The Great Coming Revival And The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit

Thank you. Thank you, friends. That was a.... I'd have to live a pretty good life to back up that reputation, wouldn't I? That's very lovely of Brother Joseph, but he just loves me that way. I wasn't worthy of that, but he loves me real well. And we're very good friends.

But I'm very happy to be here this afternoon in this marvelous city of Chicago to begin another series of services just before going overseas again. And when I learned some time ago that we was going to get this lovely little auditorium here for the services, I was very highly elated. Nice cool air conditioning and we can just relax now, and serve the Lord.

And I'm very grateful to you people that's out here this afternoon, has come down through the heat of the day to be with us and worship God with us this afternoon.

And to the people who let us have the auditorium, the custodians and so forth, we're very grateful to all. May God's blessings rest upon each and every one.

I just heard that fine song, just as I come in, of the singer. That was really wonderful. I certainly appreciate good singing. I had said, “When I get to heaven, the Lord lets me come in when I knock at the door, or however way we enter, I want to be around where there's singing, 'cause I like it real well. And I trust that many of these wonderful singers that we've heard in the past, and now, that would be there, singing those glorious old songs of redemption through all eternity.

And now, another feature of the meeting packed now, is perhaps, on the return back to America again, I'm going to change my services for awhile, a different type of service, more on the preaching of the Gospel and so forth, and ... instead of confining so much of it to the prayer for the sick ('Course I'll pray for the sick just the same.), but more of making my own altar calls and so forth like that, leaving the discernment out, only just when it's necessary for it to be, someone has done something in life that should be corrected, why, then I expect I will do it then, as the Lord would lead.

But I have three more American meetings. And that is this, and California, and then New York. And I leave this meeting to go to California, and then leave California immediately, go to New York, and then we go overseas.

And I am all happy in my heart because I am going overseas under a vision that the Lord has promised these things. And to you people who I'm speaking to, this afternoon as I have, for thousands of others throughout and around the nation, knows that what He says He performs, He keeps. And I believe it will be the most marvelous meeting that the Lord has ever let me have since I have been in His service. And that will take place in India, of course. Then from there to Jerusalem, then up to Germany, England, and back home....

Now, this afternoon, it falls my lot to speak a little before the prayer for the sick this evening. And I am not much of a speaker. I'm perhaps.... I haven't got very much of a voice, and I have to get just a little bit closer. Is that better? Can you hear everywhere? That's good. I'll try to speak a little louder, too. That's fine.

Now, this afternoon, I am to speak on just the regular gospel subject as it's been announced in the paper. We'll speak on The Great Coming Revival: The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

And then tonight we're going to have the prayers for the sick. And while we're in Chicago for these eight days now, this lovely big city of some (I guess around four million, three million) four million people, there's many sick and afflicted. We have fine hospitals and wonderful doctors, to which we take off our hat and salute to the highest. But in the midst of all of that, and our scientific research, there's many diseases and things that doctors cannot control today.

And mortal beings, as we are, and all love to live here, and stay on earth as long as we can, I feel that we have the privilege, then, to ask our heavenly Father to help us. If our doctors can do no more for us, we have a right to come to our heavenly Father, not by just mythical thoughts or some curious theology, but by the promise in God's Word that He would heal us when we were sick.

And so, I will do my part to pray with all my heart for every sick person that I can during this meeting, and ask our heavenly Father to join my prayer with yours to help you in some way, to get you back well again so you can be healthy and happy to serve Him. Then doing that, why, it makes us feel like we're doing our little part here on earth; that God has put us here to make life a little more pleasant for us as we're passing this way only once. And it'll soon be over.

And I believe, without hesitation to say, that we're nearing a great crisis (the nations are; the world is): that we're just about to the end of the road. Now, I believe that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as all Christendom teaches, that we're just about near that time now.

Sometime ago, a few weeks ago, having breakfast in the room at Washington, D.C., and a speaker, Mr. Nixon, the Vice President of the United States, was speaking at this time. And he was talking of how Communism was sweeping the land and the space we had to travel. For instance, the goal that the world faces is like that.... Communism has this much of it already, see. And then, that part is mixed up between believers and unbelievers. And Christ said that the Gospel should go to all the world.

So every Christian's got a tremendous job ahead of him. And we must be up and doing, quickly, right about our Father's business, at once. Every person, and every denomination, every person in his own church, to get behind the pastor and the program and to back it up with all that we have to back up with.

And that's why I'm putting my shoulder to the wheel, as God will permit me, to try to bring to each one the view, as far as I have knowledge to do, of the soon coming of our Lord Jesus. And that's why I've chosen this to speak of this afternoon. It's a very discouraging time for the unbeliever, but a very happy time for the believer, for we believe that the time of redemption is drawing near.

Now, I wish to read two portions of Scripture this afternoon. One of them is found in Saint Luke, and the other one is found in Zechariah.

Brother Joseph asked me, “Can the people hear well now?” Everybody can hear well? All the way in the back, can you hear well? If you can, raise up your hands, if you can hear. Not too good yet. Just a moment. [Brother Boze asks the audience, “Can you hear well? Lift a hand if you can hear well? Yeah. All right.”]

Now, in Saint Luke, the 21st chapter and beginning with the 25th verse of the 21st chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke.... Listen close now, while we read of His Word, for His Word will never fail. My words or your Word will fail, because we're mortal, but this words will never fail, for it's the Word of God.

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon earth distress of nations ... perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth: for the power of heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

And over in the book of Zechariah and the 14th ver... chapter of Zechariah (pardon me) and the 7th verse, we read this:

And it shall be one day that shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

Now, shall we bow our heads just a moment, for prayer.

