E-1 Thank you, brother. [Brother Samuel Johnson says, "God bless you, Brother Branham."—Ed.] My, I would have to live some, to live up a reputation like that, wouldn't I? I certainly appreciate that, though. If there was no one believed, what good would it do me to go? Yeah. You have to have someone to believe. No matter what God would do, if you don't believe what He is doing, then… It has to be two of us, you know, somebody has to believe with me for this. And no matter what would take place, if—if no one believes, then it would be of no benefit, it would be of no use at all. But I'm so glad to hear that people still believes this wonderful story of the Lord Jesus. He is kind love to us all.
E-2 And I had such a wonderful time last night. I—I went home and lived off the results of it till this time. I come back to refill. And I think this is what we all come for, is to hear the songs of Zion, the testimonies of the people, and in the house of the Lord.
E-3 Now, I believe it was said once, in the Bible, "How sweet that brethren to dwell together in unity." It's like the anointing oil that was on Aaron's beard, that run to the hems of his skirt. I think there is nothing any more precious than to see a—a unified people, in the Spirit of the Lord, to be unity, all agreeing.
E-4 You know, I think the ten days that they were waiting for the—the original, first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, how that must have been a unifying time, of the people all in one heart and one accord. And every time that man gets together like that, since then, the Holy Spirit always meets with them.
E-5 The Bible said, Jesus speaking, said that, "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst of them." So now we know, truthfully, that Jesus has gathered with us, because we have gathered in His Name.
E-6 Now, tonight, it's been given over to pray for the sick people. And as I come in the door, I seen there was those laying there, who were sick and afflicted. My son just returned back to pick up Sister Moore and I, and to bring over to the church; and he said he had give out some prayer cards, so he could number them and—and bring the people up one at a time, to pray for them.
E-7 Today I had a wonderful day. I was down in a—a little park down here, and there was a man coming along, gathering up the—the stuff out of the garbage can.
I said, "I'm here for the meeting."
He said, "Oh, up there at the campgrounds?"
I said, "Yes."
E-8 He said, "Well," he said, "I'm going up tomorrow night." He said, "There is a minister, Brother Branham, is going to speak."
And I said, "Yes, sir."
E-9 And he said, "Well," he said, "I want to go up." Said, "My wife and family was up last evening." And—and the—the man was smoking.
E-10 And—and I said, "Well," I said, "do you know Brother Branham?"
E-11 Said, "Oh, it's been years ago." Said, "He was here for… I always thought it taken a lot of nerve, or faith, or something." Said, "I was over here at the armory to see him bring those people up there, in cots and stretchers, and blind and twisted, and see them walk off the platform."
But I—I said, "I—I am Brother Branham."
E-12 And he—he said, "Oh, I'm not…" Kind of put his cigarette back. And very gentleman type of fellow. And another man come up, very nice.
E-13 We had a little talk, was expressing to them about the Presence of God. "There—there is no—nowhere you can look. You can look at the tree, you can see it's governed by God. And everything that you look at is God." I said, "I hope if we meet again, in life, that you'll be Christian like your family." Prayed for them as soon as they left, the other gentleman.
E-14 And if they're here tonight, I hope I don't embarrass them by saying this, but I—I—I'm trusting that God will make Christians out of both of those man. We want to meet again in a better land, where the Tree of Life is blooming on the other side of the river. We all know we're coming that way.
E-15 And now just going through the markets and places, and brings back old memories. And last evening when I was going out, Brother Johnson was sitting out there, a brother, he and Sister Johnson. I haven't seen them for a number of years. Last time I seen him, he was stroked, was paralyzed. It was over in California, Brother Noel. It brings back the memories of the old days, the first coming to Arkansas, little city called Moark, a little Pentecostal church sitting back to one side. On down to Brother… to Corning, Arkansas, Brother Johnson and his wife. And how I remember those great days!
E-16 Then on down to Brother T. Richard Reed. I remember the morning, down at Jonesboro, his wife, she was barren. He wanted children.
E-17 I was back there in the room, and the people had tore the screen off the window, getting in, praying for the sick. He put me back in a room. I'd have a prayer line. He thought I went in and go to bed, and there would be people standing all up-and-down the back yard, have a prayer line. And him out there sleeping; I was back there praying for the sick, through the window.
E-18 And I remember, next morning, going out. And Sister Reed had doctored and everything, to try to have a little one. And I started walking through the doors, one of the first visions in the meeting, I saw her holding a little blond-headed baby boy. I spoke in the Name of the Lord that she would have it. She did, and how God blessed their home.
E-19 And, oh, so many things! And Brother G. H. Brown; Little Rock down here. I remember there, 505 Victor Street.
E-20 You know, I—I'd like to just take a series of meetings and trail myself back around through, in Arkansas and them churches and things, and see the people, and shake their hands. That's wonderful, the people of God! Everywhere I've went, I've been way down in the jungles of Africa, and over among the Indians, the fire-eaters, and witch doctors, and all through the nations, and around the world, but I've never forgotten my friends in Arkansas, of how they'd hold them hands, and lay their kids under the truck while it was play… raining. See young girls walk down the street, barefooted, or down the road, and then dust off their feet and put on their shoes and stockings, come in. Me back in the bushes, praying for the meeting. I'll never forget that, what real genuine people are. I am so thankful that there is still people like that in the world.
E-21 Tonight, I had forgotten about having to come to this meeting the other day, and it's just pulled, tugged. The other day the… one of the managers of the meeting takes care of the foreign mail, come in with—with six hundred foreign invitations, and many of them petitions; besides, a book that thick, in the last six months, has come in for places. I wish I could go to every one of them. But I usually just try to go the way the Lord leads me. I've never let my meetings get big. I'm still the same little old guy that did come at one time. Don't have to have any money. I haven't any great big programs to sponsor. I don't need any money at all. The Lord takes care of that, like He did in the first place.
E-22 The only difference tonight, I was from the time I come to Corning, I believe I had a—a torn pocket, that my brother had gave me a suit that he had. Young fellow, and he—he tore it. And—and I… It was on the right-hand side, and tore a big place in the back. Wife and I went down to the ten-cent store and got some of these patches you iron on, you know, but it wouldn't iron on this pocket. It kept pulling out. And I got me a thread and sewed it up. It wasn't a very good job. I didn't have a coat then, and I remember I used to have to hold my right hand over that tore place, and shake hands with my minister friends with my left hand, to keep from showing that coat. And I said, "Excuse the left hand, it's closer to my heart." Well, I got a better coat tonight, but I still want you close to my heart. You've been there all along. I love the Lord Jesus just as I did then.
E-23 And I've had the privilege of speaking to five hundred thousand people at one time. I've seen altar calls, as many as thirty thousand blanket-natives give their hearts to Jesus Christ at one time, break their idols on the ground. Seen twenty-five thousand outstanding miracles performed in one second's time, with one prayer, at Durban, South Africa; where sixteen truck loads of wheelchairs, cots and stretchers—stretchers come down the street.
E-24 The next day, when Sidney Smith, the mayor, told me to go; called me up, said, "Go to the room and look out towards the Indian Sea there." And there they come down, natives who was at war with one another; laying in cots and stretchers, homemade things they had brought them in, the day before; and here they was coming down behind these sixteen van loads, singing, "Only believe! All things are possible, only believe."
E-25 Makes you think, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." To know that I have fellowship with such people, to live here on this earth and in Eternity, together.
E-26 I deem this a great privilege, in your campaign, or here in your convention. I've been honored highly to speak at one of your meetings tomorrow, at noon I think it is, and from twelve o'clock until twelve-thirty, or something like that, tomorrow. The Lord willing, I want to be here just with a simple little Gospel Message.
E-27 Tonight now, to pray for the sick. I don't… The anointing of praying for the sick is a… It's the same Spirit, but a different anointing while praying for the sick, than it is this way. I haven't eaten since early today. And I come to the building, fasting, praying. And—and I don't want to be preaching so that I'll be under the anointing like when my minister brothers, to preach. I—I want to feel the Presence of the Lord when I pray for the sick, 'cause each one that I'll pray for, tonight, I—I want it to be, I want them to be healed. I—I want it for the glory of God, that—that God would heal the sick. And I believe He will do it.
E-28 So to do this, and many of you people probably has never been in a meeting before, and many of you is not acquainted with the ministry. Some of you remember when I was here the first time in Arkansas. It was predicted, you remember. I take a hold of the people's hand, and I'd just hold their hand there a few moments, and then the Lord would speak and would just say what they had. Then I told you that He told me, when He met me, that, "You, if you'd be sincere, that it would step up again and you would know the very secret of their hearts." How many ever heard me say that before it happened? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Well, it went to that. Now it's gone more. It just keeps… The Lord keeps blessing, and we're just thankful for that.
E-29 Some way, I'm not a preacher; anyone knows that. I'm, I'm—I'm a spare tire. You use a spare tire when you got a… We haven't got no flats, though. Now we, I'm just happen to be coming, and they just want to roll the spare a little while. But I—I am a spare-tire minister, because I haven't got the education to be a preacher; never went to any Bible school. But what I know about Jesus Christ, I like to express it in my own feeble way, and God has honored it. And I hope, tonight, that in the way that He sent me to minister to the people, that is praying for the sick, that He will vindicate Hisself before you tonight, that the God that I love and you love is with us tonight.
E-30 Let us now for a little routine Message. If you don't get the Message before the people, someone doesn't understand. They'll go away and say, "I never heard of such. I know there ain't no such thing as that in the Bible."
E-31 So to order to—to get this laid down, I—I want you to listen real close now, for a few moments, of a regular little routine Message title, the campaign theme: Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever. Now remember that title, that: Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever.
E-32 And I'd like to ask this, before I read, can you hear me alright? Someone told me that there was a rebound, because the ceiling like that. Is it better if I stand back like this? Is that? [Congregation says, "No."—Ed.] No. Have to get close. Is that better? ["Yes."] All right. That's fine. All right.
E-33 Now we want to turn in the Scriptures, to Saint John 12, and the 20th verse, and read from here.
Now there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
E-34 Now that's quite a question, and it's a great desire. And now, for the next twenty or thirty minutes, let's listen real close now, and then it won't be a mystery to you.
E-35 Now, I am a great believer in what the Word of God says. Now, I know God can do things that's not written in the Word. But is… if He will just do what He has promised in the Word, that will be sufficient for me, just to see Him. Then I know it's right, if He wrote it in the Word.
E-36 Now if the Bible said that, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever," now these Greeks had the same desire, I suppose, that we all have here tonight. For, there is no man, or person, that ever heard the Name of Jesus Christ, but what is desirous to see Him.
E-37 If I should ask this audience tonight, I suppose every hand would go up, "Would you like to see Jesus?" That's just, see, everywhere. We love Him. Well, then I'm asking this question, then why can't we see Him, if the Bible said He is the same yesterday, today, and forever?
E-38 Now it doesn't mean just in a way. The Bible said, "He is the same." Now to me, the Bible, It either It is wrong or It is right. Now, if that's not the inspired Word of God, then I don't know what to believe.
E-39 I've had the privilege of seeing many, many forms of religion, right in—in—in Durban.
E-40 And in Bombay, I was entertained one afternoon in the temple of the Jains, where seventeen different religions of India, every one of them denying Jesus Christ, and every… Entertained there by these seventeen different religions.
