A Trial (64-0427)

 

^E-1
… portion of Scripture. And my subject tonight is to… I think that
Jesus Christ never had a fair trial in Herod's court before Pilate. I
don't believe He had a fair trial. And I think in the next forty-five
minutes, let's give Him a trial, because He's in question again.
And now, the–one of the main things that He's questioned on is His
Word. Now, I believe that Word. So I–I'm going to read tonight from
the most disputed spot in the Scripture. And that's Mark the 16th
chapter.
And now, if we was pledging allegiance to the flag, or if we was
hearing the "Star Spangled Banner," we'd all stand. And I think if we
can do that in commemoration of our fine nation that we have, we surely
ought to do it to the Word of God. So let us stand just a few moments
while I read from the Word, Mark, 16th chapter of St. Mark, beginning
with the 9th verse. Let us listen close as we read these verses.

^E-2
Now, we're right at the resurrection time, we're at the time where our
Lord had just risen from the dead and was appearing to the–in
different forms to the people. Now, the 9th verse begins like this:

^E-3
Now, let us bow our heads just a moment for prayer. And I'm going to
ask, if it's all right, that if a Brother Marvin Smith (who was so kind
to us yesterday, and had me in the prayer line with him last night), if
he'll ask God's blessings on the words that I've just read. Brother
Smith… [Brother Smith prays–Ed.]
Amen…?… Grant it, Lord… Yes, Lord… Grant it, Lord… Grant it,
Lord… Grant it, Lord… Yes, Lord… Grant it, Lord… Amen. And
thank you. You may be seated.

^E-4
So many of my friends here, that I'd like to mention them all, but I…
Just as Brother said, we don't have time to do it. Brother Outlaw
there, a real bosom brother friend of mine from Phoenix, and Brother
Mosley, and–and so many different ones, that I just can't hardly have
time to recognize each one. But I'm sure you understand, I don't want
to pass you.
Now, on this Word, we are confronted tonight, and I would–just want to
say a few things about this Scripture. Everywhere we go we find this
the most–the–where the unbeliever picks on.

^E-5
Here some time ago… Many of you know Perris Reedhead. He's the
president of the Sudan Missions. That's one of the largest fundamental
missions in the world. He and Don… I can't call his last name. He's
the pastor of one of the big Baptist churches in Chattanooga. He came
into my house in–in Jeffersonville and said, "Brother Branham," said,
"We understand that you were Baptist."
And I said, "Yes, sir. I was ordained in the Missionary Baptist Church."
He said, "And I hear you're associating with the Pentecostals."
I said, "Yes, sir. I'm one of them."
And he said, "Well, I want to ask something." Said, "They claim to have
the Holy Spirit." Said, "Do you think that's the Holy Spirit?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Well, the only thing I can't understand, what all that screaming and shouting and carrying on like that…"
I said, "Well, if you–if you can't put the steam to rolling the wheel,
it'd blow it out the whistle; that's all." I said, "If they could…
That's why I'm with them." I said, "If you could only get that thing in
operation, and that–the enthusiasm moving out yonder to winning souls,
it'd conquer the world." But I said, "That's why I'm there."

^E-6
He said, "Well, when I was little boy," he said, "I had a call from
God. And mother washed over her washboard to send me to school." And
said, "I… When… I thought when I got my B.A.," said, "I–there I'd
find Christ," but said, "I–I didn't." And said, "Now, Brother Branham,
I've got enough degrees and honorary degrees to plaster your wall." And
said, "Where's Christ in all of it?"
I said, "I'm not the one, brother, with the grammar school education,
to say the–the teachers is wrong." But I said, "They were right in
what they said, but they wasn't–there's some more of it."
And he said, "Here's why I'm here." He said, "In the school we educated
a fine Indian boy from India. I think he learned to be a… I think it
was maybe it was civil engineering or–or something, he had–he had
mastered in. He was going back to help his people."
He said, "I took him to the–to the boat, or, the train where he was to
go catch the boat and he was to go back to India. And I said, 'Son,
while you're–while you're going back…' said, 'now you're all fit,
and got your education, and go back to your people.' Said, 'Why don't
you take a real living God back, and forget that dead prophet Mohammed
that you worship?'" the boy, being a Mohammedan.

^E-7 "Well," he said, "sir…" he said, "what can your Jesus do for me any more than what my prophet can do?"
"Well," he said, "our–our–our–our Jesus gives you Life; your prophet can't do it."
He
said, "But he promised to do it." Yeah. He said, "You know what we
Mohammedans are waiting for, is to see you Christians do what your
leader said you would do."
He said, "What's that?"
He said, "Well, your…" Said, "See, Mohammed only promised life after
death." But said, "Jesus promised that the things that He did, you'd do
also."
And he said, "Oh." He said, "Well," he said, "you see, they did do it."
He said, "They? We're talking about thee–thee, now."
And he said, "Well, now, sir," he said, "I tell you." Said, "You've read the New Testament?"
Said, "Oh, many times, through and through."
He said, "For instance, what Scripture are you referring to?"
"Well," he said, "many places: John 14:12, and so forth," and said, "Mark 16."
He said, "Well, now." He said, "You see, Mark 16…" Said, "We learn
that, really, some of the Scriptures, that it's not authentic." He
said, "Mark 16, from the 9th verse on," he says, "it's not found in
the–the oldest of manuscripts." He said, "It's just added."

^E-8
Now, really. I wonder where you'd get that at, if there happens to be a
critic near. Why, I've studied twenty years in Bible history. See?
Certainly. Irenaeus and Polycarp and all of them recognized it. See?
Certainly. It certainly was added. The Vatican didn't add it. Certainly
not. But this–these real writers said Jesus said this–authentic
writing.
And so he said, "From the 9th verse on, it's not inspired."
That Mohammedan said, "Well, then, Mr. Reedhead, what part is inspired
then?" He said, "I want you to know that all the Koran's inspired, not
just part here and part there." What a defeat. So he said, "Well," he
said, "well, if–if it's not–if that part's not inspired, how'll I
know the rest of it's not inspired?" Now, there's a good…

^E-9 He said, "Well," said, "When… Jesus raised up from the dead, and Mohammed's in the grave."
He
said, "Has He raised up from the grave?" He said–he said "If He did,
He would be in you to the consummation, and the works that He did,
you'd do also."
And Mr. Reedhead said to me; he said, "A… Brother Branham, I didn't know what to say."
He said, "Why, Jesus did raise from the dead."
Said, "You've had two thousand years to prove it, and ninety percent of
the world hardly knows anything about it." Said, "Let Mohammed raise,
and the whole world will know it in twenty-four hours."
That's right. If you'd been to his grave, some of you missionaries,
every four hours they change the guard of the horse there, white horse
that he'll ride it down the world when he raises from the dead.
"But we don't have to wait for Jesus to raise from the dead. He's already raised from the dead."
So he said, "Prove it. He promised it, if he raised from the dead." So he said, "Well, how do you know?"
He said, Mr. Reedhead said, "He lives within my heart."
And he said, "And Mohammed lives within my heart." Said, "Mr.
Reedhead," said, "Mohammedan religion can produce just as much
psychology as Christianity."
He said, "Then I kicked the dust, Brother Branham, as a defeated Christian, and promised myself that I'd come talk to you." See?

^E-10
Why, all that Bible's inspired. God watches over His Word. God's got to
judge the world someday. And if He's going to judge it by the church,
what church will He judge it by? If He judged it by the Catholic church
(you Catholic would say so), which Catholic church, then–the Greek
Orthodox, the Roman, or which one? If He judge it by the Baptists, you
Methodists are lost. If He judge it by the Methodist, you Baptists are
lost. If He judge it by the Pentecost, you're both lost. See? He isn't
going to judge it by any church. He's going to judge it by Jesus
Christ, and Jesus Christ is the Word.
St. John the 1st chapter said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us." Therefore, He'll judge it by Jesus Christ, and He is
the Word. The Bible said He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God being infinite, in the beginning, with His infinite wisdom, His
knowledge, divided His Gospel in each age.
We find out that the churches get it all messed up, and then God sends
His prophet on the scene. And the Word of the Lord comes to the
prophet. How they know it is? It's a vindication of the–the message of
that age.

^E-11
Now, when… What? When Moses came (as was promised that he would
come), what if he come with Noah's message? It wouldn't have worked.
Moses could not have built an ark for the saving of the people. The
Word of God that was promised for Moses' age was the Word that had to
be vindicated. In the age of every seer and every prophet, it's been
the same.
But we find the people living in a glare of another light. As Jesus
said, "You garnish the walls of the tombs of the prophets, and you're
the one that put them in there." See? See, they build up something over
a message, and live in that glare of that light, and refuse to walk in
the light that is of the day.
That's what the reason they refused to know Jesus Christ when He came.
That's why Jesus exhorted them, saying, "Search the Scriptures, for in
Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They that testify of
Me." But they had got so many creeds and things, and their traditions,
that Jesus said, "You've made the Word of God of no effect by your
traditions." And that's the way it's been in every age. God will judge
the world by Jesus Christ.

^E-12
And many times you see what it is, we people try to have our own
interpretation of the Word. They say Mark 16, from the 9th verse on, is
not inspired. Why isn't it inspired? God doesn't need any interpreter.
He's His own Interpreter. God does His own interpretation. And the
Bible said it's of no private interpretation. God said at the
beginning, "Let there be light," and there was light. That don't need
interpretation. He said, "A virgin shall conceive," and she did. That
don't need any interpretation. She did it. Although when she did it,
and the time that she did it, the people were so full of creed till
they didn't understand it. It went right over the top of their heads.
It's did that in every time, and it'll do it again. Now, we find out
that that's right. The people does that.

