Questions And Answers #2 (54-0103E)

Questions And Answers #2 (54-0103E)

 

 

^105-1
And I'm happy to be here again tonight in the service of our Lord. And
now, seeing you all happy and singing these wonderful old songs, all
Spirit filled and so forth, makes us feel real good.
And we're happy to try to take a few moments of the time again tonight
to answer a question or two. We… I kinda taken a lot of your time
this morning, but I hope you got the blessing I did just a-talking
about it. It's… You know, we got a lot to talk about, haven't we? And
we got a Person to talk about; that's our Lord Jesus.
Now, Brother Teddy, if I would–if you will, would you just remain up
here just a moment. I was told there was a little sick child in the
building.

^105-4
And before I get started on this… We got Communion, so we want–don't
want to take too much time–and perhaps a baptism. And they… I–I
want to–to pray for those who want to be prayed for first to–to pray
for the sick first, before I get started.
And now, if Teddy, if you will, play this song, "The Great Physician
Now Is Near." And we're going to call up the sick and to ask blessings
for them here. How many's here to be prayed for tonight? There was some
we missed this morning. Did you get their hands up, if… [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]… and hear that testimony, and to praise God for all of His goodness. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Is that right?

^105-6
Now, we'll get started right in quickly on these testimonies now, and
we're going to try–or, excuse me, upon questions. And I hope that God
will just pour out His blessings in–in this manner.
And now, don't let me go too long on them. Brother Cox, I'm going to
call your attention, you and the deacons setting on the front row, to
stop me when I–when it gets about time to give us Communion (You
see?), 'cause I keep them too long. I'll try to go just as fast as I
can. And then, if I don't finish them up this Sunday, I'll get them
next Sunday. No, I'll try to get through tonight.

^106-8
They're such good questions. And I tell you, friends, if it wasn't the
revival and things going on, I'd like to set about a week just on
straight Bible teachings of–of Genesis, and Exodus, and Revelations,
and so forth, and–and just have a–a real good time. I love deep Bible
questions and Bible teachings, as long as you don't get off on some
mythical something. Just stay right straight in the plain, old,
unadulterated Word of God; It'll take you right on through. Don't you
believe that? All right.
This morning we have some–some of the finest questions, some of them
about the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were they, and what part
would they be? And–and about the Bride… And oh, just many things,
and just real deep questions. And I had a few that I didn't get
finished.

^106-10
Now, tonight we're going to start off right here on this one, and ask
the Lord to help us. And now, we can't open the Bible. We can open It
like this, but it takes God to open It up really to us. We can pull the
pages. But in the Book of Revelations, when John looked, and he saw One
setting upon the throne, and there was–He had a Book in His hand. And
there was no man that was worthy to take the Book, or to loose the
Seals, or even to look thereon. No man in heaven, no man in earth, or
no man beneath the earth, or nowhere was–was worthy. And he seen a
Lamb, as It had been slain from the foundation of the world. And It
came and taken the Book out of His hand and opened the Seals; It was
Jesus Christ.

^106-11
Now, I was talking to a man this week, a very prominent businessman in
the city, who said to me about going back into Africa and India: he
said, "Why, they just got through killing a British general over there."
I said, "What's that got to do with me?"
He said, "You're going back over there where all that murder's going on, that race riot, and so forth?"
I said, "Sure, that's where I'm needed, for the Lord wants me to go."
He said, "What if they kill you?"
I said, "Well, if God wants me to be killed, I'll just be killed; that's all."
And he said, "Oh, my." Said, "Brother Branham, you oughtn't to think
that. Well," said, "I don't care. I think you're religious, and I think
you're a good man," he said, "but they even killed Jesus Christ."
I said, "Sure, it was God's will."
He said, "What? God's will?" I… And that man's been going to church
(and close to seventy) been going to church… He was on the cradle
roll in a fine church in this city, and has come up, and never knowed
that it was God's will for Jesus to die.
Why, I said, "Brother, He was slain from the foundation of the world,
from the very beginning. He was slain before He even come to the
earth." Is that right? He was God's Lamb slain from the foundation of
the earth.

^107-13
Let's speak to Him just a moment for the questions. Now, Father, we're
not worthy, and unable, we realize, to open the Book or to look
thereon. But let the Lamb come now tonight, God's Lamb that was slain
from the foundation of the world, take the things that are God's and
present them to the congregation. May the Holy Spirit carry these
words, and may they not be my words or man's words, but may they be
God's Word to every hungry heart, For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

^107-Q-15
The first one here (We haven't got them rotated or anything, but just
the way they come.), it seems to be very good. First, how many's
interested in questions, let's see your… Well, that's very fine. Just
as long as I know.
15. Now. Does man at death go to heaven or–or to hell immediately, or do they wait for the judgment?
That's a very good question. And it does–was due a lot of good
consideration, because every man is interested, what is he going to be
after this life is over? Every man is interested. Well now, I, for my
part, I–I wouldn't know. I have to answer from the Bible.

^107-15
I guess a woman run up a fifty dollar phone bill awhile ago from Los
Angeles, about thirty-five or forty minutes, or maybe longer, on long
distance, trying to get me to say that it was legal and right for her
to leave her husband and marry another man. I wouldn't do it. No. I
said, "No, sir."
She said, "Well, my husband's a sinner, and this man's a Christian."
I said, "That has nothing to do with it. You'll be in adultery as sure as anything."
Said, "Well, I'm a tubercular case, and there's not any need for me to live if I can't have this man."
I said, "You're just infatuated and not in love, because you couldn't
be; that's all; 'cause that's your husband. And you're vowed to live
with him until death separates you. Anything else from that you're in
adultery." And so, she just kept hanging on. I said, "Lady, there's no
need…"
She said, "If you'll just tell me it's all right."
I said, "I wouldn't do it." I said, "I'm…"
She said, "Well, Brother Branham, we got so much confidence in you."
I said, "Then listen to what I'm trying to tell you. I'm telling you
the Truth, for I can't say nothing but what God said." God said that's
true, so that's just exactly the way it is. See? I said, "That's the
way it–it's supposed to be, and that's the way it has to be."

^108-19
And now, in these questions, that's the way we want them to be. Now,
it's always thought… Now, in here, you realize in this little handful
of people tonight, there's probably all kinds of different ideas; and
we think they're all good, every one of them. Your idea is good, and
it's a… But now, what we do, we have to have somebody… Just like
geese, ducks, anything, everything has–bees–everything has a leader.
If the queen bee dies, you know what happens. The leader duck dies,
they have to get them another one. The–they just have to have a leader.
And man's got to have a leader; and the Leader is the Holy Spirit. And
the Holy Spirit sets in the church, first apostles, after that,
prophets, and so forth.

^109-21
Someone said not long ago, said, "Why, Brother Branham, we don't need
anybody to teach us. When the Holy Ghost comes, we don't need anybody
to teach." Said, "The Bible says you do not–not need teaching."
I said, "Then why did the same Holy Spirit set in the church teachers?"
See, see? He set the church in order. He was. We got to have teachers.
That's right.
But you oughtn't to have anyone… Don't have to teach you saying,
"Thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not sware, and take…" You
already know that. Your very conscience of the Holy Spirit tells you
it's wrong to do that.
But now, as far as Scriptural teaching, it takes a Holy Ghost anointed.
That's right. And God has set the church in order by apostles and
prophets, and gifts of healing, and miracles, and so forth. He set the
church in order and put the teachers and so forth in there to guide and
direct His church. And this morning, we–as we said, Jesus over the
earth as His Body… And just as His body moves, it's just like a
shadow reflecting to the earth. It'll move with it.

^109-24
Now, many people… The Adventist people believe that when a man dies
that he goes right into the grave and stays there, soul, body, and
everything else, until the resurrection. And their… They call that
soul sleeping. Well, that's all right. It's all right as long as they
believe Jesus Christ and is borned again, that won't hurt them. But
now, according to the Scriptures, that when the person dies, if he's a
Christian, if he's borned again, filled with the Holy Spirit, he'll
never have to stand in the judgments of God. See? He goes straight to
the Presence of God. And he'll never have to be in judgment, because
he's already… See?
I don't have to stand for what Christ did for me. Now, I was a sinner,
but Christ's judgment… Here's–here's the full thing in a few words:
God said, "The day you eat thereof, that day you die." That settled it.

^109-26
Now, God's got to keep His Word. He can't do nothing else but keep His
Word, because He's God. Well then, He can't. Then, He… You're
separated from God. The… And then, you're borned in sin, shaped in
iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. So when you're borned,
you're a sinner by nature. So there's nothing in the world you can do
about it. There's nothing I could do to save myself or you to save
yourself. It's what Christ did for us in God–or what God did for us in
Christ. See? It isn't, well, whether I think this or I do this, it's
whether He did that.
Well now, we're in Him. Then He stood God's judgment; He took the
judgment. And Him, being innocent from sin, knowing no sin, yet was
made sin for us… So as long as you're in Christ, you are free from
judgment. "When I see the Blood, I'll pass over you." See, see? That's
it. The Blood, that frees you…

^110-28
Now, the sinner never… The sinner's got to stand judgment. And there
won't be but this judgment. It's just like a–a circle or a rainbow
around the world of the Blood of Christ. As long as you're in here…
If God could look upon the earth in it's condition tonight any other
way than through the Blood of Christ, He would destroy it in a second.
He'd have to. Certainly He'd have to. That's where the judgments is
coming.
Now, if–as long as a man's under here, no matter if the man is a
drunkard, and a gambler, and a horrible unbeliever, the mercies of God
still atones for him. And a woman, she might be, ever what she might
be, a prostitute or whatever, the Blood of Jesus Christ still atones
for her. But the minute that her soul leaves this body and she goes
beyond that, she's passed over mercy into judgment. God's already
judged her. That settles it. She's done. She's judged. She's judged.
You judge yourself by the way you treat God's propitiation there for
your sins. See? You judge yourself. You don't judge Him just enough to
forgive you. See? If you think He'll forgive you, confess your faults,
and He'll forgive you.

