¹
Thank you, Brother…?… You may be seated. First, I've been so busy
today till I've missed some sick calls. There was some people on
private cases to be prayed for, that I was supposed to meet. But now,
the–some of the–one of the parties, I believe Billy said was from
Canada, two or three different places. Now, they come in here, you
know, and stay in hotels and motels constantly all the time. And I go
meet them, meet them and pray for them coming in from everywhere from
around the world, and Asia, Europe, and everywhere. Day by day, when
we're here, people are coming in. There's better than six hundred on
the list, waiting for private interviews, and so it makes it kinda
hard. But the people that's real sick and emergencies to be prayed for,
why, I try to meet them.

²
And just, well, since I been in there with the trustee board, on a
little hearing with my board of trustees here at the church, we had to
meet a few moments ago. And during that time it throwed me off about an
hour and a half, and there was some people supposed to be here at that
time to be prayed for. If they are here, I would like to have prayer
for them at this time. So if they will, those people that were supposed
to be prayed for, well, if they'll just come up now while the pianist,
ever who it is, will come and–and give us a little chord of "The Great
Physician Now Is Near, The Sympathizing Jesus." Now, those who are to
be prayed for, if they will, how many there was I don't know. And you
are the brethren, I suppose.
Brethren, I've suffered much in my own body. Jesus bore in His body,
suffering, that He might be the right kind of a Mediator, because He
being God made flesh so He could suffer, He could feel the pains of
infirmity. And that's why He come to make an atonement. And in this He
commissioned His church to continue His work.

³
And I have–I have high regards for medical profession, surgery and so
forth, who–who with the talents that God has given them to do certain
things to the body, to operate and remove teeth that's got bad,
and–and so forth. I appreciate that. But there comes a time when they
are beyond their–their knowledge; they–they don't know what to do.
See? And I think, then, we have a perfect right, as we would in the
natural, if we went to our family doctor, maybe a–a doctor out in the
country, some good old doctor that pack a lantern and walk through the
field of a night to find you, to doctor with you. And if he fails to
know, he'll go to someone just a little bit higher than he is. He'll
send you to a specialist. And now if the specialist don't know, I–I'm
glad we got another Resource, the great Physician. And He doesn't fail,
this One doesn't, because He's the Creator Himself. And He's made a way
for us.

⁴
Now, if there was any healing power within myself to do it, I–I'd come
there and do it. I–I would just be glad to. But as healing power, I
have none; no other man has healing power. But we are commissioned
(See?) from Christ to pray for the sick, Who has already put on deposit
the healing power. See? And we're only coming, as it was, to write a
check on that. "And whatever you ask the Father in My Name," that's the
blank check. "Whatever you ask the Father in My Name, that I'll do."
What a promise, just can't fail. And I have helped my brothers and
sisters around the world make these deposits–or make these drawings on
these notes in God's Bank, on the Blood of Jesus Christ. And it's been
very successful. He's always paid off, and because the deposit's
already there. You see? "He–He–He was wounded for our transgressions,
with His stripes we were healed." See, it's all over. And we're happy
tonight for your faith.

⁵
I believe Billy was telling me, one brother comes all the way from
Canada or somewhere. And is that right? You the brother from Canada?
And–and where you from, brother? Kendallville, Indiana, from Fort
Wayne. I was married in Fort Wayne. I well remember. Had many meetings
there at the Redigar Tabernacle. I guess you know where it's at. And I
remember, as a little boy, setting at the feet of Paul Rader in the
Redigar Tabernacle, as just a young student minister. He's a great man,
Brother Paul was, and so was Brother Redigar, man of faith. Their soul
rest tonight. And now, as I was a little boy, I'm trying to carry on
what they left, what Jesus left for His church all the way down.

⁶
Now, with all the faith that I have, I'm coming to pray for you. And
I–I'm not coming as just haphazardly. We never want to approach it
that way. No, that's not right. We're coming believing that we're going
to receive what we've asked for (See?), knowing that God has promised
it. And we're coming with assurance in our heart that Christ made the
promise, and you brethren has tried to put your faith on the altar,
done all you can, I'm coming to lay mine with you tonight. See?
And now, we have a great altar that stretches across the skies, and on
that altar lays our Sacrifice the Son of God. See? It's that bleeding
Sacrifice. God can't look over that without respecting It (See?), for
That's His Word, "This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him."

⁸
I'm going to ask Brother Neville, our elder, if he'll come forward now
with me as we go. I want all the church… What if this was your
brother, your husband, your son, your father? It's somebody's,
remember. Let's, with all the sincerity that we have, approach God now
for these brethren. Let's bow our heads.
Gracious heavenly Father, we are bringing into Your Presence now, by
the altar of grace, though we stand by a little wooden bench, as it
was, here on earth, but our faith has lifted up to the great burning
altar yonder, where Jesus, the sweet smelling Saviour before God, the
Blood Sacrifice from Calvary, Who triumphed over every sickness, every
disease, death, hell, and the grave, and rose again, and ascended into
heaven to set at the right hand of His Majesty… And we by faith come,
lifting ourselves up there in the grace of God to say over this altar
to the great Creator of heavens and earth, "Receive us, Lord, as we
approach in the Name of the Lord Jesus."

¹⁰
Here is our brethren, one of them from up above Fort Wayne, here in the
states, and the other all the way from Canada down here, come for this
most solemn moment. It's between death and life, Lord. Here's two men,
yet young, much service left in them for You, Lord, two soldiers,
Christians who believe You. And the enemy has shot a dart, and that
poison dart has struck somewhere into their body, and they've come
back, retreated back to the hospital of God's grace for reconciliation,
for healing, that they might approach the front again with the shield
up, and going to the battle. They've come to join the forces of prayer
with us, Lord. And we go to meet the enemy.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, turn them loose. We adjure thee in the Name of Jesus Christ, let them go.
They're warriors of the battle. And as Your servant, I go forward now
to lay hands upon them, with faith, believing that these signs shall
follow them that believe, said our Lord, our great Chief Captain of the
battle. "If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover."
This I do in the Name of Jesus Christ. May the power of sickness that
binds this brother's body turn him loose, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
The power of sickness that binds this brother's body, turn him loose,
in the Name of Jesus Christ. May it be…?…

¹⁴
Almighty God, Creator of heavens and earth, Author of Everlasting Life,
and Giver of every good gift, bring Thy blessings upon these who we
have blessed. And it is written in the Scriptures that, "If you say to
this mountain 'Be moved,' don't doubt in your heart, but believe that
what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you've said." I
believe that the sickness has gone from their body. Now, it has been
spoken. Now, let it be done. Amen.
In the Name of the Lord Jesus I believe…?… In the Name of Jesus
Christ I believe you to be free. Amen. Does the church believe
likewise? Then let it be done.

¹⁶
Now, would there be others in here would just like to be remembered in
prayer, that would you raise your hand. All right, let us approach Him
now as you lay hands on one another out there. "These signs shall
follow them that believe."
Most holy God, by faith we see Jesus; we believe Him standing present.
He watches over His Word. And He said, "Wherever two or more are
assembled in My Name, I am in their midst." Now, heavenly Father, let
the power of Almighty God touch these people, Lord, as they have hands
joined with one another, laying on one another. The last commission You
said to the church, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If
they lay their hands on the sick, they shall be…" They'll recover.
You promised it, and we believe it. So now, it has been done, and we
praise Thee for it, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And in the Name of Jesus Christ may the power of God anoint these
handkerchiefs to the sick and the needy. And as they are sent out and
laid upon the sick, may it come to pass that they'll be healed. We read
in the Bible that they took from Saint Paul, handkerchiefs, aprons;
unclean spirits left the people, and diseases were healed. And, Father,
we know we're not Saint Paul, but we know that You're still Jesus. And
we pray that You'll grant this request for Your glory. Amen.

¹⁹
I don't know whether the–the tapes are on yet or not. Are they on? If
not, I would like for them to turn them on at this time. I believe the
switch is up. Now, I hope that I do not tire you tonight. I'm beginning
about a half hour or thirty-five minutes early. And now, it's a Sunday
school lesson, and I have thought that perhaps maybe that it would do
good if I had this taped that's on my heart. And we're fixing to go
into a–a new phase, new tabernacle, all new.

²⁰
And now, I would like to read some of the Scriptures. If you people
would like to read with me, I want to read from I Samuel the 8th
chapter, and we want to begin with the 4th to the 10th verse, and then
to save time, 19th to the 20th. And I have several sheets of Scriptures
and reference wrote out here, that if you people have a pen and pencil,
or something, paper, that you would like to refer to these or keep them
down, you may have them, or, Mr. Maguire will have the–the–the tape.
And I want this tape dedicated to ministers, my brethren, ministers who
has misunderstood me, especially the brethren of the denominational
churches. And most all are denominationals.

²²
And my subject tonight is: "Why I'm Against Organized Religion." And
I'm going to read now for a background, or a Scripture reading to make
it certainly Scriptural; I want to read from I Samuel 8:4-10, then
19-20. To my visible audience, I trust that when you go home that
you'll write these Scriptures down and read them carefully. And to the
brethren who will be listening to the tape, I trust that you also will
not just stop the tape when something's said maybe that you wouldn't
agree with, but will seek God in it, see if it's Scriptural. I think we
owe it to ourselves and to the Message of the day.
I believe that all churches has Christians in them, and I certainly do
not speak against Christians. But the reason that I have did what I
have done, and said what I have said, is because of the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit on the Word.

²⁴ Now, let us read in I Samuel the 8th chapter, beginning with the 4th verse, and reading the 10th, inclusive, first.

Now, the 19th verse and 20th for the conclusion…

The Lord add His blessing unto the reading of His Word. Now, as a
Sunday school class, I would like to say that we want to try to be
as–as attentive as we can to the Word.

²⁷
And we know that–that sometimes things are said (and certain
churches), that stumble someone who has been taught contrary to what
they have–are hearing. For instance, a man told me the other day, who
is a friend of mine setting present now, he said, "When you said,
Brother Branham, as much faith as I've had in you, and believe, when
you said there wasn't no eternal hell," said, "I like to have fell out
of my seat. And I said, 'Surely the man is wrong.'" And then said, "You
let us stand for quite a while. And then you said, 'There is only one
form of Eternal Life, and that comes from God.'" And that's what we all
seek. See?

²⁸
And there's no Scripture that says there is an eternal hell. 'Cause
eternal never did begin, neither does it ever end. So the Bible said,
hell was created for the Devil and his angels, so it isn't eternal.
There was a time when it wasn't, and there'll be a time when it's not
again. But they may be punished in there, through fire and brimstone,
and the pits of fire, for aeons of time, but it finally will end
because hell is not eternal. And if there was an eternal hell, you'd
have to have Eternal Life to live in an Eternal hell. And if it was
eternal, it always was, and you always was in hell and you'll always be
in hell. See, so there is no such a thing.
So, you see, "eternal" is "never had a beginning or an end." And
there's only one form of Eternal Life, and that is in God, comes from
the Greek word "Zoe," which means "God's Own Life." And when we are
borned again of the Spirit of God, we become eternal with God, because
we have part of His Life, which makes us sons and daughters to God,
then we have Eternal Life. And the Life that is in us, God will raise
up the body with the Life at the last day; but it's the Spirit of God
that's in us that raises up, because it is a Spirit of Christ that was
in Christ, that quickens our bodies and raises us up also with Him to
set in–in–in glory and reign with Him.

³⁰
Now, to the subject. Now, I have been through these years, and this
Tabernacle has stood, though I was ordained in a Missionary Baptist
church by Doctor Roy E. Davis, about thirty-three years ago here in
Jeffersonville… Now, I… Since then, I was in the organization just
a short time, a few months, until something come up that was
unscriptural by the church, and I told him I could not go that. And so
I was, 'course asked to do it or else, and I elsed. So that was one
thing that I believe, that this is God's Word. And I said to the man
which was a–a master teacher, "If you will show me that in God's Word."
"But it was," he said, "that's our teaching."
I said, "But I want it out of the Word (See?), God's Word."

³¹
And not because that I do not belong to an organization that I have
been against the organization, because I am grateful to my brethren to
which I am speaking today, that I have invitations to, I guess, pretty
near every denomination, especially in the full Gospel ranks, and even
in many of the other churches. I have been asked to come into their
fellowship and join with them, but I have stayed independent. Because
what influence that I have, I do not wish to place it upon one group of
people. I wish to place what God has given me, a prayer for the sick to
be benefited by all God's children in every organization. He has never
questioned to me not to pray, or for this one because they belong to
Such-and-such; God judges the heart of man.

³²
And now, to begin with, the reason that I haven't belonged to them and
have spoken against it, is first, is because I do not believe that
organization of Christianity is Scriptural. I believe it's
unscriptural. And that's what I will try tonight, endeavor by the grace
of God to prove to you that it is unscriptural, unorthodox to have any
organization.
Now, the first place, we call it religion. The word "religion" is a
"covering," means "to cover something." Now, Adam had a religion, but
he certainly made it himself out of fig leaves, and it didn't work. He
made his own theory and tried to make a way of escape to find salvation
in something he had done himself, and God rejected it from Adam to the
order of the last organization. Never been, and by God's grace we'll
prove it today through the Bible. Religion was a covering. Adam made
himself a covering out of fig leaves, made it himself, to try to do
something himself. But God required death, an atonement.

