E-1 Why, good morning, friends. It's a fine morning and a good time to be here. I'm happy to be alive this morning and to be here at--with the congregation again. There's so many things can happen in such a short time. And we don't know what time that we're going to be called upon to answer up at the big court, and we want to be prepared at any time; so we can have peace.
E-2 And I'm very grateful as I said... 'Course I was here Sunday night and was speaking to the people; I preached Sunday night, and I want to thank Brother Roberson and all you all called in about enjoying that message of Sunday night, "We Have All Things." And so I--sometime... I didn't think I was going to speak, just come down and looked at Brother Neville (and his throat kinda like a bumblebee down there), and I thought, "Poor brother, if he sure calls on me tonight, I'm going to help or do everything I can." 'Cause I know what that is when you're tired and hoarse, and he'd preached hard that morning; and so, I--I spoke for him Sunday night. And so we're--we're... I thank you very much.
E-3 Now, there's many requests, they say, for prayer; and so let's just remember them first, all these requests. Let's bow our heads now.
Our heavenly Father, it is written that we should enter Thy assemblies with thanksgiving upon our hearts, make our requests known in the assemblies of the saints. And we have many of them this morning; so many, that we don't know how to call them to Your attention, but You know them. And there's many that was not spoken of; You know them also. So we pray with all of our hearts, as we did last Sunday night for Sister Shepherd's and Brother Shepherd's child. There when in the...?... of a...?... Come back, the Holy Spirit said, "She does not have no polio; she'll be all right." What a satisfaction we have when we hear from You.
Now, we're asking this morning that You will grant these requests for the sickness, for the bereaved home, for the loved ones, and all that's been spoken, Father; we pray that You will remember each one. And I offer My prayer and the prayer of these people before Thee, gathered together and sent to You in the Name of Jesus Christ. Hear us, Father, we pray. Amen.
E-4 I want to thank each and every one of you all for your prayers for me while I... You know, I had a little explosion down on the range down there. And Satan tried to kill me and--and... 'Course he couldn't do it; God wasn't through with me yet. So he just can't do it until it's all over. When God's finished, then I'm ready. But I--my good friend, Brother Wood, down there; it's just the mercies of God or he'd just found from here down and not from here up with about a five or six ton explosion that close to my face, like that. Never hurt me a bit. See? Scratched my face up a little, so that about it; it's all gone now, just one little spot left there.
E-5 So I want to thank Brother and Sister Dauch over here, Brother Brown, and them, who I understood by telephone conversation that they gathered together a group of people and prayed for me. And now, that just is something, does something to you. You know, you pray for others and everything, and then when you find out that somebody's praying for you when you need it, that means a whole lot. And I know many of you didn't call in or anything, but you did just the same. And it means a whole lot to us. And that's the reason that I--it didn't hurt me. God let me be well, and so I'm very grateful.
E-6 Now, I have some announcements just before we dedicate these little fellows. Now, tonight there's service at the Tabernacle, and all you that come here at the Tabernacle, come right to the service here. And so we're--I'm going to speak for Brother Ruddell tonight up here on the highway, one of our visiting brothers. Then as soon as I get back, if I have another night, I want to go to Brother "Junie" Jackson. And then I--that Brother at Sellersburg, we owe him a night up there. And so we want to go up to see him. The Brother over at Utica... Getting in these nights as we can...
This week I leave for Green Bay, Wisconsin, as you know, to the regional convention of the Full Gospel Business Men.
E-7 Next Sunday I'm at that high school that I--up there, that I was the last time there. I forget the name of that high school auditorium. What is it? Mather? Stephen Mather (Yeah, all right) High School auditorium. And then, Monday I'm in a convention over where I held the discussion with that ministerial association in Chicago the last time there. We're in that place for a--a farewell meeting to Brother Joseph Boze, who's going to Tanganyika (Tanganyika I believe he calls it), and Kenya, and Urban and--and through there, making arrangements for my oncoming fall meetings and--in Africa and through South Africa. And then, we ask you to remember us in prayer in these meetings.
E-8 Then we return back... Now, I don't know whether I have time to get another day at the Tabernacle or not, before we go then up to North Carolina, and then from there to South Carolina, and then all the way over to the Cow Palace in Los Angeles at South Gate. And there's where I hope to get to go and see Mr. Weatherby, the one that made the rifle that the shell exploded in.
He didn't--have the headspace backed off too much and let the shell push back, instead of go forward. It was an old rifle; I just sent to him, and he had it bored out then, and made into a different kind of a rifle. And I put the shell in it, and raised up to shoot, and it, well, it blowed the gun fifty yards around me like that and melted in my hand. The barrel went out on the fifty yard line; the bolt went plumb back behind the deer cage, thirty, forty yards behind me, and pieces of shrapnel flew and knocked bark off trees and everything else. So that was that close to my eye, just about one inch, where it went off like that. And if it'd blow... And that gun will stand sixty-nine hundred pounds of pressure itself without blowing. So you can imagine how much was on it to do that. And you remember, if it'll blow that, it could've blowed my head and shoulders too. You see? But there was the Lord standing there. It didn't even let it hurt me; just scratched me across the face, and a little shrapnel went in below the side of my eye, made a ring around the sight, so it didn't touch the sight where the shrapnel went in. One of the big pieces that stuck in the skull went around the eye and didn't get in the eye. So... Oh, my.
E-9 Not long ago you remember, I told you He met me in the room and said, "Do not fear, for the never failing Presence of Jesus Christ is with you forever." So that proves it, that He is.
A doctor that looked at my eye in Louisville, he said... They wrote back to Doctor Sam Adair down here, our friend, and said, "The only thing that I can say, that the Lord was setting there that morning with His servant to protect him, or he wouldn't even have head and shoulders left." So He was really good to me, and I appreciate that. It brings me a little closer; it always makes a little different.
E-10 And then, two days after that, three days, after I was going on to my meeting, where I had scheduled in Canada, the man, without knowing anything about this, called me back and had to postpone the meeting. See? I'd have been on the road out there if the thing hadn't happened like that. See? And so then, call back, and I have to take the meeting, the Canadian meeting; and that will be in July, the last weeks in July. Then I'm going on to Dawson Creek, then to Anchorage, Alaska, the Lord willing.
Now, none of these meetings I have any leadings to go to, not a one. But I can't think of setting here all summer, setting around here, and people dying everywhere. I got to sow seeds wherever it is, no matter what. If it don't come up, if the birds of the air get it, if whatever it is, I want to sow seeds, 'cause He give me some to sow. So I--I'm going to sow the seed anyhow.
E-11 Now, we have a time here... Now, many people, what, they call, "baptize" little babies in the Christian faith. Well, that's all right. If you do that, that's up to you. 'Course they don't really baptize them; they just sprinkle water on top of them. But to me, I like to stay with just what the Bible said do. Therefore, just what the Word said, that's what I want to do, just whatever It said. And now, I--I don't find any place in the Bible... In the Old Testament they brought the children for fleshly circumcision, the little males, and the mother offered a offering for purification: two turtle doves or a lamb. But in the New Testament the only place that I can find to commemoration of this great service of... It was a dedication. They brought infants to Jesus, and He picked them up in His arms and blessed them. That's what the parents did of His day. And His life was an example of what we should do. See? These things He did for an example.
E-12 Now, we just take the little ones, and they bring them to us, and we just hold them up to God, and ask God's blessings upon them, and pray a prayer of dedication from the mother and father to God, as they present their child. And dedicate them in the Name of Jesus Christ, until they're old enough to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. And now, He said whatever we do in word or deed, do it all in the Name of Jesus Christ. So--so that's what we wish to do.
E-13 And now, while the sister will play softly this little song, sister, we have here, "Bring Them In"... And the mothers and fathers that's got these little babies that's never been dedicated to the Lord, if you'll bring them now, while the congregation, we sing softly to them now...?...
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring the little ones to Jesus.
E-14 I love these little fellows. There's something about them that's so sweet.
I guess this is strictly an Italian...?... All right. The Italian band, must be the ones that have to be dedicated...?... some Italian...?... So this is the Italian band...?... friends. What's his name?
Jonathan David, what a beautiful name. Now, Jonathan David...?... He said his pa had a--had an Italian name and he had--he wanted his baby to be named a Bible name. You know, there was a great Italian in the Bible by the name of Cornelius one time, you know. And he had a band, and he was good, and he gave a alms to the people when he being a Gentile, yet you know the story. And one day a Angel came to his house, told him to send down for a man who knew the program of God. And he... You know the story. While he had those people in such respect of God, while Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on them. I pray that this baby will be the same type of man, same name.
Jonathan, you, Jonathan, look here, Jonathan. My, what a little lump of sugar for this family. Let us bow our heads. Our heavenly Father, years have passed by as the story that I've just quoted of a great man named Cornelius, who was a good man, righteous, paying alms and loving God. An Angel of God came to the house of that man. O God, we give to You this morning little Jonathan David. I pray, heavenly Father, that as I have taken him from the arms of his mother and father who is presenting him to You, I offer this prayer of dedication of this child's life for a life of service to You, a blessing to the home, a great stepping stone to the church. Grant it, Father; I give to You little Jonathan David in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
God, give you His grace and help to raise him in the admonition of God. Bless you, Jonathan David.
Now, this one... My, he's quite young or is it she? He? My, another preacher coming though. What's the name? Micah... Micah? I'm speaking on him this morning. Micah Edward... Edward? That's a fine name. Now, my wife could do this a lot better when it comes to holding him, 'cause I'm always afraid I'll break them when they're little. See? What a sweet little thing, them little eyes just looking around. He's so little. How old is he? One month old... Let's bow our heads.
Heavenly Father, this young couple again walks up here to offer to You the results of their union of life You have given them to raise in the admonition of God. Bless this little Micah. God, I pray that You'll make him a man like Micah in the Bible. Grant it, Father. And give to him the blessings of God; bless his father and mother, and make him an inspiration here on earth of a great stepping stone for the cause of Christ. And now, here, Father, I present to You from the arms of the father and mother to the arms of God, little Micah Edward, in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
May the Lord bless him, especially his father and mother to raise him in the admonition of God. I believe it's...?...
E-15 Oh, I just love little fellows. Just every one that... Each one is the prettiest baby in the world. There's just no need... When I brought little Joseph home, that was, honestly, the ugliest little fellow I ever seen; but his mother and I thought he was a doll. But that's the way it is, you know; that's the... We just think that.
E-16 I'm wondering this morning, some of our members here, there was a... (Now, this eye has belladonna in it, which blurs a lot.) But Sister Nash asked about Brother Nash. I wonder if he got all right. Is--are they here? Oh, well, yes, he's here. Praise the Lord, Brother Nash; that's--that's good. Now, Sister Edwards, is she here--the--or Sister Shepherd, that had the little sick girl? She's all right now. Fine. I got the news, and the thing was just about five minutes till I had people out of town for interview. I run in the room and prayed, and they said the child was taking polio, arms and legs was stiffening. And I run in to pray and said, "I'll come after church," tell--told Loyce to call back and tell the lady I'd be there after church; if she wanted me, to call me. And when I went in to pray, the Spirit said, "That's it, no polio; she'll be all right."
E-17 I come down... Well, we all had prayer here at the church. That just settled it. [Brother Branham has conversation with lady in congregation--Ed.] Yes, ma'am. Praise the Lord. Prayer changes things.
Say, he isn't here this morning, is he--son-in-law? Yeah.
E-18 Last Sunday, last time I preached here, Sunday a week, there was a young fellow set here; I kept looking at him. I thought, "I ought to know that chap." And come to find out he was my old schoolmate's son, Jim Poole. Why, we was raised together from little boys, up. He's the one that I had the shotgun accident with that time, and then later on had one himself, and a friend of mine. I trust that I can lead that boy to Christ. I tried his daddy so hard, and I believe I will yet, will bring him in. I hope I can lead that young fellow... He had a... I looked around at him; he looked like he had a fine (what I call it now; don't make this remark to anyone else, but) vibration of his spirit, a good feel; I believe it wouldn't take too much to lead that boy to Christ. So let's pray for him. That's right.
