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1 Let's bow our heads.
Dear heavenly Father, we thank Thee tonight because that You answer prayer for
us. This poor, dear woman laying there where surgery has failed, but O God,
we remember the first surgery that was ever performed in the earth; You did
it Yourself. You taken from the side of Adam a rib, closed up the incision,
and made a wife. O Father, I pray tonight that Your hand will come down now,
and will perform this great thing that we're asking for. And these others, Lord,
this woman that's suffering with mental oppression. All others who's got requests,
we just commit them to Thee, Father, with our whole heart. In the Name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Indeed a privilege to be here tonight and have this fine audience to look at,
and fine singing, the wonderful little choir... I was just thinking the difference,
see them boys standing there, clean-looking fellows, clean haircuts. I was thinking,
last night, of--of the place where I'm staying; a bunch of hoodlums came in
down there and trying to drowned a boy in the swimming pool; they had to call
out something and get them out of there. What a difference, see kids standing,
singing the Gospel songs, what a difference.
2 Thinking, as Brother
Henry said there, "those men with them hair like the women should have..." You
see? That--that--that's right. Look like the--the... I see these boys kind of
have that hair, they even put these roller-curlers in it, around their face.
And I don't know, I... Sometimes I become discouraged. It looks like that it's
a true time of perversion. Men are trying to wear women's clothes, and women
wearing men's clothes. And men leaving their hair like women, and women having
hair like men. What's the matter with this people anyhow? Has the, really, the
very threads of decency and honor left this nation and these people, this world?
This is a horrible time, but it's the most glorious time in the world to preach
the Gospel. If I could've stood on the brink of time before it come into existence,
and the Father would've looked at me and said, "What time down through these
ages would you want to preach?" I'd want it right now, just right now, just
before His coming.
4 Looking out upon the audience, setting here before us... A minister friend of mine in Tucson yesterday was riding a horse. (And think of this man with this--this woman with the disc in her back.) This horse threw him. Another man called me at one o'clock this morning to my hotel and said, "The man's at Veterans Hospital, and his eyes are glassy, his back's mashed, his kidney's are pushed out, and his heart's about to fail." And there I got down on the floor on my knees, telephone, got him on the other end, and prayed for him. And here he sets here tonight, setting right there. That was last night. Bob, would you just stand up there, and... God answers prayer, morning, night, noontime, midnight, or anytime.
5 Now, I--I am such
a long-winded preacher, as they call it. I just kinda hate to get started this
time of night, and--and I thought I'd just come over. The other night, why,
we was speaking over here at a certain place, and at fifteen minutes after I'd
been on, the people was picking up the dishes and motioning to me, "Quit. Shut
up; you got to get out of here," and smoking cigarettes, and carrying on. It
wasn't the--the banquet's fault; it was the people that we had it rented from.
And the--the chairman's wife went around and told the manager, said...
Said, "Well, you're supposed to be out of here at nine-thirty."
Said, "You never put that in the contract."
This lady tonight, she come down here (real nice lady) and she said, "We understood
that you want it," said, "just take it as long as you want." So that was a very
nice. So I'm very thankful for that. That's very fine.
9 Brother Henry, I certainly appreciate your--your kindness of inviting me here in this chapter. I had the privilege last night of being down here at the Assemblies of God where I believe a Brother Boone is pastor. Had a wonderful time down there with that group of people. And tomorrow night we're going somewhere over here; I don't know where it's at, and it's another chapter. They take care of it; I just keep praying, reading, and going on, and it's about all I can keep up with.
11 But now, we're seeing strange things in this day. Now, I've--I remember the last time I was here was in a tent meeting. I remember of speaking of it last night, of a little couple that brought their dead baby in. It--it's from up somewhere up here, they drove all day and night, the little mother setting, sad, holding that little baby in her arms. Now, she may be setting right here now, for all I know. And she... The little husband, couple of more couples with them, and they was... And she said... asked me if I'd come over (the man did) to the car. I took the little baby out and was just holding a little, dead, stiff, cold form; I started to pray. When I prayed, that body begin to feel like it was getting warm. So I just... I kept on praying; he started kicking and moving, going along fine, started crying. I hand it back to the mother; she went on back home with it. So they might not even been Christians, for all I know. See? That was wonderful.
12 But what I'm thinking
about tonight, I know a church that's dying too; it's our Pentecostal people.
We got to shake out of this; that's all. And the only way we're going to do
it is prayer and lining up with the Word of God. It's the only way we're going
to do it. There's only one way out; He's that Way: Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Would we want our church to get in the condition as he said
over there like in England? That's the reason I've been, you think, so rude,
bawling you out. And I don't mean to do that, but I don't want to see the church
get in that kind of a shape. You don't want to be in that shape. Yet you've
just got to drive it down so hard till you nail it and make it clench. It's
got to be done.
So now, tonight I've just got a--some Scriptures and texts here I want to speak
on for a while. I ain't going to say no certain time. You get tired, why...
I may be through in thirty minutes, and just depends on... I always just kinda
leave it to the Holy Spirit, just whichever way He leads.
14 Let's bow our heads
just a moment longer, speak to the Author before we open His Book.
Almighty God, the Author of this Book, through Jesus Christ we pray. We are
thankful for what we've already heard tonight. If we should--should punctuate
this meeting by saying, "Amen," and go home, it was good to be here, for we
know that You've been with us. And, Father, as we open this Word, now speak
to us directly out of this Word, that we might know the hour that we're living.
If we know the hour we're living, then we can prepare for that hour; but if
we go in blindly, not knowing what or where, then we don't know how to prepare.
So, Father, we pray that You'll let us see the ark there, and the door open,
and the Message calling us in. Grant it through Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
16 In the Holy Scriptures
I want to read a text here, found over in the Book of St. Luke at the 24th chapter,
the... I'm going to begin at the 13th verse and read a portion of It.
17 Now, I take, if I'd
call it a subject, I'd like to take this: That Events--"Modern Events Are Made
Clear By Prophecy." Now, it's always been God's, the unchanging God's way to
fore--let His people foreknow before certain events happen.
If the people in the days of the Lord Jesus would've only have--have sought
God and knowed what was just about to take place, they would not have condemned
Jesus to death. But the reason it was, because the Scriptures had to be fulfilled;
because the Jews had to be blinded. We all are aware of that.
Do you realize that that's promised again in this very age that we're living?
The Laodicean church age, this seventh church age that we're in now, is naked,
miserable, blind, and don't know it. The same as He blinded them back there
for the purpose of getting His message through to the elected people, He's promised
to do the same thing today.
20 And if I'd say this
to respects to all my brethren and sisters in Christ, one of these days somebody's
going to say "Isn't it written that these things should happen first?"
And it'll be the same way it was then, "Verily, I say unto you, he's already
come, and they had did what they listed to him."
When they asked Him, said, "Why, the scribes say, and the Scriptures say that--that
Elias must first come." They said that to Jesus.
He said, "He's already come, and you didn't know him." See? And that's perhaps
the way it'll end up again.
24 Now, we want to be posted to know what's to take place for this age that we live in. God has 'lotted His Word to each age, so much to each age, and we must notice that one age cannot carry over into another age. It just won't work. For instance, as I've said, I believe last night or... I'm constantly speaking, night after night, places, and sometimes I make a remark the second time. I don't mean to repeat myself. But I say this: What would--good would it have done Moses to try to preach Noah's message? Or what good would it been--would've done Jesus to try to preach Moses' message? Or what good would it done Martin Luther to continue on with the Catholic message? What good would it done Wesley to continue on with the Lutheran message? What good would it done Pentecostals to continue on with the Methodist message? Or what good will it do Pentecost to continue on when the Bride's being called? See, we're right up into the seed time; we're here at the end time. Now, unless a corn of wheat falls in the earth, it abides alone.
25 As the critic, as I've made remarks since the book come out, probably you got it here in your--your city, of that German author that wrote one of the most critical articles... He's an infidel. 'Course not... I'm not condemning him because he's condemned me so; but because being an infidel, the book shouldn't never be on the shelves. And he said, "A God that could set up and say He could open up the Red Sea and deliver His people, and then set with His hands across His stomach and see through the Dark Ages those Christians being tore to pieces by lions, those mothers with their hair saturated in tar, and hung onto crosses, and burned; and--and their baby... Expecting mothers, they'd split the stomach and gamble on the sex of the child; and--and set up and let it happen; and people who's supposed to be servants of this God."
26 You see, the Scripture
is inspiration. You'll never be able to know the Scripture just by setting down
and reading It from a theological standpoint, from an educational standpoint;
it never has worked.
I was speaking with a Baptist minister not long ago, he said, "Until we learn
the correct Greek, until we..."
I said, "In the Nicaea Council, before that they were arguing about the Greek
words in the Bible." You'll never know It.
The Bible is to be revealed by inspiration. That's the only thing, the revelation.
Jesus told Peter, "Upon this rock..." This rock of revelation reveals Who He
is. "Blessed art thou Simon, son of Jonas, flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but My Father which is in heaven has revealed this to you; upon
this rock I'll build My church." Not upon Peter, not upon Himself, but upon
the spiritual revelation of Who He was, and He is the Word. St. John 1, "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us"; Hebrews 13:8, "He's the same
yesterday, today, and forever."
31 Therefore we're living
in the day when the manifestation of the Word of God has to come to a different
age than the Pentecostal age. That's right. Remember, you'll... I'm an uneducated
person; but you can't beat nature, because God works in the continuity of nature.
Like, as I've said, the sun rises and sets; and goes through the day, and like
a school age, and dies in the evening to rise again the next morning. The trees
let the sap down in the wintertime, go into the roots, and come back in the
spring.
Notice, He likened It to a grain of wheat, the Bride, the reason that God had
to let that go like that. That fine, real, genuine church that was established
on the day of Pentecost, had growed and growed since the day of Pentecost into
a great church, it had to fall into the earth in that dark age and be buried
like all seed does. It had to die so it could come forth in the reformation
again. It come forth in the person of a reformation, Martin Luther. And from
there, just like a stalk of wheat coming up. The first thing comes up is two
little blades, then it keeps adding more blades. Up come Martin Luther, and
then Zwingli, and on down, Calvin, and as they moved on.
33 Finally it goes into
a tassel. Now, that was John Wesley in the Wesley age. It had a pollen drop
back. From there come the Pentecostal age, so close, just like a real grain
of wheat if you look at the stalk. But if you'll take that wheat and move it
back, there's not one grain in it at all; it's only a shuck in the shape of
a grain. But it's set there for a purpose to shelter the grain until... If the
sun hits is like that, it'd kill it.
It's got to stay in there until a certain time, then all the life leaves the
shuck (as it left the stalk, left the pollen), leaves the shuck and goes into
the wheat, and forms again just like it was down in the ground.
36 Now, all of us know that whenever a message is given, in three years they form an organization. When they do that, it kills it right there; it did in the days of Luther; so it did it in the days of Wesley; it did it in the days of Alexander Campbell, and all the rest of them; and it did it in the days of Pentecost. Exactly. See? You get to a place, each one gets starchy, and gets off, and they can't receive new revelation. They're settled down; and there they are, and there they die. And the life goes right through that, and goes right on to make the wheat. And when the wheat comes, that life that's traveled through that wheat, the resurrection brings the whole thing out; brings up for the rapture.