³⁴
Now, there's a quite a vast difference between religion and salvation
(See?), salvation. Religion is a covering. See? Salvation is a birth, a
gift of God. Salvation is a birth, a gift of God, and it cannot be
achieved by any man or any group of men. It's an individual that God
brings this gift to. And these gifts of Eternal Life were ordained of
God to each individual before we even had a world, according to the
Scriptures. The Bible said in Revelations, that the antichrist that was
to come upon the earth, would deceive all that dwelt upon the earth,
whose names were not written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the
foundation of the world. See? God by His foreknowledge saw who would
come and who wouldn't come; Christ came down to make a way for those
who would come. See, knowing the others…

³⁵
If He's God at all, He has to be infinite. And if He's infinite, He
cannot be infinite without being omnipotent. He cannot be omnipotent
without being omnipresent. He can't be omnipresent without being
omniscient. So, you see, all that makes Him God.
So He knowed the end from the beginning. He knowed who would and who
would not, and He knowed there was many who would, so He sent Christ to
make an atonement for those who would come. Now, nothing we do can have
anything to do with it. Jesus said, "All the Father has given Me,
(hath, past tense), will come to Me. And no man can come unless My
Father draws Him." See? Now, see, it's all in God's knowledge.

³⁷
You say, "Brother Branham, am I in?" I don't know. I'm hoping I am. We
work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, the Church is
predestinated to meet God without spot or wrinkle. Now, if we are in
that Church, we are predestinated with that Church. Now, examine
yourself by the Word, then you can check up how far along we are.
Now, now, organizational Christianity can never give that assurance.
No. Some of them said, "You come up and confess that Jesus is the
Christ, be baptized in the church." The Devil does the same thing. He
believes himself, that Jesus is the Christ and trembles. See, that's
right.

³⁹
God never commanded, nowhere in the Scripture, for there ever to be any
organization. There's no place in the Bible for that. Adam started one
and it failed. And then Nimrod tried to make an organization. If you're
a historian, and you know the history of Babylon, read Hislop's "Two
Babylons," you'll find a great lot of light, that Nimrod, this man of
sin took Babylon and all it's little sister church, or places around,
which was a type of–of this last day apostasy Christianity, and made
one great big place and all the rest of them played–paid tribute to
it. And in there he built a tower and tried to organize men together,
but it failed. It failed. That failed.

⁴¹
Korah, in Numbers 16:1, if you'd like to read, Korah tried the very
same thing. He got all the Levites together, and he got the–some of
the celebrity, the high men, great men, holy men, and him and Dathan
got together and said, "It's not right, one man trying to be over us
all." And so they tried to get an organization started together, and
they come up before Moses and Aaron, who God had chosen for the work,
and told them they took too much upon themselves, that the whole
congregation was holy, and they had a right to… "In the multitude of
counsel there's safety," of course, they say. That doesn't apply to
Christianity. That's in war. Notice, a whole lots of difference.
You can take a Scripture, and say, "Judas went and hung himself," and,
"you go do likewise," if you want to, but that don't make it right.

⁴³
God had chosen Moses and God had chosen Aaron, and it was the message
of the day. And no matter how good the other side looked, it was
contrary to God's thinking. And we've got to let God's thinking be our
thinking. Let the mind that was in Christ be in you. And this Bible
reveals the mind of Christ. And the whole Book of Revelations, called
the Apocalypse, is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And we can see how
He condemns the thing, how He takes it to one side, and we'll get to it
after a bit. All right.

⁴⁴
Korah, I believe he was sincere in his act. I believe the man
didn't–didn't mean to do wrong. I believe it was the ignorance of the
man that didn't see the hand of God moving and know the Scriptures, and
that's the reason he just brought it to reasoning.
And that's just about ninety percent of the trouble today, that we try
to inject into the program of God our thinking. And we're not supposed
to think at all. He does our thinking. We're supposed to surrender our
thinking to His will. See? You understand now?
Korah, with good intent went around with a false doctrine, telling
these brothers, and showing them by reason, that God hadn't only
blessed Moses, the prophet, the messenger, and had only blessed him,
but, "The whole congregation was holy," he said, "and now, the whole
congregation has a right to do this, and the whole congregation has a
right to do that." And so they got good men, Levites. Now, that is
God's choice, which would be called today the ministers; Levite was the
minister of the temple. Did not Moses call them down for it?
And here he never went at it un–irreverent. He told them to take
censors, and put holy fire in it, and put the incense over the top of
it, and to wave this holy incense, which was the command of God. And
they come up to make a group of men to control the church, where God
had commanded one man to do so.

⁴⁷
And when they did that, Moses fell on his face for he knew that God had
commissioned him to that work. And God said, "Have them to bring those
censors up here before the tabernacle." And so when they begin to wave
their censors full of fire, and the incense a-going, God said to Moses
and Aaron, "Separate yourself from them. Come out from among them." For
later He called them sinners, unbelievers.
And sin is unbelief in the Word of God. You steal because you don't
believe; You lie because you don't believe. You commit adultery because
you don't believe. If you was a believer, you wouldn't do such. There's
only two roads, that's either faith or unbelief; you're controlled by
one or the other.
Now, God in the beginning was the Word, and He was made flesh and
dwelled among us. He was the Word; He is the Word. And when God dwells
in you, it's the Word of God dwelling in you, where you can punctuate
everything He says with an "Amen." That's God dwelling in you.

⁵⁰
Now, if you notice these innocent men with censors in their hand, holy
fire in their hand, God opened up the earth and swallowed them up, and
separated them from Moses, because Moses separated himself from them.
And Moses warned the congregation, "Don't fool with that kind of a
group. Get away from them." Now, you know the Scriptures; read the
16th, 17th, 18th, even, chapter, and you'll find it. "Separate yourself
from these sinners, unbelieving sinners. Come out from among them, for
they're headed for destruction, and everything that they have." And
when they–the earth followed and fell with these men holding this holy
fire: innocent men deceived by a man.
Same today. There's a many innocent man falling into the trap of
tradition, holding the holy Word in his hand, and supposingly to be
preaching from It. I seen an expression come across a minister's face
just then, a Methodist minister, was a Methodist minister till last
Sunday night. And when he looked, I suppose it means a whole lot to
you, brother, to be out.

⁵²
Now, see, holding censors, fire burning sweet smelling savour before
God, and those hands holding that, yet perished with the censor in
their hand, because they were trying to do something in sincerity, yet,
against the Word of God, trying to make an organization. Said, "You
take too much upon yourself. Who are you to say that you've got all the
Word of God?"
They failed to see that Moses was the–the messenger of that hour. See,
he had THUS SAITH THE LORD. There was nobody on earth like him. He had
the message, and the people failed to see it. And Moses was exactly
with THUS SAITH THE LORD. Sure. All right.

⁵⁴
Now, we find the same thing today, good men, great men, precious men
trying to preach the Word of God in their hand through some manmade
tradition: cutting out here, and cutting down here, and making it this,
and "Come join the church and change your membership," and spiritually
die with that Word in their hand. See?
They could not believe God's messenger or His message of that day. They
couldn't understand why a great God wouldn't work with a whole group of
people, and just put it upon one man.
How many of them have I talked today, "What will we do, Brother
Branham? We know you're right, but what will we do? The organization'd
put us out, we'd have no other place to go." I feel sorry for them; but
there is a place. You say, "Well, we'd starve to death."
David said, "Once I was young, and now I'm old, and I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed to beg bread."

⁵⁸
That's exactly on the same basis that they refused Jesus. They were so
wrapped up in their denomination, and holy priests and holy buildings,
and holy churches and holy temples, they failed to see God in His human
temple. Uh-huh. "You, being a man, make yourself God." See, they were
so wrapped up in it. These men were so wrapped up that Dathan and them
were right. Nimrod was so wrapped up that he could achieve something
that would take the people above the wrath of God. Adam was sure that
if he covered his nakedness, God couldn't see it. You can't cover it;
God has to cover it. See, see? God's program covers it, not yours. It's
always been that way. They fail to see Jesus in His temple, God
manifested in flesh.
Today it kinda makes me feel bad when I see that the Words of the Bible
has been so cut up by traditions. And honest-hearted people who stand
there and hear that Word, and they know It's the Truth, but they're
daresn't to take a move, because their tradition teaches them
different. Wash the pots and pans then, brethren; go ahead. But for us,
and for me and my house, we take Christ the Word. See?

⁶⁰
Let's take John 3 just a moment, Nicodemus, a master and ruler of a
great denomination called the Sanhedrin. They had brought themselves
together, and they made their traditions. The–the one of the Pharisees
and one of the Sadducees, and they had their denomination then, their
differences, and so they… This man was a master, a ruler of this
great Sanhedrin, a marvelous man in teaching. He knowed the Scriptures;
he thought. He knew it by their tradition. Did not Jesus say, "You
have, by your tradition, made the commandments of God of non-effect"?
See, because of their traditions…
What is that? Placing their own interpretation upon the Word instead of
leaving It alone what It says. They say it doesn't mean this. Did you
notice, that's the same voice that the Devil used to Eve to start the
first organization. See? "Surely it would be this way. God wouldn't do
that, you know." See, it's the same thing. It's the same thing today.

⁶²
Now, we notice this ruler came to Jesus. The first thing… Now, he
come in search of Eternal Life; he come in search of salvation. Yet, a
man of his standing, a master in Israel, but a master in Israel come to
a Man that we have no record ever had a day in school. An old aged man,
old priest, sage, come to a young Fellow. Aristocrat they were, rich
man come to a Beggar that didn't have a place to lay His head to ask
Him the way to salvation and Life.
The first place, they of that Sanhedrin, so confessed Nicodemus, they
had seen something in Jesus that other men of their organization didn't
have. They seen that there was something in Him, because he said,
"Rabbi, we know Thou…" "We," yeah, they wouldn't confess it, because
they'd get kicked out. See? "We know Thou art a Teacher come from God,
for no man could do these things that You do except God be with Him. We
know that." Oh, my. Organization…

⁶³
Now, we notice that Jesus was a manifestation of God. Now, "No man can
do these things except God be with Him." They knowed that there was
something different in that Man. He was the Light of the day. He was
God's Witness.
So did Korah see the same thing in Moses. They didn't have a man that
day like Moses. He was God's Divine witness of that day to the power of
God. Korah and his group saw it in Moses. They understood that it
couldn't be Moses. Moses could not open up a Red Sea. Moses could not
send plagues upon the earth. It was God in Moses, and because God that
represented Himself in a witness or a light of the day, they failed to
see It. Korah wanted to make a whole group of men, bring in anything.

⁶⁵
That's what the organization is good for: bring in every riffraff there
is and call it Christianity. Send a boy to school that knows no more
about God than a Hottentot would know about an Egyptian knight, send
him over there and give him an education and learn him psychology, and
give him a Ph.D., and a doctor degree of–or bachelor of art, or
something or another like that, and send him away to preach the Gospel,
that's never even been saved, that will deny the virgin birth and the
resurrection, deny Divine healing, deny the power of God, deny the very
principles that Jesus died for, deny Mark 16 to being inspired, deny
"these signs shall follow them that believe" when Jesus said the Words
Himself, deny Acts 2:38, deny any of the rest of the Scriptures that's
inspired; and try to take a tradition of man that they know nothing
about and harp on it. And when you tell them the Truth and show them
the Truth, they're ashamed to move, because their organization.

⁶⁶
Korah did the same thing; he seen God in Moses; he seen that it was
God's Agent working through him. And Nicodemus saw God in Christ, "No
man can do these things except God be with Him." Nicodemus was already
in the organization trying to get out. Korah was out trying to make one
to get into. That was the different. Nicodemus was trying to find
salvation to get out of the thing; he'd been in it since a boy; he was
tired of it. He wanted to get saved. But Korah was trying to make him
a–a place where he could be a big shot.

⁶⁷
That's the way with the people today. That's the trouble with
Christianity; we got so much false impersonations. And our Pentecostal
people, excuse the expression, is lousy with it, carnal comparisons.
Let God raise up a man and give him something, and everybody in the
country will try to impersonate that person. Don't you realize you're
killing your own team?
When you're playing football… "And the race," as Paul would have put
it, "let us run this race with patience." The man that's got the ball,
don't take it out of his hands; try to guard him. But instead of that,
because he don't belong to your organization, you try to take it away
from him. Some man that's so clumsy, he couldn't, he'd stumble over the
flowers in a rug, and then try to take it away from you. That's right.
Now, spiritual speaking, I mean. Excuse me, I… Well, he'll stumble
over a little old thing like Acts 2:38; he's sure to fall. And to them
that stumbles over Mark 16, how's he going to make it? See? Very cheap
lessons of Christ. And the very thing that was discussed at the Nicaea
Council, they still stumble over it after all these years.

⁶⁸
Trying… Korah was trying to make an organization to get into it. And
Nicodemus had been in it, trying to get out of it. Nicodemus was
accepted and came out. Korah perished in it in his effort, he perished
in his own effort. Oh, my.
The organization that Nicodemus was in knew that Christ was sent of
God; said so. Nicodemus, in the 3rd chapter here, confesses it, "Rabbi,
we know that Thou art a Teacher sent from God, for no man can do these
miracles that You do except God be with Him." And the same group,
because of their organization, called Him Beelzebub, because of His
power to cast out devils, and said, "He deceives our people by His
doctrine." It's the same thing today. Deceiving what?

