E-1a Him now... Everybody take real good inventory of this (See?); mark it down. I'm only answering them the best of my knowledge by the Word of God. See? And if it isn't answered correctly to your--and you--another question... Why, you're... I'd just love for you to put it back on the platform or something, talk to us about it, or anything that we could do. And maybe Brother Neville and I here, we might see things that we don't just--just agree upon. And as Mr. Baxter, one of my closest associates in my meetings... Mr. Baxter, we been together for years, and a real Bible expositor he is, but he doesn't believe in the millennium.
And I try my...?... use your own mind when you're studying the Bible. If you try to use your own knowledge or your own mind, you'll certainly...?...
E-1b Now, I feel that these...?... These's some of them here, are just little comments, and so forth, and I'll try to answer them first, which I tried to segregate them. And I may have to have this--use the concordance for a little while to get some of this out. And then, in here if I misquote or anything, you just perfectly call my attention (See?), and write me a note, and tell me.
Now, before we try to open this...
E-1c Now, the reason I'm doing this friends, I tell you; it's for a purpose; all of you know that. This meeting was for a purpose. I believe God turned me around in that snow storm yonder and sent me back for this very purpose right here. See? And there's just been a little something wrong around the Tabernacle here for a long time. I want to find it. When I find that, then I'm going to see if I can do something about it. That's right. And I want the church to move along in harmony. And there's just a little something wrong, because you're not progressing. You're getting people saved; that's true. That's wonderful, but you're not progressing the way you should. We ought to be turning out preachers and everything. The message should be going right along.
E-1d I've had our brother pastor out, and we've went through the mill together, Brother Neville and I have. And I--and I want to see if... As one of your pastors, it's--it's my duty. And last evening... Just, when I see anything, it's just in the church now. That's the reason I never advertised this meeting; I just give it out. Just... Why, everybody's welcome; sure we want you to come. But it's just in this church.
And I thought, "If I'll teach on the first night, what the church the day and the age, geographically in the Bible, where we're positionally setting, then the church surely will wake up on that, and then speak on 'The Mark of the Beast,' and let them see what that is, and then 'The Seal of God.' That's the pro and con now; that's the dark and Light now; that's either in or out now; and that's the most essential thing to be taught of now."
E-2 And I tell you, friends, I say this from my heart, before God, humbly, I have never felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit to speak the words that I have in the last three nights. That’s right. But it’s just carried me away. I’d go home, couldn’t even sleep after I got home, just such anointing!
E-3 Now, I throwed these out here in hope that I would find something somewhere. See? Get the—the feeling of the people all on a piece of paper here. If I don’t find this this way, and the Lord don’t reveal it to me, I’ll keep on till I do find it. And God will grant it to me. That’s right. And so then when we find it, it may be just a little, old wedge buried over somewhere, but Achan had one, too. You know, we got to get rid of that thing, then we’ll come right on and move along in the Kingdom of God.
E-4 Now, the Lord bless you. And now before we open up the Word…And now—now, each one of you that has a Sunday school in the morning, of course, you’re…I—I wouldn’t ask you to miss your Sunday school, that’s—that’s your post of duty to your church. That’s right. But, now, if you don’t go to Sunday school, come up and see us in the morning. And then if your church isn’t having services tomorrow night, on Sunday, you’re welcome. We’ll be glad to have you at anytime. And so the Lord bless you. And greet all the Christians for me; I don’t get here very much.
E-5 I was just looking in the room there, a little paper I’ve got wrote in there is still sitting here as a memorial to this church. And I said, “The Lord is calling me away,” and we all cried and wept. I remember the first night I went. You all remember my first call, anybody here? You all took up the money to send me over to St. Louis, where little Betty Daugherty was healed. I stayed…
E-6 Remember, I borrowed somebody’s overcoat here to wear. I didn’t have any coat to wear. And I went over and sit in an old chair car to go to St. Louis. You remember the time? And I borrowed one of the brothers’ coats, it was too big for me, I carried it on my arm; ’cause it was cool and I didn’t have a coat.
E-7 And then we went over, and I went to St. Louis and I met Brother Daugherty there. His little girl, all the doctors around there, and specialists and hospitals, had give her up. She was like a raging maniac. Ministers throughout the city had been…everywhere, in there praying for her. And I went in and prayed for her, and the poor people just looked so gray. And the little girl in there, screaming and crying, fighting.
E-8 And—and she couldn’t make a noise like a human anymore, sounded like an animal, she was so hoarse from…oh, around three or four months. It was spinal meningitis or…no, Saint Vitus’ dance, in the—in the spine. And her little lips was all eaten, bleeding. And her little fingers just bleeding all over, where she biting her fingers, and things like that, and just screaming and going on.
E-9 And I prayed, went down to the church. Waited hours after hours. Sit out in the old car and waited. I wasn’t going to leave that case till I heard from Heaven. And sitting there in the car, a vision broke before me, said, “Go tell the father, and the father…” Said, “You go tell the woman that the other day, downtown, she bought a little, white kettle. It’s never had water in it before.” And said, “Tell her to look in the third drawer and she’ll find a handkerchief that’s in a piece of paper, that’s never been used before. Tell her to fill it with water. Stand the father on your right hand, and the grandfather on your left hand, and repeat, ‘Our Father, Who art in Heaven…’ And as you start that, let her wipe the rag across its face. Then in the middle of the prayer have her touch its hands, then its feet. Then stand and say, ‘THUS SAITH THE LORD!’”
E-10 You know what happened, don’t you? She was healed right there. And we put our hands together and walked down the street and drank a soda pop, together. That’s right. That’s right. It stirred St. Louis; my meeting there, fourteen thousand the first night. That’s right. In St…
E-11 It’s just too bad that I got away from that; to go and just start them coming through a line, just one right after the other one, after the other one. Just go to a house and stay there till it’s over, and return home, I believe that would’ve been better than on the meetings.
E-12 All right, let’s bow our heads while we speak to the Author of this Word, now.
E-13 In the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, we approach Thee, our Father. And in His Name we ask for Divine mercy, that Thou will forgive our sins and trespasses against You. And if there is any sin in this little church tonight, we pray, Lord, as—as a servant standing here, as a shepherd over the sheep…As the Bible said, “Take heed to a flock of which the Holy Ghost has made you overseer over, that you feed them.” And now, Father, I intercede for them, that You will bless them and remit all their sins. Heal the sickness that’s in the midst of the people. And, Heavenly Father, I pray that Your mercies will be upon us now.
E-14 Here laying before me, written on paper, from many homes and many people, lays requests, real deep Bible questions that goes beyond the ordinary schooling. And we need Your help, Lord Jesus. And just picking these up now, walking into the room, having prayer, walking out, separating them here, and laying the ones that should be answered now to one side, and the others that has to go into Scripture, to the other. That’s as far as I know at this time, Lord.
E-15 And I pray that from right now You’ll take up from here on, and anoint Your people here tonight, the lips of the speaker, the ears of the hearer. And may the Holy Spirit come and take a hold of the Word now and move It right into every heart, and may It be received in the spirit of kindness, and may It be given likewise. And may, when the service is over tonight, may we go home, saying, “Did not our hearts burn within us because of His Presence and His blessings?” Lord, not knowing what to say, I commit myself to You with these questions, in Jesus Christ’s Name, for the answer. Amen.
E-16 Thank you, friends, for your reverence. I just want to just show you what many, the most of these questions was.Brother Bill, please carry on through next week.Please stay another week.Please stay a little longer.Brother Bill, please stay next week, a little longer, our souls are hungry for this kind of Food.Does this church teach that the…That just…That fell in there. That’s in the wrong place.I have two boys, age of two…That’s, I got them mixed, I guess, on it. Now, here, I better get that over here, too, that’s concerning a personal affair.Brother Bill, would you—would you like one more week? We would like one more week of this Gospel teaching.My request is that you stay another week. I would like very much for you to stay a little while longer, you know we are always…we can always learn more.Now, will you stay just another week longer, please?Brother Bill, please preach one more week for us. We need this.Brother Bill, my prayer is that God will change your mind and make you stay another week.My question is: What are the flying saucers, and they are something from God sending out for a sign? And I am asking you to stay another week.Please stay another week.
E-17 [Brother Branham speaks with Brother Neville—Ed.]
E-18 Now, here was another one who said I’d…I—I appreciate this asking. And Almighty God Who is my Judge, standing here now in this sacred spot…before I left home, the Spirit of the Lord told me, said this question will be laying on here tonight. I knowed nothing about it, but I knowed it would be here:Is Jehovah Witness a false sect?
E-19 See, somebody…And the Holy Spirit, at the place at the…standing in my bathroom, before coming down here; God, Who is my solemn Judge, told me, “That will be laying on the platform,” and said I wouldn’t “say nothing about it; just go on.” See? So I…You know what I said last night, don’t you? All right, that’s what it was.
E-20 All right, now we’ll start over here on some of these.
E-21 I just don’t like to call right out any certain thing, and say some person or some individual like that. I just like to teach it in a way of just…throw the whole thing together. And—and you understand, don’t you? If I’d stand here and say, “Now, Brother Neville is so-and-so and certain-certain thing”…If I had that to say about him, I’d go up to his house and call him out and talk to him about it. See, I’d—I’d tell Brother Neville.
E-22 But now, here is some questions. Now, I don’t know where to start with, it’s just a group of them laying here. It says:25. What connection did you mean about the Protestant church having with the Catholic church?26. What does “the image of the beast” mean?
E-23 Now, that was one of the questions from last…probably was on the people’s…Now, I’ll try my best, by God’s help, to answer them the best of my knowledge. Now if He will give me knowledge, ’cause God knows I—I just picked them up, here on the platform.Now, what connection did you mean about the Protestant church having with the Catholic church?
E-24 Now, I’ll answer that one first, God helping. I said that the Catholic church was the…We find out that the mark of the beast, night before last, had to come out of Rome. Is that right? It can’t come out of no other country but Rome. There is where it’s seated, that’s where it’s placed. And I said I have nothing against Catholic people, nothing against anyone. We’re all mortals trying to get to Heaven.
E-25 The pope is one fellow who teaches, the archbishop of Canterbury is another, and another, and another, and another; and I’m just one of the teachers, that’s all. They’d teach and say, perhaps, I was a fanatic and I was wrong, and so forth. And I have a right…if I can prove it by the Scripture. Or if they can prove it by the Scripture that I’m a fanatic, then I am a fanatic. But if I can prove by the Scripture that they are wrong in their setup, then it’s wrong; the Scripture is right. And you just have not one place now, it has to come all the way through the Bible, everywhere.
E-26 Now, I said, “The Catholic church was the mother church,” and that’s exactly right. The Catholic church is the mother church, when it comes to church organizations. The Catholic church was the first church that was ever formed, around about…the best history, you have it about a.d. 606, somewhere along in there when the early fathers, the second or third around, of the apostles. They had died out and begin to scatter out in little isms. And the Romans, being converted, the Roman Empire overruled the state, and then church and state united together and started a religion called “the universal religion.” And the word Catholic means “universal.” They organized the church, which was the first time that religion, Christian religion, was ever organized in all the world’s history.
E-27 The Jewish religion never was an organization. It was a free people. They had churches, but they didn’t have an organization. That, God dealt with a nation, not an organization. It was a nation.
E-28 And now. And, then, the Catholic church was the first organization. Then we picked that up in the Bible to find out what that organization was. And according to the Word of God, it was supposed to be controlled by a single man, one man. And that man was to be in a church that was set on seven hills in Rome, according to the Bible. There’s no…And he was supposed to have ruling power in every nation in the world, religious ruling power. There’s not another in the world.
E-29 And—and Communism, we found out, was not no—no antichrist that Jesus spoke of. Communism is—is not a nation, like Russia. Communism is a spirit. America is eat up with it. It’s in the churches, it’s in the people, it’s in business, it’s in everywhere. Communism, the spirit of it, it’s in schools, it’s in homes, everywhere.
E-30 And then—then when they organized this church which was contrary…And now we’ve taken the Seven Church Ages, and prophecy, exactly the way God brought them on through the Bible here to us. And we found out by history and the Bible, that each age come in just according to the Bible, according to history; each one come in just at the time, through the dark ages. And then the Catholic church formed in the Dark Age.
E-31 Then the reformation come on, which is Martin Luther. And Martin Luther had a light, the light that “The just shall live by faith; justification by faith,” in the—in the reformation. A German priest which denied and said that the taking the communion when he held it…And they was supposed to say “this is the body of Christ,” and he threw it on the floor and said, “It is not the body of Christ; it’s a wafer!” And so he renounced the Catholic church, in doing so, and come out in the early reformation. Martin Luther did that, and that was a wonderful move.
E-32 Now, the fault, where Luther made his mistake, Luther organized another group just like the Catholic church did, organized the people.
E-33 Then, directly, a new light come on. And when the new light come on, God moved out with His people. The people that was organized in Lutheran church, they had to stay with their church in order to be with the…That’s just same as the Catholics had to be, but many of the Catholics come out and was Lutherans. Well, then when Wesley come along with the message of sanctification, then many of the Lutherans couldn’t leave their church; but many of them did, and made up the Wesley church.
E-34 Then after justification and sanctification, along come Pentecost. And then Pentecost, many come out of Methodist, and so forth, and become Pentecost because it was a greater light. Now Pentecost is organized just exactly like every one of them!
