Adoption #4

...?... To our precious friends, we are happy to be back here in the church tonight. A little warm, and so we'll try to hurry just quick as possible, get right straight into the message.

First, we have some announcements to make and a—a special p—prayer request. I got your letters in back there that was given, and for the sister that feels she has tumor on brain, and there was another in Louisville, and another minister's brother, his—his father has a heart attack. And there's many, many sick people in the world today. Many are calling in, and we sure do pray for them with all of our heart, that God will help us.

Usually about 95% of my ministry is always that praying for the sick, you see. But I just kind of got a little view that.... I still pray for the sick, now, remember that. That goes right on with it. But, oh, if we can get the church where ... positionally set and get in order so we can go to work, you see. Got to get organized, get everything together.

Something else just struck my heart a few moments ago. That's when a little old veteran man, one of his arms almost shot off, leg almost shot off.... He's not around here to listen at me just now, but a real prince of a fellow by the name of Roy Roberson. One of our trustees here at the church and one fine Christian gentleman. He sat just there, and said, “Brother Branham, don't forget the President.” Said, “It made me feel so sorry,” when he saw on a television him stepping off of the plane, the tears coming down his cheeks and his mouth twisting sideways. You know he was right over there with Roy and them in that battle.

No matter if you differ with me in politics, he's still our president. Yes, sir. To me, I'm neither Democrat nor Republican; I'm a Christian. But I tell you, I've certainly had a great admiration for President Dwight Eisenhower. He sure has been one great man, in my way of thinking. If he was running again and I was voting, I'd vote for him again. That's right. I don't care if he was a hundred years old I'd still be voting for him because I like him. And let's remember him in our prayers tonight.

J.T. I certainly appreciate that nice meeting you all ... you and Brother Willard had this week. If I'd've walked in from the outside you all said, “All right, Brother Branham,” you know, “so-and-so.” But better just stand outside and listen at you, don't you think? Very fine.

I got some offers for some churches if you all want them. If you're ready to go to pastoring now—if you got your training, which I believe you have, and got all settled down—I got one in Oregon, some in Washington, and California, and Arizona, different places. And if you want to ever take a church or anything, why right here is a good place to start from. And there's souls crying everywhere, even to the Indian reservations. And whatever you want to go to, just let us know because I believe that you boys are anchored now. Right.

I just love to see them do that. There's Brother Ruddell up there on the road. Going up to have a meeting for him in a few days. Going to have a revival, Brother Ruddell is. And I remember I used to push that little fellow around everywhere, trying to make him get out in the harness and preach. He was so backward. He'd say, “I just can't talk.” You ought to hear him. See, you don't know what you can do if you let the Holy Spirit get ahold of you. That's right.

Brother Graham Snelling in Utica and Brother Junior Jackson down there, we consider all them our little sister churches right with us. we're all together. We don't disagree on our doctrines, our hopes, our aims. Our doctrines are one. We stand together, just everything together. We're just one church. And we'd sure like to have them scattered throughout. We got some in Africa, some in India, and all around over the country. That's where we want them, scattering the news.

And I see these young fellows coming on, like Brother J.T. Parnell here, and Brother Willard and them. When they are coming on—young fellows, when I'm getting older—if there is a tomorrow, they'll be that man of tomorrow. I don't want this message to never die. It just can't; it must live on. And I don't believe we got too much longer to bring it.

The little baby that they said was going to die, I see you've had it in church all day today, sister. That's very fine. We thank the Lord for that. The Lord is gracious, full of mercy. Just keep believing what was told you right here, see. It'll be all right.

Now, are you enjoying teaching? Do you like teaching? I really think it does us good. It gives us a little rest from praying for the sick and visions and divine healing. 'Course, now tonight, after the service we'll pray for the sick again tonight. We always want to do that. Baptize anybody at any time.

How many remembers when I used to walk the power line? Oh, I've walked right through the power line many times. Had to walk thirty miles a day through the wilderness. I had 280 miles of line to walk. I'd go down through there, shirt in my hands and, oh, so tired, walking through them jungles, and green briars cutting. Meet some old farmer and sit down under a tree and talk to him about being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. He'd say, “Well, I've always wanted to be baptized.”

I'd say, “It ain't very far to the creek.”

He'd say....