⁷⁰
Jesus said, "I only do that that pleases the Father. I only keep the
Words of God," because He was the Word. He couldn't do nothing else but
the Word.
But because of their organization, because of their way they had men
tied up… In their hearts they knew it, but their organization
wouldn't let them keep it. Then to make a way of escape to keep the
people from leaving the organization ("all men goeth after Him"), to
keep the people from leaving the organization and following God's Truth
(which He was Truth: "I am the Truth, the Light"), to keep them from
following That, they said that He was deceiving the people. Think of
it. A man, that in his heart knowed that He was God, that God was in
Him ("No man can say these things or do these things unless God be with
Him."), knowing that and saying that and confessing that, and then
turning around and calling Him Beelzebub, and a deceiver of the people,
their people, by His doctrine… Oh, my.

⁷²
Nicodemus knew He was a Prophet. Now, that was one in the organization
that–that loved God enough and feared God enough, and recognized by
the Old Testament that this Man had the qualifications and was proven
and vindicated a Prophet sent from God. The man, I honor him if he did
come by night, he got there. He's a lot better than a lot of our
teachers today; they won't come at all. Nicodemus finally arrived. So
don't condemn him, if you haven't arrived yet.
Nicodemus knew that He was a Prophet, so he feared God. He wouldn't let
that Man get away from him, the Light of that day. No matter how much
It was contrary, how much his organization said It was contrary, he
seen God vindicating that Man, and he knew He was a Prophet. And if He
was a Prophet, the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet, and He knowed
what He was talking about. See? So he went to Jesus; he wanted to know
how to get salvation. And this Man was a Prophet, the Word of God was
with Him, and He would know the way of salvation.

⁷³
But what Nicodemus had to learn is what many people today of the
denominations of this day has to learn. What Nicodemus ought to have
knowed is what the people today ought to have knowed of these
denominations. He was more than a Prophet. He come to Him to find, tell
Him to tell him which a way to Life, and Jesus Himself was Life. He
that has the Son has life. So he didn't–mustn't come to try to learn a
teaching; he must come to accept the Person. That's what it is tonight.
The Chief Cornerstone is rejected again. What is the Chief Cornerstone?
It's the Word, of course. Christ, He is the Word.
He had to learn something. He thought, "Well, now, this Man is a Prophet; He's just a Prophet."

⁷⁵
So did you notice, Jesus never answered his question; He just rebuked
him for his blindness. See? More than a Prophet, He was the Word and
the shining Light of the Word. He was God shining through a
Instrumentality, proving that it was God in the Man. He was the Word. I
John the 1st chapter… St. John 1st chapter, rather, says, "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us." And here was
the Word of God shining through this little frail frame of a Man, and
it blinded the organization. But He come to get individuals. More than
a Prophet, He was the Word. He is Life. Not… He didn't have to teach
you of some Life to come; He was that Life Himself. He was Life. He was
Light. He was Life. He was Eternal Life, was in Him, and He alone is
the Giver of Eternal Life. He that has the Son has Life. So you–you
can't just have the Word teaching of Him; you've got to have Him.

⁷⁶
You say, "Oh, people set down and learn that Bible and all the Greek
words, and what the definitions are, and the punctuations and so
forth." And know no more about God than nothing. See? No. He that
has–he that has the–the–the form, he that has the plan? It's he that
has the Son, that has Him, the Person, he's the one that has Life.
Nicodemus knew that He knew about Life, but he never knew that He was
Eternal Life. That's what the Man that he was talking to, the
Messenger, the Light of the day, the Light of the world, "The Light
shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. He was sent
to His Own and His Own received Him not." Why? Why? Because they were
so organized, setup with washing pots and pans, and traditions, that
they failed to see the Word made flesh.

⁷⁸
It's repeated. It's repeated again. History repeats itself every so
often. Yes, He knew that He had–He knew about Life, but Nicodemus
didn't know that He was Life. That's what it is today. So many people
try to make Jesus, oh, a great Teacher; they even try to say He was a
Prophet. But when you try to say He was God, that's too much. See? But
He was God, and He is God, and He always will be God. That's all.
That's right.
Notice, He never told Nicodemus, now, when he come to Him, He never
said, "Now, Nicodemus, I have great respects for you, that you are
a–a–a master in Israel. I'll tell you what; you're searching Eternal
Life, perhaps you ought to polish up on your scholarship. You don't say
your words right" (Nonsense.), "or maybe you ought to seek a higher
office in your denomination to have Eternal Life."
That's what so many people try to do today (Uh-huh.), a higher office,
they want to become from a–a pastor to a state presbyter, or–or to
some bishop or something like that. That has no more to do with God
than nothing.

⁸¹
Watch what He did before such a person. He rebuked him for his not
knowing the hour he was living; "You mean to tell Me that you're a
master in Israel and can't understand these things," when He said a
man's got to be born again?
"Why," he said, "me an old man, enter into my mother's wombs?"
He said, "And you are a bishop, a cardinal, a state presbyter in the
Pentecostal church," or somebody else, "some great guy in the
organization, and you don't know the Scripture?"
"Oh, we got Moses."
"If you'd have knowed Moses, you'd have knowed Me, because he was the
one that spoke of Me." See? But not according to their traditions,
their–their organization, that was different. But Moses did speak of
Him, and He was that One that Moses spoke of, and yet they didn't know
it. Why? They got theirself so bound down with traditions; they didn't
know it.

⁸⁵
And my brethren that read, that takes this tape, don't turn it off now.
Just a minute. Let's look this thing right in the face. I love you;
you're a shepherd. And I'm not trying to be a know-it-all. If I'm
making that impression, then you stop the tape and pray for me. I'm
only trying to bring to you something that's truth. Don't let it get by
you.
Now, I respect the order of men, and so forth; but when you make these
organizations… Look at the Pharisees, would have nothing to do with
the Sadducees, because the Sadducees didn't believe in–in neither
angel, or–or spirit, or resurrection, or anything, and the Pharisees
possessed both, and they were at war with one another. Now, the oneness
believes one thing; the trinity believes another, and the Methodist
another, and the Presbyterian another, and you draw little lines. And
what have you got? A separation of brotherhood. By way, we'll find that
place in the Bible in just a little bit, what it is, and what God says
it is.

⁸⁷
Now. No, He never told him to polish up. He was just rebuking him for
not knowing the real thing. "Art thou a master in Israel and know not
these things? If I have told you earthly things and you can't
understand it…" Think. "A master, a high order in an orthodox church,
bishop, cardinal, and you can't even understand the baby form of
natural things that I tell you, how are you going to understand
spiritual things from heaven?"
But a ignorant old fisherman who couldn't even write his own name
understood It (See?), and was made the head of the church at Jerusalem:
Peter. See? Oh, "All the Father has given Me, he will come." See? They
see it. They believe it. They act on it, knowing nothing's going to
hold them.

⁸⁹
Just like the farmer… It's not pleasant to put a joke, but to make an
illustration. They said a farmer set a hen, and he didn't have enough
eggs, he put a duck egg under it. When the little duck was hatched, he
was the funniest-looking thing them chickens ever saw. He had a long
funny face, and he went along quacking instead of clucking, and–and
the chickens all eat and pecked in the barnyard. And that wasn't his
diet, exactly. So one day the old hen led him out behind the barn to
catch some grasshoppers, and over the hill was a–a lake. And the wind
happened to come up off the lake, and he smelt the water. It's just his
nature. The old hen said, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, come back."
He said, "Quack, quack, quack," right to the water. Why? He was a duck
to begin with. No matter how much the hen clucked, he was still a duck.

⁹¹
And that's the way it is of a man that's predestinated to Eternal Life.
When he sees the Light of God, there ain't enough organizations in the
world to cluck him back into it. No. Why? It's his nature. He might've
been dieting with them a long time, and eating their trash and socials,
but he comes to a place he's found something different, so he knows it.
"My sheep know My Voice," said Jesus, "a stranger they'll not follow."
They might be following something strange, but down in them there's
something different. Let them hear the Truth one time and watch them.
"All the Father has given Me will come."

⁹² Yeah, He rebuked him for not knowing. "Thou art a master in Israel and know not these things? You must be borned again."
Now,
the natural man, I want you to notice something here, "You must be born
again." Now, natural life, if we have natural life in order to be
active in this natural life, in natural things, we have to have a
natural birth. They don't just jerk you off of a tree somewhere (See?),
stick you out some way. They tried it, but it didn't work. It's got to
be an actual birth, natural birth, to make you active so you can have
the five senses, walk, talk, see, taste, feel, smell, hear, move
around, so forth, because you're then a human being, and you're–you're
subject to all these things, because they go into the natural life.

⁹⁴
And in such a birth, sometimes we become very wise in worldly wisdom,
or the affairs of the world, become Presidents, and–and great
scholars, and master mechanics, and scientists, and so forth. And you
always know, from the very beginning, it was Cain's children that had
that kind of wisdom, not Seth's; they were humble sheepmen. But Seth's
children were godly people. But Cain's children was always smart, high,
science, doctors, and great men. That's right. The Bible said so, you
know, That teaches that. And very religious, but perished at the end.
We become wise by going to school, taking scholarship, and so forth, we
become very wise, smart, and can do things, and say things, and
sometimes out-talk a man that's Spirit-filled. Didn't Jesus say, "The
children of this world is wiser than the children of the Kingdom"?
Sure, 'cause they, by their intellects that they can–can talk, and
outsmart, and out-talk, and take the Scriptures and twist It to make It
say things that It doesn't.

⁹⁵
"Oh, It doesn't exactly mean that." When a man says that, get away from
him. See? God watches over His Word, you know, the Bible said. It's
wrote just the way It should be. See? Now, It's put in such a way to
deceive, or to make the wise stumble over It. It's so simple; that's
the reason they stumble over It. See? All right.
All this wisdom and things that they can accumulate, yet, but it is
from… That birth is from beneath, this earth. It's from the earth,
and it is against the Spirit of God. The first birth to make us active
here, makes us mortal men. Because of the sin act at the garden, made
man come into the world by a woman. And a man that is born of a woman
is of a few days, but a man that is borned of Christ is eternal. Job
said, "A man that's born of woman is few days and full of trouble."
Notice, but a man that's born of Christ, has to be born from above.
Now, but a man that's born of the earth, become wise and can almost
outsmart…

⁹⁷
Look how shrewd the Devil was, he fooled every priest that come on the
earth. He sure did. He fooled… He's still doing it. Yeah, sure did.
He was smart, but he come up against his match one day Who defeated
him. And the only thing we have to do is just lay against Him; He's
already defeated him. See?
But it's from beneath, and it–this wisdom that men accumulate to prove
and show all these things why man should do this and man should do
that, it's contrary and enmity (the carnal mind) to God. The Scripture
says so. Right. No matter how smart, they can twist it around. I want
somebody to show me where God ever had an organization or ever
commanded one, but what condemns it here in the Bible. No matter how
smart they can try to be, it's contrary. How the wisdom can stand and
out-argue to you, and make you feel that little by telling you about
it, but it's contrary to the Scriptures.

⁹⁹ Somebody said to me, "Brother Branham, there's one thing I got against you." Said, "You're Jesus Only."
I said, "I am not. I don't belong to any organization."
A presbyter of a certain state sent the other day, and said, "Someone told me you were Jesus Only, Brother Branham."
I said, "That is contrary. That is wrong."
Said,
"They told me that you believe in "free love," that men should leave
their wives and hunt…" Now, see, that's just lies of the Devil. You
know that.
I said, "I absolutely am against such unscriptural things. I believe in
holiness and purity. I believe that man is bound to his wife as long as
they live." You shouldn't take her without praying first.

¹⁰³
And Jesus Only, the Jesus Only group, nothing against them, they're
just as good as any group to me. But they baptize wrong; they baptize
to regeneration. I believe that we're regenerated by the Holy Spirit,
not by water. I do use the Name of Jesus Christ in baptism, and there's
not another Scripture in the Bible to back–to make it contrary. There
was nobody in the Bible ever baptized in the Name of Father, Son, Holy
Ghost. I want somebody to come show me one place one person was
baptized like that. Then if it's unscriptural, quit doing it.
You say, "It doesn't make any difference."
It did to Paul. He commanded them to be baptized over again in the Name
of Jesus Christ and then receive the Holy Ghost. And Paul said, "If an
angel from heaven (Galatians 1:8) come, taught any other Gospel than
that he had taught, let him be accursed." See, it's tradition.

¹⁰⁵
I talked to a great man not long ago. Said, "Brother Branham, I can't.
I know that's right," he said, "but what can I do about it?"
I said, "Obey it."
He said, "Why, I–I have a prestige amongst our people."
I said, "But I want a prestige with God; so obey His Word. You've got to take your choice, will you serve God or man?"
But they get their organization, set these declarations in them, follow
right down. The first time that was ever used was in the Roman Catholic
church. That's right. I want somebody that'll show me something
different. I read history too, you know. So remember, that's a Catholic
baptism, and everyone that's baptized that way is baptized into the
Catholic fellowship. I'll prove it before the night's over, if the Lord
willing. Uh-huh. That's right. That's the reason you must come back.
Not to Jesus Only…
Now, there's plenty of fine men in the Jesus Only church, plenty of
fine man in the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, Methodist,
Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic. But there's none of them the
Church, not a one of them. There's individuals in there belongs in the
Church. But it ain't that denomination they got that makes them the
Church, like men try to make it that way. It's wrong. Just a minute we
get down giving you some Scripture in a few moments.