E-41 And I seen that night, under the power of the Holy Spirit, how that God put a challenge to every holy man, every religion, and everything else, to a blind man standing on the platform. When they seen the discernment, they thought it was a telepathy of some sort. Then a vision broke over a man that had been blind for twenty years, a worshiper of the sun. And I saw the vision that he was going to be healed. Then I challenged every Mohammedan priest, every Buddha priest, every holy man, Raja's, all, that, "Any man that will come here and give this man his sight, I'll worship the god that gives him his sight. And he said he will do the same." He worshiped the sun.
E-42 And I said, "What, what would you do? What would you Mohammedans do with him? You would say, 'He worshiped the—the creation instead of the Creator.'" I said, "I would say 'amen' to that. But then there has got to be somebody right and somebody wrong." I said, "What would you do? You would make a Mohammedan out of him. The Buddha would make a Buddha worshiper, and so forth." I said, "What would you do? You would only change his mind. You would only change his way of thinking."
E-43 I said, "We have the same thing in the United States. All the Methodists wants the Baptists to become Methodist. And then the Presbyterian wants them all to become Presbyterians. And—and the Oneness wants them become Twoness. And twoness wants them become… Oh, my! What is it? It's a change of mind. There has got to be something real somewhere. See, something has got to be right, and something is wrong."
E-44 I said, "Now let the God of creation restore his sight, before here a half a million people. And he said, the god that will give him his sight, he'll serve." And I said, "I'll become a disciple of the man who comes and gives him his sight."
E-45 That was the stillest five hundred thousand you ever heard. Nobody. I wouldn't have made that challenge if I hadn't have seen the vision. Now, there was five hundred thousand witnesses of that.
E-46 And I said, "Why don't you come? Because you can't do it." And I said, "You, you Mohammedans, you claim the Mohammed religion the greatest in the nation," and I said, "and which it may be, in numbers; and the Buddha, and so forth. But surely there is some priest that's able to come and accept this challenge." Nobody did.
E-47 I said, "The reason you don't, is because you can't. And neither can I. But the God of Heaven, has raised up Jesus Christ, who I am His witness tonight, that I've seen a vision that the man is going to receive his sight. If he doesn't do it, then I'm a false prophet, and run me out of your country. But if He does do it, then you're obligated, before your own priests and everything, to witness that He is truly the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world." Everybody was quiet.
E-48 Brought the blind man; put my arms around him. I said, "Lord Jesus, according to the vision that cannot fail, I pray You would give the man his sight." And he begin to scream. And the mayor of the city was sitting there, and he run and grabbed him. He could see as good as I could.
E-49 Then they had a militia of about, oh, hundreds of soldiers, couldn't keep the people back. They run over the top of the soldiers, run beneath their legs and sticks, that they were trying to keep the crowds back. Time I got to a car and got out, I hardly had clothes on, no shoes on my feet, jerking for the shoes, and jerking for the coat and everything, hungering and thirsting for God.
E-50 But the God of Elijah still lives today, and He is just as much God as He ever was.
E-51 Now all founders of religion. Standing there at the grave of Mohammed, has been a white horse, that's been standing there for two thousand years. They've changed the guards about every four or six hours, and they're expecting Mohammed to rise and—and ride down the world. You know, the… and he wrote the book of the Koran, and so forth. But, oh, Buddha, about twenty-three hundred years ago, was a—a man, a religious man in—in Japan, and so forth. And all these religions, every one of their founders is dead and in the grave.
E-52 But Christianity, after a world-wide experience, Christianity is the only true religion. It's the only one that can show an empty grave. It's the only one that their founder, any man, and no man like Him, ever stood on earth and said, "I have power to lay my life down and take it up again. A little while and the world seeth Me no more, yet ye shall see Me. The unbeliever won't see Me no more, yet ye shall see Me. For I," I is a personal pronoun, "I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world, to the consummation." Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever!
E-53 Now we come to the thought. Now if He is the same, He is not dead. He is risen from the dead, and He promised that His believers would see Him, all down to the end. Plumb to the consummation, that they would see Him, now, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-54 Many man that I've talked to, said, "Well, in a way He is the same."
The Bible didn't say, "in a way." It said, "He is the same."
E-55 And if we hunger to see Him, with the same enthusiasm that these Greeks did. They had heard of Him, they come and they got to see Him, through the courtesy of one of His disciples. Well, can't we do the same, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? "Sirs, we would see Jesus."
E-56 Now, we can talk about the resurrection, we can speak of it. But if it isn't a reality, it becomes just a—a mere myth, it's a story. But if it's proven that it is the Truth, then we are among the people most happy, and I'm glad to be with them.
E-57 Now, if—if Jesus Christ will appear before us, tonight, and we can see by God-given principles, and by the very acts of His Being, that He is here, then we should at least accept Him, make Him welcome. Now, that's a great big statement, but we have a great big God that keeps every one of His Words.
E-58 And when we find anything in the Bible, hang your soul on it. It's the Truth. Just stay right with what God promised. God will do.
E-59 If we are the children of Abraham, we believe those things. Abraham, against great circumstances, called the things that were not, as though they were, because he believed that God was able to keep His Word. And we call ourself the children of Abraham. Abraham waited twenty-five years for the promise. Instead of getting weaker, he grew stronger. And how different it seems to be today with His royal Seed.
E-60 Now, the real seed of Abraham is—was Isaac, we realize that, which come the Jew, which is outward.
E-61 But the Seed that God was giving the promise to, was the Seed of Abraham, the faith that he had in God. Which, through Jesus Christ, Who is His Word, we become heirs with Him. And this church, tonight, of the pilgrims of this day, is absolutely the royal Seed of Abraham, with genuine faith.
E-62 Now, if I would ask the Methodists, "Do you believe it?" "Yes." "Do you believe He is with you?" "Yes." The Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, so forth, everybody would say the same.
E-63 But now how would we look for Him? What kind of a person would we look for, if we wanted to see if He was the same? If He was here in Arkansas, tonight, in this tabernacle, what kind of a person would we look for?
E-64 We, we would look for somebody that's, well, perhaps with a long robe, and a beard on his face, and nail scars in his hand, and thorn prints on his—on his brow? If you would look for a person like that, any hypocrite could deceive you on that. That's right, impersonation. A man could paint scars on his hands, and he could even prick himself with thorns and make the scars, but any impersonator could do that.
E-65 But then if we wasn't looking for that type of a man, not for his dress or what his stature were. Because, if He was here, He would be dressed like we are. There wasn't any difference. He dressed and walked among man just the way man was. He never dressed like the clergy of that day. He just dressed in the common street dress. So He would just be dressed commonly, probably with a suit on, and so forth, like any other man today would wear. Like the working man, or the—the business man, or whatever more, that would be the way He would be dressed. So you never know Him that way. You would never know Him by a figure of stature, whether He was tall, thin, short, heavy; or, we, we don't know, so you would never know.
E-66 But I say what He would be, if He was here today, He would be the Word of God. That's exactly what He was, and He still is. He is the Word, not only the written Word (He is the written Word), but the manifestation of the written Word. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself." God, the Word, was manifested in flesh, in order that His Words might be spoke through human lips and become Word. And He was manifested in flesh, that was Jesus Christ, God, Emmanuel.
Now you say, "Is He the Word?"
E-67 Saint John, the 1st chapter, tells us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."
E-68 What was some of the things that He would do? We find out, in Hebrews, the 4th chapter and the 12th verse, the Bible said that, "The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, and It's a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." The Word is. So the Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That would qualify Jesus, exactly, being the Word. He knowed the thoughts that was in their heart. Hebrews 4:12.
E-69 Now if we wanted to identify Him, would we expect Him to be some Doctor of Divinity? There is no record of Him ever being in a school.
E-70 Could we identify Him with any denomination? He come in the time that there was many denominations, but He never affiliated Himself with any of them. So we couldn't say He was a Pharisee, or a Sadducee, or so and so forth. We couldn't identify Him with any certain denomination.
E-71 He come for the people. God, being God of all, He is the God of the whole creation. He died to save sinners in every church, to—to heal every sick person. He come to accept those who would accept Him.
E-72 That's the same way He is here tonight, to heal those who accept Him, to save those who will accept Him. He comes in the same form, in the same way.
E-73 If He come, He would have to come in a Scriptural identification. If He did not identify Himself… There is no place we could find in the Bible, in the Old Testament, but what He correctly identified Himself with the Scripture, so much that He said, "Who, which one of you can condemn Me of sin?"
E-74 Now, we all know that sin is, "unbelief." "He that believeth not is condemned already." Now, sin is the attribute of unbelief. Smoking cigarettes is not a sin. Stealing is not a sin. Lying is not a sin. Committing adultery is not a sin.
"What is it then?" you would say.
E-75 It's the attributes of unbelief. If you were a believer, you would not do those things. The reason you do it, proves that you're an unbeliever. See? There is only two factions, that's, either you are a believer or not a believer.
E-76 And how, always puzzled me, that a man can claim to have the Holy Spirit in Him, and deny the Word of God being true. When, the Holy Spirit Itself wrote the Word of God. And you know He wouldn't call Hisself wrong. So He wrote the Scriptures, and He stands by the Scriptures, and God watches over Them, to confirm Them.
E-77 So let's just go back and find out what He was, if we want to know if He is the same today. The only true way of finding out, is to find out what He is today, is to go back and find out what He was yesterday, then we know what He will be today. Is that fair enough? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] If we can find what He was yesterday!
E-78 Course, we can start back with a long story. I don't want to keep you long, 'cause you've got to be here tomorrow, and we want to run a prayer line, but I want you to really take this now and listen close. If we can only go back and find what He was yesterday, we can find out then what He is today, because the Bible said, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
E-79 The reason I was turning those pages back, was to find out back here to… I start and I read Saint John 12:20, let's just continue in Saint John. We can take it anywhere in the Scriptures that you want to, because the whole Book is a testimony of Jesus Christ. It's the full revelation of Jesus Christ. Nothing can be added to It or taken away from It. That's what He is. He is Emmanuel, and that—that settles it; no matter what we try to make Him, something else, or a prophet, or—or something like that. He was a prophet; He was more than a prophet. He is a God-prophet. But He was—He was more than that. He was Emmanuel; not just a good man, a teacher, a philosopher. He was all that, too, and plus that. See?
E-80 Now in Saint John, the 1st, we'll start tonight, and maybe tomorrow take it a little, some other Book. Let's start in Saint John 1. We find out… We all know His virgin birth, that how God overshadowed the virgin, and created a Blood cell that brought forth the Son, Christ Jesus. And on the bank of the Jordan, when the God came down in the form of a Light, or a dove, no one seen that but John. All them people standing around, did not see It. No one saw It but John. He was the only one looking for It, so God had told him he would see It.
E-81 You only see what you're looking for. If you come here tonight looking for Christ, you'll see Him. If you come to criticize, you'll have plenty, plenty on your hand to criticize. Depends on what you are looking for.
E-82 John said, "He that told me in the wilderness to go baptize with water, said upon whom I 'shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on, He is the One that will baptize with the Holy Ghost and Fire.'" John bear record, said, "I saw the Spirit of God descending from Heaven, like a dove, and It went upon Him." And then He was drove to the wilderness, and temptation. Come out of the wilderness, and immediately, we find, praying for the sick.
E-83 Now, you see, the first thing, the Spirit of God come upon Him before His ministry, so that's the reason He could say, "It's not Me that doeth the works, it's the Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works." Now we find that His ministry started out, begin healing the sick, by—by prayer.
E-84 Now God heals in many ways. A doctor asked me, not long ago, said, "What's your opinion of medicine, Brother Branham?"
