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1 Let us bow our heads
for prayer. Dear heavenly Father, we hear this song of "Only Believe"; it makes
us to know that that's all we have to do to inherit any of God's promises, just
believe them. For it is written, "All things are possible to them that believe."
As we cry as the man who had the epileptic child, "Lord, I believe, help thou
my unbelief!"...
We thank Thee for Thy great power, Thy great revelation of Thyself to us in
this last days. It makes our heart most happy and joyful to know that we have
come in contact with the living God, Who vindicates it right back in physical,
material evidences as He did in the days gone by and as He has promised for
this day. We're so grateful to Thee our God. This dark day where no one seems
to know which a-way to go, we're so glad that we found the safety zone, the
retreat.
Now, bless us tonight, Lord, as we speak of Thy Word. And the promises that's
given to us, may we nurture them in our heart, cherish them with reverence,
and obey them with real godly discipline. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
4 Oh, they...?... A
love offering? You shouldn't have done that. Who did that? You guilty? I was
getting on the manager. Says he took a love offering for me. He shouldn't have
done that. I appreciate it; God knows that; but I--I never come for that. Thank
you. May the Lord bless you. I'll do everything I can... I'll put it right in
foreign missions, so I'll know it'll go for the Kingdom of God. And if the Lord
willing, I'll take it myself over to the lands to bring this same Gospel that
you been setting, listening to this week. Then I know it'll be done in the way
that you believed it. The Lord help me to do it.
I am very grateful for the great attendance this week, and for all you people
that's hooked up tonight again with the--the wires of the telephone. And we're
grateful to each and every one of you.
6 Billy said to me this morning; he said, "Daddy, if you would've come with me this morning, early, right after daylight, and stand out here around in these places and watch mothers feeding their babies in the car, them poor people setting in that rain, waiting for the doors to open..." You see what a hypocrite I'd be if I told you anything but the truth? I'd really be a foul person. Sometimes I have to hurt, but it's not because that I want to, it's because... It's--it's not me that's hurting; it's truth that hurts. And I--I... But I believe that's the reason you come, because I'm deadly sincere with you and do all that I can to help you. The Lord help each and every one of you.
7 And now, I want to
thank the people for their fine cooperation, the people of the city here also,
who gave us--let us have the--the renting of this schoolhouse, this auditorium,
and the gym. And I want to thank the officials if you're here. And also I want
to thank Thurston Colvin, which is the custodian here, for his fine cooperation
in helping us to get this and being with us each night.
We thank the Jeffersonville Police force for coming up here and watching with
a real cheap cost. I think about two dollars a hour that the police were put
up here on special duty to park the cars, to see that there was no--nothing
happened, and everything was all right. We're grateful to the people for that.
And to the--the--also the engineer here on the--the board, I've noticed him.
And all that's affiliated with this, we are certainly grateful to you.
9 I thank each and every
one of you for the gifts. Billy just brought me this afternoon a--a gift, several
of them in boxes, candy and so forth. And one of them was the--the Beatitudes
with a picture of Christ worked in it. It was the sermon on the mount. And it
certainly was beautiful. I certainly thank you. And so many things, I don't
know how to thank you for. And then also for your--your sponsoring, financing
the meeting, we certainly do appreciate it with all of our heart. The Lord bless
each one of you richly.
Billy said there was many people had been asking for private interviews during
the time. And many asked and had little babies to be dedicated. Oh, how I want
to do that. But you see, when I come this time, it's so urgent I have to stay
right all the time in study this Word and prayer on account of bringing these
messages. See, they're not... They're--they're extra ordinary to us, because
it's finding the will of God and then speaking the things. And all that has
to meet together, and asking God just which one to open up.
11 Now, the Lord willing,
we'll be back again soon, as soon as we can find a day. I made a--a motion or--or
said something about Easter. I'd better check that, because I think I've got
a schedule in California along about that time. So that may be wrong. However,
when we return again to the Tabernacle, we'll send you a card and--the church,
and--and give you the--the date and time.
Then I'll... Maybe at that time... Again I haven't put any time to praying for
the sick. We haven't had one service that we brought the people up and prayed
for them. We been sending them out. And our brethren here has been preaching,
Brother Lee Vayle, and Brother... These other brothers has been preaching and
praying for the sick, and doing the water baptism--baptizing rather, and letting
me stay alone with the Word. We thank these men. They done a gallant job.
13 There's so many friends here I'd like to meet. I look down and see John and Earl. And--and there's Doctor Lee Vayle, one of the managers of the campaign--Brother Roy Borders. Them men, I haven't even got--I haven't even no more than shook their hand. I haven't had a chance to. I think of my friends from Kentucky, and around in here, and minister friends, how I would like to shake their hands. Brother Blair, I noticed him here the other day. And many of those men that I--I love; and they been to several meetings; I never even as much as shook their hand. I--I'm trying... It isn't because I don't want to do that; it's because I haven't the time to do it. And I'm just a-hurrying.
14 Dedicating the babies,
sure, my own son, my little grandson was supposed to be dedicated at this meeting.
I haven't had time to do it, little David. I'm grandpa twice now. So Mr. May,
if he's here tonight, who give me that cane, look like I'm going to have to
use it pretty soon, so...
And I told Billy; I said, "The Bible did say multiply and replenish the earth,
but the whole burden wasn't given to you." And these grandsons are appearing
fast. And so remember, my daughter-in-law was barren to begin with; she could
not have no children. And one day leaving a meeting, the Lord spoke to me and
said, "Loyce, you will bear a son; the Lord has blessed you. Your female trouble
is gone." Little Paul was born nine months later.
16 Two months before
this baby come on the scene, I was setting, eating breakfast one morning at
the table, and Loyce and Billy was setting across the table from me. And I seen
Loyce feeding a little baby with a pink--or blue blanket wrapped around it.
And Billy was setting in the corner feeding little Paul. I said, "Billy, I just
saw a vision. Loyce was feeding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket."
He said, "There goes my hunting trip. That's just nine months from now."
Eleven months later little David was born. And I haven't been able to dedicate
him to the Lord yet, and will not until we return again. So you see what it
is.
17 How I love people and their fellowship. But our brethren has been praying for the sick, and I know it's a success. Each night we prayed for the sick, one laying their hands on the other, all of us together, which that way it's catches the whole scope. But maybe, if God willing--I'll mark it on the card if we send it--coming back, I'd like to dedicate about two or three days again just to praying for the sick and doing what we can in that manner.
18 Now--now, I thank
the people for their help again. Now, I just want to comment just a moment on
the--on the morning's message. There's no doubt I didn't get completely through
with it, but I think you understand. And I'm sure you didn't... You'll never
know what that was for me to do.
Now, it seems very simple to you, but you see what you're doing? You're taking
the place of God to pronounce something. And before I would do that, it had
to come a answer from God. And He had to come down, and He visibly showed Himself,
and gave the revelation. Therefore (See?), this is to the church. And remember,
I said these--this what I said was to the church only.
And so that you might have confidence and know, that was the same God that said
to me up there where they was no squirrel, "Speak, and say where they'll be."
And three straight times it happened. Now, if He can by that same Word create
something that isn't there, how much more will this hold fast at the day of
judgment. See? People were there to see these things, and know as Paul said
in the days gone by, there's men with him who--who felt the earth shake and
didn't hear the voice, but they--they seen the--the Pillar of Fire.
21 It done me good though
after it was over to see husbands and wives that I know is genuine Christians
hugging one another and weeping. And listen, friends, God confirms His Word
with signs and vindications to prove that It's right. The spoken Word...
Now, remember, that Light that was in that cloud that gave the revelation...
I was... My little girl was telling me, Sarah here, that when they... That school
there in Arizona was looking up there on a cloudless sky and seeing this cloud
mysteriously, in that mountain, going up-and-down with a Amber Fire burning
in it. The teacher dismissed the classes and the school and brought them out
front and said, "Did you ever see anything like that? Look the way that--is."
Remember, that's that same Amber Light that's on the rock. See? So it's the
same God, same revelation. Said, "Tell them to do this." It's what I told you
this morning, so there it is.
23 If it happens to
be that my good friend Brother Roy Roberson is listening in at Tucson, Roy,
you remember the other day the vision you seen when we were out standing upon
the mountain? You come up to me, and that cloud was over the top? Come walking
down, you know what He told you, I told you at the house the other day? That's
it, Roy. Don't worry no more, son; it's over.
You just don't know what that means. It's grace. He loves you. You love Him.
Humbly serve Him and worship Him the rest of your days. Be happy; go ahead and
live as you are. If you're happy, continue that way. Don't never do anything
wrong again like that. Just go ahead; it's God's grace.