¹⁰⁹
Yes, to be active on earth, you have to be born natural to be active,
and such a birth makes us wise as I have said. See? And we become
smart, intelligence, our intellects gives us that. But remember that
that birth, the very beginning of it, is contrary. It's earthly and
contrary to the Word of God, foolish to God and to His plan, ignorant
to God's plan. If it wasn't, Nicodemus would've knowed more than Jesus
knowed about It. See? "Art thou a master in Israel?" See? See where
your denominations go, where your great smart men who meet together and
draw up their plans, and set?

¹¹⁰
Let me tell you this. Every time God sends a Light on the earth, on
something on the Scripture, they run right away with it. And as soon as
that man's gone, they make an organization out of it. And as soon as
they organize it, I want to ask any historian here present now, or it's
on tapes to come show me. At any time that man ever organized a church,
it died right there and never did raise again. It's contrary to God.
It's contrary to the Scriptures. Therefore, I'm against it, anything
that God's against. If God's in me, then I'm against what God's
against. His enemy is my enemy. His Church is my Church; His Life is my
Life. He gave His Life; He become me that I through His grace might
become like Him. See? We changed places. He become a sinner like me and
died for me in my place, so that I could be a son of God like He was.

¹¹¹
Now, you see where your denominations has got to already (We ain't
started.), wise in the worldly wisdom but dead to God's plan. Now,
let's view back, stop here just a moment.
Adam was contrary to God's plan, 'cause He'd disobeyed the Word, tried
to make hisself a covering, a religion. It failed, and it's always
failed, what man tries to do. Nimrod was wrong. Korah perished. What
were they trying to do? Make an organization.
And after that, when they finally organized themselves, Jesus found
them dead. Said, "You got eyes and you can't see. You got ears and you
can't hear." See? Said, "You're blind, leading the blind. And if the
blind leads the blind, don't they both fall in the ditch?" He said,
"Thou art a master in Israel, and can't even understand what the new
birth is? When, if you would've kept away from them traditions, and
held onto the Word, you'd have knowed that I was coming to give men new
birth. You'd have knowed My day. If you'd have knowed Moses, you'd have
knowed Me. Moses spoke of Me, and he said I would come, and here I am.
And if I don't do the things that Moses and the prophets said I would
do, then don't believe Me. If I don't do the works of God, then don't
believe Me. But if you can't believe Me, being a Man, and if You can't
believe Me because I'm a Man and doing the works of God, believe the
works, for they testify of the things that I'm doing." See?

¹¹⁴
But then, like today, if He'd lived on earth today, the Assemblies of
God would have one, the Oneness would have one, and everybody would
have a Jesus. Sure, their denomination's got to pack the ball. See? If
it isn't going, then they're not. Separating brotherhood…
I remember a little boy named Little David. He's a man, married now, I
guess got a family. I remember when he first started. I went to St.
Louis. I've heard of little boy preachers, that he'd get up there and
say, "Jesus, a little boy, born in a manger. Mommy, what was the rest
of that?" But not that little boy. He throwed off his coat took a text
and preached. But what was he? He happened to be a Jesus Only. His
father, Mr. Walker, belonged to a Jesus Only. Why, the Assemblies
couldn't stand that. They had to get them a little David. Why, the rest
of them had to get them a little David.
And one time when the little boy was holding a meeting down in Florida,
he called for me to come down and help him. And Brother Moore and I
read the two pages of the front part of the paper, with nothing but
little Davids; every church had a little David. Oh, goodness. Why, if a
bunch of the elders of God had've recognized the gift in that little
fellow, he would've swept thousands of souls into the Kingdom (See?),
till he forget his tradition about men and this like that. God had a
gift in his life used it.

¹¹⁶
When Divine healing was first represented, everybody had a feeling in
their hands and could smell diseases. Oh, my. why? They had to do it;
their organization was in the back race. See, you've got your
organizations ahead of the plan of God; you think is it. But God has
His Church going on just the same, the mystical Body. You don't join
that; you're born in it.
Wise in wisdom of the world, but dead in God's plans… Tell me then.
Tell me then. You can tell them and prove to them that they are wrong
by God's Word and promise, and still they won't see it. I can set right
down, and take the Word, and show you that denomination is wrong. I can
show you that creeds that you have today is wrong (See?), these church
creeds. Show it's wrong, and they'll say, "Well, we've been taught to
believe this." You see? To my opinion, it's–it's fodder, if you know
what I'm talking about, cannon fodder. Yeah, that's right. They can't
see. Jesus said, "You–you–you can't see, that you might come to Me
and have Life."

¹¹⁸
There was Nicodemus, an honorable man, a great man, a bishop in his
church, renown man, loved by everybody, and come to Jesus and knowed no
more about life than a–than nothing did. He was very ignorant of It
when Jesus rebuked him for it; but he was sincere enough to come. The
rest of them wouldn't even come. They stood off with the high priests,
and with the Bishop So-and-so, and So-and-so. See? They stood off with
them, rather taking their traditions of their elders than to hear the
Word of God.

¹¹⁹
Now, you can tell them; they won't listen to it. You can just
exactly… Could you imagine… I want to ask you something. I don't
mean this sacrilegious. Now, brethren listening to the tape, I don't
mean this sacrilegious. Could you imagine me going out here, and–and a
knot on the tree could ask me, "How in the world do you walk around
like you do? I got life; I'm a knot on this tree"? He can prove he's
got life, but it's the wrong kind. If he wants to walk around, the only
way he'd ever be walk around, see, taste, feel, smell, and hear, if he
could talk and say to me and ask that, the only way, he'd have to be
born the same way that I'm born. Amen. He'll never understand it any
other way. But if he's born the same way that I'm born, then he'll know
the things that I know. Amen. Oh, my. Yes, sir. You can't tell a knot
on the tree how we move about and be active, it would have to receive
our kind of life to understand it. Same with the Spirit. The same thing
is with the Spirit, or you can't understand It. There's no need of
trying to figure It all out; just come to Him first. For, "Except a man
be borned again, he can't even see the Kingdom," He said, that's
understand it. You've got to be born again in order to know It.

¹²⁰
Well, you say, "I'm borned again." And deny the Word? How can you be?
Your own life gives you vindication of it; your own group that you're
joined with, birds of a feather… See? Wait till we get down to those
things in a few minutes. See?
Comes by the Spirit. How can you tell people things of the Spirit
that's not born of the Spirit? You have to be born of the Spirit to
understand the things of the Spirit. The… Jesus said, "The wind
bloweth where it listeth; thou cannot tell which way it comes or where
it goes?" See? So is everyone born of the Spirit; they can't tell you.
A man that's born of the Spirit don't take no thought; he lets God do
the thinking.

¹²²
Do you think I could stand on the platform here, take a thought and
tell a man back there, "His name is John Doe and he come from so-and-so
a place; he done this. And he married another woman back there, and
twenty years ago, and he had children by this woman. He has to take
this thing back, and do that," you think, taking thought I could do
that? No such wisdom in this birth here on earth for that. It's beyond
that. It has to come from above. Then when you're borned of the Spirit
above, the Life that was in Him Who did do those things, said, "The
works that I do, shall you do also."

¹²³
Your birth has to be changed. You been deceived. You might've spoke in
tongues; you might've jumped up and down. You might've shouted; you
might've done all this, that, the other, you might've been a–a loyal
member. So was Nicodemus (See?), but he lacked the birth. And when you
deny the Word, try to place It somewhere else, and do something to It,
and scatter It away like that… Then Jesus said, "These signs shall
follow them that believe. Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature." Long as the Gospel's being preached, these
signs shall follow. Tell me the place where He ever took it away from
the church. Show me the Scripture where He said, ever said, "just for
so long." He said, "Unto all the world and to every creature."

¹²⁴
Yes, you'd have to receive the kind of Life that He had in order to
live His Life. And when you see His Life, then you will know His Word.
That's right. "When He," personal pronoun, not a thought, not an
imagination, not a sensation, but "when He the Holy Ghost is come, He
will take these things that I've told you, and reveal them to you, and
will show you things that is to come." That's the birth. That's the
vindication that It is Word. And when a man says he's got the Holy
Ghost, and deny the Word of God and place It somewhere else, how can
the Holy Ghost deny His Own Word? Now, show me an organization in the
Word. There you are. See? All right.

¹²⁵
Could you think of a businessman… Now, here's how far our church is
behind. Could you think of a businessman that started up a business
down here a… It's really a thriving business, and he's got to get
some help right quick, and he'd go to a bunch of dead men, corpses, and
saying, "Would you come work for me?" They'd be no benefit to him.
That's the reason the organization never rises again. See? A bunch of
dead unbelief congregating themselves together like Nimrod, like Korah,
like down through the age. How can… He never did use it, never did
use a organization. He can't do it. It's already out of the will of
God; it's passed beyond that. It's out of reach; it's out of search.

¹²⁷
How could you go to a man that couldn't move, paralyzed head, hand, and
foot, tell him you want to run a foot race for you, run this race with
patience, lay aside… See? How could he do it when the man can't move;
he's paralyzed? You've got to get the paralytic off of him first, then
he can run.
That's what the organization needs is a Divine healing. Oh, my. I hope
I don't find–sound critical. See? I'm not criticizing it, but if a
nail isn't clinched it pulls out easy. See? That's why the Holy Spirit
can't use a denomination. As soon as it…

¹²⁹
Remember, I believe that Martin Luther had the Holy Spirit. Absolutely.
Maybe not in the portion It is today, 'cause It wasn't given out. We've
been through this, you people of the Tabernacle, here on the
blackboard. But he did believe to God, "and he that believeth has
Everlasting Life." I never thought there was a person believed that
like me till this morning, I heard Charles Fuller as I was going down.
He believes too, that the new birth is not the baptism of the Holy
Ghost. The new birth is being born. The Holy Ghost is the baptism. See?
Uh-huh. All right.

¹³⁰
Now, we find that this man has got to be borned again in order to be
active. All right. To be born of the flesh, then you have wisdom of the
world. And wisdom of the world obeys its fleshly teacher. Right. That's
exactly why a man that don't have the new birth, and tell them the Word
of God, they'll obey their bishop, their presbyter, or their
organization, instead of the Word of Life. Why? It knows nothing else
but that, "Why, you know, someday I might be a presbyter." Why,
Nicodemus was a master. That was beyond a presbyter, that was beyond
a–a–a pastor; that was beyond, that was a master in Israel. See? Yes,
and he was a great man; he belonged to this group and knowed no more
about God than nothing. See? All he knowed was some history.

¹³¹
What good's a historical God if He isn't the same today? What's good is
the God of Moses if He isn't the same God today? What's good of a God
that could save a man on a cross that couldn't save one the same
condition today? As I've always said, "What good does it do to give
your canary bird good seeds and vitamins to make him have good strong
wings and fine feathers, and put him in a cage?" I don't get it. Try to
tell him about a God of power and things, and stick him into a
organization that don't even believe in such a thing. See? It's all
out. That's the reason it fails; he's dead. You can't use it. God never
used it.
Just think, the Holy Spirit never did at any time use a organization,
nowhere Scripture or nowhere historical. If anybody on this tape, or
present, can show me where the Holy Spirit took an organization and
made a move in the earth, come tell me. I want you to tell me the
history book it come from. You know it's not in the Scripture, so I
want you to show me the history it come from. God never used anything
like that. He uses an individual, always.

¹³³
All right. To be born of the Spirit… Now, to be born of the flesh,
and have wisdom of the world, the wisdom will obey its fleshly teacher.
To be born of the Spirit is to believe and obey the teaching of the
Bible by the Holy Ghost. And a man that's born of the Spirit will obey
God's Word regardless of what any tradition tells him. It's just it.
You're reborned. That's the reason (You see?) to belong to an
organization, put all your hopes in that…
Now, I don't say people in the organization is not born again now. I'll
get to that in a few minutes, the Lord willing. Sure, they are, but
they're individuals. Not the organization is borned again; the
individuals in there are born again. But the organization only breaks
him away from God; that's all it does: separates you. All right.
Regardless of the flesh, denomination teaches the flesh, it's always
contrary to the will of God.

¹³⁵
To be borned again means be birthed from above. "Again" means "from
above." I guess you know that. See? To be born again means to be
birthed from above. Now, you'll see, and you can study it if you want
to in the lexicon. See, means "a birth that's come from above." Because
you've been born here, now to be born again you have to be born from up
here, to be born again. Then that Kingdom is so much higher than this
kingdom, so much greater than this kingdom, till this kingdom is
foolish to that, and that's foolish to this.

¹³⁶
As I've often said, me and my wife here not long ago went over to get
some groceries along a few months ago, and we seen a woman that had on
a skirt. And it was the strangest thing we'd ever seen in a long time.
Well, this morning, I don't say this sacrilegious; I heard one of the
great famous organizations. And my daughter and I was listening to the
radio as we went to dedicate a church. And a song they sang, some kind
of a something another about so-and-so, some of that classical singing
that sounds to me like women holding their breath till they're blue in
the face, and then think that's singing. That's squeaking. I like good
old Pentecostal singing, right from your heart. You couldn't carry a
tune in a coal bucket, but yet you're singing, making a joyful noise to
the Lord. I think that's spiritual. I like it. But that holding your
breath till you're just blue in the face, and die away and then come
back, who… You don't even know yourself what you're singing. How you
expect anybody else to know? That's it. Jesus said, "We speak them
things we know." That's right. That's right. What we ought to do is
sing what we know in our heart, what we feel.