E-85 I said, "Well, God is the only One that can heal, sir." I said, "The Bible don't lie, and the Bible said, 'I am the Lord, heals all your diseases.'" And I said, "The Bible can't lie." I said, "God heals by medicine. God heals by love. God heals by understanding. God heals by care. God heals by prayer. God heals by miracles. The whole thing, God heals. That's all, all there is to it, He is the healer."
E-86 We haven't got a medicine that can create, and create a cell in your hand, to heal; create in your body, to heal. We can move a tooth, we can cut out appendix, or take out a gallbladder, but who healed? God. No medicine will build tissue, only God. Life builds tissue. God is the only healer, and we were talking on that.
E-87 And we find out now, that Jesus went about healing the sick. And there was one of His disciples by the name of Andrew.
E-88 And I want to make this in a drama because there is children sitting here, and a little sick girl laying down there. I want her to get it.
E-89 You know, Andrew was a brother to Simon, which was later called Peter. And Andrew had become a—a follower of John. And John had announced that there was a coming Messiah, and he was sure that it would be in his generation. That's the reason he never went to any schools or seminary. His job was too important.
E-90 Why, you know, if the priest would have understood that he was to be the one to announce the birth… or the coming Messiah, and to introduce Him to the world, why, they would have said, "Now, now, Doctor John, don't you feel like that Brother So-and-so here, don't you think he is just qualified to be the Messiah? Why, look at him, he—he—he has got a good background. You know you know it, that's the Messiah. Why don't you go and tell the world?"
E-91 But, see, his job was too important to be persuaded by man. He went into the wilderness and waited in the seminary of God's learning, until God told him, "Upon Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, that's the One to announce, the Messiah." See?
E-92 Now we find that Andrew had believed it, no doubt had come back and told Simon about it, many times. But Simon, kind of being a little hardheaded, as we… Excuse the expression; I hope it don't sound sacrilegious. But he, kind of a little hardheaded, as we could call it today, "Oh, go on, if you want to listen to that." And one day he come and told him that he had found the Messiah, and he hardly could believe it.
E-93 And I can just see Andrew bringing Simon up now before the Lord Jesus. First time he had ever seen Him. Jesus had just returned from the wilderness. His ministry was starting, now He had to be identified. And as soon as Simon walked into the Presence of the Lord Jesus, Jesus looked at him and said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jona."
E-94 Now immediately we find out that Simon believed. He was then had the name of Peter. Why did he believe it?
E-95 I read a story of his father, Jonas, was a great man of—of prayer. He had raised his boys to—to believe in God. And each day their occupation was fishing, so many times they would have to get on their knees and pray for God to give them a good catch of fish so they could pay off their debts and get bread for that day.
E-96 And before he died, the old fellow sit on the brail of his boat one day, and he said to the boys, he said, "Sons, we are Hebrews, and we believe that there was a coming Messiah. And I have always hoped that I would live to see the day to see the Messiah set his feet on the earth. And I… but I guess I won't live it, because I'm old now and I must go. But, boys, Satan is not going to let that Messiah arise without a lot of false messiahs first. So I want you boys to remember, don't be surprised at a—a lot of things will take place. But I want you boys to be instructed. Remember, that we have this: a Messiah, when He comes, He will have to be Scripturally identified by God, before He is the Messiah." We need more daddies like that today!
E-97 "He'll have to be Scripturally the Messiah. And now we have followed Moses, the great prophet who led our people out of Egypt, and we have listened to his teaching. And we—we know that—that Moses was right. And in Deuteronomy, the 18th chapter, Moses told us that, 'The Messiah; the Lord your God shall raise up a prophet likened unto me, and they must hear Him.'"
E-98 Now, Israel was always taught to only believe the prophets. You Bible teachers know that. And a prophet could only be identified, a prophet, that when he prophesied and the thing he said come to pass. The Bible said, "If there be one among you, who is spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord will speak to him, make Myself known to him, in visions and dreams. And what he says comes to pass, then hear him. But if it doesn't come to pass, don't fear him." That same, that's what He told Moses to tell the people, and that was their Scripture identification that the Messiah would be the prophet.
E-99 Now anyone knows that the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet; not to the priest, but to the prophet. The Bible said so. The Word of the Lord came unto the prophet. And we know, if it's the Word of the Lord, and the prophet is true, then his words are true, then his words comes to pass. And that's his credentials, that, first, it's the Word. And, first, God is the Word. And then if he speaks a word, and it happens, then that shows that God has Divinely set that man.
E-100 Now then with that in mind, they might have raised up all kinds of sensations and everything else in the world, them Bible students would have never believed it, because the Messiah had to be a prophet. And they hadn't had a prophet for four hundred years. Malachi was the last prophet. No prophet.
E-101 And here comes Simon, with such teaching as that, into the presence of a Man that his brother firmly believed that He was the Messiah. And as soon as he walks into His Presence, not only did He know who he was, He knowed that godly old father, Jonas. No wonder it took the starch out of him. He knowed that was the true identification of the Messiah. "Thy, your name is Simon, you are the son of Jonas."
E-102 And a man that was so illiterate that he could not even sign his own name, we are told; the Bible said, in the Book of the Acts of the apostles, the 3rd chapter, that, "he was both ignorant and unlearned." But it pleased God to make him the head of the church at Jerusalem, and give him the keys to the Kingdom. Cause, when that predestinated seed laying there in that old fisherman, and when the Light struck it, quickly it recognized that that was the Messiah.
E-103 Now that proved there, that that man knowed, it proved that that seed had been laying there. His name was on the Lamb's Book of Life since the foundation of the world, when the Lamb was slain in God's Own thinking. And as soon as the Light struck it, quickly it come to life and recognized it to be the Messiah.
E-104 There was one standing there by the name of Philip, and he saw this, quickly comes to his mind. "That's truly Him, for I know the Scriptures. That Man never seen that man before, and how would He know who he was? That's the Prophet."
E-105 He took out after a friend that he had been having Bible studies with, since a boy. His name was Nathanael. It's fifteen miles from where they were preaching, around the mountain, to where Nathanael owned a olive grove. I can imagine Philip on his road, jumping and shouting. He had found something that was real.
E-106 Oh, how It should start our hearts, around the hillsides, across the prairies, down through the fields, down the alley, across the street, over across the nation, somewhere.
E-107 He found something. And he had a friend. Bible studies, before, had proved that this Scriptural Messiah would be the Prophet. No prophets for four hundred years.
E-108 When he comes into the place, he finds Nathanael out under a tree, praying. And perhaps he stopped just a few moments, to wait, as a Christian gentleman, to wait till he finished his prayer. And when he got up, perhaps was dusting the dust from his robe, Philip quickly might have said, "Nathanael!"
And he's turned around, said, "Philip, my colleague, I'm glad to see you!"
E-109 And maybe the conversation was something like this. See, he didn't have time to say, "How is the olives getting along?" Or, "How is the wife and kid?" See, the message was urgent. He had seen something. He had seen the Scripture identified, Messiah, and that's what they had looked for for years and years and years. He said, "Come, see Who we found! Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, come, see Him!" The message was urgent.
E-110 I tell you, brethren, if we could get that kind of an enthusiasm, that our Message is so urgent. We don't have time for foolishness. Let's get the Message to a people, a people who has sweated it out through persecutions, are the children of our fathers who stood on the streets, with a—with a tambourine in their hand, and would eat corn off of a railroad track, to support this Highway, this Gospel. And now see Christ among us, let's get to the world with It, as quick as we can, and find him.
Said, "Come, see Who we have found."
E-111 Now we find out that Nathanael was quite a theologian, and I can imagine him saying to Philip, "Now wait just a minute, Philip, what kind of a deep end have you went off?" You know, that talk still goes around today, see. "What end did you run off on?" Some loose end out somewhere, you know. "I—I know you to be a sound, sensible man, and here you come running up and telling me that the Messiah is here on earth?"
E-112 He ought to have talked to the magi. You know, the magi was up in Babylon. They were Jews up there studying astronomy. And when they seen those three stars come in line, that was a sign, an old Hebrew sign, that when those three stars come in line, the Messiah was on the earth. They come, screaming, "Where is He, born King of the Jews? We saw His Star and we've come to worship Him."
E-113 But, Philip, this. They didn't have the different outlets like television, radio and newspaper, and things in them days, and they never would have published anything like that anyhow. So the first thing we know, we find Philip and Nathanael speaking, "Well," he said, "come."
E-114 He said, "Look, could any good thing come out of a bunch of holy-…" or excuse me, "a bunch of people like that, out of Nazareth?"
E-115 Well, you know what I think? Philip give him the best answer that anybody could give a man. He didn't try to explain it. He didn't try to go into the technicals of it. He just said, "Come and see. Come, see for yourself. Tuck that scroll under your arm, of Deuteronomy 18, and come follow me and we'll find out."
E-116 Let's pick up their conversation as they walked. See, they had to get there, one day, and come back the next, fifteen miles. So on the road, around, I can hear Philip say, "Now look, Nathanael, as many Bible studies as we had, we firmly believe that the Messiah is to be the God-Prophet, 'cause Moses said so. And we followed Moses, and was supposed to follow him until this Prophet arrived. And when this Prophet come on the scene, then He would tell us the way of life, from then on. And if… You know, who don't believe Him will be cut off from amongst the people, if we don't believe Him."
"Well, how do you know this guy is a Prophet?"
E-117 Say, "Do you remember that old fisherman down there, that you bought them fish for that day, from, and he didn't have enough education to sign his name to the receipt?"
"Yeah, I remember him. Oh, his name was Simon. Yes."
E-118 "His brother, Andrew, has been attending John's meeting. And when he seen the announcement, and heard the announcement of John, saying, 'This was the Messiah.' And, John, we know was a prophet, so he couldn't say nothing wrong. He announced, 'That is the Messiah,' and so he said he saw the sign over Him. And he brought his brother yesterday. And as soon as he walked up into His Presence, He said, 'Your name is Simon, and you're the son of Jonas.' Why, it wouldn't surprise me if He don't tell me who you are, when you get there," he'd say.
E-119 "Oh," he said, "now wait a minute, wait a minute! I got to see that for myself. I—I—I got to see that."
E-120 So we find here, the next day, what takes place. They arrived, great crowds of people are standing. Jesus perhaps was talking. Maybe they were sitting, many of them, maybe they were standing; I don't know. But, however, Philip come up, and he brought Nathanael up, and when Jesus turned and looked at him, He said, "Behold an Israelite, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile."
E-121 Why, it so surprised that man! He said, "Rabbi, how, how did You know anything about me? I—I—I don't know You. And You've never seen me, and I've never seen You. How, how would You know anything about me?"
E-122 He said, "Well, before Philip called you, you were under the tree. I saw you." Oh, my, what eyes! The day before, and fifteen miles around the mountain, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you."
E-123 What did this learned scholar, a son of God, to be, what did he learn? He learned that that was the identification of the Messiah. What did he do? No doubt he looked around and saw his priest, and all the rest of them, standing. He run up to His feet, and fell down, and said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel."
E-124 Jesus said, "You have believed because I've told you these things. Now you'll see greater than this."
E-125 Oh, but there was some standing by, priests, clergy. And they knowed they would have to give an account to their congregation, for it, so they had to say something. You know what they said? "This man is Beelzebub. He is only a fortuneteller, or some sort of a devil."
E-126 And Jesus turned and said, "You speak that against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven you. But when the Holy Spirit comes to do the same thing; to speak a word against It, will never be forgiven in this world nor—nor in the world that is to come." What a place it would put us in then!