37 Now, remember, this
message started first with Divine healing, performing miracles. Now, if God
let that go through a ordinary church just like we already had, then it wasn't
God. God don't have to show off; He don't--He don't have to do these things
to entertain us, like we Americans are used to (entertainment), but He does
it to attract the attention of the people, that He's fixing to do something.
Look at Him Hisself when He come, the wonderful little prophet, the Rabbi, the
Prophet of Galilee." Why, His ministry was wonderful; He was welcome in every
church. But one day He set down and said, "I and My Father are One."
"Oh, my." That was out. "Away with such a fellow."
"Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you have no
Life in you."
"Why, he's a vampire. Get away from such a person." See?
See, there was something had to follow that sign. See? Something followed.
The shuck held it, but now the shuck pulls away; it has to. And remember, twenty
years has passed by and no more denominations has come out of it, and it won't.
We're at the end of denominations; the wheat's taking shape. But what's the
matter with the wheat now, you can't... It must lay in the Presence of the Son
to ripen before the combine picks it up.
45 Now, the events that
we see taking place, it's absolutely showed in the Bible of every age. We think
we're all out of cater, but we're not; everything's moving just exactly with
God's Word.
Now, the Bible is a different book from any other sacred book. There's no book
like the Bible, because the Bible is God in Word form. See? It's... A "word"
is "a thought expressed." God's thinking expressed It, His Words through the
prophets; and they wrote the Bible, which is in word form. And Jesus called
It a Seed. And any seed will bring forth of its kind if it's in the right condition,
or right atmosphere. Now, this Book of--is a... This Book of prophecy, It--It
is foretelling future events.
Now, the book contains the entire revelation of Jesus Christ. You don't add
to It or take from It, and every revelation must come by It. See, it must be
the Word.
47 So people say, "I
had a revelation." Yes, we know Joseph Smith and many had revelations and things,
but was contrary to the Word.
It's got to come according to the Word if it comes from God, because it's to
vindicate or to prove God's Presence. And He foreknew all these things, being...
By His foreknowledge He ordained, foreordained (it's called in the Bible) predestinated
every age to its place, and every man to its place, and every messenger to its
place. He is God; the Devil ain't pulling nothing over on Him. And He's God,
and He has ordained everything to take place, and it falls just exactly in line
with His Word.
So if we can see, by His Word, what age and what time we're living, you'll see
it right here in the Bible, of this age, what we're supposed--what's supposed
to take place at this time.
50 Now, the--the other
books, we find lots of books that they call sacred books, or so forth; and I've
read the--the Koran and many others. But, you see, their--their sacred books
are only a code of ethics, of morals, or of theology.
But this Book is a Prophet; It's a different from any other book. The Bible
is the Word of God foretelling the future. It foretells because It's forewarned.
If God sends anything, He says and promised in the Bible that He would do nothing
upon the earth until first He revealed it to His servants the prophets. That's
Amos 3:7. He... And God cannot lie. He reveals It; that's been His way of doing
it all down through the ages. He's never failed to do it.
53 Now, we are promised
in the last days for this to be restored. There'll be no--no church, no denomination,
Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostals, they'll never in their modern
conditions ever take this church to a Bride. They can't do it; they fail. They're
too much at one another's throats, and worldliness has creeped in, and so forth,
and--and they died right in their tracks. And so God knows that.
And to reveal this Word, one say, "Well, I got this. And bless God, It's like
that." That's just the way it was when Jesus came the first time; everyone has
a doctrine, everyone had this. It'll have to be something sent to us from God.
And God's promised it. And the only way He'd do, is--is keep His same pattern.
He promised to send us in the last days, according to Malachi 4, a prophet upon
the earth that would turn the hearts of the people back--the hearts of the children
back to the apostolic fathers again. He promised that in His Word. Luke 17 and
many other places that He promised it, that He, what He would do in these last
days to bring this thing to a vindicated Word.
55 See, a man can say
anything, but 'less God interprets that Word... See, now, we have our own interpretation;
we say It means this. And this one, Methodist says this; the Baptist says this;
the Pentecostal said this; the Oneness says this, the Twoness says this. And,
oh, my, there you are. But God don't need no interpreter; He's His own Interpreter.
He interprets His own Word by vindicating It in the age that It's purposed for,
the age that It's given for.
We're not living in a Pentecostal age; we're living in another age. See? We're
not living in a Methodist age; we're living in another age. We're living on
up here to the Bride age, the calling out of the church and getting it together
for the rapture. That's the age that we're now living. To my honest opinion
that's exactly the truth.
57 And this Book is
a Book of prophecy. Its believers are commanded to honor It, and to read It,
and believe Its Author, for every Word that's written in there must come to
pass. Everything that's been promised has to come to pass, because It is Jesus
Christ in each age. The same yesterday, it was Jesus Christ was in Noah; it
was Jesus Christ in Moses; it was Jesus Christ in David; it was Jesus Christ
in Joseph; it's Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. And it's
Jesus Christ among His people today, doing the things that He promised He would
do in this age. It's Jesus Christ.
But the church has become so starchy, so far away, like the brother said here.
And--and our churches are becoming the same way, until we've got to have something
to shake us back to the Word. How do we know it's going to do it? It's got to
come according to God's own plan. It cannot come by laymen; it will not come
by the Business Men; it cannot come by churches. God's laid down His plan.
59 I spoke here in Shreveport the other day on the national broadcast across the nation, that, "Trying To Do God A Service Without It Being God's Will." David tried to bring the ark of God back into the house. He was anointed king. Why, he--he consulted his--his delegates, his captains of thousands and ten thousands, and so forth. And they all said, "That's the Word of the Lord." And he consulted the priest, "That was wonderful." And they all got so inspired, they shouted, they done every religious act that was. And it was absolutely contrary to God's will, because there was a prophet in the land by the name of Nathan and he wasn't even consulted about it. See? And we found out it didn't work, though they were sincere trying to do God a service.
60 And you can be ever
so sincere, but until we know what we're doing, you're fighting at the air.
Come back into the Word of God and get lined up, and then go; then you know.
Like a--a soldier, don't know what to do until he gets orders to do it. We must
be Christian soldiers and get orders from the Bible for this hour now; not the
charge yesterday, the charge the day before, but the charge today which way
we go. Find out the hour that we're living in.
And these modern events is slipping by us too swiftly, and one day we're going
to find out we'll be left behind without nothing, and be caught, sealed into
the mark of the beast before we know it.
62 Now, and with patience
we have to wait for this, for the prophecies that's promised, every one of them
must be fulfilled in its age. For It foretells us, the Author has before done
this, and we wait to see Him do it again. What a time it is that we're living
in, something like a--a calendar; you look at the calendar to find out what
day of the year you're living in, and you look at God's Bible to see what age
we're living in. We're not living in the Methodist age, the Baptist age. We're
living in the Bride age, the calling, bringing back to God through a channel
that He promised to bring it back in. He promised to do it.
But as it's been in every age, people let men put their own interpretation to
It by theology, and will not believe God's Divine vindication of It. That's
God's interpretation; not what I say, what somebody else says. But what God
has promised and what God does, proves that it's God doing His own interpreting
of His Word.
64 They told you Pentecostals
of forty-five, fifty years ago... Your mothers and fathers, when they were genuine
Pentecostals come out of a organization and cursed the thing and walked out
of it. Then like a dog to its vomit, went right back in it again, done the same
thing that killed that church, you killed your own by the same thing. Nothing
against the people in there, nothing against it, it's the systems of the thing
is what's doing it.
Home, I'm... go home... I don't preach this in other men's meeting. I'm going
to preach "The Trail Of The Serpent," and listen to it if you take the tapes.
66 And notice, they
missed seeing the confirmation of the prophecies of God's Word being fulfilled.
If those priests... They had it fixed up just exactly the way the Messiah was
going to come; they knowed what was going to take place. The Phar--the Pharisees
had their idea, the Sadducees, Herodians, and, oh, they had their ideas. But
He come, not... He come contrary to every one of them, but exactly with the
Word. Jesus said the same thing was here: "If you would've known Me, you should've
known My day. If you had knowed, you'd... You say, 'Well, Moses... We have Moses.'"
Said, "Why, if you had believed Moses, you'd believe Me; because he wrote of
Me."
But, see, when God was confirming exactly what He promised, they had it in some
kind of a dignified way that Jesus was supposed to come, and the... I mean the
Messiah... The Messiah had to come right to their group or He wasn't Messiah.
Well, it's that way almost today, "If you don't see through my glasses, you're
not looking at all." See? And so that's--that's just the way it--it is. We...
That's the truth. We hate to think that, but it's absolutely the truth.
68 In Hebrews 1:1, God
in sundry times wrote the Bible by His own chosen way. He never wrote It by
theologians; neither does He interpret by theologians. There never was a time
that--that the theologians ever had an interpretation of the Word of God. The
interpretation comes only to a prophet. And the only way we're ever going to
get out of this mess is for God to send us that prophet; just exactly, the only
way it's going to be done. It's been believed, watched for, and the fulfillment...
See? It was not wrote by men, but It was wrote by God. It's not a man's Book.
It's not a theologian's Book. It's the Book of God, which is a Book of prophecy
wrote by the prophets and interpreted by the prophets. The Bible said, "The
Word of the Lord comes to the prophets." Exactly.
70 How beautiful that
was illustrated, or demonstrated when Jesus was come on earth, and John was
the prophet of that day, and he--he was prophesying. They said, "Oh, you mean
to say that God's going to tear down our big associations here and all these
things? And there's going to be a time that our--our temples won't no more be
worshipped in?"
He said, "There was coming a time when God would make a sacrifice out of the
Lamb of God: a man." And he said that--that he would know Him when He come.
He said he was so sure of his message; he said, "He's standing right among you
now and you don't know it. He's right among you and you don't know it."
One day when Jesus walked out, John looked up and seen that sign above Him;
he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." That
same minute Jesus knowed then that He was a-vindicated before the people. Now,
He was the Word; would we doubt that? The Bible said He was the Word, "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And
the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us." And here He is, the... Here's
the Word on earth (Look, perfectly.) comes right out into the water to the prophet.
73 That's right. The Word always comes to His prophet. So we can't expect It to come to theologians. We can't expect It to come to denominations. It's got to come God's channeled route that He foretold us about, and that's the only way It'll ever come. It'll be hated, despised, rejected. When It does come, It'll be throwed out to one side and everything, but God will do it anyhow. It was rejected in Jesus Christ; it was rejected in John; it was rejected by Jeremiah; it was rejected by Moses. It's always that way. But God moves right on in the way that He promised He would do it. Yes, sir. He never does fail to do it the same way.
74 The man who's seen
the vision or heard His voice, never altogether understood it. In many cases
he didn't know, because he's just a instrument of God. It's God's thoughts expressed
through man's lips. A thought... 'course is a word expressed. God does His own
choosing by His predestinated choosing. He done it in every age; He set forth
the men for each age. Like with Moses, when he was to fulfill what He told to
Abraham...