E-35 Now, the Bible says that…These are flat words, but I’ll read them from the Bible. And you listen to your doctor, or so forth, say this, and I’m your brother teaching from the Scripture. The Bible called the Catholic church “a prostitute, a whore, w-h-o-r-e.” And He called the Protestant churches that followed it, mothers…or they were “harlots of this mother.” And what connection it was, that the Catholic church organized the thing and made all people believe as the light they had then, or what they had then. The Lutherans did the same thing. And the Bible said that she was a great woman of that type.
E-36 Now what is that type of woman? Is a woman that lives and commits adultery. And the churches are committing spiritual fornications with the—with the people. See? They are—they are…Here’s the Bible that teaches This, and they make up a bunch of creeds and so forth that has nothing to do with the Bible. And, for, this is nearly twenty something years I’ve stood right here and asked any minister, at anytime, to come and take…not your textbook, your creed, but come take the Bible, in the Light of the Bible, and prove It wrong. See? That’s right.
E-37 And about contradictions, they say, “Contradictions!” I’ve offered as much as two-months’ wages if someone will show me one contradiction in the Bible. It’s not there. You think it’s there, but it isn’t. If the Bible contradicts Itself, it’s no good at all, you can’t believe it. Every Word is inspired and there’s no contradiction in the Bible.
E-38 Now the Protestant church, in its organization, is (according to God’s Word) connected the same thing with the Catholic church.
E-39 Now, I have nothing against Catholic people. Some of my dearest friends, sitting right here now, is growths of Catholic people. Here, night before last, when I gave a harsh message through the Holy Spirit, on Protestant and Catholic, the Catholic walked right here at the altar and shook my hand. They’re a human beings just the same as we are.
E-40 You can’t discuss with Catholic priests, because they don’t believe this Bible to be all the Word. They say, “It’s the church.” We say, “It’s the Bible!”
E-41 The Catholic says, “We Catholics go to church and worship. You Protestants stay home and read the Bible.”
E-42 I said, “Yeah, you go to church and worship, but what?” That’s the next thing, see.
E-43 Now, but God said He was in His Word. This is God’s Word and I believe It. I’m a Bible worshiper. That’s the reason I disagree with Protestantism and—and the way of—of just church organization, because they teach things that isn’t the Word of God. So I can’t help from disagreeing. I don’t fall out with them; no, sir, they are my brethren. And I don’t fall out with them, but I disagree with them because I have to take what God says and let everything else be a lie. See?
E-44 And now that’s the connection that…And now the Bible said that this woman, the Catholic church, which was supposed to be called, in the Bible, Revelation the 17th chapter, “A whore,” and she was, “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS.” And we see that the Bible said that a woman represented “a church.” So then if she had daughters that’s harlots, it couldn’t been boys; it’d had to be daughters, so it had to be churches. And Protestantism was born out of Catholicism.
E-45 And now the next, beast…Or, the next thing that this says:What does “the image of the beast” mean?
E-46 It’s—it’s a joint question to that, and the person who asked it has a good question. What make now, if…The Bible clearly teaches that the Catholic church is the—the beast. The Bible said that a beast means a “power.” Is that right? A beast, the Bible says that the beast meant a “power.” And the beast was the “Vatican City,” the “Catholic hierarchy.” All right. And, now, that was the power of the church that was the beast.
E-47 Then the Protestant church come out of the Catholic church, and organized themselves, a little power. That is the image.
E-48 If anything…If something was made in my image, it’d have to look like me. If something made in the image of this church, it’d have to look like the church.
E-49 Something was made, a beast…made a image unto this beast, which was Luther-ism, Methodist-ism, Baptist-ism, Pentecostal-ism, Holiness-ism, all them isms formed up into a organization and made an image just like the beast. There it is!
E-50 Now, “Do you say then, Brother Branham, that all Catholics, all Methodists, and all Baptists are going…?” I didn’t say that.
E-51 There is thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of born-again Christians in those churches. But, in their organization, they’re trying to drive them to a creed, and they won’t stand for it. A—a church, when it organizes, it comes under a creed.
E-52 And I have no creed but the Bible. This is God’s Creed, and the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of That, and He brings It on from one Light to another. The Gospel I’m preaching today, if I shall live to see another hundred years, if we would, there will be more Light. Just constantly, It’s always come.
E-53 You used to ride in the ox cart, your great-grandfather, when he went to see grandmother. Dad went to see mother in a T-model. But now we almost go in a jet plane. See, we’re moving on; science, moving on; education is moving on; the Gospel, moving on. And the Bible said they would, said, “They’ll run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” So that’s the joint. That’s the reason there’s…
E-54 The Protestant denominational churches is the image of the beast, because it’s denominated just exactly like Catholicism is. And God never did order His Church to be organized in any age, but has always bitterly condemned it! Now do you get it? [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] Not the people; the church!
E-55 When they try to bring people under a—a light of…Here, what if people tried to get you to go back and start running around in an ox cart? You wouldn’t stand for it; we are living in a better age. That’s the way it is back there. If somebody tried to tell me, “Oh, the only thing you have to do is this, that.” I’m living in another age! I…That’s the trouble with ministers, they’re always looking back.
E-56 Here, a French scientist said, less than three hundred years ago, “If a man would ever make the terrific speed of thirty miles an hour, gravitation would take him from the earth. Thirty miles an hour!” Well, do you think that science would refer back to that today? Far be it! No, sir. They got him going about nine or ten hundred miles an hour. Yeah, or sometimes in a rocket, and then it’s sixteen hundred miles an hour. And still taking him forward!
E-57 Science has taken man forward, more forward, greater things with his mind than what…And that’s the only thing he has, is the tree of knowledge. Farther than the ministers has taken him with His Spirit, which is unlimited. But here is what it is. The science ain’t looking back to what science said a few years ago; science is taking what they got now and moving forward for something else.
E-58 But you ask the preacher; “Well, we’ll see what Moody said about It, we’ll see what Wesley said about It.” I don’t care what they said about It. I know what God said about It now. This is It, and I’m still looking for greater! That’s it. That’s the reason…
E-59 The Bible said, “Three unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the beast.” Do you know what? A “unclean spirits,” said, “like frogs.” Did you ever notice how a frog looks? A frog is always looking backwards, he never looks forward; looking back, always back, look back.
E-60 But the four beasts that had the four different heads, in Ezekiel, was looking forward and they couldn’t go backward. They were moving forward all the time. Everywhere they went, they was going straight forward. See the difference?
E-61 Now, that’s the connection that Protestantism has with Catholicism.
E-62 So you’re always throwing off on the Catholics, but “pot can’t call kettle ‘black.’” That’s right.
E-63 I say, “Are you a Christian?”
E-64 “I’ll give you to understand I belong to the Baptist church.” Yeah. That has no more to do with It than to say that you belonged out here to the…a farm somewhere.
E-65 “Why, I belong to the Catholic church.” That still don’t make you a Christian. Belong to the Baptist or Methodist church don’t make you a Christian.
E-66 There’s only one way to be a Christian. The word Christian means “Christ-like.” And you can’t do it, you can’t work it in yourself, there’s no way at all you can do it. You have to forget yourself, die out to yourself, and let Christ come in and live the Life of Christ in you.
E-67 “Except a man…” Here’s what Jesus said, “Except a man be born of Spirit and of water, he will in no wise enter the Kingdom.” Whether he’s Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or whatever, you’ll have to be baptized in water for the remission of your sins and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or you’re lost. That’s Jesus’ own Word. So now if you’re Methodist, and have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, been baptized in water, Jesus said you’ll enter Heaven. If you’re Catholic and have done the same thing, you’ll enter Heaven.
E-68 But if you’re just holding on to that creed of the Catholic church, or the Methodist, or the Baptist church, you’re still lost. And that’s the reason we got the condition in the world, we got today, ’cause people are just exactly…They say, “That’s against my faith.”
E-69 “Do you believe in Divine healing?”
E-70 “That’s against my faith.” That’s against your church; your church’s creed has got that made up, see, you have to do what the church says. And then you holler at the Catholic; that’s the same thing they do. And that’s the beast and the image of the beast! And the Bible says, “Whosoever took it could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but would be cast out where dogs and sorcerers, and so forth, and would be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy Angels and the Lamb, forever and forever.” Come out of it, friend! Get right with God! Yes, sir.
E-71 And now let me get this. Well, we’ll get them out of the way. Now, someone asked me today; two or three times I’ve been asked it.27. Brother Branham, speaking on “the mark of the beast,” don’t you believe they’ll tattoo a number in your head, or tattoo something on your hand? No, sir! Don’t never look for that.
E-72 It’ll be a boycott! Certainly! “No man could buy or sell ’less he belongs to the confederation of churches.” That’s true. Now, it’ll come like a union, unionizing the thing, bringing it down in unionized religion. Mark my word, it ain’t far off! You’ll see it, she’s just around the corner.
E-73 The reason you don’t know these things, you’re here at home all the time. Follow me over in these countries where Catholicism has the upper hand, one time, and see what takes place. Brother, they tell them all what to do and what not to.
E-74 And here the Bible speaks that the United States, we picked it up in prophecy, come up like a lamb, “freedom of religion,” and directly they united those things together, and he spake like a dragon and exercised the same power the dragon had before him. That’s the U.S.A.! That’s right.
E-75 A minister said to me not long ago, a friend of mine, said, “Brother Branham, God will never let the United States fall, because of the basis of its forefathers, founded on religion.”
E-76 I said, “He let the Jews; sure carried away, and they had a lot better stand than we had.” That’s right. God ain’t no respect of some generation that’s passed; you either walk the line or you’re out of the Kingdom, that’s all. Truly! That’s pretty rough, but that’s good for you. That’s right. It’s the Scripture. And we got, we…
E-77 The trouble of it is, today…Some of you old-timers know this. We got too much Hollywood evangelism. That’s right. Too much of that with a whole lot of racket and carrying on, a lot of glamour and everything like that, and tooting horns, and so forth; and, “Who will stand up and accept Christ as personal Saviour? God bless you, brother, you go to Heaven right now.” That’s a lie! That’s a lie!
E-78 “Except a man be born again!” And if he’s born again, the same Blessing that come to him there will come to him here. And we’ve been through that, over and over, and through the Scriptures in the last week. And find out that in the Eastern people, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Jews, which were an oriental, Eastern people, the Holy Spirit fell with great signs and manifestations. The Bible said there’d be almost a—a time where it couldn’t even tell, like dark or day. It was kind of a cloudy day, plumb on until the last part of the evening. And then the sun would come out a few minutes in the last, evening. “It’ll be Light in the evening.” Is that right? Well, that’s the Western people, the Gentiles, receiving the same Holy Spirit that the Jews received back there, with the same signs and manifestations. That’s it.
E-79 And, course, people, the world’s going to call you a “fanatic, cracked at the head.” The Bible, Jesus said they would do it. You’re a peculiar people, and you are odd because It’s so much different.
E-80 I notice it in my own neighborhood at home, the people there. They, even my little children; we try to keep them clean and live decent as can be, but you can watch the neighbors make a difference in the children. See? They make a difference.
E-81 And I know, I have a way of knowing things (and you know that, you’ve seen it in the meeting), know that the pastors of the city say, “Well, now, Billy’s a good boy, we have nothing against him. But, you see, that’s just a little different class of people than what we are.” Thank God! That’s right. Thank God! That’s the Mark. There is the Mark we’re talking about.
E-82 Look, last night, when the Holy Spirit predicted, nine hundred years before the Jews received the Holy Ghost, and told them what it would be. “The inkhorn, man with the inkhorn writer went through the midst of Jerusalem and set a mark in their forehead.” Is that right? Spoke of It before the church was condemned by God. And Titus besieged the walls of Jerusalem, in a.d. 96, and burnt the city. And there wasn’t one stone left upon another one, according to the prophecy. And, today, the only thing they got left of the temple is an old wall laying there where they heaped up the stones, and it’s rubbed slick where the Jews weep and wail there at the wailing wall, the only thing left of the temple. And the Moslem of Omar stands at the same place.
E-83 And Jesus said, “As spoken by the prophet Daniel; when you see the abomination that maketh desolation standing in the Holy place,” then He’s underlined, in parenthesis, “(let him that readeth understand.)” See? That’s right. There it was. And He told how many day…times it’d be until the Gentiles would be…dispensation be cut off; they trod the walls down, then God would return to the Jews. And we’re right at that time! Here’s the Jews returning back, by the thousands, in the last few years. And you know how we went through it last night, how the Scripture perfectly…just like reading a newspaper, and more plainer because you get more sense out of It then.
E-84 But, however, the Mark that was put on their head was not tattooed. Was it? What was It? The baptism of the Holy Spirit. And what is the Mark that’s going to be for this last day? The Bible said, “The Seal of God was the baptism of the Holy Ghost, for the people in the last day.” Now there’s no… Ephesians 4:30, “Wherefore grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you’re sealed until the day of your redemption.” The Bible speaks. And Ephesians 1:13 says the same thing, many other places, that “The Holy Spirit is the Seal of God.”
E-85 What is a seal? A seal cannot be put on anything until it’s complete. The Lutherans wasn’t sealed, the day of dispensation of grace wasn’t completed; they preached justification. Methodists wasn’t sealed. I’m getting to a question here; we’ll get to it a little—a little later. Not sealed, because it wasn’t completed. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the completion of the works of God!
E-86 He said “There are three that bear record in Heaven: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and these three are One.” You can’t have the Father without the Son, the Son without the Holy Ghost, they are One.
E-87 He said, “There are three that bear record in earth: the water, the Blood, the Spirit, and they are not one but agree in one,” there you are, “in one complete sealing.” Justification under Luther, water; sanctification by the Blood.