E-19 And Brother... Let's see, somebody else that was sick or something that I'm trying to think of...
However, we pray for all. And when sometimes, when you send a request, remember, as soon as I get it (My wife's in the building somewhere, I think, so she knows.), as soon as I get a request, right straight to my den room I go to prayer and stay there till I feel something. I just don't give it up.
E-20 The other day when Sam, Dr. Sam picked that stuff out of my eye (he was trying to), and it hurt him so bad, he had to put a towel over my face, said, "I can't see my buddy's blood," said... And I was bathed in it, you know. He said--he said, "I just can't do that and work on it." See? And so he pulled that out, and the next day he was in the hospital. So I prayed for him, and he come out all right. And then the second day, his wife, they didn't even know what was wrong with her, thought she was taking polio (See? You see?), and prayed for her; and now, she's home well. So we got in the room, Doc... We went in the office, and he--we pulled the door together. Said, "Now, Brother Bill, I'm going to ask you something." Said, "Will you pray for me and Betty?"
I said, "Let's--let's pray."
E-21 So he's the one that the Lord showed the vision where to build the clinic. You--you remember the story. If you ever doubt it, go by and ask him sometime. Yeah, just said, "Just let anybody come in." Said, "I've told it to ten thousand people."
E-22 [Man in congregation says, "Brother Branham!"--Ed.] Yes, Brother. [Man in congregation testifies, "For those here this morning and to put more faith in others' hearts, Easter Sunday morning you called out a precious soul here, the third one which was a man. You said he was from Seymour, and you said through the anointing of the Holy Ghost, "They call you Bill." I know the man; I know him very well. And after we left here, his name is Isaac. They do call him Bill.--Ed.]
E-23 Yes, sir. See, his actual name is Isaac, but they call him Bill. The Holy Spirit makes no mistakes. It's the infallible. Now, this... Someone was talking, said... I'm--I'm fifty-three and third--about thirty-one years I've been behind the pulpit, and I have seen Him in tens of thousands of things.
E-24 Yesterday, I was down, way down in southern Kentucky, right on the Tennessee border, and I was setting in a boat with Brother Daulton, who the Lord gave all of his children to him (You remember the morning here when he started out.), and he said, "Brother Branham," said, "I guess it'd be hard for you to estimate."
I said, "Oh, Brother Daulton, tens of thousands times tens of thousands of things like that."
Said, "Won't you try to write a book... (I said)... of it."
I said, "Oh, my, Brother Daulton, it'd--it'd go across this boat here, an encyclopedia, just volumes of books of what I've seen the Lord do. And not one time has He ever failed (See?), not one time, but perfect each time."
E-25 I see, I believe now, if I'm not mistaken, Brother Shepherd's girl, with a kind of a orange-looking dress on; I think that. I stopped by her the other morning; she was walking down, and I thought I might have the wrong girl to pick up, so I took off. So that was me that stopped, sister. I--I thought it was Brother Shepherd's girl and I'd pick her up, 'cause I thought maybe his car might've broke or something. We was going to get Becky. And I--I thought it might be the wrong girl. But now, I see he's setting with them there, so I--I believe it was the right girl. So that was me that pulled up there and then pulled away. So...
E-26 Everybody love the Lord Jesus? Oh, wonderful. That's just fine and dandy. Amen. [Someone speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.] Well, Brother Willard, we're just glad to have you in and you look pretty good too, best I can see you. We both kinda hamburgered up around the face. And I look like I've been hit with a handful of it, and I seen Brother Willard that night when he was asleep; and honest to goodness, he looked terrible. But you look awful good this morning, and we give thanks and praise to God for it, brother. Amen. Yes. You know, the devil can't kill us till God says, "Come on now." Then we want to go don't we, Brother Willard? That's right. Until then he's just trying in vain. That--that's all we... The Lord Jesus is our Help and our Refuge.
E-27 Now, here I talk along here when I've just got about six hours to preach this morning. See? Now, we never notified, didn't send out no tickets and things, 'cause I was--already announced I wouldn't be here; but just to come down and help Brother Neville and get to see you all again and have a little time of fellowship...
E-28 And last Sunday night Brother Roy Roberson (I don't know whether he's in here or not; I can't make out enough to see that if he's here.), he called me up and was telling me about the message. And someone called and said, "I was wondering when you talked about God gave us all things." See? He did: He gave us life; try to buy it. He gave us love; try to buy it. He gave us joy; try to buy it. He gave us peace; try to buy it. No way of buying it (See?), can't buy it. Then I said, "He gave us death."
Someone called and said, "Preacher, I wondered where you was going with that." Said, "I thought, 'Oh, oh, here Brother Branham tied hisself that time.'"
E-29 Not when the Bible says so. See? The Bible said He gave us death.
Well, what can we do with death? You know, Paul coming to death, he said, "Oh, death, where is your sting?" Death don't control us; we control it. That's right. All things is given to us.
E-30 And then, I gave the illustration of how that Israel on the march to the promised land, they had never seen that land; they knowed nothing about it. They just had a promise of God there was a land, and it was full of milk and honey and good and--and a great place. And it was... They never had seen it; nobody had ever been there, or know anything about it, but they had the promise of it. And by faith they sojourned to--through the desert. And when they got right to the borderline, they had a warrior there by the name of "Joshua" which means "Jehovah Saviour." So he crossed over the Jordan into the promised land and brought back the evidence that the land was there. (I like that.) And it was a good land. Two men packed one bunch of grapes. It was a good land. So he brought back the evidence that the land that they were going to possess was there.
E-31 Now, to the church, we are journeying to a land of immortality, a land where there's no death, a land where the dead's raised up; and we had a great Saviour in our camp, "Jesus" means "Jehovah Saviour, beloved." And He crossed the Jordan of death over into the other land, and come back, and brought the evidence that we live after death. Amen. So where is death at?
E-32 And then, He gave us all things. Now, we have the earnest of our inheritance, insomuch (Now, listen close. I'd like preach on that subject, but I just--feels good to me right now. See?) that we have the earnest of that, for one day we walked in sin; and after being baptized in His Name and raised with Him in resurrection, we've been brought out of sin, never no more to want to go back again. See? We are raised from sin with the evidence that we have--we're potentially in the resurrection from all death. See? If we could raise up from sin by faith in Him, and if there's sin... Who would want to go back to the garbage cans of sin again? See, we pass from death to Life. See? And that's the earnest (Amen.); that's the earnest of the complete resurrection. All death, physically and spiritual, we done overcome spiritual death, 'cause we've passed from death unto Life.
E-33 And as the Elijah went down to Jordan one day and struck it (with Elisha), and it parted back and he crossed over, he come back with a double portion. And when we strike Jordan (with Christ), we got one portion, but when we return we're coming with two portions. We got Eternal Life, resurrection from sin now in righteousness with the Holy Ghost, and then on the return with Christ we come back with both physical resurrection; and we already got spiritual resurrection; we have a double portion of it...?... Always a type of Christ and the church, Elisha and Elijah.
E-34 Oh, I don't want to get started on that. My, my, my, we'd never get on this six hour message here. [Brother Neville speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.] Yes, not--meat on the bone, Brother Neville, still a-gnawing it. Oh, aren't you glad? See?
We don't have... There ain't no bother no more. Death is nothing; we got it; it's ours. It can't control me; I control it. How? Through Him Who made me an overcomer, because I've already overcome death. How did I do it? By believing on Him. See? Death's in sin, unbelief. I'm not an unbeliever; I'm a believer. I've raised from that thing, resurrected. And it's the earnest of all my complete physical, spiritual resurrection, everything. Yes, sir. You get it?
E-35 So we do have death under our control through Jesus Christ, Who's overcome death, hell, grave, sickness, sorrows, everything else, triumphed over all. And we are now risen with Him, setting in heavenly places, spiritually speaking, in Christ Jesus with all things under our feet. Even the physical resurrection is under our feet, 'cause we're in Christ. Does--do you get it? If you do, raise your hands. Amen. That's good. Just as long as you get it, that's fine. See? Don't let... Now, just keep keeping it in your mind. See? We have passed from death unto Life. Physical, spiritual, every way, and everything, and all things belongs to us now.
E-36 Why the world out here is saying we're crazy, yet the whole earth belongs to us. How you going to inherit it? When--as I said, Abraham (See?), he was in the promised land; God gave it to him. Lot was taken by some renegade outlaws took away. (That was his nephew.) All right. Everything was in that land belonged to Abraham. So he wasn't a warrior; he never did fight. He didn't have any warriors with him; he had some servants. But when he seen that something--the devil had come and robbed him of something that was a promise to him, he armed his servants and took a arm himself.
He didn't know how he was going to overcome this whole company of kings, just a handful of servants; but God told him how to do it. And he divided himself and slaughtered the kings, and come back triumph. Why? He laid his faith upon God's promise that everything in that land was his, and Lot was part of it (That's right.), was part of the land. Oh, my. And there he met Melchizedek, after the battle was over. Couldn't you just see Abraham coming up the road? He didn't know he was a warrior, but he knowed then he was. Yes, sir, and he met the One Who gave the promise: Melchizedek.
E-37 Now, let's read out of the Book of Amos. I'm going to speak this morning (not six hours though; I hope not. See?) on a--on a subject that--"The Way of a True Prophet." And tonight, the Lord willing, I'm going to speak on, "Letting Off the Pressure," and so the--if the Lord willing.
Now, I am known to be a critic, but I'd--I--I am not critical, only anything that's wrong. See? But I... We should criticize wrong. Now, if you're going to turn your recorders on now in the room, why, all right. I want to read now from Amos the 3rd chapter--or the--yes, the 3rd chapter of Amos, just a portion of it: Amos 3.
Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish You for... your iniquity.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
E-38 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?
Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it?
Surely the Lord... will do nothing, but he reveals his secrets unto his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD has spoken, who can but prophesy?
E-39 His eyes must've got narrow as he stood that morning on the hill just beyond the city of Samaria. I can see his steady hands as it moved through his gray beard; the hot sun was shining down. He wasn't too glamorous to look at: how different from the modern evangelist today. His clothes was rugged, shaggy-looking beard... And looked down upon that city of Samaria, his eyes getting narrow as he looked... He wasn't much to look at, but he had THUS SAITH THE LORD for that nation.
E-40 It was perhaps a lot different for this oncoming campaign that the Lord had sent him to Samaria for, than what our modern evangelists would be. He wasn't equipped for such a revival, as we would think he should be today. But remember, he wasn't a modern evangelist; he was a prophet. He didn't care about the modern equipment; he had THUS SAITH THE LORD.
He didn't care how he looked, and how much fashion he was dressed like, whether his hair was combed right, or whether anybody looked at him or not. He had the Word of the Lord and that was his full objective: bring that Word of the Lord. Who was this fellow? Yep, it was Amos the prophet: rugged individual, but he knowed where he was standing; he knowed what he was doing; he was a true prophet of the Word.
E-41 And the reason he had come to this city, was because the Word had come to him. And when the Word of the Lord comes to a true servant, he must go; regardless of circumstances or regardless of difficulties, he must go anyhow. Whether he's prepared, whether he feels like it, whether he wants to, whether whatevermore; he must go anyhow. It's God speaking, and he must carry this message, because it's... He never goes for foolishness; he never goes for money; he never goes for popularity; he only goes in the Name of the Lord, for one thing: he's got a--a mission, and he's sent of the Lord. And he is the Word of God, because he's carrying the Word of the Lord. That is a true prophet of the Lord. My text is "The Way of a True Prophet of God."