Our loving, heavenly Father, we approach Thee this afternoon in the name of Thy beloved Child, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank Thee, first of all, for His death at Calvary where He redeemed we, the unworthy sinners, back to the Father. And there that great all-sufficient sacrifice was paid that reconciled man back to God. And we thank Thee for that. And He has left us this Word, that, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

And we pray this afternoon that You will receive our prayer and will give us a great outpouring of Thy Spirit throughout this meeting, Father. We pray that it'll be a time of long remembrance among the Chicago people, because of His presence being in this meeting.

Bless this building which we are assembled. Those who have the authority over it, we thank You for them and for letting us having it. And we pray that You'll just bless them abundantly.

Now, bless every minister that's cooperating in this meeting, and all the laity, everywhere. And bless the sick and afflicted and give them strength to have faith and courage to believe and trust God.

And we pray also, Father, that You'll give each minister that speaks, the power and the authority to bring the Gospel so close to the unbeliever that he will become a believer and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.

Now, this afternoon, hide Your servant behind the cross; circumcise the lips that speak, the hearts that hear. And when we leave today, may we say like those who came from Emmaus, “Did not our hearts burn within us, because of His presence?” For we ask it in His name, Amen.

Now, for just a few moments, for your attention upon the great revival that I believe that we're facing now. The first thing: God always brings warnings to the people before He sends a blessing or a judgment. It's always been in the Scriptures that God gives warnings or signs.

Now, we're taught in the Bible, not to seek after signs, because it would be a bad sign for us, as a weak and adulterous generation, to seek after signs. But there's quite a difference in seeking after signs and then recognizing signs, see. A person that just seeks for signs alone ... in other words, “Lord, if You'll make it rain right now, I'll believe that I'm saved.” I don't have to ask that. I'm saved according to God's Word, when I meet the conditions, see. We mustn't seek after signs in that manner.

I believe that we should.... But when God has spoken in His Word, and said that we were to watch for different mileposts along the road, that we should do that, don't you think so? That we should all watch these mileposts, and in every generation there's always been those mileposts that God sets for us to know.

When we're coming ... like if you were going from Chicago now, to New York in your car, there'd be signs along the road pointing us as we near New York... or, the city of New York. And that's the way we are now, as we're in this Christian journey, we're near this bend, or that bend, or different things.

And if we know our nation pretty well, we can tell about how far we are away from New York if we say, “Well now, we're entering Plattsburg,” and so forth, coming down the coast. Well, we know we're nearing the city of New York.

Now, the same thing is, if we know the Bible and know what Jesus said would come to pass (That's not seeking for it now; that's just looking for what He said would be; and then we're watching, seeing those things appear.), we know, then, we're getting near our destination. Now, He's always done that. And before He does it, He sends warnings before judgment.

For instance, before the antediluvian world was destroyed in the days of Noah, Noah preached a hundred and twenty years and was a sign in that day to the people of the nearing.... His message that he was speaking on, was a sign to the people that the world, as known then, was near at the end: Noah's preaching and his very odd way of doing it. He had a message that was quite different from what the people had been used to hearing.

Enoch had preached, and many others. But Noah had a strange message. He goes up on the hill and builds an ark, for he said it was going to rain from heaven; God had said so. And who could believe such a thing as that, that rain was going to fall out of the skies, and there'd never been no rain up in the skies. But if God had said rain was coming down out of the skies, then God could make rain come down out of the skies. He could make His Word be fulfilled. So Noah hammered away at the ark, laughed at by the people....

Could you imagine some of those fine people of that day, cultured, scholared far beyond what we have today, for it proves that they were. They did things within that day that we cannot do today. In other words, they had an embalming fluid that made the mummies. We couldn't produce that today. They built the pyramid and the sphinx and many of the things there that we see of their signs today.

Here recently they dug up, in Mexico City, an all-modern water works, where there'd been a modern civilization, probably in the antediluvian time. They were far beyond us in culture, far beyond us in science. And probably, way farther advanced religiously speaking.

But in the midst of all of that, a fanatic (supposingly to have been), begin building an ark, that for a rain was coming down out of the skies. He had one thing he could base his theory on, that was “Thus saith the Lord.” He knew that God had told him that it was going to rain, and that the world had become so wicked that He had to make an end of all that civilization to start over again, and He was going to do it by sending a rain, and the whole world would be destroyed.

And Noah was.... The building of the ark was a sign to the world of the near destruction, because after we cross over the line of God's mercy, there's nothing left but judgment.

And I dread ... and do not like to say this: After traveling many, many nations and seeing the conditions of other nations, and think of our lovely nation here.... “It's great,” they say, “to be an American.” And that's more than a saying. It's a truth.

But in the midst of all of it, in this great civilization we have here, I see the signs of destruction hanging everywhere, because men are walking like they did in the days of Noah, after their own will instead of seeking the will of God.

And our world has become modern. Every civilization that builds up till they hit the climax, then the pinnacle swings, and she goes to the bottom again. And I'm pretty sure, by the reading of the Scripture and the sign posts that we're passing, that we're near the coming of the Lord Jesus, on His second advent to the world. Then He will have one more advent to come.

There'll be three advents of the Lord Jesus: The first, to redeem His bride, when He died for her; second, to receive His bride, when He comes for her; third, with His bride, for the millennium. And there'll be three advents. And one of them is passed, and the signposts are showing that we're near the second advent of the Lord Jesus. We've tried everything. We've had all kinds of “Big Four” meetings and so forth. And the world ... communism still sweeps, and the people's minds unsettled and we're just at the ... we're at the climax, that's all. We're just bound to come to the end.

And now, as you see, science has advanced out into the fields and has invented such destructive things as atomic weapons, and atomic bombs, and now hydrogen bombs.

And I understood by a radio broadcast the other day, that they have a new weapon now, that can drop and it'll go ... spread out fifteen hundred miles one way and three thousand miles the other way, and lay everything desolate, from its great powerful destructive stroke that it can take. Just think, drop one of those, geographically, at Louisville, Kentucky, and the entire United States will be demolished in a second. There won't be a living plant or anything left on the earth ... on the United States, when the bomb drops. Fifteen hundred miles this way and three thousand miles away, it was a range (or so it was on the radio broadcast recently; about two weeks ago I was listening to it).