Moses was borned a proper child, he couldn't help being that way. He was born
that way, because he was born for that purpose.
And so we find out that God does that in every age. God does His own choosing
by His own predestinated choosing, choose His prophets and things for the age.
Fixes his--fixes his nature, the man's nature, the man's style of preaching
to honor the gift, and all that He does is to meet the challenge of that day.
God creates that man and sent him.
And in His own mind, as I preached on last night, we are a germ of the gene
of God. He knowed that man would be there at that age before there ever was
a molecule, or a light, or anything else in the earth.
76 For you're a gene
of your father, and you were in your father, yet your father had no fellowship
with you, because he... You was in there, but you knew it not and he knew it
not, but you was manifested that you might--that he might fellowship with you.
And you being borned again, you're borned of Eternal Life. And that's the only
one form of Eternal Life, and that's God's Life, Zoe, the Greek word is "Zoe,"
only one form of Eternal Life.
Then if you are a son of God or a daughter of God, you were in God all the time,
but He knew what bed and time that you'd be planted. So now you're made a creature,
a son of God, manifested son or a daughter of God to meet the challenge of this
hour to vindicate the true and living God of this hour, the Message that's coming
forth in this time. Right. It was done there before the foundation of the world.
If it wasn't... If you wasn't chose that way, no matter how much you try to
impersonate it, you'll never make it. How can you get blood from a turnip when
there's no blood in there?
78 That's the reason
I try to say about... The people thinking we--we are hollering at women about
short hair and people telling me about saying those things, "You're going to
ruin your ministry." Ruin a ministry that God Himself ordained? Far be it. When
people hear the Word of God...
When a baby is conceived in the womb of a mother, when that one cell goes in
there, another cell builds on top of that. It's not one cell of a human, the
next of a dog, and the next of a cat, and the next of something else; it's absolutely,
straightly, human being. And when a man's borned of the Spirit of God, he don't
inject anything into his life; It's unadulterated Word of God vindicated for
that hour. He takes the full Word of God; he don't put no creeds, nothing else
into It. It's purely unadulterated God's Word made manifest among us.
79 Look in the Bible,
you see where, what age we're living in then, when you see these great things
being made manifest. When God promised to do it, He always does it. At the end
of each age when the church is come to the turning place, and is turned from
the Word back to sin and worldliness... Worldliness is sin. The Bible said,
"If you love the world or the things of the world, the love of God's not even
in you."
Speaking last night, I was speaking about the--the sacrifice that was offered:
the Lamb. It was to be seven days, representing the seven church ages. There
was to be no leaven found amongst the people, no leaven for seven days. That
means that there's nothing mixed with it; it's unleavened, constantly. And we
don't want no creeds, leavens and things mixed with it. We don't want world
mixed with us. It's got to be the unleavened Bread of God, the Word of God,
the unadulterated Word of God, which, "Man shall live by every Word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God."
81 Our denominational
systems, and differences, and things, has put leaven in us, and this and that
and world and fashion. And, oh, it's got so it's almost Hollywood everywhere.
It'll finally come till it'll be like England, and a altar call will be ashamed.
My. As brother said, "How can you get the fish in the boat?" That's right.
We've got to have the Gospel preached in its fullness, with the power of God
to vindicate that according to the promise of that age and prove that that's
exactly God's will. Outside of That you're just a church member, no matter how
much you try, you try to do God a service. You might go to the stitch-and-sew
party; you might be ever so faithful to church; but unless that germ of Eternal
Life was foreordained in you to be a son or daughter of God, you'll grow up
a deformed something; but never be a real, true son or daughter of God.
83 Often give my little
story of a little eagle. How the farmer set the hen one time, and he had...
I hope it don't sound sacrilegious to you. But a farmer set a hen, and she was--lacked
one egg in having a setting. I doubt whether anybody here know what a setting
of eggs is, how much it consists of. But anyhow, he lacked one egg of having
enough. So he robbed the eagle's nest; she had two eggs. And he put the egg
under the hen.
When that eagle was hatched amongst all them chickens, he was a funny bird.
He couldn't understand the clucking of the hen. He didn't talk like his--like
he wanted to hear it talk. And she scratched in the barnyard, eat from the barnyard;
it wasn't food for him. He was a ugly duckling among them. The hen would cluck
and he didn't understand it. She'd go this way and eat this and eat that; he
didn't understand it. So one day his mammy, or mother, rather, to you. I'm a...
In the south we say "Mammy."
So anyhow, he--his--his--his mother knowed she had two eggs, and only one of
them was there; she went after the other one. She circled everywhere and crossed
the country, and finally she flew over the barnyard. She seen him down there
following that old hen. She screamed, "Junior, you're not a chicken; you're
an eagle." That sounded just right to him. Why? He was a eagle to begin with.
86 And when a man or
woman has set under creeds and cold, formal religion, if he's ordained to be
a son of God, and he sees the Word of God preached in Its power, and God vindicate
It; he's an eagle to begin with, he'll run to It as sure as two twos is four.
He can't help it, because his very nature loves the Word of God. I don't care
what anybody else says, when he sees the Word of God being made manifest, he
flies to It because he is a little eagle.
As they go on to say, he said, "Mama, how am I going to get up from here?"
And he said, "Just make a jump; I'll catch you."
That's the only thing you have to do, is make one jump to your feet, one jump
to God, one promise, "Lord Jesus, I believe You with all my heart. I believe
the message of the hour. I see It confirmed, and I know it's right." Jump to
your feet, Mama will catch you. Don't worry. You're an eagle; she'll be right
there to get you.
90 Now, we realize that
we're living in a tremendous time and a great time, but when the truths of this
Bible believers has seen that vindicated, the very vindication of It is the
evidence that God is in it. Absolutely. It's then that the promised Word that
God promised is made known. The seed is bursted forth, and they see It and they
believe It. Others just can't see It; somehow they'll set and look at It.
You know, I've preached hard enough to--to--across this country, that it shouldn't
be a short-haired woman in the country. But every time when I come back, there's
more. What's the matter? There's something wrong. You know the Word says that.
You say, "Well, that don't make any difference." It does make a difference.
92 There was a fine
brother, said, "I'm going to lay hands on you, Brother Branham. I love you.
You're ruining your ministry." Said, "You ain't got no business telling them
women about that." Said, "Let the pastors do it."
I said, "They don't do it though." I said, "Now..."
He said, "Well, it's not your business; you just pray for the sick."
I said, "Whose business is it then? I was called to preach the Gospel."
Said, "I'll lay hands on you and ask God to take it away then."
I said, "If you'll let--let me lay hands on you too." See? And I said, "I'll
pray that God will open your eyes and you'll see it." So that's right.
He said, "You ought to preach... The people believe you to be a servant, a prophet
of God." He said, "You ought to teach them women how to--to get great gifts
and prophesy and things."
I said, "How can I teach them algebra when they won't even believe their abc's?"
See, see?...?... you do it. That's just in every... That's right. If you can't
do the common things, how you going to do the spiritual things, the natural
things? Certainly. Brother, sister, it might sound like a joke, but it's the
Gospel. It's the Gospel truth. That's right.
100 Notice, we find
today that people... There's many people just can't believe it, even Spirit-filled
people. I'm going to give you one that'll choke you. The baptism of the Holy
Ghost don't mean you're going in, not at all, not on that, don't have anything
to do with your soul. That's the baptism. See? Here's the inside soul in here,
that has to come from God. But then on the outside you have five senses, and
five out--inlets to your contact your earthly home. The inside, you have a spirit,
and in there you have five outlets: your conscience, and love, and so forth,
five outlets to that spirit. Remember, in that spirit you can be baptized with
the genuine Spirit of God and still be lost. It's the soul that lives; that
was ordained of God.
Didn't Jesus say, "Many will come to Me in that day, and say, 'Lord, haven't
I cast out devils, done great and mighty works, prophesied, the great gifts
of God?'"
He said, "Depart from me, you that work iniquity, I never even knew you. Many
will come in that day."
102 Didn't Caiaphas
prophesy? He was a devil. We find out there... And them priests, them great
men, was supposed to be great leaders in them days, with humility and everything
else, but failed to see the Word of God Itself made manifest before them.
We could just take a bunch of them I got wrote down here. How about Balaam?
He was a... You say, "God changes His mind." He doesn't change His mind.
When Balaam went out as a prophet, went down there, a bishop, preacher, whatever
you want to call him, he was a great man. But when... He consulted God about
going down there and cursing Israel; he didn't like them to begin with, so he
asked to go. God said, "Don't go."
Then they sent a dignitary bunch some maybe of bishops or presbyters, or something,
down, said--with more education to persuade him. He went back and asked God
again. You don't have to ask God the second time. When God says it first, that's
it. You don't have to wait anything.
Rebekah didn't wait to get the second order. They asked her, said, "Will you
go?"
"Let her say."
She said, "I'll go." She was firmly inspired of God. She become one of the queens
of the Bible for acting upon the pulsation of the Spirit of God that moved upon
her to receive what was absolutely the truth, and she believed it.
109 Now, we find out,
Balaam, of course, he couldn't see. He went out and looked upon the people,
said, "Now, just a minute. We're a great, big people up here, you're just a
scattered bunch." You see? "And we all--we all believe the same God."
That's true. They all believed the same God; they all worshipped Jehovah. Look
at Balaam's sacrifice: seven altars, God's perfect number, the seven churches
(See?); seven rams, speaking of the coming of the Lord. Fundamentally he was
just as fundamental as Moses was; but (You see?), there wasn't a Divine vindication.
In there they were both prophets.
But under Moses' ministry, there was a supernatural Pillar of Fire, a Light
that hung with the camp. There was Divine healing; there was a shout of the--of
the King in the camp, great signs, Divine healing, and wonders and things performed
among them. It was a sign of a living God among His people.
Fundamentally, they was both right. And Balaam tried to persuade the people,
and bewitched them into it. When? Just before they reached the promised land.
Another day or two, they'd been in the promised land.
113 But now I'm afraid...
This is a hard mark to make, some of these days I'll be shot for It. But remember
this, that the churches are being bewitched by this ecumenical council; he's
taking you right into it to say, "You're the same group." You're not the same
group. Come out from among that stuff and be separated. Certainly is. It's true.
We're to keep away from that stuff, as far as you can from it.
Balaam said, "We're... Let's let our children marry together because after all,
we believe the same God.
"How can two walk together 'less they be agreed?" How can you walk with God
'less you agree with His Word?" How can you add creeds and so forth to It, when
you're ordained not to do it, or commanded not to do it? Can't do it. There's
no way of doing it, brother, sister. You can't mix that leaven with the unleavened.
Oil and water will not mix. Darkness and light will not mix. Light's so much
powerful; it just puts the darkness out.
116 So we cannot mix it together. Neither can you mix sin of the world together. You can't mix church and denomination together. You can't mix church and creed together. You can't mix the world and the Gospel together. It won't mix. "Come out from among them; be ye separated, saith God, I'll receive you to Myself. You'll be My sons and daughters; I'll be God to you." We can never do it until these things are manifested and the Word of God for the hour is proved to be the truth. Follow in the footsteps.