^110-31
Then by one Spirit (Notice) we're all baptized into one body. And as
that body was raised up by God, resurrected from the dead, justified,
setting at His right hand in power and majesty in heaven, so them that
are dead in Christ, are in Christ, and free from judgment, and will
come forth in the resurrection.
Now. But when we die now–when we die now, we go directly into the
Presence of Almighty God in a celestial body. If I would meet Brother
Neville up there, if we'd both die now, in an hour from now I'd meet
him; I'd say, "Greetings, Brother Neville," talk to him. I couldn't
shake his hand; he's in a celestial body. I could talk to him; he'd
look just like he does there. I'd look like I do. But we could talk to
one another, but we couldn't touch one another, because we haven't got
any of the five senses of see, taste, feel, smell, and hear. See? But
we would be immortal, and we could see one another. We'd live in the
blessed realms by the altar of God. Don't you know John saw the souls
under the altar crying, "How long, Lord, how long," to come back to the
earth to be clothed upon?

^111-33
Then, when Jesus, which is in us now in the form of the Holy Ghost,
when His celestial body, the Holy Spirit returns with the glorified
body, we'll be glorified with Him and in His likeness. See what I mean?
Then I'll shake his hand and say, "Here it is, Brother Neville." Then
we'll be…
Look. Jesus told His disciples, taking their Communion, He said, "I'll
eat no more of the fruit of the vine until I eat it and drink it with
you anew in My Father's Kingdom." Is that right? See? There it is. So
we… When the dead dies… A justified person, standing in the
Presence of God, goes into His Presence as an immortal being and lives
in the blessed realms of peace until the day that–returns back.

^111-35
Now, there was a time that the people didn't go into the Presence of
God when they died: the justified. That was in the Old Testament. They
went into a place called Paradise, and there the souls of the just
waited in Paradise. But Paradise was a place where God kept the souls
in like a dreamland, until the Blood of Jesus Christ was shed; for the
blood of bulls and goats would not take away sin; it only covered up
sin. But Jesus' Blood takes away sin.
You notice that His–when He died at Calvary… And on His return, He
brought out from the grave those dead saints that had died under the
atonement of blood of bulls, and goats, and heifers. And they entered
into the city (Oh.) and appeared to many. How beautiful a picture, oh,
if we could paint it just a moment. Look at Jesus when He died.

^111-37
Here, as I've often said, I believe, in the church here, there's a–a
roll here like; in here lives mortal beings. And each one is in this
great conglomeration of gaiety, of blackness and darkness. Mortals live
in here. Now, they are either influenced from this a-way or from that
way. You cannot be here a spiritual being, sinner or saint, without
having an influence from the underworld or from the above world. If
you're influenced from here, you're from above. Your celestial body is
waiting up here. But if you're wicked, and hypocritical, and
indifferent, your celestial body is down here, regardless of how much
you think it's up there; because the fruit that you bear before people
proves where you're from. So you are here what you are somewhere else.
Your life that you live here is just reflecting what your inheritance
is when you leave here. Do you understand?

^112-38
We are right now (oh, when I think of that)–we are right now glorified
in the Presence of God, borned again believers, "For if this earthly
tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting in glory," not
somewhere else, right yonder already waiting now. And these earthly
bodies groan to be clothed upon with that immortality. Is that right?
Sickness, and aches, and pains, and disappointments, and heartaches,
and… Oh, I'll be glad when the old pesthouse is closed up, won't you?
Yes, sir. We can go home. That's right.
Just… We are–groan to be clothed upon, the Spirit groaning. Oh, when
you look and see all the pain around about, all the conglomeration,
stink, and sin, and mortal living, and deceit, and everything, I think,
"Oh, God, how much longer will it be?"

^112-40
One of these days I'm going to preach my last sermon, going to lay the
Bible down like this, and go home. Oh, what a time that'll be. And when
this earthly tabernacle is finished here, it won't be one second till
I'll be in that one yonder; so will you. Oh, my. No wonder they said:

Now, where is that? When do we have it? Now. "Those whom He justified,
He also glorified." And do you realize that our glorified, immortal
body is waiting in the Presence of Jesus Christ right now, waiting for
us to come?

^112-42
Do you know when a baby is begotten in this earth, before it's
delivered, it's got life. But it hasn't been delivered. And just as
soon as that baby comes to–it–it begins to–is born… It's lungs are
all closed up, and it's dead. It's muscles are quivering and jerking.
But the first thing, just a little spank or two like that [Brother Branham illustrates–Ed.], and he'll [Brother Branham gasps–Ed.]
catch his breath. What's the matter? As soon as that natural body is
being formed in the mother, there is a spiritual body waiting to
receive it just as soon as that baby's born.
And just as sure as this spiritual body is being born, there is a
natural body waiting to receive it as soon as it–as it goes out of
this world. See? Vice versa, right back to Eden again (See?), just
right back.

^113-44
Now, in there, God… Why, death, that just–that just knocks all the
sting out of death there is. No wonder Paul could stand and say,
"Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?" He said,
"Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ." Yes, friends. This earthly tabernacle be dissolved we already
got one waiting, so just forget about it.
Now, to you, friend, if you're a sinner who asked this, God be merciful
to you. Yes, sir. You're not only under condemnation now, not here, no.
You'll prosper and go on. And that's all through the mercies of God.
That's all through the mercies of God that you prosper and do what you
do. That's true. But one of these days, if you're a sinner and your
soul slips out, it'll go yonder into judgment and will be condemned.
And then you'll be cast away, and you'll be in torment until the day
that you are brought back to this earth again. And you will receive an
immortal body, a immortal body that cannot die, and will be cast away
into outer darkness where there'll be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of
teeth. You'll be cast into hell, where the worm never dies or fire is
never quenched, and you'll be tormented through all ages there is to
come. Jesus said that. That's a black picture, but it's what the Bible
said.

^113-46
If God so condemned sin and had it cost such a price, what will it be
if those unjust spirits could ever be made loose again? We'd have
another thing like we've had in the last six thousand years. Is that
right? There'll never be an opportunity again.
Now, you say, "Well, I believe that when you go to the grave you–you
go to hell." Your body goes to hell; that's right. "Hell" means
"separation." "Death" means "separation." Your body dies, separates.
You go from your loved ones here, but that's not what we're talking
about. "It's once appointed unto man to die, then after that, the
judgment." See?

^114-48
Now, when you–if you have to stand the judgment of God, you're going
to be judged by an angry God. And God is going–has already pronounced
what He was going to do. So you know what your judgment will be before
you even get there. So the thing to do is to be saved and have this
glorified being…
Look. If I have to–if my spirit… Look, we're not something dead;
we're alive. If–if my–if this desk here, if this plank had the life
in it that's in my finger, that death–and had an intelligence to move
it, it can move like my finger moves. We're not made of that kind of
material. We are made of–of–of–of cells, and of life, and of fiber;
and there's a spirit here that controls it all. And just look how fast
it has to travel. Look here; my hand touches that. Now, no sooner…
There has to be a negative and a positive reaction. As soon as my
finger touches that, it feels that. That quick it goes to my mind, and
my mind says, "That's cold," and go back. See how quick that is,
quicker than thought, quicker than anything, is the act there. What is
it? There's something alive in there, and that nerve works on the mind.
See what I mean? The nerve touches it, feels it, and says to the mind,
"It's cold." The mind says it's cold, because it's felt by the nerve.
Oh, my. You talk about a makeup.

^114-50
And then–all of that… How quick that God knows every thought that we
think of. Everything that we do, He knows of it. So when the believer
dies, he goes into the Presence of his Maker, his God. And the sinner,
when he dies, goes to his destination. Then at the return… Now, I'm
talking now of the elect.
But there's some that will come up in the second resurrection, that'll
have to stand in the judgment with the sinner to be judged with him. I
want to be sure to get that. See?

^114-52
Now, there'll be… The first that'll take place will be the–the
coming of the Bride. There will be people in the world… I… You
might different a little with this, but listen close. Just because that
you accepted Christ as personal Saviour, that doesn't mean that you're
going in the rapture. That's for the elect, that'll go in the rapture.
There'll be a remnant left here on earth that'll go through the
persecution and the great tribulation. The church will be caught up in
the rapture.

^115-53
How many women here doesn't know that when you going to cut a piece of
goods you lay the goods out like this, and lay your pattern on it like
this, and you cut the goods just according to the pattern. Is that
right? And the rest of the goods is just the same kind of goods that's
in the pattern. Is that right? But this is the kind you take. You might
lay that away for farther use, but the–the goods that you cut out of…
Now, who places the pattern? God by election. Amen. God by election
places the pattern. He said, "Now, I have chosen before the foundation
of the world… I place these…" Why, Jesus told the disciples that He
was with them, and He had chose them, and knew them before the
foundation of the world was ever laid. Is that right? So God places the
pattern. Now, there'll be an elect that'll go in the rapture. And
there'll be a group of people that's good, upright, holy living, God
saved people, that will not be in the rapture; and they'll come up in
the second resurrection, because…

^115-55
Oh, I–I hope you won't get angry with me if I just make something real
plain here to you. See? Don't do it. I–I've got to say it, because
I–just keeps choking to me (You see?) to say it. Look. Now, look. Then
I'm going to say this: There's a people that believe in justification
by faith (See?), and they live a good, clean, holy life; they believe
in sanctification too. Repeat…
Look at Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was justified when he believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his personal Saviour:
Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was sanctified in John 17:17 and was
given power in Matthew 10 to go out and cast out devils. And Judas
Iscariot come back, after he healed the sick and cast out devils, and
he come back rejoicing and shouting just as much as any good
holy-roller you ever seen. Is that right? The Bible said so. But when
he come to Pentecost, he showed his colors. Now, watch that–that
spirit.