E-42 This great, fearless man of God prophesied in the days of Jeroboam II. I've got part of his history wrote out here before me. He prophesied about thirteen years of his campaign. And Jeroboam was--Jeroboam II was just about as smart and able a man as Israel had had for some time. He was a man that had brought prosperity to Israel. Israel was all flourishing, but he was--something wrong with him; he was an idolater.
And I, kinda reading this the other day, I kinda thought that was pretty fitting to today. No matter how smart a man is, and how much he can do, and how much prosperity, if he gets away from God, he's an indebtiment to the nation, away from God and His Word. I wonder if it isn't fitting to us today, to someone who loves to set on television and show how smart they are, how much brains they got. But I wonder if they've got enough to take THUS SAITH THE LORD?
E-43 He was a smart man all right. Israel was in a backslidden condition; her preachers, her priests, and also her government had all left the Word of the Lord. Now, they didn't believe that. They believed that they were with the Word of the Lord, but "there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death." Why was they wrong? Or what could a man believe that--that--that they were wrong, a whole priesthood of men, thousands of preachers, and priests, and kings, and governors, all who professed to be worshippers of God, and yet all of them were wrong.
E-44 Then they didn't need a king for prosperity. What they needed was a prophet, because the Word of the Lord, or the interpretation of the Word of the Lord comes to a true prophet. Sometimes you can see what his way is then. It's a pretty rugged way when all the priests, and all the preachers, and--and--and all the Diviners, and--and the government itself against him; but yet, the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet, and that alone. He has the right Word, although he had the same Bible they had. But the Word was to him; God was vindicating that he had the Word.
E-45 They had the greatest buildings, and the religious systems, and so forth, that they ever had, altars built everywhere, and--and all kinds of--of things; but still they were a million miles from the Word of God. I think, myself, the picture would fit very good today as I read this Book of Amos. You must read it when you go home. All the government, priests, all of them had left the Word of God.
E-46 I would just like to read another portion of Scripture here, I got, to show where they had done it. Now, let's read the 2nd chapter and the 4th verse just a minute.
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD,... (That's the Word, despised It and yet they thought they had It.)... and have not kept my commandments, and their lies caused them to error,... (Now, they had the Word, Bible, but the lies that they had joined with It had caused them to error.)... after... which their fathers have walked:
E-47 See the reason? Now, they had had error, because that they had put their own translations or interpretations to the Word. And I thought it was fitting to today, that so many wants to put their own idea to the Word, and we get in a mess. What a rebuke from God this prophet had.
Now, Amos was God's prophet, a true prophet. Any man that ever reads about Amos knows the boldness of that fearless man of God. He's considered one of the minor prophets, 'cause he didn't stay very long; but he certainly laid the axe to the root of the tree. He was one of the most fearless of the prophets, and he come with the anointing. He come with THUS SAITH THE LORD. He knowed what he was talking about, because the anointing of God was upon him to bring the right interpretation to God's Word to them.
E-48 Amos come from the country, the wilderness, to the city of glamour. He'd never been there before. He was a country boy, way back out in the wilderness. While he was back there in prayer, God had met him and had told him of the wickedness of this glamorous nation in which he was a part of. And Samaria was the capital, one of the capitals at the time in the--of the reign of Jeroboam.
E-49 And when he stood there that morning at the top of the hill, walking in with his old, crude, country clothes on, perhaps dust and mud on his feet, and where he'd slept in that old ragged garment night after night. And I don't know; he didn't have bathtubs in that days; it might've been a few days since he took a bath. But that don't hurt the inside of the man. Too much today is putting on the outside, not enough on the inside. We're so concerned about whether we bathe each day, and our hair is groomed, and our clothes changed, and everything; and then, let the inside go any way--wear the same old sinful garments, stinking the soul up with creeds and dogmas, and never search it and wash it in the Word of the water of separation from the things of the world.
E-50 As he stood that morning looking over the hill at that glamorous city, full of modern things that he'd never dreamed there was such a thing, Israel was at its height. It was in an alliance with all the nations around it: very glamorous, the women dressed to the spot and the--and the men, and they were pleasure stricken, running races, and olympics, and everything going on. No wonder his eyes narrowed, not with the glamour of the city (like some tourist would do, coming into New York or to Los Angeles), seeing the half-dressed women, the men carrying on, and the sin.
E-51 Some friends of mine a few days ago was coming up from a fishing trip, just below a Bible college, of a great, famous Bible college. And there laying in the road in the weeds were young girls half-dressed and young boys, perhaps students from the college, drinking and carrying on, horrible.
E-52 Now, such carrying on as that tickles the appetite of a many American who calls themselves Christians. When they look down into Los Angeles, or I've not--watched them on the plane when we'd come into Los Angeles (if they'd never been there before), or to Hollywood, or--or to Florida with all their neon lightings over the flower--the palm trees. Oh, they would powder their nose new and fix up the makeup. They were--thought it was the most glamorous thing they ever seen. And see the well-groomed and dressed walking on the streets, they wanted to get out there and see how tight they could wear their clothes, or twist up and down the streets, when they think that that is something wonderful.
E-53 But those God-anointed eyes of that prophet didn't narrow because of the glamor, like some tourist's, but on the moral corruption to a people who was called to be blessed of God. Eyes didn't look at the glamor; they didn't narrow because of glamour; it was because of the--the--the indecency and the corruption of a people that had been called to be the chosen of God, and would act in such a way as that. No wonder he said, "The lion roareth, who will not fear? God spoke, and who can keep from prophesying?"
E-54 He seen the corruption, the decay. That's what he was looking at; that's when he seen all that. It didn't attract him; it sickened him at his soul. Why? He was a prophet. He knowed what God had promised to bless, and what a blessing was, and how people act with the blessing. And the devil has perverted in his day from what a real blessing was to a--a--a moral decay, a blessing to tickle the eyes and appetites of unconverted people--through the will and way of God, and God's way of life.
E-55 How typical it is today, how preachers can stand in the pulpit, and look upon sin and corruption of this world, and see people a-doing and acting the way they do, and then, just bless them because they're a member of their church or a denomination, it's more than my soul can understand. When God speaks, prophesy.
If the Spirit of God strikes a real prophet of God, he'll cry with the Word. I don't want to be critical, but who can hold their peace? Who can stand to look upon such a thing and profess to be a servant of Christ and not call it out? I don't care what a denomination would say or what any church would say; that's the reason I don't belong to them. They'd kick you out the first thing. But God's Word comes first. If you're a messenger, you've got something to say. And if you say anything contrary to this Word, you're not a messenger from God; you're a messenger of the covenant of some denomination or some theory. But a messenger of God has the Word of God. And our friend this morning, as we look at him, he had the Word of God, because he was a true prophet of the Lord.
E-56 Now, they thought they had the--the interpretation to it, and thought, "Why sure, look what we're doing."
Now, the thing of it is, we've got him standing there on top the hill this morning a-looking off down through the city, shaking his head, looking, his eyes narrowing, taking his sleeve and wiping the sweat from his face, and dust, hot sun shining down upon his bald head, his beard hanging down; he's rubbing it with his hands. He didn't see glamour; he saw sin. It didn't please him; it sickened him.
E-57 Why would he not say, "Me, an Israelite, look how my country's prospered"? How could he say that when he was a true prophet of God, knowing the results and what was going to become of such a thing as that?
Let's stand him on the hill today and let him look down: let him look in Jeffersonville at the people who call themselves Christians. Let him look anywhere in America for a people who call themselves Christian. His God-anointed eyes would narrow again. His hands would twist in his beard. Why? He don't see the glamor and prosperity that the world sees; He sees the--the going away from God; he sees the moral decay of the people. He sees the backsliding of the nation. He sees the rottenness in the church. How could he do anything but narrow his eyes and long to get into it, so he can tear it to pieces?
E-58 What if some bishop would've met him up there and said, "Now, are you the prophet of the Lord? Now, we'll tell you what you can say and what you can't," you think he'd have listened?
What if he'd said, "Come join our organization now, and we'll help you in your campaign"? You think he'd have listened? No, I couldn't imagine that out of a man like that. No, he was sent of God. He didn't have to have their cooperation. He had God's Word, and God's anointing, God's appointed time; and he was coming in THUS SAITH THE LORD; and that's the true prophet. That's the way he travels. He travels with nothing but THUS SAITH THE LORD.
E-59 Would this glamorous city of Samaria, this self-styled, high educated Israel, these fine polished preachers and priests receive this little unknown fellow? Probably his grammar was very poor: come from a poor family in the wilderness; left home, called of God, went into the wilderness to study God and His Word and become a prophet. The Lord borned him that way. Prophets are born a messenger for the age, who God by foreknowledge knows the age and has His agent there to call out sin.
E-60 Could that glamorous city receive him? You think those women would've paid any attention to what he said? You think those priests would've listened to him? Why, no, sir. He had no recommendation with him from any organization. He couldn't say that, "The Pharisees sent me." Neither could he say that the Sadducees sent him. He didn't carry any credentials. He didn't have any fellowship card from any group of people. He had no forerunner to fix up his campaign. There hadn't been all the Pharisees had had a union meeting and a--and a ministerial breakfast and got everything together to fix his campaign up, and knowing that he was coming; he was unknown to them. He had no fellowship card. He had no credential. He had no recommendation from men, but he had THUS SAITH THE LORD. That's the way of the true prophet. He had THUS SAITH THE LORD.
E-61 If he had THUS SAITH THE LORD, it's so far different from our manmade schemes here, that's all he needed. If he come this way, he come in the name of a church. If he come from this way, he come in the Name of the Lord. So a true prophet always comes the way of the Name of the Lord; always, he comes in the Name of the Lord.
Now, he couldn't show fellowship cards, but he--he had the Word of God; and that's what God had sent to the people. Now, the people had formed themselves organizations. They had different sectarian groups, and that's what the people had formed. But Amos didn't have that; he just had THUS SAITH THE LORD; that's what he had.
E-62 I'd imagine those priests of a morning have a little--on the Sabbath morning have a little, a prayer, so forth, and a little dedicational services, and--and went back, and talked a few things on great Moses, that one day lived and a great somebody else that someday lived. "But oh, the days of that's past now. You people know our new president, our new government, and our--all we got"; and talk on a few things like that and go home.
E-63 But here come a man not caring for that; he come with THUS SAITH THE LORD. See? That's the way of the prophet: no cooperation; knowed what was facing him; knowed that everything would be against him; knowed that they'd reject him, that they'd turn him down. But he was coming in the Name of the Lord.
E-64 Jesus knew that Calvary was facing Him, but He come in the Name of the Lord. See? That's the way of the true prophet.
He had the Word of the Lord for the nation, but the true Word of the Lord was foreign to those people; yet they thought they had it. (I hope this gets down deep.) They thought that they were so pious and religious, that the real Word of God was a foreign thing to them.
E-65 And that's the way it is today. The true Word of God made manifest is a foreign thing to lots of Pentecostal people. The real interpretation of the Word, the real woes and curses, the real blessing of God is a foreign thing to many people who call themself holiness, church members, Christians; It's a foreign thing to them; they don't know It. Mention It to them, never heard of such a thing. And yet their organizations grow and prosper, getting bigger and bigger, members all the time, and more organizations added every year. They thought that anything that come to them had to come out of those sectarian groups.
E-66 Certainly they wouldn't receive him; neither would they do it today. They had long forgot that God was able of these stones to rise up true prophets to God. God's able of the backwoodsman; He's able to raise of these stones men that'll stand for His Word and prophesy in His Name the Truth, laying the axe to the root of the tree and let the chips fall. I don't care whether you got cooperation or no cooperation. But that's the way of the true prophet.