117 Pentecost, that's
why Luther lost his message. That's how Wesley lost his message. See? If the
Wesleyan church would've went on, they'd been Pentecostals. If the Lutherans
went on, they'd been Methodists. See? And now, if the Pentecostals go on, it'll
be the Bride. If you hang back and keep going back in the world like you're
going now, you'll be lost. It'll only be the shuck and the stalk, is to be burned.
You know that. He'll gather His wheat into the garner. But the husks He'll burn
with unquenchable fire, although it was a carrier. It certainly carried it,
but the Life left it as soon as it become a leaf, it went on out to make something
else until it come to its full statue.
And so will the church come through justification, sanctification, baptism of
the Holy Ghost (restoration of gifts), right on into the formed image of Christ.
Christ is the Bridegroom; the Church is the Bride; and the Bride is a part of
the Bridegroom. It'll have to be a Word church, not a denominational church.
It'll be the Word church, the Word that's made known and--by the vindicated
Word of God.
119 Balaam, he couldn't
see the difference. Many can't. Pharaoh couldn't see it, though vindicated right
before him. Dathan couldn't see It. Dathan come out there, and he seen Moses
and knowed. He went out there, said, "You try to think you're the only one in
the bunch. The whole congregation's holy." God never did deal with--like that.
He ought to have knowed better than that. And he said, "Well, the whole congregation's
holy. You try to make yourself (If we'd say it today, the street expression)
the only pebble on the beach."
And Moses knew that God had sent him down there for that. He just said, "Lord..."
fell in the--the doorway of the tabernacle.
And God said, "Separate yourself with him." And He swallowed them up.
124 And remember, the
sin that Israel did (by Balaam saying they're all the same), that sin never
was forgiven Israel. And look; let me give you a striking figure; out of two
million that left Egypt, two of them went into the promised land. Every one
of them eat the same thing; they all danced in the Spirit; they all had everything
in common. But when it come to the separating time, the Word done the separating.
So is it today. Word done the separating. When it come time, he said, "Why,
here, we're..."
It's so close, look that the Bible said in the last days the two spirits (Matthew
24:24) would be so close, it would deceive the very elected if it was possible.
That shuck looks just exactly like the wheat, but it ain't the wheat. See? It
isn't the wheat, but it looks just exactly like it. See? So close, it would
deceive the very elected... You denominated and fall into that denomination,
and dry up and die, and the wheat moved right on out through the... See? It's
exactly right. It's a carrier but not the wheat.
Remember, the wheat just keeps going on. In the resurrection all that strength
of the wheat will come right up into the wheat as it goes to make the head to
come out in the great resurrection. Never forgiven...
127 Let's stop here
just a moment. I hope I don't choke you out. But, look, let me ask you something.
Let's just take that, say for instance, that this count would be right. When
the sperm, the male and female come, if you ever known test tubes or--or hybriding
and so forth of cattle, you'll find out that the discharge from the male puts
out about a million germs. And the discharge from the female puts out a million
eggs. But did you know there's only one of them that's fertile? Them little
calves, or whatever they are in these millions of germs, a million germs, they'll
be that one little germ will work itself up among the rest of them germs and
go right over and find that fertile egg and crawl into it, and the rest of them
die. One of them is ordained to life; the others are not, though they're all
the same. One out of a million...
What if it'd be that way tonight? There's five hundred million, supposed to
be, I think, Christians in the world, about that figure, just a round figure.
If the rapture would come tonight then, and the living going, there'd only be
five hundred people. Well, there's that many missing any day almost, that they
can't count for. The Bride will be taken away and we'd wonder what it's all
about; and the people going right on preaching, saying they're getting this,
and that, and the other, and look what a deception that would be. Say if it
would be that; I don't say it is; I don't know; I'm no authority of that. God's
the Judge of that. But look how easy it could happen in all figures and things,
how it could be proven.
129 Why didn't Korah
see that? Why didn't Dathan see that? Why didn't Ahab see it? When Ahab... When
Jehoshaphat went down to Ahab, he said, "Ahab, we're in trouble. Do you know
God gave us this land; Joshua divided it up? You know this piece of ground up
here that the Syrians taken, isn't that our ground?"
"Yes."
"Our children's hungry, and the Syrians, our enemy, are feeding their children,
filling their bellies with the wheat that ought to be ours." That's Scripturally
right. Said, "Will you help me to go up there and take that?"
Now, sometimes a good man under the influence of evil will give in. Better watch,
church, watch real close.
133 Now, the first thing
you know, Jehoshaphat, being a great religious man, he said, "Well, we should
go up, sure, our chariots; we're all the same people." But they wasn't the same
people. No. He said, "Well, our chariots is your chariots; our people is your
people. Sure, we'll go," he said, "but let's consult the Lord first."
So he said, old Ahab, "No doubt, we should have thought of that. Well, we'll..."
"Is there a prophet of the Lord?"
Said, "I got a seminary full of them? I got four hundred down here, the best
ones there is. They all got their Ph.D., L.L.D., their double L.D.'s, and everything
else that goes with it. They're every one..." Now, remember, they were Hebrew
prophets from a school of prophets.
Said, "Bring them up; let's hear them."
138 Now, I believe it
was Zedekiah (the great head of them, the bishop, all of them) come up there,
and he had the inspiration. He had inspiration, absolutely. He come up there,
and made hisself two big iron horns. He said, "You know, THUS SAITH THE LORD,
you're going to take these horns and push the Syrians plumb out of the country."
Well, all the rest of them prophesied, "That's exactly right." Every one of
them, the whole seminary in agreement. See?
Ahab said, "You see?"
Jehoshaphat, being kind of spiritual, you know, he hadn't dried up altogether;
he said, "But isn't there just another one somewhere, that we could consult?"
"What do you want to consult others, when the whole ecumenical--the whole council,
it says it's all right?" (Excuse me. See?) "The whole thing said, 'That's what
we ought to do.'" See? "That's what we should do."
He said, "But isn't there just another one somewhere?" that odd one, you know.
He said, "Yes, there is. There's one, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him."
Always that way. "I hate him because he's always just bawling our people out,
and cursing me, and telling me all's evil about me. I hate the man."
Said, "Oh, don't let the king say so." Said, "Go get him."
146 So he went over
there to the son of Imlah, some of the--the bishops, or, some of the elders
went over there, and said, "Now, listen, do you want to get back in the organization
again? You say the same thing that they say and they bring you back."
But there happened to be that God had a man that they couldn't put their hands
on him; God had His hands on him. He was just the reflector of God's truth.
Said, "Sure," said, "I'll go down, but I'll only say what God puts in my mouth."
There's the man of God. He said, "Give me the night." So the night come, and
the Lord spoke to the prophet, little nobody. And first thing you know, he come
out the next morning.
Said, "What about it, Imlah?"
He said, "Go on up," said, "but I seen Israel scattered like sheep on a hills,
having no shepherd."
He said, What did I tell you. What did I tell you about it." And he said...
150 Then the big bishop
walked up and slapped him in the mouth, said, "Which way did the Spirit of God
go? 'Cause I know I had the Spirit; I danced in It; I done all these things.
See? I--I had the Spirit on me. Which a way did It go?"
Now, see, Imlah being a son of God, or a real prophet of God, he examined his
vision with the Word. If it wasn't with the Word, it's wrong. See? The Word
for that hour... See? Now, he said Scripturally, the land belonging to them,
the land was theirs. Scripturally, everything seemed to be right but one thing.
Remember, it was one Word that caused the whole mess to come, Eve disbelieved
one Word of God. In the first of the Bible, one Word caused the trouble. Jesus
come in the middle of the Bible, said, "Man shall live by every Word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God." At the end of the Bible, said, "Whosoever shall take
one Word out or add one word to It."
153 It's not part of
the Gospel... The Methodists have part, the Baptists, Presbyterians, and so
forth, they had part of it, Catholic had part of it, Jehovah Witness, all the
rest of them.
But It's the whole Word, all the Word, the Word of the hour what counts. And
we'll never do it until God anoints a prophet that can stand and tell it, and
confirms it, and prove It that It's right. It'll slip right through the people
and they'll never know it, just like it's always been.
You Catholic, like Joan of Arc, you burned her at the stake for being a witch;
later you dug up them priests' bodies, two hundred years later, and throwed
them in the river. You didn't know Saint Patrick and the rest of them.
It'll go right through your hands again, the first thing you know. God will
do it, and you'll never even know it's done. See? He just slips right through
and gets His Bride and takes her right on, and steals her away, right out of
the midst of the people.
157 We find out, this
little Micaiah said he examined--he examined; he knowed that God had said through
a real prophet before him... The prophet before him, what did he say? Said this;
he said, "Ahab, because you shed the righteous, or the blood of the righteous
Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood also, and Jezebel." And that's just exactly,
had to come to pass, because God had said it. How could that prophet prophesy
good when it was evil against it?
How can I tell this Laodicean church age the good things when God spoke against
it? You're naked, miserable. You say, "I'm rich; I have better... I have churches
like the Methodist, and the Baptists, and the Presbyterians. I have this, I
have that; the best this, that, and the other." That's right, but don't know
that you're naked, blind, miserable, to the real thing that God's manifesting.
He'll go right the same with you, moving right out. See? Believe, people, before
it's too late.
159 Now, we find out
that he smote him in the mouth, and said, "Which way did the Spirit of God..."
Micaiah said, "I seen God setting upon the throne. And oh, He called the delegates
of heaven, said, 'Who can we get to go down and deceive Ahab?'" Said, "And he--one
lying spirit come up and fell before God; a liar." And remember that lying spirit
got into those prophets; they ought to have knowed then that the spirit was
upon them wasn't according to the Word. But they were so carried away because
they were the king's prophets, because they had everything fine.
161 And that's what
the church has done today. You've got away from that old fashion experience
you had years ago when you stood on the street corner and preached the Gospel.
Come out of those organizations and call yourself a free people today, because
you're wrapped in it again, like a hog to its wallow or a dog to its vomit.
If it made him vomit the first time, it'll make him vomit again. That's right.
God spew you from His mouth, He said, "You're lukewarm, neither hot or cold";
have a few meetings, then play a few music and sing a little bit, when, it's--absolutely
it's almost become a disgrace to Christianity.
My son called me over the other day to look at a television, supposed to be
singing bee where the people come. That bunch of little Ricky's standing there,
shaking around like this rock-and-roll, and singing them hymns, it's a disgrace
to Jesus Christ. There's no more solemnity in the church at all. It seems like
it's all become a rock-and-roll something, and a fashion show, in the stead
of the church of the living God where Jesus Christ can manifest Himself in power.
Hey, there's something wrong somewhere; they're slipping away. And the Bible
said it would be that way. See? Look where you're at. Be careful; wake up before
it's too late.
163 Now, we find out
he said, "Who can we get to go out there and deceive Ahab, to get him up there
to fulfill that prophet's word?" See? If the prophet said a Word, heavens and
earth will pass away but It can't fail. It's got to come to pass. So that's
what, it had to take place.