E-127 Now we find out, on down through, we could go through the Scriptures. They… Let's take another page and turn the Bible again. "We had need to go by Samaria," one day when He was on His road to Jericho. Jericho was at the bottom of the hill, and Jerusalem was on the hill. Samaria is way back, it would be like going to—to California by the way of—of Hot… by the way of Little Rock. You would bypass around. But He had need go by Samaria. Now we find out that, the Samaritans, they originated from a—a mixed class of people.
E-128 There is only three races of people on earth, that's: Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. If we believe the Bible, they all started from Noah's children, and that's what sprung out from the world.
E-129 And now we find out that: the Jew, and the Gentile, and the Samaritan. Peter, with the keys given to him on Pentecost, he opened it at Pentecost, to the Jews, he opened it down to the Samaritans, and opened it to the Gentiles. Then the whole race, races, had heard the Gospel. No more you hear him using of the keys, because the Gospel had been opened to all of them. Notice now.
E-130 These Samaritans was half Jew and Gentile. They believed in the same God that the Jew believed in, and they were looking for a coming Messiah.
E-131 Now, the Messiah only will appear to those who are looking for Him. See? Now we Gentiles wasn't looking for no Messiah, and we never saw any. This is our day.
E-132 So the—the Samaritans was looking for a Messiah. And if the Messiah was on earth, it's duty bound, to the Samaritan people, to identify Himself like He was to the Jews.
E-133 Now any of us know that Messiah identified Himself by being the prophet that Moses said that God would raise up. How many believe that, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Sure.
E-134 He was the Prophet. He identified. Now, that was Jesus yesterday. And if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, it'll be Jesus today, same thing.
E-135 Now we find Him going up to this city of Sychar, and—and it was along about noontime. And the disciples went away into the city, to buy some food. Victuals, it's called in the Scripture. And while they were gone, Jesus waited.
E-136 If you've ever been there, it's kind of a panoramic like this; a well, or the city well, public, outside the city. It still stands today. And the people come out and get their water, and go back into the city. And they carry it on their head, jugs. And the women can put about a five-gallon jug on their head, and put one on each hip and can walk along, talking with women just as women can do, and—and never spill a drop of water. I—I don't see how they can do it, but they—they do it, such a perfect balance, talking and talking like ladies do as they walk along, with these jugs on, about fifteen gallons of water, walking along like that, talking. And these women, because… Still they do the same thing just like they did then, and these women come out to the well to get their water.
E-137 Now there was, along about eleven o'clock or twelve, there was a woman of ill fame, kind of you know what I mean, a—a red-light woman come out to the well to get some water, and she started to let down the—the waterpot. They have a—a windle, and two hooks that goes over this jar, or bucket, and they let it into the well, and it turns sideways when it hits the water, and they windle this water back up. And she was just getting ready to let the—the jug down, when she heard somebody, said, "Bring Me a drink." And she looked, and she saw a—a Jew sitting over against the wall, where the vine hang over the wall, and He was sitting over there. He—He must have been kind of a middle-age Man, or looked middle-age.
E-138 I think He looked a little older than what He really was. Because, we find out in Saint John 6, that the discussion come about drinking water at the… in the wilderness, and so forth, and—and how they was enjoying the bread, representing the manna. And Jesus said, "I am that Rock that was in the wilderness."
E-139 And they said, "You're a Man not over fifty," see, and He was only thirty. "Thou art a Man not over fifty." His great strain must have broke His human part down, and He might have been graying a little, or something. Said, "You're a Man not over fifty, and say that You've 'seen Abraham'? Now we know You're mad, or crazy."
E-140 And He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." They was only looking at the man. It was what was in there speaking out. And "I AM" was in the wilderness with Moses, in the burning bush.
E-141 And there we find that He looked a little aged. And, He, she saw this middle-age Jew sitting there, maybe a man a passed age which would flirt with such a woman, and she said, "It's not customary, You being a Jew, to ask me, a woman of Samaria, for a favor. We have no dealing." In other words, "We have a segregation here, and we don't… we have no dealing."
E-142 Quickly He let her know. Now He said, talked with her. And she said, "Now you Jews say in Jerusalem you worship, and, or we worship in this mountain," and so forth, and about how deep the well was, and He had nothing to draw with.
E-143 And, the conversation, now you'll have to take my word here for this, what He was doing, see.
E-144 The Father, in Saint John 5:19, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing." Now according to His Own Word. And He can't lie, and be God. According to His Own Word, He never performed one miracle until God showed Him in a vision, what to do. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself; but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise. See, the Father worketh, and I worketh hitherto."
E-145 Now the Father had told Him to go up a way by Samaria, and there He was sitting there, and then this woman come out. Now He had to contact her spirit, so He had to get a conversation with her. See? And He said, after He found what her trouble was, we all know what it was, He said, "Go get your husband and come here."
E-146 And she said, "I have no husband." Oh, what a blank rebuke to Him. See? "I have…" Yet, she didn't know. He was just an ordinary man. He wasn't dressed like no priest or rabbi. He was just a man. See?
And said, "Go get your husband and come here."
She said, "I, I don't have any husband."
E-147 He said, "You've told the truth. For you've had five, and the one that you're now living with is not yours; in that you've told the truth."
E-148 Now I want you to notice the difference between that woman and those educated priests that called Him "Beelzebub." As soon as she seen that, she said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Now, we Samaritans, we know the Scriptures. We know that when the Messiah cometh, which is called 'the Christ,' He will do this. He will tell us these things. See, that's the sign of the Messiah. So You must be His prophet, because He is going to be a prophet when He comes. We haven't had one for hundreds of years. But when He comes, we know that Messiah is going to do this."
Jesus said, "I am He, that speaks with you."
E-149 If that was the sign of the Messiah yesterday, it's the sign of the Messiah today, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It wasn't a sign to the theologians. It was a sign to the believers.
E-150 That woman knowed more about the Scripture than them priests did. I'll say one thing, she knowed more about Him than a lot of preachers today. That's right. Yes, sir. Yeah, she knew Him. Why? I believe that the seed of Eternal Life laid within the woman. And when that Light flashed on It, quickly she recognized It.
E-151 Now look at those priests that ought to have knowed better. They said, "This man is Beelzebub. He does this, He is…"
E-152 And Jesus told them, "To call the Spirit of God 'an unclean spirit,' would never be forgiven." It was the Spirit of God doing that. "The works of God, 'an unclean spirit.'" And them priests, instead of searching the Scripture! He said, "If you would have known My day."
E-153 If we would only know what day we are living in, there wouldn't be so much confusion about this Message and about the Scriptures that we're trying to bring to the people, if the people only understand that we are at the end time.
E-154 Now, but, when that Light hit that little woman, in that shape, a foul name, a—a—a woman of red-light; and if that Scripture, if that Word, that identified Word… She had read the Scripture and she knowed what the Word said. And when she seen that Word manifested, quickly she recognized It to be the Messiah.
E-155 If she could do that under them conditions, what ought we to do tonight if we would see Him do the same thing, a born-again Church filled with the Holy Ghost, looking for His Coming? It ought to empty every wheelchair through here. My, every sinner ought to fall around the altar. It proves He lives.
E-156 Notice, quickly she run into the city, and said to the man, "Come, see a Man that told me the things that I've done." Now maybe her conversation was like this, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you. Isn't this the very Messiah?" She said, "Come, see a Man Who has told me the things that I've done. Isn't this the Messiah?"
E-157 And Jesus came into the city. And the Bible said that the men of that city believed on Him because of the testimony of the woman. He didn't perform It one more time. He didn't say one more thing about It. That settled it. He was the vindicated Word of God. He was. He is God, the Messiah. Now, to a nation of people like that! See?
E-158 Now I just don't know how much more time we got. We'll stop maybe just… Well, wait just a minute. Jesus said, in Saint Luke, He said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." You remember that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Now let's stop just for one more Scripture, just search this down.
E-159 Now, look, He identified Himself. Now, we got plenty of more places. We can take blind Bartimaeus, and all through, and show the woman touching His garment, all things through the Scripture, and at the well where He went in there, and knowed the man there at the gate called Beautiful, had been had this trouble for so many years, and so forth, and Jesus knew. And then went on, and so forth, through the Scripture, go all the way from Genesis. But, to let you know, just so we can hurry up.
E-160 Now, Jesus identified Himself, a Scriptural identification to the Jews, that He was the Messiah, by being a prophet. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] That was Jesus yesterday, to the prophet, or to the Jews.
E-161 Then the Gentiles wasn't looking for Him. We were heathens, with a club on our back. And we worshiping idols, we Gentiles. We wasn't looking for no Messiah, so He didn't come to us. The Gospel wasn't preached to the—to the—the Gentiles until Peter opened the Gospel to them at the house of Cornelius, long after that. And then Paul later said, "Lo, I turn to the Gentiles," after the Jews had turned him down.
E-162 Notice now. Don't miss this. Now this will help you if you'll just listen. Why didn't He perform this sign before the Gentiles? He did it before the—the Jews, He did it before the Samaritans, but not one time did He do it before the Gentile. But He predicted it would be done before the Gentiles. For, what God is, He can't change. If He give that sign to identify Himself among the Hebrews and among the Samaritans, just before they was cut off from the Gospel, and we've had two thousand years of teaching of the Bible, and now the Gentiles has come to their end. It's the end for us. And then if He lets us go through just on common Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, or so forth, teaching, without thoroughly identifying Himself among us as He did then, He done something wrong. So He is no respect of person, and He said He would do it.
E-163 Now look, "As it was in the days of Sodom," that's when the Gentiles was burned, burned up. Now, Noah, He mentioned Noah, that was the morals of the people, they went in. But notice the Gentiles, just before the fire fell to destroy the Gentiles, the Sodomites and Gomorrah, and the cities around it.
E-164 Notice Abraham, a type of the Church, free, the spiritual Church. Lot, the type of the church lukewarm, in Babylon… or not in Babylon; in Babylon today, but in Sodom then. And then the Sodomites, the unbelievers.
E-165 There is always three classes of people. We—we have them here, we have them everywhere. That's believers, make-believers, and unbelievers. And we have them everywhere, and the three classes of people.
E-166 God is perfected in three's. Like Father, Son, Holy Spirit, makes one God. And justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, makes one birth. Water, Blood, and Spirit, makes one Birth. And so forth, see, it's all, it's perfect. We haven't time to go through the—the numerals of God, in His, what He is perfected in; and what His Coming will be in, and so forth, and what number, but we're in it.
E-167 Notice now as we study, we find now Who, this Messiah. Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah, and as the days of Lot." Now Abraham was waiting for a promised son. So are we. The church called-out, representing the born-again people that's separated themselves from the world. They're not in Sodom. They are called out, set aside, holding a promise of a coming Son.
E-168 And, now, one day while Abraham was sitting in the barren land.
E-169 And Lot living with his great… he must have been the mayor of the city, a judge. He become a great man. Mrs. Lot was bobbing her hair and doing anything she wanted to do, I guess, down there with the rest of the Sodomites. But not Sarah; I just had to put that in, brethren. Notice, she lived the way she wanted to. She was a very popular woman. She hated to give it up.
E-170 But not Sarah. She was up there with her husband. She was called out, sealed away, by a promise that she was going to have a visitation from God, a son was coming.
E-171 And so has the Sarah-typed Church today, called out, out of Sodom, with a waiting promise of a coming Son. Amen. Letting the world do anything they want to; that's none of her business. She is keeping her mind on the promise.
E-172 What happened? Abraham raised up his eyes and looked, and he saw three man coming. And did you notice? Abraham, when he seen the three man, he said, "My Lord, will You stop by?" There was three of them. He said, "My Lord," singular.