E-67 Some people thinks he's got it easy. They don't know what they speak of. He wasn't brought into town by a carriage, setting upon fine harnessed horses, tassels, and the high priests standing out there with big high things on their heads bowing to him, "The honorable Doctor So-and-so is coming." That would've been some organizational setup.
E-68 And like the King of all of them come, He come like--come to a stable in a barn, cow barn; never come in pomp and glory, but He come in the humility of a baby born in a barn. Amos didn't come the Word of the Lord, 'cause he was the Word of the Lord. Any Word of God, it ain't the person; it's God.
Jesus said, "It's not Me that doeth the works."
They said, "You're a man making yourself God."
He said, "Then if I do not the works of God, don't believe Me. But if the works speak themself, believe the works, if you don't want to believe Me."
E-69 Amos was God's Word walking down the road. He walked in crudely, not in the fashions of the world. He come in the power of the Spirit; that's the way the Word of God comes, not in organizational creed, not in a sissified something in the pulpit; but It comes in the power of the Spirit to manifest God to the nation and to the people. It's a difference. How much different?
E-70 Now, it's realized, forgot long ago that God is able of stones to rise up true prophets. They didn't have... Their organization didn't have to raise up a true prophet, 'cause it, perhaps, couldn't do it; 'cause if it'd be, it'd be an organizational prophet. But God raises; God takes what He wants to. He takes nothing, usually, to do His work; shows that It's God. If a man's all puffed up and thinks he's something, then God can't use him, because there's too much of his self.
E-71 That's what's the matter with the Christian church today. They're think they know something. The Bible says when a man thinks he knows something, he knows nothing that he ought to know. The trouble today, we got so much self, so much hypocrisy, so much education, so much religion, and know nothing about the salvation of the Word of God. That's the pitiful part of it.
E-72 Yes. They'd forgot that God was able of these stone to raise children unto Abraham or raise up true prophets of the Word. They don't have to come out of some certain school. God gives them their schooling. They don't have to have four degrees in college. They don't have to have their bachelor of art, and--and their doctor's degree, and so forth; they don't have to have that. God takes anything He wants to and puts His Word in it. How does He do it? He manifests it and proves it.
E-73 They couldn't say what seminary Jesus come out of. He didn't have any. "What school's He from?" He--He didn't have any. But what did He have? He had God, and He was the Word. They couldn't point back to some school. And God never did raise a man out of school. Go down through history and find out where He ever did. He doesn't. He takes something from somewhere else that's got nothing, no hopes for it, and then He brings that in and places His Word in it, and manifests Himself. That's what He was doing here in Amos. All right.
E-74 Now, Amos' word was vindicated by God in the day--in their own days. God vindicated Amos' word to be, that he was--had the Word of the Lord. And if he would come to us right now, do you think our nation and our people would receive a man like that? Do you think the Baptists would receive Amos? the Methodists? the Presbyterian? the Pentecostals? the Catholics? No, sir. No, he certainly wouldn't.
E-75 Let's for just a moment transport him, and bring him here just a minute, and find out if they would or not. Let's just see whether he would--whether the--our churches would receive him today or not.
The first thing he would do; he would disagree with every organization, 'cause it's contrary to the Word. Uh-huh. Yes, sir. He would condemn our whole setup. That's right. Every doctrine, every creed, every denomination, he'd condemn the whole thing. I just imagine; I can see some of these Pentecostal presbyters saying, "Why, glory to God. If he... Why, we wouldn't have that man in our town."
E-76 And what do you think the Presbyterians and Baptists would do? "Why, that ignoramus, we don't want him around our country. He's nothing but a--a crank." They'd sign a paper to put him in prison, if they could, get him off the street. But you think you could keep him there? Oh, no. You can't cage the Word of God. No, no. It'll come forth anyhow. Prison bars opened one night when they tried to cage It. A Light came in and delivered him out. No, he--he would certainly disagree with our setup. All right.
E-77 What would he start doing? Tearing it down. Why? He's a servant of God. He would go straight to the foundation to start his campaign, right straight back and tear every creed off of it and go back to the foundation. What is the foundation? On God's Word. Right. "Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not."
So he'd tear every denomination, every creed, every doctrine, out of it, and throw it sideways; he'd blast it into eternity. You think the Pentecostals would receive him? No, sir. No. Baptists, Presbyterians? No, sir. Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness? They'd hate him. Certainly.
E-78 You think they'd go out and meet him in a--a limousine and bring him into the city? They'd pray for the sun to scorch him up there. They'd set up a barricade to keep him out of town. Why, there'd be more ministerial meetings around over the city you ever seen in your life. "Keep that crank out of this city." But yet he had THUS SAITH THE LORD. See? That's the way of a true prophet.
He'd be despised. Certainly. He would go straight to the foundation for his campaign. He wouldn't need... He wouldn't say, "Now, I want all you Methodists to come in now and help me. I want you Baptists, I want all you people around here... All you Pentecostals, you claim that you're the last group that God's going to call; I want you all to come to me, and I want you to support my campaign."
E-79 "How do you baptize? Uh-huh. What's the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost?" Those questions would be throwed in his face; and when he come back with the Bible Truth, they'd turn him down. But that's the way of a true prophet. He's got all that to confront. See?
E-80 Certainly, we wouldn't receive him. No, sir. Our--our... "We wouldn't have none--we'd have none of his campaigns around in our--our country. No, indeedy. Well, we wouldn't have him. No, sir."
But he would come and bring the church back to the Word, for That is the Foundation. And anybody lays on any other foundation, it's sinking sand. Upon this Foundation alone God builds His church: upon the doctrine of the apostles.
E-81 As I was saying the other day, there's someone talking about--about purgatory and give references to many like St. Francis and St. Cecilia, and she praying for certain people and--out of purgatory, and give such an authorities as that. That's unscriptural authority; it's people who does not have an authority. The apostles had the Scriptural authority, and if it's contrary to them, it's a lie, as far as I'm concerned.
E-82 I do believe in a purgatory, but I believe it's right now. You purge your own soul. "Purgatory" means "to purge." When you see you've doing something wrong, get out there and clean it out of you by confession, and crying, and fasting, and praying. Someone even laughed at me when the Lord came here not long ago, give me a vision that I always wanted to see about binding that serpent. I always wondered how to--how if I should step out like that, when I--that's what I've wanted all my life. Then I begin to fast and pray. Said, "What'd you do that for?" I said, "In there He said that I was not sincere enough." Actually to come down want to purge myself, not wait till you die and let some priest try to purge you. Purge your souls.
E-83 But, see, they took it out of the authoritative Word and put it over in the hands of some manmade dogma to bring money into the church, because they look at worldly things, worldly church, great powers in the world, political powers. But God looks to His Word. And any words that's contrary to God's Word is wrong. As far as I'm concerned it's the Word or nothing. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
E-84 He would go straight to the foundation. He'd tear the thing to pieces. He would have to; he couldn't do nothing else, if Amos was here today. He couldn't do nothing else; for remember, he is a true prophet of God, who the Word comes to. He couldn't do nothing else but go back to the Word. No matter if all the Pentecostals in the country gathered around him, said, "Sir, Amos, we believe you to be a prophet, but you're off of the Word; we want to straighten you up," he'd stay with the Word. There isn't nothing else he could do, because he's a prophet. He didn't need their cooperation. He's got a message to give, and "all the Father has given Me will come to Me," and he's going to preach the Word. And he's going to preach It just like It would be in the Bible; and therefore, we'd turn him down. That's right. No matter what it would... He... The Word of God comes to the prophets, the interpretation of the Word, the right interpretation.
E-85 Israel always got out of line, and God sent them a prophet with signs and wonders to interpretate that Word; and how did he know? He said, "If this prophet speaks and it comes to pass, then that's right." He vindicated His prophets that they were right. Jesus said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also. This you'll know; these signs shall follow them that believe."
E-86 And how can they claim to be a prophet of the Lord and deny the very Word of God? How can a man baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, them titles, and deny the very Name of Jesus Christ when there's not a Scripture in the Bible to support their theory? I may be hard and critical, but it's time to get that way. True. How can the people claim themselves to be Christians today, and running out here to everything; and women with bobbed hair, and wearing shorts, and smoking cigarettes, and running to picture shows (any kind of an old show), and carrying on. Tell me that's the Holy Ghost? Don't you never tell me that. You--you make God sick at His stomach, if there was such a thing could be done. I'm sure you understand. Call yourself such as that? How can there be such a thing? By their fruits they're known.
E-87 He would blast and condemn every bobbed-haired woman. How could he do anything else? He's a prophet. And that's the Word. He'd say, "You, Jezebels..." He'd get rough with them. Why? He's a prophet. He'd have to stay with the Word. That's right. You think they'd stop? No, sir. They'd say, "It's a fanatic. He's bad as that old Paul was in the Bible: woman hater." You--the bunch of imposting, so-called Christians.
E-88 "No matter how holy you try to live, that don't have one thing to do with it. As long as you deny God's Word and don't line up to It, you're a sinner, an unbeliever." That's what he'd say. He wouldn't lay it--he'd lay the axe right to the root of the tree; he wouldn't spare nothing. He's a prophet and that's the way of a true prophet. They stay with that Word regardless of who it is; if it's their own mother or daddy, makes no difference; Jesus did. Wouldn't even as much as call her a mother; she wasn't. He was God; God don't have a mother. If He would, then who's His father?
E-89 He'd blast and condemn them. He'd condemn every denomination, because there's none of them built on the Word. I can't find one of them. And as soon as they denominate, they're against the Word right then. So how can the--a prophet bless what the Word condemns? Yet he don't want to do it to hurt his brother, but yet he's got to do it, because he's a prophet. And he's the representation of the true Word of God and don't move from It in no way at all: precept on precept and line on line. See what I mean? The way of a true prophet.
E-90 How many... Said, "Lord, I wish You'd make me a prophet." He doesn't do that. No, He doesn't do that.
He would condemn ever immoral act of the churches: these bunco parties, and all these things that they're having, card parties, soup suppers. He'd condemn every one of them; he'd blast them into hell where they come from. Think you'd receive him? No. The church today wouldn't receive him. Pentecost receive him? When he'd walk in there and say, "You bobbed-haired bunch of Jezebels, don't you know what THUS SAITH THE LORD means? Walk out here with a little skinned-up looking dress on, don't you know you're guilty of committing adultery every day with a hundreds of men?" That's what he would say.
E-91 You'd say, "Well, that old fogy, the old, baldheaded, gray-looking fellow, get him out of that pulpit. Let's see the trustee board. Deacons, get him out of here. We'll..."
"You bunch of miserable hypocrites." That's right. Amos would call it out.
Then call yourself, "We are... We belong to this group."
"We belong to that group."
E-92 You're of the devil, your father, for he's the one that denies the Word.
Say, "I spoke with tongues," and then bob your hair?
"Glory to God. Hallelujah."
E-93 And the Bible said it's a--it's a common--common thing for a woman to pray with her head cut like that. Then call yourself a Christian. Shame on you. Crawl off in a corner somewhere; get right with God.
E-94 Put on them little old short clothes, and get out here in a yard, and stretch yourself out when you know good and well you're committing adultery with a hundred men every day...?... Jesus said so: "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her." She was the one presented herself, and you did it in your... Whether you had...
E-95 You're dead to the things of the world; you've raised from that, as I said, the beginning. You turn your head in shame. Your eyes narrow upon such a horrible thing of sin, instead of look at women to lust after them. "You men that'd do a thing like that and call yourself Christian." That's what he'd tell you. I'm trying to take his words this morning. They would be his words, for he--remember he's a true prophet; he'd have to stay with that Word. And I'm just quoting his words; that's all. 'Cause if you brought him; he is the Word; then here's the Word Itself. You may not have the man, but you got the--His Word; 'cause he'd have the Word of the Lord.