E-88 Justification was Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with the…God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Justification by faith!
E-89 Sanctification through the Blood, Hebrews 13:12 and 13, “Jesus suffered without the gate that He might sanctify the people through His Own Blood.”
E-90 Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem till you’re endued with Power from on High.” Acts 1:8, “After this the Holy Ghost is come upon you, then you’ll be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” A Holy Ghost baptism was to last until Jesus returns again! “A little while and the world sees Me no more, yet ye shall see Me for I’ll be with you, even in you, to the end of the world; doing the—the things that I do, you’ll do also.” Through His Spirit working through the Church! He said, “You’ll be made fun of.” Said, “They called Me, the Master of the house, ‘Beelzebub, “the chief of fortunetellers,”’ said, “how much more will they call them of His household now?” Said, “Blessed are ye when man shall say all manner of things about you, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, ’cause great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
E-91 That’s Scripture, see. There It is. So, you see, you just got to have It, friend. Now you’ve got to make your choice; you’re a free moral agent.
E-92 But that’s the connection with the Protestant church and the Catholic church. Together they are both, according to the Bible…who only holds to the church; not Jesus, now, to the church. People in the church that’s holding onto Jesus Christ and praying for God to open up the way and make them… give them Light, that person is saved, I don’t care what church he’s in. That’s right. But if he’s just holding onto his denomination, he has taken the mark of apostasy, which is taking the place of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Contrary! And the Catholic and Protestant, both alike, the Bible said, “She was a whore; they were harlots, her daughters.” Is that clear now? All right.28. So the Holy…Does the Holy Ghost still given by the laying on of hands? The disciples did this, Peter, Paul, and so on, and is it still possible? Paul received It in this manner.
E-93 Yes, dear brother, sister, whoever wrote the—the note. The Holy Ghost is absolutely to be received by laying on of hands.
E-94 Now, many people call me…as I’ve been marked as a Pentecostal, saying I was pentecostal. I never belonged to a Pentecostal organization. I’m absolutely free from all organizations, and by God’s help I aim to stay that way, ’cause I can stand right in the breach and say, “We’re brothers! Come here, let’s come reason together.”
E-95 When I first started back there, by the grace of God…And you people here, and my secretaries and them sitting here knowing, I could be in contact with ten million people, or more, in the world today. What an organization could be started! See? That’s right. But I don’t want a organization, it’s against the Bible. I’m trying my best to get the people to be saved that’s in the organization. That’s the thing. And what influence the Lord has give me with people, I’ll certainly use it for His glory instead of place it on some organization. I’ll put it on Jesus Christ where it belongs. No organization can save you; it takes the Blood of Jesus Christ.But now, in laying on of hands, now, I’m going to differ with…
E-96 Now, you dear Pentecostal people, now don’t fall out with me. But now when you come to a place to say, “We’ll go tarry for the Holy Ghost,” what a word’s been used in Pentecost!
E-97 And I’ll say this by what…not hurting your feelings. The greatest support I have on the field is the Pentecostal people, because they believe the message of Divine healing and the power of God. The rest of them turn their nose up at It.
E-98 But just individuals out of the church, who is predestinated to Eternal Life, they’ll come. That’s all. But those who are not, cannot come; and God said so, said, “They were predestinated to condemnation.” He’s not willing that any should perish, but, being God, He seen they would condemn It. So that’s—that’s all, He foresaw it. And that’s what the foreknowledge of God is, to see those things. And He predicted the Church just where it would be standing right to this very day. And God knew it from the beginning. Before the foundation of the world, He knew the church would be just the way it is today. He knew before the foundation of the world I’d be standing in this pulpit tonight. He’s God; He knows the end from the beginning.
E-99 Now, now, the Pentecostal people has taught…Now, I’ll probably get plenty back on This, but I must be honest if I’ve got to come to the Word. There is no such a thing as “tarrying meeting.” You’ve been in error. Tarry doesn’t mean “pray.” Tarry means to “wait.” After the ascension, after Jesus Christ…the crucifixion, the cleansing of the sanctuary. And after the day of the Atonement, the resurrection…The day of the Atonement, when He was killed, and then it’s forty days until the ascension, and then Pentecost. The word pentecost means “fifty,” it meant fifty days after offering of the Atonement.
E-100 And then after the Atonement was offered, everything had to come out perfect, letterly, geographically, everything just as God said. And Pentecost, it was a jubilee time, when they brought the first fruits of the harvest in and had a jubilee.
E-101 Now, the first fruits of the—of the Church, the Holy Ghost Church, the Church that was to last these two thousand years till Jesus come, the first fruit come at Pentecost. It was ten days before Pentecostal time; it was forty days after the cleansing, after the killing of the sacrifice, until the ascension of Jesus Christ. He said, “Go up to Jerusalem and wait until you’re endued with Power from on High.” Acts 1…
E-102 Acts 2, “And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were in one accord, in one place. And suddenly there came from Heaven a sound as a rushing mighty wind, filled all the house where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
E-103 And then the religious world, on the outside, the great orthodox churches, come up and seen those people staggering and acting like drunk people. And they come up and laughed at them and made fun of them, said, “Look at this bunch of Galileans! They’re all drunk!” See the misunderstanding?
E-104 And to my Catholic friend, the blessed virgin Mary was with them. And if God wouldn’t let her come to Heaven without receiving the Holy Ghost and being like that, do you think you’ll get there anything less, sister? No. So let’s get off our high horse, let’s get off.
E-105 Don’t pay no attention to what the world’s got to say. Look what God’s got to say! This is the Word of God. We have to build it according to this blueprint, ’cause He said to Peter, “Upon this rock I’ll build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against It.” Everything else will take place. It showed the gates of hell would be against It, but it’ll not prevail. And the people thinking they can stop It? You could stop the sun quicker. That’s right. You can’t stop It. God has ordained It to move on.
E-106 Here when I first got converted, even my poor mother back there thought I had gone crazy. My mother-in-law said, “He ought to be sent up to the insane institution.” The preachers of the city said, “He’ll burn down pretty soon.” I been burning a long time. It’s spiritual burning, better all the time. Why? It can’t burn down, It’s God! Instead of burning down, It’s spread around the world now.
E-107 Just the same thing He said when I baptized right down here on the Ohio River, many of you was standing there, twenty-three years ago, right on the Ohio River. That Light, Angel, come right down to where we as at, and said, “As John the Baptist was sent for a forerunner of the first coming of Jesus Christ, your Message will bring the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.” And it’s done it. It’s…He hasn’t come yet, but look what it’s done, it’s swept the world, around. See? And today now, just think, and the—the effort that’s went forth, there’s been literally millions.
E-108 Even the Catholic Sunday Visitor spoke of it, of how many millions that come in around, just of the effort.
E-109 Others hear, they say, “That’s the Truth! I’m ready to sell out right now, to these things of the world, and go preach the real Gospel.”
E-110 And that’s the reason they call us “full Gospel,” they make fun of full Gospel. But, brother, I don’t want a half of nothing, I…it’s got to be the whole thing, to me. If part of It’s good, the rest of It’s good. The full Gospel!
E-111 Now, notice, the Holy Spirit come back there. The pentecostal people waited, “And there suddenly there came a sound from Heaven like a rushing mighty wind, filled the house where they were sitting.”
E-112 Not one time did they ever have to wait after that. While Peter spake these Words to the Gentiles, the Holy Ghost fell on them, even before they was baptized. Is that right? While, Acts 10:49…But while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on…them which heard the word.And they of the circumcision…as many as come with Peter was astonished, because…on the Gentiles…was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then said Peter,Can a man forbid water, seeing that these must…has received the Holy Ghost like we did at the beginning?And he tarried and bap-…commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ!…
E-113 That’s right; no waiting, no tarrying. The apostolic way, God had no set rule; when the heart’s hungry, He’ll give you what you’re hungering for. If you want the Holy Ghost, It can fall on you right now.
E-114 Peter, when he went down to preach, Peter had the keys to the Kingdom. I’ve got a question to get to that in a few minutes. He had the keys to the Kingdom. He opened It up to the house of Cornelius. He opened It up, down to the Samaritans, he opened It up over here; but remember that Philip had went down there and preached to them and had baptized them in the Name of Jesus Christ, and Peter came down and laid hands on them. And, now, he done something, for that sorcerer down there…They had Simon the sorcerer, said, “I’ll give you some money, to give me that Gift, that whoever I lay my hands upon receives the Holy Ghost.” Is that right? Something happened! (Not some of these arch-bishops with their collar turned around in the back, come around and lay hands on them, said, “I give you the apostolic blessing.”) Something happened when Peter laid his hands on them; and when they do yet.
E-115 I’ve seen them just fall like flies like that, as the Holy Spirit strikes them, by laying on of hands. Yes, that is the—the apostolic doctrine of laying on hands. God bless you. If you’re a little different from that, just write me a note tomorrow night. All right.29. If two thirds of the people of the world heard…not heard the Gospel yet, the Word of the Gospel, how much did the…Beg your pardon. It’s wrote with ink, and I’ve been perspiring here and it’s run into it. Let’s see.If two-thirds of the people of the world has not yet heard the Gospel, how can our Lord come now, being they hadn’t heard the Gospel, two-thirds of them?Well, that’s exactly right. I’ll tell you what I think.
E-116 Here not long ago, when Dr. Reidhead, the President of the Sudan Mission, the greatest full…the greatest apostolic… No, I beg your pardon. The greatest fundamental mission in the world, the Sudan mission. Dr. Reidhead, with so many degrees till he didn’t even know how many degrees was upon him, come to my house up there, a little over a year and six months ago. And stood in my house, him and this Hyman Appleman, this Baptist minister which has received the Holy Ghost now and preaching down in Mexico. And he come to the house. He said, “Brother Branham,” said, “do you deal with the Pentecostals?”And I said, “Yes, sir.”And he said, “I’m Dr. Reidhead.”I said, “I’m glad to know you. Will you come in?”He said, “Yes, sir.”
E-117 He set down, said, “I want to ask you something.” Said, “I understand that you was ordained in the Baptist church.”
E-118 I said, “That’s right.” I said, “I come out of it,” I said, “because I couldn’t stand that. I—I believe to preach what the Bible says, not what the Baptist church says. And I have nothing against the Baptist church, they’re just as good as any other church.” And I said, “I come out of it so I could be free.”He said, “Well, of course, you know we are Baptist.”And I said, “Yes, sir.”
E-119 And he said, “I want to ask you something. What about this baptism of the Holy Ghost?” Said, “I’ve been in and seen them kick over chairs and stomp and holler and carry on.”
E-120 I said, “I’ve seen all that, too.” But I said, “Brother, behind it all, there’s a real genuine article of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”
E-121 And he said “Brother Branham, can I receive It?” He said, “I’ve got so many honors!” He said, “I’m a Doctor, I’m this, I got my Ph.D., I got my Bachelor Degree, I’ve got every kind of degree and honorary degrees from all over the nations, and things like that,” said, “and where is Jesus Christ?”
E-122 I said, “Well, brother, He’s right here in the room.”
E-123 He said, “I stood and talked to a staunch Mohammedan, just been educated in America, and I said, ‘Renounce your old dead prophet and receive a resurrected Lord Jesus.’ He said, ‘Kind sir, what can your resurrected Lord Jesus do for me any more than my Mohammed can do?’ Said, ‘Both of them wrote Bibles, we believe it.’ Said, ‘Both of them died.’ And said, ‘And both of them promised life after death, to us, and we believe it.’”
E-124 He said, “‘Oh, but, you see,’” said, “‘we Christians have joy.’”
E-125 “Said, ‘So do we.’ Said, ‘I can produce just as much psychology as you can.’” And that’s right. “He said, ‘Well, look, our Mohammed…You claimed your Lord Jesus raised from the dead.’”
E-126 And Doctor Reidhead said, “‘Why, He did!’”
E-127 “Said, ‘Prove it!’ Said, ‘Prove it!’ Said, ‘You’ve had two thousand years to prove it, and only about one third of the world has ever heard about it.’ Said, ‘Let our Mohammed raise from the dead and the whole world will know about it in two days.’” He’s right. “He said, ‘Our Mohammed never promised us nothing but life after death.’ He said, ‘Your Lord Jesus promised you, and you teachers, that the very things that He did you would do also.’ And said, ‘Let’s see you teachers produce that now, and,’ said, ‘we’ll believe He raised from the dead.’”
E-128 He said, “Brother Branham, I scooted my foot in the dirt like that and changed the subject.” With all those degrees! Why? Where is God in those degrees? God is not known by a Ph.D.’s, and D.D.’s, and L.D.’s, and so forth.
E-129 God is known by simple faith, by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That’s the only way. God in you, till He brings you “a son of God,” changes your nature. And the very same thing, God the Creator Who made all things and spoke the world into existence by His Word, that same Spirit in you, you believe everything God says. And there’s nothing impossible; you believe It.
E-130 You won’t stand back to one little creed and say, “I don’t believe, accept That. I can’t believe God will do this. I can’t believe.” You limit God by your unbelief! That’s it.
E-131 So Dr. Reidhead stood there, he said, “Brother Branham, could a man receive, really, the Holy Ghost?”
E-132 I said, “Yes, sir, Dr. Reed-, you can.”
E-133 He said, “If God knows my heart; and I believe you, knowing; and under inspiration right now, I want you to…Do you believe I’m telling the truth?”I said, “I know you are!”He said, “How must I receive It?”I said, “Kneel.”