When Lot saw two of them, he said, "My lords."
E-173 Abraham knowed what he was talking about. He said, "My Lord." Three of them, and, "My Lord."
Lot saw two of them, he said, "My lords."
E-174 So he said, "My Lord, come by." And they stopped. You know the conversation.
E-175 Notice now, Lot was down in Sodom. And two Angels went down into Sodom, to preach the Gospel, to call the righteous out from amongst the unbelieving. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] A modern Billy Graham. They didn't do many miracles; smote them blind, which, preaching the Word does smite the unbeliever blind. But a perfect, modern Billy Graham.
E-176 And did you ever notice? Of all the great man we've had in the world, of preachers, since the days of Jesus Christ; Sankey, Moody, Finney, Calvin, Knox, so forth, on and on, and on and on, we've never had a man in there that ended his name with h-a-m, like Abraham, but G-r-a-h-a-m. But notice, six letters, G-r-a-h-a-m, six. A-b-r-a-h-a-m is seven. Never have we had it, but there is a messenger down in Sodom, "Come out of it." And God has sent the correct man, Billy Graham, calling them from Sodom. And they received the sign of the preaching of the Gospel. And they are getting It today, the world over, by the noted, precious brother, Billy Graham, with a message of salvation, and, "Get out of Sodom!" That's right. With his name ending, h-a-m, means "father of the peoples, or nations."
E-177 But there was a Messenger, also, that stayed with Abraham, A-b-r-a-h-a-m. And notice, as He said, He give them a sign.
E-178 Now remember, his name had been Abram, a few days before; Sarai, not Sarah. His name had been Abram, not Abraham. Notice, the Man that sat and talked to him, said, "Abraham, where is your wife, Sarah?"
E-179 Now the women in them days are not like they are today, have to run out and get in the husband's business, and run the business and every… See, they stayed back where they belong. But, they, she stayed in the tent.
And He said, "Where is Sarah thy wife?"
E-180 Now watch what the Bible said. Abraham said, "She is in the tent, behind You." The Angel had His back turned to the tent.
E-181 And the Angel was a Man, because He had eat the flesh of a calf, drank the milk from a cow, and eat some corn bread and butter. That's right. He did. He eat and drank with Abraham, while he took a fly bush and shooed the flies off of Him, while He stood there and drank. That's right, a Man!
E-182 And He said, "Abraham, I…" And that's a personal pronoun, again. "I am going to visit you according to the promise." Who was That?
E-183 And Sarah, listening, ear-dropping, you know, she laughed up her sleeve, like, quietly. [Brother Branham imitates—Ed.] "Me, an old woman, a hundred years old, family affairs had ceased for many years; me have pleasure with my lord again, seeing he is old?"
E-184 And the Angel, with His back turned to the tent, said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" Amen!
E-185 Notice when the Angel disappeared and left, Abraham called Him, "Elohim." Any scholar knows that wherever you see capital L-o-r-d, is translated in the Greek, Elohim, "the all-sufficient One, the Almighty One," Who is Jehovah God. Glory!
E-186 A man said to me, "Do you mean to tell me, you believe that that was God?"
E-187 I said, "Abraham talked to Him, and he called Him 'God.' He ought to know." Oh, I am so glad that I know a God like that!
E-188 What did He do? What I think He done was… You know, we are made out of sixteen different elements of the earth, you know: petroleum, and cosmic light, and potash, and calcium. I believe He just said, "I have heard about them sins. I'll come, go down and look at it. Come here, Gabriel," gathered up a handful of cosmic light, and [Brother Branham blows—Ed.], "step in that. And come here, Woodworm," and [blows] "step in that." Then got Hisself one. Why? He is God.
E-189 I'm so glad to know. That, someday I may not be nothing but back to cosmic light. I might not be nothing in it you could find. These bones may rot away, but He knows my name. Someday He will call me; I'll come forth in His likeness.
That's our God. Abraham called Him "Elohim."
E-190 Notice, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man." The messengers will be in Sodom; and the called-out Church will receive a sign, of what? God manifested in human flesh. Glory! Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's a sign to the Gentile Church. Now it's our time. It's us to see it, God's promise. We could stand here for an hour, back and forth, through the Scripture, and weave that together and prove that that's right. And this is the hour. Here is the last sign to be showed. We're at the end time.
E-191 The Book of Revelations, in the Church Ages, the Laodicean Church Age, the seventh angel was supposed… In the sounding of the days of that, "the mystery of God should be finished." And we are in the Laodicean Age; lazy, soft, no good, lukewarm, and that's the condition our Pentecostal church has got in. God has shook every gift that He could before it.
E-192 It reminds me, like a little lady in Louisville, here not long ago. She had a little boy, walking around, trying to shake little toys, and the little kid just sat and stared. And the people watched her. And she started screaming. She went up, some of the women, and asked her what was wrong. Said, "My little boy has taken a spell upon him." And said, "He won't notice things like children should notice, his age." And said, "I took him to the doctor, and the doctor said he was better, but," said, "he is not." Said, "I shake this little toy, any little kid… And he just sits and stares. Any kid ought to recognize that as a toy, and reach for it, but he just stares."
E-193 That's something like the Pentecostal church. God has sent an Oral Roberts, and everything else, around, shaking all kinds of gifts and things, to the church. He has poured out His Spirit. You've spoke in tongues, interpreted, had gifts of prophecy, and everything else.
E-194 And it's come to the time for Jesus Christ to identify Himself among the people, the same yesterday, today, and forever, which will be the last sign that will be shook before the people. Remember, a little while after that manifestation of God in a human form, in a flesh, fire fell and consumed the Gentiles. "And as it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man."
E-195 He identified Himself as the Messiah, to the Jews, by perceiving the thoughts that was in their heart, by speaking to them their names and different things. They knowed that was the prophet that the Lord God promised to raise up. Those real, true ones who was predestined to that, saw it.
E-196 If there is nothing in the heart to receive it, then there is nothing there. How can you get blood from a turnip? There ain't no blood in it. So how can a man believe when there is nothing in there to believe with?
E-197 But if the Holy Spirit is in there, quickly it catches that Word. It flies away, see, it gets It quickly. Now, "Sirs, we would see Jesus." He promised here to identify Himself among us, the same way that He did.
Now you say, "But how could He identify Himself?"
E-198 "Yet a little while and the world sees Me no more. Yet ye shall see Me, for I will be with you, even in you." It's the Holy Spirit that speaks through tongues and gives interpretation, the same One that saves you from sin. It's the same Jesus Christ, is come.
E-199 [A sister speaks in another tongue. Someone else begins speaking in another tongue, then a blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.] Three. [Another blank.spot.on.tape.] Praise be to the Lord. Did you notice that? Keeps saying, "Come out, come out, come out," see, calling out. All right, you hear what that is.
E-200 Now the Bible speaks, if there be some strangers here, the Bible speaks of speaking with tongues and interpretations, you see. So if it's spoke in tongues and interpreted, then it's prophecy. See, that's right, isn't it? It's prophecy.
E-201 Now come out. Now the Lord seems to be saying He is going to give you a chance now, see, something that you've never seen before, something that He is going to do. Now let's believe that with all of our heart.
E-202 Now we just, Billy and I, when we went to India this last trip, we… I've got a piece out of the paper. And it said, "The—the earthquake must be over." A few days before we got there, they knew… See, India don't have fences like you have here, wire fences. They pick up rocks, and they make a lot of their buildings. They're a real poor people. And—and the little birds build their nests in these rocks, and then the cattle and sheep come in, of a evening, and stand around these walls, when the sun is a shining, to keep cool.
E-203 But they noticed, for a couple days, the cattle didn't come in, they stayed right out in the field. The sheep got together and huddled around one another, and leaned against each other, in the field, to keep cool. The birds all flew out of the walls. They didn't know what was going to happen. Then an earthquake struck, and it shook the walls down. Then the little birds come back and built their nests again in the piles of rocks, and the cattle begin to come in again.
E-204 Now, look, if that isn't the same God that could warn them to go into the ark, in the days of Noah! And if God could do that, and warn birds, by instinct; and warn cattle and sheep, by instinct, to get away from them big old walls that's going to fall. God is trying to warn His people today, to get away from these old ecclesiastical walls that's going to crumble in, one of these days, for the Coming of the Lord is at hand.
Let us bow our heads.
E-205 Lord Jesus, I feel that it's time for me to stop now. And it's Your time to speak, Father. I've tried to tell the people that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. I've tried to prove it by the Scriptures, what You were, and how You identified Yourself.
E-206 Then I remember again, in Saint John the 14th chapter and the 12th verse, You said, "He that believeth," not make-believeth, "he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he also." How could it do anything else, Father? If we could transfer the life from a pear tree to a peach tree, it would bear pears, for the life of the pear tree is in the peach. And, Heavenly Father, if the Life that was in Christ, the mind that was in Him, the Spirit that was in Him, has promised to be in us, then we bear record of that. If He is the Vine and we are the branches, the Life comes from the Vine. Lord, let us be branches, tonight. We realize that the vine does not bear any fruit; it went away, but it come back in the form of the Life, and the branches bears fruit. Your Voice is when You speak through us. "If you say to this mountain be moved, and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you've said. When you pray, believe you receive what you asked for, it shall be given unto you." O God, such promises! "If ye abide in Me, and My Word abide in you, then ask what you will."
E-207 O God, such promises that the church has, and such a perfect redemption! We realize that we're not worthy, and we'll never be worthy. There is no way for us to be worthy. And we're not counting our worthiness. We are looking to our Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus. He is Who we are hid in, tonight. We're sanctuaried in His blessed promise, in His Word. That is our…
E-208 That's faith's hiding place, upon the unmovable Rock of God's Eternal Word. Faith takes its—its place right there, its position, nothing can move it. Death can't shake it away. The grave can't hide it. It's been proven. On the third day He rose, because the Word of God said, "I will not leave His soul in hell, neither will I suffer My holy One to see corruption." There is no grave could hold Him.
E-209 O God, it's Your Word. Make it manifest tonight. You are the Word. And let the Words that You have promised, be spoken tonight, Lord, and may the sign that the Messiah is on the earth, and we're at the end time. As the wise men saw the three stars line up, to be one; and as we see, today, Lord, the three attributes of God has finally come into the channel, we know they are one. And we see all these great signs upon the earth, that's appearing; and the identification of the Son of God, dealing in the flesh of His Church, to carry on His work. God, may human hearts quiver. May sinners quake. And may there be a repentance, and may there be such a healing, tonight, of both soul and body, that men and women, everywhere, will come out from unbelief, separate themselves and believe on the living God.
E-210 I commit myself to You, Lord, as Your servant. I commit this church to You. I realize, Lord, no matter how much You would anoint me, if the people does not believe it, then it cannot be done. We both must work together as a unit of belief of God, and of the honor of the Word of Jesus Christ, to see these things happen.
E-211 We are asked the question, "Sirs, we would see Jesus." And, Father, You've promised that, that You would be with us. Now we'll look for You to appear among us, Lord. In the Name of Jesus Christ I ask these things. Amen.
E-212 Now I believe… and if the prayer cards was give out. One to a hundred? All right, let's, we can't stand them all at one time, we just have to get them one by one. Now, and we will call you, one by one. And then if you are crippled, paralyzed, can't get up, some of the brethren will come, bring you to the platform, to be prayed for.
E-213 [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]… stand. If you can't, let me know. Number two, prayer card number two, would you stand up. Thank you.