He said, "Put this man in the inner jail; feed him of bread of sorrow and water
of sorrow. When I return in peace, I'll take care of him."
Micaiah stood there firm, knowing he had the Spirit of God. His prophecy and
visions was right. His Message was right, 'cause It was THUS SAITH THE LORD
from the visions, THUS SAITH THE LORD from the Word. It had to be right, was
THUS SAITH THE LORD. He said, "If you return at all, God never spoke to me."
And you know what happened, sure. Would he... Understand, brother. Listen.
167 Sure, Caiaphas,
he couldn't see it. Why didn't he look down? He was a--he was a bishop; he was
a pope of all the churches together. Why couldn't that man see Jesus standing
there? Why couldn't he understand? When they was singing the 23rd Psalm, the
22nd Psalm, rather, in the church, and "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken
Me?" and there He's hanging on the cross. The very Scriptures, the very God
that they were worshipping, they were condemning Him and killing Him for a fanatic.
There it is.
It'd shock you if I'd tell you that's just about to repeat again. The Bible
said He was on the outside trying to knock to get in, and nobody would let Him
in, "He that I love, I chasten and rebuke; I scold him; I shake him down, but
it's because I love him. Open up and let Me come in." Yeah. Could not... "Remember,
I didn't want to get in the church; it's he, the individual." He couldn't get
in the church, had Him locked out. Only... Then, only organization of all of
them, is this church age, that He was on the outside the church: put out, refused,
rejected. Because... He was only manifested in temporarily in the other churches,
in the form of justification, and so forth; but in here, the age that's coming
now, is the full manifestation of the vindication of Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Oh, I'll admit we got a lot of impersonators, but examine
the first one, the original.
169 Moses went down
with the commandments of God to deliver Israel; and when he did, he performed
some miracles. The impersonators followed him. If they had been first, he would
been the impersonator. See? he had the Word of the Lord, and the Lord vindicated;
he just set still.
And, you know, that same thing's promised in the last days? "As Jambres and
Jannes withstood Moses, so will these men of reprobate mind concerning the truth."
When a organization keeps a--takes a man right down through that organization,
it showed it did not come from God; because God does those things to attract
the people's mind, and then the message follows it. If it isn't, then it's not
God. It's not God. God always does that.
Judas couldn't understand it. He walked right with Him; he didn't see it.
172 But the real, ordained
of God, that real gene, that real germ, a soul of God that was in God before
the foundation of the world... Remember, you that's really got the Spirit of
God in you tonight, you were here in Christ, because He was the Fullness of
the Word. He was the Fullness of the Godhead bodily. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to Himself. Do you believe that? Look, He was in Christ. Then if you
were in God, a gene, a word, a attribute from the beginning, then you walked
with Him here on earth; you talked with Him on earth, you suffered with Him
on earth; you died with Him at Calvary; and you rose with Him again; and now
you're setting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, communing with Him, the Word,
as It feeds into your soul, that, "Man shall live by ever Word that proceedeth..."
Not the Methodist word, the Baptist word; remember, if there was any left over
in the sacrifice, it must be burned before morning, 'cause tomorrow's another
church age. That right? Exodus, it's true. A symbol, type of the sacrifice...
174 The Door... Said,
"I will make one place. Don't... You won't worship Me in every door that I've
give you; but there's one Door, and in that Door I'll put My Name." And where
the Lord puts His Name, that's the place that God will receive your sacrifice.
We've made all kinds of doors, but God made a Door. God made a Door, and that
Door was... St. John the 10th chapter, Jesus said, "I am that Door."
God put His Name in Jesus. Do you believe that? He was the Son of God. Every
son comes in his father's name. He said, "I come in My Father's Name; you receive
Me not." I come in my father's name; you come in your father's name. Jesus come
in His Father's Name, so His Father's Name's Jesus (It's exactly), 'cause He
came in His Father's Name. "And you receive Me not. Another will come, and him
you will receive." You'll take your denominations and go on with them. Just
go ahead, the Bible says, "They were raised up to fulfill this place. Blind,
naked, and don't know it." Church, religion, oh, very pious, just the same as
Cain was; make a sacrifice, make everything just the same as Abel did. But by
revelation it was revealed to him what the sacrament was, not fruits of the
field and something to do with your hand.
The believer can see the Word made flesh; the others cannot do it.
178 All them Israelites,
after they had seen Moses perform that and brought them right up to the great
council, where it was to be held, every one of them said, "We'll go with Balaam,
because we think Dr. Balaam's right. He's smarter, more educated, everything,
so we'll just take it."
And God never did forgive them. He destroyed them right there in the wilderness.
And Jesus said, Himself, "They'll never come; there's none of them saved." Jesus
said...
They said, "Our fathers eat manna in the wilderness for forty years."
He said, "They're every one dead (eternally separated from God). They're every
one dead." Certainly. Because they listened to an error. When Moses a-vindicated
of God and a leader to show them the way to the promised land, and they had
come so far all right, but then they wouldn't go along with him.
Now, believers can see it, but unbelievers cannot see that vindicated.
183 Look how pious Caiaphas
was. Look how all them priests how pious they was. And Jesus turned around,
said, "You are of your father the Devil, and his works you'll do."
But there was a few believers setting there. You think them disciples could've
understood when Jesus said, "I and My Father are One"? They couldn't have explained
It. When He said, "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, drink His Blood,
you have no Life." Could they explain it? No. But they believed it, because
they seen God being vindicated and made flesh.
185 Jesus said, "If
I do not the works of My Father, then believe Me not. But if I do the works
of My Father, the Word that's predicted for Me to do, then you... If you can't
believe Me, believe the works that I do, that you might be saved." See? Jesus
said, "My sheep know My Voice. They know My Word; they see It when It's vindicated
for that age."
"Well, Caiaphas knowed the Word too." But not the Word for that age. He had
the word of what the Pharisees had poked into him, but not the vindicated Word
of the hour.
"They know My Voice; they know My sign; they know My wonder." How now, to...
Oh, let's get back to our text, 'cause we're just going to miss a lot of this
Scripture if we don't, 'cause I got to close in the next few minutes anyhow,
for it's going to be ten o'clock in a few minutes. I love Him. Amen.
189 Friends, you people
who walked down that aisle and put that offering in there awhile ago, people
that fed my children, put clothes on their back, the people that's put your
money that you hard earned in a offering plate, know where that goes? That helps
take me overseas to the heathens that never has heard anything about God. That's
what I do with it, every penny, God's my Judge. Here's some of my--the man's
setting right here now that's in--and the treasurer of my church. I get one
hundred dollars a week; that's all; rest of it goes to sponsor overseas meetings
where they can't come.
The churches won't have me. They don't want me. No. That's right. They turn
me down, "He's..." They say, "He's a Jesus Only, or he's something like that,
or some heretic, fanatic, and all like that, a--a Jezebel." And I--I look for
that; they called my Lord, Jezebel, and they called Him, not a Jezebel, but
a Beelzebub. They called Him all those bad names. "If they called the Master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call them of His disciples?"
So that don't make any difference.
And you yourself, by the help of God, would you think I'd stand up here a big
hypocrite and tell you something was... Wouldn't I fall right in line with the
thing if I thought it was from God?
192 But if I love you and know what's the truth... Have you ever heard me say anything in the Name of the Lord but what come to pass? No. I ask anybody. There are thousands of things that's been said, they all come to pass. Remember that time when Samuel was called out, I believe it was, and he said... Israel wanted to make themselves like the rest of the nations. That's what you Pentecostals are coming to. You want to act like the rest of the people. You're not them kind of people. Keep away from it. The big churches and big fine things, O brother, don't do that. We preach the coming of the Lord is at hand; let's get to the fields down there and notify the heathen. See? Do something about it.
193 But, you see, Samuel
said, "Have I ever at one time taken any of your money from you for my living?"
They said, "No, Samuel, you never done that."
Said, "Did I ever tell you anything in the Name of the Lord but what come to
pass?"
"Oh, that's right, Samuel. We believe you're a prophet sent from God. Yes, sir.
Everything you said come to pass, Samuel. But we want it anyhow." You see what
happened. Oh, brother, the Scripture just keeps repeating Itself back and forth
through the Scripture, 'cause it's God's way of doing it. You see? You see,
you hit these kind of times.
Let's get to our text right quick. Now, I been all this time; I didn't come
to my text yet...?...
198 It's on my heart.
I love you. Don't perish with the world. If you're of the world, you'll perish
with the world. If you're of God, you'll go with Him in the resurrection. So
change your nature tonight from the love of the world and the things of the
world, and all these creeds and things, and look straight to Calvary to your
Sacrifice; meet Him there on them grounds, 'cause that's the only place He'll
ever meet you. He...
The Methodists says, "It's in our church"; the Baptists says, and the Pentecostals
in this, and the Presbyterians in this.
But He said, "I'll meet them in one place, the place I put My Name." That's
in Jesus Christ. That's where God put His Name. That's the only place He'll
meet you; and it's Christ, is the Word (See?), the same yesterday... It's growed
from the feet, thighs. And now it's in the head, fixing to go, manifesting the
full measure, the Bride, as same as the Groom.
201 Now, let's go to
our text right quick for about ten minutes, and then we'll close. Now, our text,
we are--where we consider, is, it had happened again, as our text, as it usually
has happened.
God sent His prophet as He... Word had promised of Malachi 3, "A messenger I'll
send before My face to forerun His coming."
Now, if you want to vindicate that, to prove it; Matthew, 11th chapter, vindicates
the same. When the disciples of John came over and they seen Jesus, they said,
"John is in prison," said, "we come to ask You of whether he..."
John's eagle eye had been filmed over. And he was in the prison; he was fixing
to die; said, "Go ask Him."
See? John said, "Oh, His fan's in His hand; He'll thoroughly purge His floor."
He thought the millennium would start right then; he thought the grain was ready.
But it had to die and go into the stalk, come up again to make the true Bride.
So he said, "He'll gather His wheat into the garner, and He'll burn with fire."
Watch that--that forerunner of Christ in that age, what he said would happen.
"The grain..."
206 And I hope you're not asleep. The grain is here. It'll be gathered into the garner. It was that Bride, that part of it. But what did He say will happen to the stalk? It'll be burned with unquenchable fire. Seek salvation now while you can. Be a grain, not a stalk. See? Go into the Life, not the old dead form; go into the Life of Christ, the Word made manifest, the--made manifest and vindicated so. This is the--this is the gathering time; the combine is coming. You'd better get into the grain, 'cause the shuck's going to be left behind.
207 Now, we find out
it happened... Jesus... To finish my quotation here, this Matthew 11... See?
He didn't give John. He say, "Now, wait, I'll give John a book on how to conduct
himself, a believer in jail." No. He said, "Stand around and watch what happens.
Go back and show John what happened: the lame walk, the blind see, the dead's
raised up, and the Gospel's preached to the poor." Just exactly what the prophet
said would come to pass. "And blessed is you who's not offended in Me."
And his disciples started across the hill; He turned, said, "What went ye out
to see when you went to see John? Did you go to see a man that's catering in
soft raiments, and so forth, the turned-around collars, and all this, you know?"
