened.
God is a spirit. He had lived in the body known as Jesus of Nazareth. Fifty days later that same spirit, the very life of Jesus. came down and into 120 believers in the upper room. Jesus Christ was alive again on earth, born in believers, changing them from fearful believers into a body made up of individuals, each preaching and living their part of Him.
And that is the real Christmas. Not just the arrival of God in human form two thousand year ago but the arrival of God here today in His people, born into hearts no cleaner than a stable but with a life that is eternal.
What a message!

Brother Richard Oliver
Eltham Message Church

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