^E-13
Christ and the church… We find in this day that we're living, there's
nothing different from any other day. Men, the church is always
praising God for what He done, and always saying what He's going to do,
and ridiculing what He's doing. That's always been the history of the
church. And it's the same way tonight.
It's because that manmade theories get into it and get it all mixed up.
And when the true Word speaks for Itself (See?) they're so full of
creed till they are so blinded by that glare, they can't accept it.
Why, the reason that the Lutherans, that the Methodists… When you
Methodist people… This fine Methodist boy here just sang awhile ago,
when that boy, the… What was the reason? See, the Lutherans was
living in the glare of Luther. And that's the reason Methodist's
message didn't go over well. And when the Pentecostals come along, they
was all living in the glare of Methodists, until the Pentecostals come
along. But you see, all this… If you just look into the Scripture,
watch the church ages and what each one's to do, you'll find out right
where we're living. We're living in this age.

^E-14
Now, upon the basis of this criticism, so much, of the Word of God, I
want to take this text tonight and call it "A Trial." Jesus didn't get
a fair trial in the days of Herod in the days of Pilate. But in this
day, I want to see tonight, in this little group of people (if you'll
set with me), I want to see that He gets a fair trial, because He's
still the Word. He's still the Word. How many agrees with that? "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God." And the Word's still God. And He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever. So let's see that He has a fair trial.

^E-15
Now, I'm going to make this like a courtroom, if you'll just suffer
with me. I know it sounds kindly unusual, but we're just a little
gathering here now, that we want to bring this Word, which I claim is
God's Word. And I'm here to defend It. And now, we're going to bring it
to a court trial, just exactly like it was in the days when Herod give
Him a trial, or Pilate, before Pilate's court. We're going to bring Him
'fore the court of this Ramada room this 1964, April 27th, 1964.
Now, we're going to make this a court, and you are the judge and the
jury, you court. I'll be the moderator, and we're going to make this
like a court trial. And at the end you make your decision, as any–as
any jury has to make up its mind for the verdict. And then your action
from hereafter will prove what your verdict is. No matter what you say
now, your action will prove your verdict.

^E-16
Now, the case is to–today, friends… I'm going to act as a moderator
now, and the–like I was in a real court case, and give Him a trial, if
you'll bear with me for a few moments and pray for me.
Now, the case is the Word of God versus the world, the world that
doesn't believe it. And the case is the Word of God versus the world.
The–the cause for the indictment is breach of promise. That's the…
Breach of promise is the cause for this case.
And now, I understand that in a regular court trial, that the
prosecuting attorney always represents state. I think that's right. In
this place the prosecuting attorney represents the world. And the
prosecuting attorney is Satan, and he's representing the world in this
court here this afternoon. And the Defendant is God and His Word,
because God is always the Word. See? And the defense Witness is the
Holy Spirit. And the prosecuting attorney's witness is Mr. Unbeliever,
Mr. Skeptic, and Mr. Impatient. These three comes up as a witness for
the prosecuting attorney, which is Satan, that represents the world.

^E-17
Now, let's call this court to order, and now, let's call the
prosecutor, let him call his first witness to the stand to testify
against the Word.
And now, listen close. Now, I might not be able… In hurrying, trying
to get this through in thirty or forty minutes, I might run over the
top of something. But if I do, may the Holy Spirit reveal it now, as
court is called to order. Remember you are both judge and jury.
And now, the prosecutor calls his witness, first witness to the stand
to testify. And he calls Mr. Unbeliever, and he takes the stand to
testify. And Mr. Unbeliever claims that all the Word of God is–of
God's promises is not true. That's his complaint, that God's Word
cannot be relied upon, all of It. Part of It's all right, but all of
It… He claims that he is a believer, Mr. Unbeliever. But he claims he
is a believer, and he says that all of God's Word cannot be relied
upon: It's not truth.

^E-18
He claims that he visit a so-called Holy Ghost meeting, where people
were claiming Mark 16 to be the truth. And many people claimed that
they had been healed when It–where It says in Mark 16, "They shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover." And this man says that he
claimed that he believed God. He listened to this so-called Holy Ghost
preacher, and he–this Holy Ghost group, that were giving all kinds of
testimonies.
And he had been sick in his body, and he had these people to lay hands
upon him at this Holy Ghost meeting. And that was two months ago, and
not one thing has happened yet. He's just as sick as he was the time
that he had hands laid upon him. He hasn't changed one bit. He's just
as sick as he was. Therefore, he says that God is not just to put such
a Scripture as that in the Bible, when He isn't sufficient to back it
up; It isn't right for Mark 16 to be in the Bible, because that… He
proves that God does not keep His Word, and he wants to indict God for
putting such a promise as that in His Word. All right, we'll have him
step down.

^E-19
And now, we'll have Mr. Skeptic to come up next to testify. Mr. Skeptic
takes the stand. And he says that he'll tell the truth. He claims that
he is a believer. And he said he had been sick for a long time, that
his is a ill effects from a great disease that he'd had. And then he
heard someone testify on the street of having a godly pastor, and this
pastor of this church preached and said that James 5:14, "If there be
any among you sick, let them call the elders of the church. Let them
anoint them in oil and pray over them. The prayer of faith shall save
the sick, and God shall raise them up. If they did any sin it shall be
forgiven them. Confess your faults one to another and pray one for
another that your… The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much."

^E-20
And he said that he went up there as a believer. He wants to tell this
court this, that "I went up there with all sincerity, and I had this
so-called godly pastor of this church, that many claimed that when he
anointed them with oil and prayed over them…"
And the pastor said hisself that God answered that Word, and that Word
of James 5:14 was true. And there was many testifying that it was
true." But he went up, and the pastor (godly man) anointed him with oil
according to James 5:14, prayed over him. And that was–been six months
ago, and he hasn't had any results at all. He's just as sick as he was
at the beginning. So Mr. Skeptic says that that cannot be true. Mark 16
is not true, and neither is giant–is–is James 5:14. It is not true,
because that God fails to keep His Word. If this be the Word of God,
then God fails to keep His Word, 'cause with sincerity, as a believer,
he went and let the pastor that the others claimed they were healed by,
anoint him and take him through the same motion that he did the others.
And six months ago, and hasn't had one bit of results of any kind.
Therefore, he also wants to bring indictment against God for putting
such rashal promises in His Word, that He won't stand behind. (Getting
quite a case here, aren't we?) Let him step down, Mr. Skeptic.

^E-21
Now, the next witness is Mr. Impatient. He's a rascal. Now, he's going
to step up, and he's going to give his testimony. And he takes the
stand, that one day while reading Mark's Gospel, the 11th chapter (not
16th, now), the 11th chapter, the 22nd and 23rd verse, that it reads
like this, "If you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in
your heart, but believe that what you have said shall come to pass, you
can have what you've said, and when you pray, believe that you receive
what you ask for; you shall have it."
He said he's been lame in his feet, walked on crutches for about
twenty-five years. And when reading this Scripture… And had been
taught by his–his pastor that all Scripture was given of God, and was
inspired. Therefore, if he said to this mountain, "Be moved," and don't
doubt, but believe that what he said would come to pass, he could have
what he said. And when he prayed to believe that he'd receive what he
asked for, it would be given to him.

^E-22
Now, he says he prayed, and with all sincerity, and said that he'd be
able to lay his crutches down and walk away from that place. And he
honestly, with all of his heart, he believed that what he had said was
right. And he… That would been almost five years ago, and he's just
as lame as he ever was. "Now, if God then," he says, "would keep his
Word, then why don't he keep his Word?"
Now, I'm only giving three passages of Scripture there, or three
witnesses, but I'm going to let the prosecuting attorney call some
more. Now, we let Mr. Unbeliever, he testified, Mr. Skeptic, he
testified. Unbeliever testified, Mark 16, and Mr. Skeptic testified
against John–or James 5:14. And Mr. Impatient, he testified against
Mark 11, Jesus Himself speaking. And Mark 11:22 and 23, he testified
against that. Now, we're going to ask Mr. Impatience to step down.

^E-23
Now, as we've all somehow or other been in courts… Now, the
prosecutor's got to nail down his case. So the prosecutor comes up to
nail the case down, the one that represents (Pardon me.) the world,
Satan. He takes the stand. So he claims to this court this afternoon,
or this evening… He wants the prosecutor–the devil wants this court
to understand that these men are believers and that this Word is
actually written in the Word, the Word of God, so-called, he says–that
this is written. And he claims that it comes from different places in
the Scriptures. And these men are witnesses that it isn't so.
And he wants to say to this court (the prosecutor does), that he wants
this court to understand, that God is not just to put such rashal
promises as that in the Book for His believing children to accept, and
then He's not able to take care of, vindicate, what He promised He
would do. And he has three witnesses here. And three witnesses is a
confirmation, as we know in all Scripture. And he has three witnesses
from three different places in the Scripture that God is not justified
in placing such things as that in His Word, so His dear children will
look upon It, and try to accept It and believe It like He said, and
then God let them down coldly.

^E-24
Also he–he claims that these children with all sincerity is doing
this, these people, and they are defeated. True believing children are
defeated by the Word of God, so-called, that they claim these things
because it's written in the Book, and somebody else injected them into
it, and it isn't the Word of God. And the Bible cannot be trusted. For
here's three different places and three testimonies to prove that it's
wrong. Now, he's nailing his case down. For he, the prosecutor, wants
to appoint–to call the attention to this court that these men here,
accepted this Word with sincerity, believing it was the Word of God,
and God has failed to honor their faith.
Further, he wants to claim that they are believers because they say
they're believers. Yet again, the prosecutor wants to turn–call the
attention to this court this afternoon. Yet God promises again in
another place in the Scripture, that all things are possible to them
that believe. And it's written. That's another case. All things, no
matter what it is, all things are possible to them that believe. And
these men claim to be believers. I want the court to understand, the
prosecutor at the stand now is nailing down the case.