25 Now, I want to pray
again before we enter into the Word. How many will pray for me? I'm just going
from meeting to meeting, will you pray? You know, I'd like to sing you a little
song, all of us together before we go to the Word. Just to--so that we'd know,
God... Just a little dedication. Did you ever hear this little song, "He Careth
for You?" Through sunshine and sorrow, He careth for you.
A little lady's coming up to the piano. Say, I want to thank this little lady
too; I didn't even know who she was. It's one of the deacon's daughters here.
I certainly... Brother Wheeler's little girl, she's growed up now. She was little
bitty thing that set on my knee not long ago, and now she's a young woman. So
I certainly thank her that she's used her talent in music, and now she plays
very sweetly. Would you give us a chord, sister? All of us together now.
27 Don't you love Him?
Let us bow our heads now. Dear gracious God, with this little note here of a
few things to say to the people and back again to refer back to this morning,
for that's what the people come to hear. I pray, God, that You'll let the people
see that God loves and cares. And it was not me that give that, Lord; it was
vindicated that it was the Truth. So I pray, dear God, that Your love will always
remain among the people. Tonight to have to separate after this meeting and
go to our different homes, it--it kinda pulls us, some, deep, Lord. I pray that
You'll bless these people.
Now, as we approach the Word in prayer, and approach the written Word, we ask
that You will take this written Word and make It alive to us tonight. And when
we leave this building tonight to separate to go to our different homes, may
we say like those who came from Emmaus, that had walked with Him all day and
still didn't know Him... But when He got them inside the room that night, and
the doors all shut, He did something just like He did before His crucifixion.
By that they knowed He had risen again. Do it again tonight, Lord. Grant it,
while the doors are shut and Your little group here is setting, waiting. And,
Father, when we go to our homes we'll say like they did, "Did not our hearts
burn within us as He talked to us along the way?" We commit ourselves and all
in Your hands, Lord; do with us as You see fit. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
29 Now, let's get right
into the service now quickly, turning now with me if you will to the Book of
Hebrews. And another revelation on the Message, we'll speak for just a few moments
tonight, the Lord willing. And then while reading the first three verses of
Hebrews 7:1-3, and then commenting on this... And we don't know what the Lord
will do. We do not know; the only thing we do is just believe, watch, pray (That
right?), and believe that He'll make everything work together for good to them
that loves Him, because He promised to.
30 Think of this great
Person, of how great this Man must be. And now, the question is: "Who is this
Man?" Theologians has had different ideas, but since the opening of the Seven
Seals, the mysterious Book that's been mysterious to us... According to Revelations
10:1-7, all the mysteries that's wrote in this Book that's been hid down through
the age of the reformers is supposed to be brought out into view by the angel
of the last church age. How many knows that's right? That's right. Supposed
to be brought... All the mysteries of the mysterious Book is to be revealed
to the Laodicea messenger of that age.
Seeing there is much dispute about this Person, and this subject, I think it
behooves us to break into it to find out Who this is. Now, there's several schools
of thought on Him. One of the schools are--claims He's just a myth; He wasn't
actually a person. And the others says that it was a priesthood, that was the
Melchisedec priesthood. That's the most likely one that hold better to that
side than they do to the other, is because they say it was a priesthood. It
can't be that, for in the 4th verse it says He was a Person, a Man. So in order
to be a person He has to be a personality, a Man, not a order, but a Person.
32 So He was not just
a priesthood order, neither was He a myth; He was a Person. And the Person is
eternal. If you notice, He had no father, He had no mother, He had no time He
ever began, and He had no time He ever ended. And ever Who it was is still alive
tonight, because the Bible said here that He had neither father, nor mother,
beginning of days or ending of life. So it would have to be an eternal Person
(Is that right?), an eternal Person. So it could only be one Person; that's
God, 'cause He's the only One that's eternal--God.
Now, in I Timothy 6:15 and 16, if you'd like to read that sometime, I'd like
for you to read it. Now, the thing that I contend is, that He was God, because
He's the only Person that can be immortal. And now, God changing Himself into
Person; that's what He was: no father, no mother, no beginning of life, no ending
of days.
34 Now, we find in the
Scripture that many people teaches that three personalities in the Godhead.
So you cannot have a personality without being a person. It takes a person to
make a personality.
A Baptist minister a few weeks ago come up and--to my house--and said, "I'd
like to straighten you out on the Godhead sometime when you got time," called
me up rather.
I said, "I got time right now, 'cause I want to be straight, and we lay aside
everything else to do it."
And he come up; he said, "Brother Branham, you teach that there is just one
God."
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Well," he said, "I believe there's one God, but one God in three persons."
I said, "Sir, repeat that again."
He said, "One God in three persons."
I said, "Where did you go to school at?" See? And he told me a--a Bible college.
I said, "I could believe that. You cannot be a person without being a personality,
and if you're a personality, you are one personality to yourself. You're a separate
individual being."
And he said, "Well, the theologians can't even explain that."
I said, "It's by revelation."
And he said, "I can't accept revelation."
I said, "Then there's no way for God to ever get to you, because it's hid from
the eyes of the wise and prudent and revealed to babes (revealed, revelation)
revealed to babes such as will accept it, learn." And I said, "There'd be no
way for God to get to you; you close yourself off from Him. The whole Bible
is the revelation of God. The whole church is built upon the revelation of God.
There's no other way to know God only by revelation: 'To whom the Son will reveal
Him,' revelation. Everything is revelation. So to--not to accept the revelation,
then you're just a cold theologian, and there's no hope for you."
38 Now, now, we find
out that this Person had no father, no mother, no beginning of days or ending
of life. It was God "En morphe". Now, the world--the word comes--the Greek word
means "change," was used, changing Himself, "En morphe", from one person to...
One person... The Greek word there, "En morphe," means... It was taken from
the stage act, "that one person is changing his mask to make him some other
character."
Like in--in school just recently--I believe, Rebekah, just before she graduated,
they had one of Shakespeare's plays. And one young man had to change his clothes
several times, because he played two or three different parts, but the same
person. He'd come out; one time he was the villain. And when he come out next
time, he was another character.
40 And now the Greek
word "En morphe" mean that he changed His mask. And that's what God did. It's
the same God all the time. God in the form of the Father, the--the Spirit, the
Pillar of Fire, the same God was made flesh and dwelt among us: "En morphe,"
brought out so He could be seen. And now, that same God is the Holy Ghost. Father,
Son, Holy--not three Gods, three offices, three acts of the one God.
The Bible said there's one God, not three. But that's how that they couldn't...
You can't get this straightened out and have three gods. You'd never sell a
Jew that; I tell you that, one who knows better; he knows there's only one God.
42 Notice, like the
sculptor, he hides with a--a mask over it. That's what God's done to this age.
It's been hid. All these things has been hid, and is supposed to be revealed
in this age. Now, the Bible says they would be revealed in the latter times.
It's like a sculptor keeping his--his piece of work all covered over until the
time he takes the mask off of it and there it is. And that's what the Bible
has been. It has been a work of God that's been covered up. And it's been hid
since the foundation of the world, and its sevenfold mystery, and God promised
in this day, at the age of this Laodicea church, He would take the mask off
the whole thing and we could see it.
What a glorious thing, God, "En morphe", masked in a Pillar of Fire, God, "En
morphe" in a Man called Jesus, God, "En morphe" in His church: God above us,
God with us, God in us, the condescending of God. Up there holy, no one could
touch Him; He settled upon the mountain, and even if a animal touched the mountain,
had to die. And then God come down and changed His tent, and He come down and
lived with us, become one of us, and we held Him. The Bible said, I Timothy
3:16, "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifested
in the flesh," handled with hands. God eat meat. God drank water. God slept.
God cried. He was one of us: beautiful, typed in the Bible. That was God above
us, God with us; now it's God in us, the Holy Spirit, not the third person,
the same Person.
44 God came down and
become flesh and died the death in Christ so that He could clean the church
in order to get into it for fellowship. God loves fellowship. That's what He
made the man at the first time for, was for fellowship. God dwells alone with
Cherubims.
And notice now, He made man, and man fell. So He came down and redeemed man,
because God loves to be worshipped. The very word "god" means "object of worship."
And this that comes among us as a Pillar of Fire, as something that changes
our hearts, that is the same God that said, "Let there be light," and there
was light. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
46 Now, in the beginning
God dwelled alone with His attributes as I spoke of this morning. That's His
thoughts. There was nothing, just God alone. But He had thoughts. Just like
a great architect can set down in his mind, and draw out what he thinks it's--he's
going to--to build, create. Now, he cannot create; he can take something that's
been created and make it in a different form, 'cause God's the only way--only
One can create. But he gets in his mind what he's going to do, and that's his
thoughts; that's his desires.