^115-57
There's people in the world today, good Christian people that'll
believe in justification, many of them, thousands, millions that
believe in justification. But they'll have nothing to do with
sanctification. We'd say that's Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and so
forth. They believe in justification; preach it. And it's good; they're
right.
But now, the–the Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness, Free Methodists move up
into sanctification. They believe in sanctification. Correctly. They're
right. And they get victory, and shout, and praise the Lord. They're
correct; they're right. But speak to either one of them about the
baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the power, and signs, and wonders,
they'll show their color right there. Say, "I don't want none of that.
I don't believe…" Well, even to my dear Nazarene people, believes
that a man speaks with tongues is of the devil. And, brother, you do
that, you…

^116-59
Why, they put Dr. Reedhead out of the Sudan Missions, the president of
it, because that he spoke with tongues. Said, "We can't have it. "
I said, "You can't preach like Paul then. You can't accept Paul's
Gospel, for Paul said, 'Forbid not to speak with tongues.'" That's
right. But they–they say it's of the devil. They've seen a lot of
counterfeits and carry it all over there. See? But there is a justified
and sanctified church, but deny that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a
different work from sanctification. But It is–it is a different work.
Sure it is.

^116-61
There was three elements came from Christ's body. And the same elements
came from His body is what we use to go into His Body. There was water
(Is that right?), Blood (Is that right?), and Spirit. And Jesus–and
the Scripture said, "There are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These three are One; they are One.
But there's three that bear record in earth; they're not one," he said,
"but they agree as one: water, Blood, and spirit." Is that right?
Now, you cannot have the Father without having the Son. You can't have
the Son without having the Holy Ghost, because–but you can be
justified without being sanctified. And you can be both justified and
sanctified and still not have the baptism of the Holy Ghost. See?
That's true. That's Scripture. "These three," he said, "that bear
record in earth, water, Blood, and spirit; and they agree in one." See?
They are not one, but they agree in one, because it's the same Spirit
with a measure. God gives us the Spirit in measure.

^117-63
Now, Luther, under justification, that's what he preached. Is that
right? Luther preached, "The just shall live by faith." And he had a
great message. And that was a portion of the Holy Ghost. Then Luther,
when the message come forth, God was going to raise up His church and
send It out greater (Oh, my.), Luther said, "Oh, we believe we've got
it here."
But John Wesley said, "Oh, no." Him and George Whitfield and them, they
said, "We believe in sanctification, the–as being the second definite
work of grace." Is that right? And they preached the Blood. Well, if
Luther didn't want to move, God just give it to the Wesleyan
Methodists. See? And they had it. And they had a revival that swept the
world.

^117-65
And the real church… Well now, when that time comes along… Now,
along comes the Holy Ghost evidence of signs, wonders, and miracles.
Now, Wesley don't want to agree with this. Now, if Wesley was on earth
and Martin Luther was on earth at these times, they would agree with
it, but they just got about the second round of a–of–of four or five
rounds of apostles passed through it, and they just sang it all away.
Now, the Pentecostal received and believed in speaking in tongues. Then
they turned it into initial evidence, that everybody had to speak with
tongues. That's an error. But now–now they come back… Those were God
given traits. Just like I can't help, 'cause I've got blue eyes, or…
God just give it. That's His gift in the church. God set them in. "God
hath set in the church…" See?

^117-67
Now. But when they come along with that… Now, they had a great
blessing, went far beyond the Lutheran, or the–the Methodists, either
one. And now, they've organized in such a way until they're worse than
the Methodist and the others–the Pentecostals. And then, they got to a
place where the second and third round… It's been about forty years
since they begin to receive speaking in tongues. But this tree of God
has nine different fruits on it. And now, any of these fruits you can
have. See? God has sent them, but altogether comes out of the tree.
Now, justification, look at it…

^117-68
Look at this morning's lesson. When the judgment was set, and the books
were opened… Now, Jesus came with ten thousand times ten thousands of
saints, and then the judgment was set. Here they all are around the
white throne judgment (as we went through the Scripture with it), and
the books were opened; and another Book was opened which was the Book
of Life. And these in the rapture was judging them. Is that right? Them
had done went home and received their glorified bodies, and lived
through the millennium, was here in the white throne judgment, judging
those. He said He would separate the sheep from the goats.
Now, you say here, "Why, now look." You say, "Is that come up… Whereabouts, Brother Branham?" In the white throne judgment.

^118-69
"What about in the rapture?" Well, in the rapture time… Jesus taught
that as a parable. And He taught it many different ways. Here's one
way. He said that there was ten virgins went out to meet the Lord. And
saw… All of them were virgins, but some had Oil in their lamps and
some let the Oil go out. Is that right? And when the Bride… Now, what
was the Oil? The Oil was the Holy Spirit; the Bible said so. Now, look.
They were virgins. Now, what does virgin mean? "Holy, clean, separated,
sanctified." Is that right?

^118-70
If I had a little glass here I'd show you what… Here, for instance
like this bottle here, if it was empty, and I picked it up, and it was
just as dirty as it could be… I want to use it. Well now, the first
thing I want to do is justification; I pick it up because I want to use
it. It's dirty; I found it out in the–in the pigpen, or wherever it
was. Now, if I'm the right kind of person, well, I don't want to put
something clean in there I'm going to have to use. I–I'd have to fix
that thing up first. Now, the best thing to do is scour it, clean it,
and sanctify it. Is that right? Now, what does the word "sanctify"
mean? "Cleaned and set aside for service." The vessels of the old
temple was cleaned and set aside for service.
Now, there's the church: God picked them up through the Lutheran age,
justification; Wesley age, He sanctified them; and in this age He fills
them. See? He puts the Life in them. And when this, His Life through
the Holy Spirit… The Holy Spirit picked them up; the Holy Spirit
sanctified them; the Holy Spirit filled them. See? It's all the same
church. But now look. Now, in this day…

^119-72
Now, I think that Luther, Wesley, and all of them, many of them will go
in the rapture. They had the portion of the Spirit was preached to
them; they believed it.
Now, in the rapture… There's people today who went in those
denominations that didn't move on. It's a… There's only been one
denomination; that's God's church; and It's just moved on just the
same. But these organizations has broke these things up like that. And
many people today will look at the baptism of the Holy Ghost and say
it's nonsense. But yet they been justified; yet they been sanctified.
But they say, "Oh, that's carrying on, that stuff."
I know the devil's got all kinds of scarecrows out. That's where you
find the good apples, is around where the scarecrow's at. That's right.
Just go right on in behind the thing, go to eating apples. See?

^119-75
Now, this… Then God filled with the Holy Spirit… Then He set His
church out to glorify It. On the second coming, here comes the church
back, the Bride. Now, watch. See whether they go through the
tribulation period. He said, "These virgins, that they come and said,
'Give us of your oil.'"
"The Bridegroom comes." The sound went out, "Behold, the Bridegroom is
coming. Go ye out to meet Him." And these virgins, who were virgins,
holy, sanctified (Think of it), holy, sanctified people without the
baptism of the Holy Ghost, they said, "Give us Oil."
And the church said, "We just have enough for ourself. You go pray up
then." But it's too late then. So the church went into the wedding, and
the others were cast into outer darkness (Is that right?), where there
was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; and they went through
the persecution, suffered, died.

^119-77
Jesus returned back to the earth; millennium reign set in, a thousand
years with Him. Up come the–the just and the unjust. And They judged
every man. And the goats was on one side and the sheep on the another
side. And then God came and taken the church up on the breadth of the
earth for the camp meeting, where we all gather together with our loved
ones. See? There's the difference.
Now, these people here… Certainly when we die, if we are in Christ
Jesus, we go to be with that great Body yonder, Christ Jesus. If we are
sinners, we go to be with that great body of unbelievers; and God said
our portion was with the hypocrites, and so forth, in hell. Amen. May
not be just exactly clear, but let's see now if we can find out… Just
a little note here.

^119-Q-16
16. Please explain Exodus the 24th–the 4th chapter and 24th verse.
What does this Scripture mean, that God aimed to kill Moses or his son?
And why?
We know where that's at, Exodus 4:24. That's a good question. Now, here we'll read it right here just a moment: Exodus 4 and 24:

How many remembers the story? Now, God gave Abraham, generations before
Moses, the sign of circumcision. And that was the covenant that God
made, that every Jew should be circumcised. Is that right? Every man
should be… That was a sign. And are we circumcised today? With the
Holy Spirit, not by flesh.
Now. Now, God gave this commandment, "And every male must be
circumcised." And God, when He called Moses to go down there and
deliver the children of Israel, Moses hadn't performed on his son the
very delivering sign. See what I mean?
Would be like me saying, "All you church now, every one of you, you
come in and been baptized here with water, and we put you on the church
membership. We're all going to glory together." Why, brother, that's
not Scripture. Unless you are borned again, circumcised of the Holy
Spirit… You've got to be… I don't care how good you are, what
church you belong to, how good your parents was, except you as a
individual has been borned again by the Holy Ghost, you'll never go in
the rapture. See? You can't go. That's the very delivering sign, the
circumcision; and the circumcision is by the Holy Spirit. Now, God…

^120-83
The–the questioner asked this: "Does–does this Scripture mean that
God aimed to kill Moses or his son, and why?" God was after Moses. And
Zipporah was the only one that saved him there. For Zipporah got a
sharp rock, and went, and cut the foreskin off of her baby, and threw
it before Moses, and said, "Thou art a bloody husband to me." Is that
right?
And God would've took Moses' life, but perhaps an Angel was standing there, said, "Zipporah, catch it quickly." See?
And Zipporah went and circumcised the baby. Said, "Moses, you're so–so
concerned about everything else and about your journey, but your own
boy hasn't been circumcised."
I just wonder a lot of times if… Sometimes I've met people that said,
"Oh, glory to God, The Lord wants me to do a certain thing. He wants me
to go to Africa, to India."
I said, "Have you ever asked the milkman if he was saved? Have you ever
asked the paper boy if he'd been borned again yet? How about your
neighbor, are they saved?" See? Now, that's the question. See? If it's
in your heart…