And I've took a many one right down there and baptized them in the name of Jesus. Take right on down the line.... That's right. Many times in my old working clothes, baptize one, come right down off of a pole. Standing up there working across the pole (I was a lineman, too), working across the pole with a man, talking to him about the Lord. He'd say, “Well, Billy, one of these days I'm coming up to your church and be baptized.”

I'd say, “Why do you want to wait till then for? We're right by the river. There's plenty of water right there.” Catch them right now. That's right. That's the time.

Philip said....

The eunuch said to Philip, “Here's water; what does hinder us?” That's right. Nothing. If you're ready, that's the time. Don't let the devil get a chance to wedge something in there. Don't put off for tomorrow the things that you could do today. Tomorrow might not come for you. I remember one time I did that. Learned ... taught me a lesson. I put off something that I should have done one day, and the next day was too late.

Now, truly, I don't want to keep you all this time, but I just get so wound up and I don't know, I'm feeling so good that I just get beside myself, almost. I just feel so good.

Now let us bow our heads just a moment before we approach the Word.

Our heavenly Father, Thou art the living God, ever alive. The sun that just went down, that same sun Daniel looked at it when it set, Jeremiah looked at it setting, Adam looked at it setting, Jesus looked at it setting. And it's the same world that they lived in and walked in, and You still remain the same God.

Tonight there's many requests. A man with tumor on the brain, a sister fears the same thing. You're the only hope, Lord, there is for that. That tumor has become malignant, there's nothing can be stopped. It's way out of the reach of the hands of the doctor. But tonight we go with our little slingshot after that lamb, to bring it back to Father's fold. In the name of the Lord Jesus we direct our prayer to slay the lion—the tumor, the malignancy—safely to bring them to the fold.

And we, God, do remember tonight our lovely president, brother, our Dwight Eisenhower. He has guided the land, Lord. He's tried to keep us out of war. He promised the Korean War would end if he had any way he could. He promised those mothers he'd bring those boys back. But he said, “For me to do it, I can't do it. I can put my efforts, but God alone will have to do it.” You was with him, Lord, and now it's all settled up. Why couldn't they have seen that in the first place? God, I pray that You'll help him. Bless that gallant soul, Lord. And we pray that You'll choose for us the leader that is to be next. Your predestinated will be done, Lord.

But the One that we are so interested in tonight, besides our national affairs, is that great and glorious One that's coming to set up a kingdom that'll have no end: the Lord Jesus, thy Son. Then they'll stack arms, the taps will sound and there'll be no more war. They'll plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They'll build houses, inhabit them. And there'll never be no more trouble then, after that.

Bless us now as we approach the Word. And, Father, Thou knowest the reason that I'm approaching the Word from this very scripture here. It's because that I feel that You want me to do it this way, that it's your divine will. It's in your order, it's in the ... it's the order of the day, to let the people positionally find their place and be ready for the hour of battle. As our brother said in his prayer to You not long ago, “Oh, You have trained us so long, Lord.” Now, Father, give us our ranks. Put us out there to what we're supposed to do, so we can be about the Father's business. For we ask it in Jesus' name, thy Son. Amen.

Had rather a wonderful afternoon this afternoon, talking to ... a famous doctor in Louisville, his nurse. They heard about the glorious things of the Lord. And her father is a doctor. And she came over and sat in my room most of the afternoon. Just come in, dropped in. A wonderful person. Rather a little hard—you know, kind of a staunch, real Presbyterian to start with—but left with tears running down her cheeks.

Oh, God's got them just sticking everywhere, in doctors' offices, and.... Nurses—I don't believe there's a nurse in Norton's Infirmary Hospital that I didn't testify to about having the Holy Ghost, and asked her if she was baptized in the name of Jesus. Not a doctor that I come in contact with, anywhere, no, see.

Tell them about it. We ain't got much time, brother. No matter how hard it seems here, just wait till you cross that last breath yonder and, see, then you'll wish you had done it. Yes, sir. Don't wait till that time; let's do it right now. This is the hour. Oh, they might disagree, and fume and fuss a little about it, but they don't mean it. They really don't mean it. They're all right. When they go to fussing at you, just remember, they don't really mean it. They don't mean it. They just maybe been taught something and they just hang to that. So, you can see their idea. Don't fuss with them. Don't fuss with no one, but just love them right into it. Then pray for them.