Now, it's a thought, and then he speaks it, and it's a word then. And a--a word
is... A thought when it's expressed, it's a word. A thought expressed is a word.
But it has to be a thought first. So it's God's attributes; then it becomes
a thought, then a word.
48 Notice, those who
have tonight Eternal Life, was with Him and in Him, in His thinking, before
there ever was an Angel, star, Cherubim, or anything else. That's eternal. And
if you have Eternal Life, you always was, not your being here, but the shape
and form that the infinite God... And if He isn't infinite, He isn't God.
God has to be infinite. We're finite; He's infinite. And He was omnipresent,
omniscient, and omnipotent. If He isn't, then He can't be God: knows all things,
all places because of His omnipresence. Omniscient makes Him omnipresent. He
is a being; He's not like the wind. He is a being; He dwells in a house, but
being omniscient, knowing all things, makes Him omnipresent, because He knows
everything that's going on. There can't be a flea bat its eyes but what He knowed
it. And He knowed it before there was a world, how many time it'd bat it's eyes
and how much tallow it had in it, before there ever was a world. That is infinite.
We can't comprehend it in our minds, but that's God--God, infinite.
50 And remember, you,
your eyes, your statue, whatever you was, you were in His thinking at the beginning.
And the only thing that you are is the expression word. After He thought it,
He spoke it, and here you are. If it isn't, if you wasn't in His thinking, there's
no way at all for you ever to be there, for He's the One that gives Eternal
Life.
You remember how we read the Scriptures, "Not him that willeth, or him that
runneth, but God..." And that His predestination might stand true, He could
choose before anytime who... God's sovereign in His choosing, did you know that?
God's sovereign. Who was back yonder to tell Him a better way to make the world?
Who would dare to tell Him He was running His business wrong? Even the very--the
very Word Itself, very sovereign... Even the revelation is sovereign. He reveals
to whom He will reveal. The very revelation itself is sovereign in God. That's
how people pound at things, and jump at things, and hit at things, and not knowing
what they're doing. God is sovereign in His works.
52 Now, we find Him
at the beginning, His attributes. And now, you were with Him then. Then is when
the Book of Life comes into view. Now, we read over here in Revelations the
13th chapter, the 8th verse, that the beast that comes upon the earth in these
last days will deceive all those people on the earth whose names were not written
in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world.
Think of it. Before Jesus was ever born, four thousand years before He came
on earth, and several thousand years before you come on earth, Jesus in God's
mind died for the sins of the world, and the Book of Life was made; and your
name was put on that Book of Life before the foundation of the world. That's
the Bible truth. See? Your name was ordained of God and placed on the Book of
Life before the foundation of the world.
You were there in His attributes. You don't remember it, no, because you're
just a part of His life. You are a part of God when you become a son or a daughter
of God, just as you are a part of your earthly father. That's right. You are...
The male carries the hemoglobin, the blood. And when that has gone in--in the
egg, then you become a part of your father, and your mother is a part of your
father also. So you're all a part of your father. Glory. That lets the denomination
out altogether. Certainly does. God in all, the only place...
55 Notice now His attribute.
Then the attribute was first God, the thought, the attribute itself all in one,
without being expressed. Then when He expressed, secondarily, He became then
the Word. And then the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us, St. John the
1st chapter and the 1st verse.
Notice, this is in the beginning, but before the eternal. Notice, in the beginning
was the Word. When the time begin it was Word, but before it was Word, it was
attribute, a thought. Then it was expressed. In the beginning was the expression,
the Word. Now, we're getting where Melchisedec is. That's this mysterious Person.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And then the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. Hold that there now.
Notice. His--His first being was Spirit, God, supernatural (All right?), the
great Eternal. Second, He begin to form Himself towards flesh in a theophany,
it's called, "the word, a body." This then is the state He was in when He met
Abraham, was called Melchisedec. He was in the form of theophany. Now, we'll
get to that and prove it in a few minutes, the Lord willing.
58 He was the Word.
A theophany is something that you could not see. It could be right here now,
yet you cannot see it. It's just like, well like television, that's in another
dimension. Television... People are moving right through this room now singing;
there's colors also, but the eye is only subject to the five senses. Your whole
being is only subject to five senses, rather. And you are only subject to what
the sight has been limited to see. But there is another dimension that can be
seen by a transformation by television.
Now, television does not manufacture a picture. A television only channels it
into a circuit, and then the television screen picks it up. But the picture's
there to begin with. Television was here when Adam was here. Television was
here when Elijah set on Mount Carmel. Television was here when Jesus of Nazareth
walked the shores of Galilee. But you're just now discovering it. They wouldn't
have believed it back there. You'd have been crazy to have said something like
it. But now it's become a reality.
And so is it that Christ is here. The Angels of God are here. And someday in
the great millennium to come it'll be just more real than television or anything
else, because they are here.
He reveals Himself in His great form of what He claim as He "En morphe's" Himself
into His servants and proves Himself.
Now, here He is in the form of Spirit. And then He comes in the form of a--of--"En
morphe." Now, He appeared to Abraham "En morphe." When Abraham was returning
from the slaughter of the king, here come Melchisedec, talked to Him.
62 The other day in
the Tucson paper I was reading an article that where there was a--a woman driving
down the road, at I believe about forty, fifty miles an hour, and she hit an
old man with an overcoat on. She screamed and stopped her car. It threw him
up in the air: right out of the plain desert. And she run back to find him,
and he wasn't there. So what did she do? Some people behind her saw it happen,
saw the old man fly up in the air, his overcoat turning. So they run back to
find out. They couldn't find the man anywhere. They called the police force.
The police come out to examine the place; there was nobody there.
Well, each one of them testified the car chugged, hit the man. He went up in
the air, and everybody saw it. Witnesses and two or three carloads of them,
they seen it happen. Come to find out, five years ago there was an old man with
an overcoat on hit and killed on the same spot. When you leave here, you're
not dead. You've got to come back even if you're a sinner and be judged according
to the deeds done in the body. "If this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we
have one waiting." "En morphe," that's the word.
64 Now, God in this
stage of--at this stage of His creation later formed into flesh Jesus. From
what? From the great beginning Spirit, then came down to be the Word, bringing
Itself out. The Word doesn't yet make Itself; it's just spoke out, "En morphe,"
later He becomes flesh, Jesus, mortal to taste death for all of us sinners.
When Abraham met Him, He was Melchisedec. He unfolds here what all the attributes
will do in the final end, every son of Abraham. Every son of the faith will
absolutely do the same thing. But I want to watch how we have to come.
Also we see Him revealed here in Ruth and--and Boaz as a Kinsman Redeemer, how
He had to come to be flesh.
67 Now, we see the attribute
sons of His Spirit have not yet entered into the Word form body, but--a theophany.
This body is subject to the Word and earnest--waiting for the earnest change
of the body.
Now, the different between Him and you as a son... See, He was at the beginning
the Word, an "En morphe" body. He came in and lived in that in the Person of
Melchisedec. Then later... We never heard no more of Melchisedec, because He
became Jesus Christ. Melchisedec was the Priest, but He became Jesus Christ.
Now, you bypassed that, because in that form He knowed all things. And you have
never been able to know that yet. You come like Adam, like me. You became from
the attribute to the flesh to be tempted. But when this life is finished here...
"If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." That's
where we go; that is the Word. Then we can look back and see what we done. Now,
we don't understand it. We have never become the Word; we've just become the
flesh-man, not the Word. But...
And look clearly, makes it clear you will never be the Word unless you was a
thought at the beginning. That proves the predestination of God. See? You can't
be the Word 'less you're a thought. You had to be in the thinking first. But
you see, in order to stand temptation you had to bypass the theophany; you had
to come down here in flesh to be tempted by sin. And then if you sin... "All
the Father hath given Me will come to Me, and I'll raise him up at the last
days." See, you had to be first. And then you see, He come right down the regular
line, from attribute to...
70 Before the foundation
of the world his Name's put on the Lamb's Book of Life. Then from that He become
the Word, the theophany, that could appear, disappear; and then He become flesh
and returned back again, resurrected that same body in a glorified condition.
But you bypassed the theophany and become flesh-man to be tempted by sin. And
then "if this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we have one already waiting."
We have not yet the bodies. But look, when this body receives the Spirit of
God, the Immortal Life inside of you, it throws this body in subjection to God.
Hallelujah.
"He that's born of God doth not commit sin; he cannot sin." Romans 8:1. "There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; they walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." There you are. See, that throws
your body subject. You don't have to say, "Oh, if I could just quit drinking,
if I could just..." Just get in Christ; it's all gone. See, see? Because your
body is subject to the Spirit, it's no more subject to the things of the world;
they're dead. They are dead; your sins are buried in baptism; and you are a
new creation in Christ. And your body becoming subject to the Spirit, try to
live a right kind of life...