E-96 Every manmade doctrine, he'd condemn it, such as baptism in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost. He'd throw that thing plumb back into eternity. He'd condemn it, so there wouldn't be a smell of it left. Yes, sir. How many you--how many of the church this morning would receive him upon that? Then they, this Jesus' Name bunch, they'd--they'd say, "Oh, we'd take him on that"; and then your organization, he'd blast you right on out with it (That's right.), your bobbed-haired women and you putting up with it. That's right. Your men, the way they do and act... That's right.
E-97 A lot of people say it's good to be a prophet. It is, if you're ready to sell out everything to the world and stay with God and with His Word.
E-98 No, we wouldn't receive him by no means, our denominations today. We certainly wouldn't have nothing to do with him.
E-99 Listen to him blast it. He said, "The very God that you claim to believe in, He'll destroy you." What would it do about that? The very God that Pentecost believes in, from the very immoral acts and things that they're doing and permitting to be done, that very God will bring judgment upon them organizations. That's right. That's exactly what Amos said to them.
E-100 "Oh," they said, "we got Abraham. We got--we got this. We got the law; we got priests; we got prophets."
Oh, brother, them eyes narrowed as he looked upon them and blast that Word into them. Yes, sir. Sure they wouldn't receive him. No, sir. He said, "They'll destroy them with your manmade doctrines." That's what he'd tell you today. He'd say the same as he did then. He said, "The very God that your building churches to (perhaps paying millions of dollars), the very shrines that you're building to Jehovah, that you claim that you love, that very God will destroy you; because you're rejecting His Word."
E-101 So is it today. The very God that America claims to serve will bring judgment upon the nation and destroy it. I hope that gets so deep that you'll never wiggle out of it. The very One that you claim that you love and with your own manmade dogmas, and immoral life, and decay that you got in you, away from the Word of God will destroy you someday. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. Nothing else left for us.
E-102 Line up with the Word, preach the Gospel to them, cross the nation, tell them the Truth; the ministers fuss and scream and carry on; the men condemned; the organizations turn you out. The women shake their head and wouldn't let their hair grow out for nothing, wear their clothes just as exactly the same year after year. They's like pouring water on a duck's back. "Then you claim you love God?" he said.
E-103 Jesus said, "You've took your traditions and made the commandments of God of non-effect." That's the way of a true prophet. See? It's not a easy way. It's not what everybody thinks it could be, jump up-and-down, and scream, and everybody patting you on the shoulder; then that's a sign you're not a true prophet. That's one of the very signs that you haven't got what you're talking about.
E-104 When did they ever pat him on the back less they had an axe to grind? Why'd he turn around and condemn them? Right. Couldn't pat Amos on the back; they couldn't pat Elijah on the back; he didn't stand for that stuff. No, sir. He told them the God's Truth. And if heaven is so great and where we're going to, then if we can't line up with little bitty petty things, how we going to line with the Spirit there? You got to line with the Word. And that's the way of the true prophet. Though it tear him to pieces to say it, he's got to tear a nation to pieces with it. That's right. But that's the way.
E-105 He'd blast it. Oh, my, You know what he said to them? The tumult, if you notice here. He said, "It's not in your government; it's in you." That's what he said. "Tumults in the church, your form of godliness, that's what caused the trouble."
E-106 The reason communism's sweeping the land today, it's not because of communism; it's because of the church; it's because of the people. Today they call themselves Christian; they sing like angels, trained voices, and speak with such eloquent, like they were archangels, and disbelieve God's Word like devils. That's right. Sing like an archangel, dress like a--I don't know what, and deny God's Word...
E-107 A man, a preacher in the pulpit, that'll stand there and be called Doctor, Reverend, and ask him, "Did the Bible speak baptism in the Name of Lord Jesus Christ, or Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?" And he'll laugh in your face and take, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." And then call yourself a child of God... Women knowing that the Bible condemns them to do certain things, and bob their hair, and act like the world, and wear immoral clothes and things like that, and they'll constantly do it anyhow, and speak in tongues, and jump up-and-down, and shout, and have old ladies' societies and sewing circles, and send missionaries to the field. It's become a stench in the sight of God. And THUS SAITH THE LORD He'll destroy the whole thing. He will.
E-108 It's not a easy thing, but that's the way of a true prophet: blast it out there and say it whether it hurts or not.
John was a true prophet. He said, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree." That's the way of them.
E-109 Sure, the trouble's in her: sing like angels, dance like devils out here, dances, carrying on, card playing, race tracks. Pentecostals going to the places of amusement, picture show's crowded with them. Every place, any kind of an old play or anything else, they go right down there--and races, and everything else, and call themselves Christians, and go up and shout, and speak in tongues, and take feet wash and communion. Why, it's--it's--it's a--"as a dog goes to its vomit," the prophet said, "so do they." If that thing was of the world and had to be kicked out of you, why do you return back to it again? That's right.
Out on the streets twisting, they call it, rock-and-roll, bobbing hair, wearing shorts (Oh, my.), call themselves Christians... Could you ever... No, I better not say it. That's why I condemn them. If I'm going to stay with this Word, if this Word comes to me, I stay with this Word. This is what comes to me, the Word: Condemn it. Claims to be led by the Holy Ghost and do such things...
E-110 Could you imagine a woman being led of the Holy Ghost let her hair be bobbed, when the very Holy Ghost condemns it? Then what kind of a Person is the Holy Ghost? Could you imagine? Could you imagine a preacher stand in the pulpit and any man challenge him to show him one place anybody was ever baptized using the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and laugh in your face, and call you a fanatic by baptizing in the Name of Jesus Christ, and say he's led by the Spirit, and say he's got the Holy Ghost? Would the Holy Ghost deny His own Word? No, sir. Do you see? I hope you get it.
Now, I don't know how much time... The next blowup may get me, but until it does, I'm going to be standing right there with the Word. When I meet you yonder at the judgment, I'm going to be standing right by that Word; that's what I believe to be the Truth. No, you don't do things like that and then have the Holy Ghost.
E-111 Went to... A minister's wife one time, setting up there with a dress on; it was horrible looking. You say, "You ain't got no rights." I have got a right; that's the Word. Preach It all. You bypass those things, a lot of sissified preachers, because they haven't got the audac... Maybe they haven't even been called to preach in the first place. That's right. But a true servant of God will stay right with that Word. That's right. Minister's wife setting there all squeezed up in a dress with earrings hanging on, and makeup on, and short bobbed hair, when God condemns the whole thing as filth. And then saying you got the Holy Ghost?
E-112 I was preaching here in Phoenix, not long ago, on something like that; and the minister's wife, setting on the pulpit with one of these boyish bobbed hair all kinked up, and with a dress that she couldn't even keep her underneath skirts from shining (She couldn't get down over her knees, was about four or five inches above her knees setting up there.), jumping up-and-down leading songs. I blasted it just as hard as I could. 'Course he won't invite me back. I don't expect to, but he knows what's right and wrong. When I stand at the judgment, it's not on my hands anymore. Then go off and say...
E-113 A man, so-called teacher (which I don't say but he isn't) made a remark the other day before some of my friends at a certain city I'd been into. You know the brother. And this brother come in; he said...
Well, he said, "We had Brother Branham here once" (a certain city in--out west).
And this man said, "Oh, Brother Branham's a good man (See? He knowed better than to throw anything on the character.)," said, "Brother Branham, but don't you listen to his tapes, because it'll get you confused."
E-114 And there happened to be one of my friends standing there said, "Just a minute, sir. I was confused until I heard the tapes." And that's the difference. Said, "I couldn't understand how a holy God would put up with such things as that, as you all do."
Same person, another one with him, stood at a certain place not long ago, said, "Brother Branham is a prophet; he can discern things and things like"; but said, "now, don't listen to his doctrine, 'cause he's not right."
E-115 The insanity, the uncouthed expression as that; don't you know that the--if it is a... I'm no prophet, but if the Word of God is true, It comes to the prophet. The Word of the Lord came to the prophet. They was the one interpretated the Word. Then you see you don't--it don't even make sense. Just to hide behind some petty denomination... One of these days they'll break, and mold, and perish in hell, but the Word of God will endure forever. Upon that Rock, I build my hopes forever, upon the Word of the Lord. And let everything else sink. If I lose every friend, everything else, my friendship's in Christ.
My hopes is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' Words with righteousness;
When all around my soul gives way,
Then He's all my hope and stay.
E-116 That gun exploded the other day, and I seen... I thought I was dead. Had a peaceful feeling, I looked around; I thought, "Well, this is it." What good would a denomination do me then? What good would a organization do me then? I'd have to stand yonder at the fiery judgments of God to be judged by this Word. Though I may had to scorch, and bend, and twist, and pull apart many people; but I'm hoping to make--get the genuine kernel out of there of the Word of God, and there build a soul for eternity. That's right. Let God put it in His hands and build it to an obedient child.
E-117 How could, how could a man led of the Holy Ghost do such a thing as that, or a woman with the Holy Ghost do such things as that? No, He's holy; and if His Life's in you, you are the same, You'll be just like Him.
E-118 Israel, as we, thought because they were prospering with their alliance with others, that was God's okay upon it. Now, you know, we think that today. I talked to some men here not long ago in a hotel a few days ago, big men in the religious realms. And they said to me, "God proves that He's with us. Why, we growed last year, Brother Branham (I forget how many), hundreds," like that.
E-119 I said, "That's not one bit of approval." That's right. Prostitution incre--increased last year about thirty per cent. Does that show God was with prostitution? That argument's no good. No, you can't do it. No, sir. God stands with His Word. Any other man will stand with His Word, if he's honest. All right.
E-120 They thought because they had an alliance... Now, here we'll get in just a moment on the governmental affairs. Our nation has turned down the Word of God just like Israel did. They turned down the Word of God, and their people, their priests, and prophets, and so forth are prophesying good to them, and they... What can we do but prophesy wrong, because it's contrary to the Word. She's doomed, our great, beloved nation based upon the--our--experience of our forefathers, then get back to what they had. That's right.
E-121 Sure, Israel was a great nation. Look at their forefathers, but God didn't spare them. That old baldheaded prophet was throwing the Word to them, and it happened just exactly the way he said. Read your history here and find out if it's not right. It come to pass just exactly the way he said it.
E-122 And he condemned them, and yet them standing there, them holy priests with holy garments on, sprinkling this, and wouldn't move a hand this way or that way, because it was something this way, or tradition, or something. Jesus said, "You're of your father, the devil, and his works you'll do."
And they took Him, and condemned Him, and hung Him on a tree, and killed Him. That's exactly right. God raised Him up again. Yes, sir.
E-123 No, they would not--we would not believe Amos today, not at all. And today we have made an alliance. We got what we call today... We think it's God's okay because the--our organizations are increasing and--and everything's going the way it is; we think that's God's okay upon it. You know, they joined up, I believe, about two or three more million Protestants; and Catholic has went several million more. See? They think that's God's approval by them being Catholic. Protestant thinks it's God's approval them being Protestants. Ha. It's nonsense; it's cannon fodder; it's atomic ashes; it's the wrath of God being built up to explode. That's exactly right.
E-124 You listen to me; I'll tell you the Word of the Lord. Amen. Look at us. Look at the world to--look at our nation. We're joined in with the U.N. What's in it? A bunch of ungodly. And we with the audacity not even to let prayer being offered before our sessions come in. Did I just not read here, "How can two walk unless they be agreed?" God doeth nothing unless He reveals it to His servants the prophets. How can two walk 'less they be agreed, when we got Mohammedan, Buddha, atheists, ungodly, selfish, everything else in it. You think a--you think God could dwell in something like that?
E-125 "Well," you say that, "well, we're in alliance with them. We got all the western protection."
They had all the nations around them in protection, but that prophet said, "God will destroy you; the very God that you serve will destroy you for your foolishness." He'd say the same thing this morning.