Said, "They're in kings' palaces; they kiss the babies and bury the dead; he
don't know how to hold a two-handed sword." See? Said, "What'd you go to see?
A--a reed that's shaken by any wind, 'Come on, John, I'll give you more money
if you come over here'? ("Well, bless God, I ain't Methodist no more; I'll be
Pentecostal; I'll be Presbyterian; I'll be this, that, the one with more money.")
Said, "You never did see a reed shaken with the wind." Said, "What did you go
the see there, a prophet?" Said, "Yes, and more than a prophet."
209 John had just paid
the poorest tribute he could to Jesus. Know it had to come that way; asked Him
after he introduced Him and seen that sign above Him, he said, "This is the
Messiah," then he comes and asks, "Are you He or do we look for another one?"
But, look, Jesus knowing that, He turned and give him a tribute, said, "What
did you go to see, a reed shaken with the wind?" Said, "There's never been a
man born of a woman as great as John, till this day." That's right. What a compliment
to pay the man.
But, you see, there it was, that prophecy had been fulfilled right before their
face, with a forerunner coming, exactly what Malachi said. Now, that's Malachi
3, not Malachi 4.
John the Baptist was Malachi 3, Jesus said so. When they asked Him, said, "Why
does the scribes say..."
Said, "He's already come. They did what they said."
But, remember, Malachi 4, immediately after the Malachi 4 prophet, the fourth
coming of John the Baptist in--or the--of Elijah. The fifth coming will be the
Revelations 2, the witnesses, when he comes for the remnant of the Jews. But
God has used that same Spirit five times: grace, J-e-s-u-s; it's all been Jesus
all the time; f-a-i-t-h, g-r-a-c-e, and so forth. You see? The number five is
a grace number and He used it. Won't use just three, won't use just two, three,
four, it's five times He uses it.
214 Now, notice quickly
now, as we finish up. He said, "This is he who was spoken, 'I send My messenger
before My face.'"
But in Malachi 4, immediately after that prophet prophesied, the whole earth
is to be burnt over, and the righteous walk out upon the ashes of the wicked.
See? Exactly. See? that's the Malachi 4 prophecy.
And notice in Luke 17, where He said, "In the last days, it'll come like Sodom
and Gomorrah again." Have we got it? We got Sodom and Gomorrah again? The whole
nations, look at it. Look what He just said about England; the whole thing's
perverted. Even the food's perverted.
And looky here what science... You see in "Reader's Digest," I believe it's
last month; they said, "Little boys and girls go through middle age between
twenty and twenty-five years old." I meet them in the meetings, little girls
in menopause, and twenty, twenty-two years old, in menopause. What's it allowed
to? The perversion, hybriding, that's exactly what corrupted; the whole thing's
corrupted the body. We're nothing but a mess of--of...
217 Just like a hybrid
plant... You take a hybrid plant and set it out there, every germ will run right
to it. But a genuine, original plant, a germ will go away from it, can't stand
on it. That's what's the matter with the church; we've hybrid it.
That's what was the matter with Pearry Green's old horse up there; he throwed
that boy the other day; he's nothing but an old quarter horse. See? The only
thing it is, he... It's just like a mule, he's--he's... A mule don't know who
his papa or mama is; he don't know nothing; he's half mule and half horse, and
half this and donkey; he don't know what he is. You could never... He'll wait
all of his life to get to kick you. That's right. You can call him, say, "Come
on, boy. Come on, boy." He'll hold his ears up, and "Haw. Haw. Haw." See?
219 Like some of these
saying "Days of miracles is past. Haw, haw, haw," these half-breeds, supposed
to be church members and Christians. I ain't saying that for a joke; it's the
truth. But a genuine, thoroughbred, brother, he knows who his father was, who
his mother was, who his grandfather, grandmother was; you can teach him something;
he's gentle.
And a genuine Christian that's borned of the Holy Ghost and filled with God's
power and Word, he knows who his father is, who his mother is, who his grandfather,
grandmother was; he knows all about it. You can teach him something.
But a half-breed, that's what's come to churches: hybrid between the world and
religious organizations, and putting a little Word in it, here a little Word
there, just enough to deceive. That's right. When you see the real Word of God
being manifested like Caiaphas and them did, they turn away from It; they don't
know: hybrid.
222 Now, we find out,
and in this message, Isaiah 40:3 also vindicated John. He said a voice of one,
a prophet, crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord; make His
path straight." The church did not believe him, for he was not of their group.
That prophet was raised out of a wilderness, come up knowing no one. He had
the very Spirit on him that Elijah had: he was a man of the wilderness; he hated
immoral women.
Remember how Elijah... What caused his head to be taken from him? Was Jezebel.
Jezebel was the cause of his death. It run him into the wilderness.
John the Baptist, another wilderness-lover, a hunter, a woodsman. Watch him.
He--He had no education. Watch his--his text wasn't like a theologian. He said,
"O you generation of vipers." The filthiest thing you can find in the wilderness,
the sneakiness, was a--was a snake. And he called those priests, "You generation
of vipers, who's warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Don't begin to say,
'We belong to this, and we have this or that,' for I say unto you, God's able
of these stones...?... them. Also, the axe (what he used) is laid to the root
of the tree; and every tree that don't bring forth good fruit's hewn down and
cast into the fire." Amen.
225 He was a preacher
of nature, a great man of God, lived a short time, but certainly set a blaze
across the earth. He shuck that generation in them six months of his ministry.
God raised him for thirty years to get that six months out of him. But God does
it His own way; He knows what His harvest is.
And we find out now that this is exactly what had took place. They didn't believe
him, because he wasn't of them. They didn't, as... As usual, they didn't see
It. They did not believe God's Word of Malachi 3, or they would've seen plainly
by the letter that this was that forerunner. They hadn't had a prophet for four
hundred years, and here one rises on the scene all at once. And the people,
the believers, believed him to be that. See? They did not believe It. They did
not believe, 'cause when they seen the letter completely confirmed, what He
said it would do, and everything, and seen it clearly vindicated when the Word
come right into the water to the prophet, there they stood.
227 There's many argue
on that Scripture there about John. See? John said, "I have need to be baptized
of Thee, and why comest Thou unto me?"
Jesus said, "Suffer that to be so, for thus--but thus it's becoming to us (behooving
us, becoming) that we fulfill all right... John, you being a prophet, you know
the sacrifice has got to be washed before it's presented. And I am that Sacrifice,
and you're a prophet and know that." Then he suffered Him and baptized Him.
See? And he knew it was.
229 Look, they laughed
at him, called him "a wild, screaming, unlearned fanatic," as usual, that prophet
forerunning the first coming of Jesus.
I don't say that they're--don't we have the same impersonations today of--of
genuine? They do, they absolutely. But, remember, where you see a bogus dollar,
there's got to be a real dollar that's made off of. Where you see one impersonating
to be a Christian, there's got to be a real Christian somewhere; because if
there wasn't, that would be the original. You've got to get to the original.
But check the first one, and see if the original is just exactly with the promise.
If it is, then believe It: the promise for the age.
Then John's prophecy was vindicated in God's order. The Word came to the prophet
and vindicated him truly as that person.
232 Again Jesus came in a--different from their understanding of that prophecy. They didn't understand it that way. (Now, we're going down to the end now.) But according to the prophet's Word, It was fulfilled to the letter. The prophecy is fulfilled; but the way they thought it would be, it wasn't that way. Now, how could they have understood and know which was right or wrong? To see if it was vindicated by God, if it was God interpreting what He said. There'd been false Jesuses raised up, and led a man, a bunch of four hundred out in the wilderness and things; but he never proved to make hisself in the Word (You see?), like He said.
233 Jesus, when He come,
He was to be a prophet. That's right. And today, before Jesus comes again, the
full manifestation of the Person of Jesus Christ is to be manifested in flesh.
Think of it. Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at
the coming of the Son of man, when the Son of man is being revealed." What is
revealed? Unfolded, made known. The secret had been brought forth, revealed.
In the day that the Son of man will be revealed, the world will be in a Sodom
condition. We've got it, haven't we? Yeah. How many believes that? It's in a
Sodom condition. That's exactly right. Look where it's setting now.
Remember, there's always three groups of people in every bunch of people you
gather; that's, make-believers, unbelievers, and believers. We have them in
every group. They've had them in all time. There was the Sodomites; there was--there
was the Lotites, and there was Abraham.
235 The Abraham was
a called-out group; he wasn't in Sodom to begin with. Now, watch their message.
They'd been looking for a promised son, looked for it for years. God had showed
Abraham many great signs and wonders, but here God came down Himself like a
man.
You say, "That was an Angel."
Abraham called Him, "Lord", capital L-o-r-d. Any reader of the Bible knows that
that capital L-o-r-d is Elohim: in the beginning God, Lord God, Elohim, the
all-sufficient One. Abraham called Him, "Lord God, Elohim."
238 Now, notice, there
was two people that went down into Sodom with a message, and they preached to
the Sodomites. They didn't perform nothing, but blinded them; which, preaching
the Gospel does blind the unbeliever.
But watch what kind of a sign the Abraham group received. Now, we are supposed
to be the royal seed of Abraham; Isaac was the natural seed. But the faith seed,
the faith in the promised Word, the promised Word (Don't miss it.) was that
royal Seed; that was the seed, Abraham's faith. "We be dead in Christ, we're
Abraham's seed, heirs with him according to the promise."
Notice when all that was taking place, down in Sodom there was two ministers
down there preaching with a great message.
242 There's One set
up here with Abraham's group that didn't fool with that group down there. Now,
watch the One that stayed with Abraham's group, what kind of a sign He give
them. He said... Now, remember, his name was Abram a few days before that; and
S-a-r-r-a, not S-a-r-a-h (princess). And this Man, with His back turned to the
tent...
The women then were different than they are now. They have to get out and get
in their husband's business and everything else, you know; but they didn't do
it then; they stayed back behind.
So they... So them Angels setting there, the Messenger, and He said, "Abraham,
where is your wife (S-a-r-a-h) Sarah?" How'd He know it? How did He know it?
Abraham said, "She's in the tent behind You."
He said, "I'm going to visit you according to the time that I promised you.
I'm going to visit you." And Sarah kinda laughed to herself.
247 With His back to
the tent, He said, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'How can these things be?'"
If she hadn't been in Abraham, his bride at that time, God would've slayed her.
So would we today with all of our unbelief, if we wasn't in Christ. That holds
us right there. See? He couldn't have hurt or couldn't take Sarah without hurting
Abraham. See?
And so remember, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be
at the coming of the Son of man." We see everybody agree that the world's in
a Sodom condition. I picked up a Los Angeles paper here not long ago, and said,
I think it's "Homosexual is on the increase of twenty or thirty percent in Los
Angeles, each year increasing that much." It's... Oh, it's horrible. In our
government and everywhere, everything's just become a pervert. That's right.
The whole thing, the whole system, church and everything else is perverted.
It's in a perverted age.
249 Now, I want to ask
you theologians something, my brethren. Not I'm speaking against you, my dear
brother; I'm here to help you, brother. I'm here to stand on what God's Word
says is right, hold your hand, and bring this crowd of people out of this stuff.