^121-87
Here sometime ago a woman met me down here in the–Florida. And the
little woman, I have no way… I'm not the judge. But there's a little
preacher had been right here and preached at this platform. And the
little fellow in another country was married and had a wife, three or
four children. And this woman was a widow woman. And they had come from
Texas, together over here in a big Cadillac car. And the woman come in.
And she has the right to dress anyway she wants to, didn't make nothing
to me; but as a Christian woman she didn't dress just like it. She was
(Oh, my.) –she was–had great big long–them ear bobs (ever what you
call it) hanging down like this, and she had a real lot of–of stuff on
her mouth; and–and the–and her eyebrows had been cut off and she had
other eyebrows with a pencil, put on. And she said, "Brother Branham,"
said, "the Lord's calling me to a foreign country."
I said, "He is?"
"Yes." And she said, "I'm going over with this man."
And I said, "Well, if the Lord's calling you, well, all right." (But by their fruit… Didn't look very much to me like… See?)
And she said, "Don't you believe the Lord…"
I said, "Don't ask Me. If the Lord's told you, you do what the Lord
told you to do. But for me, I don't think so, for myself. I'll just be
honest with you."
She said, "Well, why do you think so?"
I said, "The first thing, as you as a married woman with this married
man don't look very good, you staying down here in the city together.
If anything brings reproach is that." See? And I said, "Now, the first
thing…"

^122-89
Now, what would happen to that woman? The same thing would have… She
had kept messing around without receiving the Holy Ghost, just like
that woman over yonder today that called me and wanted to marry that
man, and leave her own husband, and marry the man. She had come in such
a place, maybe one time being in contact with God, but had been lusting
after the things of the world. And I asked her; I said, "Have you
received the Holy Ghost?"
She said, "Not yet, but I'm seeking It."
I said, "You get the Holy Ghost first, and He'll tell you what husband to have." That's right. See?
You–you've got… That's what it is. If you don't, you'll die
spiritually. God's speaking a lot tonight. But He's knocked at your
heart [Brother Branham knocks on pulpit–Ed.] so many times. And one of these times He's going to shut the door, and mercy's gone. See?

^122-91 Sure, God would've took his life. He said He sought him. Listen how the Scripture reads.

That's right. Now, God wasn't seeking the son. God… That poor little
baby didn't know what to do; it's innocent. But what was the thing, was
the father of the baby, that was taking the baby down there to deliver
the children of Israel under the sign of circumcision, and yet his own
son not even circumcised. See? And Zipporah cut it off with a rock, the
foreskin, and cast it down, and said, "Thou art a bloody husband to
me."

^123-Q-17 17. Please explain the meanings of the Scripture, and when it will come to pass: Isaiah 4 and 1. Thanks.
All
right. We'll just turn over now… You people that's got your Bibles
and wants to, we'll see what… I didn't get a chance to look this up,
but I thought maybe we'd find some kind of a answer. Here we are.

Well, brother, it's pretty near that bad now. What a falling away has
happened to our country. Let me say this, my dear Christian friend. Let
me say this with godly respect to everyone. If there ever was… And
you people here who's studied history, we're right on the same road
that every fine nation through the ages has fell on, demoralizing,
going right back.

^123-94
As I said this morning… Excuse me for repeating it. In the foreign
countries men come to me and say, "Brother Branham, what kind of women
you all got over there? Well, all the songs you sing, some old dirty
songs about your women." That's it. All claim some conglomeration
of–of–of…
Well, you know what it is? Do you want me to tell you in a few words?
I'll tell you exactly. The world has got in this kind of condition,
'cause it's a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. Exactly. In California I
picked up a paper. And I forget how many thousand every year that they
get ahold of, to know, of the increase of homosexuals. Even to the
natural desire of the–between husband and wife, and so forth, has
leaving the people. Exactly what God said would come to pass. And the
only…

^123-96
You pick up some… See who gets some kind of a popularity. Listen on
your radio, or televisions, or whatever you have, and find out. It's
the very worse and dirtiest… There's some song about some woman or
something like that, that's the thing that gets the notoriety.
And it's got to a place till it seems like that we don't care for our
women. Our women don't care for themselves. That's what it is. If a
woman would keep herself right, the man would have to go right. And
that's not taking up for men, but I know that's the truth. Yes, sir.
But what is it? It's just a–a horrible condition, and it's just
existing. And it's according to the Scriptures. The Bible said that it
would be that way. So how can we have a revival? How can we have a
revival?

^124-98
Listen, Christian friends. In a few moments left let me ask you
something. We got Billy Graham. We got Jack Schullers. We got all
different kinds of religious moves going through the world. And they've
been going for the last six or seven years across the United States
just as hard as they can pace, and no revival. Why? The doors are shut.
We've seined every fish, as I've said this morning, out of the pond,
maybe one or two sticking somewhere.
Where Billy Graham had a meeting (I believe it was Boston or
somewhere.), and they claimed they had twenty some odd thousand
conversions in six weeks. They went back a few weeks later and couldn't
find twenty. Think of it. Brother, it's just about finished. I could
say something here. See?

^124-100
We are living in the days that God spoke would come. And we're living
in the last days. And we're living in a time, and men… Regardless of
what we try to think about it, God's Word says that we are
predestinated. That's right. And what God has called will come to God;
and what God doesn't call will not come to God. God calls, and they
refuse the call; they refuse… Now, I don't say God condemns anybody;
He's just not willing that all should–that any should perish, but all
might come to repentance. But in order to be God, He–He knew in the
beginning that they wasn't going to come. Yet He give them a chance,
but they wouldn't come.
How… If He doesn't know that, how did He know we'd have horseless
carriages? How'd He know these times would come like we have now? Why'd
He say, "Men would be heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures"? Why
does all the prophets predicted all these other things that would come
plumb from the beginning? God knowed everything. He knows what will be.
And there's men in there that God looked down through time and said,
"They won't come." And they're just condemned of that condemnation,
because they chose it themselves. Amen. There you are.

^125-102
I believe, my brother, sister (I say this with godly respect and with a
fear of God in my heart.), I believe America's sunk. She's demoralized.
She's gone low to stooping. It's a pity.
Just think here, as I say in–in answering this Scripture, seven women
grab ahold of one man. In the First World War–the Second World War…
I've got a–a clipping at home out of the newspaper. You read it
yourselves. Said, "What's happened to the morals of our American women?
Two out of every three soldiers was divorced by their wives that went
overseas in the first six months." Two out of three was divorced. These
women just took off and run out. Why is it? If you'll understand,
friends, it's the spirit of time.

^125-104
We've got to get in the spirit of the last days when the last days are
here. You go to a dance hall, you've got to get in the spirit of
dancing, or they won't dance. You go to the church, you've got to get
in the Spirit of worship before you can worship. The world's got to get
in the spirit of the last days before the last days can come, and we're
in the spirit of the last days. And God's promised that these things
would be here, and that's what we've got. We're in the last days. And
men and women are setting asleep and don't realize it.
And the morals… I met a young boy here the other day over in… Oh,
it was sometime ago; it was this last fall. And we were coming into a
city. And he was telling me, a young high school boy that was married.
He said, "I married this girl, 'cause she was a good girl, and had to
marry her before she completed high school." Said, "We haven't had a
one turned out a virgin, as far as I know in high school for years
around here." See? Just so demoralized…

^125-106
And down in the–California I went through the streets in places where
that the policemen would tell you to keep off the street. There's more
danger for a man to pass through the street than it would be a woman.
Dark alleys… Oh, God, have mercy. Don't you know the Bible said those
things would come?
And just before He give the shadow of it in Sodom and Gomorrah, and
went down there, the same thing tooken place–taken place, rather. And
God sent fire down and burnt the place up. A very signpost to show that
the world over, when it come to that place, would receive the very [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.] thing.

^126-108
We're at the last days. Sure, seven women ahold of one man, saying,
"We'll eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be
called by your name to take away our reproach." Brother, you don't have
to get away from the United States. There's only one place that I've
ever seen in my life that I thought was any worse than the streets and
things that I've been in in our own nation. And we're not getting any
better. We're constantly getting worse and worse all the time. And
remember, I'm speaking in the Name of the Lord. We will continue to
grow worse. There's only one hope at all, and that's in Christ Jesus.
No matter what you do…
I've cried out, went through the nation here. And God has raised even
the dead. And we went into cities; and peoples rise that's been in
wheelchairs for years, and walked through the city behind trucks,
pushing their carts and things like that. And women, who's doctor's
pronounced dead, packing the X-rays with the doctor's name above it,
was raised from the dead. And the city all set back and say, "Huh,
mental telepathy; bunch of holy-rollers." Oh, you can't expect nothing
else but damnation. Oh. That's right.
The judgment is here; you'll have to receive it. Brother, flee from the
wrath to come and go to Christ Jesus as quick as you can. Get out of
these things. Yes, it's the spirit of the last days. Many things could
be said. I'll hurry.

^126-Q-18 18. Will you please tell us how our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ expects us to come into the house of our Lord to worship?
All
right, that's a good one. That's a very essential one to any church.
God expects you to come to the church house… Now, that's just a
question, just a right out question. It isn't a Scriptural; it's–yet
it is. Wait, I'll tell you what He said.
The first place, if you want Scripture, the people are supposed to come
to the house of God for one purpose; that is to worship, to sing songs,
and to worship God. That's the way God expects it. He doesn't expect us
to come into the house of God to talk about our–or something else, or
talk about one another, or talk about what we got to do through the
week; He expects us to come to worship Him. It's a house of worship.
"And everything should be done decently and in order," said Paul in the
Bible. Everything's supposed to be right. There's supposed to be
message.