Well, I think we got down to the ninth verse. I'm not sure. That's a long ways from the third chapter, isn't it, men? Oh, it's honey in the rock to me! We were speaking now, remember, so we can get a little background again.... (And now, Brother Neville, you pull me a little bit now if I fail to see the time getting away, so I can have prayer for the sick.) We want to get every little speck that we can. And tonight I want an altar call. Ending up on this, which I may be able to just read the rest of it.

But the purpose of this is seeing your position in Christ; seeing that it's not something that you just stumbled into, or something that might have ... you merited somewhere; but it's what God did for you, Himself. Not that you were so good that you went to a church one night, that some poor brother led you up to the altar. It wasn't that. It was God, before the foundation of the world, predestinated you to eternal life. When you get there that day....

No wonder the forty ... twenty-four elders laid off their crowns, everybody laid down their crowns, everyone fell on their faces. They didn't have one thing they could say, no preacher, no elder, no nothing. All praise to the Lamb! God will gather in Him all things at that day. Oh, if we would ever know, and recognize who that was, who they crucified!

Now on the ...

We'll start at the eighth verse, to get a little background:

Wherein he has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence;

Having made known to us the mystery of his will....

“The mystery of his will.” Remember how we hung on that? How many was here this morning? Let's see. How we stuck on that, “the mystery of his will.” Now it is not just a little thing; then it's a mystery. God's will is a mystery. And each man has to seek out the will of God for his or her self, God's mystery.

How do we find out? Paul, it was known to him. He said he didn't confer with any man, no flesh and blood. He went to no school, no seminary. He had nothing to do with it. But it was revealed to him by Jesus Christ, who met him on the road to Damascus in a light like a pillar of fire, and it called him.

And he went to Arabia, and there dwelt three years. Oh, don't you imagine that was some time, Brother Egan? Three years, Paul down there in Arabia. Rigged him a little building somewhere. Walking up and down the floor, with all the old scrolls.... They didn't have the new ones. Paul wrote them, mostly.

Right in these old scrolls, how that God at the beginning predestinated us unto eternal life, how that He would send Jesus, that through this sacrifice we'd all have a right to the tree of life. Those who He foreknew, He called; those who He called, He has already justified; those who He justified, He has already glorified. God, since the beginning of the world, predestinated us to the adoption of sons. Now the whole creation groaning, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Oh, I'd imagine Paul had a wonderful time. I'd like to have been there with him. Wouldn't you?

Now he said, “He made known to us the mystery.” Get the Holy Spirit on you sometime, and start running that, and just watch how it goes. This afternoon I had, oh, about thirty minutes to study, just to look the lesson over. Maybe not. I'll say half of that, fifteen minutes between the times. And I got to running, and I thought, “The mystery—how mysterious!” And the scripture packed me back into the Old Testament, then back over into the New Testament; tied something together to see the mystery of his coming, the mystery of his will, the mystery of us sitting together.

Remember, it cannot be taught in any seminary. It's a mystery. You cannot know it by education, by theology. It's a mystery that's been hidden since the foundation of the world, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Tell me, my brother, tell me, my sister, when was the time that the sons of God was ever to be manifested outside of this time now? When was there ever a time in the history ... manifest the time to deliver all nature? Nature, the nature itself, is groaning, waiting for the time of the manifestation. Why, before the atonement was made, before the Holy Ghost was ever poured out, before all the Old Testament, on down there, there couldn't have been manifestation. It had to wait till this time. Now all things has been brought, coming, shaping up to a headstone, to the manifestation of sons of God, coming back; and the Spirit of God coming into these men so perfectly until their ministry will be so close like Christ's till it will join Him and his church together.

How many ever studied the history of the pyramid? I guess maybe one lady here raised her hand. All right.

God wrote three Bibles. One of them was the zodiac in the sky. That's the first Bible. Man was to look up to realize that God is from above. Follow the zodiac. Did you ever study it? It even gives every age, even the cancer age. It gives the beginning, the birth of Christ. What is the first figure in the zodiac? The virgin. What's the last figure? Leo the lion. The first coming and the second coming of Christ, all of it is written in there.