Great signposts pointing.... Noah had the same thing. Now, notice, as these great scientists are proving their points today, that what they can do through destruction, and what they can do in medical science, what they can do by automobile mechanics, and so forth, and aviation, power, jet planes.... We're living at the end time. We're bound to be at the end. And so God has also today, He's constructing an ark for the saving of the people. And that construction, today, is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, being reconciled one to the other, coming up out of every chaos and recognizing each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. Bringing forth the ark....

Men of great faith are on the battlefields today, everywhere ... battlefields, I mean, in the fields of the harvest, pounding away. God is blessing them and accompanying them with signs, and wonders, and miracles, and so forth, as a sign to this great civilization that the end time is near. He promised that in the end time. That's one of our mileposts that's hanging out, one of the signs that we're passing.

I would encourage you to come to the meeting this week, not to be a brag (for I do not believe in doing that, God forbid), but knowing that our faith and our message rests exactly in the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, we're not afraid to say, “Come, see what the Lord will do.” For God has promised it first; and therefore, with all faith and perfect assurance, I know God will keep His Word and will do it.

See, if we're not.... This groups of people and this little commotion you've heard about in different parts of the world breaking out now, internationally everywhere, of groups of people that's coming together out of different religious organizations and binding themselves together by the power of the Holy Ghost: If there isn't in the making of the greatest revival the world has every heard of, is now. That we're right in it now. And it's a sign to the unbeliever that we're at the end time. We're near the end.

Now, as I've just said that the antediluvian destruction, Noah was a sign. And Noah had a sign to start on. When he seen Enoch was taken up, Enoch was taken up, then Noah ... was time Noah to start, for he knew that that would be the sign of his beginning and then the end would be near.

And Enoch, of course, was a type of the raptured group of the church. And Noah is a type of the carried over ... or, the elect of the Jews that will be carried through the tribulation period. And we're now living in that day.

Also in Sodom and Gomorrah: Just before destruction come to Sodom and Gomorrah, there were two angels that were sent down into Sodom to find out how many righteous people they could find. And there was a righteous man there, and his name was Lot. Though he wasn't too much to speak of, but yet, he was a righteous man. And the Bible tells us that their sins perplexed his righteous soul daily. In other words, it got on his nerves so bad to see the way the people were doing in sin.

And there's people like that in Chicago today, that can walk down the streets of Chicago, in a lovely big place like this and a wonderful nation like in the United States, and see the things going on, of taverns, and beer, and drinking, and amusement, and half-dressed women and men on the streets, lusting about lustful things. It absolutely torments the soul of a righteous soul, or a man that has a righteous spirit in him, to see that his own kinsmen, as human beings, can drop down so low, below the standard of God's requirement. And yet, those people think that they're just as well off as anyone else. But in the midst of all that, then we must realize that these things are signposts.

And Noah ... or, not Noah, rather, but this ... down in Sodom. And when Lot was there, just before the destruction of that place, there came two preachers, or two angels, came down from glory and tried to have an old-fashioned revival in that city to bring the men and women back to God again. But the people were so indifferent towards them, and so lustful, till their lusting spirit had a hold of them in such a way, until they could not make any headway for a revival. What was it? It was a sign. When those angels entered the city, it was a sign that either repentance must come soon, or destructions would follow.

And I say today to you people in Chicago, if I could only speak to the United States today, the signs, and wonders, and miracles of the Christian religion that's taken place in United States today is a sign: Get ready, or destruction will follow this revival. There'll be a revival, then there's a destruction.

And America is having its revival now. You can't hardly understand it, maybe. Maybe it's hard to see, but it's kind of an undercoat, just like when Jesus was here. When He came on the earth, He was a sign of destruction. The Jews, how they got away and complicated the religion of Judaism until the poor people couldn't understand it. Why, they had to have a degree. All their ministers had to be great scholars, and they made it so complicated till the poor people just emptied their pockets of money into the treasures and so forth. And they didn't even understand the services, because they were talked in different high-toned orthodox Judaism and so forth until they couldn't understand it.

And Jesus came to the poor people, as a sign. Now, what am I trying to say? You say, “Jesus was a sign, the preaching to the poor?” That's what He said, Himself.

He said, “Go show John these things: The lame walk; the blind see; the deaf hear; and the poor has the Gospel preached unto them.” A sign ... a sign of the end time for that civilization ... or, that nation of Jews. It was a sign, and they failed to recognize their sign.

Jesus told them one day, when they were speaking; He said.... They said, “Give us a sign from heaven.”

He said.... That's when He quoted the words that a weak and adulterous generation seeks after a signs. He said, “You can go out in the evening, and you say, 'It is fair weather tomorrow, because the skies are red and lowering.' And tomorrow, you get up and it's darker, and you say, 'It's going to be foul weather,'” or something on that order. He said, “You hypocrites.” Said, “You can discern the weather, but you can't discern the signs of the time.” Said, “If you would've known Me, you would have known My day.”

Sure, Isaiah and the prophets spoke of Him, telling what the things would be, and the condition of the world at the time of the appearing of the Lord Jesus. Why, they should've known that Isaiah said, “The lame shall leap like a hart. And the dumb shall speak, and the deaf shall hear.” But when they seen it.... Here it is: I want each one of you to see it, and I hope it soaks real deep. God, in His ministry.... The ministry of Almighty God has always been accompanied by signs and wonders. Every time through the ages, when God starts a move, there's signs and wonders accompanies that.

And today, dreadful to say, but we, the American people, have got our churches so complicated and our big realms and so forth, until the poor people can't understand what we're talking about. Everyone talks like he'd been a friend of Webster. And, oh, everything is such a ritual. It's a repeat, or something of certain masses, or so forth that we go into and say; and yet the real true spirit of worship of the living God is left out.