72 Like you women claiming
you got Holy Ghost and going out here and wearing shorts and things, how could
you do it? How could the Spirit of God in you ever let you do such a thing as
that? It just can't be so. Certainly it can't be. He's not a filthy spirit;
He's a holy Spirit.
And then when you become subject to that Spirit, it throws your whole being
subject to that Spirit. And that Spirit is nothing in the world but this Seed
Word made manifest, or quickened (Hallelujah.), made alive. And when the Bible
said, "Don't do this," that body quickly turns to it; there's no question. And
what is it? It's the earnest of the resurrection. This body will be raised up
again, because it's already started. It was once subject to sin, and mire, and
corruption, but now it's got the earnest; it's turned heavenly. Now, that's
the earnest that you're going in the rapture. It's the earnest.
A sick person laying dying, nothing left but death, that's all can happen. I've
seen the shadows of people done eat up with cancer and tuberculosis, and see
them persons a little while after that perfectly normal and strong. If there
is no Divine healing then there's no resurrection, 'cause Divine healing is
the earnest of the resurrection. Amen.
You know what the earnest money is don't you? It's the down payment. "He was
wounded for our transgressions; with His stripes we're healed."
76 Notice, how wonderful,
we love Him. Now, this body is subject to the Spirit. Have not yet entered into
the Word form, but we are still in the flesh form, but subject to the Word.
Death in the flesh will take us there.
Just the same thing. Think of a little baby. You can take a woman, no matter
how evil she is, when she is pregnant and fixing to be mother, watch before
that baby's born; I don't care how cruel the woman is, she gets real kind. There's
something about her sound--seems godly, to see a little mother fixing to become
mother by the baby. Why is it? That little body... Now, it's not alive yet.
See the only thing it is, is just flesh and muscles. That little jumping, that's
just muscles jerking. But when it comes forth from the womb, God breathes the
breath of life into it, and then he screams out. See, just as--as sure as there
is a natural body being formed, there is a spiritual body to receive it as soon
as it gets here.
78 Then when a man is
borned again from heaven, he becomes a spirit babe in Christ. And then when
this robe of flesh is dropped, there is a natural body, theophany, a body not
made with hands, neither born of a woman, that we go to. Then that body returns
back and picks up the glorified body. That's the reason Jesus went to hell when
he died and preached to the souls that were in prison. Turned back into that
theophany... Oh, marvelous. Thank God.
II Corinthians 5:1 "If this earthly body be dis--dissolved (this earthly tabernacle),
we have another one." See, we have bypassed that to come straight from God,
the attribute, to be flesh to be tempted and tested by sin like Adam did. But
when testing of His Word is over, then we are taken up to this body that was
prepared for us before the foundation of the world. It is the Word there that
we skipped to come right around down here to be tempted and tested. If we'd
have come through that, there'd have been no temptation; we'd knowed all things.
That's the reason Jesus knowed all things, 'cause He was Word before He was
flesh.
Then we become the Word. Here we are formed to the Word image to be a partaker
of the Word, feed on the Word, by being predestinated since the beginning. You
see, that little spark of life that you had in you from the beginning when you
started your journey... Many of you can remember it. You joined this church
and joined that church, and try this and that; nothing satisfied. That's right.
But one day you just recognized it. Right.
81 The other night I
was teaching somewhere; I believe it was out in California, or Arizona, about...
I believe I've told the little story here about the man setting a hen and had
a eagle egg under it. And when that eagle hatched out, he was the funniest looking
bird that them chickens ever seen. But he walked around; he was the--he was
the ugly one among them, because he just couldn't understand how that hen will
cluck and scratch on that manure pile and eat, and he couldn't get the idea.
She'd say, "Come on over and feast, honey." Why, he--he was a eagle; he just
didn't eat like that. It wasn't his food.
So she'd catch grasshoppers and whatmore, you know, and call the little chickens.
And all them little chickens would go along, cluck along, and eat. But the little
eagle just couldn't do it. It didn't--didn't look right to him.
83 So one day his mammy
come hunting him. And he'd hear that hen cluck. He'd tried his best to cluck,
but he couldn't do it. He tried to cheep like a chicken, but he couldn't do
it. See, he was a eagle. He's... To start with he was a eagle. He was just hatched
under a hen. That's like some church members. Every... That's about the way
it is; about one out of a setting is right.
But one day his mammy flew over and she screamed. He recognized it. "That sounded
right." Why? He was a eagle to begin with. That's the way it is with the Gospel
of the Word, the power of Jesus Christ; when a man has been predestinated to
Eternal Life, he hears that true ring, scream of God, nothing can keep him from
it. The church might say, "Days of miracles is past, cluck, cluck, cluck. Stand
here and eat this, and stand here and eat that."
That barnyard stuff won't do for him any more. He's gone. "All things are possible."
He gets off the ground. That's what's the matter with so many Christians today;
they can't get their feet off the ground. The old mammy said, "Son, jump; you're
an eagle. Come up here where I am."
He said, "Mom, I never jumped in my life."
She said, "Well, you jump; you're eagle to begin with; your not a chicken."
So he made his first jump and flopped his wings; didn't do too good, but he
got off the ground. That's the way we do; we accept God by faith by the written
Word. There's something in there (See?), that Eternal Life, you were predestinated
to it.
His grandpa and grandma were eagles; he was a eagle all the way back. Eagle
don't mix with other things. He's not a hybrid at all; he's a eagle.
88 Then after you recognize
the very Word of God was Eagle Food, then you left the other thing. You've then
been formed into the living image of the living God. You heard from your theophany.
"If this earthly body be dissolved, we have one waiting."
You say, "Is that right, Brother Branham?" All right, let's take a couple of
eagles and look at them for a few minutes.
There was a name--man named Moses. Everyone knows that a prophet's called the
eagle in the Bible. There was a prophet named Moses. And one day God called
Him--and wouldn't let him go over the land--and he--he died on a rock. The Angels
took him away and buried him. There was another man, a eagle, didn't even have
to die. He just walked across Jordan, and God sent a chariot down and: "This
robe of flesh he dropped and rise and caught the everlasting prize." Eight hundred
years later, eight hundred years later on Mount Transfiguration here stood those
two men. Moses' body had been rotten for hundreds of years, but here he was
in such a form till even Peter, James, and John recognized him. Amen. "If this
earthly tabernacle be dissolved..." If you're an attribute of God expressed
here on earth, you've got a body waiting after you leave this world. There they
was standing on Mount Transfiguration in their theophany, for they were prophets
to whom the Word came to.
90 Also let us notice
another prophet one time by the name of Samuel. He was a great man. He'd taught
Israel, told them they shouldn't have a king. He said, "Have I ever said one
thing to you in the Name of the Lord but what come to pass?"
They said, "No, everything you've always said in the Name of the Lord come to
pass."
He was a prophet. And he died. About three or four years later, the king got
in trouble; that was before the Blood of Jesus Christ was ever shed. He was
in paradise. And a witch of Endor called for somebody to come, console Saul.
And when the witch saw him standing up, she said, "I see God raising up out
of the earth." And after the man had been dead, buried, and rotted in the grave,
here he was standing there in that cave with his prophet's robes on, and was
still a prophet. Amen.
92 For he said, "Why
did you call me out of my rest, seeing you become a enemy to God?" Watch him
prophesy. "Tomorrow night by this time you'll be with me." He was still a prophet,
though he was gone from this body. See, he become here and was part of that
Word, and he entered from the flesh life back into the body that had been prepared
for him before the foundation of the world. He entered into the theophany which
was the Word. You get it? That's where all believers go when we turn from here.
Then in that form the veil then is lifted. You see you are the Word also when
you enter into there. As a little baby as I said awhile ago...
Now, notice. Praise God for these opening Seals is my prayer, to know these
things.
95 Now, the true revelation
of Melchisedec comes into view was--that He was God, the Word, before He became
flesh, God the Word. 'Cause He had to be; no one else could be immortal like
Him. See, I had father and mother; you did too. Jesus had father and mother.
But this Man had no father or had no mother. Jesus had a time He started; this
Man didn't. Jesus gave His life; this Man couldn't, because He was Life. And
it's the self same Man all the time. I hope God reveals it to you, the self
same Person all the time.
Notice His title, King of righteousness. Now, Hebrews 7:2: King of righteousness
and King of peace, He's two Kings. Now, watch, Hebrews 7:2, King of righteousness,
also the King of peace. He's two Kings there. Now, since He has come in the
flesh and received His body up, in Revelations 21:16 He's called the King of
Kings. He's all three of them together. See? King God, King Theophany, King
Jesus; He's the King of Kings. It's all met, just like soul, body, and spirit.