^E-25
Yet again, He claims to be alive after His death, that Jesus claims to
be alive after His death. And the prosecutor wants to ask this court,
"Have you seen Him after He raised from the dead? Where's the nail
scars in his hands? Where is the crown of thorns that was placed upon
Him? Where's the marks in his forehead? And where is He at, if He's
raised from the dead?"
And then again He says in Hebrews 13:8, that His Word says that He is
the same yesterday, today, and forever. The prosecutor wants this court
to remember that. Then at… Where is He if He is? He wants to see Him.
Again he claims that it's not so. He claims that Luke 17:23 is not so;
he claims that Revelations 3 is not so; he claims that Mark 4 isn't so.
He claims all these Scriptures of His resurrection, that it's
absolutely false. He wants to point that out, that it's false.

^E-26
"And He also claims that both heavens and earth will pass away, but not
one tittle or jot from his Word will ever fail." And the prosecutor
wants you to understand, court, this afternoon that he has witnesses
here to prove that they're wrong. Now, he asks the court to consider
this, while we're thinking.
Now. We ask the prosecutor now, if he's finished nailing down his case,
quoting the Scriptures, claiming They're not right, witnesses that
They're not right, that They're not inspired, they're–nothing to Them,
They cannot be relied upon, They cannot be trusted. He's got witnesses
to prove it, that They cannot be trusted. Now, we got quite a case on
our hand.

^E-27
Now, let's let the prosecutor and his witnesses step down. Now, we will
call the defense Witness, which the defense Witness has a right to
testify to the–or for the defendant. And now the defense Witness,
which is the Holy Spirit, let's have Him step up, and hear His
testimony. The first thing, now as you've heard what the prosecutor has
said, you've heard what his witnesses said, you've heard the
Scriptures, you've heard them read. And here's the witnesses that
they're not true.

^E-28
Now, the Holy Spirit, as I say, which is the defense Witness, He's
called. The first thing He wants to call… The defense Witness (Holy
Spirit) wants to call to this court's case that the prosecutor is not
interpreting the Word right to you. He wants to call your attention
too, that this prosecutor that's giving you the interpretation of the
Word, that's representing the world in unbelief, is the same
interpreter that Eve had at the beginning. See? He misinterpreted the
Word just a little bit.
Now, I might stop here in the court just a moment to say this, if God
caused all this sickness and sorrow and death upon the earth, if He had
to do it because of His justice to keep His Word, He cannot be just and
not keep His Word. He's got to keep His Word to be just. It's becoming
to His holiness. It's becoming to Him.

^E-29
And if Eve, not just… Satan did not… The prosecutor did not
in–misinterpret the whole thing. He just misinterpreted a word or so,
and it caused death to strike the whole earth. And every hospital,
every siren ever rung, every–every death that ever died, every
struggle, every man on the battlefield, every poor little, sick,
afflicted baby and all, was caused by disbelieving just one Word of
God's Word. And if it caused all of this for disbelieving one word, how
you going to get back disbelieving one word? Got to be something that
God has to judge the world by, and that's Jesus Christ, the Word. You
must believe it all.

^E-30
Notice. He said that he, that these men has been listening to the wrong
interpretation of the Word. The prosecutor is not interpreting it
wrong–is–is interpreting it wrong to you, just like he did to Eve.
The promise is only to believers, not make-believers, skeptics, or
impatient people. It's only to believers.
And if… Let me say this. If there's anybody should know whether these
fellows are believers or not, it should be the defense Witness, because
He's the Quickener of the Word. See? He… Just like your body, your
body is a piece of flesh. But unless the spirit is in there to quicken
that body, it's dead. And so is the Word dead unless the Holy Spirit
quickens that Word. And if He's the Quickener of the Word, He should
know whether these fellows really are believers or not. I think we've
got a good defense Witness. He should know whether it's right or not
because… He makes a good defense Witness, because He's the Quickener
of the Word.

^E-31
Again, the defense Witness wants to call the attention of the–of the
Word that's in question here, that we have just read, that the
prosecutor is trying to get a case of indictment against the Word.
Defense Witness wants to call your attention, that it never set any
certain time for deliverance. He never said when. He just said, "They
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." He didn't say
they'd jump up right then. The Word doesn't say that. James 5:14 said,
"When you're anointed with oil," he said, "the prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and God shall raise them up." He didn't say they'd jump
up right then.
It didn't say… Mark 16 didn't say they'll lay hands on the sick, and
there'll be a miracle performed. He just said, "They shall recover." It
promised it.
Now, see if it's been… Some of these unbelievers has been
misinterpreting the Word to you, saying, "Well, this one was prayed
for. Why didn't he get up? I was at the meeting. I never seen nothing
happen." See that interpreter they got? See what they're listening to?
The defense Witness wants to show to this court this afternoon, that
the Word didn't say they would jump up right then. He said, "They shall
recover." That's what He promised. He never said any certain time. And
that was only to believers.

^E-32
And the defense Witness also wants to call to your attention here, this
afternoon in this court, that the Word of God is said by Jesus Christ
to be a Seed. And a seed can only grow when it falls into the fertile
enough ground to quicken the seed. And if this Seed falls into a
ground, and is fertile with faith, it's got to quicken It. But if
there's nothing there… Just like if you wanted a blood transfusion,
and you went to a turnip, stuck a tube in yourself and in a turnip, how
you going to get any blood? There's no blood there. No more can the
Word of God ever be quickened in an unbeliever's heart or a skeptic.
It's got to fall into genuine faith that believes that heavens and
earth will pass away, but that Word shall never fail, like Abraham,
that called things which was not as though they were, hoped against
hope. He believed God.

^E-33
Now, we find that this defense Witness wants to call this to the
attention, that the Word is a Seed that a sower sowed. It's written in
the Scripture, that the Word is a Seed, and a seed must fall. And the
Scripture says some did fall on stony ground, and the birds of the air
taken it away. Some fell just long enough to get enough roots to spring
up, and the thorns and thistles choked it out. But some did go in good
ground and it brought forth a hundredfold. He wants to call your
attention to that.
And He wants to say that if this Word, in this Holy Ghost meeting where
people were having hands laid on, it only applies to believers. There's
no promise in here but eternal separation from God to unbelievers. It's
only to believers.
Someone said to me not long ago, said, "I don't care how much… I don't believe."
I said, "Certainly not. It's not for unbelievers; it's for believers, they that believe."

^E-34
Now, the defense Witnesses, defense Witness rather, wishes to call a
witness. He has a right to call witnesses too. So the defense Witness
wishes to call His first witness against this, and for the Word.
We're going to call Noah to the platform this afternoon before this
court, to give testimony for the Defendant. Noah was just an ordinary
farmer, but he was a prophet. And the Word of the Lord comes to the
prophets. The Bible said so. And Noah lived wants to testify that he
lived in a very scientific age, greater than the one we live in now. He
lived in a time where they could build a pyramid, build a sphinx, which
we cannot do. We haven't the machinery to do it with.
And Noah lived in a great time, and he lived in a scientific time. And
then he says that the Word of the Lord come to him, after him being a
vindicated prophet, that the Word of the Lord come to him and said,
"Prepare an ark, for it's going to rain." And it had never rained in
all the history of the world. And upon his testimony and his witness
for God… And said God told him so, and all that was out of this ark
would perish.

^E-35
And the scientists could shoot the moon in that day with their radar
and so forth, because Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah…"
same kind of an age. He said that they could prove that there was no
rain up there, and that Mr. Unbeliever here, and Mr. Scoffer, and Mr.
Skeptic, that they constantly haunted at him and made fun of him for
believing such a rashal thing. They were–claimed to be believers back
there, but he said, "God didn't say a thing like that."
Yet he was a prophet, and the Word of the Lord come to him and told him
to do it, and he went preparing an ark. He got ready and built the ark.
After he had the ark completed, and Mr. Skeptic and Mr. Impatient, and
those walking around the ark…

^E-36
You see? You say, "Did they live back there?" Listen, God takes His
man, but never His Spirit. The Spirit that was upon Elijah, come upon
Elisha, and on down, and on down. The Spirit was upon Jesus, come upon
the church, and on and on. And the devil takes his man, but never the
spirit. The same spirit (religious spirit) exists right down. Like it
was on the Pharisees, it's right here in Tucson, Arizona, just as
unbelieving and just as–and just as creedy and–and traditional as
that was. Not only here in Tucson, it's world over. And so is the Holy
Spirit just as real tonight as it was at any time–Jesus Christ.

^E-37
Notice, he wants to say that these people made fun of him for being
such a–a–a–a–a delinquent person, that would have no more mind and
no more intelligence than to believe that water would fall from where
there is no water at and never had fell. But yet, Noah said he held
steady and believed that it would rain, because God said so. He knowed
that God was able to do anything that He said He would do. Therefore,
he built the ark. And after the ark was completed, he set in the door
of the ark.
And they said, "Now, you fanatic (Mr. Unbeliever, Mr. Scoffer, the defense Witness–or the prosecutor's witnesses)…"
He said, "They passed by me."
And they said, "Now, your ark's built. Now, you got your doors in it. And where is your rain?"
"But it looked pretty bad," he said, "at times. But yet, I knowed that
God was able to keep His Word. He never said when it was going to rain.
He said it would rain. And that's all there was to it. He never said
when it would rain. He just said it was going to rain. And I knew that
it was going to rain because He had me to build the ark. And I set
steady."