¹³⁸ And when they got through, my daughter studied music, and she said, "Brother," she said, "that was really a classic."
I
said, "Yes, but how many out of that choir of about fifty people do you
think that had cigarettes on their breath? How many of that choir you
think, last night being Saturday night, didn't have a little social
drink? How many women in there had bobbed hair? How many had paint on,
when the pastor of the church said a few days ago, 'God made a prettier
world when He invented paint'"? When we know that there's one woman in
the Bible painted her face, and God fed her to the dogs. And we,
anybody that knows anything about the church and about heathens, knows
that paint is a heathen trait, always been. And, yet, women do it. And
men smoking, drinking, carrying-on, and standing there and sing, voices
like that. We'll get to it in a few minutes right here. All right.
Belong to an organizational thinking, when, there's going to be the
disappointment at judgment in my opinion.

¹⁴⁰
To be borned of the Spirit is to believe and behave yourself in the
Spirit, is to understand and believe with your heart that Jesus is
Christ and This is His Word, that no other words can be added to It or
taken away from It without your name taken out of the Book of Life.
Whew. That was a strong one. If you add one thing to It in your
tradition, or take one thing from It, well, Christ said Himself, "Your
name shall be rubbed off the Book of Life." Now, find organization,
denomination in the Bible. You'll run from it. All right.
Regardless of the flesh, denomination teaching is contrary to the
Bible. Yeah. Born again means a new birth from above, birth from above.
Then we are active in the things from above. Oh, my. For It is Himself
acting in His Word through you, His branch, to the Vine.

¹⁴¹
That's the reason Jesus said, "If I do not the works of My Father,
believe Me not." Oh, certainly. He said, "No man has ascended up to
heaven but He that come down from heaven." Watch Him fix Nicodemus
here, when Nicodemus… You know, they thought, Him being a Man, He
couldn't be God. And He said, and–and there He said, "No man has
ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even the Son
of man which is now in heaven." That was too much for him. How could He
the Son of man come down from heaven, come down from heaven, was the
same that ascended up to heaven, and the same One that's standing here
on top of this house talking to Nicodemus, is now in heaven? Well, he
ought to have seen that it was God. He's omnipresent, everywhere. See?
But he in his traditions didn't know that. He wasn't spiritual-minded.
The carnal mind, and couldn't catch it…
He says, "Who does man say I the Son of man am?"
"Some says, well, 'He's the Son of David.'"
He said, "Then why did David in the Spirit call Him Lord, say, 'The
Lord said unto my Lord, "Sit Thou on My right hand till I make Thy foes
a footstool"'?" How that He is both Root and Offspring of David; He was
before David; He was David; and after David. See? He is the Root and
Offspring of David. The Bible said so, both Root and Offspring of
David. How could He be His Son then? How could He be His Lord? The
Bible said, "From henceforth they asked Him nothing." I guess it was a
good thing too. Yes, sir. All right.

¹⁴³
Borned again from above, then we are active, active in things from
above, and–for His Life is in us, which is His Word a-vindicating the
Word Itself. The Spirit that's in you is the Word made flesh in you.
The Spirit minds the Word, and is active in vindicating the Word.
Now, the Spirit is not active in any denomination. It's not interested
in making organization, because the Spirit Itself is contrary to the
organization. The organization are looking for worldly things, the mind
of the world, and they make big temples and polished things, and great
polished organizations, and polished preachers, and so forth like that,
and the best class in the city. Where the Spirit is trying to find
honest hearts where the Spirit is anxious to manifest and prove that
every Word of God is Truth. How can you… How can the Spirit work in
an organization when it's denying, taking creeds instead of the Word?
Can't do it. So, you see, it's dead. God don't go to them kind of
places to find His, a–a group of men to work for Him, 'cause they're
already dead. They're unbelievers in the Word or they wouldn't be in
there. See?
Now, we are active in the things from above. Now, the Spirit minds the
Word. Now, that's right, 'cause the Spirit gives the Word Life. See?
"The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth Life."

¹⁴⁵
Now, I was coming up today, looking at the great beautiful trees out
over the forest, the big hills, brown, yellow, evergreen dotted in
them. I said, "You know what that is?" I said, "We just had death, and
God has put His bouquet out, sticking them up on the hills. It's the
funeral flowers. The life has gone back into the dust. God's just
buried all of His seeds out of the flowers and things, buried them
back, and He's just bloomed out His bouquet. He's looking up over the
earth because it's funeral flowers. But when the sun rises again, that
seed shall take life again." Amen. All right.
The Spirit is interested in vindicating the Word. And if you've
accepted tradition instead of the Word… Now, you say, "Well, we
believe It all, but, Brother Branham, I know we don't believe this."
Then right there's where you stop.

¹⁴⁷
Chaplain told me one time that he–that a–a captain said, or I believe
it was a major, said, "Chaplain, go over there; there's a captain
dying. He's been machine-gunned."
He went over there, and the captain was struggling. They pulled him into a Red Cross tent, and he said, "Captain."
He looked up through the gurgles of blood, and he said, "Yes, sir." And he said, "You're the chaplain."
"Yes." He said, "You're dying, Captain."
He said, "I know it."
He said, "Are you a Christian?"
He said, "I used to be."
Said, "Where did you leave Him, Captain?" He said, "You'll find Him right where you left Him." Correct.
Captain said, "I can't think."
The chaplain said, "You'd better; you haven't got but about a couple
more minutes, the way you're struggling." Mouth coming open, the blood
coming from his mouth and ears, and machine gun bullets across him.
Said, "You'd better hurry, your lungs are filling up."
And the captain begin to wonder, laying there as he struggled. A smile come over his face, said, "I know now."
Said, "Where did you leave Him? Start right there."
He said, "Now I lay me down to sleep." That's where he left Him, that's where he finds Him.
When your organization teaches something contrary to the Word, you
leave Him right there. Come right back, because He's active in
vindicating and making that Word true. That's what Jesus was, always
doing the will of the Father. See? All right.

¹⁵⁵
So, see, Nicodemus' organization understanding meant nothing to God.
Now, no matter if he was a big shot, as we call it in the organization,
a master in Israel, all of his learning and understanding didn't mean
that [Brother Branham snaps his finger–Ed.]
when he stood before Christ, only a rebuke to him. Now, I imagine all
the people say, "Holy father, Nicodemus, holy father, Nicodemus, we bow
to you, sir." But when Jesus, he stood before God, He rebuked him for
his ignorance. So you see what all that goes to; forget it. Come on,
let's go to God. That's right. All right.
Neither did Korah's great understanding mean anything, or Adam's, each
denying God's vindicated Message. Now, let's listen close now; we're
going to get in some high waters in a minute. Uh-huh. See, each one of
them, the reason that they got in trouble, Nicodemus, Korah, Nimrod,
and so forth, is because they didn't recognize God's messenger with the
vindicated Word of that day. Now, anyone knows that. Now, I… We could
stay on that a long time. But God predicts and says a certain thing
will take place; man makes organizations, gets men set just exactly.
They believed there was a coming Messiah. Oh, them Jews, oh, my, sure.
But when, Jesus come the way He did, they said, "That can't be Him."
They fail to understand the Word. Now, Jesus didn't come contrary to
the Word (Did He?), but He come contrary to the organization's
interpretation of the Word. Moses didn't come contrary to the Word; he
come exactly with the Word; but Korah failed to see it. And all down
through it's been that way.

¹⁵⁷
Now, look. This Message of the day just can't be something saying, "We
got the Truth and we got this, that"; it has to be, foretold in His
Word. And then after the Word is brought forth, it has to be properly
vindicated by the Word.
Jesus was properly a-vindicated of God by the Word. He said, "If you'd
have knowed Moses, you'd have known My day." Well did the prophets
speak of Him, well all the prophets said what He was. And yet it
blinded them; they couldn't understand it. See? But Jesus was… Now,
don't…
I want to say this for the tape and for you too. See, the messenger with the Message of the day…

¹⁶⁰
Now, if you go, the Seventh-day Adventist say, "We got her, just keep
the Sabbath." You show me that in the Scriptures. Miss Eddie Baker said
she had it. Show it to me. Jehovah Witness said they had it. Show it to
me. See? Methodist say they got it. Show it to me. Baptist say they got
it. Show it to me. Show me any organizations. I'm proving to you that
they're every one, out of the will of God, every one of them contrary,
teaching traditions of men instead of the Word of God. I don't know a
one of them that would accept the things that's really written in the
Bible the way It is. That's right. But when somebody comes by and said,
"I got the message of the day," he must properly be seen first and
foretold to come.
When John the Baptist walked out there, they said, "Are you the Christ?"
He said, "I'm not."
Said, "Are–are–are you the Elijah?"
And he said, "I'm not."
He said, "Who are you?"
He could identify himself; he had the message of the hour. He said,
"I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, as said the prophet
Isaiah. Now, if my birth and life didn't compare with that,
don't–don't receive me."

¹⁶³
When Jesus come, was the same thing, same thing. The messenger with the
message, must be a foretold message by God. And then God, speaking
through this messenger, a-vindicates that it's the truth. Do you hear
it? Do you understand it? Understand it. It must first be THUS SAITH
THE LORD foretold. And then the messenger with the message must be
exactly what God said would take place at that time.
That's the way Moses was. That's the reason he fell on his face before God and said, "God, You sent me."
He said, "Separate yourself from that bunch."
See what I mean? It's always been the thing that twisted men's mind,
got them off the will of God. Now remember, foretold by His Word and
properly a-vindicated by His Word. Now, Jesus said, "If I do not the
works that–of God, then don't believe Me. See, if I miss… Say, who
of you can condemn Me of sin? Who of you can show Me that I'm an
unbeliever?"

¹⁶⁶
Nicodemus said, "We know You're… Rabbi, You come from God, 'cause
nobody could do those things 'less God was with Him." See? So it showed
He was a believer..
Now, we who know church history… Now, put on your thinking caps. It's
not late yet (See?), so just listen real close now and I'll try to be
just quick as I can. Now, I want… Listen close to the tape.
Now, anyone who's ever read church history knows that the first time
that Christianity was ever organized was the Roman Catholic church.
Now, if there's any times before that, I want somebody to bring the
history and show me. I'm a bosom friend of Paul Boyd, many great
historians. I've got in my study there, "The Post Nicene Council," "The
Nicene Council," "The Nicene Fathers," all the sacred writings of the
church, that I know of. Thirty-three years I've studied them, looked
over them. There was never an organization… The Catholic church is
the mother of organization. We know that that's the truth. Never was
the church organized, had a denomination, until the Catholic church.
And the word "catholic" means "universal." And they've made a state
church religion, and made it over all the dominion of Rome, and it had
about the–the best part of the world conquered at that time. It was
the state church, and those who would not obey it was put to death. The
Nicaea Council, fifteen days of bloody battle, when real prophets of
God, when they stood up there on those…

¹⁶⁸
The Catholic church, why it first started, why, we all know it; I've
taught it here. How, really, Aquila and Priscilla was the pastor,
Aquila was the pastor of–of the Roman church. When the Holy Ghost fell
on Pentecost, it fell on the Jews out of every nation under heaven. But
a few days after that, Peter had a vision on the housetop to go up to
Cornelius, a Roman, a just man, and he prayed and the Holy Ghost fell
on him. After while the dignitaries begin to receive it. Aquila and
Priscilla went into–into Rome and they organized, or, never organized,
but set in order the first Roman church. And when they did, they had
their–their brethren and sisters.

¹⁶⁹
And Claudius in his reign excommunicated all Jews from Rome. And that's
the very time that the Roman Catholic church said Peter was in Rome.
Show me one Scripture where Peter ever was in Rome, or any history that
says he was. He wasn't according to the Word of God, and That's what I
believe. And how could Peter, a Jew, ever put up with idolatry and
stuff that they have, of worshipping idols and things? Where… See?
How would he go against his own teaching here? Nonsense. No more than
that than the Protestant is too. Wait, we'll get to it after while, by
and by, the Lord willing. Notice. Notice now, we find out that the very
time that the church says that Peter was in Rome, the history says that
Claudius (and the Bible said also) had ordered all Jews out of Rome.

¹⁷⁰
And Paul passed through Ephesus and come to the upper coasts there, he
finds these disciples, and there he had been up there visiting Aquila
and Priscilla. After their going away, then the Roman brethren in this
church begin to form their own ideas, and they added idolatry. And then
in Constantine, which his mother was a real Christian and hoped her boy
would be, but he was a politician. And he saw that most of Rome, or a
big part of it, or, the poor class had already accepted salvation
through Christ. And then they were begin to come very popular, because
they were taking down Venus and putting up Mary, and taking down
Jupiter and putting up Peter, and so forth like that, and–and the
disciples, and it was a very popular religion. And they were gallant.
They–them Christians would die.

¹⁷¹
And the Catholic church said, "We were the beginning." That's exactly
the truth; the catholic church begin at the day of Pentecost. But
here's what got her out; she organized and injected (from the Word)
dogmas. And the latest dogma, you people over ten years old can
remember the latest dogma, the ascension of Mary, about ten years ago.
Another dogma added to the church. Instead of Scripture, it's dogma.
And they'll give you to understand right now, they don't care what the
Scripture says, it's what the church says.
They, that priest told me, said, "God is in His church."
I said, "God is in His Word."
He said, "Well, that Bible's just a history of the early Catholic church."
I said, "Then I'm an early Catholic." I said, "That makes me more a
Catholic than you, being a priest." See? I said, "If that's it, then I
am that." I said, "You see, I believe exactly what the apostles taught.
You believe what man has injected into it." And that's exactly the way
it went. Sure, it was. It went that, exactly that way.