But in the midst of all that, there's come a time that an old-fashioned revival has broke out throughout the entire world: that tens of thousands.... Last year, I believe the “Sunday Visitor,” of the Catholic Church, gave an estimation that the Pentecostal churches had a million, five hundred thousand converts last year. Think of it. Oh, when I hear that, it makes my heart leap.

Now, has been the trouble with you Pentecostal people and full gospel, you've been broke up, separated in different organizations, and just like the other churches begin, like the Catholic Church did, like the Lutheran Church, and so forth. But in this day now, there's a sign appearing. The churches are breaking down their differences and their stiffness, coming together with one great unity. The church is moving out: a sign that we're at the end time. God spoke of it.

And as it was with Jesus, so was the morning star a sign to the wise men that came from the East. They had heard that there would be a star of Jacob rise. Balaam, the prophet, prophesied of it. And they knew that there would be a star rise. And this star would be the sign that there'd be a King born on the earth, that would be a Saviour to all the nations. And when they seen this star rise, it was a sign to them to get ready, that the redemption was at hand.

Now, if you'll notice, they kept time by stars. No observatory ever wrote anything about the star. No one else never wrote anything about the star, of anyone else seeing it; only the wise men. And the reason they seen it ... or, saw it, it was because that they were looking for it and expecting it to come. That's the same kind of a sign that's in the day when we're looking. Jesus said in the last days ... or, the Scripture speaks, that they'd be “heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, and despisers of those that are good, having a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof: from such turn away.”

It was also spoke by our Lord, “These signs will follow them that believe; and to the end of the world; in my name they shall cast out devils; speak with new tongues; and take up serpents; or if they drink deadly things, it wouldn't harm them; if they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.”

Listen! There's been many false impersonations of that. I'll admit that. There's been many fanatics went out, but it's only the devil trying to put a blinder. There's a real genuine Holy Spirit to perform signs and wonders, and the day and the hour has arrived. It's the devil's business to put out those things. He did it before the coming of Jesus. Don't you remember the great talk of Gamaliel, when there was one raised up named Justus (or, Jesus), that led four hundred people out into the wilderness and they all perished?

But there was coming a real Jesus. And the real Jesus arrived on the scene. No matter how many fanatics come in the first place and trying to do this and do that to impersonate, it only was a signpost that the real genuine Jesus was coming. Then when He come, they recognized Him. Many of them who were waiting, they recognized him. And today we've had a lot of fanaticism out under the name of this, that, or the other, but it's only been a signpost to point that the real Lord Jesus and the real Holy Ghost revival would be here soon. And we've lived in it. We're in it now. You're sitting in it this afternoon. It's all around you.

The whole air has become contaminated with the powers of the underworld, the powers of darkness. We look out over the world now and find out around how communism, weaving its way in. Why, we could get out on the street and we here, in America, we'd have to say.... We take for instance, like I was passing a place awhile ago, in your city, the lovely city (not only that, but my city, and everywhere), you find these mothers out working these war plants and things, that come in their children with babysitters.

Oh, it's a disgrace that our American women ever put on a pair of overalls and went into a war plant to work. I don't care how much that hurts, but it's a disgrace. It's a breaking the backbone of this nation. That little baby of yours needs you. God gave you that baby to raise yourself, not some babysitter. That's right.

Here not long ago, they had some of these doctors that said, “Let the baby lay and cry.” You nurse it at a certain time; you don't pick it up. If it cries, let it cry it out. They did that twenty-five years ago. That was a great belief amongst the doctors. Come to find out, it hatched out a bunch of neurotics. Let nature have its way. God knows what's best. That baby needs love. If you take love away from it, you'll make a brute out of it. That baby's got to have love. You've got to take care of it.

And today, the mothers become barflies, out around the barrooms and things like that. And the whole morals of the nation is breaking and everything. We're at the end of the road.

Did you read what Isaiah said, “But in that day,” he said, “them that escape out of Israel will be called beautiful, wonderful.” They escaped out, those who are looking.

Many of those people in the days of the wise men, they didn't pay attention to the star; they wasn't looking for it. They had their own domestic affairs to take care of. They belonged to church, and that's all they cared for. But they had no time for such. But those wise men, reading the Bible and knowing that star was to appear, as soon as they got the thought that that was to appear, they watched for it day and night.

And the men and women today in this world, who are watching for the signs of the coming of the Lord, sees the revival breaking; their hearts begin to bloom up, rejoice.

I could dramatize here, just a moment on those wise men. I'd like to just show you a little picture. I can see them all saying.... Well, now, let's take, for instance, three of them. We are taught there was three of the wise men: Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. And when they seen this star appearing, I can imagine some of them going packing on a whole lot of things. They couldn't say, “Now, we'll take a compass. We'll take this and we'll take that. We'll follow the star. We'll go along.”

But there was one in there, who never taken time to pack up anything. You know the people today are trying to pack up to go somewhere. If I had a voice today to warn people, I'd say, “Don't pack up, but unpack to get ready to go.” It's time to unload.

The Bible said, “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth easily beset us, that we might run with patience this race that's set before us.”

Men and women are trying to join this church, or join that church, or take this, or take that. Well, they'll.... “They can play cards in this church; they can't in our church. They can do this at that church; they can't at our church.” You're trying to pack up. But unload, unburden yourself and get down before God. The time is at hand.

But I see this man.... I can hear his wife say, “Look, John....” We'd call him John (our character). “Why, you haven't got a compass. You haven't got a thing. How're you going to find your way? You're way over here in the Eastern countries and way over yonder's the stars and on up in Jerusalem, on up in through Palestine. How're you going to get through these swamps, and deserts, and mountains to get over there?”