^E-38
And then we find out that on May the 10th, he went into the ark one
morning, and the door closed behind him, and no one could open it.
Then Mr. Unbeliever, Mr. Skeptic, they walked around the ark and
laughed at him and made fun of him, and said, "Now, you old fogy, you
closed that door, and I suppose you expect us to believe that something
else closed it. We know your tricks. You're no more than a magician.
And you're just one of these here kind of a guys that tries to play
tricks, and it's some kind of a hoax, and you closed the door."
But he said, "In the midst of all that, I was there. I seen the hand of God close the door."
Then the first day we'll say, "We'll see if it rains." First day it
didn't rain. Second day it didn't rain. Third day it didn't rain–on
till the seventh day.

^E-39
And I'd like to stop here on Noah's witness and let you know this, that
there'll come a time that when men and women… The church will be
going right ahead preaching and believing they're getting saved, when
the door will be closed, just like it was then. If you're not in, you
get in now, 'cause God will close the door and there'll be no more
mercy. He said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the
coming of the Son of man."
Remember, one time even the disciples said to Jesus, "Why does the scribes say that Elias must first come?" them disciples.
Jesus said, "He's already come and you didn't know it." And they
understood it was John the Baptist, that done been here on earth, and
done been beheaded, and went up to glory. And the thing that they were
looking for was already in the past.
And one of these days men and women will cry out, but it'll be too far,
be too late, the door will be closed. Jesus said it would be that way.
The virgins come and knocked on the door and said, "Let us in." They
wanted to get some of the oil. But they ought to of got oil when oil
was being given out. They knocked on the door. It said they were cast
into outer darkness where there'll be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of
teeth. (I'm only trying to make that little side line of the defense to
the court, now, of the–of the Word.)

^E-40
Now, Noah said, "But after a one hundred and twenty years, one morning
the clouds begin to rise, and the rain came. God promised it. He never
said when it would happen. They thought it was going to happen that
same week that He told me. And I had an idea it could happen that week.
And I was sure when I got the ark finished that it would happen, but it
didn't happen. But I set steady, because God made the promise. He never
said it–just the day it's going to rain. He said it would rain." So
he, the witness, steps down.

^E-41
Second witness comes up, which is father Abraham. We'll call him. He
said, "Oh, yes, I know the Mr. Scoffer here. I–I know Mr. Unbeliever,
Mr. Skeptic. Oh, that Mr. Impatient… I was a prophet also in my day.
And the Word of the Lord came to me and said, 'Separate yourself from
these people, for you're going to have a baby by Sarah your wife.' She
was sixty-five years old and I was seventy-five. She was about
twenty-five, thirty years past menopause. I married her; she was my
half-sister. I married her when she was just a girl, and I a boy. Ten
years difference in our age, and I married her. She became my wife.
We'd lived together all these years, and she was barren and I was
sterile. And yet, being a prophet, the Word of the Lord came to me and
said, 'You'll bear a child by Sarah.'"
"Well, when I told Sarah that, she went downtown and got some yarn and
made the booties, and got the pins ready and everything. And
twenty-eight days passed and I said, 'How you feeling, honey?'"
"Said, 'No different.' But I held steady, because I knowed it was the Word of the Lord." That's right.

^E-42
"We went over to see the doctor, and he run us out of the office." An
old man seventy-five years old and a woman sixty-five going to have a
baby? You know, when you take God at His Word, regardless of what your
condition is, He made the promise. And he said, "I went to the doctor,
and the doctor ran us out of the office."
"'An old man like you?' Said, 'Watch him, he's a little funny in his
head.' Said, 'There's something wrong with the old fellow.'"
And the scoffers begin to walk around and say, "Abraham, where is that
son that you was going to have by Sarah after the first month? There's
nothing wrong with her, so they tell me." The first year passed;
nothing happened. "Abraham, father of nations, how many children do you
have now?" Ten years passed, still no different: scoffers.

^E-43
"Mr. Impatient, he kept pointing his finger at me, 'You see, there's
nothing to it. Why, if there's something to it, you'd had that ten
years ago. You ought to have had that baby in ten years.'"
But he said, "I held steady, because I was fully persuaded that what
God said… God never told me when I was going to have that baby. He
said I would have it.
"But after twenty-five years, when I was a hundred years old and Sarah
was ninety, the baby come on the scene. (He's a very good witness.) I
waited twenty-five years. I never staggered at the promise of God by
unbelief."
And we claim to be Abraham's children and can't wait from one night to
the other. Just proves we're not. That's right. Watch, we get on the
wrong side.

^E-44
"See," he said, "I waited twenty-five years. God didn't tell me 'Next
month Sarah is going to conceive.' He said, 'You'll have the baby.' And
I was fully persuaded, no matter how old I got. And I knowed that I
would see it happen, because it was to be my child. (Amen) Nothing's
going to harm me. Old age, sickness, death, or nothing else can do it,
till that promise is fulfilled. And I staggered not at the promise
through unbelief."
"But every day when Sarah said, 'I feel a little better,' I got
stronger. Every year when she said, 'Well, I didn't have it this year.'
"'Then you'll have it this year.'"
"'I didn't have it last year.'"
"'Well, we'll have it this year.' That went on and on, and on and on,
year in and out, for twenty-five years. And one day, I seen her turning
back to a young woman. I begin to see my strength coming. And the baby
was born, twenty-five years later."
The Word never said when he would have the baby, but said he would have it.
"Abraham, I know you could testify a lot, but step down; I want another witness."

^E-45
All right, the defense Witness now will call up His third witness.
That'll be Moses. And Moses said, "When I was borned, I was borned a
prophet." He wants you to know that gifts and callings are without
repentance.
No matter how many books you read out of these stores that says
that–that God doesn't do that, the Bible still remains true, that
gifts and callings are without repentance. You're born in this world
what you are.
And now, notice. Moses, he had a sign to go down and show to the
people, and there was a voice to follow that sign. Yet when he went
down with a God-given sign (Now, don't fail to get this, court.), when
he went down with this God-given sign that come from God, Pastor
Pharaoh tried to–to smear his God-given gift by making him say it's
magic. He had somebody could do the same thing, some magician, and
tried to make his God-given sign a cheap magic trick.

^E-46
All Pastor Pharaohs didn't die in that day, see "Some kind of mental
telepathy, some kind of a power of Satan." And the thing of it was,
they called up some cheap magicians and done the very same thing that
he did.
"But," he said, "that didn't shake me, because I know that the voice
that spoke to me was a Scriptural voice in that tree. He said, 'I have
heard the cries of My people, and I have seen their affliction, and I
remember My promise.' And the voice…"
Although it was very odd in that day for a thing like that to happen,
they had all kinds of magic tricks they could do. And God give him
something, a sign that looked like it was some kind of a cheap magician
trick to try His servant. (O God.) But he held steady, because the
voice that commissioned him was a Scriptural voice, and he knowed it
was God.

^E-47
And you know we're promised that same thing in the last days, the same
thing to repeat again, them Jambres and Jannes to come back to
withstand the true thing when it's in operation? But their follies will
be made known…?…
So he tried to take some carnal impersonator, somebody that tried–went
around and tried to impersonate the gift that God give him to make it
look like it was some kind of a cheap outfit.
But Moses wants you all to know this afternoon, as he testifies, that
no matter how shady that the pastor tried to make his gift look like
that it was shady and some kind of a cheap magician trick, he knew it
was the Scriptures, because it was the voice of God that told him, and
he stood firm. And he wants you–to let you know that it was a long
time after that, but God kept His Word, and brought him right back to
the place to where He said he would come with the children of Israel.
Moses, step down.

^E-48
Let the defense Witness call another witness, and we're going to call
Joshua. Joshua has a wonderful testimony here that he'd like to give.
He stilled the people; he said. When Moses called out one out of every
denomination to send them over to–to the promised land, to–to find
out whether the land was really there or not… They'd just been told
that that by faith they'd walked that far.
So Moses pulled out a Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and all. He
got one of–out each one, and took them over to the promised land. And
when two of them come back with the evidence, you know what happened?
The whole group begin to doubt it. When they seen the opposition was so
great (the other side was so great), "Why," they said, "We look like
grasshoppers up beside side of them, them Amalekites and–and
Hittites," and so forth. And said that "We–we… Why, we look like
grasshoppers. We can't do it."

^E-49
And Joshua wants to testify, "I stilled the people." He said, "Be
still," at Kadesh-barnea, the judgment seat. He said, "Keep still, all
of you. Let me bring your–this Word to you. God told us down yonder,
through Moses and through–or through Abraham, that this land was ours.
He sent a Pillar of Fire among us, that talked to our prophet here in a
burning bush. And what this prophet has said has been true. And God
told us He'd already give us the land. We are more than able to take
it, 'cause it already belongs to us." He said, "I stilled the people,
and got them quiet."
But you know what? It was forty years later before they took the land.
They were only about two day's journey from Kadesh, they'd have been
over in the promised land.

^E-50
May I stop here a minute? You Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists,
or you Pentecostals, fifty years ago we'd have got the promised land,
but you got to fussing among one another, making organizations out from
one side, and this and getting this, one this and getting this, and a
new revelation, instead of following the Word. And now, we've been
fifty years this side the full promise.
But remember, it was forty years but Joshua wants you all to know that
God kept His Word with a brand new generation. He took the promised
land just as it was promised, 'cause he stilled the people on the Word
of God to let them know that God made the promise, that this prophet
they were following was not a false prophet, because the things that he
was doing was exactly with the Scripture. No matter how falsely Pharaoh
said it was, how falsely magicians tried to say it was, how that they
could do the same thing, and everybody do the same thing.