E-134 And he knelt there by the old coffee table. I just picked up from up here. The man is sitting back there who fixed it just a while ago up here. Setting there, broke the glass on top of it as he kneeled down. He said, “God, have mercy on my sinful soul.” And I laid hands on him, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost come upon him right there. That’s right.
E-135 And he’s just set that Baptist church afire everywhere now, to all of them in around there. There it is. Yes, sir.
E-136 The Gospel cannot…Jesus cannot come until the…
E-137 Listen! We’ve passed tracts all around over the world. You can’t go to any little corner ’less there’s been tracts passed, somebody coming through there with theology. You go overseas today and call yourself a “missionary,” and watch them laugh at you. Walk into India and say, “I’m a missionary.”
E-138 “Well, what are you going to teach us?” They know more about the Bible then…Some of their kids over there know more about it than some of their teachers here in America knows about it. After all, it’s an Eastern Book. And, remember, they had the Gospel hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before America ever come into existence. Saint Thomas, the great church that he preached in, is still standing today in India. They don’t need any of your teaching, they know all about it. They said, “What are you going to teach us?”“Well, we are American missionaries.”
E-139 “What are you going to teach us, how to drink whiskey? That’s what you all do over there in your churches! Smoke cigarettes? Going to teach us how to divorce our wives, and so forth?” Said, “If you’re going to do that, we don’t want it.” And said, “You’ll come over here with some new theology or something another, you’re going to try to teach us some of the Word, we know more about it than you do.” And that’s right. He said, “But if you’re coming to demonstrate what the Word says, we’ll receive It.” Amen! There you are. That’s the thing they’re hungering for.
E-140 Mark my Word, write It in your pages of your Bible, for It’s THUS SAITH THE LORD, “Remember, when we land in India, you’re going to hear of tens of thousands times thousands being saved.” The Holy Spirit has said It. I’ve wrote It here in my Bible. It’s wrote in tens of thousands of Bibles right here, like the resurrection of the little boy, by a vision that He said. “There is three hundred thousand of them in there.” And you see if that isn’t right! There is how the Gospel is going to be preached just over night. She’ll just sweep like that, from place to place.
E-141 In Africa, where those thirty thousand in only one altar call received God, I said, “Raise your hands and receive the Holy Ghost.” I said, “Don’t wait for some American missionary to come over and teach you to learn the languages in the churches.” And mothers washing over boards, to send a missionary over there and ride around in a nice big car, living on the fat of the land; sure, pass out a few tracts and come back. They don’t want that; proved it.
E-142 I said right here at the Jewish Hospital there, a few nights ago in a meeting with the ministers and doctors, on the subject of Divine healing; I said, “You called me a holy-roller, and you said I had had a nightmare when I told you…the Angel of the Lord.” And I said, “And our own church has sent thousands and spent millions of dollars, of sending missionaries to Africa; and when I got there, they was packing little mud idols, trying to get help from the mud idol, and call themselves ‘Christians.’” And I said, “And what you called ‘fanaticism’ won more souls to Christ in five minutes’ time than our millions of dollars and thousands of missionaries has done in the last hundred and fifty years.” They shut up, that was it! There it laid. I said to you, them man, I said, “Don’t—don’t you try to get educated, just take this Gospel and go on out yonder in the—in the native land where a white man can’t even go, from the diseases.”
E-143 And I’ve got records, right out of the Durban paper, it said, “Even that one old man couldn’t even know which was right and left hand, received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and was baptizing on the average of a thousand a week.” That’s how the Gospel’s going, just in a little bit, It only needs about six months to cover the world. All right.30. Will you explain about Christian—Christian Science?
E-144 All right. I…Here’s…I won’t speak about your religion, my brother or sister, whoever put the question. Christian Science is psychology. (And Divine healing is the power of God!) Christian Science has mind over matter; Christian Science denies the Blood of Jesus Christ. Christian Science…Oh, I got Mrs. Eddy’s books up there, and read them all. See? That’s right, Christian Science denies the Deity of Jesus Christ, and puts Him a “prophet.” Jesus Christ was not a man; He was God! He was Divine! And they think it’s mind over matter.
E-145 If I’ve got a cramp in my arm or in my stomach, or in…or a pain in my head, I got sense enough to know it’s hurting, and it ain’t whether I’m thinking it’s hurting. But I know that God’s power can take it away, not my…me thinking about it. See? So, Christian Science, I’d say this along with the other was asked me, is one of the modern-day isms, and a deep, dark error. That’s right. Not hurting your feelings, friend, ever who wrote it, but I must be sincere. Because you who wrote it, and I, together, will stand one day in the Presence of Jesus Christ to give an account, and I’ll have to answer for what I say. Now, I wouldn’t answer unless I knew. All right.31. Now: When we’re…When we live far from here to attend…We live too far from here to attend the tabernacle. Where do you recommend we attend, assembly ourselves together, seeing that the churches are after the mother church, or, Catholicism?
E-146 My dear brother or sister, whoever wrote it, I wouldn’t tell you what church to attend. But what I would do, this, my brother, sister, I…If you haven’t got the baptism of the Holy Spirit, see, well, you get the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then you go to some congregation where there’s other people who has got the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You got…congregate yourself with them kind of people!
E-147 I seen a man, here not long ago, that was born ten years since he…or, not born, I beg your pardon, it was ten years since he had seen any sight. He belonged to a great church, and he lived at Kennett, Missouri. And he had…he was a—was a shoe cobbler years ago, and went blind. And the man come on the platform, and the Holy Spirit told him who he was and what was wrong with him, told him how long he had been blind, and told him of some little, dirty deed that he had done. He said, “If God will let me live to get there, I’ll make that right.” And, when he said that, his eyes come open; and this very same Bible, he read chapter after chapter out of It.
E-148 He returned to his church and was giving praise. And the pastor told him, “It would have happened anyhow. Why, you just merely got worked up, there was nothing to it. There’s nothing to that stuff, it’s of the devil!”
E-149 I challenge anyone to show me one Scripture where the devil can heal. If you will show me where the devil can heal, I’ll prove the devil is your father; that’s right, if you’ll do that. It’s not in the Words of God. It cannot be proven. And you might…you can want to try it, you’re welcome. But that’s been met by bishops and everything else, brother, so don’t say that.
E-150 Look! And that same man got to, in his heart, believing it. And three months later he was in my services, just as blind as he was in the first place. There you are.
E-151 So keep out of them isms! Congregate yourself with somebody who believes, associate yourselves. The Bible said, “Yoke yourself not up among unbelievers.” “Be ye separated,” saith God. Come out! The Bible said, “Come out from among them, and be…touch not their unclean things, and I will receive you. I’m the Lord Who stands in the midst of the church.” That’s right. Come out! Don’t associate with such!
E-152 But let…get yourself among some church, some good church. Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Campbellite, whoever it may be, it don’t make…Where real true believers are in there, they don’t care what the church creed says, they go there to meet with their brothers and sisters and worship God, together. All right.32. Last night you spoke of “the great multitude that no man could number, from every tribe, nation,” that are—are mentioned in the 7th chapter of Revelation. Did I understand you, correctly, to say that “They are the Bride of Christ”? Yes, you understood me. They are the Bride.
E-153 Now if you’ll notice, just exactly in Revelation 7, he saw the hundred and forty-four thousand. Now, I’m not accusing you of this, my brother, but the hundred…Usually a Jehovah Witness is the one that believes that hundred and forty-four thousand will be the Bride. And that’s an error! John knowed every one of them, and called them by name. They were every one Jews. He said, “Twelve thousand of Gad, twelve thousand of Zabulon, twelve thousand of Benjamin, twelve thousand of Juda.” Is that right? And there’s twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve times twelve…is a hundred and forty-four thousand. Is that right? He said, “All, the children of Israel.” John recognized them.
E-154 Then he looked this way, and he said, “Why, here stood a great multitude that no man could number, of all kindreds, tongues, and nations; stood with white robes, in their hands… and palms, and waving, and shouting, and singing hosannas and…to the King.” He said, “Who are they?”
E-155 He said, “That’s the ones that’s come out of great tribulation and washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. They are before God, and they’ll serve the Lamb in His Temple with Him. Day and night, they’ll not leave Him.” There’s the Bride, see, the Wife, the Gentile Bride.
E-156 Remember, the Bride is a Gentile. He said, “He’ll come and take a people out of the Gentiles for His” (what sake?) “Name’s sake.”
E-157 Now, there’s many young lady in the world. But I’ve taken one woman, and that was Meda Broy, and she’s Mrs. William Branham now. She’s got…She ain’t a Broy no more; she’s a Branham now. See?
E-158 And that’s how it is, you take on Jesus Christ and become a Bride, members of the Bride.33. What are the Latin words over the Vatican City? We want to know how they add up to six hundred and sixty-six, and what they mean.
E-159 Well, it isn’t over…the Latin—the Latin words isn’t over the Vatican City; it’s over the throne of the pope, where he sits on his throne. It’s wrote up there, “VICARIVS FILII DEI.” If you wish to, in the morning, I’ll bring it wrote out, everything, and put it on a piece of paper. And if you want it, why, I’ll bring it to you in the morning. Where you can spell it out in Roman letters, VICARIVS FILII DEI, the word means “Instead of the Son of God”; he is the successor to the Son of God.
E-160 The Catholic church believes that “Peter was the first pope; he was the successor of Jesus Christ.” Which that’s an error! All right. Then they claim that “Every pope following him is a successor; and the pope now, that is now, is a successor of Jesus Christ.” And there it’s wrote up over there, “A successor of Jesus Christ, ‘VICARIVS FILII DEI,’” wrote on there. Take the Roman letters and just write it (X for ten, V for five, and so forth like that), as you spell “VICARIVS FILII DEI,” and draw a line, and you got six hundred and sixty-six. Write it out and find out.
E-161 Now, I got the Facts Of Our Faith, it’s called, in the Catholic church, ’cause my people were Irish Catholic. So I know what I’m speaking of. See?
E-162 And it absolutely is the truth, that’s right, that there… And the Bible said that “He’ll be sitting in a church, or a—a place, or a church that sets on seven hills in Rome, and his power will go to all the world. And he is called the antichrist.”
E-163 And out of that church come forth little churches that was born after that, and said, “She was a whore, and they were harlots that followed her.” That’s right. There you are. Cause they organized in the same thing, and had their creeds and doctrines. Just a little less, not as powerful as she is, but they still have power. And beast means “power.” There you are. So they got, Catholics got the biggest power. The Methodists, and then the Presbyterians, and then the Lutherans, and then the Baptists, and then the so forth, and on down. Them was little, organized powers, “My church! My church! My church! My church!”
E-164 But the true believer says nothing of that. It’s “My Christ! My Christ! My Christ!” That’s the difference. How do you know? The Holy Ghost bears witness with signs and wonders.
E-165 Here’s a little one, kind of a little throwback. I hate to read this, but somebody put it up here:34. You asked the reason why this tabernacle didn’t go on. The reason why, is grounds that some of the deacons deny the gift of tongues and healing. We all know That to be true.
E-166 Let me know who he is, while I’m here on—on this campaign, and that will be quickly removed.35. Please explain if a Christian should observe feet-washing, and baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ (Name) instead of the name of the “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Please.
E-167 All right. I had about three of those in here that asked that same thing.
E-168 Of feet-washing, well, I might as well start on that. All right, now you may different, that’s all right. Let me just read a few, just a moment. Or if you want to read it, get Saint John, the 13th chapter, just a moment. I want to ask you something here. And listen to what Jesus Christ said, Himself, and then I’ll take you on over in the Testament and show you it’s still observed on. Begin at the 2nd verse.Now supper being ended, the devil have…put in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;Jesus knowing…the Father had given all things into his hands,…he came from God, and went to God; (He came out of the Spirit, into flesh, and returned back in the Spirit. See?)And He rises from the supper, and laid aside his garments;…took a towel,…girded himself.After that he poured water into a bason, begin to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter said unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?Jesus…said unto him, What—what I do now thou knowest not…but thou shall know hereafter.Peter said unto him, Thou shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered and said unto him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. (Oh, could you imagine that! All right.)Simon…said to him,…not my feet only, but…my hands and my head.And Jesus said unto him, He that is washed… save…needs…to wash his feet, you’re clean every whit:…but not all.For he knew who should betray him; therefore he said, You’re not all clean.So after he had washed their feet, and had—had taken his garments, and had set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you?You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet;…you ought to wash one another’s feet.For I have given you an example, that you should do to one another as I have done unto you.…happy are ye if you know these things and do them.
E-169 Over in Second Timothy, Paul said, writing to the church, “Don’t let a widow be brought into the church until she has washed the saints’ feet.” That’s right. A feet-washing was observed all through the Bible days. And by God’s help, if I keep my right mind, and God helps me, I’ll observe it till I die. That’s right. It is exactly a commission of Jesus Christ!Now, here is going to be a stinging question.36. Why would a person be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ instead of the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”?I got two or three. Here’s one right here:37. Brother Bill, what is the false baptism that you were speaking of last night, if it is water or Spirit? If it is water, and you said Jesus Christ’s Name, why did Matthew 28:19, it say, “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”? Please explain.
E-170 Now, these are kind of stingy, but I believe I’ve got another one here somewhere, the same thing. Oh, it’s about three places. I’ll try to get to it. Let’s see. Will—will you bear with me for a few minutes? All right. Now, let’s just start now and answer these questions. Maybe we can stem a few of them, and get them maybe (the rest of them) tomorrow; if nothing else, at Sunday school, or some time. But these people perhaps…are asking this, and tomorrow is baptism. Now, whichever way you were baptized, that doesn’t matter to me. But I want to—to tell you the apostolic Doctrine of the Bible. See?