I can hear him say this one thing, “Wife, I don't have to take any compass with me. God has provided a compass. That star yonder is God's provided way to lead me to the Christ Child. I will follow the star.”

And today, we're trying to run to this church and say, “Has this got the message?” Over here: “Has this got the message? Is this the right?” There's one thing God has give us an everlasting Star, that's the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is the Guider of the church of the living God today to lead them into truth and all light. Amen. (I'm not shouting at you, but that's pretty strong now there, and I was backing up a little from it.)

Look! The Holy Spirit, when He has come, He will lead and guide you into all truth and will show you things to come. That's the sign of the church today. Watch where the Holy Spirit's moving. Where the Holy Spirit's moving, you'll find love, and joy, and peace, and signs, and wonders, and the associated God. The power of God amongst His people like this will be showing signs and wonders of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The things that I do shall you do also; greater things than this shall you do, for I go unto My Father.” And you'll see the things that Jesus did will be accompanying that group of people.

And you'll see the outside world making just as much fun of that people as they did of the Lord Jesus. Right. Spirit doesn't die. Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil.” That's right.

God takes His man, but never His Spirit. He taken Elijah and the Spirit come upon Elisha. He taken Elisha, it come upon John the Baptist: same Spirit. He taken His Son, Christ Jesus, and that same Spirit moves down on the church today.

And those Pharisees and religious people of that day, who went around with these forms, and made fun, and poked fingers, and said they were a bunch of illiterate, and so forth, that same spirit lives on men and women today. They called Jesus, because He could discern the thoughts of the people, because He healed the sick and so forth, they said, “He's Beelzebub.”

And Jesus turned quickly to let them know that the devil can't heal the sick. He said, “If Satan casts out Satan, then his kingdom's divided.” The devil cannot heal the sick. The devil never did heal the sick; he couldn't. If he would, he'd be tearing down his own kingdom, because the devil is the one who put sickness on you. God is the One who takes it off. So it can't be.... Satan can't cast out Satan. Jesus said he couldn't. But they were accusing Him of it. And what was it? It was one of the signs. And what is it today? The same kind of a sign at the end time.

Now, we're wondering what all this.... Down in the Bible time, they had a pool of Bethesda, a great porch, about like this auditorium here. There's a pool in there at the sheep market. And thousands of people laid around there: lame, withered, halt, waiting for the moving of the water. And every man laid. Oh, my. I can see them as they laid there, and then eyes right on that water. The first little moving of the water in any way, it was a sign that somebody was going to get healed. First one stepping in, after the troubling of that water, they were going to be healed of whatsoever disease they had.

Could you imagine those thousands of eyes cast on that water? Others walked by and said, “There's nothing to it.” But those who believe was watching for the moving of the water. When that water begin to move, it was a sign. The waters were troubled: It was a sign that God was there and something was going to take place.

And I'm watching today of the moving. Waters always is a symbol of people in the Bible. Revelation 17:17 says the thickness and multitudes of people is the waters that you see. Always, when you see a moving amongst the people, seeing a come together, what is it? It's a sign that God's getting ready to do something.

I see a moving. David, one time, when he was going out to battle, he was laying out there wondering, “Oh, look at the opposition I have with the Philistines. Look what's laying ahead of me out there. I can't go until I have some sign from God.” After a while, he heard the mulberry bushes a going, moving. He raised and gripped his sword, said, “Let's go!” He knew that God was going before him then, for there was a sign going before him.

I tell you, brother, today, if there ever was a time, since I can remember, or any time that I can read in history, since the going away of our Lord Jesus Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit in the first age, it's today. There's a sign: There's a moving in the mulberry bushes. God's moving ahead in this nation, just as sure as anything. Signs and wonders are beginning to appear, that we see we're at the end time. We're right now merging into the greatest revival that this world has ever seen. We're right now emerging into the greatest destruction that's ever hit all mankind since there ever was a world.

Now, to those without a hope, those without Christ, without God, lost in the world, you're in a miserable condition. But those that are in Christ Jesus should be happy and lift up your heads, for redemption's drawing nigh.

You had a great sign to happen here in Chicago a few days ago. Jesus said, “It the last days, the waves would be roaring, perplexed of time, distress between the nations.” What was it? Speaking of these tidal waves (never been known in all the history of the world) ever tidal wave's ever broke through like that, until the last days. A tidal wave with which is prophesied right from this platform, struck Chicago right here, and washed the people and killed ... up-and-down the banks in Chicago.

No science can't even figure out, 'less so.... Said, “A wind must have come down.” How in the world a wind come down like that? How would these things happen? It's the finger of Almighty God moving to Chicago, telling you that the end time is at hand! You flee from the wrath to come!

This great city here, which has become wicked like the rest of the world, one of these days you won't receive mercy; you've got to receive judgment. And while God's hand is moving in mercy and the doors are open, run into it and be safe, into the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a sign.

Look out on the West coast; look at the Puget Sound. Here, recently, how those big tidal waves struck. Never been know in the world to ever do that, how those signs, earthquakes, perplexed of times, distress between nations.... Look at it today.

Look.... Talking about distress between the nations, there's not a hope.... You couldn't put ... hang your hope on nothing today outside of Jesus Christ.

I think of Eddie Perronet when he wrote:

All hail the power of Jesus' name!

Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of All.

I think another one said:

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

When all around my soul gives way,

Then He's all my trust and stay.

On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand;

All other grounds is sinking sand.

If you build your hopes upon your church, if you build your hopes upon your city, upon your nation, upon this, it's all sinking sands. I'm not trying to destroy your hopes in the nation. No, sir. If there's anything I'm trying to do, is build hopes in a people, to get the people right and the nation will be right.

In the days of Joan of Arc, there was a revolutionary, friend. (They needed a revolutionary to straighten up things.) Then after they had a revolutionary, they ought to had a counter-revolutionary to straighten up things that they had.