^127-112
First thing I would say, according to the rules of the church in the
Old Testament–or the New Testament, rather, at the first place, the
people entered into the church of–of God in a Spirit of worship. And
they walked in, hymns were sang. And maybe the preacher would speak,
for he was a prophet of the church. A New Testament prophet is a
preacher; we know that: "The testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of
prophecy," said Revelation.
Now, the preacher begin to preach. While he preached, the blessings,
like maybe in the end a big sermon, begin to fall; the people would
say, "Amen," go to blessing God. Then as soon as he stopped preaching,
there might be a message come forth, maybe in speaking with unknown
tongues (I Corinthians 14: 13, 14). Then–then if there be no
interpreter in the church, this person is supposed to hold their peace,
'cause they're speaking in tongues correctly, but they do it before
God. See? But if they're speaking in tongues and there's an
interpreter, the interpreter is supposed to give the message. All
churches are coming to that.

^127-114
Charles Fuller, as much as he fussed and carried on to me about that
when I was out there, he's accepted it now. And they're doing it all
over Long Beach. Yes, sir. Right in–right in the auditorium, having
blessings of God, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, and
praying for the sick. And he stood face to face with me and said,
"Brother Branham, I don't believe in that stuff."
I said, "Well, it's up to you. It's not for unbelievers, Brother
Fuller; it's for those who believe." And now–and now, he's a-preaching
the same thing. It's coming to a time; there's a showdown.

^127-115
Now, then, if the–if in order, if this is what you were getting at…
While the preacher's speaking everything should be silent to listen to
the preacher. For there's the Word of God going forth, if he's
a-preaching under anointing. Then every spirit of the prophets is
subject to the prophets. When a pastor walks to the platform, turns
that Bible down, the church should be silent, listening as
it's–reveals the Scripture, listen to what he's going to say. If he
says something that sounds good to you, you can say, "Amen, bless the
Lord." or whatever you want to. "Amen" means "so be it." The Bible said
to do that.
Then after the message is over… Then if the preacher gets a place in
there where the people are all rejoicing, the Spirit amongst the
people, perhaps He might send another message. If He sends a message,
it'll come to someone; then the interpretations will not be a–just a
quoting over of Scripture or doing something. God don't use vain
repetitions. But it'll be a direct message to somebody to do a certain
thing or something that'll edify the church. Then when they get that
edification of the church, if they…

^128-117
Like for instance like this: Somebody stand up here and speak with
tongues; this one interprets and say, "THUS SAITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, let
So-and-so go lay hands on this person over here, for THUS SAITH THE
HOLY SPIRIT, tonight is the time for their healing." What is it?
Then this same person said, "I was setting there; my heart was
a-burning for that baby." Now–now they raises up in obedience to the
Spirit, go lay your hands on the baby, and it's well. If it didn't,
something's wrong. See, see? It's a direct message.
Then the unbeliever sets there and says, "Wait a minute. Say, God's with them people." See what I mean?
Then they'll say–or, "THUS SAITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: Let every one that's
in the south side of town, from that side of Spring Street on, move out
in the next two days, for there's coming a storm that'll sweep all that
side of town out." Then the first thing you know, there's a prophecy to
the whole church.

^128-120
Then somebody–spiritual judgment, raise up and say, "Was of that of
the Lord?" Each one. If three good men will stand and say, spiritual
judges say, "That was of the Lord," then the church receives it; and
everybody in that end of town moves out, gets away from it for that
time. Then if it doesn't come to pass you'd better check that person.
You've got another spirit among you. But if it comes to pass, then
bless God and thank God for letting you escape the wrath that was to
come. See? Watch those things. That's the church in order.
Two or three messages, not over three, will go forth at one time like
that. Whatever is out (See?), it must be set in order. The first
place… Then, another church, another thing in order…

^129-122
I don't know. This might've been a woman that asked this. I just…
Something else come in my mind, so I might as well say it. The women,
when they were come in the church, was according to the New Testament,
was to walk in and set down with a veiled face and sad countenance, and
there remain all the service. That's according to the Scripture. Now.
But I think a woman… Sure. Now, I'm not condemning you women. See?
A young lady come to me awhile ago. Not… Brother Junior was there
present when a woman come, that she'd had some trouble. Her neighbors
laughed at her, because she wouldn't cut her hair off here not long
ago. And she went and cut her hair off. And then, some woman over the
river got her all messed up, and told her she was going to taking her
spirits away, tie her feet with her hair–hair, and she got this woman
into a phobia. The woman liked to lost her mind–two children. She
didn't know what to do. She was just setting like that.

^129-124
She'd drove up in front of the house one day. The Holy Spirit moved
down, and spoke to her, and told her she was going to get well,
said–and "THUS SAITH THE SPIRIT" And she–she stayed like that then
for a few days, and then she… I went yesterday, was going to see the
woman with Brother Junior and Brother Funk. And I was within a half a
mile. She was standing, combing her hair which she going to let–let
grow out now, said, "Let the neighbors laugh and do whatever they want
to."
And then, the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me go over there. And It spoke
to her and told her that I was near the place and wanted to come. And
last night in a vision, saw the woman coming, and told what was wrong
with her; and she was healed in my room awhile ago. See? Is that right,
Brother Junior? That's right. Just awhile ago… See? God wouldn't let
me go over there for the thing wasn't ready yet. See? He brought me
right down to a place and confirmed it right there, to show it wasn't a
man; It was God. See?
Now. She said, "Brother Branham, my husband wants me to have long hair."
I said, "God wants the same thing." That's right. For the women is supposed to have long hair. That's their covering.

^130-127
I know we ladies today–or you ladies, rather, wear hats. You say
that's your covering. That's wrong. The Bible said a woman's covering
is her hair. And if she cuts her hair, it's a common thing for her to
pray. That right? That's Scripture. See? So now, women are supposed to
wear long hair, regardless of what you want to think about it; that's
what's THUS SAITH THE LORD. If you can show me any place…
You say, "Well, my hair's long. See, it's down to my shoulders." That
was short hair, "Christ…" You said, "had… Christ had long hair."
No, He never. Christ had shoulder length hair, so they say. Just…
They just pull it around this way and cut it off, shoulder length hair.
Look at the Greek word on that in there, and you'll find out.

^130-129
Feminish hair… A man shouldn't have long hair, 'cause it's feminish,
way down long like this. But He just cut it off here at His shoulders,
where they cut it off, around His head, just bob it off like that. That
was short hair.
So ladies with hair to their shoulder, it's still short hair. Now, I
don't say that would send you to hell or take you to heaven. That don't
have nothing to do with it. But the order of the church is for women to
have long hair. That's right; that's right. And to enter the church…
And–and not to have anything to do in the affairs, the social
affairs–or not to–I mean the business affairs in the church. And
she's to be obedient, and reverent, and so forth like that, because she
was the one, the Bible said, that brought the first fall. And that's
right; that's right. Now, right quick. I hope that didn't hurt.

^130-Q-19
19. Question: Why should a vision of God come before me when I was
about to take the Communion at my church? Over. (Well, it's just a
lady's name; yes, it's a lady's name.) I believe… Why should a vision
of God come before me when I was about to take the Communion at my
church?
Well, I wouldn't know, sister, unless it was this: If you seen Jesus
Christ appear in a vision at your church when you were taking the
Communion, He was letting you know this, that you were taking Him in a
symbol. The Communion is to represent the body of Jesus Christ; and you
were taking Him as a symbol into your body. So live clean, live pure.

^131-132
Listen. If you take the Communion (You'll hear it read just in a few
minutes.) when you're unworthily, you're guilty of the Blood and the
Body of Jesus Christ. Let a man that takes that community live right
before God–that takes that Communion, rather, live right before God.
Don't take it unworthily. That's just…
Look. The Bible predicted in the last days that all the tables of God
would be full of vomit. And there'd be nobody able to–to understand.
Is that right? Look. I went not long ago into a great tabernacle. I
wouldn't call the name; you all know it all well. You know what they
had for communion? They taken loaf bread, life bread–light bread, and
sliced it up. And a bunch of deacons, which the preacher said seven of
them were drunkards… That's right. And every one of them, the whole
bunch… You could see them as they went through the building talking
to the people. And when the church was dismissed at the end, between
the Sunday school and church, pretty near every one, pastor and all,
went out and smoked cigarettes on the outside, and come back in and
taken the Lord's communion. God said that He would not hold you
guiltless for that, "That many are sick and weakly among you, and many
are dead." That's right.

^131-134
Said, "All the tables of God is full of vomit, and who will I be able
to teach doctrine." He said, "For precept must be upon precept, line
upon line, and here a little and there a little. Hold fast to that
what's good. For with stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to
this people, and this is the rest that I said they should hear, but
with all this they'd wag their heads and walked away and say, 'We will
not hear it.'" Look where we're living, friends. Oh, mercy. Wake up.

^131-135
Yes, your vision, sister… If you're a good, clean, holy woman before
God, you was standing there, and Jesus was letting you know that He was
giving the Communion, that you were taking Him in there as a symbol;
and if you're not, as a warning to you to get right with God before you
do it again.

^131-Q-20 20. I would know what the–the following is: I Timothy, the 2nd–II Timothy the 2nd chapter and the 16th verse.
Just a moment. II Timothy… [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]…
you get together. Maybe you won't agree with what I said. Take you
home… Then you'll go home and study real much, and then that–that'll
help You get spiritual. All right, II Timothy 2 and 16 reads like this.