That's right.
But looky here, we never have had a messenger down in Sodom before that his
name ended with a h-a-m till now. We've had a Spurgeon, a Wesley, a Luther,
and everything else, but never a international messenger that his name end with
h-a-m before. That's right. See? G-r-a-h-a-m, six letters, G-r-a-h-a-m, Billy
Graham, that noted evangelist, great work of God, the man is sent from God.
He's got that justification down so pat, and he shakes the nation with it (See?),
like that. There's not a...
Look at Oral Roberts to the Pentecostal denomination. When was there ever one
like that?
Six letters, not seven. Abraham is A-b-r-a-h-a-m, seven. Billy Graham is G-r-a-h-a-m,
six.
Now, look at the messengers. Look at the time we're setting, never was a time
in history. Look at the same signs that He promised would be give to each group.
Look where they're at: same, exactly, positionally, setting right in order.
Nature, the world, everything, setting right exactly to the time.
254 Now, don't miss
It, while we sketch the rest of this Scripture. Quickly now, 'cause I'm holding
you too long. Called... Looky here. And according to the prophet, he came just
exactly to the Word, just exactly to the time.
Now, look at the age now where we're living. Aren't we living right in that
Sodom time? Watch the Messenger to Abraham's group. Watch the numbers, letters,
and the numerology of his name. You say, "There's nothing in a name." Don't
you never let anybody tell you that. Why did He change Abram's name to Abraham,
Sara to Sarah? Why did He change Simon to Peter, and all those other? See? Sure
there is. Exactly.
256 That's the reason I say don't ever call your child "Ricky," or "Elvis," or something. "Elvis" means "cat," "Ricky's" a "rat." See? When you say... That's exactly right. So 'less, or something, don't you never call one of your child--children that. If it is, change it right quick, people. Don't you never... You just... If you believe me to be God's servant, don't tack that name on that poor child. See? No, sir, give him another name besides that. My. I oughtn't to have got off on that, 'cause I'm off of my subject, but I said it and it's all over. I... That's how you do, you don't know when you say it. See?
257 Called Him, "Foreign,
a fortuneteller, a devil, a Beelzebub," and said, "He made Himself God." Oh,
my.
Didn't Isaiah the prophet said He would be called the Mighty God? Isaiah 9:6,
"Unto us a Child is borned, a Son is given, and the government shall be upon
His shoulders, and His Name shall be called Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty
God, the everlasting Father." That's right. Also, St. John 1:1, "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." You believe that? He was just not... He
was a prophet, but He was more than a prophet; He was the God-prophet. Why did
He have to come?
259 Remember, He comes
in three son's names. He came first in the name of the Son of man. He never
called Himself the Son of God. You know that. See? He came in the Son of man,
a prophet; Jehovah Himself, the Father called Jeremiah, "son of man"; a prophet
is son of man. He come...
Now, He come after the day of Pentecost, He come back in the form of the Holy
Ghost, supernatural Spirit. Now, He's Son of God.
In the millennium He'll be Son of David, setting upon the throne of David. See?
He come... He's Son of God, Son of man, Son of David.
262 Oh, the Bible's full of these nuggets. We can't get them all in one night. But it's just fitting to set this in now. Tomorrow may never dawn. We may be gone before tomorrow. I may be preaching to a person that'll be dead before in the morning. I could be gone before in the morning. Brother, sister, that's not myth; that's actual facts. We don't know what time we're going. You'll not have any chance after that last breath leaves your body. Make it right now; don't wait till in the morning, may be too late.
263 Notice now, they
had done to Him just exactly what the prophets said they would do, just as they
are doing to this very same day in the Laodicean age. If you want to look at
it, read Revelations 3: "Blind, naked, and don't know it. Turning Christ..."
When He begins to reveal Hisself into the seed form again, the same One that
went into the ground come back to be the Bride; just the Bride and the Groom
is the same flesh and blood, the same ministry, the same things, doing just
exactly what He done; the Spirit...
And here they're impersonating and doing everything else, and each one's got
his book and running, and this. And, oh, you never heard such sensations, "And
I smell a devil, and all this, that, just as unscriptural as it can be.
265 And the genuine
thing laying right there before them, they walk away, "They don't belong to
my organization, my--my...?..." See? Just blind leading the blind, won't they
all fall in the ditch? Blinded by man's denominational traditions, they put
Him out of their church as God said they would do in Revelations 3; as usual
as prophesied...
Notice how Jesus tell--and made Hisself known to these disciples now, and we'll
close. These two disciples, Caiaphas--or Cleopas, rather, and his friend. Now,
we're in the resurrection, the morning after the resurrection, the first resurrection;
what a beautiful morning; Jesus is up from the dead and living among His people.
What a beautiful thought.
He's here the same today as He was that day, because He's the same yesterday,
today, and for... And revealing Himself more today than He has in any other
age since that day; come through the wheat and stalk and shuck (is all past
now), we're into the wheat again. See? We're back into the grain.
268 Known as... know...
Watch how He made Hisself known to these people. Now, remember, as their Messiah
(just before we close) of the promised Word of the age... Notice. He appeared
unto to the--as He had said He'd do to the prophets. Notice, "Fools, and slow
of heart to believe that all the prophets has wrote of Him had to be fulfilled."
Watch Him. He refers right back to the Word of God; He never come right out
and told them, "Don't you know Me? I am the Messiah that's resurrected." He
never said that. See? He just give them the Scripture, like John did, and the
rest of them. See? He just... They have to pick that out themselves. They have
to judge for theirselves. Now, don't go to sleep; judge for yourself.
"Fools, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets has said had to come
to pass." What a rebuke to them that claimed they knew Him. See?
271 Notice how He approached
the subject. He never come right out, as I said a few minutes ago, and said,
"Well, don't you know I'm your Messiah for this age? Don't you know that I'm
He?" The real servant of God never identifies himself that way; the Scripture
identifies who he is. Sure, he will. See? But called their attention to what
the prophets had said to look for in the Messiah's age. See it? Go right back:
"Fools, and slow of heart, not to believe that all the prophets said about the
Messiah should come to pass."
He, as John, let the Word of the Bible identify Him, what He was to them. That
should been made plain enough. If the word had identified Him, that should be
plainly, who the promise was they was looking at. They knowed he had... Someone
had to come on the scene at that time.
Why, He could've said, "Now, let me show you what the Word says is supposed
to happen in this day."
274 Am not I tonight
trying to tell you, Word by Word, even to the position, the place, the names
and numbers, everything else, and all the signs, times, and everything, that
we're right at the end time? Surely you can see what I'm talking about. See?
Look. That's so plain it should need no more identification. He said, when He
was here on earth, "Search the Scriptures, in Them you think you have Eternal
Life, They are what... They testify of what I am (See?), Who I am."
Notice, He begin with Moses the prophet, a prophet, Deuteronomy 18:15. Now,
I'm watching the Scriptures here. Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses said, "The Lord your
God..."
See? God spoke to him on top of the mountain. And, oh, my, the thundering; they
said, "Let--let the Lord... Let Moses speak, not God, lest we perish."
He said, "They said well. I'll... I won't speak to them no more like this, but
I'll raise them up a prophet." That's been His message all the way through.
That's what's got to settle the whole thing at the end. It's just got to, because
the Word of the Lord has to come to the prophet. It's the only thing It can
come to. If it don't, it breaks God's Word and makes Him tell something wrong.
See? It goes to a prophet. And the prophet is sent from God, ordained. And how
you know it is, and not what the man said,...
278 We've had Elijah's,
and coats, and everything else, and mantles, and all kinds of nonsense that
went off into organizationism and everything else. But there will come on this
earth, by God's promise, a genuine servant of God, identified by God, by His
Word being the answer of this day, that'll set the Bride in order (a real little
minority of the church) and take it up. That's right. He'll introduce, "Behold,
there's the One I talked about (See?), that'll come."
And all that the prophets had said about Him, and for this age, why, it sure
would be interesting to have heard Him say that. Wouldn't you like to have heard
Him say it? "All the prophets said about..." Remember, He said what the prophets
would say about Himself, quoting His own Self, what He had said, and He was
the Word quoting.
281 Now, let's listen
to the Words that He quoted. Would you like to hear what He said to them? Let's
just carry the conversation now, just before we stop.
Now, they were briefed on all the late happenings of the crucifixion, of the
story at the grave and the tomb, and the women had seen Him, and another one
said they seen Him, and so forth. He said... They--they briefed Him on that.
And He goes right on with the Word about--quoting Himself through the Word.
"Now, look in Zechariah 12." (He must've quoted Zechariah 11:12.) "For He was
sold with thirty pieces of silver. Was not the Messiah supposed to be sold by
thirty pieces of silver?
"In Psalms 41:9, He was betrayed by His friends."
Of "Zechariah 13:7, forsaken by His disciples."
"In Psalms 35:11, accused by false witnesses."
"By Isaiah 35:7, dumb before His accusers, never opened His mouth." (All right,
sir.)
"Isaiah 50:6, He was scourged."
"Psalms 22--22, He cried at the cross, 'My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?' All
My bones they stare at Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.'" (Look at the
prophecies He could talk about.)
"Isaiah 9:6, Unto us a Child is born, a virgin shall conceive, so forth."
"And also in Psalms 22:18, they--they--they parted His garments among them."
"In Isaiah 7:14, a virgin shall conceive."
"Psalms 22:7 and 8, made Him a--mocked by His enemy, he was supposed to be His
friend, His enemies the church."
"In Psalms 22 again, He was... Not a bone was to be broken, but they pierced
His hands and His feet."
"Isaiah 53:12, died with malefactors.
"In Isaiah 53:9, bruised, and buried with the rich brethren."
"In Psalms 16:10, He was resurrected from the dead. David said so, 'I will not
suffer My holy One to see corruption, neither will I leave His soul in hell.'
He was raised from the dead."
"Malachi 3, John the Baptist was His forerunner."
And all of the types He might have went to. Even to Isaac being the type of
Him upon Mount--upon the mountain where his father Abraham took him in Genesis
22.
284 It was now that
they begin to see Who had fulfilled these Scriptures that was promised of that
day. It was then, after it was late; they begin to see. "Oh, well, wait a minute.
You know what?" They knew then that their crucified Friend Jesus was that Prophet
that was promised. They knew because... See? They hadn't been briefed on the
Scriptures.
But, here, all these things that's supposed to happen at the cross, all these
things. "Fools, slow of heart to understand all the prophets have said, how
that the Messiah shall suffer, and enter into His glory, and raise the third
day."
Still they go, "Oh, yes. That's right. I see. He--He--He... Did not our hearts
burn within us?" they said. No wonder their hearts burned. The prophecies that
He was giving that was fulfilled...
287 Then they begin
to understand that their Friend, the Man that they'd eat with, talked with,
associated with, fished with, laid in the woods, that that fulfilled every Word
of the promised hour. There it was. They had walked six miles; it seemed a very
short time, I suppose, and they'd heard a six-hour sermon on vindicated prophecy
(a little longer than what we've had tonight).