E-171 Now, we found out, last night, that when the Catholic church was organized, that it come out with false communion, saying that “When you receive the holy Eucharist, meaning the holy communion there, you receive the Holy Ghost.” That is not the Holy Ghost; that’s a wafer.
E-172 The Protestant church shakes hands, puts their names on the book, that’s what they call “receiving It.”
E-173 Now, but the real way to receive It was the baptism of the Spirit.
E-174 And, now, the Catholic church brought out catechism. Luther had it, the Methodist church has it, Episcopalians have it, many of the other ones have it, catechism. Many of the traditions of the Catholic church still hangs onto the Protestant church; which forms her right in with it, according to the Bible.
E-175 But there never was a person, ever, in all the pages of the Bible, ever baptized in the name of the “Father, Son, Holy Ghost.” There never was a person baptized in the name of “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” until the early Catholic church. It’s not in the Bible, nowhere! If anybody can find a piece in there, and tell me and show me where one person was baptized using the name of the “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” please show me, for I’ve went through and through and through and through and through It, for twenty some odd years now. And it’s an error! It’s a Catholic creed and not a Bible command.
E-176 Now we’ll find out why, we’re going to your question, dear brother. Saint John…I mean Matthew 28:19. All right, let’s go back over. You turn with your Bible, with me, so you can read with me. This is the place where it’s spoke of. One place in the Bible of…
E-177 Didn’t Jesus say, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established”?
E-178 I can take you in the Bible where It said, “Judas Iscariot went and hung himself,” and, “You go do likewise.”
E-179 I can take you to where Jesus said, “When the Son of man,” which Himself was, “which now is in Heaven, shall come again,” and standing right here on earth. And said, “The Son of man which now is in Heaven,” and standing right here on earth.
E-180 You have to know God to know His Word. You can’t… No wonder you say, “It contradicts Itself.” It’s confusing; because God said He wrote It that way to hide It from these scholars and so forth. And let people get humble at the altar, and God will reveal It to you.
E-181 Now here’s the Scripture, Matthew 28:19, only place in the Bible it ever mentioned these titles.Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
E-182 Now, the way you’re baptized, is, “in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Ghost.” That’s not even in the Scripture! But it is here, “Teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name!” Now look right at your Bible and see if that says “in the names” or “in the Name.”
E-183 Now you say…Now, here not long ago in a meeting, a fellow said, “There’s a contradiction in the Bible!” Said, “I wish you’d explain it to me. Why did Jesus tell the people to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and Peter turned around and baptized them in the Name of ‘Jesus Christ,’ in Acts 2:38?” Said, “If that don’t contradict itself, I don’t see a contradiction!”I said, “Just because you haven’t sought God right.”
E-184 He said, “Brother Branham, does it make any difference if I baptize this way or that way?” It certainly does, and I’ll prove it by the Bible.
E-185 What if—what if Moses…God told Moses, come up to the bush, said, “Moses, take off your shoes, you’re on Holy ground.”
E-186 He said, “Now, Lord, I’m reverent man. My shoes are a little hard to take off, so I’ll just take off my hat.” He never said “hat,” He said “shoes!” And what the Bible says is Truth. Now if…
E-187 Here, this is ten days, this was the ascension. And when Jesus was taken up, He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And ten days later…They went up to Jerusalem and waited in the upper room until the Holy Ghost come. And then when they began to preach and go on…They said, “What can we do to be saved?”
E-188 Peter said, “Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.”
E-189 Then he went to the house of Cornelius, he said, “Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.”
E-190 He went over and found some people was already baptized, said, “You got to be baptized over again in the Name of Jesus Christ!”
E-191 And went down in Samaria and said, “Baptize them in the Name of Jesus Christ.”
E-192 And not one time was them titles ever called over a person. Never! “Now, there’s a contradiction then,” you say. No, it’s not. Just ask the Holy Spirit now, and watch Him reveal It to you. Open your heart.
E-193 Now, don’t hold prejudice. If you do, God can’t talk to you. But if you won’t hold prejudice, say, “I’m looking for really Truth, Brother Branham.”
E-194 If Jesus told the disciples, “go do this,” and they went and done something over here different, and yet God blessed it, and all through the Bible. Now, did they do what Jesus told them not to do? If they did, they disobeyed, and God will never honor disobedience. If He would, He would have honored Eve and stopped the whole thing in the beginning. When God says anything, He’s got to keep His Word; He is sovereign. So then either Peter made a mistake…
E-195 “Oh,” said, “that’s what the apostles said.” One fellow said, “That’s what the apostles said. I’m going to do what Jesus said.”
E-196 Well, if the apostles did what Jesus told them not to do, then what? And if the apostles which wrote this Bible…Paul wrote all these, and Paul was the one made them be rebaptized again. And if Paul wrote the biggest part of this New Testament, then what kind of a Bible have you got written that you’re trying to read?
E-197 Let’s just make it just This. Ask real sensible and see what the Word says. Now, this is for education, for you to know the Word of God.
E-198 Now, if Peter baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ after Jesus telling him to baptize in the name of “Father, Son, Holy Ghost,” he done contrary to what Jesus said. Is that true? Now, there’s got to be something there. Now let’s just find out, and ask the Holy Ghost to show us. Now, the first place, now let’s take—let’s take the first Scripture, Matthew 28:19.Go ye therefore,…teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father,…Son,…Holy Ghost:
E-199 Look down on your Bible and see if that says “in the names of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” Does it? No, sir. Did it say, “in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Ghost”? It said, “In the Name!” Is that right? Well, the “name” was singular. Is that right? Well, which name did He want them to baptize, the name of the Father, or the name of the Son, or the name of the Holy Ghost? He said, “In the Name!” Well, frankly, there isn’t either one of them a name.
E-200 How many fathers is in here, let’s see your hand—your hand. All right. Which one of you is named “Father”? Father is not a name; father is a “title.” How many sons are in here? Sure, every man, every male, they’re sons. Well, which one of you is named “Son”? It’s not a name; it’s a title. Is that right? It’s not a name; it’s a title. Well, which one of you is named “Human”? How many humans is here? All of you. Well, which one of you is named “Human”? There is no such a thing; that’s what you are. The Holy Ghost is not a name; that’s what It is. I’m a human. So neither Father, Son, nor Holy Ghost is “name”; they’re just three titles that goes to one Name.
E-201 Now listen closely. What…Look here! I’ll take this on just like a baby basis. If you said, well, like you was reading a—a storybook, and it said, “John and Mary lived happy ever after.” And you wonder then, “Who is John and Mary?” Well, the only way you’ll ever know who John and Mary is, is go back and read the beginning of the story and go through it. Is that right?
E-202 Well, if Jesus said here, “Baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,” and Father is no name, and Son is no name and the Holy Ghost is no name, what, who is this Fellow? We want to know who He is. Now, the best thing to do… That’s the last chapter of Matthew, the last verse. Let’s turn back to the 1st chapter of Matthew, and the first verses, and start off, find out who this Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is. Now, I just want to do this for the children there, so they’ll get it also.
E-203 First thing, this will straighten out you on your “trinity,” Father, Son, Holy Spirit. [Brother Branham illustrates with three items—Ed.] Now, in the first place, not one place in the Bible was trinity ever mentioned. You find it and show it to me. There’s no such a thing. It’s Catholic error, and you Protestants bow to it. Notice. Now, what is this? I said this is Who? Father. This is Who? Son. And this is Who? [Congregation says, “Holy Ghost.”] Now, the Father is the father of Who? The Son. Is that right? Now, this is Jesus’ Father. Don’t get them mixed up, now. This here is the Father, this is the Son, and this is the Holy Ghost. Is that right? Now, the people put it, “Three different people, three different Gods, three different personalities.” No wonder the Jew can’t understand It! All right.
E-204 Matthew the 1st chapter, starts off with genealogies of Jesus Christ, “Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob,” so on, down like that, till it comes down to the 18th verse.Now the birth of Jesus Christ…
E-205 Here it is, the 18th verse.Now the birth of Jesus Christ…(follow me with your Bible)…the birth of this man Jesus Christ was on this wise: When…his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,…she was found with a child of…(God, the Father?)Did I read That right? What does It say? [Congregation says, “The Holy Ghost!”—Ed.] Found with a child of Who? [“The Holy Ghost.”] I thought somebody said this Man was His Father? The Bible said this Man was His Father.…she was found with a child of the Holy Ghost.
E-206 Now what kind of a child you got? And Jesus plainly said God was His Father. Is that right? God is His Father! Well, what’s the Holy Ghost got to do with it then? If the Bible said the Holy Ghost was His Father, and Jesus said God was His Father; and you said God was His Father, and now the Bible says, over here. If there’s three, two different people, God had nothing to do with it. The Holy Ghost is His Father.
E-207 Now let’s read a little farther.…Joseph her husband, being a just man, was not willingly to make her a publick example, but was minded to put her away privily.But, behold, while he thought on these things,…the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not…take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (not God the Father; God the Holy Ghost!)
E-208 See where your tritheist idea would go to? It would put Jesus a illegitimate child. Certainly. That’s an error! No Scripture for that. Now, you’ll have to admit that God the Father and God the Holy Ghost, is the same Person, or Jesus had two different daddies. Is that right? Of course, it’s right. The Bible said, “The Holy Ghost was His father,” and the Bible said, “God was His father.” Now, which is His father? The Holy Ghost and God is the same Spirit; It’s the same Thing.…all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which…spoken by the prophet, by the Lord, saying,…a virgin shall conceive…and bring forth a child, and they…(this One)…and they shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from its sins.And this was all done, that it might be fulfilled,……and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which is by interpretation, God with us.
E-209 Now, who is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Did Peter do wrong? He done what Jesus told him. That’s three titles.
E-210 I’m a minister, and I’m a father, and I’m a “Reverend,” they call it, a title, but none of that’s my name. My name is William Branham.
E-211 He was the Father, He was Son, He was Holy Ghost. You try to make three Gods, friend; it’s wrong; it’s error.
E-212 There’s three dispensations that the tritheist got mixed up with. God, the Father, was the Spirit that hung over the children of Israel in the Pillar of Fire. Is that right? God was there. Then God was made flesh and dwelt among us (is that right?) in His Son. Now He’s condescending down till He’s come into the heart of man, by the Holy Spirit.
E-213 God is like a three-foot rule, or, a three-foot rule, yes. The first twelve-inches was God, the Father; the second twelve-inches, God, the Son, the same God; third twelve-inches was God, the Holy Ghost, the same God. Jesus said…
E-214 You say, “Well, we got the Holy Ghost in us.” That’s right.
E-215 But Jesus said, “A little while, and the world seeth Me no more. Yet you’ll see Me, for I…” “I” is a personal pronoun. “I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world.” Where’s the Holy Ghost at then? “I’ll not leave you comfortless; I’ll come again and be with you.” That’s it.
E-216 You see, you misunderstand it, friend. It’s one God in three dispensations. The dispensation of the Fatherhood, Sonship, and Holy Spirit, It’s the same God. And when He said, “Go baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,” It was Jesus Christ. And that’s why he baptized in Jesus’ Name.
E-217 Now look, let’s get the baptisms here. The first time baptism was ever mentioned in the New Testament, was John the Baptist. Is that right? I’ll place this up here. You see, you have to get your Godhead straightened out before you can get baptism straightened out. That’s John the Baptist, first baptism.
E-218 Second time baptism was spoke of, was Acts 2:38, where they were baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, at the new church. The second place was Cornelius’s house, or not…I beg your pardon, Samaritans, Acts 7:48 and 49. And Acts 10:49 was where he baptized them at the house of Cornelius. And the next time baptism was spoke of, and calling any names or titles, was over in Acts 19:5.
E-219 Now, when they were baptized at the Day of Pentecost, they were baptized, Acts 2:38, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Is that right? Write it down, look it up.
E-220 The next, Philip went down, two days later, and begin to preach to the Samaritans; and preach to them, and heal the sick, and had a great meeting down there, and baptized them in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter went down and laid hands on them; they received the Holy Ghost.
E-221 Peter went up on the housetop a few days later, was hungry, he saw a vision. God sent him over to the house of Cornelius. And, “While Peter yet spake these Words, the Holy Ghost fell on them,” and they begin speaking in tongues and carrying on like they did at the first place. Peter said, “They haven’t even been baptized yet.” So he commanded them, every one, to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.
E-222 Every person in the Bible was baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. Paul…I mean, John’s disciples wasn’t baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized unto repentance. Let’s turn over to First Corinthians…I mean, let’s turn over to Acts, the 19th chapter, just a moment. And read this just a minute so you’ll see, friends, that it’s not—it’s not…They’re not…the Scripture doesn’t contradict Itself. Look here.And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul…passed through the upper coasts of…Ephesus: he finds certain disciples,He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?…they said…We know not whether there be any Holy Ghost.…he said…then what was you baptized?Oh, they said, we been baptized.Said, How?…said, Unto John, John…He said, John only baptized unto repentance, saying that you should believe on him who’s come…that is, on the Lord Jesus Christ.And when they heard this, they were rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ.…Paul laid his hands upon them, and the Holy Ghost come on them; and they spoke in tongues, and prophesied.
E-223 The great Saint Paul…
E-224 Listen! What if you had been baptized by John the Baptist, the same man that baptized Jesus Christ? A holy man, where Jesus said, “There never was a man born of woman, as great as John the Baptist.” He’s the chief of all the prophets. He led Jesus out in the water and baptized Him right in Jordan. Brother, if I was baptized by him, I’d feel pretty good about it. Is that right?