All comes to make one.
Also He is the Father, which was the first, Son, and Holy Ghost, the Spirit.
King of righteousness, the Spirit attribute; theophany, King of--of peace, theophany;
and in flesh He was King of Kings: same Person.
98 When the theophany...
Moses seen Him, Exodus 33:2, He was a theophany. Moses wanted to see God. He'd
heard His voice, heard Him talk to him, seen Him in a bush there with a big
Pillar of Fire. And he said, "Who are You; I want to know Who You are?" Moses
said, "I'll put--if You'll let me see You... I'd like to see Your face."
He said, "No man can't--see My face." He said, "I'll put My hand over your eyes,
and I'll pass by. And you can see My back, but not My face." See? And when He
did, it was the back of a Man; it was theophany. Then the Word that come to
Moses, I AM; that was the Word. The Word came to Moses in the form of a--a Pillar
of Fire in a burning bush, the I AM.
As the Word from the theology--or from the theophany, rather (Excuse me.), He
came to Abraham as a Man under the oak tree. Now, look at there.
101 There came a Man
to Abraham, three of them, and set down under an oak tree, three of them. And
notice, after He talked to Abraham... Why did He come? Abraham, being the one
with the promise and the message of the coming son, and also He was God's Word
prophet that was trusting God's Word, calling anything contrary as though it
wasn't... See how perfect the Word is? The Word came to the prophet. See, there
was God in a theophany, and the Bible said the Word comes to the prophet. And
here was the--the Word in the theophany...
Now, you say, "Was that God?" Abraham said it was. He said His name was... He
called Him Elohim. Now, in Genesis 1 you find out, "In the beginning Elohim
created the heavens and the earth." In Genesis 18 we find out that--that Abraham
called this Person that set there and talked to him, and could tell him the
secrets of his heart, tell him what Sarah was thinking behind Him, Abraham said,
"It is Elohim." He was in a theophany form. You get it?
103 Notice, after...
Now, we find out that He was then in the theophany form. He called Him, "Lord
God, Elohim." Now, in Genesis 18 we find that that is true.
Now, notice, Abraham... There was three of Them together, but when Abraham met
the Three, he said, "My Lord." But when Lot down in Sodom, two of them went
down there; and Lot saw two of them coming, and he said, "My Lords." See, what
was the matter? The first place Lot was not a prophet (That's right.), or neither
was he the messenger of the hour. So he didn't have any revelation of Him. It's
exactly right. Lot could call them "Lords," a dozen of them, he could still
said, "Lords," but no matter how many Abraham saw, it was still one Lord. There
is God; this is the Melchisedec.
Notice, after the battle was over, Melchisedec served His victorious child Communion
(Think of that.), part of Himself. Now, we want to see here, in type here is
in view the Communion. After the battle He gave of Himself, because the Communion
is part of Christ. And after the struggle is over, after you've done got yourself
whipped out, then's when you partake of Christ, become part of this Being. You
get it?
106 Jacob wrestled all
night and wouldn't turn Him loose until He blessed him. That's right. Battle
for life. And after the battle is over, then God gives you of Himself. That
is His true Communion. The little bread and wafer just represents it. You shouldn't
take it, 'less you've wrestled it out and become part of God.
Remember, at this time the Communion had never been instituted, not until--before--the
death of Jesus Christ, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years later.
But Melchisedec after His child Abraham had won the victory, Melchisedec met
him and gave him wine and bread, showing that after this earthly battle is over,
we will meet Him in the heavens and take the Communion again; it'll be the wedding
supper. "I will not drink no more of the vine or eat the fruit, until I eat
it and drink it with you anew in My Father's Kingdom." That right?
109 Notice again, Melchisedec
went to meet Abraham before He got back home. What a beautiful type here we
have: Melchisedec meeting Abraham before he got back home after the battle.
We meet Jesus in the air before we get home. That's right. II Thessalonians
tells us that, for we meet Him in the air. A beautiful type of Rebecca meeting
Isaac in the field in the cool of the day. We meet Him in the air; II Thessalonians
tells us so: "For we which are alive and remain shall not prevent (or hinder)
those which are asleep; for the trumpet of God shall sound; the dead in Christ
shall rise first; we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them to meet the Lord in the air." Perfect, all these types...
Therefore the theophany, if you have died and entered into that theophany, what
happens? The theophany comes to the earth to pick up the redeemed body. And
if you're here in the air, you take the body to meet the theophany (There you
are.), and caught up and go to meet the Lord in the air.
Who is this Melchisedec but God?
112 Now, we see here
plainly the complete secret of our lives in journey, and death, and where we
go after we die. Also predestination is in plain view here. Now, listen as we
teach this, closely.
The stages of--of the eternal purpose He had in His secret has now been revealed.
Notice, there is still three stages to perfection. Just like He redeems the
world; same way He redeems His church. He redeems the people in three stages.
Now, look, first is justification like Luther preached; second, sanctification
like Wesley preached; third, baptism of the Holy Ghost. That's right. Then comes
the rapture.
Now, the world, how did He redeem the world? The first what He did, when it
sinned, He washed it off in water baptism. That's right. Then He dropped His
Blood upon it from the cross and sanctified it and called it His own. And then
what does He do? As He tore all the world out of you and renovated the whole
thing by the fiery baptism of the Holy Ghost, He also will renovate the world.
And it'll be burnt over with fire and cleanse every germ for millions of miles
high, and every thing will be cleaned off. And then there is a new heaven and
a new earth, just like you are a new creature in Christ Jesus when the Holy
Spirit takes ahold of you. See, there you are. The whole thing's just as plain
as it can be.
115 Everything's in
three. The natural birth's in three. What's the first thing happens to the woman
having a baby? What breaks first? Water. What breaks next? Blood. What's the
next process? Life: Water, blood, spirit. What happens to the plant? Rots. What's
the first thing? Stalk. What's the next? Tassel. What's the next? Shuck. Then
the grain comes out of that, just the three stages of it till it gets to the
grain. That's exactly.
God vindicates that. That's always been right; God vindicates it to be true.
Show plainly the predestinated is the only one that's considered in redemption.
Did you get it? Let me say that again. The predestinated is the only one that's
considered in redemption. People might be making like, think they are, but the
real redemption is those that are predestinated. Because the very word "redeem"
means "to bring back." Is that right? To redeem is something... To redeem anything
is bring it back to its original place. Hallelujah. So it's only the predestinated
will be brought back, because the others didn't come from there. See? Bring
back...
117 Being eternal with
Him at the beginning... The Eternal Life that you had, His thought of what you
was, only He wanted you to... He wanted me to stand in the pulpit, say. He wanted
you to set in the seat tonight. Then we are serving His eternal purpose. And
the one that left home, only come to the earth to serve His purpose. Is that
right? All right. Then after it's finished, it's brought back in a glorified
state. It's matured and brought back again.
No wonder Paul could say when they was building a block to chop his head off.
He said, "Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory?
But thanks be to God Who gives us the victory." He said, "Death, tell me where
you can make me holler. Grave, tell me, how you going to hold me, for I am a
possessor of Eternal Life." Amen. He recognized it. Death, hell, grave, nothing
could hold him. And nothing can hurt us, got Eternal Life. He realized he was
blessed with Eternal Life.
119 Just like a little
dew drop. If I understand it's... I don't know too much about chemistry, but
it must be that it's a-the congealing of humidity or atmosphere... And when
the night gets cold and dark, it falls from the heavens and drops upon the ground.
It's fell from somewhere. But the next morning before the sun comes up, it's
laying there, the little fellow, shivering, but just let the sun come up, watch
it go to shining. It's happy. Why? The sun is going to call it right back to
where it come from. And that's the way with a Christian. Hallelujah. We know
when we walk into the Presence of God, something in us tells us that we come
from somewhere and we're going back again by that power that's a-pulling us.
The little dew drop he glistens and shines and shouts, because he knows he come
from up there, and that sun's going to draw him right back up again. And a man
that's a attribute of God, borned of God knows (Hallelujah.), when he come in
contact with the Son of God, he's going to be drawed up from here someday. "For
if I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto Me." Amen.
121 Now, notice. Now,
we see Melchisedec and why that Mary wasn't His mother. That's the reason He
called her woman, not mother. He had no father, for He was the Father, the Everlasting
Father, the three in the One. He had no mother. Certainly not. He had no father,
for He was the Father. As the poet said one time speaking a great compliment
unto Jesus. He said,
123 And this Melchisedec
became flesh. He revealed Himself as Son of man when He come as a Prophet. He
come in three names of a Son: the Son of man, the Son of God, the Son of David.