E-214 Number three, who has prayer card number three? Would you stand up? Right quick now, we got to hurry. Is this lady, has she got number three, prayer card? All right. All right, go down to the end down there, number three. Billy, you or somebody come over here.
E-215 Number four, number four, prayer card number four, who has it? Way back in the back. All right, come here, lady. Number five. You will all be called, one by one. Number five.
E-216 What card do you have, sir? [The brother says, "Number three, B."—Ed.] Number what? ["Three."] Number three? Somebody has made a mistake. This—this man here has number three card. All right.
E-217 Number four, who has number four, prayer card number four? All right, number five, who has prayer card number five? Number six, who has that, number six? Thank you. Come. Number seven. Now just take your places. Number seven. Number eight, eight.
E-218 Nine, nine, did I see it? Nine, someone hurry up now so we won't take much time on them. Number nine, prayer card number nine, please. Somebody help me watch. Will you brothers stand up and help me watch. Number nine, it isn't here? All right, if it comes in, it can take its place; might have stepped out, I preached long.
E-219 Number ten, prayer card ten, raise up your hand so we can see who you are. All right, come. Eleven, prayer card eleven. Didn't you have it, lady? Raise your hands when I tell you, and then you, when your number is called, then you—you'll know.
E-220 Number twelve, number twelve, who has it? Number twelve. Come, lady. Number thirteen, prayer card thirteen. Way back in the back. Come, lady, if you can get up. Number thirteen. Number fourteen, number fourteen, where is it? Prayer card fourteen, way over in the back. All right, come right ahead, lady. Number fifteen, this man right here, number fifteen. Sixteen, sixteen, sixteen, prayer card number six-… Over in the corner. Seventeen.
E-221 See, it isn't an arena, we don't… We—we call them, one by one; you don't have no big race over and jump in, you know. We want order, see, reverence.
E-222 Number sixteen, prayer card number sixteen. Number sixteen, does this lady have sixteen? [Someone says, "Fourteen."—Ed.] Fourteen. Number sixteen, sixteen. All right, thank you, sir. Number seventeen. Already down, yeah, seventeen. Eighteen. All right. Yeah.
E-223 Well, they done got as many up there as can stand in the corner at this time. We'll start, right in a few minutes, from there. All right.
E-224 How many of you, while they're getting those people lined up, that doesn't have a prayer card, let's see your hands, and you're sick? All right, while I'm quoting the Scripture for you. Now you don't have a prayer card, yet you're sick, you won't be called in the prayer line? All right.
E-225 How many in this building that doesn't know me, and know I know nothing about you, raise up your hands; that's sick, you know. See? To be honest with you, I don't see one person I know. Now, you might know me, but frankly… I—I don't mean this through any harm, I haven't seen you, and I—I—I don't, I can't see one person that I—I know, unless it's this little kind of little heavyset fellow sitting there, little… Am I looking at the right person? I forget what your name is, you're from Missouri. I—I know he comes up to the tabernacle once in a while.
E-226 Now, and on the platform, now, remember, God is just as much on the platform as He is out there. I don't know no one here, just to say that I know them, outside of the brother right here, and Brother Moore, to really know a name or know anybody. I might know… I—I think this is your father sitting back there, I'm pretty sure that's right. And Jim Maguire here, the—the tape boy sitting here. And that's all that I see, to know, and know who they are. All right.
E-227 Listen, let's just take a little story like this while they're getting ready, another story that we could take about the Lord Jesus. Here, how many knows that the Bible says that one time there was a woman who had a blood issue? And she couldn't, she wasn't called in the prayer line, either. But, and she didn't have a prayer card, but she had faith, and that's what touches God. And Jesus going along the road, this little woman slipped in and touched the border of His garment.
E-228 How many knows that the Palestinian garment hung free? It was a robe. And it had an underneath garment, too, see, keep dust off their limbs. So they had—they had an underneath garment, the garment picked up dust as they walked. And so they had an underneath garment.
E-229 And this woman touched the border of His garment, with her finger. And Jesus stopped, and He said, "Who touched Me?" I don't believe He was just kidding. I don't believe He did that. I believe truly He didn't know who did it. He said, "Who touched Me?"
E-230 And insomuch, so many people with their arms around Him, "Hello, Rabbi! Is this the Prophet of Galilee? Well, we're glad to see You here." Everybody, "How are You?"
E-231 Peter said, "Lord!" He rebuked Him, the Bible said. In other words, Peter might have said this, "Why, that sounds rather unusual, for a Man of Your caliber to say 'who touched' You. And I guess, since I've been talking to You, there has been fifty hands touch You. And then You say, 'Who touched Me?' Why, it doesn't sound mentally right, Lord. You shouldn't say a thing like that." The Bible said, "Peter rebuked Him."
E-232 But Jesus said, "I perceive that virtue has gone from Me." It was a different kind of a touch, a touch of faith. Virtue is strength. "I perceive that My strength… I got weak. Somebody touched Me with a—a touch of faith."
E-233 Now He could not have felt it, physically. You might touch my coat, and there is much more between the border of His garment and His body, than there is to my coat.
E-234 Just like blind Bartimaeus, standing a hundred yards from Him, said, "Jesus, Thou Son of David."
E-235 And all them people screaming, "We hear You raised the dead. We got a graveyard full of them up here. Come up here and raise them, we'll believe You." See, them critics, see, and so forth.
But Jesus didn't even hear Bartimaeus, but his faith stopped Him. See, his faith did it.
E-236 Now, this woman's faith stopped Him, and He looked all over the crowd until He found the little woman. And He told her about her condition, and said, "Thy faith has saved thee." Is that right? Just an ordinary little, weakly looking woman, and she was healed.
E-237 Now what did she do? She never touched Him, exactly. She touched God, through Him. Well, then that's… How many knows… These ministers, which, I know they know. But the Book of Hebrews says that, "Jesus Christ now is the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." Is that right? [The ministers say, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-238 How many knows that in the audience? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Well, if He is the High Priest, He is the same High Priest that He ever was. "No other mediator between God and man, but the Man Christ Jesus." Then if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and you touched Him the same way she did, and He can be touched, and if you would touch Him the same way He did, wouldn't He react in the same way He reacted then, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Is that right? ["Amen."] See? The only thing you have to do is touch Him.
E-239 Now, not touch one of our brethren, or touch me. That, that's just your brothers, you see. But touch Him. Your faith touch Him, then He will use His instrument and He will be… He will do the same today that He ever did do. He is just the same today, and ever. Do you believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-240 So now I want you all, your undivided attention, every person stay right in your place for the next few minutes, and pray.
E-241 Now, it's a great thing to come up here and preach a Gospel that can make people, actually, that was once bootleggers and gamblers, and prostitutes and everything else, out on the street, to sit in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and can feel the inspiration of the Spirit to rise you to a place till you lose yourself, and scream out "amen" and "hallelujah," praises to God. That's a wonderful thing. But then in that same audience, and the Gospel being preached and say what He was, now to identify Him again right back the same One.
E-242 Now in this prayer line standing here, I don't think… I don't see one person in that line that I know. There is not a person. If each one of you that's in that prayer line, are strangers to me, I do not know you, you know that I don't know nothing about you, raise up your hand. Each one of you in the prayer line, that knows that I know nothing about you, raise up your hand. All right. I suppose, it was the entire prayer line. Now, I don't know none of them. Now the only way that…
E-243 And if anybody thinks that this is wrong, you come up here and take my place. See? Until you can do the same thing, then don't say nothing about this. Jesus said, "If I cast out devils by the finger of God, who does your children cast them out by?" In other words, "What system they got better?" See?
E-244 Now we've had a time that everybody has begin to think of the old tradition, laying on hands. And that's all right. But now, my minister brethren, just bear me record, that was a Jewish tradition. See?
E-245 Jairus said, "Come lay Your hand on my daughter, and she'll live." But the Roman, the Gentile, said, "I am not worthy that You would come under my roof. Just speak the word." Is that right? It's the word spoke; the Gentiles, see. We should carry out that; if that Roman could think that, a heathen that had just seen Him. Cause, he knowed that, Jesus Christ's Words. He said, "I'm a man under authority. I say to this man, 'goes,' and he goes, and this one comes. He has to, 'cause he is under me." What was he identifying? That every sickness and every disease was under the command of Jesus Christ. Yes, sir. He has authority.
E-246 And if we can hear Him speak, then that identifies Him of being with us. How much greater it would be for you Gentiles, tonight, to know, and to know that He is among us, and can reach up and realize. Not say, "Brother Branham laid hands on me; Brother Roberts, or my… somebody else." But by faith in the Son of God, say, "I accept You, Lord Jesus. You are here. You heal me."
E-247 Now if He will identify Himself and prove by the Gospel that He is just as much here now as He was then. I have proved to you, that's His identification mark, (is that right?) promising in the last days these things would happen. And we've seen the church go right into it through Luther, Wesley, Pentecost, and right down to the end. See? And here we are, Laodicean Age, the Sodomite Age, and here we are. The ministry has come through every angle of the Word. And I believe, the entire mystery of God, It's already been preached. Now it's identification of Christ among His people, God working in human flesh.
E-248 Now, no matter how much He would anoint mine, you have to be anointed, too, to believe it. See, you're the one has to do the touching. See? And both of us, together, make a unit. I don't know you; you don't know me. You just believe, and I believe, then God takes us both in hand. That's God.
E-249 Then, see, the Bible said, "If you all speak with tongues, and there come one among you, who is unlearned, there be no interpreter, then he'd say 'You're mad.' But let one prophesy and reveal the secret of the heart, then all of them will fall down and say, 'God is with you.'" I'm thankful to see that day arrive, to live long enough to see it among the called-out church.
E-250 You remember, it does not go to Babylon. It did not go to Sodom. It went to the called-out, the Elected; that's the sign they see. They've got theirs out there, their organizational groups and carrying on.
E-251 But this is the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit, moving among His people, doing the same thing that He did when He was here on earth, identifying Himself with His Bride, not the church.
E-252 There is a difference between the church and the Bride. Not preaching doctrine, 'cause I don't do that; but, to my humble belief, the Bride goes through the… or, the—the church goes through the tribulation, the sixth seal, to purify it. That's right. But the Bride don't; she goes in the Rapture before that. It's time for the Bride to be called out, so now I believe it's the calling-out time.
E-253 Excuse me, brothers, I shouldn't preach doctrine, they might have…?… Might differ; if you do, just be like eating cherry pie, throw the seed away and eat the pie. You see, that's right. All right.
E-254 But I believe that's where we make a mistake, where some of us believe, one, say It goes through. And the other says, sure, the church will go through it; but, sure, there is the church there in Babylon, out there in Sodom. The Bride is called out, sitting up here waiting for the coming Son. That's right. Yes, sir. That's where the sign is being done, not down amongst the—the denominationals; in the elect.
E-255 Now, before God, Who I stand, and lie not, Him being my Judge, solemnly I say that there is not a person in that line, as I ever remember seeing in my life. There is not a person, outside of the ones that I have called out here, that I know one thing about, or ever seen; with the Bible here before me.
E-256 Now, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, as I've told you! And you know that I'm not a theologian, I'm not a preacher, as what I call like your pastors here anointed to preach this. That's their call. This is my call, now anointed with the Holy Spirit, to let God flow through His people. See?
E-257 Now will you believe it? If He will show Himself among His people tonight, that He promised, "A little while and the world won't see Me no more. The unbelievers won't see Me. No, they're out there in Sodom. But you shall see Me, for I'll be with you, even in you. The works that I do shall you also. More than this shall you do."