¹⁷⁴
Now, notice history. Then they begin to add dogmas, dogma. And when
Paul came over, we know, according to history, that he did not even
visit that first church, because he could not stand idolatry. And he
visited the second church which they had established, second church of
Rome.
And when that Nicaea Council come, where Constantine seen the idea to
unite his kingdom: the very same thing Ahab did with Jezebel, marrying
down there… See? And when he seen a chance to unite his people and
make a great powerful nation out of it, he thought they'd get their
religion, so he made them a church-state religion. And when they had
that Nicaea Council, and these questions come up whether there was one
God or three; whether they should baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ,
or Father, Son and Holy Ghost; all these other questions brought to–to
a showdown in there. And when it did, some of them old prophets come up
out there with nothing but sheepskin wrapped around them and eating
herbs. Right. But them big dignitaries had already worked their way in
the church, shut them up with worldly wisdom. But they had THUS SAITH
THE LORD. She went into pagan darkness for about a thousand years.
But she broke forth again to bloom. That's right. You can't kill it. "I
will restore, saith the Lord, all the years these things eat."

¹⁷⁷
Them denominations added dogma. And to do this, to add dogma, the only
way that any church, the only way that any denomination can ever get
away from the Word of God, is to add dogma instead of the sacred
Scriptures, is to try to make your tradition or the doctrine of your
church, though it be contrary to the Scriptures. Then how can you
condemn the Catholic church, when you're doing the same thing they did?
Do you understand? All right. When… Now, just think, the Scriptures
can't fail. Dogmas is a lie to begin with. And when you accept a
denomination, you've already got a dogma, because it's something added.
It's not in the Scripture. It's not in the Scripture.

¹⁷⁸
There's no such a thing as organization. Jesus never said, "I
commission you to go into all the world and make organizations." No,
sir, no such a thing. To do this, is to reject the sacred Scriptures.
When this was done, it was changed from church by birth to church by
dogma and creed. Not church, let me apologize; lodge. You're born into
the Church, but you join a lodge. It isn't Baptist church, Methodist
church, Pentecostal church. It's Baptist lodge, Pentecostal lodge, and
Methodist lodge, you join them. You can't join Church. There's no such
a thing. You're borned into It. Nicodemus was told that. So you see
where you're at? Oh, my.
That's why I'm against it. Not against the people in it; the system
that I'm against. 'Cause they can't… One of them elders or something
another, one of them churches preach something that's in the Bible
that's contrary to that doctrine, that charter that they have in that
church, he's excommunicated right like that. Yes, sir. Some of them so
nasty as they won't even let a revival come to another church unless it
be one of their own men. Why, they're so…

¹⁸⁰
Somebody one time was going to give a preacher… And right here in
this country, a little old preacher standing down here on the street,
crying and begging for repentance, and saying, "Come, receive Christ;
be filled with the Holy Ghost," and things like that. And someone out
of a Pentecostal organization come up and give a man a dollar in his
hands, and had to go repent because he committed adultery against his
church. Talk about Catholic? That's right. And you know what I'm
talking about too; or this church does anyhow. All right.

¹⁸¹
Do this… to reject the Scriptures… When this is done, it is
changed; then when you add dogma and join an organization, you have
automatically accepted your first dogma, 'cause it's not Scriptural, so
it's something added. And a dogma is something added, "take place of";
it's taking place of the birth. When you accept a denomination, you
have added dogma. All right. When this is done, then it's changed from
church by birth to lodge by dogma or creed. For, see, it's dogma in
itself, not being Scripturally.
Now, Jesus never said, "Go into all the world and make denominations,
go organize the people together." He said, "Go make disciples." You
believe it? Amen. So you see you're altogether out.

¹⁸³
Listen, watch here. Let's close it on something another here, drive
something down tight right at this time. How many has a Greek lexicon,
the "Emphatic Diaglott" from the old manuscript, Greek? All right. Read
it, get any scholar that you want to. Get into the library and get the
lexicon, Greek lexicon. Read Revelations 17, and when you read there,
the King James Version here says, and this, "He carried me away in the
Spirit; and I saw a woman setting upon a scarlet clothed beast, full
of–of names of blasphemy." Now, that's what the King James said. But
the original interpretation said,

¹⁸⁴
There's a whole lot of difference between "names of blasphemy" and
"blasphemous names." Now, watch. We all understand and know that that
was the Roman Church, setting on seven hills controlling the powers of
the world. And she was called a whore, and she was a mother of harlots.
What? What is a harlot? Could it be a man? It has to be a woman. So if
it's a woman, it has to be a church; she was the mother of harlots, the
same as she was. And look, watch, "In her…" Let it soak. "In her was
blasphemous names." What is it? Now, ministers here and on the tape,
now just hold your peace. What is those blasphemous names? Methodist,
Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostals, so forth. Blasphemous
names, because it's organizations, whoredom to God, just like she was.

¹⁸⁵
And they in those groups, the people say, "Why, he's a Methodist and do
this. He's Pentecostal and does this. He's Presbyterian and does this."
They do everything on the calendar, you know that. And what is it? It's
names that ought to be Christ-like and be called by the name of
Christian, and it's blasphemous names. They're not churches. They're
falsely called church. They are lodges. Now, you see why I'm against
organization? Not the people, the system of organization (See?), be
blasphemous names (Watch.) of lodges, falsely called churches.
Methodist church, Baptist church, Presbyterian church, Pentecostal
church, Lutheran church, United Brethren church, there's no such thing.
That's unscriptural.
There's only one Church, and you can't join It. You're borned into It.
You're predestinated to It. The mythical Body of Jesus Christ–The
mystical Body, rather, of Jesus Christ here on earth, with the Word
being made manifest. Sons and daughters of God, they belong to none of
it. "Come out from among them," He said. Yeah.
Watch, quickly now. I don't want to tire you, but if you just give me a
few more minutes now, I'll go as quick as I can, but I want you to be
sure to get it so that you won't miss it. See?

¹⁸⁸
Remember, mother Rome, was found in her, full of blasphemous names, a
mother of harlots. Then, if they are harlots, what is a harlot? What is
a whore? Same thing as a harlot. It's a woman that lives untrue to her
marriage vow. And any church that claims to be the Church of Christ,
and denies God's Word, she's untrue to her marriage vow. Then she
commits adultery by adding dogma, whoredom with the world and her
wisdom, instead of accepting Christ and the power of His resurrection
by the Holy Ghost. And she's the mother of harlots that done the same
thing. Pot don't call kettle greasy, you know; (See?) six of one, and
half a dozen of the other. Some of these people run along just making
fun of the Catholic, and belonging to one of the same thing themselves.
She was the mother of the false baptism in water. She's the mother of a
false evidence of the Holy Ghost, and you follow right along with her.
Now, let's see. "Is that true, Brother Branham?" Hold your peace just a moment.

¹⁹⁰
See, she is the mother of blasphemous names, of lodges that the people
has joined, and bring a reproach, live any way, wear shorts, women with
bobbed hair, painted up, sing in choirs, smoke cigarettes, take
communion, all kinds of filth of the world, and it's a stumbling block
to the unbeliever. Didn't Timothy speak of it, the Holy Spirit? Watch.
See, she, Rome, is the mother of every one of them. See? You did
exactly in your organization just like what she did: inject dogmas
instead of the Word, because a group of men set it together, the
presbyters and the bishops and so forth said it had to be this way, and
that's exactly what took place at Rome. And you try to, my pastor
brother, accept the full Word of God, and look where you'll go: right
out the door. Now, we'll see if God told you to or not in a few
minutes. See? All right.

¹⁹¹
See, she's the mother of every one, because she was the first one to
take away the writings of the Scripture and add dogma, because she
rejected anointed prophets who had the vindicated light with the Word.
For their intelligence, smart men, Roman Emperors, and so forth, that
had accepted Christianity, but want to accept it in their own way. See?
That's right. They want it in their own way.
Naaman wanted to get rid of his leprosy in the waters of his own
country; he didn't like the muddy waters of Jordan. But if he ever get
rid of his leprosy, he had to walk out there in that mud just exactly
like the prophet told him. See? God don't have respect of persons.

¹⁹³
Notice, she was the first denomination. Look at her daughters that done
the same thing, added creeds and dogmas instead of the Word. Don't tell
me; show me one that's not off of It. Show me one pastor that'll accept
the Truth, that they won't turn you out on it, unless you're so popular
that, you know, they have to hold on to you for your popularity or
something and it's all right.

¹⁹⁴
Now, look at Revelations 18 just for a few minutes, the next verse
over, the next chapter, after Revelations 17 had explored and–and had
showed the mystery of this Miss Babylon. The 17th chapter of
Revelations explains that she is a church that sets on seven hills, the
Vatican City, that rules all the kings of the earth (That's exactly
what's right.), and the Presidents too, and so forth. Uh-huh. For…
But she's there, holding the wealth of the world in her hand. That's
exactly. "Who's able to make war with her?" That's right. We all know
that. But why would you belong to something that's connected with her?
Now, notice in the 18th chapter, the very next chapter after her
mystery has been explained. "Sits in the temple of God."

¹⁹⁵
Now, here the other day… Zella Braitman, are you here tonight, Zella?
She brought; it's in the room in there now, "Our Sunday Visitor," the
Catholic paper. And the Catholic paper was answering a minister. Said,
"Did you say, reverend, that did the… In the Roman numeral over the
Vatican, or over the Pope's throne is written, Vicarius Filii Dei,
which it means, that it in the Catholic diocese there, that that is
the–the number of the beast of the Apocalypse?"
"Why," he said, "certainly it is. It's exactly, spells out six hundred
and sixty-six; it's exactly." And the Roman diocese admit it that it
does. But here's their answer, smart, full of wisdom, said, "But, you
know, your name in a certain language might spell out the same thing."
This man said, "Mine, almost the same thing in some language." He
spelled it out. Said, "See, I'm almost six hundred and sixty-six too."
Said, "There's been hundreds of them." Said, "Every time anything
raises up, somebody's got a six hundred and sixty-six." And said,
"Reverend, did you know in one language your own name might spell out
antichrist?" Said, "Why do you look at such things?" Now look at the
wisdom.

¹⁹⁸
But the Holy Spirit knows better. Watch. That might be, my name might
spell out six hundred and sixty-six, but I don't meet the rest of the
qualifications. I don't set upon a hill. I don't say these things. I'm
not a governor. You see? That's right. That's the one He's talking
about. So your worldly wisdom comes to nothing, sir (That's right.), in
the Presence of the Holy Spirit. I don't meet the rest of it, but he
does. "Sets in the temple of God, showing himself he is God, and sets
on seven hills." I don't set on seven hills, if it does spell six
hundred and sixty-six. I don't meet the rest of it, but he does. See,
there you are. See? So which rely on the Holy Spirit, "Take no thought
what you're going to say, because it's not you that speaks; it's the
Father."

¹⁹⁹
So how can your wisdom and your new birth from above ever compare with
these things here on earth, these–these mighty magicians in it? Why,
they know every little crook and corner. How could Moses stand when he
followed the commandments of God to throw down his stick and it turned
into a serpent, and here come the magicians up and done the same thing?
But Moses stood still, knowing he'd followed the Word of God, and his
serpent eat the rest of them up. See? So when you've obeyed and got…
What could he do when he led them to the land of promise, and there was
the Red Sea bottling them in, but God's path went right through it.
Amen. Said, "Stand still and see the Glory of God."
When it's in the path of duty of following the Word, stand there and
watch it open up. Amen. I'm fifty-three years old, been serving Him for
about thirty-three years, wish I had ten million years to serve Him.
I've never seen Him fail yet, when His Word is kept. That's right.

²⁰¹ Now look, immediately after her sin, her secrets was discovered. We've had that a long time ago; we know it.
Now,
the next chapter, look at Revelation 18. May I just turn to it just a
minute. It might be a good thing; it won't take us but just a few
minutes longer, and it might mean a little something to you. I hope it
does.
Now, we see here in the 17th chapter, the 5th verse.

And watch.

See, seeing her, she was such a great beautiful thing. And she was the
mother of prostitutes, prostitute religion, denominations, exactly what
she did (See?), 'cause they injected dogmas just like she did. Now
look, look at Revelation now, that's the 17th chapter, ends up with the
18th verse.

²⁰⁵ Now, watch.

Now,
here comes another messenger coming down, next chapter, her mystery was
discovered. Now, this is now the discovery of her mystery and her
children's mystery. See, we understand now exactly what made her a
harlot: because she committed adultery against God's Word. And that's
what made her an organization. She couldn't stay a Bible church and
accept that. And neither can any organization that don't take every
Word of It (the way It's wrote) ever be a Bible church. And there's
none of them that way, that I know anything about, not a one. So there
(See?), as soon as she organizes the things she does (both by the
Scripture and by evidence), she dies right there; she accepts the
dogma. Now, look, now that's what happened.

²⁰⁶ God sent (in this 18th chapter) a mighty angel after that mystery was known, a mighty angel, or, a messenger. Watch here.

²⁰⁷
Look, immediately after her mystery was made known, who she was, what
she was, who her daughters was, the mystery has been made known, then
God sent an angel, a messenger to what? Call out. "Come out…" the
Message of the hour.