We was fighting recently just for democracy: dictatorship or democracy. Well, democracy won. Democracy's right. I believe in democracy. And if I didn't believe in it, I wouldn't live here. But I live here and I love it. I think democracy's right, but what we need today is an old-fashioned revival in the White House, to straighten up some of the things that's called democracy, too. It's exactly right.

We need a counter-revolutionary, counter war, now, among ourselves, and straighten out this thing, and stop some of this ungodliness: men walking on the street, drunk.... Give him enough whiskey to make him drunk, then arrest him because he is drunk. Do you think that's right? That's absolutely wrong. That's exact.... That's what's the matter today. Not only that, but thousands of other things we might quote from this platform this afternoon.

What is it? It's mileposts. It's signs hanging yonder that we're at the end time. And look! Right in the midst of all that chaos, right in the midst of all of it, Almighty God is moving among a people, building away an ark again.

What is the ark? All without the seal of God in their forehead was destroyed. The Bible predicts.... You talk about this hot weather. He predicts that there'd be a time, in the Bible, when men will even dig holes in the ground, trying to get into it to hide themselves from the heat.

Standing not long ago in Phoenix, Arizona, when the Chief of Police there.... We'd been out on a little hog hunt out into the wilderness there for a couple days of rest. Continue my meeting a little later. Standing there, he said, “Brother Branham, I don't understand.” He said, “When I was just a boy, Phoenix would be green along in March.” He said, “Don't get green all year now, unless it's where it's irrigation.” Said, “You have to go plumb on to Flagstaff, somewhere....” Said, “I've noticed it rising from on down around Ajo, coming on up.”

I notice now the South burning up, as you go on north, the whole thing. The springs are drying up. Over there in Clewiston, Florida, them big lakes and things in there, is predicted last week in a noted paper in Florida, that Miami will soon be a ghost town, because up around Clewiston and through there they're going to have to use all this water. (They got plenty of water, but it's salt water.) And they've got to have this fresh water to drink and for other uses. And their population is gathering around the center part of Florida, which they're going to have to take this lake water for themselves and can't send it down there.

Other great places drying up everywhere: farmers hauling water throughout the nation, everywhere. What is it? In the days when Noah ... God said He broke up the springs of the mighty, and it sprung up lots of water, and helped destroy the world. And the sign today, that He'll no more destroy it with water, but will burn it with fire; and the thing's drying up, getting ready for a burning time, for the judgment is at hand.

Mercy's been spurned, God's Bible walked over, His people called fanatics, and everything else under the sun. And the time's come when God's letting down His finger for judgment. Amen. That's right.

Now, the sign of our day, we look around and see it, how the people said these things would be, how the prophets said they'd be. Wish we had time to continue on. We'll get to it later.

Coming back from overseas, after I see these things happening, that's why I said, coming back over, and take my time, more time on the coming of the Son of God. Knowing that the time is drawing nigh, knowing all these things are taking place, then knowing what is right, and then failing to warn the people, well then, I'd be guilty. So I want to preach the Gospel in this manner after coming back.

Here some time ago.... I'm going to fail to give you now.... I'm fixing to give you the greatest sign that you ever heard of. One of the things that I'll show you: the revival that's just about to break. Gentiles, listen to me. Jews, you listen too, just a moment. Don't be weary, Israel. Your time's at hand.

One of the great signs, and always has been in the Bible, watch where the Jews are. You see where the Jews are. If you want to know what day of the week it is, look on the calendar. If you want to know what day you're living in, the greatest sign God ever give, watch the Jews. When He said they'd be scattered out among all people....

Here, a few days ago, I was looking at a picture. A brother from out on the West Coast, Brother Arganbright (may be in the meeting this afternoon), a renowned Christian of the Christian Businessmen.... Three weeks ago he was in Israel, where we're to be in about six weeks from now, the Lord willing. Now, in Israel, there he was taking the pictures. And he called the play, “Three Minutes Before Midnight,” ... or, called the drama. And they'd give the prophecy, and then turned the camera to Israel, and showed just exactly what the Hebrew prophet said would take place, would be in the last days, there it was in the last days.

Isaiah said, “The desert should blossom as a rose.” And Palestine has become one big flower garden: the desert. How that the Jews have returned. Little old hungry kiddies, and mothers, and young men, going out, picking up stones by handfuls, in them deserts and placing them over to a side, or building fences with them. It was hard; but, friend, what was it? They haven't had a nation. They've been scattered among the nations, anywhere they could call home. Nowhere they could call home before.

Look how God hardened Pharaoh's heart to run them out and give them the promise. Look how God hardened Hitler's heart. Look how hardened Stalin's heart, Mussolini's heart: running the Jews. And they had no nation. They'd been murdered and beat down. No wonder they said there, “Let His blood be upon us and our children.” It has been, but God will never forget them, and they've yet got three and a half years to be preached to. Messiah was to come and prophesy, and in the midst of the seventy weeks of Daniel, He was to be cut off, and He was: He preached three and a half years to the Jews alone. He never went to the Gentiles, but He went to the Jews. Then there's three and a half years left for them yet, of the preaching of the Gospel and the reconciliation to Christ.

They was blinded back there in order to let the Gentiles have a day to be brought in.

Now, listen close. There they are, bringing them up out of there. And you read your papers and so forth, how thousands times thousands and thousands has been brought from all over the world by ships, by planes, coming into Jerusalem. Picking up the stones off the deserts and piling them up. And all of a sudden, after all that dry ground being there, there's sprung up rivers that they knowed nothing about. Great irrigation has set in. Oh, my! He said....

And then what'll happen? All these other things: the Jews coming in. He said, “Let my sons come from the east, and from the west, and from the north and the south.” The prophet said so. And in the last days it would take place. And here they are coming in by shipload, by planeload, coming from all over the world, different dialects from everywhere, coming together.