Yes. All right. You want to know what the profane babbling is. "Profane–shun profane babblings, for they will increase."
Now, the first thing is, "profane babbling, for they shall increase."
Now, anything that's just an old–just keeps babbling. The Bible
said–Jesus said, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no, for anything
more than this will come to sin." You're not supposed even to joke and
cutup with one another. God will make you give an account for every
idle word that you speak. Did you know that? The Bible said that you'll
have to give an account for every idle word. So what kind of a people
ought we to be? People that's frank, stern, loving, kind, and never a
bunch of nonsense, always going along…

^132-138
Look. You take a fellow that'll start today… I've noticed it on
myself, and being of my own nature, an Irishman; I'm always a lot of
wind about me anyhow, to cutup and carry on. And every–every so often
even my wife say, "Now, Bill…"
I say, "That's right, honey." She'll say…
I tell the kids around there. I say–cutup with them or something, say,
"Well now, you know, there was three great men come out of Kentucky."
"Who was that?"
"Well, Abraham Lincoln."
"Yeah."
"Daniel Boone."
"Uh-huh."
"And your father." Something like that.
And she'll say, "Now, Bill, there you go again." Now I have to go off
in the closet somewhere and say, "Lord, forgive me; I didn't mean to
say it. Do something to me; make me quit that." See?

^132-140
And every day I–if I do that… Now, we was talking on the word
backsliding this morning. When you do that you're backslid. Yes, sir.
You got to repent. Is that right? Now, I don't mean to say if you went
out in the world and you did this and that, but you done something.
You've got to repent and die daily to live in Jesus Christ. So every
day–every day, you've got to die every day to live in Christ Jesus.
When I see something… Many times I do things that's wrong. I'll be
out, and somebody will say something or other, I may say a little joke
about it. Somebody say… Not a bad one; now, I don't believe
Christians tells dirty jokes. No, sir. No, sir. That's not even
becoming Christians, the Bible said. It said to refuse old profane
things like that, and jokes, and jostling, and things like that. No,
Christians don't tell those things; Christians has pure thoughts.

^133-142
But if you don't watch, once in a while you'll have a man… He'll tell
a little joke today. And well, he kinda thought it was all right, and
he'll just let it go by, and not think no more about it. The next day
he tells two little jokes. See? And–and the next thing you know,
you're doing something else. And the first thing you know, it leads
right back to that old same system again. Is that right? Stay away from
the thing. Shun it. And shun that profane babbling.
You let somebody come over… I'll just give you a little example.
"Mrs. Doe, do you know what? I seen your husband. And I tell you what,
that he's a…" See? And a…
Now, just think… Say, "I don't want to hear it." Just walk on. Won't take much of that, and they'll cut it out. That's right.
"Well, you know what, sister? I'll tell you what happened." Or brother, not only sister, but brother too… See?
"Brother, I'll tell you what happened. You know if we could just get
rid of this preacher, if we could do this, or get rid of this deacon,
or we do this." Oh, oh. Just–just–just shun that thing.

^133-145
I think a good little thing you ought to set around on your desk, it's
a little thing I seen down in Florida not long ago. It was three little
monkeys; and one of them had his hands over his eyes and said, "See no
evil"; and the other one had his fingers in his ears, said, "Hear no
evil"; and the other one had his hand over his mouth, and said, "Speak
no evil." I think that's a good thing don't you? Yes, sir. Oh, my.
That's a very good thing.
Just keep your mind pure and on Christ. You can't just say, "Well,
now…" Now, you see, if you don't watch, you'll get yourself over into
a place, if you keep on thinking that… And don't–and don't think
that… You can't live so perfect till you don't make that mistake now.
Now, don't you think you'll ever get that way, 'cause you won't. No,
sir. You're not sinless, and you'll certainly get off on their track,
on this side or on that side.

^134-147
But a man that's once knocked down, if he's a real soldier he'll rise
up again. "Lord, let me rise and try it again." But a coward, as soon
as he sees he makes his first little mistake, he's like I said this
morning: the bug and the water spider will crawl right back in the
water again. See? He just can't stand it.
So refuse all the old–that profane babbling and carrying on, talking.
"Babbling" means "confusion." And the Bible said, "Mark those who cause
contentions among you."
If somebody says, "Uh-huh, uh-huh." Now just–just say, "How do you do?
I'm glad to see you again. Thank you." Just keep on going. That's the
best thing. Don't shun them, but just mark them. Don't pay any
attention, 'cause you see what it leads to.

^134-Q-21 21. Where was Jesus from His–where was Jesus at from His baptism until the three years of His ministry?
All
right, Jesus, when He was baptized, went straightway out of the water,
and the Spirit led Him into the wilderness for forty days and nights to
be tempted of the devil. And was tempted forty days and nights, and He
fasted. He come out. The devil tempted Him when He come out after His
fast. And He resisted the devil by the Word of God, and entered His
ministry, and preached three and a half years, according to the
Scriptures.
Look. Way back yonder in Daniel God spoke and said He would preach
three and a half years and be cut off for a sacrifice during that time.
Just exactly. Foundation of the world He was ordained. That's right.
Matthew the 4th chapter, you'll find that. If it isn't just exactly according to your belief, all right.
Now, that one I don't… Let's see what… Oh, yes. "Where are they…" We've got that awhile ago: "Where are the dead?"

^135-Q-22 22. At–at one time–at one time were we all white or colored? Of the two, which one was the curse put on?
Now, as far as we know, I couldn't tell you whether Adam and Eve
were–were white, or brown, or yellow, or black. I cannot tell you. No
one else knows but God alone, I guess, Who's back there. Now, in the…
As we come all of one language and one people until the tower of Babel,
a confusion. And then their languages went different. And as far as we
know, they were all one people till that time. And they broke up and
scattered in different parts of the world.
And some… You take a animal; you take any life that eats off of a
certain soil, it'll turn that color. I–if there's a hunter here, you
just follow me a few minutes. Go down into Mexico and get the coyote;
take up here in Arizona and get the coyote; you go up in the north and
get the same coyote, and watch the three colors. Get a Gila monster
that's raised in Texas, and get one that's raised in Arizona, and look
at the difference in them (See?), 'cause it's the soil they live in.
See?

^135-155
And now, the Chinese–the Chinese is a–a yellow person, Japanese, and
so forth, and a Chinese. The Ethiopian is a–is a colored man, or the
Negro that we have now. And he went down in those dark countries down
there.
And they–and–and they were… And then the white man was the
Anglo-Saxon people which we are. And–or the–or the people here, what
we call the white people, they come from England which was formerly
called "Angel land." And because they were white, and blond, and so
forth… They scattered up beyond and Norway, and so forth–up in
there. And they all come out of the Anglo-Saxon people.

^135-157
Now, which was first and which was cursed? There was none of them. I
know where you're trying to get to. You're trying to get to Ham. I know
where you're going, to Ham's people.
Now, there was Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Now, Ham, he did–he did not try
to hide his father's nakedness, but laughed and made fun of him. And
God put a curse on Ham for looking to his father's nakedness and not
trying to cover up his shame. And Shem and Japheth backed up and threw
their coats over their father when he was laying naked. And now, God
told Ham that his generation would serve the others.

^136-159
Now, if you thought that was a curse of turning dark, well then, the
Jew's dark also. If you'd think that would be the–the–what we call
the colored man or Negro of this country that's here now, you ought to
go over to India. The Indians are way darker than the Negro. I've been
in both their countries. Here's the–the Ethiopian down there from
Ethiopia, and the African, the colored man that we know today. They're
down there, many of them still in the primitive–in their tribe. Just
about like we was when Jesus come…
The white people was just as primitive as the–the native of Africa is
now, worse perhaps. Remember, two thousand years ago we were naked
tribesmen out there with a–with a bow and arrow and a stone axe for
hunting (That's exactly right.), we Anglo-Saxon people. That's exactly
right. So which was which?
I'll tell you the ones today that's cursed is the one that refuses
Jesus Christ. That's all. The one that accepts Jesus Christ is blessed.

^136-162
Now, you can't say… I'll go up, get the Eskimo out of that land up
yonder. And there he is up there; and that man is darker than the
colored people that we have here. I'll go over to India and get the
Indians; and he is–he's not a colored man, he's really black. He's
blacker than any–just real black color. And he's what is called… And
he's an Indian. Well now, in Africa we get some of the African people
that are… Some of them are light colored; some of them are almost
like white; and some are–are different ways.
You go to Jew; you say all the Jews are dark complected. The Jew is a
brown person, but I've seen a many one red-headed with blue eyes, fair
skin. See?

^136-164
So the whole thing is this: we all come off of one tree. That's right.
And we was all cursed through the fall of Eve. And we're all saved
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen. There it is. So there's
no curse. Accursed is them that does not believe, but blessed are those
that do believe. So there's neither one, friends, the black or the
colored man, or the white man or the yellow man. Them… If the black
man was cursed by being black, then the yellow man is just halfway
cursed. And then the–and then the yellow man–and then the brown man,
he's just two thirds of the way cursed. See? And then, the African's
about four-fifths cursed. And I guess the Indian is really the cursed
then. Oh, my. How nonsense. No. It's the different climates and things
the people lived in. They turned…?… off and so forth. There's
different…

^137-165
Or look at the American Indian. Many of those… The Navajo out there
is a darker race of people than our colored Ethiopian people in this
country: the Navajo. The Apaches are… They're kind of a–a copper
color. And the different tribes… See? So right there amongst the
Indians, right here, you find the black one, and almost… And the
Cherokee is almost as pale as we are, the Cherokee. And there's right
here in this nation, the different tribes. So you see, you can't say
they're half cursed and all the way cursed. They was none cursed
because they're black. They wasn't cursed because they were yellow or
because they were white. There's only one curse that I know of, and
that's unbelief of Jesus Christ. (I know, Donny; it's time for me to
close, but I got two more questions.)

^137-Q-23
23. All right. Now. Where are the scattered ten lost tribes of Israel
(Genesis 44:49), the tribe of Joseph to the many nations? Simeon, Levi,
who had no part–homeland of their own, but are scattered among the
other ten tribes… Where are the ten tribes? Can we locate them?
Yes, sir. They could be located. Geographically they can be located in
the Bible. And God tells us there where they will be in the last days
and what will be their end. And right now, I just read a book, that
down in Israel where the ones was, where they said that one had dipped
his feet in oil and everything, God has got them all located, set out
in different places. And the Jews are all returning into Palestine,
where God promised in the last days that they'd be there.