When He was here on earth He was a Man to fulfill the Scripture. Moses said,
"The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet liken unto me." So He had to come
as a prophet. He didn't never say, "I am the Son of God." He said, "I am the
Son of man. Do you believe the Son of man?" 'Cause that's what He had to testify
of, because that's what He was. Now, He's come in another son's Name: Son of
God, the unseen, the Spirit. And when He comes again, He's Son of David to set
upon His throne.
125 Now, when He was
here and was made flesh, He was called the Son of man. Now, how did He make
Himself known to the world as Son of man, the Prophet?
One day... I was telling a story of Peter and Andrew his brother. They were
fishermen, and their father Jonas was a great old believer. One day they said
he set down on the side of the boat. He said, "Sons, you know how we prayed
when we needed fish." (They was commercial fishermen.) He said, "We've trusted
God, Jehovah, for our living. And I'm getting old now; I can't stay with you
boys much longer. And I've always--with all the true believers--have looked
for the time when that Messiah will come. We've had all kinds of false ones,
but there's coming a real One someday." And he said, "When this Messiah comes,
I don't want you boys to be deceived. This Messiah will not be just a theologian;
He will be a Prophet. For our prophet Moses, of who we follow, he said..." Now,
any Jew will believe his prophet. He's taught to know that. And if--if the prophet
says anything that's so, then that's truth. But God said, "If there be one among
you spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord will make Myself known to him. And what
he says comes to pass then hear him and fear him. But if it don't, then don't
hear him at all." See? So that was a--the vindication of the prophet.
127 "So Moses was truly
a vindicated prophet, and he said, 'The Lord your God shall raise up among you,
out of your brethren a Prophet like unto me. And all that won't hear him will
be cut off from the people.'" He said, "Now, children, remember, that as Hebrews
we believe God's vindicated prophets." Now, listen close; don't miss it. And
he said, "When the Messiah comes, you'll know Him, for He will be a prophet
Messiah. Now, I said, it's been four hundred years; we haven't had a prophet
since Malachi. But He'll be."
And one day after his death, few years, his son Andrew was strolling along down
the bank, and he heard a wild man out of the wilderness saying, "That Messiah
is standing among you now." That big eagle that raised up over the wilderness
and flew over there, said, "The Messiah's among you right now. We don't know
Him yet, but He's standing among you. I'll know Him, because I'll see a sign
coming from heaven." One day He said, "There, behold, is the Lamb of God that
takes away the sin of the world."
Away he went--went, this man, to find his brother; he said, "Simon, I want you
come over here; we've done found the Messiah."
"Oh, go on, Andrew, you know better than that."
"Oh I know, but that--this Man is different."
"Where is he? Where'd he come from?"
"Jesus of Nazareth."
"That little wicked city? Why, he couldn't come from a wicked, dirty place like
that."
"You just come and see."
Finally he persuaded him to come down one day. So when he come in the front
of this Messiah, Jesus, standing there speaking to the people, when he walked
up in front of Him, He said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas."
That did it. He got the keys to the Kingdom. Why? He knowed that that Man did
not know him. And how did He know him and that godly old father who'd taught
him how to believe the Messiah?
130 There was a man
standing there by the name of Philip. Oh, he got real excited. He knowed another
man he'd been studying the Bible with. Away he went around the hill, and he
found him out there in his olive grove. He was kneeling down, praying. They'd
had lots of Bible lessons together. So he come out there, and he said, after
he'd got through praying, he said, "Come, see Who we found, Jesus of Nazareth
the Son of Joseph. He's the Messiah we're looking for."
Now, I can hear Nathanael say, "Now, Philip, you ain't went off on the deep
end are you?"
"Oh, no. Nope. Now, let me tell you. You know, we been studying the Bible together,
and what did the prophet say the Messiah would be?"
"He'd be a Prophet."
"You remember that old fisherman you bought the fish from, that didn't have
enough education to sign his name, called Simon?"
"Yep, uh-huh."
"He come up, and you know what? This Jesus of Nazareth told him that his name
was Simon, changed his name to Peter, which is 'little stone,' and told him
who his daddy was."
Well, he said--he said, "I don't know, could anything good come out of Nazareth?"
He said, "Let's not talk about it; just come on and see." That's a good idea.
Come and see. So here come Philip bringing up Nathanael. And when he got walking
up, Jesus probably standing speaking, probably praying for the sick in the prayer
line, and when He come up to where Jesus was, Jesus looked around at him and
said, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there's no guile."
134 Now, you say, "Well,
it was the way he's dressed." Oh, no. All easterners dress the same. He could've
been a Syrian or been anything else: beard, garment.
He said, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there's no guile." In otherwise, a honest
sincere man.
Well, that kinda deflated Nathanael. And he said, "Rabbi (which means 'teacher'),
Rabbi, when did You ever know me? How did You know I was a Jew? How did You
know I was honest, no guile?"
He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you,"
fifteen miles away, the other side of the country the day before. What did he
say? "Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel."
137 But there stood
those priests there, self-styled, self-starched, said, "This man is Beelzebub,
a fortuneteller."
Jesus said, "I forgive you for that." Now, remember, they never said it out
loud, but they said it in their hearts. And He perceived their thoughts. That's
right. That's what the Bible said. Call it telepathy if you want to, but He--He
perceived their thoughts.
And He said, "I forgive you for that, but someday the Holy Ghost is going to
come and do this same thing (after His going); speak a word against It, will
never be forgiven in this world or the world to come." Is that right? Now, that
was Jews.
140 Then one day He
had need to go to Samaria. But just before we do that, we found the woman, or
the--the man as he went through the gate called Beautiful, that he was healed,
and Jesus knowed his condition, and told him, "Take up your bed and go on home."
And he did it and got well. Then we find out the Jews, some of them received
Him; some believed it; some didn't. Why didn't they believe it? They was not
ordained to Life. They wasn't part of that attribute.
Now, remember, them were priests and great men. And Jesus... Think of those
theologians and priests, men that you couldn't find a flaw in their life. Jesus
said, "You are of your father the devil, and his works you do." Said, "If you'd
be of God, you'd believe Me. If you can't believe Me, believe--believe the works
that I do; they testify Who I am."
Now, the Bible said that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus
said, "The works that I do shall he that believeth on Me do also." That right?
Notice, that was the real Melchisedec now.
143 Now, notice again.
There was only three races of people. You've heard me say I was a segregationalist.
I am. All Christians are segregationists, not segregation of color, but segregation
of spirit. A man's color of his skin has nothing to do with him. He's a child
of God by birth. But a Christian, God said, "Separate Me; come out from among
them, and so forth." He is a segregationist of filth, between right and wrong.
But notice, they had a segregation then, a racial segregation, which was the
Samaritans. And there's only three races of people on the earth if we believe
the Bible; that is Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. That's the three sons of
Noah. We all sprung from there. That's right. That makes us all back from Adam,
which makes us all brothers. The Bible said, "Of one blood God created all nations."
We're all brothers through the blood stream. A colored man can give a white
man a blood transfusion or vice versa. The white man can give the--the Japanese,
yellow man, or the Indian, the red man, or whatmore, or Japhanite [?--Ed.]
or whatever. He could give him a blood transfusion, 'cause we're all the same
blood. The color of our skin, where we lived, had nothing to do with it. But
when we're segregated is when we come out of the world, like He brought Israel
up out of Egypt. That's when we're segregated from the things of the world.
145 Now, there was Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. And if we had time to run the genealogies back, you could see the Anglo-Saxon, where he come from. Now, that was the Jew, the Samaritan, which was half Jew and Gentile, that married in with the Gentiles at Balaam's doings, and Moab. They were Samaritans, and there was Jews and Gentiles. Now, we Anglo-Saxons had nothing to do with any of it; we didn't believe any Messiah, nor nothing else. We wasn't looking for one. We were brought in afterwards. Jesus came to His own, and His own received Him not. And He said to His disciples, "Don't go in the way of the Gentiles, but go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." And He went only to the lost sheep of Israel. And watch, He manifested Hisself as Son of man before the Jews. They turned it down. Now, the Samaritan being half Jew and Gentile, they believed also and was looking for a Messiah. We wasn't; we were heathens with clubs on our back, worshipping idols: the Gentile.
146 But now one day
(St. John 4) He had need to go by Samaria on His road down to Jericho, but was--went
up around Samaria. And while He was going up there, He set down on the well
outside of the city called Sychar. And the well, if you've ever been there,
it's a little panoramic 'bout like this here. And there's a public spring there,
a water where they all come. And the women come of a morning, get their pots
of water, and put it on their head, and one on each hip, and walk with it just
as straight as can be, never spill a drop, talk to one another. So they--the--the
people come out there.