What did they say when they were bringing them in, bringing the halt, the lame, the blind, everything? There they come with little blind mothers in, old blind daddies, leading them in; little afflicted children, leading them in. These old blind people.... Some of the men, the immigrants there saying ... said, “What are you coming home to the homeland for? Coming home to the homeland to die?”

Said, “No, we're coming to see the Messiah.” They believe He's coming. Even in their ways that they've rejected Him, there's something: God's Word must be fulfilled.

Some of those great haughty Jews that's got all their wealth tied up here in the United States and other places, they'll stay here. But God's taking them poor humble ignorant Jews, and by His Spirit running them back into Israel to make that hundred and forty-four thousand be standing there (which was prophesied). They're there! They're watching to see the Messiah come.

If we search in the Scriptures, with scholars standing there, there's only one thing left to fulfill every prophecy I know concerning the Jew: that's a spiritual awakening. Everything else.... It's become a agricultural center. The great irrigations are going everywhere (well watered). The Jews are prospering, the desert blossoming as a rose, Israel returning, everything taking place.

I think of that song:

Nations are breaking, Israel awakening,

The signs that the Bible foretold;

The Gentile days numbered

with horrors encumbered;

O return, O dispersed to your own.

For the day of redemption is near.

Men's hearts are failing with fear;

Be filled with God's Spirit,

Your lamps trimmed and clear.

Look up! Your redemption's drawing near.

Now, notice! At the closing of this, these Jews returning, saying they were looking for the Messiah to come, a great spiritual awakening to come in.

The Stockholm church in Stockholm, Sweden, sent (I forget how many) thousands of Bibles to those Jews. They were reading it. They'd never heard nothing about Jesus. And they read this: They said, “If this be the Christ—Jesus be the Christ—let us see Him do the sign of the prophet, and we'll believe Him. We'll believe it.” What a time.

Oh, my heart leaps for joy when I think of the opportunity that's placed right yonder before us, now. Immediately, after coming out of the earth, going right into Israel where there's never been any fanaticism, or carrying on, or anything, right into virgin territory.

And I believe that there'll be a wakening of those Jews from about a million or two to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ will come on the scene as certain as anything. Even in the prophecy He said, “Over Jerusalem there'd be an ensign lifted up in the last days,” another sign. And for the first time for twenty-five hundred years, the oldest flag that's in existence today is the six-point star of David, is flying over Jerusalem today.

And a strange thing of that, that you might not know, the very day the Angel of the Lord called me out, May the 6th, 1947, and issued the gift to pray for the sick, was the very same day that Israel became a nation for the first time for twenty-five hundred years. Oh, I believe there's something in it. I just can't keep from believing that we're near the end of time. That's right.

There's the Jews awaiting the great sign post. Everything's pointing right to them; watching the Jews, them turning in, packing their loved ones.

Three weeks ago the picture was taken. I heard their voices myself, through the tape recordings as they was speaking of it: said, “No, they were there, coming to see the Messiah.” They believe He's coming. The prophets all said He was coming.

Why are they coming just at this time? Look at every sign. Looky here at the nations. Look at the people breaking down. Look at communism spreading. Look at the Holy Ghost building fires on every hill like this, and the Jews returning back, waiting for the Messiah, bringing in their halt, lame, blind, their afflicted.

Oh, praise God from whom all blessings flow! I'd like to see the time where about a thousand Jews would receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and a sign of healing, and miracles, and wonders take place in Israel there. We're at the end of the road.

“These signs shall follow them....” Their Messiah was God of power, not of some formal theology. Their God is a God of power. He's the One that can perform miracles. He's the One who knows the secrets of the hearts of the people. He stands as Jehovah. That's right. And Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah made flesh on earth, has raised from the dead and living among the people today. And the Gentile days is finishing.

Now, one more post before we close. Last Scripture I read, the prophet Zechariah said, “It'll be a day, and it won't be even a day or night (You couldn't tell whether it was day or night.) but,” said, “in the evening time, it'll be light.”

Notice, closely now, before closing. When the sun rises, is in the east. It sets in the west. And this has been a day of human theology.

When the sun raised back there in the East on the Oriental people, the Jews.... The Jews was the first one to receive the baptism of the Spirit, the day of Pentecost. And through the early orthodox ... or, early church age, it was the Jews alone.

Then it was given to the Gentiles later. Paul was their preacher. Now, then when the Gentiles got a hold of it, they didn't pack it out. They begin to organize their churches. The first organized church in the world was the Catholic church. Next organized church in the world was the Lutheran church. Then come on down, through Wesley and the high Church of England, and, oh, on down through each age, Alexander Campbell, the Christian church, on down into the last age now that we're in, every one organizing just like the Catholic church did in the beginning.

And through this time, did you ever see a day that was dark and drizzle and dismal-like day? That's the day that we've lived through. Well, they got enough light that they can see that Jesus was the Christ, and they ought to accept Him as Saviour, but all of His great powers and things has been hid from them. They can't see it. All through the day they said, “The days of miracles is past. All them things they had on Pentecost, it ceased.” That's when the sun was shining back there in the East.

But geographically speaking, watch. The sun has done crossed over now, and by human theology, by church organization, by denominations, and so forth, it's darkened these things from the Christian's eyes. That's right. It's darkened divine healing. It's darkened the power of God. It's darkened all the gifts. They've applied it back there where the sun was shining.

Here it is! But the prophet said, “It shall be light in the evening time.” The sun rises in the east. It sets in the west. And we're the western people, western hemisphere. Here, we're in the west, the western people.

And as it rose over yonder in the beginning, and was showed that the same Holy Spirit that fell on the day of Pentecost and the things that accompanied in that church there, the very things that happened back there, in the last days, in the last twenty or thirty years, has fell here on the western world and showing the same signs here that it did over there. “It'll be light in the evening time.” The clouds broke back. Denominations are broke (Hallelujah!), and the people have entered into the baptism of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders just like they had in the beginning. “It'll be light in the evening time.”