E-258 I know the King James says, "more," but you get the Emphatic Diaglott and see if it don't say—don't say… King James says, "greater." You couldn't do no greater. Nothing could be done any greater. He healed the sick, raised the dead, stopped nature, done everything there was. "But more shall you do."
E-259 Because, He's just represented in one person there, Jesus Christ, God. But now God is among His Church, everywhere. "More than this shall you do, for I go to the Father; to come back in the form of the Spirit, Father Spirit." The same Pillar of Fire that led the children through the wilderness, that dwelled in Jesus Christ, returned back to the God, and said, "I come from God, and go to God."
E-260 Notice what took place as soon as He did that. Saul of Tarsus, on his road down, was struck down with that great Light, as I said last night. He knew that was the Lord. He said, "Lord, Who are You?"
Said, "I am Jesus." See?
E-261 There is that same Pillar of Fire, that same Light among us, bearing forth the Life that It did when It was in Christ Jesus, doing the same thing in the Bride Church today. See? Will you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-262 Now may the Lord God come and speak of what I spoke of Him. That simple faith, now, God in Heaven knows, see, just believing that. When He met me up there, He told me that. And here I stand tonight, I stand, I guess there is three—three hundred people, or more, in here. And I—I—I have stood before a half a million, and make the challenge, around the world. And He won't, He don't… He is God. This, it's not what I have said, it's what He said. It's His Word.
E-263 Now I want everyone to keep just reverently, while the… it's going on, if it does. Now, if it doesn't, if He doesn't come, then there is not one thing I can do but to maybe start a prayer line, lay hands on the sick and pray for them, and go on home. But that's all I can do. I cannot. I'm a man. I'm your brother. See?
E-264 Now, but now if the Holy Spirit should do something outstanding, and you think it's wonderful, God is an object of worship, worship Him as much as you want to.
E-265 But, now, and don't take no pictures, don't flash no lights, because It is a Light. How many has ever seen the picture of It? You know. Sure. It's in Washington, DC. See? All right. Now reverently.
E-266 And I wish that you behind me would really pray now, 'cause I'm watching the audience, and maybe tomorrow night I'll try to come this way, see.
E-267 Now, I do not know. Only God made the promise. But if He will identify Himself here, "Sirs, we would see Jesus," and that's the only way that you… You can't impersonate that, 'cause that's—that's a miracle. It's a paradox. It certainly is a paradox. See? A paradox is a miracle, something that cannot be explained.
E-268 Now here stands a woman. I haven't a bit more idea what that woman is standing there for than anybody else does, unless it's somebody here that knows her. She is just a woman standing there. But it happens to be a woman. It comes on my mind, a perfect picture of Saint John 4, a man and a woman meeting, as the Lord met the woman at the well. See? Now, if this lady standing here, and me not… She might be sick, maybe she is not sick. Maybe she has a domestic trouble. Maybe she has a financial trouble. Or maybe she is standing here for somebody else. I—I—I don't know what she is here for. I just can't tell you, 'cause I don't know. I don't know. But she does know.
E-269 Now if I come up, like, and laid hands upon her, and said, "I lay my hands upon you, sister. Glory to God! You must be well, because the Bible said, 'Lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.' Amen. Go on your road, rejoicing. You are healed." Well, she wants to believe that, that's all right, 'cause that's Scripture, "They lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." That's true. That's what the Bible said.
E-270 But what if the Holy Spirit stands here and tell her something she has done, something that's been back down in her life, what she has done, what she is doing now, what she is here for, what she wants? Now, then she knows, she'll know whether it's the truth or not. Then she knows that has to come from some supernatural power. Now it depends on what she wants to class it, as Beelzebub; or like the woman at the well, "We know Messiah will do this." See, then, ever which one, that's her reward she gets.
E-271 But then if He can tell her what she has been, and—and if it's right, she will identify that it's right. And then if He knows what she has been, surely she can trust Him for what He says she will be. Is that right? If she can trust Him to know what He has been, she knows whether that's right or not, then what about what He will be?
E-272 Isn't this a wonderful time? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Say, "What are you stalling for, Brother Branham?" I'm waiting for Him. That's exactly, exactly. If It don't come, I can't do it. That's all, I'm just waiting for Him. Right. See?
E-273 Let's sing that old hymn, Only Believe. Give us the key there.
Only believe, only believe,
All things are possible, only believe;
Only believe, only believe,
All things are possible, only believe.
E-274 Now, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I take every spirit in here under my control, for the glory of God. Now sit real quiet.
E-275 Now, you that seen that picture, (and I'll meet you someday at the Judgment Seat of Christ), It isn't two feet from where I'm standing right now. That's right. Now if that's the same Holy Spirit… Anybody knows that the Angel of the Covenant was Jesus Christ, Who led Israel through the wilderness. And if He will come now. And I've claimed that He is that Light. I don't know just where It's at, but It's right here near me. I feel It, and I know It's here.
E-276 Now if It'll take my life, my own thoughts, my discernments, everything away from me, and produce His Own, then It's Christ. Now will all of you believe, if He will do it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] All right, now be real reverent. I'll have to talk to the lady just a moment.
E-277 Now ever who is the engineer of this microphone here, watch it. Because, when you're in a vision, you're—you're—you're away from here. You're somewhere else, down a person's life, somewhere else, just like being in some other country, and I have to just talk and say what I'm looking at. And then because it'll leave me, and then I don't remember what I've said, see. So you watch the microphone, whoever it is. While I talk with the lady just like our Lord did the woman at the well, just to talk to her, to catch her spirit.
E-278 Because, I started in preaching, a while ago, and it kind of… Before I leave the room, a day, I fast and pray, and It's real near me. And I should just come right in, let somebody else speak, and then walk right in the pulpit. It's much better. But just to be here tonight, then I—I want to talk with the lady.
E-279 Now, lady, the Lord Jesus is great. And He is not dead, but He is alive forevermore. You believe that? I—I believe you believe it. Now us standing here, as a man and a woman that's got to face Christ someday, we—we must see Him. But I perceive that you are a Christian. Because, just as soon as I go to talking, then I feel their spirit coming in.
E-280 Now if the lady will witness the truth, right now she feels a real odd feeling, like real sweet, warm. Now if you can look with your eyes, you that's never seen It, here It is right between me and her, see, kind of an amber-like Light. It's settling right over the lady, right now. And, in the Name of the Lord, she recognizes that something is making her feel real sweet, different than what you…
E-281 Just, you know, your brother's presence couldn't do that. If that's right, just raise up your hand to the people. See? Yeah.
E-282 Now right here, I'm looking right at the lady, a perfect contact with her. The lady is bothered about something, and that is that she is shadowed. There is a dark shadow over the woman, and she is bothered. Yes, it's cancer. She has cancer, and that cancer is on her hand, on her finger. That's right, in your hand. Can't see it here, but it's on her hand, anyhow. That's right.
E-283 Why is it, variably, that somebody thinks… Don't, don't try to hide your thoughts now. I can catch it here through the Holy Spirit. Somebody said, "He guessed that." I did not guess that. I don't know the woman. Now, I did not guess that. I did not.
E-284 Well, here, you just… I can't see it from where I'm standing, it's on…
E-285 Here, all right, drop your hand down. Look at me. Believe me to be God's servant. Will you do that? All right, let's go somewhere else. Yes, you are a believer. And you should believe for that. I prayed for you once, a long time ago, with cancer, and you was healed.
E-286 You say, "You know the woman." I did not. I've never seen her in my life, as I know of, only see her in this vision.
E-287 Here let me show you something. She has got somebody on her heart, she is praying for. That's her husband. He is here. If I'll tell you what's the matter with him, will you believe he'll be healed? He has prostate trouble. And that's THUS SAITH THE LORD…?… Jesus Christ make you well.
E-288 Do you believe? "Sirs, we would see Jesus." He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe It to be the Son of God? Now how many of you believe that it's Jesus Christ? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.] Just have faith. Don't doubt. Believe God. He is just as great today as He ever was.
E-289 Now you said, just like, "Sirs, we would see Him." Now, if that made a woman at the well, under that condition, her—her—her spiritual condition, recognize that to be the sign of the Messiah; and we Bible readers, and filled with the Holy Spirit, what ought it to do to us?
E-290 Like I've often thought, when Mary being pregnant by the Holy Spirit who overshadowed and created this baby, told her about what was happening. She run up to see her cousin, Elisabeth, who was six months with—with John, the wife of Zacharias. And they were cousins. And when Mary told Elisabeth that she also was going to have a baby, knowing no man, that the Holy Ghost was going to bring it, and said, "They called His Name 'Jesus.'" You know, little John, and he was six months in the mother's womb, and he hadn't ever moved yet. See, that's subnormal; about two or three months and the baby moves. But, this was subnormal, little John was dead in his mother's womb. And as soon as Mary's salutation come to her ear, said, "I shall call His name, Jesus." The first time Jesus Christ was ever spoke by human lips, it brought a little, dead baby to life, in its mother's womb.
E-291 What ought It to do to a man or woman that's born of the Spirit of God? See? What ought It to do when we know we are living in the last days, the Scripture that's piled here in our—our midst, tonight, upon our voices out here, to see Jesus Christ giving us the last sign before the fire? What ought It to do to us? Send us to our knees, to repentance.
E-292 I'm waiting just a moment, certainly, kind of shake away from it, 'cause it weakens me. If it weakened the Son of God, virtue went from Him, what would it do me, a sinner saved by grace?
E-293 Now here is a young woman like… Is this the next, is this the… How do you do? I had turned around. I didn't know. We are strangers to each other, I suppose. We don't know one another. I don't know you. And you are years younger than I, and we was probably born miles apart. Our first time meeting. But do you believe me to be God's prophet, or, excuse me, I mean God's servant? That stumbles people, the reason… This is on tape. Do you believe me to be His servant?
E-294 Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever? And do you believe that, you, this Light that I speak of, that that is the Spirit of God, the same Spirit, that Pillar of Fire that went through the wilderness with the children of Israel, was made manifest? The same One that come into the prison that night, that Light, with Simon Peter, and opened the doors of the jail, put Him out, free?
E-295 Do you believe someday He'll come in and make us free? I do, too. Come to the grave and open the doors, I'll come out from among the dead. I'm trusting Him. He is here tonight. Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to take some human philosophy? We got a Bible here that speaks of this. And here He is to identify His Church, to give it rapturing faith to be taken away. How could a person sit still!
E-296 Just speaking with the lady. Now, I don't know her. Here is my hand, I've never seen her, as far as I know. Just, if I don't know you and you don't know me, so people will say…
E-297 Someone said, that man I was talking to today, down there picking up the cans, he said, that, "People said, 'Brother Branham brings his own group with him, that's how he knows them.'"
E-298 I solemnly swear before God, I never seen that woman in my life, as I know, or nobody else in that line.
E-299 If we are absolutely total strangers, sister, I don't know you or nothing about you, raise up your hand, if I don't know you and you don't. There you are. I never seen the woman. All right.
E-300 But I know Somebody standing here with us, Who knows both of us, He's fed us all the days of our life. It's Him I trust. It's Him I believe.
E-301 Now if I could help you, and wouldn't do it, I wouldn't be worthy of talking about this Word. I'm not worthy, anyhow. But if I could help you, and wouldn't do it, but the only thing that I could do…
E-302 If He was standing here, and you were sick, you would say, "Jesus, heal me." He would say, "I've already done it when I died at Calvary." He was wounded for our transgressions. There the price was settled, it was finished.