He'd bawl from the White House plumb down to the poor farm. He sure would. He'd blast them with the Word of God. He certainly would. That's the way of a true prophet.
E-126 "Look at us, the churches. Oh, we are the great holy Roman Catholic church." Spoke in the Bible to be a whore.
"We are the patriarchs of the fathers, the Protestant churches all united together and called, it--it's called the World Council of churches."
E-127 Prostitutes of the whore, the Bible said. That's exactly what It said. Uh-huh. And yet we think...
E-128 And now, all the churches are going together. Mr. Collins, a friend of mine (brother in California--or Arizona there), you're... Elmer, I said, "Well, I guess you're going to some fine little Methodist church."
Said, "I got out of it when they joined that council of churches up there."
I said, "God bless you. You're nearing the Kingdom, brother."
E-129 Yes, sir. Dogma, depending upon the association with men and with their manmade doctrine, and leaving the Word of the God. What we need is a prophet today to blast that Word in there. That's exactly. Yeah.
E-130 They'd--they'd take safety among themselves. "Oh, we join... We, Pentecostals? Sure, we joined the World Council of Churches, because in there we have fellowship. We'll win them over." Like a woman going to a barroom to get drunk with her husband to win him to God. More like the husband going with the wife these days, to the barroom to get drunk to win her to God. Nonsense. Stay off the devil's ground. When anything denies that Word, I'm against it. And that makes me against every organization, 'cause it's against the Word. It ought to make every believer feel that way.
"Well," they say, "but remember, we've got..."
E-131 I say... I got a big piece in the paper, someone sent me from Arizona, of how this patriarch So-and-so the other day said, "Pope John the 22nd (or whatever they call him) has--is a fine man. He's the only man that ever talked on uniting the churches, the Catholics and Protestants together." Said, "It might not come in our days, but the next fifteen or twenty years it'll be here."
I thought, "Boy, you being a patriarch, you're prophesying and don't know it."
"It's later than we think," the guy that wrote it to me wrote it on top the page. It's later than we think. He'd been listening to tapes too. Yes, sir. He said, "It's later than we think." Said, "Brother Branham, didn't you say this years ago?"
E-132 I said, "Sure." Yes, sir. It's coming to pass, because it's the Word of the Lord; it has to. Sure.
Yeah, they say, "Well, this holy patriarch, don't you think he ought to know something more than that?"
E-133 No, sir. If he denies God's Word, and look in It like that, he can't. I don't care how many popes, prophets, and whatever that you got among you. If you're off the Word, they're off of the Word. That's right.
E-134 How could God ever bless such a thing as long as they deny the very Word of God? How can He bless anything besides His Word? Something that's contrary to His Word, how can He deny It? How can you bless a cancer that's eating you up? How could you bless a--a electric wire that you're holding, you say, "Oh, hold me and burn me up"? That'd be insane. How can God bless anything that's against His Word? So get back to the Word. You bunch of preachers, like hound dogs, what's the matter with you? You go out here and sell your birthrights for a mess of pottage to ride around in some Cadillac, or something, or some big, high mansion somewhere, and a big million dollar church, and all those things like that, and sell out your birthrights, and are ashamed and afraid to preach the Word of God to your congregations. Say, ain't you ashamed of yourself? And call yourself a servant, a prophet of God, selling your birthrights for a mess of the world? What will you hatch out? The same as Esau did. Oh, what a disgrace.
E-135 Oh, no, a holy God that watches over His Word to vindicate It could not bless something that's against His Word. How... (Now, listen. I know I'm running just a little bit late, and I may be choking you to death; but look, I want to ask you something.) How could a holy God, Who spoke His Word and said, "Now, both heavens and earth will pass away, but That shall not pass away, not one word of It." Now, how can He take something that's contrary to That and bless it? How could He do it? Look. He proves Hisself; He vindicates His Word. He says what's right, not by membership.
E-136 Look at Moab. Moab had His Word too: Moab. Israel had His Word, and Moab had a form of godliness with His Word. They offered seven sacrifices, clean, bullocks upon seven altars, the perfect number, the perfect sacrifice. Then besides that he took seven rams, speaking that they believed in the coming of the Son of God, and offered them up there with their high archbishop. All their dignitaries, all their priests and high priests, everything else stood around with their kings, and presidents, and whatmore, and offered this, just as religiously as they could be, against Israel. And there was Israel down there, a little bunch of renegades, looked like. But what was with Israel? God was in their campaign. He was proving Hisself, that He was with them. See?
E-137 No matter how many patriarchs they'd have, popes, or whatevermore, God cannot be with them until He proves Hisself with them. And as long as they're off of His Word and denying His Word, how can He be with them? No signs of the living God amongst them...
E-138 How can God be amongst the U.N., when two can't walk without they agree? Now, looky here. There's the Church of Christ, so-called, joined up with the Pentecostals. The Pentecosts say they believe in speaking in tongues; they believe in the evidence of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. They say they believe in this, that, and the other; they believe in signs and wonders. The Church of Christ laughs at them and said, "You bunch of ignoramuses; that was in the days gone by." How can two walk together 'less they be agreed? And they joined together. What they doing? They are seeking safety with one another. Away with such stuff. My safety's in Christ and in His Word, for His Word is Hisself. That's right. Uh-huh.
E-139 No signs of the living God, not at all. That's what Jesus said, "If I do not make the Word manifest, then don't believe It. If God doesn't speak and prophesy just--through Me, and say through Me, and do through Me just what Messiah is supposed to do, then don't you believe Me." Then a guy says that he is a prophet sent from God and deny the Word? God be merciful to such stuff. How can God ever do such?
E-140 Let me ask--ask--is--this now. I--I don't know when I speak to you again; that'd be up to God. I'm just laying in food like He told me in that vision that time, putting it in the barrels.
You might ask me, "How could Amos foresee what was going to happen to them?" Why, it looked good. Look. Now, look here. Now, listen close now, 'cause this is all on tape and it's going--it'll go worldwide. See?
E-141 Now, how... Looky here. There was Israel, their seminaries was in better shape than they ever was. There's nobody bothering them. They had their own religions. They didn't... Nobody said, "You can't worship Jehovah."
"Go ahead," said the heathen nations, "worship. We got an agreement one another."
E-142 That prophet seen through that. See? So would a prophet today see through it. See? "Go ahead."
And Israel said, "Well, let us eat, drink, and be merry." So they got a bunch together and made them some creeds, and organizations, denominations, and things, and fixed it all up; and their women just lived in luxury and sin out there, boy, carried around in cabarets and everything, half-dressed, little silk-look skirts on. If you ever seen some of their--their history of them days, how they looked, oh, almost one-third as bad as they do today. Not quite though, 'cause they couldn't. Yeah, and how they did and carried on like that, and the kings, and the priests, and everybody else... Jesus said, "You devour widows' houses, you hypocrites." He said it. And all these things they were doing... That prophet standing there looking down upon that--that nation like that, no wonder his heart was tore out of him. Yes, sir.
E-143 Now, you say, "How did he know what was going to happen? How could he foresee it? How..." It all looked good. Why, they got plenty to eat; they got plenty to wear; they--they got their big churches; they're prospering: money sowed everywhere. Luxury, dances on the street, immorality, and everything else just going on, and everything's going fine, just like America today. The television's full of dirty jokes, half-stripped women, everything else. Everything you see is just muck and sin. You don't have to look at a television; just open your eyes, look anywhere. Girls, boys, men, women, smoking, drinking, them Jezebels calling themselves Christians, the filthy devils, calling themselves Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterian, Catholic, and Pentecostals. No wonder it narrowed his eyes when he looked. That's right.
E-144 All looks good. How can you save it, if we're going to do... How--how... "Look here, well, we--we got a million more. We--we got... We... Our buildings are... Oh, our churches are so big, we have to build new churches. Well, we got so much money, we don't know what to do with it. Why, we just build the best places in the--in the nation. The biggest churches there is, we own them; and we still got plenty of money. Don't you think God's blessed us?"
E-145 No. You're off of His Word.
"And, Brother Branham, you mean God's going to destroy this?"
Yes, every one of them.
"How do you know?"
E-146 Amos, how did you know? Just like a doctor diagnosing a case. When he finds the disease that's on the patient, he knows what to do; he knows what that patient's got. He knows how far it's advanced, and he knows what's going to happen. And that's the way with a prophet, a true prophet. When he sees... I don't care what you're doing... When he sees sin advancing, it's a eating cancer; and it's in such an advance in the Pentecostals and all the rest of them, it can't come back. It's at an advanced stage. They're going to perish.
E-147 That's how Amos could diagnose the case. He diagnosed it by the Word of God. That's how a--a true prophet diagnoses the case and says to them women, "Don't you never try to go to judgment with bobbed hair when you know better." Says to you men, the rest of you, and you preachers, denying the Word, and having a form of godliness, and joining organizations to dodge the issue when you know better and you look at the same Word the true prophets would look at. The diagnosis of the case said, "Death, separation."
E-148 Just like a doctor, he knows the case. He knows what kind of symptoms it's got. Look at this nation. When you say, "Pentecostal done?" When they'll put--won't even let you come to church, 'cause you preach to the women about their bobbed hair, and the Bible condemns it... Afraid you'll say something about...
E-149 Here the other day, when I was making up some campaigns (Roy Borders was), on the west coast, they brought him--together, a bunch of ministers (about, oh, I guess forty or fifty of them where I had a great meeting); they said, "Mr. Borders, I want to ask you something." Said, "Is it true that Brother Branham uses the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to baptize in?"
Mr. Borders, a very dignified gentleman (as you know, Brother Borders from here), he said, "Sirs," he said, "Brother Branham, when he's out in the campaigns--out this," said, "he don't preach; he just goes ahead and prays for your sick. That's about what he does."
Said, "That's not what I asked you," said the presbyter. "Does he..." (Now, they had the tapes; they know.) Said, "Does he baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ?"
He said, "Yes, in his own church. That's the only place he baptizes, in his own church."
He said, "That's it; that's all I wanted to know. We don't want him. We don't want that heresy amongst our people."
E-150 And the other day when my good friend Ed Daulton got a letter from the Baptist church; he said, "We excommunicate you from the Baptist fellowship, because you have joined in the heresy of being baptized in Jesus' Name."
E-151 I like to stand with Paul, "In what the world calls heresy, that's the way I worship God, 'cause it's His Word." Yes, sir. Yes.
E-152 Oh, sure the doctor diagnoses the case; he sees where it's at. A true prophet diagnoses the case by the Word. He what? A doctor diagnoses his case by the symptoms. Is that right? He looks at the symptoms, and he sees what's the matter with the patient. He sees how far it's advanced and say, "There's nothing could be done." And a true prophet takes the Word of God and diagnoses the cases, throws the medicine into it, and the people throws it back in his face. What's going to happen? Perish, that's all. Pleasure loving, world-streaked bunch of so-called hypocrisy... But that's the way of a true prophet. See? Oh, my.
E-153 He sees the diseases. He seen that they'd got away from the Word. He saw the Word, and he knew the results, what was coming. He seen the luxury they was living in; he seen the way them women was acting. He seen the way them priests was doing, how they got away from the true worship of God and things like that. There's... He had to--he had the answer; he said, "That God that you claim you'll serve will destroy you."
"Why?"
"You've not kept My commandments." And yet they thought he had. Didn't I just read it here? Second verse, 4th--2nd chapter, 4th verse: "Because I chose you to be the... Of all the families of the earth I chose you, and yet you refuse to walk in My commandments."
E-154 You think that little baldheaded prophet standing there with that gray beard streaking and his eyes flashing fire, speaking to that bunch of priests, and things, and said, "The God that you hypocrites are acting like you're serving, that same God will destroy you," you think he'd get cooperation? Oh, my. He would... Try him today and see if he wouldn't. No, but he what? That's the way of a true prophet. He had the Word; he knowed what It was.