And remember, it was in the evening time when the bride was chosen. Rebekah was taken in the evening time. It was the evening time that she met Isaac; he was out in the field. It's evening time. Our Gentile revival is ending pretty soon. The Jews are going to take the revival. As soon as they can see the power of God manifested and receive the Holy Ghost, they'll take the Gospel. Our Gentile days are ending. Get into the kingdom while you have a chance to get into the kingdom.

I feel like a great noted man that used to be in Chicago, some of your ... one of your friends, Paul Rader.... One day.... Paul used to be a logger. He's preached here at the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle, pastored here, I suppose, and many of you has heard him, a great man. I heard him once in my life (I was just a boy).

But I was reading his book some time ago. He said he was over in some of the countries over there doing some missionary work, and he took some kind of a fever, blackwater fever, or yellow fever, or something. And it rose so high on him till he begin to come unconscious. He said to his wife, “Don't leave me; stay by me and pray for me.” And said she kept praying. And said he went in to a coma.

And he believed in God. Paul Rader preached divine healing. He not only preached it, but he practiced it. So he said he went unconscious; and when he did, he dreamed that he was back in the woods as a logger, as he used to be, cutting the timber. And said he cut a big log. His boss had sent him up on the hill to cut a log. And said he cut the log, stuck his axe in the soft timber of the evergreen, and started to pick it up. And said he just couldn't pick it up; it was too much for him.

Said, he said, “But, why would my boss ask me to cut a log like this and couldn't pick it up?” If you get the symbol of what it meant. God will never give you nothing this Gospel do, what He'll give you grace to do it with. That's right. He'll never promise thus and this, but what He will fulfill it. And said he tried to pick it up and he couldn't. And said he just wore himself out tugging at it.

That's what church denomination has done today: It's wore theirself out, tugging at this and tugging at that, and trying to do this, that.... Turn loose and let God do it. That's the thing to do. Let God do it. It's too much for you anyhow.

God's let men run to their limit right now. God's let men go have this world, let them prove to themselves that they can't run this world. God, with His mighty hand, shows this world cannot stand. That's right. God rules the world. He will rule it through Christ Jesus. But now man wanted to rule, it and you see what a chaos he's got it in. That's what he's got it in, every time. That's what he got it in before the antediluvian world when the signs was given. That's what he got it in ... that kind of condition before the first coming of Christ, and you see what happened, the signs appear. Now, it's at the third time: that's the last time. It's the ending of all things now.

Paul said that he tugged at it, till he just got so tired he just didn't know what to do. Set down beside of a tree and start crying. He said, “Oh, I can't even pick it up; I've lost my strength.”

Said he heard his voice speak with his.... (Pardon me.) He heard his boss's voice speak with a kind voice, he said, “Paul,” said, “What are you struggling at it anyhow?” Said, “Why don't you just throw it over there in the water? That water runs right on down around the camp.”

Said, he looked up, and his Boss was the Lord Jesus. Said he just took the old log and pushed it over in the water, jumped a-straddle of them and begin to splash the water, riding right down the river, hollering, “I'm riding on it. I'm riding on it. I'm riding on it.” And said he was coming riding into the camp, screaming with all of his voice, “I'm riding on it.” And when he come to himself, he was standing right out in the middle of the floor with his hands up in the air, screaming, “I'm riding on it. I'm riding on it.” It was God's promise, and He was healed right there in the room, and the fevers left him.

And today, it'll be light in the evening time. And the baptism of the Holy Ghost in this revival is God's light in the last days: It's the evening lights. I'm riding on it! I'm a riding on it! I believe that it's the truth. Not me to judge, but I'm just taking God at His Word and riding on it, right into the kingdom of God. Amen.

Are you riding on it this afternoon, friends? Are you believing it? How many in here that's got the baptism of the Spirit? raise your hands; let's see your hands. My, what a wonderful.... How many in here has not got the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and yet would like to have it? raise your hands. Look at there, another group. You that's got your hands up, stand up to your feet right now.

It'll be light in the evening time,

The path of glory you will surely find;

This Holy Ghost way, is the light today,

While we're serving Jesus in His precious

name.

Young and old, repent of all your sins,

The Holy Ghost will surely enter in;

(Do you believe that?)

The evening lights have come....

We're here. The revival's on. The whole building is being filled with the angels of God. The angels of God are encamped about those who love Him (Is that right?), who fear Him.

Now, you that hasn't got the Holy Spirit, stand up also with these people and put your hands on them that wants the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You with the Holy Spirit stand up and put your hands on those without the Holy Spirit. If there's a sinner, you stand up also.

As a servant of God, realizing my reputation with about ten million people, I wouldn't say anything wrong for nothing in the world. I believe right now that every sinner can be saved, and every person who's seeking the baptism of the Holy Ghost can be filled right now at this minute.

See the signs appearing of His

blessed coming?

Lo, and behold, the fig leaves now

are becoming green.

The Gospel of His kingdom is gone to

every nation,

And we're near the end, can be seen.

We're here. Let us lift up our hands now. “Let those hands that once hung down, feeble hands, be lifted up,” the Bible says, and let's give thanks to God and thank Him for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Joseph, as you come here.)

Now, our heavenly Father, we thank Thee this afternoon for this privilege of gathering here in this building. We thank Thee for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And while these people, sinners and those without the Holy Spirit, is standing, and those with the Holy Spirit's standing, we're praying together with one accord.

O Father, may the Holy Spirit come and shake every person in here and fill them with the Holy Ghost right now. Snatch them as firebrands out of the fire, just before the coming of the Lord Jesus. Catch them, Father, this afternoon, before the devil traps them somewhere and they be carried away. Grant it, Lord, through Jesus Christ's name.

Praise the Lord. Raise your hands now and say, “Thank you, Lord Jesus” and praise Him for His goodness.