^E-51
And Joshua wants to you to know that there was a man in there wanted to
make an organization out of them. His name is Dathan. And he and
Korah… And they raised up, said, "There's more holy men than you."
God never does deal with groups. It's individuals. He cannot change.
What God does the first time, He has to ever remain that same one.
Here, look. God's first decision to save a man was by the shed blood of
an innocent one. It's never changed. God never changes. We've tried to
build cities for them. We've tried to build towers. We've tried to
educate them. We've tried to denominate them. And we get further away
all the time. Is there only one place that man can fellowship. That's
under the shed blood of the innocent one. That's the only way we'll
ever believe it. Only way we can get together is under the shed blood
of the innocent. God never changes His way. God, in no time, ever did
deal but with one individual. He won't save you because you're a
Methodist, or because you're a Pentecostal. He'll save you as an
individual, not as a group. He never does do that. He saves
individuals, one. Just one person He deals with.
Moses cried before the Lord, and the Lord said, "Separate yourself,
Moses. I called you by this message." And He let the world swallow them
up. So Joshua wants you to understand that also.

^E-52
Now, after Joshua steps down, we'll call another witness right quick,
so we won't take too long. I want to call Isaiah. I could call
hundreds, but I'll just call these couple more and then quit.
Isaiah, the prophet, he said, "In my day the Lord vindicated me as His
prophet. And we know that the Word comes to the prophet. And then
everything that I said, God honored it and made it come to pass. From a
little boy up, everything that was said come to pass. I was vindicated
amongst the people as a prophet."
"And then one day God give me the most rashal thing to say that I could
think of. He said, 'A virgin shall conceive. I'm going to give him a
super sign. I'll give Israel and the world a super sign. They want
signs, so I'll give them a super sign. A virgin shall conceive.' And
me, being a vindicated prophet, making such a rashal thing as that, but
I knowed that it was God's voice."

^E-53
And you know, you might say this… Isaiah might testify to the court
this afternoon and say this, that pretty near every virgin there was in
Israel got baby clothes ready, because she was going to be the girl
that had it. That's right. She was going to be the virgin. Every one of
them got ready. And one of them knowed the next month she was going to
conceive by the virgin–she's going to be a virgin, conceive, because
Isaiah, the prophet, was a vindicated prophet. Whatever he said in the
Name of the Lord come to pass. And now he says, "A virgin's going to
conceive."
And the women got their little girls, "My daughter'll be that one."
The other one, "This–this (the Pharisee) she'll belong to this group."
"She'll belong to this group."
"She'll belong to that group." All these say… Every one of their
daughters was going to have this baby, because the prophet said it was.
And that generation passed. Isaiah died. The promise didn't come to
pass. But eight hundred years later… God didn't say when the virgin
would conceive. He just said she'd conceive. He wants you to know that,
that God didn't say, "In this generation," or "at this time," or "a
certain time or certain thing, this virgin shall conceive." He just
said, "A virgin shall conceive." It was eight hundred years later, but
that virgin conceived. See, God keeps His Word. Do you believe that? [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]…?… time for her to do it.

^E-54
Now, I could call all kinds of defense witnesses here, with the defense
Witness, rather, to give witness. I could call people out of here. But
if–if this court will pardon me, may I have the privilege of being the
next witness?
I'm not going to talk about Moses, and something that happened back
there, or something that happened fifty years ago, or something that
happened a hundred years ago, or five hundred years ago. I'm going to
talk about something that happened now. See? I want… I believe, and I
want to be the next witness to testify today, that the Word of God
that's promised for this day, not the day of Moses, not the day of the
disciples, not the day of Luther, not the day of Pentecost, not the day
of Methodist, but this day, I want to give witness to it on the stand.

^E-55
And if you'll pardon this personal thing, because it has to be a
personal witness and it must be true, because I know Who is the One
we're defending, and He'll know whether it's truth or not. I believe
that we're living in the last days, and the message of another day will
not fit this day. It cannot. It's got to be the message for today, not
for what it was ten years ago, the message for this hour, the message
for this generation. The Word speaks it. And then if the Word promises,
there has to be something vindicate it.
And that's the reason they failed to receive Jesus when He first come
upon the earth, is because they were living under a tradition. And
Jesus told them, said, "Search the Scriptures. They testify of Me."
Said, "We're Moses' disciples."
He said, "If you were Moses' disciples, you'd believe Me, for Moses wrote of Me. Look in the Scripture."
And those blind traditional men, yet good men, holy men, no one could
put a finger upon them–they were priests. They lived an example. They
were men that you couldn't put a finger on, 'cause if you did they'd be
stoned. They were good men. They were bound to be good men by law. And
they were raised up from generation to generation. Their sons and
grandsons and great grandsons all had to be priests, Levites. And yet
the men, in them trainings, that never knowed nothing else but seminary
and the Bible, and was so blind they failed to see Him, could it be
possible that we entered that again? Remember, the same Scripture said
we would (That's exactly right.), said we would do it.

^E-56
Now. As a personal testimony… Sometimes we get things so set
together, that we're so starched on this, that this is the creed, this
is the thing we must do, until we miss it a million miles. And I
suppose we'll do the same thing, 'cause the Scripture said we would.
Now, as something personal, now, don't let it reflect. I trust it's
just because I'm at the witness stand to this court. I believe that
we're at the hour of the coming of the Lord. I believe that these
earthquakes and things that we're having, this moon that they're… Up
here at the observatory and things they're watching this moon. It's
squirting bloody-looking eruptions from the inside of it. Jesus said
that the moon would be turned into blood, and there'd be earthquakes
all over the earth in them–in them days before His coming. He claimed
that the day would be setting just exactly the way it is.

^E-57
And I believe, court, I want to say something to you this afternoon,
that I don't see one thing to hinder Him from coming right now. That
the world… If I had time, I could prove it to you, is setting
perfectly, even by names and position the way it's supposed to be
setting when He comes. When is the hour? I know not. No one knows. But
He said, "When these comes to pass, look up." Israel's in her homeland.
Everything's setting just exactly right for His coming.

^E-58
Now, when I was a little baby… My people, 'course being Irish descent
perhaps we were formerly Catholic, but my father and mother didn't go
to church at all. In a little mountain home up in the state of
Kentucky, one morning, April 6, 1909, in a little old house that didn't
have any windows in it (just a little door like you let–to let the
light in), when the Lord Jesus permitted me to come to the earth, being
the firstborn of my mother and father (her fifteen, my dad eighteen).
And on a little straw tick… I guess you people around here never
knowed what a straw tick was. But… How many ever know what a straw
tick was? Well, what part of Kentucky you from? See? So then, a straw
tick, on a little straw tick with a shuck pillow, that one little bed
in the room… One little room, and a little kitchen, was just about…
The whole thing together wouldn't be twenty feet altogether, little old
log cabin, no floor at all, the table's made out of a stump.

^E-59
And there, in that little room, when Jesus Christ permitted me to come
to the earth… I can only say this by testimony of my parents, which
was not religious. But they didn't have no lights like we have here,
not even a coal oil lamp. I don't know whether you ever knowed what a
grease lamp was or not. Take some lard, and put it in a can, and put a
little piece of flannel in it, and light it, and it'll burn. The light
that early in the morning wouldn't show enough light to let mama see
what I was, or looked like.
And they opened this little window on the side towards the east, where
some robins was setting in the bushes out there singing as it was
breaking day at five o'clock. And when they opened up the window, a
Pillar of Fire, Light, came moving through the window, and come, and
hung over the little bed. My mother screamed. The midwife was there. We
had no doctor, and the midwife was there. They didn't know what it was.

^E-60
About two weeks after that, I was carried up to a little Baptist
church, called Opossum Kingdom, and a minister held me in his arms and
dedicated me to God. The mountain people didn't know what to think
about that. They–they told them they thought maybe mama was just out
of her head, or just thought that.
Three years later, we come to Indiana and papa got a job. He was a
rider, breaking horses for the ranchers, and farmers, and so forth. He
come out there to break some hackney ponies for a–a rich man named O.
H. Wathen, lives on the Utica Pike. He's a great owner of the Colonels,
and also the R. E. Wathen Distillery, and all them in Louisville, and
O. H. and R. E. And daddy was breaking saddle horses for him. And then
he got hurt, and he went to being a private chauffeur for him.

^E-61
And at the age of about seven years old I'd entered school. And one
September afternoon… I hate to say this, but I'm on the witness
stand. My father, being a real Irishman, a strict Kentuckian, he made
his own drinks. And I was packing water to this little still that he
had. And I couldn't go fishing at the back of the pond. I was crying,
packing water about a city block from a barn, where the horses stayed.
And I was packing water there, to come up to cool the coils on that
still for that night.
And I set down under a white poplar tree and was crying. Little dirty
face, hair hanging down, corn cob under my toe to keep them from big
stumps, you know, and going along like that, coming from school. All
the rest of the boys was out at the old ice pond fishing. I was setting
there crying. I thought, "Why do I have to do this? Them other children
don't do that."

^E-62
And what it was, a noise came into that tree like a wind turning, like
a whirlwind. And I got up and looked back. And I'm on the witness
stand, remember. There was a voice spoke from that, said, "Don't you
never smoke, or drink, or defile your body. There's a work for you to
do when you get older." It scared the life out of me. And I went on.
Things begin to happen. Things begin to prophesy and taking place. And
now, when… I was a little boy then, about seven years old.
Then about seventeen years after that I was–had become a minister, a
Baptist preacher of the Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Roy E. Davis
ordained me as one of the local pastors, give me rights then by the
state to marry, bury, baptize, so forth. And the Missionary Baptist
Church burned down, which I was assistant pastor at the time. And Mr.
Davis come back to Texas, which he was of Davis mountains, and–and
down near Van Horn, Texas. That's where they come from. And so, while
he was gone I started to take over the congregation, got a tent, and I
begin to preach in the city (just a boy preacher).