^137-Q-24
24. One more question: Can–I can't believe that God sent wars as
judgment. I can't believe that God sends wars as judgment. (Just listen
a moment.) I don't believe, as some do, that God placed the sword in
the hands of these butchers from ancient Babylon to Hitler, to slay
innocent women and children among–along with the guilty, to carry out
God's judgment. May God–my God of love would not do… My God of love
(Pardon me.)–do this. Wars are the works of Satan. Please confirm this
confusion.
Now, just a moment. I'd read this just awhile ago, the reason that I
laid this on the bottom. Now, I want you to just hold your peace a
minute. Now, let–let's get this real straight, 'cause this is quite a
question. And it must be approached reverently. Immediately after that,
if you can bear with us just a little bit longer…

^138-168
I know it's getting late, but it's… Remember, what of it? Now, you
used to go dance all night and think nothing about it (See?), set out
in the worldly things, but when it comes to the Word of God over twenty
minutes, brother, we got to get a new preacher. See? It's a shame. Paul
preached all night. I preached right here years ago at two and three
o'clock in the morning. And people'd be walking up and down this place
here just a-praising God at two or three o'clock in the morning. Seen
as many as a dozen at a time receive the Holy Ghost at two and three
o'clock. God have mercy. I wished I could see it again. But we can't;
the day's gone. The day is gone now; she's far spent now. Night's
drawing near and people are… "Well, we just don't care anymore, so…
My, I wish they'd… There's no need… Get ready to go in." And that's
just–just about the way it goes.

^138-169
Wait, I want to ask you something now. Now, I'm going to disagree with
you, brother or sister, I don't know. It was laid here this morning. I
had it in my Bible and was looking at it awhile ago. Now, in a friendly
way… And now, I don't want you to–to–to fly loose at me. I want you
to listen closely.
And we remember, I would just as much like to agree with you on
this–on your decision on this as I did with that woman, poor woman
awhile ago. Said… Her and her husband, they just run off and got
married; and there it was. But she's take a vow; you got to stick with
it. See? And now, I've got to stick with the Word of God.

^138-171
But now, "I don't believe…" But first, "I can't believe that God
sends wars as judgments." Well now, friend, there's only one thing
that's wrong with your belief, and that is, it isn't Scriptural. God
does send war as judgment. That's right. I–I'm going to give you
Scripture; I just ain't going to read it off here and then tell you.
Look, "I don't believe as some do that God placed a sword in the hands
of these butchers from ancient Babylon to Hitler, to slay the innocent
women and children." If I would tell you in the Name of Jesus Christ
that He did do it, and would prove it by the Bible, would you believe
it then (See?), that He did do it, or–and He's going to do it again?
All right. Listen to this.

^139-173
I don't know. This might be my bosom friend setting here for all I
know; for God Who is in heaven knows I don't even know the handwriting.
I couldn't tell you. But I want you to listen this. "My God is a God of
love–my God is love and wouldn't do this. Wars are of Satan." I'll
agree with you that wars is of Satan. That's exactly. He's a prince of
this world. Every kingdom and every nation in this world belongs to
Satan. God said they did in His Word. Satan said, "They're mine." Jesus
admitted that they were his. But He's going to fall heir to all of them
after while, Jesus will. We'll have no more wars then. But God permits
Satan to do this for correction and for judgment.
Now, I want to ask you something just before we start. I want you to
answer me this and find out. If you don't believe that God is a… You
said… that wouldn't do these things. Just to start it right from the
beginning… Now, give me your undivided attention if you can. Listen.
Why did God Himself chastise His own Son and murder Him on the cross?
God killed His own Son at the cross. "Yet it pleased God," said the
Scripture, "to smite Him, and to bruise Him, and to wound Him." God did
His own Son that way to save you.

^139-175
I want to ask about Saul, the great king of Israel. God told him to go
down and to take King Og and everything he had and utterly destroy
everything down there, men, women, children, and everything… And
Saul… Even the cattle to kill it, not to let nothing live… And Saul
went down there and spared some of the cattle. And God took the Spirit
off of him and separated him from Him; he become God's enemy.
Why did Elijah stand there when God give the old King Og into a–Ahab's
hands? And he told Ahab to kill that king. And Ahab refused to do it.
And Elijah the prophet had a sentry to–said, "Smite me with your
sword." You read about… He was a prophet.
He said, "I won't." And he lost his life. Then he told another one,
said, "Smite me." And the man hit him with the sword and cut him. And
he wrapped himself up in disguise and he stood there. And here come
Ahab riding in on his chariot.
He said, "What–what you standing here about?"
He said, "Well, I was a sentry; I was given a care over a man. And he
smote me and run away," He said, "and I let him go. And they told me if
I did, I have to pay with my own life."
He said, "Well, you'll have to pay with your own life."
He unwrapped himself and said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, because you didn't
murder that king down there, you'll pay for it with your ownself." That
right? That's exactly right.

^140-177
Let me read you something here. How about Babylon, when Joshua, when
God sent Joshua over across there, and he utterly destroyed little
babies, children, and everything else. And if he let one thing live…
He wiped everything out. Little Philistine babies, he just destroyed
them. God commanded him. And if he didn't do it, it was his own life.
I'm going to fix it up in a few minutes. God is love, perfect love; but
you don't know what love is. That's why today people don't know what
faith is. God is love. He has to be in love; He's sovereign to His
Word. And He has to keep His Word. He has to love you. And if He loves
you, He's got to protect you.

^140-179
Listen here. You talk about the falling of children. Just a minute, let
me show you something here in the Scriptures, what–what the Bible says
about these things here. Let's get over here and just listen to this
just a minute and see what God said. Now, I'm reading from Ezekiel the
9th chapter, if you want to put it down. Listen close:

In other words, God said to these people, "Now, wait; I'm going to mark
the people first, those that are really consecrated to God." And He put
a mark upon them. He said, "Now, to these men that have the
slaughtering weapons, you go through and don't you spare women,
children, or nothing, but to utterly slay everything."

^141-181
In the antediluvian world in the destruction, when millions times
millions and billions of people was upon the earth, and God sent a old
holiness preacher out by the name of Noah, and preached a hundred and
twenty years, and told them to come into the ark, and all that didn't
come in that ark would be destroyed… And God Almighty, Who had the
controls of the heavens, sent down the rains that utterly destroyed
millions of old people, of young people, of little babies, scrambling
and perishing in the water.
Almighty God, and He's correctly the God of love. Amen, that's true. He
has to. He loves His own. He has to be sovereign to His Word. So not
to–for a controversy, but disagree with you. Your God of love…

^141-183
Here not long ago I was talking… It's perhaps maybe a Jehovah
Witness. The man come up and said, "Brother Branham, do you mean to
tell me that you believe there is a burning hell?"
I said, "It's not what I say; it's what the Bible says."
He said, "Do you mean to tell me that a loving heavenly Father would
burn His children up?" Why, said, "You wouldn't burn your child."
I said, "No, sir."
"Well then, if you as a human has that much love (See how people can
twist the thing around?)–if you as a human have that much love, you
think that a loving heavenly Father would destroy His children?"
I said, "Never." He don't destroy His children, but whose child are
you? God don't destroy His children. He's trying His best to get them
in. But it's the devil that's turned loose will destroy his children.
So God just permits Satan.

^142-185
Look. Who was it that permitted the evil to come down and Satan to go
out and destroy the most perfect servant of God until Jesus Christ, his
children and everything he had–Job? And God sent a wicked spirit out
there and destroyed all of Job's children and everything just to test
His servant. Is that right? Sure.
Oh, I could stand here for an hour and just showing you them, my
brother, sister. That's right, ever who you may be. Don't you get this
Spirit of God mixed up. Wars are God's judgments upon the nations.
Destructions are sent of God. The Bible said so. And God is a God of
love, but God is a God of wrath also. And you're not going to stand
before a loving… That's been the thing that hurt the church today.

^142-187
"Some loving Father, of course He wouldn't mind me doing this." If you
want to do it, you might as well go on and do it, because the love of
God's not in you to begin with.
We're fixing to take Communion just in a moment, and I want this to
really sink in to you. The thing of it is, what is in your heart will
produce–make your life. What kind of a seed you put in the ground will
produce after its kind. How can you take a–a popcorn plant and make
a–a gypsum weed out of it? You couldn't do it no more than you can
take a grain of corn and make a cocklebur. You couldn't make them,
because they're two different natures, two different lives altogether.
The–you–you might take a gypsum weed seed and an onion seed, and they
look so perfect alike till the very best of men couldn't tell them
apart. That's right. The only thing you have to do is plant them. They
both look alike naturally, but plant them. They both will produce; and
one will be a gypsum weed and the other one will be an onion. That's
exactly right.
Say, "Why–what makes this seed–it looks just exactly like
this–produce a different kind of a life?" It's because that kind of
life is in it.

^143-190
And a man or woman that professes to be a Christian and don't live that
kind of life, by the grace of God, is a gypsum weed. By their fruits ye
shall know them. If that thing's in your heart, bears record of what
you are somewhere else. If it's evil, it bears record that you're down
here. When you die, you'll just have to go to where you are already.
If you're good and you're–you're good because God has made you good,
and you're borned again, you're bound to go that way, because that Life
will have to bear record with this place. If it bears record of here,
there's where you go. If it bears record up there, there's where you
go. See?

^143-191
What you are here… Get this in your mind now. I'm going to close. But
what you are here is a sign that you are something else somewhere.
You've always wanted to be in perfection, you Christians. There is a
perfection, and that perfection is not in this life. But every man and
woman here that is a Christian, every person that is a Christian here
now is already glorified in the Presence of Jesus Christ. And you've
got another body. You won't have some other time; you have right now.
Right now there's another body waiting for you if this one should
perish. Could you think of that. Study that just a minute.
Do you know every one of us may be in eternity before sun rises
tomorrow morning? Now, if you're not a Christian, my friend, there's
only one thing left for you. You've got to go that way. If you're on
that road, you have to go that road. If you're a grain of corn, you'll
produce corn. If you're a cocklebur, you produce cocklebur life. Now,
if you've been belonging to a church somewhere that doesn't know and
doesn't teach, and just lets you come to church and be a member of the
church… You say, "Well, Brother Branham, my church teaches that we
must accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. If we believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ we are saved." If your life doesn't compare with
that, you haven't made it yet.