He's going to curse her. Watch.
"Come out of her." God sent a many–mighty angel, or, a messenger. And
his Light wasn't in a corner; It scattered over the earth. "Come out of
her." What? Her, and her sisters too… To lighten the earth, and call
His people out of her… Now, you know that's the Truth. A messenger
was sent from heaven to call God's people out of Babylon. And his Light
lighted the earth, great Holy Spirit.

²⁰⁹
Notice, the Bible said she is a cage, and has caught hateful, unclean
birds, not eagles, now: no, no, no, no: vultures. Unclean, hateful
birds, that's what she's caged up around her. She is a cage full of
them, a whole cage full with what? "Blasphemous names," contrary to the
Scripture. II Timothy 3 said, the Holy Spirit speaking, "In the last
days they will depart from the faith and give heed to seducing
spirits." It also said, the Holy Spirit spoke that in the last days
they'd be heady, high-minded, hateful: "Bless God, you belong to us, or
you don't have your name on our book, you're lost." Hateful, unclean…
I hope I'm not hurting; I hope I'm doing good. Hateful, unclean birds,
she caged them.

²¹⁰
Remember, God is an Eagle. He called Himself an eagle. And He called
Jacob an eagle. And we are His eaglets. Amen. He called His prophets
eagles. And this angel come down to expose and to call out.
Like my little message on "The Eagle Stirs Her Nest… That little old
eagle had been following that old hen around in the barnyard all the
time, clucking around, but he couldn't eat that stuff that she had:
socials, and painted-faced women, bobbed hair, and shorts. He couldn't
do that. But he didn't know nothing else but the cluck of that old hen.
But one day the mother eagle found him. She screamed, calling him out,
said, "Son, you're not one of them. Come out of her."
Said, "Mama, what can I do?"
Said, "Flop your wings and start." The first jump, he hit on a post,
right in the middle of a organization. Said, "Son, you'll have to come
higher than that or I can't catch you. Got to get your feet off the
ground." She's going to take him on a flight. He found out he could
fly. She come to call him out. That's right.

²¹³
But this Mother Babylon had caught herself a bunch of chickens: slick
chicks, painted up, bobbed hair, call themselves Christians. She got a
cage full of them. You preachers that stand in the pulpit and let them
women get by with that, shame on you to make your denominational more.
God will require that of your hand. Come out of it. "My sheep hear My
Voice." A cage of hateful, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more
than lovers of God, would rather be like the world than to be like
Christ. When you see a woman with a lot of makeup on, it goes to show
she's empty inside. She's false inside. That's exactly right. If the
woman… I seen one the other day with a green hair (That's right.),
had all that green stuff there in her eyes.

²¹⁴
Now, if you–if–if–if you didn't have any hair, and–and you wanted
to wear some hair, it'd be all right, but wear one that looked like
human. And if you didn't have any fingernails, and–and you wanted to
get some fingernails, don't get them like hulls off of navy beans, get
them–get real fingernails. If you haven't got any of these things,
it's all right. If you haven't got any teeth, get you some if they make
you some, get them. But don't pull your God-given teeth out just
because they're a little crooked, and they're good teeth to get some.
Don't dye your hair, or something, and look like something that come
out of the–some mire somewhere. Don't… If you're colorless, and you
want to make yourself look like you got some color, it's all right, I
imagine. But don't make yourself look like Jezebel, like a barn
somewhere being painted.

²¹⁵
And you Pentecostal brethren, letting them women cut their hair, when
the Bible said that's her glory. And it's even uncommon for her to pray
with her hair like that. And yet let her come up in the pulpit and
preach the Gospel, sing in a choir, teach a Sunday school. Shame on
you. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
Why am I against organization? You think I could ever cater to
something like that? I know the reason you do it, brother. You know
better, but if you'd teach against that, you'll be turned in to the
headquarters, and they'll excommunicate you. Bless God for your courage
if you'll do it. That's right. Yes, sir. God will honor you.

²¹⁶
What did this angel say, "Come out of her." Yes, sir. This angel came
to the earth, and he come to bring the Light, and he shined the Light
around the world. He was a mighty angel. And he come to proclaim the
message of "Come out of Babylon. Touch not her unclean things."
Got a whole cage full of them, said, "She's the cage of every hateful
bird." Yeah, she got a cage full of them now, the World Council of
Churches, or lodges. She's got the whole bunch caged up now; they're
all coming together. She become a cage, all right, full of hateful
birds. That's right. Try to talk to one of them one time; just try it,
boy, smart in the world's wisdom, but know no more about God than a
rabbit does about snowshoes. That's right. Just, that's just it (See?),
just all they know is some wisdom they can put this and do that in
there. But when it comes to knowing Him? Huh. Yeah, got caught in her
cage with her dogmas. The Protestant churches begin the same and come
her daughters, caused this by denying the Word of God. That she does.
She denies the Word. And when you accept something else instead of the
Word, you deny It yourself. And when you join up in one of them, you've
also denied the Word. God don't want you that way, no place of it for
the Scripture.

²¹⁸
Notice, this is the Angel of Light. Remember, the last Angel, it's the
Angel in the church age to the Laodicea. It's the Laodicea messenger,
that it's the last… Because the very next chapter is the 19 chapter,
which is the coming Bride. And this is in the Scripture, the last Angel
that came to bring Light before the coming of the Bride to go meet
Christ. It was the Laodicean church age then. What was the Laodicean
church age messenger? Calling them out of Babylon. Look. Churches
caught in her cage with her, with her dogmas, denying the Word and
accepting dogmas. This is the Angel of Light to the Laodicean church
that had rejected Christ and His Word for dogma and had put Him
outside. And He stood at the door, knocking, trying to get in. See it?
The church age had rejected the Christ, and Christ is the Word, and had
rejected It, and He was on the outside. The only church age that we
have of Christ on the outside, knocking, trying to get in. And this
angel's Message, messenger come from God, was echoing his message on
the earth to come out of Babylon; come out of the organizations." The
Holy Spirit today, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is that Angel
trying to get the people back to the Word, 'cause the Holy Spirit will
only vindicate the Word. It can't vindicate dogmas; there's no life in
them. He's Life. Notice, the Laodicean church age had denied Him,
rejected Him, and had put Him on the outside.

²¹⁹
Notice, this Angel is the last messenger before the coming of Christ in
the 19th chapter of Revelation. The messenger's voice, if we notice,
when he gave his voice on the earth, there was a voice echoed again in
heaven: 4th verse, if you want to read it (All right.), 4th verse, the
19th chapter. This messenger on the earth was so inclined with God
until, when he spoke it on the earth, God echoed the same thing out of
heaven. What is that 4th verse translation? What does it mean? God's
voice speaking to His predestinated people, saying, "Come out of her,"
just exactly what the voice was. He's got people all out in there, all
out through Babylon. Come out of her, that you be not partakers of her
sins (Yes, sir.), out of that dogma and creeds to the Word made Spirit
and Life. Amen.

²²⁰
Notice, the 19th chapter is the next, "After these things…" Did you
notice here in the 19th chapter, "After these things…"? Watch what?
After what? After the message of come out of her. After these things
(Watch.) is the shout of the Bride saints with the Bridegroom, going to
the marriage of the Lamb. How close are we then, brother? What's the
last call? Come out of Babylon.
Now, my brethren, that's the reason I'm against it; it's unscriptural.
It's unorthodox. It's been proven to be false. God is not in it; He
never was; He never will be. Now, I ain't saying there's not people in
these organizations, that's where the church was made up of. But as
long as you stay into that system, you're a part of it.

²²²
If I stay in the United States, I'm an American. As long as I'm a
citizen or a member of this United States, I'm part of it. If I go to
Germany and deny my membership here or my citizenship, I take out
citizenship in Germany, I'm no more an American; I'm a German. And if I
go to Japan, or wherever, Russia, I become a citizen there.
And when you join up with a citizem–a system and become a citizen of
that system, you're showing what you are. And in this last days, God is
calling the people out of it. The Bible said so: "Come out of her, that
you be not partakers with her, and I will receive you. Touch not her
unclean things (See?), and I will receive you. And you'll be sons and
daughters to Me, and I'll be God to you." See?

²²⁴
That's the reason I have spoke against the church, the–the lodge. I
can't call it a church. There's only one Church; that's the Church of
the Body of Christ. But these lodges that's called church, my Bible
tells me that they are blasphemous names, all of them, all
organizations. What are they blaspheming? "Blasphemy" is "to be
contrary to," or, "speak against." When God says, "come, be born," and
they say "come, join." See? When the baptisms of the Spirit is falsely
took over for a wafer in the Catholic church, a handshake in the
Protestant church, and an emotion in the Pentecostal church, instead of
the Person of Christ coming in with all that pyramid building we had
the other day.
Add to your faith, virtue, and so forth, all this in I Peter the
1st–or II Peter, I believe, the 1st chapter, where it's all added to
your faith, all these things, godliness, and purity, and holiness, and
everything, and then you're sealed by the Holy Ghost.

²²⁶
But it's just like somebody they–people claim to have this when they
haven't, because they've been falsely taught. The Methodists get a
funny feeling, used to, and shake a little bit, or–or dance in the
Spirit. The Pentecostals speak with tongues or–or do something
emotional. I believe those things, certainly, but those things without
these others is no good.
As I said the other day, it's like a peacock–or a blackbird trying to
put peacock feathers in himself, or a buzzard trying to use dove
feathers. They never growed there; he pushed them in hisself. They're
planted; they're denomination. But when God puts anything in there,
it's natural. You make yourself say, "I joined church last night. I
can't go no more. I can't drink no more. I can't do this. I joined
church." See, you're trying to put peacock feathers in your buzzard
carcass. That's right. See, see? You've got to be born again. You've
got to receive Christ. And when you receive Christ, you can't receive
Christ without receiving His Word, because He is the Word. And when you
have a form of godliness, and deny that, then I wonder. See? And you
can still belong to all the organization you want to and have a form of
godliness, and still don't have it.

²²⁸
Now, there you are, friends. There's the whole thing. God bless you.
God help you. I don't say this to be different. I'm explaining myself.
This being Armistice day, I'm not signing a treaty of peace with you
ministers, not at all; I think you ought to come sign with me; not with
me, but with God, the Word. That's right. That's right. Say what the
Bible says; say It the way It says It. Because the Bible said, "Who
shall take away or add to the same…" And you see, organization is
unscriptural, and when you receive the first dogma you just might as
well go all the way back, 'cause that you cross the line right there.
When you come back to the new birth, then you will walk into the
Scripture.

²²⁹
And you go into a denomination, they say, "I know; we don't believe in
This. Our bishops in our church teaches we are one of the oldest
churches. We don't teach…" I don't care what they don't teach. If the
Bible teaches it, the Holy Spirit in you, It'll feed on the Word. No
matter how smart a man is and how he can try to explain it away, they
can explain away. A infidel can take the Bible and explain God away
from you.
Therefore, no man has any right to preach the Gospel unless he's been
like Moses, back yonder on that sacred sands where him and God alone
stood, until a man's born again and stands there face to face with God,
and knows. There's no infidel; there's no psychology; there's no
explaining; there's no scholar in the world can take that away from
you. You were there when it happened. Yes, sir. You know what taken
place.
Then you say, "I had that kind of experience, and I got a spirit on
me." And if it denies the Word in any way, you got the wrong spirit.
You say, "I–I can't go for this stuff like this, I know, but our
church…" Oh, oh, there's a wrong spirit. There's your mark of
identification. Cain, you're marked. Yes, sir.
Eve just doubted one little Word, not all God said, just one little
Word, and it caused every heartache and heartbreak, and death, and sin,
and battles, and everything else, every grave, every ambulance ever
screamed, every hospital was built for the sick. Her one little
doubting one little Word of God caused all of this. And she was put
out, when this never would've had to happen. How are you going to get
in, doubting one Word of It? Say, "I know It says that, but It…" It
means just that.

²³³
Now, look. God's got to judge the world by something. You cannot have
judgment unless you have a–first a law. There's got to be something,
you got to break something in order to be judged. See? And then there
cannot be judgment, correctly, without penalty. Now, see, you can't
have a law in town that says "five-dollar fine for running a red
light," and the next, law says, "no, he can go free." See, you can't do
that. So there can't be two laws in existence at one time. And there's
one law, one God, one Book, one Christ. That's all. One faith, one
hope. That's all. That's the Bible: Christ.
Notice now in this, if there is to be something added to This, it's got to be added by men. It can't be no more than…

²³⁵
And if God is going to judge the world by a church, as the Catholic
says, then what Catholic church is He going to judge it by? There's
several of them; there's one Roman, one Greek; and, oh, there's all
different kinds. Which Catholic church He going to judge it by? Or,
maybe He's going to judge it by the Lutheran? Well, then, and maybe
He's going to judge it by the Presbyterian? See? What's He going to do?
He isn't going to judge it by a church. He's going to judge it by His
Word. Well then, He never…
See, He can't keep a group of people, as the sister's vision the other
night, the Holy Spirit poured in, It went right through that box. Sure,
nothing holds That. It's an individual. It's give to cleanse the
church, but it can't hold It. No organization can hold It. That's all.
It just can't do it. You got everything in there–in there; you can't
do it. The organization can't do it. But it's the individual that has
the Holy Spirit. Now, notice.