^E-63
And I had a baptismal service down on the river, along 1933, on the
middle of June about the sixteenth or eighteenth of June. And standing
out there… It'd been so hot for weeks. Hadn't had no rain for two or
three weeks, and the country was burning up nearly. And there was, I
guess, around seven or eight thousand people on the bank and I
was–walked out in the water with my seventeenth candidate to baptize.
And when I baptized, started to baptize, I said, "As I baptize thee
with water, may the Lord Jesus…"
When I said that, something struck me and said, "Look up." And as I
turned to look, after the third time it said it, a place about fifteen
feet square was churning up and down in them brassy skies. And down
from there came that same Pillar of Light that come in when I was a
little baby, that spoke to me in the burning bush, or the bush back
there that day, and come into that bush, and come hung over where
thousands of people…
Newspapers packed it all across the nation, plumb into Canada. We got
the clippings, "Mystic Light appears over local Baptist minister while
preaching, or baptizing."
And that voice came down and said, "As John the Baptist was sent forth
to forerun the first coming of Christ, so will your Message forerun the
second coming of Christ."

^E-64
How could it be so? How could it be so? It looked like it would be
impossible. Then when it spoke a few days from that and said… And I
begin to see these visions, and things that always happen. It scared
me. My brethren said to me, said, "That's of the devil." My Baptist
brethren said, "That's of the devil."
I said, "You know, I'll just be standing," and I said, "the first thing
you know, it'll go into like a trance-like or something." I said, "I
see things that always happens. He told me twenty-two years before that
bridge went across there, how far it would go across, when it would go
across, and how many men would lose their lives. And it was perfectly
every time."
And that… Some of them said, "That's the devil."
And I got away, and started crying and praying one night. I said, "Lord
Jesus, You know my heart. I love You. Let me die. Don't let me have
any–the–the devil to have anything to do with me. I'd rather die than
be a false witness of You."
And it was at that time when this Light returned again and showed me
the Scripture, that in this day this thing's supposed to happen. Here
it is laying right here in the Scripture now. It's been thirty-three
years since that time, but I'm a witness that it's the truth. I'm a
witness of these things that it's truth.

^E-65
And may I call the–the attention of this Scriptural blind prosecutor
(Now, this is going to sound ridiculous. Scripturally blind, this
prosecutor is.), that in the book of St. Luke the 17th chapter and the
30th verse, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom…"
Now, you want to know where this is man, that He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever? You want to know where the nail scars and the
prints and things? Any hypocrite could do that. The Life of Christ
returns in the form of the Holy Ghost, not a nail scar. The–the
corporal body's setting at the right hand of God to make intercessions.
But the Holy Ghost has come to carry on His work. I want you to know
that St. John 14:5, Jesus said, "He that believeth in Me, the works
that I do shall he do also." I want you also to know that John the–the
14th–or the 15th chapter says that "I am the Vine; ye are the
branches." And how can the branches bear any other kind of a life or
fruit than that was in the vine?

^E-66
How can you people say that the apostolic age ceased? Where do you get
it? How can a vine come out and bear–today can go out and bear a
orange, and this day bear a pumpkin? It would have to change its life.
And in Malachi the 3rd chapter, God said, "I am God, and I change not."
What He was then, He is today. And He always was and always will be.
I want to call you, the attention, that the prosecutor is trying to
tell you that He–He said, "I was," or, "I will be." But it's wrong. He
said, "I am the same yesterday, today, and forever." This prosecutor's
misinterpreting the Word.

^E-67
When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world (in Mark
16 here), and to preach the Gospel to every creature… How far?
Ev–all the world. It never has reached it. Every creature, It never
has reached it. "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He
that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them
to the end of the world. They'll lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover."
I want you to also know that Peter on the day of Pentecost, who had the
keys to the Kingdom, when he stood up in Acts 2:38, he said, "Repent
every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is to you, to your children, and to them that's
far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
When did the apostolic age cease? There's the commission: to all the
world, every creature, and every one that believes. I want the court to
understand that, that that's God's promise.

^E-68
I want you to also understand, this blind interpreter to the people
doesn't understand the Scripture. He said here in Mark the–the 17th
chapter and the 30th verse, He said, "As it was in the days of
Sodom…" Now, go back. Jesus was referring to the same Genesis that
we're referring to. "… in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the
coming of the Son of man."
Now, go back and look what it was in the days of Sodom. Then see where
we're at, and see what's supposed to happen now. In the days of Sodom,
when Abraham, which was a type, he… We only, being dead in Christ
take on Abraham's seed and are heirs with him according to the promise.
Any of you in the court this afternoon knows that. Watch Abraham. He
received all kinds of signs, everything from the supernatural God in
the form of a light, going between sacrifice. He received Him in a
voice, and so forth.
But the last sign that Abraham received upon the hill from Sodom, just
before the Gentile world was destroyed, was God Himself in the form of
a human Being. You understand, court? There was three Messengers come
up to him, three Messengers, and he went out to meet them. Two of them,
a modern Oral Roberts, and Billy Graham, goes down into Sodom and
preached the Gospel, and blinded them with their Gospel.

^E-69
But this One that set back there, that eat the flesh of a calf, drink
the milk from a cow, and eat bread, and Abraham washed His feet, and He
set there, a man. And He said… Now, remember, His name had been Abram
a day before that, and had been changed to Abraham. And Sarai had been
changed to Sarah. And watch Him, what He says, "Where is your wife
Sarah (S-a-r-a-h)? Abraham (A-b-r-a-h-a-m), where is your wife Sarah?"
He said, "She's in the tent behind You." She hadn't come out, like
women today do, and have to show themselves. But she–she was in the
tent behind Him.
He said, "I'm going to visit you according to the time of life."
And Sarah doubted it in her heart, and said within her heart, "These
things can't be," 'cause (You see?), as family relations had been far
from them. He was a hundred years old, and she was ninety. Said, "Me
have pleasure with my lord, and him old too, out there? How could it
be?"
And this Man with His back turned to the tent, said, "Why did Sarah doubt, saying, 'These things can't be?'"
And Abraham called Him Elohim. if anybody knows what Elohim means? The
all-sufficient One, God Almighty Himself manifested in the flesh. How
did Abraham call Him that? Because he seen that that Man was the Word.

^E-70
Now, the Hebrews the 4th chapter, and the 12th verse, says that the
Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, a Discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. And when Jesus came and performed
that miracle by discerning their thoughts that was in their heart, they
called Him Beelzebub.
But the Word in those prophets, always was able to foretell and to
discern. That's the Word for that day. That's what identified them as
prophets. And remember, He promised that the world would be in that
condition, and would receive that sign again before His coming. Now,
notice, in Luke 17 here He said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so
shall it be at the coming of the Son of man," when the Son of man is
being revealed.

^E-71
Will you pardon me for another minute? Let me open something to you
here, just a minute, court? Will you permit this, as I'm a witness? Did
you notice here, He never said, "When the Son of God is being
revealed." He said, "Son of man." Jesus come with three titles, Son of
man, Son of David, Son of God, all the same Person. That… It's just
like the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Ghost, not three gods, one Person,
the three attributes of God.
Now, see, just like I am three persons. I am to my wife a husband. I am
to my daughter setting here, daddy. And my grandson setting there, I am
grandpa. Now, my wife only has claims on me as her husband. And my
daughter here can't say, "Husband," because she's my child. My grandson
cannot call me "Daddy." Why? He has no claims on me as daddy. He might
call me that, but it isn't so. He is my grandson. Yet I'm the same
person.
It's God unveiling Himself, bringing Himself down so He can be… He
was above in a Pillar of Fire. Then He was manifested in His Son Jesus
Christ, and now revealed to us by the Holy Ghost. Watch. When He
come…

^E-72
You know what "Son of man" means? Look at Ezekiel the 2nd chapter and
you'll find it: Ezekiel 2:1. Jehovah, Himself, called Ezekiel the
prophet, "son of man." He called all the prophets, "son of man."
And why, then, did Jesus call Himself Son of man? Because He had to
come in the way that the prophet said He would come. Moses, in
Deuteronomy 18:15, said, "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet
like me." And He come to reveal Himself to the natural seed of Abraham
as Son of man. And they called it the work of a devil.
So has the royal seed. That sounds harsh, but it's corrective and it's
love. The royal seed today's done the same thing, tried to call it
mental telepathy or some devil. It's the Son of man, Christ. That was
Christ in Ezekiel, Christ in Moses, Christ in David. It was Jesus, the
same yesterday, today, and forever. What? The Word being made manifest
by these prophets.

^E-73
Listen to it, court, before you make your decision. The Word comes to
the prophet. Jesus said that your law says that your–that them the
Word of the Lord come to is gods. And Jesus admitted they were gods. He
said then, "If you can call them, and recognize them your lords, being
gods who the Word of the Lord come to, the prophets, how will you
condemn Me when I say I'm the Son of God," when He is the vindicated
Word of that hour.
They said they believed the prophets. And here was the Word in
Fullness, and still they didn't believe it because they had their creed
and their tradition.
Watch now, court, before you make your decision. Let's go just a little
farther. Watch. The Son of man, they called Him a devil. But they
wanted to make Him king, you know, by force.