So this was about eleven o'clock in the day. So He sent His disciples into the
city to buy some vittles, food. And while they were gone, there was a woman
which was ill famed; we'd call her today a "red light woman" or prostitute;
she had too many husbands.
148 So while Jesus was
setting there, this woman come out about eleven o'clock. See, she couldn't come
with the virgins when they come in the morning to get their wash water; she
had to wait till they all... They didn't mix like they do now. She was marked.
So then she come out to get some water. So she just took the old windle, and
put the hooks over the jar, and started to let it down; she heard Somebody say,
"Woman, bring Me a drink." Now, remember, this is Melchisedec; this is Jesus
yesterday, the Son of man.
And she looked around, and she saw a Jew. So she said, "Sir, it's not proper
for a Jew to ask a Samaritan for anything. I'm a woman of Samaria, so you have
spoken out of your place. You shouldn't have ask me such a thing as that; we
have no dealings with one another."
He said, "But if you knew Who was talking to you, you'd ask Me for a drink."
She said, "How You going to draw it? The well's deep, and You have nothing to
draw with."
He said, "The water that I give is water of Life springing up into Eternal Life."
He talked to her till He found what her condition was. And then told--watch
what He said to her now. "Go get your husband and come here."
And she said, "I have no husband."
He said, "You've said the truth, for you've had five, and the one you now are
living with is not yours; so in this you've said the truth." Watch the difference
between that woman and that bunch of priests. She knowed more about God than
that whole bunch of priests did put together.
153 She said, "Sir,
I perceive that You are a Prophet." She said, "We haven't had one for four hundred
years. Now, we know that the Messiah's coming, and when the Messiah comes, that's
what He's going to do." That was the sign of the Messiah, for He was the Son
of man. Said, "That's what He's going to do when He comes; You must be His Prophet."
He said, "I am He." Nobody else could say that.
She dropped that water pot, and run into the city, and said, "Come, see a Man
Who told me what I done. Isn't this the very Messiah?" Now, remember, He promised
to do that same thing at the end of the Gentile race. The Jews had had four
thousand years to look for that Messiah, four thousand years of teaching He
was coming, and what He would do when He got there; and they failed to see Him,
failed to recognize it. And when He made Hisself known in the very Bible terms
that He said He would, when He'd been a theophany and then become flesh and
dwelled among them, they failed to see it, and called His works the works of
the devil.
156 Now, we've had two
thousand years of teaching, coming down through the Roman Catholic church, after
the apostles. Then we come down through the Roman Catholic, the Greek, and so
forth, on down to Luther's age, and Wesley, whatmore, nine hundred different
organizations. Coming down, they had all these ages' teaching. Now, He promised
just before the end time would come that the picture of Sodom and Gomorrah would
again... "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the
end time, the Son of man will reveal Himself again." [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
"Yet a little while and the world won't see Me no more, yet ye shall see Me,
for I (a personal pronoun)--I will be with you, even in you to the consummation,
the end of the world. I'll be with you." He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever.
You see--you see the Samaritan was actually--from my last night's sermon--was
Hagar (See?) a perverted type. The Jew was Sarah--or was Sarahite; but the Gentile
is of Mary the Royal Seed, Abraham's Royal Seed.
158 Now, it's promised
that in these last days that this same God, this same Christ, would come back
here and reveal Hisself as Son of man. Why? He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. And if He let those Jews go by with--and give them that Messiahic
sign, and then come to the end of the Gentile's teachings and let them just
go in on theology, He would be unjust. He's got to do the same thing, because
the Bible said in 13--Hebrews 13:8, He is the same. And He's promised in Malachi
4 and all the different Scriptures that the last days the church would be setting
just exactly like it is today and the world would be.
Look at the world today. Look at the Sodom condition. Look at the earthquakes
in divers places and the things that's taking place. Look at the church in the
mess it's in of Babylon. Look at the messenger to it, an Oral Roberts and a
Billy Graham: G-r-a-h-a-m. First time we ever had a messenger to all the churches
that his name ever end in h-a-m like Abraham. A-b-r-a-h-a-m is seven letters;
G-r-a-h-a-m is six letters. Where's he at? To the world. Six is man's number.
Man was created on the sixth day. But seven's God's number.
160 Now, look at them
down there in Sodom. And there is their messengers down there speaking to them.
But then where's that Royal Seed of Abraham? Where is their sign, that He said,
"As it was in the days of Sodom," that God came down and was manifested in human
flesh, and told what Sarah was thinking back in her heart in the tent behind
Him, the last sign before the Gentile world was destroyed by fire? And the church
has got it's last sign before the whole world's going to be destroyed, this
Gentile kingdom be destroyed by the fire and wrath of God. You believe that?
That Melchisedec was flesh, represented Himself in a human body; and then later
He was made flesh. And now, tonight He's the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
Do you believe it?
Who is this Melchisedec then, that's the same yesterday... Never had no father,
never had no mother; He never had no beginning of days; He never had any end
to life. And He met Abraham, and what kind of a sign did He perform? Then when
He was made flesh, He said it would repeat again just before the end time. You
believe that? I believe it. Let's pray.
163 Dear God, I believe
the Scriptures, that You have said You was the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And as sincerely in my heart, Lord, I know that something's fixing to take place.
I cannot strictly identify it; I'm afraid to say anything, Lord. Thou knowest
the heart of Your servants.
And how many times down through the age when You sent things, people failed
to get it. Man is constantly praising God for what He did, and saying what great
things He's going to do, but ignoring what's He's doing. So has it been through
the age. Why did the Roman church fail to see Saint Patrick as God's prophet?
Why did they kill Joan of Ark when she was a--a prophetess, burnt her as a witch?
Father, it's always past. You hide it from the eyes of the wise and prudent.
No wonder You said to them priests, "You garnish the tombs of the prophets,
and you're the one that put them in there." After they're gone they see their
mistake. They always persecute You, Lord, in whatever form You come in.
165 I pray tonight,
God, just one more time. Tomorrow we're scheduled to be--to go to Tucson. Other
parts of the world, other cities we must preach in. But, dear God, there might
be strangers here tonight that never has--they've heard words preached, but
never seen it made manifest. As I asked You at the beginning... When those disciples,
Cleopas and his friend coming from Emmaus, was walking along the road and You
stepped out of the bush and begin to talk to them after the resurrection, preached
to them... Why, He said, "Fools, slow of heart, don't you know that Christ should
suffer these things and enter into His glory." But still they never recognized
it. All day long they walked with You and still didn't know You. But one night...
Night come; they constrained You to come in. When they went into the little
inn and closed the doors, then You did something just the way You did it before
Your crucifixion; and they recognized it was the risen Christ. In a few moments
You was behind the curtains and gone. Quickly they run and told the disciples,
"The Lord is risen indeed."
Father God, I believe that You're still alive. I know You are. And You've proved
it to us so many times. Could You just do it once more for us, Lord? If we found
grace in Your sight, let it happen once more. I am Your servant; these are Your
servants in here. Lord, all that I've said wouldn't mount to... Just one word
from You would be more than I've said in these five nights--or five messages.
It would be more, just one word from You. Won't You speak, Lord, that the people
might know that I've told them the truth? Grant it, God. I ask it in Jesus'
Name this once more. Amen.
167 Now, I don't know
you; I know some people. I know this boy setting here. I know Bill Dauch setting
right there. I want to... Here's Brother Blair, Rodney Cox. It's hard to see
out there. On this side right at the present time I can't see nobody actually
that I know.
Now, how many in here that knows that I am a stranger to you, raise up your
hands, knows that I know nothing about you, raise up your hands on both sides.
How many in here that has something wrong or something that--that you know that
I know nothing about, would you raise up your hands. Now, it would be totally,
absolutely, totally impossible for me to know anything about you. Otherwise,
then it'd have to come from some revelation of Spirit. And being that I've told
you all these nights, and tonight that He is not dead; He's here and promised
to do the same thing, and promised that there would come a time in the last
days according to Malachi 4 and according to St. Luke, that He would appear
again in human form among His people, and do the same things, and reveal the
same things, the same Messiahic sign... How many knows that, you Bible readers--knows
that's the Truth say, "Amen." [Congregation replies,
"Amen."--Ed.] Must all be Bible readers.
Now, I know it's foreign to the people today, but still it's the truth. That's
the reason they didn't know Jesus of Nazareth. They knowed their church creeds,
but they didn't know Him. But He come just the way the Bible said, not a theologian,
not a priest; He come as a Prophet; and His own received Him not.
170 Now, if God will
keep His Word, and if I happen to--it happens to fall on someone that I know,
then I'll--I'll get someone else. See, I want somebody that I don't know. And
I want you to pray.