²³⁷
Then if God is going to judge the world by His Word, then He certainly
has watched over It and kept It in condition. Or, if It's all scrupled
up, how is He going to bring judgment? See? It's got to be something.
And He never said, "Whosoever, by the church…" He said, "Whosoever
shall take one Word away from This, or add one word to It, the same
will be taken, his part out of the Book of Life." So to me, it's God,
His Word, and the judgment. Now, if I judge and accept the Word, and
see that Christ died for me, then I'll ask for His Life to come in and
guide me. And if His Life is the Word, and He wrote the Word, how can
His Life be in me, and me claiming to have the Holy Spirit, and adding
a dogma instead of the Word? It just wouldn't work. How can I add a
denomination when He's against it, and proved it, and showed it through
history, that every time they denominate they die, spiritually? Oh,
they grow members, sure. That's right. They grow members. But
spiritually, they never go nowhere. Show me, tell me in the history
where ever a church that… After it organized, it died right there;
the Holy Spirit left it; there's no more miracles and signs, and she
just went right on into chaos.

²³⁸
That's exactly what happened to our Pentecostal churches. They did
exactly what their mother did. At the beginning they come out a people
that rejected denominations. Now, some of you brethren listening to
this tape, some of you old men know that years ago, forty, fifty years
ago, if they'd talked to you about an organization, you'd have said it
was blasphemy. But today you belong to the thing that you thought was
blasphemy. You women that bob your hair and paint your face, your
mother was against that, that good–good old Pentecostal saint. What
happened to you? Paul said, "You did run well, what hindered you?" See,
see? Back there you was free from that stuff, but you wanted to be like
the rest of them.

²³⁹
Exactly what Samuel said… Israel had a King, and that was God. And
they said, "Samuel, you're getting old. Make us a king; we want to be
like the rest of the world. We want to be like the other nations. We
want a king to take us to war; we want a king that can fight our
battles." And it displeased Samuel.
He said, "Have I ever took anything from you? Have I ever took your
money from you? Have I ever asked you for an ox or anything? Have I
ever asked you for anything?"
They said, "No, you never asked us for nothing."
Or says, "Have I ever spoke anything to you in the Name of the Lord but
what come to pass?" Is that right? He said, "Then don't receive that
king, because it's going to mean chaos to you."

²⁴²
Now, I want to ask you something, the Branham Tabernacle. You're fixing
to grow into a big Tabernacle now. I may be away for a while. I may go
somewhere: hard to tell where the Lord will call me; maybe off the
scene, maybe back into the field; maybe He might call me into the
wilderness. I don't know where He'll call me till Jesus comes. I want
to ask you something. Did I ever ask you for anything? Did I ever beg
you for money? Did I ever tell you anything, of the thousands of things
that I have told you in the Name of the Lord, but, didn't it come to
pass? Then don't never join an organization. It's against the Word of
God. Come out of it if you're in it, and be ye separate and receive the
Word of the Lord. Let's bow our heads.

²⁴³
Great God of the prophets, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,
add virtue, Lord, to this little chopped up message that's been on my
heart for a long time to go to my brethren. Many of those out there,
Lord, has the wrong impression of me. They think that I want to be
different. They think that I'm trying to be a know-it-all. They've told
the people that I deceive the people, especially on such subjects as
the water baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and upon the serpent's
seed, the great harlot, and in many of those tapes that's went out with
nothing but unadulterated Truth. And I've asked them, "Some of you come
and show me where I sin, or disbelieving, or misinterpreting the Word."
And none has showed up. I pray Thee, Father, let these men know that
they are missing the hour. They are going to wait too late, if they
don't watch. May they, every one…

²⁴⁴
Lord, I am sure of this. My heart would break if this Scripture wasn't
real to me, when You said, "All that the Father has given Me will come.
My sheep hear My Voice." Then, Lord, I guess the Kingdom is truly as
You said; I know it is. It is like unto a man that took a net and went
to the lake, cast in the net and pulled every kind. There was, no
doubt, scavenger fish, there were turtles, water spiders, serpents,
everything that the Gospel net caught. But finally by and by, the
crawfish backed into the water again; the turtle pulled away; the
serpent hissed and took back to the mud-hole, like a dog to its vomit
or a hog to its wallow. But there was real fish there, Lord. And I have
this consolation of knowing, that even before the net went over them,
they were fish then. They were born, predestinated fish. And so is the
Gospel net that catches out into the revivals. You know Your Own. The
only thing I'm responsible for, Father, as far as I know, is stay true
to this Word. You are the One Who do decide which is which. And I know
that no more than the turtle could become a trout, so could a man or a
person that has deaf ears to the Gospel, ever understand the Truth. For
the Father has foresaw this, and You have promised that all that He
give You would come.

²⁴⁵
Heavenly Father, I pray Thee that every person that hears this little
message, that the Light that it's been preached in, and the meaning
that I have in my heart towards my fellow men, people who You died for.
And men, some of them out there, Lord, like in Korah's bunch, genuine
men, falsely led, with a holy censor in their hand, but perished. Why,
they wouldn't even let the censor of fire go in with them; Aaron's son,
Eleazar, had to gather it up. And they made a banner for the altar out
of those kettles, a shield to show, and to be a memorial of that awful
thing, that Korah tried to form an organized party against the
messenger of God. Far be it from us, Lord. May the Holy Spirit always
protect us.

²⁴⁶
We thank Thee, Lord, that our little church, this little sacred
shrine… Many years ago, thirty some odd years, I knelt in the pond
here full of weeds and moisture, and we dedicated this ground to You,
this little structure. And yonder in that Tabernacle corner lays that
vision. It's come to pass exactly. Still there. They're not going to
tear it down, Lord, they're just going to… it's getting old, and
they're just going to preserve it by putting one over the top of it.
God, grant that this golden Gospel that's recorded in the pages here,
may It never leave this little church until Christ comes. May every
member, every member of the Body of Christ, they come in here from
across the nation and around the world, may every one of them receive
the Light, the Gospel, and walk in It then and receive Christ.
And may it be so real that His Words will come to pass, "The works that
I do, shall they do also. He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him
that sent Me, has Eternal Life." And when Eternal Life comes in,
they're born from above, and the works from God manifest themself,
because it's the same Life that was in Him. It cannot do anything else.

²⁴⁸
So, Father, let this church never rest their eternal destination upon a
sensation, upon an organization, upon anything less than Christ Himself
living in them, vindicating His Word through them and His promise. May,
from the least little child here tonight, until the oldest person,
receive this experience. And may every man or woman, boy or girl, who
hears this tape, may it be so with them, Lord, and give them the
understanding that I'm only trying to warn and call out, for this hour
is later than we think.
And we see Babylon, the mother whore, and all of her prostitute
daughters assembling themselves together. God, we realize that the
Scripture says that the tares out of the wheat field will be bound
first in bundles. And they have bound in bundles, calling themselves
blasphemous names that really doesn't pertain to them; it's not
pertaining to the Church either; it's lodges, not churches. There's
only one of them, Father, and that's the one You died for.

²⁵⁰
And I pray, Father, as we see them all being bundled now for an atomic
fire soon, I pray, Lord, that You'll let the wheat be full and heavy.
Grant it, Lord. May we grow and shine Light, and be like Jesus, "If I
do not the things that God required Me to do, then I have no Life in
Me. But if God speaks and shows His Life, then that speaks for Itself."
Grant it, Lord. I commit this message to You, and that You watch over
it, and bring tens of thousands, Lord, or, all Your predestinated
children to the Gospel. In Jesus Christ, Who is the Word, in His Name I
pray. Amen.

²⁵¹

I'm going to ask
the question. How many tonight in this visible audience here of this
nice big church of people, or house of people, rather, in this place of
worship, that believes with all your heart, your life measures up with
the requirement you–of God and the Bible, and you believe that by
looking at your own life, and seeing the way the Spirit's moving in
you, that It believes every Word the way It's wrote and keeps It? Do
you believe It? God bless you. May He ever keep His Spirit upon you.
And to my friend on the tape, I wish you could've looked here in this
audience tonight, I guess at least ninety percent of the people had
their hands up, that they have believed and watched the Bible, not what
the church says, what the Bible says, not what the lodge says, what the
Bible says; and they see the Life of Christ reflecting in It.

²⁵³
You know, in the old days before they had smelters, the–the goldsmith
used to beat the gold with a hammer. I guess you've heard of it. Before
it went to the smelter, they beat it. And gold is the heaviest
material; it's heavier than lead. And so I've done a little
prospecting, and you can take in the sands in the wash in the deserts,
and rub your hands over the sand, and then (whoosh) blow like that, and
the dust and everything will fly away, the rocks, but gold is so heavy
it lays there. And then when you pick up that gold, it's rolled through
so much dirt until it's accumulated a lot. And through the volcanic
ages as it accumulated up, it got sludge and everything, iron pyrite
and other materials mixed with it. The beater used to take this lump of
gold and beat it and turn it, and beat it and turn it, until he beat
all the dross out of it. And you know how he knowed that he had all the
dross out? He could see his own image reflected in it.

²⁵⁴
And that's the way God does the Church. He beats every creed, every
denomination, every manmade dogma, until He sees His Own Life
reflecting in you. "If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me
not." See? If what is purposed to the Church, the Life that was in
Christ isn't reflecting in you, don't you stand still if you haven't
got patience, virtue, all these things, and temperance, and–and
things, and godliness, and brotherly kindness, and all these things
that's required of you. No matter what you've done, no matter how much
you've shouted, how many churches you've joined, how many feathers
you've pinned into yourself, don't do it. Wait till genuinely from your
heart you can forgive, till in your heart you have brotherly kindness.
No matter if they pull a handful of beard from one side, you could turn
the other cheek with sweetness (See?), until those virtues, no matter
what they say to you…

²⁵⁵
When they put a rag around His face and hit Him on the head, said,
"Now, they tell me that you're a prophet." Now, jerked the rag off of
Him, and one of them holding the stick, said, "Which one of us hit you?
Prophesy and tell us, in otherwise, then we'll believe you are a
prophet." He never opened His mouth.
When you hear a prophet rising that's got all the answers to every
gimmick that you can bring up, remember, he's not a prophet. Yes. Today
they've got to know everything, when you're going to have a toothache
and when you're going to have a tummy-ache, and everything else, and
tell you all about it. That isn't the nature of our God. Watch the
prophets; watch Jesus.

²⁵⁷
Look at Paul, when he could smite a man blind, and let the coppersmith
run him out of the country, "I guess he lost his power to smite blind."
Jesus, Who could raise the dead, and yet said a drunken soldier spit in
His face, and hawk and spit and jerk beard out of His face, and hit Him
on the head, with a rag around Him, said, "Prophesy and tell us who hit
you."… And opened not His mouth.
Don't watch all these gimmick workers. But remember, they're only
speaking… A bogus dollar only speaks that there's a real one
somewhere. When you see this organization stuff growing and prospering,
as it said, "Craft would prosper in his hand," just remember, there's a
little Church of God somewhere, really is Holy Ghost filled, genuine,
that's moving up the ladder. Don't look at the big organization.

²⁶⁰
What greater church is spoke of in the Bible than the Ephesian church
age? And when Paul passed through the upper coasts of Ephesus, and
comes to this church, there was twelve men in it. That's right. And
they all was good people, shouted and have a great time, but had not
received the Holy Ghost yet. Paul said, "You haven't received the Holy
Ghost since you believed?"
They said, "Why, we didn't know there was a Holy Ghost."
He said, "Then how was you baptized?" If it didn't make a difference, what did he say to that church there?
They said, "We've already been baptized by one of the greatest men that
ever stood on the earth, John the Baptist, who baptized our Lord. Ain't
that baptizing good enough?"
He said, "No, sir. You've got to be baptized over, 'cause the Kingdom
is sealed to anything else." And when they heard this… Said, "John
only baptized unto repentance, not for remission of sins, saying that
you should believe on Him to come, that is, on Jesus." And when they
heard this, they were rebaptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. That's
right, exactly. They followed the Scripture.

²⁶⁴
You know, in the dedication this morning, Moses followed the pattern
that he saw in heaven and pitched a tent to represent it. When Solomon
built the temple, he (What did he do?) followed the pattern that Moses,
by the tent, keeping the Scripture in line.
And when God come to His Temple for the last days, this Temple, the
Holy Ghost, "a body hast Thou prepared Me," the Holy Ghost fell on the
day of Pentecost, the message was, "Repent, every one of you, and be
baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promise is unto you,
and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call." If you want to call your minister a doctor,
Doctor Simon Peter wrote a prescription, an eternal prescription.
That's what cures the sick…?…

²⁶⁶
Let some of these quack druggists, trying by denomination to fill it
some other way, that's the reason they got… You know, if you don't
add the–you add too much to the prescription, you might–too much of
the poison, you might kill your patient. If you don't put enough in it,
you–not for the antidote, if you don't, it won't do your patient no
good. Your physician knows just how to write the prescription.
And Christ, the Holy Ghost, is the Prescription Writer, and He wrote
It. Don't add to It or take It away from It, just take the Medicine the
way she is. It's the Cure for all ailments. God bless you. You love
Him? Amen.

²⁶⁸ Now, while we hum it, now turn around and shake hands with your neighbor there. Oh, he's a pilgrim too, passing through.

²⁶⁹
Now, let's bow our heads, close our eyes, lift up our hands and our
voices to God now, as I commit you to the pastor. We're glad to have
you here. We're no denomination. We have no law but love, no creed but
Christ, no book but the Bible: no membership; just fellowship through
the Blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all unbelief.
All right, all together now.