E-155 Like Micaiah of old (the little baby that I dedicated), I passed some of it a few minutes ago, 'cause I--hurry up the time. But Micaiah, when he stood before Ahab, he looked at them. He knowed the Word. Micaiah spoke the Word to them. Why? Micaiah judged his vision, his doctrine with the Word of God; and he seen that his doctrine and the Word was the same, because the Word said that he would curse Ahab, and he would cause the dogs to lick his blood. That's what the Word said.
E-156 So Micaiah had a vision; that's--he was a prophet. "See what the Word comes to me." And he prayed, "Oh, Lord God, what must I do? What must I say to this bunch of preachers standing here? Here's all the organizations; every one in the land's gathered against me, Lord. Here I stand before the king; what must I say?" And he went into a vision; said, "Go on up. Go on," said, "but I seen Israel scattered like she's sheep having no shepherd." Yeah.
E-157 That--that district presbyter walked up and smacked him in the mouth and said, "Where'd the Word of God, the Spirit of God go, when It went out of me (out of him)?"
E-158 You know what God said? He let a devil go down and get among them, because they were off the Word to begin with. The Bible said if they wouldn't believe the Word, He'd give them strong delusions to believe a lie and would be damned by it. That's exactly what these organizations and people of this nation's doing today: believing a lie to be damned by it. "For there's not another name given under heaven whereby you must be saved." Line up, organizationals, so forth... Yes.
E-159 Now, what did these others--what did these other prophets look at? They were prophets. Yes, sir. They were prophets, but if they'd have stopped and examined their prophecy with the Word... If the Methodists would stop today and examine their prophecy, they'd never sprinkle another person; they'd receive the Holy Ghost; they'd baptize everyone by immersing in the Name of Jesus Christ. If the Assemblies of God would stop today and look at their prophecy, they'd come back to the Word. If the Oneness today would stop and examine their prophecy, they'd come back to the Word. But, you see, if them prophets would've stopped and examined their prophecy... They reasoned; they said, "That belongs to us, so we'll go up to Ramoth Gilead and we'll take it; because it belongs to us. Joshua give it to us."
E-160 But Micaiah said, "That sounds reasonable."
But that's what it is. You don't want to reason; you want to believe what God said. Don't reason nothing.
E-161 What if Abraham would've reasoned? How would he ever left his land? How would he been a hundred years old, still giving praise to God, and they going to have the baby by Sarah, and her ninety? Cast away reasons; you just believe.
E-162 You let the devil tell you, "You know, Brother Branham ain't nothing but a hypocrite."
"Now, I... Now, wait, let me see if he's--let's see if he's teaching right. Let me go back to the Bible."
E-163 "Don't--don't do..." He won't let you do that. No, no. See? But he'll say something bad about me (which he might have a right to), then you just keep getting that, stop and start reasoning, "Yeah, he oughtn't to have done this; he oughtn't to have done that."
E-164 You start looking at me, well, you just have plenty. And you could about looking at the Lord Jesus, you can find plenty. Look at Him just a minute. I'm going to put each one of you a minister. Now, we're going to forget He ever was on earth. Here's a boy that's proven the whole nation over, that He's a--a bastard-born child; His mother had Him before her and His father was ever married; it's proven. Now, they're not going to the Word, "A virgin shall conceive"; they're just going to what they hear. Uh-huh. See? A illegitimate child: didn't they tell Him He was born in sin and try to teach them? See?
E-165 And look at what He was doing. He was actually tearing up every church there was in the country. Was that right?
E-166 Organizations, everything else... What was He? Just some overgrown boy going around like that, young fellow, no denomination...
"Tell me what church you belong to. Who is your father? You say Joseph's not your father?"
"Joseph is not My father," He'd say.
"Well, who is your father?"
"God's My Father."
E-167 "Well, you fanatic. That's exactly what you...?... You being a man and saying God is your father?"
E-168 If they would've examined it by the Word... Hallelujah. Don't you see what, the Word was to be made flesh. They didn't examine their vision with the Word.
E-169 That's it; that's what's the matter today. You don't examine your visions with the--your--your prophecy and your doctrine with God's Word. Somebody try to tell you Truth, then you fall out with them. Just like Amos would--Amos did, you'd do the same thing.
Now, look here, He's in this condition. Now, you would've condemned Him, perhaps (That's right.), if you hadn't have went back to the Word. They do the same; they condemn Him today.
E-170 What if you women here and here... Yeah. Why don't you examine your idea of your bobbed hair with the Word and see what It says? Why don't you do those things?
E-171 Why don't you examine your baptism of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that false trinity it's so-called, which is nothing in the world but three offices of one God: titles. No name of Father, there's no such a thing as name, Father, Son, Holy Ghost: Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Examine your baptism with the way everyone in the Bible was baptized.
E-172 If you'd examine your thought with the Word, you--you'd come back and you'd be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Paul told them to do, and said if anybody else taught anything different let him--let him be accursed, even if an Angel come down...
E-173 You know, lot of times Angels come down. Boy, how Pentecost eats that up. How about when St. Martin was standing there, and here stood a great, bright being stood before him: a man who baptized in Jesus' Name, who believed in the Holy Ghost, and kept the Word. And the Romans kicking him out, and doing everything to him trying to get in their dogmas and manmade doctrines, that man stood on the Word. And one day in his power... The devils would come to him and try to talk to him. He wouldn't pay no attention to them. One day Satan came like a--like Christ, crowned, golden slippers on, stood there and said, "Don't you..." Blazes of fire around him, said, "Don't you recognize me, Martin? I'm your Lord; worship me."
E-174 Martin looked at him; there's something wrong there.
He said, "Martin, can't you recognize me?" Said, "I am your Lord and Saviour." Said, "Worship me."
And he said that three times, and Martin looked around; he seen Christ would be crowned by His people at the coming; He wouldn't be wearing golden slippers. He said, "Get thee away from me, Satan." Boy, wouldn't Pentecostals eat that up? Boy, a bright shining angel...
E-175 That woman come down from Chicago (where I'm going) said, "Brother Branham, the ministers up there said if the Angel of the Lord told you to baptize in Jesus' Name, they'd accept it; but they say that's your own thought."
I said, "If the Angel of the Lord said anything contrary to that, it wouldn't be the Angel of the Lord." See?
E-176 If the--if any Angel says anything that's contrary to this Word, let it be a lie. And if a man tells you, a messenger from God (says he's from God), and tells you it's right to be baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost, let him be a liar. If a man tells you it's all right for you to wear bobbed hair and things like that, that you ought to wear a hat in the church for a bonnet to be a covering, let him be a liar: the Word of God, the Truth. Any of these things that's against the Word, let it be a lie. It's the Word is the Truth; It'll stand.
E-177 That's the reason Micaiah could know that his prophecy come from God, because he was with the Word of God. Yes, sir. His vision banked up just the same as the Word of God.
E-178 Oh, if Amos was here, he'd stay with the Word. That's right. But you see what's the trouble today with us is like it is with them. (I'm fixing to close.) The trouble with us is like it was them. They had been taught off the Foundation. Jesus said, "You have made the Word of God of non-effect by your traditions."
E-179 And that false baptism, that false sign of receiving the Holy Ghost... Some of them say, "Shake a hand."
Some of them said, "Speak in tongues."
E-180 I've heard devils speak with tongues and shake hands too. Yes, sir. That's no sign of It. Now, look, all these things like that, all those things... See? You get off the Word of God to teach those traditions. That's right.
E-181 Now, he'd--he'd have to take you back to the Word. But we have--our teachers today has taught people off of the Foundation of God's Word. Now, listen close. That's what they'd done there; that's what Amos was telling them. "The God that you claim to know, He's the One's going to destroy you."
E-182 Now, we have taught them off of what? The Foundation of the faith that was once delivered to the Pentecostal fathers (Yeah.): the Bible: taught a false purgatory, taught a false baptism, everything false, false, false, separating from the original. You don't believe it, come back to the Bible and take your purgatory, and take your Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and sprinkling and all that stuff, and come back and see if it's Scriptural. That's the way. Find out if it's on the Foundation.
E-183 See, they're off of the Foundation which Paul said that the Bible... The Bible speaks that the--the--that the Church of God is founded upon the doctrine of the apostles and the prophets. The prophets and apostles has to be the same. Sure. What? We went off of that Foundation of the Word to denominational foundations.
E-184 Listen now in closing. Put on your spiritual hearing aid. Listen, we've got off of the Foundation of the Word and on the foundation of a denomination. How long could I stay on that? Another three hours. Off of the Foundation of the Word onto the foundation of worldly pleasures, worldliness, immoral creeping into the church, off of the Word onto creeds. That would take me three weeks to preach that through halfway, them four comments right there. Off of the Word onto a denomination. Denomination and Word... As soon as the church denominates, it's off the Word right then.
E-185 There ain't but one thing: come right back where it left off and go again; come back onto the Word. That's right. "Repent" means "to go--turn back, about face"; you're going the wrong way. All right.
E-186 Denomination of pleasure... Denomination of wor--a foundation, I mean, of--of pleasure, foundation of worldliness, foundation of creeds, and all that together hatched out a immoral corruption, spiritual corruption.
E-187 He being a true prophet, he would see in us just exactly what he seen in them. If he was standing here on this platform today, and I'd say, "Brother Amos, great prophet of God, you fearless one, come here and take my place." He'd preach this Word. He'd have to; he's a prophet. All right. He would preach it just exactly the way It's written, just what we're saying now. All right. He'd be--see in them what he see in us: immoral decay.
E-188 Just look, friends. How many here in this present church here now, sees that the world's in immoral decay? Why, we know it is. Well, what's the matter? It's off the Word. That's right. All right.
E-189 Amos never blamed the government. Did you notice him here (when you read it when you go home)? He never blamed the government; he blamed the church for electing such a government. Uh-huh. Umm, you politicians... Let me let that grind in you awhile, here and across the world where it'll go.
E-190 The church elected such a thing as Jeroboam. Wonder if you--we haven't done about the same thing? Let's say it's a good government. Government can't build a house on a rock when the people elect house on a sand. Can it? Don't say, "Our government, our government"; it's you the nation; it's the people. How can we...
E-191 A minister said to me; he said, "Brother Branham," said, "look; I know you're right in that," but said, "if I would preach that, my denomination'd kick me out; my people'll run me out of the church." Said, "I'd never preach another sermon."
I said, "Preach it anyhow."
E-192 Yes, sir. It's God's Word. You're responsible, if you're a prophet of God, true, you'll stay with the Word; if not, you'll stay with your denomination. Depends on where you're from.
E-193 Look. No, sir, we cannot build... The government can't build a house upon a solid rock, when the people are voting for a house of pleasure on sinking sands.
Look what we want. Let's just take a minute now. Or... I hope I don't wear you out. But let's look what we want, just a minute. I can't pass this comment, this note. Look what we want.
E-194 Look at our television. That's what we want. We want some of these comedians to stand up there and turn all kind of dirty jokes, and we stay home from prayer meeting on Wednesday night, or the preacher'll let out early so that you can go and see it: some old filthy, dirty, five or six times married prostitute, cracking dirty jokes, sexy dressed, and carrying on like everything, and you love that better than you love the house of God. It shows what kind of spirit's in you.
E-195 We permit it. We the people... If the people of this nation would write letters to our government (say, there'd be a hundred million letters fly into that government), "Stop them filthy programs," they'd have to do it. We are the people, but we the people want filthiness; so that's what we get.
Look at the radio programs. Oh, my. Turn "Rock of Ages" into twist, "Old Rugged Cross" into swing, rock-and-roll by it--"The Old Rugged Cross," yeah, sure, on our radios, television, all the...