^144-193
Do you know the devil believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do
you know Jesus publicly–do you know the devil publicly confessed Jesus
to be the Son of God? And he wasn't saved. And he couldn't be saved;
he's the devil. So confessing Jesus to be the Son of God…
Do you know all those Pharisees and Sadducees, every one was very pious
and religious people; how they loved God with their hearts, they
thought; and failed to see that innocent One, the Son of God, to
recognize Him to be the Son of God. And yet they was very religious (Is
that right?), very pious, very scholarly, knowed the Bible better than
any of our scholars today. They had nothing to do but set there through
their generations and serve the Lord.

^144-195
Now, look what the Scripture says. "In the last days…" To you, my
Christian friends, and with godly love, the Bible said, "In the last
days men–would come a time when men would be heady, high minded,
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Now, isn't that true?
A certain person in this building went to a New Year's party the other
night, and in the basement they were having soft drinks and recreation
and carrying on, ice cream suppers, and so forth. The churches even
give dances. Just exactly what God told them not to do, they do in the
Name of Christ. And here's what Jesus said for the church to do, and
they deny it. Jesus, here's His last words, His will and testament to
the church: "Go ye into all the world; preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that
believeth not shall be damned. (Maybe that's as far as your pastor
read. But here's the rest of it.) These signs shall follow them that
believe; in My Name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with
new tongues; if they take up serpents or drink deadly things, it shall
not harm them; and if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall
recover."
Now, that's what Jesus said for them to do in His Name. They deny that
that exists, but they go and do just contrary to what He said: teach
that it's passed, there's nothing to it, and teach theology instead.
Oh, no wonder we're in the condition we are.
Looky here. Let me tell you, my brother. When the church gets to a
place that its–that each member in there is so charged with the Holy
Ghost and power, until them signs will follow…

^145-199
I think of St. Paul out there on the isle after the shipwrecked. God
had give him a vision. When the fourteen days and nights… All hopes
was gone they'd ever be saved. And the little, old boat tossing about
like that, and they was all crying, and fourteen days and nights. Paul
was down there, had a vision. He came out, and he said, "Be of good
courage, for the Angel of God, Who's servant I am, has stood by me and
said, 'Fear not, for thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God's
give all those who sail with you.'"
When the ship wrecked and went up on the shores, and they got over
there with the natives, Paul was picking up some sticks, and he went
and laid them on the fire. And in there there was a big serpent,
grabbed him by the hand. Now, that serpent injected poison of that–in
his hand that would've killed him within a minute. The natives said,
"Watch that fellow fall dead, for he'll die just in a minute. He's in
chains for preaching the Gospel."
Religious people put him in chains. The very finest of churches that
day was what put him in chains. If it just wasn't the Constitution of
the United States, they'd do the same thing today. That's right. Just
wait till she's–till she's broke a little more.

^145-202
And a serpent grabbed him through the hand. Now, watch. Paul didn't
fear. He said, "Jesus Christ said, 'If they take up serpents, it shall
not harm them.'" So he walked over here, shaked him off on the fire;
turns around and walks over to get some sticks and put back on the
fire; turned hisself around and warmed his back, and turned around this
way and warmed his hands. The natives said, "Why don't he die? Why
don't that man die? He ought to drop dead?" But Paul was so full of the
Holy Ghost (See what I mean?), so full of the Holy Ghost until the
poison wouldn't poison him.
Oh, brother, give me a church full of the Holy Ghost. God will do in
one year what all theology's failed to do in two thousand years. You
wait till the anointing of the church really strikes home to that
faithful the little remnant. After the doors of the Gentiles is closed,
oh, God will anoint a church then. "He who's filthy, let him be filthy
still. He who's righteous let him be righteous still, and he who's holy
let him be holy still." And God will anoint the church with the power
of God, and things will be taken place. Not only that then, but He's
doing it now.
Watch signs and wonders. And the people look around and saying, "Well,
it's of the devil." Oh, because they don't know the Scriptures, neither
the power of God. And that's the reason it's…?…

^146-205
May the Lord bless you. I'm sorry to keep you this late. I'm very
seldom do this, but I don't get with you very much. So I may not have
answered these questions according to your thoughts and things. That
was two answered this morning. If I didn't, God bless you. And I–I
didn't mean to–or to upset you or something. I just had to say what…
You ask me the question. I give you, the best of my knowledge, the
answer. That's right.
Now, I don't know too much about the things maybe. I don't know nothing
that I ought to know. But one thing that I know Jesus Christ saves us
from sin, keeps us from sin, and gives us His power and His blessings.
And if you'll just notice around and watch what takes place in the
people that's prayed for… Look across the nations and look at the
signs and wonders everywhere. And look at the time coming. Like them
two branches we was preaching on here sometime ago, come up from
Genesis, how they're bearing their records everywhere. How the
unbeliever, very fundamental and dignified in his religion, but having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof… And the church is
moving on.

^146-208
May the Lord Jesus bless each one is my prayer. And may you so live
that you'll become so burdened–may God put on you people so burdened
for lost souls till you can't sleep day nor night. May God grant this
Branham Tabernacle that privilege of becoming so burdened. I don't care
if you never shout, if you never do anything else, if you're just so
burdened for lost souls till you can't sleep. When you do that, the
world will be slipping in here to be prayed for (That's right.), the
world coming to be prayed for. You'll be known everywhere. God give us
of His Spirit, make us humble, break us down, and make us so charged
with the power of God to heal the sick, to cast out devils, to do great
signs and wonders. When you lay your hands on the sick and ask that
blessing without one wave in your heart, you believe that God's going
to do it. Watch that patient, it'll begin to get better, Why? The
evil's gone from us. Just like the tree that was standing, Jesus
looked, and there was no fruit on it. He said, "Cursed be you."
Twenty-four hours later they passed by. Peter said, "Look, the leaves
are already wilting." Something had taken place. God's Word was spoke.
Jesus said, "Have faith in God. For if you say to this mountain 'Be
moved,' and don't doubt it, it'll obey you." Have faith in God.

^147-210 Now, it's Communion time. While we bow our heads I'm going to ask someone to come to the piano.
Lord,
this is the hour, the time that when maybe men and women, Lord, across
the world will see that the great hour of judgment is approaching when
God will judge all nations in their political standings. Everywhere,
every place, and everybody must stand the judgments of God. And,
Father, we're so happy to know that there is an escape of these people
that–who would desire to escape. And that route is through Jesus
Christ, Who is the–the Offspring of David. And we thank Thee, dear
Father, for ever sending Him to the earth, that He was the Medium that
we could go through; He would intercede for us and take away our sins,
that we'd escape the wrath and the damnation of God. We know that the
wrath is to come. And as–as John said in the days gone by, "Flee from
the wrath that is to come."…
Now, Lord, we pray that as we take Communion tonight that You will
sanctify us, Lord, with Your cleansing Blood; and may every sin of
these people be remitted. I humbly and sincerely pray, God, that You'll
not let one of us take it unworthily. For Thou has said in Thy Word, if
we do so, we're guilty of the Body and the Blood of the Lord. Now,
Father, make these people holy and consecrated, that we may take this
without a blemish.

^147-212
And now, Father, we realize the Communion was first given down in
Egypt. And those people who taken Communion, the lamb and the bread, as
they marched out, forty years they journeyed in the wilderness; and
there wasn't one feeble among them when they come out of the
wilderness. They taken the Communion.
God, be merciful. I pray that all the sick will be healed, all the lost
will be saved. And those who are formal and indifferent, may they move
up close to the fires of God, warming their souls. Grant it, Lord.
Forgive us now and help us. We pray in the Name of Thy Son.

^148-214
And while we have our heads bowed, I wonder, as the brother gives us a
little chord on the piano, if there is a person here that would raise
their hand and say, "Brother Bill, I–I sincerely… for a soul's
condition. I–I–I want you to remember me. I–I–I want to receive the
Holy Spirit." Would you raise your hand, say, "Remember…" God bless
you. God bless you, and you, and you, you, and you. God bless you, and
you. God bless you, lady, you, and you, you, brother. My, hands
everywhere. God bless you, brother. God bless you. God bless you,
sister. You, sister, I see your hand. That you want to receive the Holy
Ghost. God bless you, brother.
Don't you want just a little closer walk. Remember, friends, we are
living near the coming of our Lord. Now, God is confirming His Word,
signs and wonders everywhere.
Now, surely that God wouldn't let me go out and be anointed with the
Holy Ghost to perform signs and wonders, come back and preach the Word,
and so forth, and would bless It everywhere, and do these things,
unless He give me some conception of His Word. He wouldn't grant that.
So I do know what I'm speaking of.

^148-217
If you're without Jesus Christ, without the Holy Ghost, may God don't
let you have any rest till you receive the Holy Ghost. Don't be
deceived. Just don't take one of these formal dry-eyed confessions and
say that you got the Holy Ghost. You do not get the Holy Ghost when you
believe. You don't believe to get the Holy Ghost. It's a gift of God.
Paul said, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" So
believe it. And may God grant It to you.
Now, Father, to those who held up their hands, I pray that You'll give
them the Person of the Holy Ghost just now. May He come deeply into
these many, ten or fifteen hands that went up. I pray that You'll give
every one of them the baptism of Thy Being. May they be so filled with
the Holy Ghost, till signs and wonders will take place in their lives,
they'll see all kinds of signs. Like Jesus said, "These signs shall
follow them that believe." Grant it, Father. We humbly pray in Thy
Son's Name, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Brother Neville…