E-225 But Paul turns around and says, “That won’t work now!” Said, “You’ve got to be rebaptized, again.”
E-226 “Oh, we’ve been immersed, though, Paul! We was immersed by John, right out in the River of Jordan.”
E-227 He said, “That won’t work now. You got to be baptized again.”“How?”
E-228 Said, “John baptized unto repentance. This is for remission of sins, and no other name under Heaven is given among man, only the Name of Jesus Christ.” And they had to be rebaptized, again, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
E-229 And not one place in the Bible, or all the history for the first six hundred years after the death of the last apostle, did they ever baptize any other way but in the Name of Jesus Christ.
E-230 And go ask any Catholic priest that you want to, ask them who changed that, and see what they tell you. Get the catechism and read it; say, “Sure, some of the Protestants will be saved because they bow to our baptism.” They changed it. They say they have the power and authority to do it, and you believe it! That’s what they say, that’s what they claim, that’s what the Protestant church bows to. But, Scripturally, it’s absolutely not one ounce of Scripture about it.They had to be baptized over, in the Name of Jesus Christ!
E-231 Now listen, quickly now, so we get right…I don’t want to hold you too long on these questions. Look, in the day when Jesus come down off the Mount Transfiguration with His disciples, He said, “Who does man say that I am, and what do they say?”
E-232 “Some says Thou art ‘John the Baptist,’ some say You’re ‘Elias,’ some say You’re ‘the prophet.’”He said, “But who do you say I am?”
E-233 And Peter said, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God!”
E-234 He said, “Blessed art thou, Simon—Simon Bar-jona,” said, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. You never learned this in some church, you never learned this in some seminary. But My Father has revealed this to you, and upon this rock I’ll build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against It.”
E-235 Now, the Catholic church says, “It was Peter. They had a rock there, and it still lays under the Vatican City.” And that was in Jerusalem, or in the Palestine. And they said that that was the rock.
E-236 The Protestant church says, “It was Peter who they built the Church upon.” If that’s so, it backslid a few days later. That wasn’t it.
E-237 The Church was built upon the Divine revelation of God. “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, Peter, but My Father which is in Heaven has revealed it to you. And upon this rock, spiritual revelation of the Word of God, I’ll build My Church, and the gates of hell will never prevail against It.”
E-238 That’s where I say, Luther, Methodist, and whatever you are, whatever, Pentecostals, and whatever you are, doesn’t make a bit of difference; when the Church of God moves on, in the power of the inspiration, she’ll move right on and on and on and on. And no denomination stop It, nothing in the world will stop It. “Upon this rock I’ll build My Church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against It.” Spiritual, revealed Truth!
E-239 Now watch now the next, He says, “And thou art Simon, and I’ll give unto thee,” because he had the spiritual, revealed Truth. That’s the reason he knowed the difference between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a spiritual revelation. That’s what you’re understanding tonight, where the Holy Spirit is opening it up to us.
E-240 He said, “Thou art Simon, and I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatever you bind on this earth, I’ll bind it in Heaven. Whatever you loose on this earth, I’ll loose it in Heaven.” Did He say it? Saint Matthew, the 16th chapter, “Whatever you bind on earth, I’ll bind in Heaven. Whatever you loose on earth, I’ll loose in Heaven. And I’ll give you the keys to” (what?) “the Kingdom of Heaven.” What is the Kingdom of Heaven? The Holy Spirit! The Bible said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you…” I mean, “the Kingdom of God,” excuse me. “Kingdom is within you.”
E-241 Now He said, “Some standing here will not see death until they see the Kingdom of God coming in power.” Just a few days later, the Pentecost. See? “Some stands here,” right in that same que-…thing He was saying it. “Some of you stands here,” He had been transfigured, said, “won’t see death until you see the Kingdom of God coming in power.”
E-242 The Bible said, “The Kingdom is within you.” When Jesus rose from the dead, remember, He had on His side the keys of death and hell, not the keys to the Kingdom, that was given to the Church. Now, Peter had the keys. Do you believe Jesus would keep His Word? If He doesn’t, brother, He wasn’t God! That’s all. Now, He said, “Peter, I’ll give you the keys to the Kingdom,” in other words, “to the Holy Spirit. Whatever you bind on earth, I’ll bind in Heaven.”
E-243 Now look what a error they made, go out and forgive sins, and so forth like that. What an error! Let’s see. They put the keys on him. Now, He set his face right straight to Pente-…or right straight to Jerusalem.
E-244 He was crucified, died, rose the third day, was on earth forty days among man, ascended up into Heaven. Told them to wait till they seen the Kingdom of God come upon them, at this time the Father will restore the Kingdom in a spiritual form to them. They went up to the city of Jerusalem and waited there for ten days and nights, and, all of a sudden, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God, come with power upon them. Is that right?
E-245 Now watch! Peter, uneducated, couldn’t even sign his own name (a pope? Yeah, a pope), stood up on a little soapbox or something and begin to preach. He said, “You man of Judaea and you that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and hearken to my Words. These are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it’s the third hour of the day, but this is that which was spoken of the prophet Joel. ‘It’ll come to pass in the last days,’ saith God, ‘I’ll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and on My handsmaids and maidservants will I pour out of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. I’ll show wonders in the heavens above; and the earth below, fire, pillars of fire, and vapors of smoke.’” On he went, and speaking of David and so forth. And when these critics stood there…
E-246 Said then, “Man and brethren, what can we do to be saved?”
E-247 “Oh, be careful, Peter, you got the keys hanging on now.” Is that right? The first Gospel message!
E-248 Jesus, a few days before that, before He was crucified, said, “Peter, I’ll give you the keys. Whatever you bind, I’ll bind it; whatever you loose, I’ll loose it. Now, whatever you do, I’ll recognize it in Heaven.” If He’s a Man of His Word, He’ll keep His Word!
E-249 And here he is standing here, the Holy Ghost had fell for Its first time, and Peter was asked, “What can we do to be saved?”
E-250 “Watch out, you’re sticking the key into the Kingdom for the first time. Jesus told you, a few days ago, the ten days ago, said, ‘Go baptize people in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.’ What are you going to do? But He give you the keys because you had a spiritual revelation! ‘For My Church will be built, and the gates of hell can’t prevail against It.’”
E-251 And take your creeds and dogmas, and whatever you wish to, but it’ll fail miserably (it has been), but the power of the living God shall move on and on, into Eternity. Like a streak of radium, She moves on, notice, without end.
E-252 “Peter, you got the keys. Whatever you do here, God has got to recognize it in Heaven.” Is that right? “What do you say, Peter? What can we do to be saved?”
E-253 Peter said…Don’t go say, “Hail Mary,” there’s no such a thing, do a novena. Don’t come and shake hands and put your name on the church book and have them sprinkle a little water on you; no such a thing. That’s Catholic dogma that the Protestant church is bowing to.
E-254 He didn’t say, “All of you go…Now, Jesus told me, a few days ago, for all of you to go and be baptized in the name of ‘Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.’” Not a man who had spiritual revelation, wouldn’t say that.
E-255 He said, “Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that’s far off, and as even as many as the Lord our God shall ever call.” That’s it. Then the key stuck in and it locked, it locked in Heaven!
E-256 That’s the reason Paul said to John’s disciples, “You’ve got to be baptized over again, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”
E-257 You didn’t know It before, you know It now! Huh! It’s all right. That’s up to you. That’s true. But a tritheist, triune baptism was never recognized in the Church, the New Testament; only in the Catholic church, and the Protestant church bows to it. Watch! Many people would fall out with you for that. But, brother, you’ve got to make your choice.
E-258 Now you say, “Brother Branham, I was baptized in the name of the ‘Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.’ I got the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”
E-259 I don’t doubt your word. I have no reason at all to doubt your word; I believe it. I believe God give them the Holy Ghost, up there before they was baptized at all; but when Peter told them what to do, they went and done it. That’s right. Now you know what to do, that’s right; and if you refuse to walk in Light when Light is brought forth, you turn to darkness. Right! Amen! All right. Excuse me. I don’t want to excuse me for hollering “so be it” to God’s Word. No, sir. I’ll holler “amen” again. That’s right. Yes, sir.Why baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ, Brother Branham? Why do you do that instead of the “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”? Because the Bible teaches that! That clear?Why do you wash feet, Brother Branham? Because the Bible teaches that. I believe in the full Gospel. All right, now.What is the false baptism that you spoke of? That’s it. That’s exactly it. Nowhere…Read back in the Testament and find where one person…
E-260 Now to you dear people, I’m not hurting your feeling, I don’t want to. I ask you to be humble and not…Look at this thing in the face, and see what it looks like. Look at it in the face of the Bible, not in your church or some foolish, silly thing somebody has got puffed up in their head, but look at God’s Word. Sure!
E-261 Do you think that God Almighty would give me the ministry He’s got around like this, with supernatural signs and things which has never been seen since the New Testament, and let me walk in error like that? Certainly not! And, brother, when I come back from overseas, I’m putting the biggest part of my time not on Divine healings and miracles but preaching the Word of God. That’s exactly right. Truly. Now let’s see.38. Does this church teach that you have to speak in tongues to receive the Holy Ghost?
E-262 No, sir. No, we don’t. Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Ghost, see, not the Holy Ghost. It’s a gift. This Tree bears nine manners of fruit. Is that right?
E-263 If you look on a apple tree, got apples, you say it’s a apple tree. Look on a tree, it’s got pears, you say it’s a pear tree. No matter if it’s got sycamore bark on it, and got pears on it, the life of it is what? The life of it is pear tree life. Is that right?
E-264 Now, this Tree of God bears nine spiritual fruits. Is that right? All right. There is all different…Said, “One is given teach-…knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues,” nine different spiritual gifts grow on this Tree of God. Is that right? Well, now, just speaking in tongues isn’t the only one, there’s others in there, too.
E-265 Now you can speak with tongues and still not have the Holy Ghost. Now, just remember that. I’ve been right…I’ve seen witches and wizards come up speaking in tongues, and they ain’t got the Holy Ghost. You know, I’ve seen them come up shouting and jumping, and they ain’t got the Holy Ghost. I stood in the corn-dance here not long ago, out…and a little up piece from Douglas, Arizona, up there. Seen that corn-dance when they have it up there, and that wizard come out there and carried on terribly, and everything, carried on and throwed dirt over him there. That didn’t mean he was saved. The man was a—a witch doctor.
E-266 I stood in India…in Africa and seen witch doctors come up and challenge me like that, with their enchantments, and even drunk blood out of a human skull. That’s right. You better know what you’re talking about when you face that. But I’ve seen the power of Almighty God bind that man till he couldn’t move. So then, his eyes glassy like that, and they pack him away. Yes, sir.
E-267 Brother, God is real! That’s right. But God is a Spirit, not confined only to speaking in tongues, or this, that, or the other. I say that any man that is…That’s the trouble in the church here. See, you…Pentecost went wild on that one thing. They got down to the people…Instead of—of laying hands on them, and them receiving the Holy Ghost, they got them down at the altar and begin to beat them on the back and holler, “Say it! Say it! Say it!” And say a word over and over, till they got confusion and not tongues.
E-268 If a genuine Holy Ghost person is born of the Spirit of God, he’ll live a godly life. Some of them man was living horrible lives, and you know that, and their fruits proved that they wasn’t. Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” And the fruit of the Spirit is not speaking in tongues, that’s a gift of the Spirit.
E-269 Peter never said, “Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, ye shall receive the Holy Ghost.” He said, “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” when they heard these tongues and people speaking. It’s one of the Holy Ghost gifts that they receive. Amen. All right. Got to hurry.39. I have two boys (one, two; and one, five), and they have been sprinkled. Should they be baptized by immersing?
E-270 Well now sister or brother, whoever you are, that’s up to you. I’ve got a little girl…My little boy, Billy Paul, was sixteen years old, and I baptized him in the Name of the Lord Jesus right here. My little girl was eight years old. She come to me and got up on my lap, and she said, “Daddy, I want to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I—I want to be baptized.” And I baptized the little girl at eight. When, if them little kiddies want to be baptized, baptize them. If they’re not, why, if they’re…just go ahead, that’s up to you, whatever the Lord said.40. Will only those who have the baptism of the Holy Ghost be in the Rapture of the Church, or will all believers be indicated?
E-271 We ain’t…we haven’t got time to justify that. But, brother, only the Holy Ghost Bride will be in the Rapture. See? The Bible…?…the others won’t be lost.
E-272 Look! Who’s going to judge the earth? Saints. Daniel said, “I saw Him, come to the Ancient of Time, and—and He came with ten thousands times ten thousands of His Saints.” Is that right? The Rapture, the Church had gone on. Then they come down, and the Judgment was set.
E-273 And the Books were opened. Is that right? And another Book was opened, which was the Book of Life, the sanctified believer that hadn’t received the Holy Ghost.
E-274 Didn’t Jesus teach that ten virgins went out to meet the Bridegroom? And five of them…or all of them were virgin, pure, holy. And they, these, went to sleep and didn’t get the Holy Ghost; and these got the Holy Ghost and had Oil in their lamp. And when the Bridegroom come, the Voice come, shouting, they said, “Oh, let us go in. Give us some of your Oil!”