Now, look, there was a little woman one time had an infirmity. She'd spent her
money for the doctors; they could do her no good. And she said within her heart,
"If I can touch that Man's garments, I'll be made well." You remember the story?
And so all of them tried to get her to stay back, but she pressed through until
she touched His garment, went back and set down.
Now, listen close. And then when He did that--when she did that, Jesus turned
around and said, "Who touched Me?"
Why, Peter the apostle rebuked Him. He might have something like, "Lord, don't
say a thing like that. The people will believe there's something wrong with
You, because when You ask them to eat Your flesh and drink Your Blood. They
already think there's something wrong. And You say, 'Who touched Me,' why, the
whole crowd's a-touching You."
He said, "Yes, but I perceive that virtue went out of Me." That was a different
kind of touch. Now, anybody knows that virtue is strength. "I got weak; virtue
left Me." And He looked around on the audience until He found the little woman
and told her about her blood issue. And she felt in her body that that blood
issue had stopped. Is that right? And He said, "Thy faith has saved thee." Now,
the Greek word there is "Sozo," which absolutely means "saved physically or
spiritual," just the same, just saved. He is--He's your Saviour.
175 Now, if that was
Him yesterday, and the way He acted to prove that He was among the people, the
Messiah promised, and that's the way He identified Himself as promise by the
Bible, He'd do the same thing now. Wouldn't He--wouldn't He have to do the same
thing?
You say, "Did He say it's about healing the sick?" Yeah. The Hebrews, the Bible
that I just read from said that Jesus Christ now is our High Priest that can
be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. How many knows that true? The
Bible said that. He's a High Priest now that can be touched by the feeling of
our infirmities. Then if He's the same High Priest that He was then, how would
He act now? He'd have to act the same way He did then, if He's the same High
Priest. Now, you might... I'm not your high priest. You might touch me, and
it'd just be like touching your husband, or your brother, or whatmore, a man.
But you let your faith touch Him and watch what happens.
177 Now, if I be God's
servant and have told you the truth, God will vindicate that to be the truth.
And that would prove that Jesus Christ is a-living tonight, standing here. Is
that right? Now, you have faith, just one side at the time, one side. You have
faith out there. (I'd better stay at the microphone here, because they can't
hear me.)
Somebody just look up to God and say, "God, that man don't know me. He knows
nothing about me. I'm a perfect stranger to him. But let my faith touch You,
Lord. And You know what's the matter with me, Lord. You know all about me; You
know who I am, the same as You knowed who Peter was, same as You knowed Nathanael,
as You knowed what was wrong with the woman with the blood issue. And this man
tells me that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. Then, Lord, let
my faith touch You."
And if He'll do that and infallibly prove Himself here, how many of you will
believe Him with all your heart, if He'll do it at least one, or two, or three
people for--for a witness. God bless you.
179 Now, Father God,
this is totally out of the hands of any man; it'd have to be supernatural phenomena.
So I pray that You'll help me now, Lord; I'm in Your hands. Do with me as You
see fit. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Now, don't be nervous, just humbly, reverently say, "Lord, I'll serve You. And
that'll be a Truth that... If I could touch Your garment, then You speak back
through that man. That will prove to me that what he said's the truth." That
right?
How many ever seen the picture of that Light? It's all over the country, everywhere.
Science has took it and examined it and everywhere. Now, He's right here now,
same One that said about marriage and divorce, same One was on the mountain
and shook the hills back there, same One that's down here at the river in '33,
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's the same.
182 Now, there's a woman;
and she recognizes now that something's happened. That Light's hanging right
over her. She's setting right here, she's... Green sweater on or something...
I don't know the woman. I suppose we are strangers to one another. That is right.
Do you believe that God... You're--you're in need of something, and you believe
that God can reveal to me what your trouble is? And if He does, then you know
it'll have to be a supernatural power, because I don't know you. And it'll have
to come through supernatural. Depends upon what you think it is. You can take
your side with the priest, call it the devil, or you can take the side of the
believer and call it God. Ever which you believe, that's where your reward will
come from.
If God will reveal to me your trouble, will you accept Him as your--your Atonement
for that trouble? I don't know what the trouble is, but I know and you know
that something's going on.
Now, now, just let me tell you how you're feeling, then you'll know, a real
warm, sweet, comfortable feeling. I'm looking right straight at It. It's that
Light, Amber Light hanging from the woman. And the lady is suffering with a
trouble in her stomach. It's a kinda of a growth like in her stomach. She's
not from here, no; you're from away from here, aren't you? That's right. You're
from Wisconsin. Is that right? Sure. Now, you are healed. Your faith has made
you whole.
Now, tell me who the woman touched? I'm twenty-five yards from her. She touched
Jesus Christ, the High Priest. You believe that?
186 I'm looking at a
woman that I talked to. This woman, I'm looking right at her, 'cause she's praying
so hard for a man. She told me she had a man... She never told me nothing about
it, but her name is Mrs. Waldrop. She comes from Phoenix. She was raised from
the dead. And her doctor come with the x-rays and showed cancer in the heart.
She died in the prayer line. How long ago has that been, Mrs. Waldrop? Eighteen
years ago, and there she sets tonight, a living testimony.
Her doctors come to the meeting, brought the... Said, "How can the woman live?"
But there she is, and no sign of it. She's brought someone, and she's praying
for him. Now, he's dying with diabetes. Now, that I knew. But being that you're
praying... You know I don't know who he is, Mrs. Waldrop.
He's from Missouri, and his name is Mr. Cooper. That is right. Now, you believe?
You can go back home and be well, sir. It's up to you if you'll believe it.
189 Here's a woman,
and she's suffering with a asthmatic condition, complications. She's not from
here. She's setting out there in the crowd, right out there. I hope she gets...
She's not from here; she's from Georgia. Miss McKenny, you believe with all
your heart and believe that God will make you well? Stand up on your feet if
you're a stranger to me and that is true. Jesus Christ healed you. You believe?
To my back, there's a man setting behind me. He's contacting God. And what he's
wanting, he's got a baby that's got heart trouble. And that baby has got a murmur
in his heart, so the doctor said. And that man's name is Mr. Cox. Stand up,
Mr. Cox. And He told Sarah what she was thinking behind Him.
Right across the aisle from him, back a little farther, is a man who comes not
from here, but from New Mexico. I never seen him in my life. I'm looking right
at him now; he's behind me. He's from New Mexico, and the man has a girl that
he's interested in. And the girl has got something wrong with her mouth. It's
a... The palate in her mouth is what's wrong. And the man's name is Mr. West.
Would you stand up, sir. I'm a total stranger to him, but the Lord God will
heal his child. Do you believe now with all your heart?
192 How many of you
believe now with all your heart? Now, isn't Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
today, and forever? Do you accept Him now as your Saviour, raise your hands.
Do you believe in Him as your Healer?
Here, here's a person setting here crippled or something, laying on a cot. (Can
you hear me through this mike?) I don't know you; you're just a woman laying
there. If I could heal you, I would do it. I can't heal you. It's just a man
who's just rejoicing, his child was healed. I don't know you. You're a woman;
I'm a man. This is the first time that we met in life, I suppose...?... right
back there with you, that brought you. Frankly, this is your first time here
though, just brought you in. You come from a long way. You're shadowed to death.
You have cancer, not crippled, but cancer. The doctors can do no more for you.
It's true. And you're sure to die, 'cause doctors can do no more for you.
One time there was two lepers set at the gate of Samaria. And them lepers said,
"Why do we set here till we die, because all kids are starving to death and
eating one another's children." They said, "If we go down to the enemy's camp,
the Syrians... If they kill us, we're going to die anyhow. And if they save
us, we'll live." And they took that chance. And by that faith, they not only
saved theirself but the whole group.
Now, you're going to die; you can't live. But you're not asked to go to the
camp of the enemy, but you're invited to the house of the Father...?...
196 You're dying with
cancer; you can't live outside of God. You're not from this city; you're not
from around here; you're from a long way. You're from Milwaukee. It's true.
That's right. From the city, I know. Right. Do you believe? Will you accept
God now as your Healer? If you will, no matter how weak you are, how bedfast
you are, I believe in your case I would rise up in the Name of Jesus Christ
and take that cot and go home and live to the glory of God. Will you obey me
as God's prophet, then rise up and go home; be well. Don't be scared; get up
off the cot. God will make you well. See?
Somebody hold her so she can get up and get strength. You believe God? Just
let her get a little strength; she'll be all right. That's it, sister. There
she is in the Name of the Lord Jesus.
Let us stand and give praise to God. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever...?...
the Lord Jesus Christ bless you...?...