^E-74
Look, when blind Bartimaeus run after Him, said, "Thou Son of David,
have mercy," he got what he asked. But when the Syrophenician woman (a
Greek, Gentile) run after Him and said, "Thou Son of David," He never
even raised His head. She had no claims on Him as Son of David. He was
no Son of David to her. But when she said, "Son of God," or "Lord,"
which is Son of God, she got what she asked for.
See, the Gentiles has no claim on Him as Son of David. He was King.
He's Lord to us. And when He revealed Hisself as Son of man, as the
Scripture said He would be, no, sir, they rejected it. He wasn't no
prophet. They couldn't believe it. They hadn't had one for hundreds of
years, and they couldn't believe Him be a prophet.
When He told the little woman about how many husbands she had (and her
in that condition), she was ordained to Life. She said, "Sir, I
perceive that You're a prophet. Now, I know when Messiah cometh… We
haven't had a prophet for hundreds of years, but I know when He comes
that's the sign He'll do, 'cause He'll be the Word. He knows what's in
my heart."
He said, "I am He that speaks to you." And her testimony caused the whole city to come to Christ. Right. They all believed.

^E-75
Now, look, as Son of David, He was with the Jew. But the Son of God…
Now, look, Son of man, prophet (See?), Son of David, king. They
recognized Him, not a prophet. They wanted to make Him king. They
wanted to be delivered out from under the Roman Empire.
But then in the church age, He's called the Son of God. Now, anyone
knows that God is a Spirit. Is that right? And the Holy Ghost is the
Son of God; He's supernatural. Son of man was a prophet, a man. David
was a king. But God is a Spirit. And in the church age He's revealed as
Son of God. We believe that. You don't believe He's the Son of God,
you're lost. He's the Son of God to the church age.

^E-76
But bear me record. The seventh church age, which is the Laodicea
church age… Will we admit that this is the Laodicea age? Remember,
He, the Word, was put out of the church. Is that right? Put out of the
church, and He was on the outside trying to get back in: "I stand and
knock at the door."
And you say that "I'm rich and I'm–have need of nothing and…"
"And knowest thou not that you're miserable, blind, naked, wretched, and don't know it?" He was on the outside, the Word.
What is it? Our tr–traditions. Our Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian,
Pentecostal tradition has rejected the Word, and it can have no
cooperation nowhere. Everybody's hands off of it, and want to call it
an evil spirit.
And do you understand that Jesus said in the last days before the
coming of the end time, that He would be revealed again as "Son of
man," not "Son of God?" And that fulfills Malachi 4, and all these
other promises of Abraham? The last sign that Abraham received, he was
waiting for a coming son, and the last sign that he was to receive was
God revealed in a human being. And Jesus said, "As it was in the days
of Lot and Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man."

^E-77
Now, will you forgive me for me to make a little deep statement here. I
want to ask you theologians something. Search back through the
Scripture, through Bible history. As you've been telling me this week,
you was a–you was a Scripture-reading men. And also that you was–that
the apostolic age is finished, and–and that they're–that you knowed
all the history of the church. I want you to call this to your
attention. God forgive me for breaking this out, if it's not right to
do it. The world is setting exactly time for it.
The world never was in such a time as this, as in a Sodom condition.
Last week in Florida, the state of Florida, sixty-something percent of
the school teachers was put out of the school for homosexual. Forty
some-odd percent increased over California over last year: homosexual.
The schools, the seminaries, everything is full of it. And she's
setting exactly where it was in the days of Sodom. God will be
obligated… If He don't punish this nation and this world for its
sins, He'll be morally obligated to raise up Sodom and–and Gomorrah
and apologize for burning them. Look at the hour we're living in.

^E-78
Think now a minute, court, before you make your decision. Now, Jesus
never said, "In the days when the Son of God will be revealed." He was
revealed in the church age. But the church has put Him out. Then He
would be revealed as Son of man, "when the Son of man is being
revealed," God manifested amongst the human beings like it was then,
Son of man, prophetic.
Malachi 4 is promised a–a seer to come forth with a voice. Not Malachi
3 now, "Send My messenger…" Malachi 4. Now, don't get them confused,
'cause if you do, you'll miss it. Malachi 4 was not Malachi 3, "I send
My messenger before My face." But Malachi 4, when this messenger comes,
the world is to be burned and the millennium sets in, and the wicked is
burned as ashes, and the righteous walk out upon the ashes of them.
That never happened in the days of John. See? Malachi 4…

^E-79
And watch, there's to be a sign. And that sign must be a Scriptural
sign. Jesus said, "I come from God. I go to God." He was the Pillar of
Fire that was in the burning bush.
They stood there one day and said, "You're a man not over fifty years old."
He might've looked a little older than He was–really was. His ministry
was heavy. And the Bible says, "There was no beauty we should desire
Him," probably a little bitty Fellow. He said, "You say you're not over
fifty year… We're… not over fifty years old, and say you've seen
Abraham?"
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." He said, "I come from God. I was
that Pillar of Fire in the wilderness. I come from God." He was made
flesh, the Son of God. God overshadowed a virgin, created a blood Cell
that brought forth His Son, which God housed in that Son. God was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself. "… and I go to God."
After His death, burial, and resurrection, Saul was on his road down to
Damascus and was stricken down by a Light, that Pillar of Fire. Do you
think that Jew would call anything, some–some kind of an illusion,
"Lord?" When he looked up and seen that Pillar of Fire, he knowed
that's what he–his fathers had followed–followed out of Egypt. He
said, "Lord, Who are You?"
And He said, "I'm Jesus." He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

^E-80
And the Scriptural voice that spoke in Moses' bush, and Moses stood pat
on it, so was that a Scriptural voice that spoke in the bush at seven
years old. I still stand, and say it's the truth. Because Moses seen
that Word had to come to pass; I see this Word has to come to pass. The
Son of man has to be revealed, exactly what it said. Notice, it
promised that: not Son of God, Son of man. See? Son of man, Son of
David, and Son of God.
But after the days of the church age, when He's put out, then He
reveals Hisself again as Son of man, 'cause we, being dead in Christ,
we take on Abraham's seed, and we are his royal seed. How many admit
that, that the church is his royal seed? Well, you see, what He did to
Abraham, He's doing the same thing?

^E-81
Now, pardon this. Now, you fellows that say you know history so well,
tell me when in the history of the church has there ever been a leader
that went to you out there–with you Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian,
Lutheran, whatever you might be, when was there a man sent to you with
the ending of his name with h-a-m until now? G-r-a-h-a-m. You've had
Sankey, Moody, Finney, Knox, Calvin, but never a h-a-m like Abraham.
And G-r-a-h-a-m is only six letters. A-b-r-a-h-a-m is seven letters,
God's Word, perfected.
Now, remember, this person that was in the days of Abraham… Now,
Abraham was his–was the elected. He wasn't in Sodom; he was called out
of Sodom. That Messenger that visit him never went to Sodom. But the
ones went down to Sodom, watch what they did.

^E-82
Watch what this One did to the church elected. And Jesus called your
attention to the same thing would happen in the last days, when the Son
of man would reveal Hisself in human flesh, the Word, knowing the
secret of the heart. As it said in the, it's a more powerful than a
two-edged sword and a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart, just like all the prophets did. Like Jesus did Himself, and was
called Beelzebub. And rejected here again in the last days…
I wonder if that blind interpreter ever thought of that? I wonder if
he'll ever realize that these Scriptures that's been prophesied for
this day has to come to pass? How many do you believe it must be at
this time? That God's Word, though it linger–yet all these things,
these church ages pass, and it's been hundreds of years since we've
ever had it, but it's promised to be here.

^E-83
He's revealed Himself as Son of God, Son of God, the Holy Ghost
baptized the Pentecostal church, and the churches down through, and
brought down signs, wonders, miracles, like He did. They seen God in
great visions and everything. But never has the church ever seen the
Son of God manifested in human flesh, that would reveal the thoughts
that's in the heart till this age. And that was the age that seen Sodom
burn and the promised son return. I wonder if that blind interpreter of
the Scripture ever thought of that? I want the court to remember that.

^E-84
Remember, no longer–how, no matter how much it lingers, yet it's got
to happen. It's going to happen. These witnesses testify, has
absolutely testified the truth, that it is so. God said, "They shall
lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." But the outside world wants
you to believe as soon as you lay hands on, you must, the crippled legs
must be straighten and you must jump up and down. He never said that.
He never promised that.
He said, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God will raise
them up." He never said when. "They lay hands on the sick, they shall
recover." He never said when. He said, "When you pray, believe that you
receive it, and it shall be given to you." He didn't say when.

^E-85
Now, if we are real genuine believers, when these Scriptures are
ministered to us, there's nothing can tell us any different. There's
nothing can say that it's wrong. How many could raise up, how many
infidels, how many unbelievers, how many could explain this, that, or
the other… God keeps His Word. And Mark 16 is just as inspired as
John 3:16. The whole thing's the Word of God. Every Word of It's
inspired. All of It is God, if you just read it the way It says.
I want to call the church to the order of the day to find out, before
you call anything a devil, you'd better remember the promise that this
is to be in this day. See, remember that, 'cause one word against the
Holy Ghost is never forgiven in this world, neither in the world to
come. And you see the Holy Spirit, Himself manifested, doing the same
thing.

^E-86
I'm looking at a little woman setting here in front of me. I think
she's a Presbyterian if I'm not mistaken… Was at my house not long
ago. She had till Wednesday to live, cancer. Setting in the room, I
just happened to spot her setting by a friend of mine. And she was
given till Wednesday to live by the medics of the city. They're puzzled
now. Here she sets tonight, looking fine and healthy, and still living.
You're thankful for it, aren't you, sister? Raise your hand, if that's
right. She is setting right here. See? Dying, and given till Wednesday,
about several months ago. And now the doctors are amazed to think…
What happened? It was THUS SAITH THE LORD. His Words are still true.