E-275 He said, “Go to them that buys, pray up, get It now.” But they couldn’t. And while they was gone, the—the virgins went into the Wedding Supper, and they were cast into outer darkness, where they were weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Didn’t Revelation, last night, in the 12th chapter, night before last, teach that the red dragon spurted water out of his mouth to make war with the remnant of the woman’s Seed, that had faith in God and kept the commandments of Jesus Christ?
E-276 To you women, when you lay down a pattern. It’s a nice piece of goods, the same goods in it, but you take like this and lay your pattern just the way that you’re going to cut it. And then you cut it. That’s up to you. But you take the goods that you cut, to make your garment out of, and the rest of it is used. It’s just as good a goods as the rest of it, but by election you have chose that. Is that right? The rest of it is just as holy and just as good, and just as expensive as the rest of it, but that was your choice.
E-277 And God has promised that we are going in the Rapture by election! And the Bible said, “And the rest of the dead lived not for one thousand years.” Is that right? So only…You’ll not be lost, but the Holy-Ghost-filled Bride will go in the Rapture. The rest of them will come through Judgment; while They didn’t.41. If you are supposed to be baptized in Jesus’ Name, why would Jesus say in Matthew 28, “Be baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost”? That’s just what I just got through explaining, that one.
E-278 All right, are you getting tired? I know you are.42. But doesn’t God have respect for the baptism of the “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”? Isn’t there people being baptized in the name, in these names, have received the Holy Spirit? Did Jesus come to glorify the Father? Wouldn’t this baptism be recognized?
E-279 Yes, Jesus came to glorify the Father. Look in Saint John the 14th chapter. I’m just about…I got…If you’ll just wait just about three more, we’ll have it over, I believe. Look, then we get some new ones tomorrow, then, ’cause I’ll really get some back from tonight, I believe. Notice, this is church, though, this. We’re going on.
E-280 Look, Jesus come to manifest the Father. Look, in the beginning, God made man in His Own image. Is that right? Well, what is God? A Spirit. Saint John the 4th chapter, Jesus speaking to the woman at the well, He said, “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.” Is that right? If God made man in His Own image, what kind of a man did He make then? A spirit man.
E-281 In Genesis 2, there was no man to till the soil, and God made man out of the dust of the earth; not in His image, but in the image of animal life. And He put the spirit of man in this animal man here, and he become a living soul. Now, that’s the difference between the man and the animal.The animal don’t build automobiles, and he doesn’t do things like to help his living, and so forth like that. He’s an animal, dumb brute. He hasn’t got a soul. He can’t read and write. He can’t talk, speak. He’s a dumb brute.But a man is in flesh like a brute, but he’s got a soul of God in him, which makes him immortal. And he can invent…Look what he can do! He’s almost on the equal with God, because he’s a son of God even in his fallen estate. He’s wonderful! Look at him! See? That’s it.
E-282 Then when man fell in flesh…And if God sent another individual besides Himself down, He was unjust. The only way God could justly do it was take the man’s place Himself.
E-283 What if I made Brother Neville die for this woman here? What if I made this woman die for this woman here, if it had been that I had the rule over you? I could not be just and do that. If I pronounced death, and want you to live, I’ve got to take your place to justify you.
E-284 And then God, Who was in the image of Spirit…without image, rather. The Bible said, “God is without form.” All right. Then God had to take on form, and He overshadowed a virgin and created in her a blood cell, without sex or anything to do with it, and created a blood cell that developed into the Son of God. And God came down and dwelt in His Son, Christ Jesus, making Him God on earth.
E-285 When, Saint John…Thomas said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
E-286 He said “I’ve been so long with you and you don’t know Me?” He said, “Why sayest thou, ‘Show us the Father’?” Why, He said, “When you see Me you see the Father. I and My Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me.”
E-287 A lady here not long ago, I was talking there, jumped up, said, “Oh, Brother Branham,” said, “I know what you mean. They are one, sure they’re one.” Said, “You and your wife are one, too. That’s the kind of one they are.”
E-288 I said, “I beg your pardon,” I said, “they’re not.” I said, “Do you see me?”Said, “Sure.”I say, “You see my wife?”Said, “No.”
E-289 I said, “There! Then they’re in a different kind of one than what me and my wife are.” See? I said, “That’s right.”
E-290 Jesus said, “You can’t see Me without seeing the Father.” Certainly not! It’s the second part of the three-foot rule, the same rule. It’s God. Jesus Christ was either God or the greatest deceiver the world ever had.
E-291 Listen! A woman said to me not long ago, said, “I’ll prove to you,” a Christian Science woman. Now, Christian Science friend, be reverent just a minute, see. They said, “I’ll prove to you that He wasn’t nothing but a man.” Said, “You put too much bragging on Jesus.”
E-292 I said, “If I bragged day and night I could not give Him what coming to Him.” I said, “No wonder…”
E-293 Why, Isaiah tried to name Him, he said, “He’s Wonderful, Counsellor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” All of that! “He’s Alpha, Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” “In Him dwell the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” said the Bible. The fulness of God was in Him!
E-294 She said, “I’ll tell you, when He went down to pray for Lazarus, to raise Lazarus up,” said, “I’ll prove to you He was just a man.”
E-295 I said, “Let’s see you do it!”
E-296 Said, “The Bible said, ‘He wept.’ And that proves that He was a man, He could weep.”
E-297 I said, “Sure, that was the Son that was weeping.”
E-298 He was a God-man. He was a triune being just like I am, you are; we’re soul, body, and spirit. He was Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in the Deity of God; that’s Who He was. He was Deity Himself! How could He do anything there when the…His own children crying for His blood? If it had been something else…That was His Own children crying for His blood; no wonder He wept for them. How would a man…and His own kids crying for His blood, how could He feel? Either condemn them to hell forever, or give His life; He was God giving His life for His children! Deity dwelt in Him! That’s Who He was.
E-299 The woman said, “Looky,” said, “Rev. Branham, I’ll prove to you! When He wept, it proved He was a man.”
E-300 I said, “Lady, He was a man when He was a pray-…or when He was weeping, that’s right. He was a man when He was weeping, but when He straightened His little frail body up and said to a man that had been dead four days, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And a man had been dead four days, and rotten, and the skin worms crawling through him, corruption knew its Master and the soul knew its Creator, and a man that had been dead four days stood on his feet and lived again! That was more than a man!”
E-301 He was a man when He come down off the mountain that night, hungry, looking around over a tree for something to eat. He was a man when He was looking there for something to eat on that fig tree. But when He took five biscuits and two pieces of fish and fed five thousand, that was more than a man! That was God in there! The one Creator Who could take cooked fish and break it off and it was still cooked fish, took baked bread and break it off; what kind of an atom did He let loose? Hallelujah! He was God, the Creator of atoms and all things! That was more than a man!
E-302 He was a man when He was out there on that boat that night, after preaching all day and healing the sick, so tired, till ten thousand devils of the sea swore they would drown Him. That little old boat out there, bumping around like a bottlestopper, the great waves flashing from place to place, and Him laying, so tired till the waves didn’t wake Him up. The devils was a roaring, said, “We’ll get Him now while He’s asleep.” But when He awoke, woke up there, He was a man, He was so tired. But when He put His foot on the brail of the boat, looked out and said, “Peace, be still!” and the winds and the waves obeyed Him. That was more than a man! That was God, the Creator Who made the Heavens.
E-303 No wonder the apostle said, “What manner of man is this that even the winds and waves obey Him!”
E-304 That was more than a man. That was God. He was a man when He was tacked at the cross as a Sacrifice, to take away sin. He was a man with nails drove in His hand. He was a man with thorns over His head. He was a man with mockery soldiers’ spit on Him. He was a man was bruised, striped, and wounded. He was a man! He was a man when He cried, “My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?” He was a man crying for help. But on Easter morning when the seals of death broke loose there at the tomb, that was more than a man! He proved He was God.Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;Buried, He carried my sins far away;Rising, He justified freely forever:Someday He’s coming, O glorious day!Oh, mid rendering rocks and darkening skies,My Saviour bowed His head and died;The opening veil revealed the wayTo Heaven’s joys and endless day.
E-305 No wonder Eddie Perronet screamed out:All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!Let angels prostrate fall;Bring forth the royal diadem,And crown Him Lord of all.
E-306 That’s that great Person, the Lord Jesus. He was Jehovah, God inveiled in flesh. The Bible said, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in His Name.” The Bible said, “The whole family in Heaven is named ‘Jesus,’ and the whole family on earth is named ‘Jesus.’” Let’s pray in His Name, live in His Name, teach in His Name, die in His Name, buried in His Name, baptized in His Name, resurrect in His Name, go to Heaven in His Name. That’s His Name, and His Bride is named “Miss Jesus.” It’ll take a people out of the Gentiles, for His Name’s sake.
E-307 And I’m not a oneness. No, sir. You trinitarian people get that away from you. I am not a oneness. No, sir. I’m not a oneness, neither a trinitarian. I believe what the Bible says. That’s correctly. Amen. Whew! I get too much on one. What was that? Did I get it out? Or, let’s see, what was it? Oh, yes, that’s right, about the…how the Father was in Christ. He was a man, He was a God-man.43. Does not the Pentecostal church baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Some of them.44. If a person dies without the baptism of the Holy Ghost, will he be lost?
E-308 No, sir. If he’s a believer, he’ll come in the resurrection, the second resurrection. He’s got the baptism, he’ll go in the first resurrection. Now, you have to almost take my word. If that ain’t satisfying, then you—you ask me, I’ll give you Scripture. Cause, I’m trying to get this two or three more here, then we’re finished.45. Brother Bill, does the Bible say anything about gambling?
E-309 Yes, It does, but I can’t call it right now. I know the soldiers gambled for His garments, and so forth like that, but I can’t say.46. Will you explain First Corinthians 15:29?
E-310 Get it for me in there, if you will, Brother Neville, First Corinthians 15:29. We’ll get it.
E-311 Now, and maybe tomorrow I can get that for you again. Like the…That letters, how it’s spelled out, “VICARIVS FILII DEI.” If you desire it, let me know.47. Will the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39 be fulfilled before the Rapture?
E-312 I think not. I think the next thing we look for is the Rapture of the Church. And then that, “when Gog and Magog comes down,” is the Russian armies who comes in at the…
E-313 Look, Mr. Bohanon used to be the superintendent here of the Public Service Company, a very fine Christian man. And he talked to me one day, he said, “Billy, I tried to read, and I tried to ask my pastor to explain Revelation.” Said, “We got over there and we got It all mixed up.” Said, “John must have been eating some—something that night and had a dream.”I said, “Mr. Bohanon, shame on you.” I said…He said, “Well, no one can understand That.”
E-314 I said, “Not no natural man, but the Holy Spirit can reveal It.”
E-315 He said, “Well, looky here, Billy.” He said, “The Bride was standing on Mount Sinai. And here was the water spurted out of the mouth of the dragon, to make war—war with the Bride. And the Bride was in Heaven at the same time. Figure that out!”
E-316 I said, “Mr. Bohanon, the only thing that you got, you’ve got three different things mixed up, calling it the ‘Bride.’ You are calling the hundred and forty-four thousand, who stood with the Lamb on Mount Sinai, the ‘Bride.’ They were not. You’re calling (the one spurted the water out of his mouth, to make war with) the remnant of the woman’s Seed, which was not the Bride; that was what was left. The Bride was in Heaven; the hundred and forty-four thousand there; and the nominal Christian going here through the persecution. And that’s right.”
E-317 Read, brother, now if you have it. [Brother Neville reads First Corinthians 15:29—Ed.]:Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
E-318 Now, now, brethren, there’s one—one people that believe that, they baptize for the dead, that’s the Mormon. And I been in their temples, many time, they’re a very fine people. And you may be a Mormon, now. I am not trying to hurt your feeling. But, my dear friend, you can’t be baptized for your father; that’s the act he had to do. “The way the tree leans, that’s the way it falls.”Paul, speaking here, was talking of “the dead,” Jesus Christ, “if the dead rise not, why are you baptized in Jesus Christ’s Name then if the dead rise not?” See what I mean? Then you’re…He said, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, if the dead raise not.” But he goes ahead and glorifies God for the resurrection of the dead. And we are baptized to Jesus Christ, unto His death, burial, and resurrection. That’s why we’re baptized unto “the dead.” All right.I believe, now, this is just about one more after this one.48. Brother Bill, please tell me how to—to obtain the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It is by prayer, surrendered life, accepting It as we do healing? I know what it is to have faith for healing when you prayed for me here. Do you pray and lay hands on, for the baptism of the Holy Ghost? I was baptized in the name of “the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Please tell me if I should be rebaptized in the Name of Jesus, as you spoke recently.Now, my dear Christian friend, I’m not telling you what to do. I’m only laying the Scripture down. And you know what, how the Holy Ghost can come right now while we’re speaking. The Holy Ghost is a gift of God. See? That’s a gift of God. It could come while we’re speaking. And I’ll tell you, when…If the people was taught right,…Some of you old-timers here, let me ask you something, you old-timers that’s been in the tabernacle. Watch when I baptize people. And you ministers take this for an example. I’ve taught those people till they had that life cleaned up before they went to that water, and I had them believing that God was obligated to keep His promise; as soon as they was baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit was right there to receive it. And when they come up out of the water, they received the Holy Ghost. That’s right. If you just…
E-319 Shepherds, teach your sheep, get them in the Bible here. [Brother Branham pats his Bible—Ed.] Get away from that old textbook of some church, and get down here in the Bible where God taught, and you won’t have those troubles.