It was now getting kind of late in the evening time, the evening Lights had
come. It's the same time now, church. The evening Lights has come. Hebrews 13:8,
"He's the same yesterday, today, and forever." Oh, events made clear by prophecy,
same today. The evening Light promised by the prophet of God in Zechariah 14:7,
may again open the true believer's eyes to the events that's taking place today,
that's proved by the prophecies that we're at the end time. Jesus is coming.
The very...?...
290 He said, "There'll
be a day that it won't be called night or day." He said, "But in the evening
it shall be Light." Now, we know, geographically the sun rises in the east and
sets in the west. Now, the prophet said, "There'll be a long stretch of time
that'll be dismal, kind of a--couldn't be called day or night; it's kind of
a dark, gloomy day."
Now, where did the sun rise? What... That was S-o-n we're talking about now.
That the natural s-o-n rises in the east and sets in the west, the very same
God, very same Son, rather. And the S-o-n of God rose first in the east to the
eastern people.
And now after He left, what did they do? Three hundred years later they started
their first organization, the Roman Catholic church. Through the dark age they
went, and out they come. What'd they do? The same thing; it's been a day of--it
hasn't been called day or night. They had enough orders that they believed that
He was the Son of God, and walked in the light what they had; they made their
churches, and built hospitals, and schools and so forth, and seminaries, sent
their children to school.
293 But the prophet
said, "It shall be Light again about the evening time. The Son will peep out
again; it shall be Light." What? The same Son (S-o-n) that was revealed in flesh
at the morning time back there, will be revealed again in the evening time.
Now, compare St. Luke 17:30, "And in that day, as it was in the days of Sodom
(the setting of the world), in the time that the Son of man is being revealed."
297 Let us bow our heads.
[Tongues and interpretation come forth. Someone says,
"Can we hold steady for just a moment? God has spoken to us through Brother
Branham, and the anointing is on Brother Branham, and he's not through."--Ed.]
Oh, my. Are you realizing the day that we live in, friends? Would you dare dispute
God? Would you say that He's not right, when He's proved It? He's His own Interpreter.
Do you want to serve Him?
Now, with your heads bowed, and your hearts bowed, brother, sister...
This may be our last meeting time. We may never... If I would be back a year
from today, if I live, there'd be many that's here now won't be here then. And
I'll have to meet you at the judgment bar and answer for everything that I've
said tonight.
300 Before God, while
you're in your right mind, would you now do this much to God? If you know that
you're... Just look at yourself in the looking Glass of God, the Bible, no matter
who you are, and say, "I know I'm way short from being a daughter of God; look
the way I do. I'm way short from being a son of God; look at the way I do. But,
God, I want to be; I--I want to strive to that place." I want you to raise your
hand to God, just ever who you are, wherever you are across the building, "Yes,
I want to be a son of God. I want to be a daughter of God. I want to fulfill
everything that my Lord has commanded." Now, you... God bless you. I guess ninety
percent of the audience.
Now, looky here, my friend. What if you would've lived in the days when you
heard John preach? What if you'd have lived in the days when Jesus was here?
Whose side would you have took? If you'd lived in Jesus'... Remember, If He...
If you'd lived back there, it would be just like it is now. The same Jesus is
making Himself known by His Word (See?), and It's very unpopular.
302 But let me tell
you, I'm not trying to tell people to leave church or... My, I want you to go
to church, "Don't forsake to assemble yourself together." But what I'm trying
to tell you to do is press into the Kingdom of God. Get these things, the world,
church...
Pentecostals, you people are getting too worldly. You're getting too much after
the world. It's just easy; you keep watching televisions and all these things,
and the way they're doing, and all this, and the first thing you know... The
seminaries, the schools are beginning to compromise here and there, and this,
that, and the other, and the first thing you know... It's got to come that way.
The Pentecostal church, it's been my greatest support; I can't say nothing against
it. But that's what I cry out, "My brethren, get out." Call... You don't have
the meetings that you used to have. The people are not like they used to be.
But Jesus Christ is the same; let's move into Him.
304 Now, you with your
hands up, remember, there was a Rock smitten in the wilderness, and that fountain
is still open tonight. The Rock has been smitten, Christ, He is that smitten
Rock.
And tonight, so far as I know, the church may be... The time of calling may
be already past; I don't know; I can't say that. Remember, the people went right
on having the meetings, just the same, after the crucifixion of Jesus. And the...
And all the people, they--they'll come, they... Watch. They--they'll go right
on preaching and saying they're getting saved and everything, just as if...
"The world continues on as it was," they say. But it'll be too late then.
306 While you got a chance, my brother; while you got a chance, my sister; come into the Kingdom of God. You don't have to come in under anything else but just plain faith to believe His Word. He is that Word. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm looking at myself now in the mirror of God's Word; oh, how short I am. But, dear God, here tonight, on this Monday night, here in San Bernardino, California, in this auditorium here, this is--this is all I have, Lord, but I'll give it to You. Will You take me as I am, Lord? Will You let me flee to the cross right quick? I even see the messengers. I see the time; I see the calling out of Sodom. I see the signs. I see the Abraham's group receiving the Light. I see the manifestation, Jesus being manifested again right among us like it was. I see all the things that You promised. I see the impersonators; I see You said that, 'As it was in the days of Moses,' how this Jambres and Jannes would come back to impersonate, and still remain right in that same dump that they were in." See?
307 They couldn't follow
Moses through that Word to take those children out of there into the wilderness,
because they was associated in Egypt. They couldn't do it, though they done
the same works he did. But their folly was made manifest. And the Bible says,
that's THUS SAITH THE LORD, it will take place again in the last day.
And you see it with your own eyes, if you're spiritual. I'm... I can't explain
it. It's not necessary for me to explain it. "My sheep hear My Voice." Let's
go to Him now, while we have a chance. Will you?
309 If you have need
of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, if you have need of a rededication, a new
life... Your pastor won't despise you; he'll love you for it. Just give yourself
completely to God tonight, while we're here. Let... It's... I know it's been
hard, cutting, strange; I don't do that to be mean; I do that to be honest.
I do that because I love you; I love God, and I do it to try to help you. And
truly, friend, I--I--I believe... And with all my heart, with all my faith,
I believe that my message comes from God. It's--it's been proving that to you
through the years.
Now, listen, tonight surrender everything you got, everything that you have
need of. I believe, with a true, surrendered heart, if you would just stand
upon your feet, and raise up your hands to God, and say, "Dear God, here I am.
Take me, Lord. No more will I try to use my own mind and my own interpretation.
Your Word says I must be holy; I must be born again; I must be filled with the
Spirit; and then the Spirit will lead me into all the truth. Dear God, here
I am; lead me." Would you do that much? If you'd do that much, raise your hand,
say, "I'm willing to do that; I'm willing to."
311 Then let's all stand
up on our feet.
314 Young teenagers,
do you want to get like this out here on the street, this bunch of hoodlums?
Sister, do you want to wear short hair, when it's your Nazarite honor to God
to have long hair? "It's a shame for her to cut her hair." Would you wear these
little old skirts and things that they wear today of this immoral dress, with
your body showing through it out there on the street? Did you know every man
that looks upon you commits adultery with you in his heart? And you present
yourself like that. Do you know, women, you that wear makeup, there's only one
woman in the Bible that ever wore makeup? And God fed her to the dogs. A Jezebel,
a name that's been hated since her day, because of her acts of that. You know
it was Elijah the prophet who cursed that and called her out in that manner?
Do you know it was Herodias that John the Baptist got after? Do you... You don't
want to be that Hollywood thing of the world. "If you love the world or the
things of the world, the love of God's not in you."
315 Brother, minister
friend, nothing... Please understand me; I am your brother. Do you want to associate
yourself and you church members of some church (Methodist, Baptist, or whatever
you be), do you want to hold on in that denomination because your mother, your
grandmother held on that? She come out of something to come into that; that
was the Light of that day; that, like in the times of Noah. This is another
day.
You say, "Well, I had the..."
This is not the day of Pentecost. The Pentecostal age is past. Pentecost is
gone; this is harvest time. See? And the harvest time, the grain; the water's
done been poured out; the grain's getting ripe. Come into the grain, my dear
brother. Hear me; believe me; if you believe me to be a servant of God, let's
each one in our own way bow our head in humility and offer the prayer that we--that
we know that we should offer, "God, take me as I am."
And brother, sister, I lay myself on the altar tonight too: God, mold me and
make me different. Do something; God, make me in Your fashion.
You think it's easy to stand here and cut the people to pieces like that? It
a hard thing to do. But woe unto me if I don't do it.
320 Dear God, as this audience bows their head and heart, in this solemn moments here of closing of this Bible lecture, when we see the a-vindication of the Holy Spirit that shook this nation back and forth, and back and forth, great revivals and indications, knowing that something has to follow that. And then see those seven angels come down here on top of that mountain yonder in Arizona, when even the magazines across the nation's packed It. To see Jesus Himself there in the skies, looking down, and saying that, in the Revelations 10:7, in the seventh angel's message, these seals would be opened, the mysteries of God would be made known, that the reformers didn't live long enough to--to bring it out. And here, these seven seals that sealed the whole thing is to be opened in this day. To see all these great signs and wonders that's been done, vindicated, foretold before it happened, and not one time have He ever failed us, but brought it to pass just as it was said.
321 Dear God, we realize
that Jesus Christ is in out midst. We know that He is here. He's here tonight,
the invisible God is here with us, and can confirm every promise that He made
in His Word. How You have stood and proved to them with backs turned, in the
original beginning before the impersonators even entered the ring, Lord, or
entered into the--the--the race, as it was. You showed and proved, prophesied
and told exactly the way it would happen, and we see it's happened that way.
And, Father God, we know it cannot be man; it has to be God. So we know it's
You here tonight. Forgive us of our sins.
Dear God, You've healed our sickness, now for--forgive our sins, Lord, of not
being the kind of Christian that we should be, not... Professing to be a full
Gospel man or woman, and here we find ourselves slumping off like a denominational
chicken. Help us, dear God, take us and shake us with Your Holy Spirit. And
if there be anything in us that's not like You, take it out of us, Lord. And
plant our feet on God's holy Word, and let the Holy Ghost burn down into our
heart and take all the dross of unbelief and the drowsiness of this day; oh,
arise and shake ourself. Grant it, God. Cleanse us. Mold us. Make us. God, grant
it.
323 If there's any in
here tonight, Lord, that's holding in their heart that grain, that gene of God
that's ordained to Life from the foundation of the world; I know, Lord, that
they're bound to hear at this hour. So I pray, God, that You'll fill their soul
and illuminate them with a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost, and send them on
their road, rejoicing and happy.
Lord God, they... I give them to You. I don't know who they are; You do. I'm
only responsible for preaching Your Word, Lord, as You reveal It. You're responsible
for the rest of it: where the seed falls. I just sow it. Lord God, I pray that
it fell in good, rich soil tonight, that many will see it, Lord, and rise to
shining Christians in this last days, that the great thing that we're looking
forward to come, will come quickly. Grant it, Lord. And You'll take Your church,
Your Bride, and take Her home. We see It all setting in order. Come, Lord Jesus.
We commit it all to You, in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the results. Amen.
324