^E-87
When this Scripture says here, that these signs shall follow them that
believe… If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover, if
you'll believe. These signs shall follow the believer. They shall… He
never said when. And if you're a real believer, there's nothing could
separate you from that.
Listen to Abraham's testimony. Listen to the rest of their testimonies.
How many hundreds could I call on the scene today, and show you that
God keeps His Word, regardless, if you'll believe It, and stand there,
and know in your heart that it's going to come to pass.

^E-88
When this little lady referring to… Now, somebody was telling me a
few minutes ago (excuse me), was telling me a few minutes ago, coming
through the dinner line out there, said, "Brother Branham, don't you
remember this little lady here? Your prayer of faith to her not long
ago? She was, years ago, was dying with a cancer." Is that woman
setting present? Somebody pointed her out to me. Set… Raise up your
hand if you are setting here somewhere.
A little woman coming through the line, some man, gray-headed brother,
was pointing her out to me, said she was dying with cancer. And here
she lives now. Is that lady in the building here now? She was in the
dinner room awhile ago…?… Yeah–yeah. There's Mrs. Waldrop back
there, that was standing dead in the line fifteen years ago, seventeen
years ago with her doctor with a–with a x-ray there that cancer had
eat her heart out, but it was THUS SAITH THE LORD.
Let the critics rise and say what they want to. I'm a witness that
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He was
then, He is today. He's not "I was," "I will be"; He is now (present
tense), the same yesterday, today, and forever. And Jesus and His Word
is the same, and He is the Word. Do you believe it?

^E-89
What did He say? "These signs shall follow them that believe: if they
lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Before we say this to
court, you are the jury. You've heard the case. How many witnesses
could we call? No matter how many other witnesses the–the prosecutor
could call, these words testify against him. He misinterpret the
Scripture. How many believes that the words are true? How many's a
believer? Raise up your hand. All right.
The Bible said this, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick. God
shall raise them up. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall
recover."
Now, look, each one of you. Through this broken up little message,
you've drawed some conclusion. Down in your mind, you've made up your
mind, 'cause that's the jury. And the way you act from hereafter,
that'll prove what your verdict is. See? The way you live from
hereafter, will prove just what your verdict is. Now, if you go out and
say, "Well, I'm just as sick as I was when I come in," there it shows
just what kind of a verdict you've made in this court this afternoon.

^E-90
I think He's had a fair trial. He's had–been brought up as the Word.
He's been proved as the Word. He's been identified as the Word. And if
I die this night, the words that I've said is true. The world knows it.
The scientific world knows it. That same Pillar of Fire, the same Angel
of the Lord… How many's seen the picture of It? It hangs in
Washington D.C., the only supernatural Being was ever photographed. If
I die this night, and I never see you again, what I've said is the
truth. And God has testified of it, that it's the truth. And here's the
Scripture says it's supposed to be now. Then call it a devil if you
want to. That'll be between you and God. See?

^E-91
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He's
identifying Himself as He promised. Much more could we say here in
these last days, as Son of man, making Himself known among His people
in the form of His people (See?), not Son of God, not Son of David, but
Son of man. The Son of God was a supernatural. Like Abraham, he seen
voices, and heard things, and seen lights, and so forth. But just
before the promised son come, God revealed Himself as a Man in human
flesh, and read the thoughts that was in Sarah's heart in the room
behind Him. How many says–knows that's the Scripture?…?…

^E-92
And He said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the
coming of the Son of–coming when the Son of man shall be being
revealed." The Son of man being revealed, not the Son of God in the
church age. He's put out of that. Now, He's Son of man revealing
Himself. The Word is becoming flesh among us. Oh, my friend. Open your
eyes, court, before you make your decision. Make your decision, and
believe it with all your heart. He's justified in writing this in the
Scripture. He's justified in what He says. I can prove it. I know He's
right. God does prove it.
He needs nobody to interpret, say, "This is that; and this is that." He
says He'll do it, and He does it, and that settles it. He's His own
Interpreter.
Do you believe that? How many's believers? Then raise up your hand,
say, "I'm a believer." I want every believer in here to stand to your
feet. Unbeliever remain seated. Believers stand to your feet.

^E-93
In this court, before it adjourns, I want to thank the Lord that this
court has made up its mind. The jury has come to this verdict, that
Jesus Christ is justified in putting these things in His Word. When
it's truly interpreted in the light of the Word, it is the truth. How
many of you, court, believe that? Raise your hand and say, "Before God,
I believe that it's the truth. I believe that it's the truth." Now, how
many… Would you put your hand down, say, "I am a believer in what
you've said. I believe it to be the honest truth. It's the Word of
God."? Raise up your hand. All right.

^E-94
Now, I want you to reach right across the table, and lay your hand on
another believer. Put your hand right across the table, and lay it on
another believer.
Are we believers? What did He say? "These signs shall follow them that believe."
Court, have you made up your mind? Say "Amen, my verdict has been
reached." Is that right? "Amen." That the Word of God is true? "Amen."
Mark 16 is true? "Amen." Then, "These signs shall follow them that
believe." They'll have to recover. He said so, did He not?
Now, the way you pray at church, you pray for the person you got your
hands on. They're praying for you. And these signs shall follow them
that believe. What will happen? Your action from this hour on will
prove what your true verdict is. Now, bow your head, every one of you.
Now, pray for the person that you got your hands on.

^E-95
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I call this to Your attention again. These
men and women has claimed by their testimony that they are believers.
They have stood, and they're laying their hands on one another. Lord,
we believe Your Word, that in this great day of education, this great
day of–of–of going on of ethics and–and all the educational systems,
yet in the midst of all of it Your Word remains true, just the same.
And we've called witnesses in this court this afternoon, Lord, to give
You a fair trial. Not a mock trial, not a mock like Herod give You,
or–or–or as one of the others. We're giving You a fair trial here,
and proving… And Your people has made up their mind that the Word of
God in 1964, this hour that we're now living, that You're just as much
God as You ever was. And every Word that You promised is the truth. And
they've got their hands laying on one another as believers. They are
praying for one another. And You said, "These signs shall follow them
that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover."
You never said when. You said, "They shall recover."

^E-96
Now, them being… As I, being the moderator, and these people being
the jury, also the judge, they have give witness to this, Lord, by
moving to one another's hands, and praying for one another.
Now, their actions hereafter will certainly prove what their verdict
is. May there never be one complain among them anymore of ever being
sick of this sickness, or whatever bothers them now. May they know that
God promised He'd do it.
Sometimes He lingers, as He did in the days of Noah, He did in the days
of Moses, He did in all days. But He–He never told the Pentecostal
people, "Go up to the city of Jerusalem. In twenty-four hours I'll give
you the Holy Ghost." He said, "Tarry there until you're endued with
power from on high." He never said, "One day, two days, ten days." He
said, "Stay until you're endued with power." Lord, they stayed until
the evidence spoke back through them that it was the Holy Ghost of God.
Now, may these people who has their hands upon one another, who stands
this court this afternoon in the Presence of God, in the presence of
His Word as I've read it… And we testified to this, that we believe
that He keeps His Word. And may each one be healed in the Name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

^E-97
Now, all of you that believe that from this hour, that a believer that
stood to their feet as a believer, and you a believer, that you've
testified and give witness before this court this afternoon that you
believe that He's just and He keeps His Word… No matter how long it
tarries, it's got to happen.
Do you believe it? Raise your hand. Do you accept it? God bless you. I believe it with all my heart.

^E-98
Now, let us bow our heads just a moment. Is there a person in here
that's been an unbeliever, a person that's not a Christian? I want to
give you the opportunity to walk up here to this, before this court,
and make a confession, and say "I have been a doubter all my life, but
from this day on, I accept Jesus Christ. I know that the Bible said
that in the days–as it was in the days of–of Jonah, was in the belly
of the whale for three days and nights… They said to Him, 'Give us a
sign.'"
He said, "A wicked and an adulterous, a Sodom generation, seek after a
sign, and they'll get it. They'll get a sign. For as Jonah was in the
belly of the whale three days and nights, so must the Son of man be in
the heart of the earth."

^E-99
These disciples that we read about was misunderstanding, when they
wouldn't believe those who had seen Him after He was risen from the
dead. We've seen Him. We know that it's true. He is risen from the
dead. We believe it.
And we're living in the days, like it was in the days of–of Jonah,
when the cities were perverted into evil, and Jonah come forth out of
the whale's belly as one from the dead. And today, we believe Jesus
Christ has raised from the dead and is making Hisself known down
through the church age as Son of God. And now, fulfilling His promise
in the last days, to reveal Hisself to Abraham's royal seed, as Son of
man.

^E-100
God bless you. With our heads bowed now, quietly and reverently, while
we sing one verse, "I love Him," I love Him, because He first loved
me." And if you're a–not a Christian, and you want to become one and
to take your stand tonight with the Lord's despised few in this evil
day, like it was in the days of Noah, like it was in the days of Sodom,
come forth while we sing with our heads bowed, and everybody praying.

Now, let us keep our heads low, now, as we hum. [Brother Branham begins humming–Ed.]
Think of it. Think of it. Can you shake yourself just a little bit? The
very God that made the promise, He's here making it known, right on
earth today, proving it. Here's His Scriptures. Nobody has to interpret
it. It's already interpreted. And He purchased my salvation. Won't you
accept it?
Now, if you're already a Christian, and you'd like to live closer to
God, let's raise your hands while we sing it again, with our heads
bowed, want a closer walk with God. You believe this to be the truth,
that we're living in the last days.

God be with you, friend. Don't fail. Don't fail. Believe Him. I love
Him. Mean it with all your heart now. Surrender yourself. He is the
Word, the Word for this day.

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