E-320 Yes, laying on of hands is how we can receive the Holy Ghost, by some anointed person laying on of hands.49. Brother Bill, it is…Is it out of order for someone to get up and give messages in tongues while the preacher is giving the…out the Word? This person’s got three questions here.49b. And the other one is: Also, is it out of order to do likewise when the altar call is being made?50. Third, third one: Also, it is out of…Is it out of order for someone to stand up in church and reprove a minister for something he has said or done during service, and him behind the sacred desk? All these things has been done at the tabernacle several times.
E-321 Now, let me get to this right quick now, this pertains to the church now. I…Now, to you strangers in our gates, I’ve got to give the church a little spanking now, so you—you just kind of hold off for a minute, see, if you will.
E-322 Listen, my children! Those gifts are wonderful. Nobody knows how I appreciate you, and I love you with godly love. But those gifts can be a harm to you if you don’t use them in the right place.
E-323 Look at people today, fine man out on the field, praying for the sick and charging money for it. That’s wrong. If a man’s got faith for healing and praying for the sick, he ought to be gentleman enough to pray for people without money. Thank God! Brother, I want to say that, not for myself, but for the glory of God, not one time have I ever taken money from people, or anything like that; and turned down, literally, a million, five hundred thousand dollars, in one offering. And you know it; was right here, the paper. See? That’s right. It’s not for…When you do that, you’re going to lose your faith out yonder with God.
E-324 Now you people that speak with tongues and has got gifts of tongues, God bless you. You are needed in this tabernacle. I want you here. But, now, the—the thing is in order, don’t never do it while the preacher’s preaching. If you do, you’re out of order. See? You mustn’t do it. For the Bible said, “The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet.” And when a man is preaching, he’s got the floor, he’s got the audience, the Holy Spirit is going to speak through him. When he’s finished, then is the time for the message, you see. So don’t get out of order; if you do, then you interrupt and you’ll—you grieve the Holy Spirit with the message that’s going forth.
E-325 Here not long ago, I was in a meeting up here somewhere in Washington, many thousand people were sitting there. And my manager, which is a real Bible expositor, he was standing there speaking on Divine healing, anointed, the Holy Spirit was speaking. A lady raised up and begin to speak with tongues, and he waited just a moment, then he started on. The Holy Spirit begin…grieved, you could see it amongst the people. He started to speak again, and she raised up. He said, “Sister, sit down, in the Name of the Lord.” Said, “You’re out of order.” And the ministers took her over there and let her know.
E-326 Now, what it is, those gifts are in the world, they’re in the church now. The gifts are in the church, but the poor little children get those gifts and don’t have the teaching to know how to control it. If you’d miscontrol it, you’ll do more damage than you will good. See?
E-327 Just like a man going out, praying for the sick and somebody getting healed, say, “Now, you ought to give me a thousand dollars for it.” Now, he’s done more damage than he has good. Been better if the man went ahead and died instead of bringing such a reproach upon the cause of Christ.
E-328 Now, when you…When the pastor or the evangelist, or whoever it is, is preaching, hold your peace. Paul said to do that, you see. Now, and then he said, “You may all speak, one by one.” That’s true enough. And he said, “I would that you would all speak with tongues. That’s good.”
E-329 But you can’t speak with tongues unless you have the gift of tongues. And no doubt at all but what there’s many gifts of that in this church now. There’s many gifts of it over here in the Methodist church, there’s many of it over here in the Baptist church, if it was only preached so the gift could go to operating.
E-330 How? If you put seed in the ground and don’t cultivate it, what’s going to happen to it? See, it’ll lay there in dry dust, and rot; it’ll do no good. These gifts have been in the church all along, but just now the water’s begin to fall, the pentecostal rain, to water it and bring forth fruit. Now, use it in the right place.
E-331 Now, it says, well, I believe the next question was there, the person asked, said:When the…when they’re giving an altar call?
E-332 No, I wouldn’t think then. If you noticed, and take Corinthians and read it, some of you here, if—if you got gifts of speaking in tongues, then you watch. In the Bible, when they had…after the service was over, the blessing of God come down upon the congregation, then they begin to speak, then they begin to magnify God. And, every time, is a direct message to somebody. Not…You have to watch that now. See? It isn’t just something in fleshly. It’ll be a message to somebody, for somebody to do something, or something to edify the church. It’ll be something to glorify the church.
E-333 There is where the Pentecostal people has brought reproach to their name. The very name Pentecost, you can mention it and the people will just walk away and say, “Nonsense,” because they’ve seen a lot of carrying on; which, the people being in sincerity but wasn’t taught.
E-334 Paul said, “When I come to the Pentecostal church over there,” said, “I’ll set it in order.” It’s got to be in order, and everything must be done orderly, just as the Spirit ordered. So he said, “Now, if come in, and all of you begin to speak in tongues; and the unlearned comes in, he’ll say, ‘Well, aren’t you all mad?’; walk out.”
E-335 That’s just what the Pentecostal church do. He said, “Now, in the stead, if one of you prophesy and reveals the secrets of something, (one of you to be a prophet, in other words),” he said, “then won’t the people fall down and say ‘God is with you’?”
E-336 Well, how could I deny the gift of speaking in tongues when I’d have to deny the gift of prophecy, I’d have to deny these other gifts? Now, the most of the churches, the big churches, the Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, and so forth, they think if a man speaks in tongues he’s a devil. That’s blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which there’s no forgiveness. That’s what the Jews done, made fun of the people with the Holy Ghost, and were condemned and lost, for it. Correct! Didn’t Jesus say, “If you speak one word against the Holy Ghost, it’ll never be forgiven you in this world or the world to come”? So be careful; you don’t understand, sit still.
E-337 And you people who has got the Holy Ghost and called into offices, teachers…Now, could you imagine…here’s me standing here trying to teach, and here jump a man up, side of me, and start teaching right at the same time, another man standing out here singing a jubilee song? Well, what a confusion!
E-338 Well, that’s the way it is about speaking in tongues. Let it come orderly, just as the Spirit will give it, you can speak with tongues.
E-339 Now you say, “Well, Brother Branham, I can’t help it.”
E-340 Oh, yes, you can! Paul said you could. He said, “If there be one of you, among you, who speaks with tongues, and there be no interpreter, let him hold his peace.” No matter how much it wants to speak, hold your peace. That’s a gift, brother. I—I pray, God will let me have a revival here some of these days so we can get into them things for you, you see. Where you can see it’s a gift, and that gift wants to operate all the time. See? But you’ve got to have the wisdom of the Holy Spirit here to know when and how to operate that gift. And that…
E-341 You say, “Well, glory to God, the Bible said when the Holy Ghost is come you don’t need any teacher. He’s the teacher Hisself.” Oh, brother, how can you be so little to read the Scrip-…Why did the Holy Ghost set teachers in the church, then?
E-342 Say “I don’t have to have anybody to teach me. The Holy Ghost teaches me.” It does, through a teacher. He set teachers in the church.
E-343 He said, “Are all teachers, are all apostles, are all gifts of healing?” The Holy Ghost set these things in the church, and He operates them all, and each one of them operates orderly.
E-344 Now it’s just like my foot; one of them say, “I’m going this way,” the other one say, “I’m going back this way.” Now, what are you going to do? The hand said, “I’m going to go up,” and the other one’s going around this way. What kind of a shape is the body going to get into? See?
E-345 But, now, if the mind here says, “Foot, move forward, both of you. Hand, you go with them. Head, you stay straight. Arms, you do the same,” everything walking in harmony. Now, when I get there, I haven’t used my arms. Now, the foot’s done its duty, the pastor’s through preaching; now, arms, you do your duty. See? See what I mean?
E-346 Well, what if the arms was reaching out like this, “Oh, where’s it at? Where’s it at?” and the feet preaching? See, you’re not there yet. See, hold your peace, arm; it’ll be time for you to be used after while; wait till you get over there. See what I mean? That’s the gift, that’s the gift of the Spirit in operation.
E-347 I love the Lord. Don’t you? Amen. Listen, I know one thing I can say for you, you sure got patience; twenty minutes after ten. Now, friends, look here like this now. I…This is the best of my knowledge. I have to hurry through a big bunch of them like that. If I…If you don’t agree with that, don’t fall out with me. You be my brother, see. I love you, and I only say these things because that is in my heart. That’s what I believe, and that’s the way that I explain it, and that’s the way I bring it, is from the Bible.
E-348 Now, if you say, “Brother Branham, I just don’t believe it that way.” That’ll be perfectly all right, see. We’ll never think any difference, we’ll just go right ahead as brothers and friends.
E-349 And—and if you say, “Well, I—I believe if I belong to the Methodist church or Baptist church, I’ll be saved anyhow.” All right, brother, that’s perfectly all right. I’m still calling you “my brother,” because you believe Jesus Christ. See? That’s right. So we’re going to be brothers and friends just the same.
E-350 But I’m just laying down to this church, this few days here, the Doctrine that this church stands for. See? That’s what the church stands for! And if there’s a deacon here that doesn’t believe in the baptism in Jesus Christ’s Name, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the gifts of the Spirit being manifest, that deacon, right here while I’m standing here, doesn’t deserve to be in the church until he gets made right. That’s exactly right. And the board ought to see to that. Exactly! This church is not controlled by deacons; this church is controlled by the Bible and the Holy Ghost, alone. Yes, sir. Now, so them things, we believe that’s the Doctrine of this church.
E-351 We don’t have any membership at all. There’s nobody a member here, but everybody comes is a member, for we believe that we’re all members of one Body by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
E-352 And we constrain you, my dear Christian brother or sister, to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost. If you’ve already received the Holy Ghost, after you have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, God bless you! You say, “Brother Branham, what should I do about it?” The question was answered. I can only say like Paul said, you must be baptized over!
E-353 Now, look here, Acts. Let read this, Galatians 1:9. Write it down, you that’s writing it up. Paul said, this same man that said this, he taught this thing. You believe that now? Is that right? Paul had told them they had to be rebaptized again in the Name of Jesus Christ. And Paul said, “If an angel from Heaven…” Galatians 1:8, “If an angel from Heaven would teach you anything else besides This, let him be unto you accursed.” If he’s a archbishop, if he’s a pope, if he’s a minister, if he’s a prophet, if he’s a reverend, if he’s an angel from Heaven, or whoever it may be, he said, “If they teach anything else besides This, let him be unto you accursed!” Is that right? And he repeated it again, says, “As I have said, so say I again: If they teach anything else but This, let him be accursed!” Is that right?
E-354 So the Lord bless you. I read it from the Word, and you make your decision.
E-355 Now how many loves that good old song:My faith looks up to Thee,Thou Lamb of Calvary,Saviour Divine;Now hear me while I pray,Take all my guilt away,And let me from this dayBe wholly Thine!
E-356 I want to ask you something, you in this church. As a dying man preaching to dying man, realizing that this may be the last sermon I ever preach; and I try to preach every sermon that I do, like it was my last one, as a dying man to dying man. Now ask you, my brethren, and my fellow citizens of this community and country, do you really feel that you need a closer walk with God after these services? God bless you! I as a…your brother, speaking to you, my sincere prayer is, to you, that you will receive this closer walk with God.
E-357 And may, at the Day of Judgment, when these nights that I’ve been preaching, there’ll be as—as a great tape recording played on that Day, and my voice will come out, and I’ll have to stand there and give an account, for my words will either bless me or condemn me at that Day. And that’s been my words for the last twenty some odd years, as a little boy of about twenty years old, preaching the Gospel, and I’m forty-five now. And I’ve never changed It a bit, because I couldn’t change It as long as the Bible stays that way.
E-358 I’ve rooted It into bishops and everything else, and I’ve never seen one yet that could speak contrary to It, according to the Word. They say…Well, now, I…This priest, here a few days ago, he said, “Rev. Branham, we don’t take the Bible; it’s the church, to us.” So you can’t talk to that man. But if you’re going to base it on the Bible, that’s different. See?
E-359 I pray that God will…Every one of my Catholic friends in here, and every one of my Protestant friends, and even… They’re no more…If any…I—I just love every one of you. And God knows whether that’s true or not. Watch in the prayer line, when the blind—blind and lame, It doesn’t say, “Catholic.”
E-360 Here sits a man right here on the plat-…right here, a Catholic, dying with cancer, eat up; he come to my house, and the Holy Spirit come upon him, healed him of that cancer. He never told him whether he was Catholic or not; I never said a word to him. He come over, was baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Ghost. There sits the man right there, a businessman in Louisville. Yeah. See?
E-361 It don’t ask whether you’re a Catholic or not. It’s whether your heart is hungering after God. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Is that right? Amen. The Lord bless you.
E-362 How many knows this good old song, Blest Be The Tie That Binds? How many people here over forty years old, raise your hands with me, and say, “I remember the old song, from forty years, Blest Be The Tie That Binds”?Blest be the tie that bindS
Our hearts in Christian love;The fellowship of kindred mindS
Is like to that above.
E-363 Don’t you like them old songs? Listen, I want to say this, if we had more of those old songs instead of so much of this carrying on that we do have, I believe the church would be better off. I like those good, old songs that was penned by the Holy Spirit.
E-364 Them old-timers, I used to remember, an old colored man, used to sit out behind the house, down there in the mountains of Kentucky. When he’d get weary, he’d sit on that old—old log and he’d beat his hands on the log. I remember him just as well, had a little rim of white hair around his head. He’d sing that old song, an old song:I will arise and go to Jesus,He will embrace me in His arms;In the arms of my dear Saviour,Oh, there are ten thousand charms.
E-365 Not much melody to it. How many ever heard that old song? My! That’s fine. Listen. [End of the recording—Ed.]