E-196 Took here not long ago them hoops, them little girls... Everything just as immoral as they can get, that's what we love. What's it sponsored by? Beer, whiskey, cigarettes, the money of the nation. What do they do? Take their tax money that should go to the government for taxes and pay for the dirty filthy television programs they put on.
E-197 The Pentecostals used to wouldn't go to them dirty, filthy picture shows when they had such plays. The devil put one on you, and put the television in your house.
E-198 A way of a true prophet's pretty hard, but let's stay with the Truth. Yes, sir.
E-199 Look at our billboards: women standing out with cigarettes in their hand, every little Jezebel in the country... Why, I went to the... The other day I seen a strange thing: there was one woman that (I come over to the school out there to get the kids, when I went over to get them)--that didn't have on a pair of shorts, and it freezing weather. Every one of them with cigarette... As soon as they get there and stop, if they didn't have a cigarette, they'd light it right quick and [Brother Branham makes a sound like blowing smoke out--Ed.] "See how I'm getting along?" Holding that hand out the door like this with a cigarette in their hand... And you say something to them, oh, they blow up. Sure.
E-200 You say something to Ricky, or Elvis, or one of them out there, they'd shoot you. And the government would back them up, 'cause they're only teenagers. "Well, that's all right. They was--they didn't understand. They're teenagers; overlook it."
E-201 Now, you see what a true prophet means? His way?
E-202 Look at these filthy dreamers in the churches with their denomination, they'd shoot you right in the back. The only thing keeps them from doing it is the mercy of God till the Message is got out. The devil will kill you, if he could do it. That's right. But the Message has got to go. "I, the Lord, will restore." That's right. "I'll--able of these stones to rise it." That's right. All right.
E-203 Our picture shows, our billboards, our pleasure-loving sinners calling themselves Christians, people who call themselves Christians, pleasure lovers, lust seekers, women immoral dressed, men looking at them, whistling at them, calling themselves Christians, going out... Why, they've even got--they've even got... It's a great thing in Florida, California, that they have big clubs now; all the men get together and throw their keys in, and the women goes in and gets one of the keys out of there; and ever who it is takes his wife home; they live a week and then come back and throw their keys in again. See? It's clubs, bastard born children and everything else, hog eat hog, dog eat dog. What's the matter? It's because they've left the Word.
They don't know what decency means. Out here with a little old tight dresses on, and things like that, and men lusting after them, and think that they're decent. You might not have done nothing wrong, sister, but let me tell you something; you're a tool of the devil. And at the judgment bar, THUS SAITH THE LORD, you'll answer for committing adultery, and your soul will be gone. You know better; you know it now, anyhow. That's right.
E-204 Our whole setup is corrupt and decayed. It's our people, what they want. Like a good man of the house. Why, if a man was a good man of the house, blaming your government... That's what sends our boys out here and makes cannon fodder out of them (That's right.), because our own corruption. If we loved the Lord, and served the Lord, and voted the right kind of government and everything else, it'd be a wonderful place. That's right. We'd have no wars. No. God's our Refuge and Strength.
E-205 Send our boys out and kill them up, and butcher them up, and everything else, is because our own action has brought it to pass. God said so in the Bible, and He don't change; He's just the same. It's their own people's want.
E-206 Like a good man of the house, what if he's a good man? He wants to do right; he wants to live for God; and he's got a pleasure, immoral loving family? What's a man going to do when his wife wants to dress with shorts on, and wear sexy-looking clothes, and get out, and act like a Jezebel, and his daughters, and all of his kids, and all of them. His daddy says--his little boy he raised up, and loved, and packed, and kissed, and put in the bed, and prayed for him, stand up and say, "My old man's crazy; all he thinks about's the Bible." What can that man do with his family?
E-207 That's the same thing that our government, about its--its people here. Don't blame the government, blame this bunch of backslidden churches for putting such things in their politics as they got. They want it. And that's the reason they vote for it, and that's the reason they got it; and that's the reason the judgment of God's upon them; and they're going to reap what they sowed. They're sowing now and they're going to reap later.
E-208 We... Watch. Oh, we're mad stricken (Oh, yeah.), trying to buy our way into Russia, trying to buy our way with communism, trying to... Why, money... You can't buy these gifts of God.
E-209 There was a guy, Simon, tried to do it one day, and Peter said, "You perish with your money." We're playing the part of Simon the sorcerer, trying to buy a gift of God.
E-210 Come back to the Word; come back to God; come back to Christ; and then don't worry about communism. We'll vote the right man in; we'll have another man like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, or somebody that was real men. Don't blame that government up there; blame ourselves. That's what Amos would say, and that's what any true prophet of God would say, if he knows the Word of God. If he's a true prophet, he--he knows the Word, 'cause It comes to him.
E-211 Israel in their alliance with--with their make--enemy. First they had to get away from the Word of God, before they could make an alliance with their enemy. And before we could ever make an alliance with our enemies and things, we have to get away from the Word of God.
E-212 Same now, letting Rome take over, why, we're doing it all the time. She's took the government; she's taking the places; she's taking the people; now she's taking the churches. What are we doing? Setting still, agreeing with them. "Oh, it don't make any difference whether it's this way, that way; it's all God anyhow."
E-213 You poor, miserable, backslidden so-called prophets. What's the matter with you? They don't know the Word about God in these things. They don't study the Word. They don't realize. They say communism's going to take the world over. No, it isn't. Romanism's going to take the world. And it's doing it under the name of Christianity. Didn't the Bible, Jesus say it'd be so close it'd fool the very elect if possible?
E-214 What we need today... (Let me close in saying this. And I'm going to close.) What we need today is another true prophet. Amen. We need a man for the Word of God to come to. Yes, brother. He'd be rejected, and run out, and cast out; but he'd sure blast a hole. He--he could. He'd sure sow such seeds, till the elected would find it. That's right. We need a prophet. We need a man who the right interpretation of the Word comes to, that God speaks through him and vindicates the Word to make It true. That's what we need, and, brother, we are promised one according to Malachi 4, to restore what? The faith of the people back to the Bible. We're promised one; he'll do it.
E-215 Amos knew (Yes, sir.)--Amos knew Israel, her ungodly lovers would soon destroy them. And their ungodly lovers of today will soon destroy them. The very denominational creeds and things, that they've bound themselves into (you Pentecostals), that's the thing's going to destroy you: your creed and denomination. You're binding yourself right up yonder to take the mark of the beast and don't even know it, holding it right over your eyes. Sure it is, a boycott. What are you trying to do? You belong to this or you don't belong. See? You just wait. Just get a little--just a little bit longer. Then you say, "I'll get out of it then."
E-216 No, you won't; you're already in it; you're already marked; you're caught with the mark on you.
No matter, Esau weeped bitterly when he knowed better; but he wept bitterly, trying to find a place to repent and couldn't find it. You'll stay there then. Now's the time to flee.
E-217 Amos knew that their ungodly lovers would soon destroy her, for they, the church, had left Him, God, and His Word, the way of life. They'd got away from God's way of life and made their own. Oh, the Word was a stumbling block to them, and It's the same thing today. The Word of God is a stumbling Block to the so-called Christian. Tell him about the water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ. Tell him about the holy God that'll make...
Well, they say, "Well, we got the Holy Ghost."
E-218 Then why are you still wearing bobbed hair? Why do you still baptize in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost? Why do you still believe in these other things that you believe and acting the way you do? Goes to show that your fruits prove it. Jesus said, "By their fruits they're known." See, that just goes to show you; you're talking about something you know nothing about. Yes, sir.
E-219 Yes. If Amos was here, he'd cry against their systems. You know that?
E-220 Now, I'm going to read one verse before closing, the 8th verse of the 3rd chapter, and let's read.
The lion has roared, who will not fear? the Lord... has spoken, who can but prophesy?
E-221 Listen. In closing now I want to say this. I'm sorry to have kept you a half hour late, but look; I want to say this: I'm a hunter; I hunt. I'm glad God give me something like that. The other day when the gun went off, I went right back down to see if I could shoot again. I don't want it to scare me. If I had a wreck out on the road, I wouldn't quit driving a car. If I walk across the floor, and stumble my toe on the carpet, and went through the window, I wouldn't quit walking. See? No, no. God give me a clean exercise; that was Satan; that wasn't God. See? That was Satan.
E-222 Now, I know the spiritual application to it. There's three of us in this room right now that knows what it is, and it'd raise the hair on your head. But I wouldn't tell no one (See?), just these three people for a confirmation. Now, it's all all right. It's all... God knowed all about it, and forewarned it, and everything else; and we know. And it's partly my fault, and I had something... I'd--I'd took up for a man one time, when I should not have took up. I could've just shook the liver out of him. See? Instead of doing it, I had to pay for it. So then... So we... That's all right; it's me, and it's forgiven now, and we'll go on. See?
E-223 Yes, Amos, this 8th verse: "If a lion roars who will not fear?"
E-224 I've hunted in the African jungles. I've been around where lions were. He's the king of the beasts. I've laid out in the jungles at nighttime and hear the squawking and the hyenas, the laughing, the howling, and--and the--and the different animals. And then some of them hyenas would make--just curdle your blood when they scream. And there was leopards and--a-whining, and everything else, and beetles, and monkeys, and baboons, and thousands times thousands squeak, squawk, walk everywhere; you can hear all kinds of things going on, but let a lion roar, the beetles'll even keep still. It's a deathly hush. They keep still. What? Their king has spoken. Amen.
E-225 If a lion roars, who'll not fear? When God speaks, who can keep from prophesying? When God speaks, the prophet cries. You know what I mean? The true prophet cries. Friends, He has spoken. Uh-huh. Then let every creature of His kingdom take heed to what He said. If a lion can recognize that there's something wrong, when he roars everything of his kingdom hushes. They listen. Even the little beetles, yet he's in the kingdom of that lion. That blood-shrilling howl of the hyena, he shuts up. That elephant there, that could pick up the lion and whirl him around with his [Brother Branham makes a sound like an elephant--Ed.]; and let a lion roar, he'll shut up and stand still. Let the cape buffalo who can snort, look like blowed fire from his nose, when a lion jump on him, wouldn't even harm him... Let the rhino with his seven tons of armored piercing and his big snoot, let a lion roar, he stops in his tracks. What's the matter? His king has spoken. See? He wants to hear what's going to be said.
E-226 And when God speaks, the prophet cries; and then let His Kingdom take heed to what He's saying. God has spoken; let every creature of His Kingdom listen to what He's saying. Let's pray now.
E-227 O Lion of the tribe of Judah, rise up and roar. Thou art roaring in this last day. Your eyes are narrowed; You're looking down. You're seeing the sin of this so-called Christian nation and world. You're seeing the sin of this nation, when it's been bought with precious Blood. You're seeing how the denominations are wading over Your Word, see how the false prophets are lying, God's Truth they're denying.
E-228 Roar, O Lion of Judah; let Your prophets cry out. When God speaks, who can keep from prophesying? It's the Word of God coming out of the Bible, moving up through the prophet. How can he hold his peace? If he would, he'd blow to pieces.
E-229 Oh, God, let Your prophet roar, Lord. Roar out Your Message, God, and let every creature of Your Kingdom take heed. May they stop. May the women stop and examine themselves. May the men stop and examine themself. May every preacher that listens to this tape, stop and examine himself, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah roars, and the true Word, coming to the prophets, speak, cry out, "Repent and turn back before it's too late."
E-230 God, I commit the message on the tape and in this visible audience to You this morning, for--trusting You'll approve it and call every son and daughter of God, that's under--that'll ever hear this tape or under the sound of the voice, they'll--back to repentance before it's too late.
And I believe, Lord, if You'd sent Amos here, he'd cry the same thing; for he could not cry... But if he is a prophet of the Lord, he's a sender forth of the Word. He's sent forth by the Word, with the Word, and he is the Word. Now, Lord, let it be done in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.