E-303 But now He could prove that He was Jesus, by showing you the Messianic sign, that He was Jesus. And He promised to do it. What a… My! There is just no loophole for the devil to get away, is it? He is cornered. Isn't He wonderful? I want…
E-304 The reason I was saying that, I'm watching something happen. The lady has just come from an operation. That's right. Is that right? A female trouble, and you've had an operation. You've… Is that right? And you're suffering from a real weakness and nervousness. Isn't that right? Can't hardly recover from it. And you've come. And tonight, before coming, you prayed you would be able to get here and be prayed for, in the line. Is that right? Raise up your hand. I'm not reading her mind. No, no. If I tell you who you are, by the Spirit of God, you know whether it's the truth or not, won't you? Would it make you believe? Will you believe with all your heart? Mrs. Gideon, believe. That's right. Go home, Jesus Christ makes you well. And believe.
E-305 Do you believe? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Let's say, "Praise the Lord." ["Praise the Lord!"] My, goodness, what… Just have faith in God. Don't doubt.
E-306 Remember, that was THUS SAITH THE LORD. Watch what He says. See? A vision is one thing, and THUS SAITH THE LORD is another.
E-307 How do you do, sir? I'm a stranger to you. We are of two different races, even; like the woman was at the well, but Jesus let her know. God made of one blood all people. The nations and the places we were raised, and changed our colors, has nothing to do with us. We are brothers, creatures, all come from Adam. That's right. But two different races meets here tonight, just like it did then. If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can reveal to me what you're standing there wanting, do you believe He would give it to you? You know it. Thank you, sir. You know it. All right, then your stomach trouble will leave you, and your diabetes will be gone. Return home.
"If thou canst believe, all things are possible."
E-308 Now anyone can see, helping her up there, there is something crippling in her. I don't know. I've never seen the woman. She is a total stranger. If I could heal her, I would do it. I can't. Now look this way, sister. Peter and John… That's just to catch… See, there is people is all around, you see. Remember Him leading a blind man outside of the city, and so forth, see, get to Himself. See, every person is a living spirit, see, and It's to pick you out from faith from everywhere.
E-309 Now, I cannot heal. You know that. I'm a man, just like your—your husband would be, your father, or anyone else. I'm a man, just a human being. But He is God. That's right.
E-310 Now, it is true that your crippling is an arthritis. And you—you have arthritis. It's bad, getting worse all the time. That's right. And another thing, you have a real serious nervous condition. You got a bladder trouble. That's right. High blood pressure. Just got complications. That's right. You're not from here. No, you've come from California. You return back, and believe. You're going to get well, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Have faith.
E-311 You believe? All right, let's just raise up our hands and say, "Thank You, Lord Jesus." [Congregation rejoices—Ed.] "And, Lord Jesus, we give You praise and glory, for all Your goodness and mercy to us. In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen." Just have faith and believe.
E-312 Now look at her walking away. Look at there. [Congregation rejoices and praises the Lord—Ed.] See? See? Say, "Praise the Lord." ["Praise the Lord!"] Amen.
E-313 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't lie. He tells the truth. What He tells you, it's going to be just that way. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never fails.
E-314 Now, anybody that believes that, if you will accept it, it'll work the same thing on you. The only thing you have to do is believe. Now, everybody in the audience believing? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] All right.
E-315 How about you with them varicose veins? You think God would heal you of them, make you well? Do you believe? All right, they'll leave you then.
E-316 I want to ask you, "Who, Who did she touch?" She never touched me. Is that right?
E-317 What about you, do you believe? You believe that pain in your side will leave? You're suffering with a pain in your side. All right, it shall go.
E-318 I challenge you to believe it, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, identifying Himself among His people. I never seen that woman, never seen that person. What did they touch? They touched the High Priest. They are twenty feet from me. They can't touch me; wouldn't do no good, anyhow. But they touched the High Priest, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is Jesus Christ. You must believe, though.
E-319 Now this man, here is a man, like Simon Peter. Maybe the first man that's come tonight, I believe. A man come before here, like the Lord Jesus; a man, Simon Peter came before the Lord Jesus. A man; I think it's been women, now it's a man. Now if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then He will be just as He was then. Is that right? Now I don't know the man; the Heavenly Father knows that. I don't know him. He is just a man standing here. But Jesus Christ knows him. And if Jesus Christ can reveal to me what he is here for, or something about him, and—and He will speak it, he knows whether it's the truth or not. The man will know it. And if anybody here knows him, they'll know it. But I—I don't know it. I just have to wait. But the answer is here. It's here, it's in Christ. That's right, and we believe it.
E-320 And now this is a weakening affair; very, very weakening. And I trust that you will believe and have faith.
E-321 Now, not knowing you, sir. And just like someone brought Simon up before the Lord Jesus. Now I'm not saying… I'm not the Lord Jesus, see. I'm just a man. But I'm trying to say that He is here among the people, and I want them to see. And if they can see that, then surely they—they can believe and accept it. When all… If this promise, if He'll make… He can't just come out there, and walk in here, say, "I'm going to heal you. I'm going to heal you." His… That would be against His Word. See, He has already done that. He is just…
E-322 The last thing He can do is just to prove that He is here to keep His Word. And if He will keep this and manifest it up here before all you people, surely that crippled woman that had to even lift up on a four-inch thing there, with arthritis, jumped up-and-down and run through here, because it was THUS SAITH THE LORD. See? He healed her. Now surely you can believe that He is here.
E-323 Now this man, a stranger to me, and I to him. We're both strangers. Now if the Lord Jesus will reveal it, let him be the judge. Then will you all believe and accept your healing, ever what, will you believe with all…
E-324 [Brother Branham pauses—Ed.] Some lady appeared here before me. [Brother Branham pauses.] The lady there with the lung trouble, believe with all your heart and Jesus Christ will make you well, if you can believe. You believe it? I'm a stranger to you, but Jesus Christ knows what you were thinking about. Now you believe, and you'll be well. Amen. Amen.
E-325 Isn't He wonderful? I don't know the woman, never seen her in my life. She is just a lady sitting there. But she…
E-326 Let me tell you something. She was sitting there, saying, "Lord, let me touch You." Ask her if that isn't right. That's it. That's right.
E-327 And I seen her appear here, and heard what she said. And looked back, and I thought, "Where is that type of a looking person?" I couldn't see it anywhere. And I kept looking. And when she would… I looked around, and directly I seen that Light move over and hang over the woman. Here she was, see. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen. The Lord Jesus knows everything.
E-328 [Someone says, "The lady come with me."—Ed.] That's what it was. This man says the lady come with him. Amen. Isn't that something. See? Now aren't… Isn't that wonderful? The Lord Jesus knows all things. Don't you see? That can't be me, friends. You know that. You're—you're more intelligent than that. You know it.
E-329 Now to this man standing here. Now, not knowing you, and knowing nothing of you, if the Lord Jesus will reveal to me something you're there for, or something you've done to cause your trouble, or whatever it is, then you know that He, it has to be the Lord Jesus. That's right. Well, now may He grant that.
E-330 The first thing, the man is suffering with a—a blood condition. No, it's a high blood. He is suffering with a high blood. He has also got something wrong with his body. I see him sitting with his feet up, or some… Oh, it's—it's water gathering around your ankles, around like that. Say, you are a minister, a preacher of the Gospel. [The brother says, "Amen."—Ed.] Do you believe God can tell me who you are? Rev. Williams, if you believe with all your heart, you can go away from here and be well. [Congregation rejoices.] God bless you. Amen.
Do you believe? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.]
E-331 Do you believe God heals cancer? Do you believe He heals cancer and makes people well? Go on off the platform, believing, and get healed. Amen. Believe with all your heart.
E-332 Do you believe God heals of heart trouble? You do? Well, then yours is healed. Go and believe with all your heart. Just praise be to God! Amen.
E-333 Now, you had a real strange feeling when I said that to the man, because you had heart trouble, too. If you'll keep on believing, it won't come back. It'll leave you for good. Go, believe with all your heart. Amen. All right.
E-334 This woman coming here is shadowed to death. She had a cancer, but now it's gone. Believe with all your heart, and it'll go, and be made well. If you won't doubt, it'll never come back if you don't doubt it, but believe.
Come, lady.
E-335 Now you say I was "reading the people's minds." Turn it like this. The Angel of the Lord that was supposed to come in the last days, Lord God Jehovah, was supposed to know what was behind Him, like He did. This woman is behind me.
E-336 Believe, sister. Do you believe me to be God's servant? If you do, raise up your hand.
E-337 This lady behind me, has she got her hand up? [Someone says, "Yes."—Ed.] If the Lord can reveal to me, looking this way, what's wrong with the woman, will you believe with all your heart? [Congregation says, "Yes."] She has a female trouble, a lady's trouble.
E-338 If that's right, wave your hand, this lady here. You are healed now, and Jesus Christ makes you well. Glory to God! "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man."
E-339 This place on her face has turned to cancer. If she would believe with all your heart, you can go, and it'll leave you, and you'll be well. I can't heal, but God will if you'll believe with all your heart. I am not a healer. Uh-huh. Amen.
E-340 Do you believe with all your heart? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.]
E-341 Sister, look this a way, lady. You suffer with arthritis, it's worse of a morning, when you try to get out of bed. You slip one foot out, and then try to make your way, and hold to the things sometime, in the house, trying to get around. That's exactly right. If you'll believe with all your heart, Jesus Christ will make you well. Tomorrow afternoon will be different, if you will believe it.
E-342 Let's say, "Praise the Lord." [Congregation says, "Praise the Lord," and rejoices—Ed.]
E-343 This man is aged. He has a trouble called prostate, which is the age for his man. He has many things wrong with him. But one of the great things that he is wanting me to pray for him for, is arthritis. It's been bothering him for some time. That's right. Do you believe? Go on your road and be healed. And thank Jesus Christ, makes the sick well!…?… All right, sir.
E-344 I don't know the little girl, a healthy-looking child. Look at me and believe, lady. Do you believe with all your heart? Do you believe me to be His servant? Do you believe that God can reveal to me your trouble? You're just about to a breakdown, from a nervous condition. The devil has lied to you, tries to make you think you're losing your mind, and everything. Don't believe it. You're free. Jesus Christ makes you free. Amen.
E-345 Do you believe, the whole audience of you? Do you believe now, in His Presence? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.]
E-346 Do you believe with all your heart, sister? Do you believe Him. You do? In the Name of Jesus Christ, be healed. Amen. Believe with all your heart.
E-347 She is nervous, has a lady's trouble, also suffering with an arthritis. It's about to cripple her up. If you believe with all your heart, you can go be made free. Do you believe it? Then go in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe she's straightened up, and healed.
E-348 Do you believe with all your heart? Now wait. Does Jesus Christ keep His Word? Does He keep His Word? How many believes that He is the same? How many believes that you see Jesus Christ working among His people? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.] "Sir, we would see Jesus."
E-349 Now, I tell you the truth. Just surely you can believe if God tells you that I tell you the truth. (Now I feel my son or somebody pulling on my coat, which means that it's time he is to let me go.) I want to tell you the truth, that's the Word of God promised to do that.
E-350 The Word also promised this. You raised up your hands and said you were believers. Is that right? The last words Jesus said, before He ascended on High, He said He give gifts unto man, He said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Is that right? "If they," the believers.
E-351 How many is believers, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."] Then you lay your hand on somebody next to you. Just lay your hand over to the one beside you. Just put your hand on one another. Oh, now pray for that person.
Lord Jesus, grant it, Lord.
E-352 Satan, come out of this group of people, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
[Congregation continues praying and rejoicing—Ed.]