Then the next Bible was written was in stone, called pyramids. God wrote in the pyramids. If you study them, watch the ancient histories and wars, how they were built before the antediluvian destruction....

The third was wrote on paper—the Bible—for the great, smart, intellectual world to come. Now, as God has moved down through the age, we're at Leo the lion. We're at the capping of the pyramid. We're in the book of the Revelation, at the last chapter. Science says we're three minutes before midnight. Oh, think of where we're at!

And notice, let's take the pyramid. It's easy. It runs kind of like in a triangle.

When we were down here, beginning at the early age of the church, after the Reformation in Luther's time, just a man to say he was a Christian either meant his life or death. They'd kill him for even saying he was a Christian. Therefore to go through persecution ... every age, through every time, there's been persecution. “All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” In the age of Luther it was horrible to say “a Lutheran.” You was considered a fanatic, and could be put to death. Many times they killed them at stakes, burnt them, and everything else, for “Lutherans.”

Then the church narrowed, as like the pyramid. It come into another step of grace, which was sanctification—Wesley's time, when he protested the Anglican church, taught sanctification. It come into the minority again, then they were called a bunch of fanatics.

How many in here that was Methodists, or used to be, or was once connected with the Methodist church? Half of you. Did you know the Methodist church almost had the Holy Ghost one time? I've went to Methodist churches and seen them fall on the floor, and they throw water in their face and fan them with a fan, keep the Holy Ghost from coming on them. That's right. Now, that's the truth—down in the hills of Kentucky, where we had Methodists. You guys are church-joiners out here; we had Methodists back there, and Baptists. We got down at the altar and beat one another in the back till we got something. We come through—we lived different after that.

But you just come up, and put your name on the book, and say, “I'm a Methodist,” and get the salt shaker and sprinkle a little water on you, and that's all of it. Go on out and wear shorts, make-up, run to horse races, bet, gamble, play slot machines and everything else—still good Methodists, see. That's not Methodists; that's just church-joiners. That's right. Baptist, the same way. Presbyterian, on down, the same way.

As David Duplessis said, “Grandchildren—God don't have any grandchildren.” God never had a grandchild. He's got sons, but no grandsons. That's right. And people that come into the Methodist church—or Pentecostal church, or Baptist church—because your mother or father was Pentecostal or Baptist, then you're a grandson. They were sons; you're a grandson, see. So God don't have anything like that. The church has a lot of that, but not ... God doesn't.

Now, notice these, on down till it comes down now, as it becomes to the minority, the church. The Pentecostal age come in. That certainly cut off a lot of bumps. Then what did it do? It just left the Methodist and Lutheran all behind.

Now the Holy Spirit's moved right on away from the Pentecostal age. What did they do? They organized, made themselves.... “We are the Assemblies of God. We are the Oneness. We are the Twoness. We are the Church of God. We are the 'this or that.' You don't belong—you can't get in heaven unless you got your name on our book.” Oh, such nonsense! I don't care if you're a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. You put your name on the book of life when God puts it on there.

If you were predestinated to eternal life, God will call you someway, somehow, some way or other. He sure will. “All the Father has given me will come to me.” No matter what church you belong to, that has nothing to do with it. But the denomination will never do one thing to you, but might hinder you a lot from going on with God, but it'll never do nothing else. Congregate you together with a bunch of believers and unbelievers. Of course you hit that everywhere you go, and they even had that in heaven, so.... It's all right, but you're looking to your denomination. Look to Jesus. He's the One to look to.

Now as we're coming right down to.... How many...? I believe this woman here raised her hand that you'd studied the pyramid. You know, the pyramid never was capped, was it? Never did have a capstone put on it. They never.... Couldn't even find it. They don't know what ever happened to it. Why? Why wasn't the capstone put on it, the headstone, the top of it? Because He was rejected when He come. He was the rejected stone. That's right. But it will be capped. That's right.

And then those stones that fit around that headstone will have to be stones that'll be so completely like that stone that it'll fit it, joint and everywhere. The pyramid is so perfect you can't run a razor blade between them, where them stones go together—such beautiful masonry. Some of them would weigh hundreds of tons, up in the air, and so perfectly set together.

That's the way God's bringing his church. We are fitly joined together, one heart and one accord. Now somebody'd say, “Well, the Lutherans back there had nothing.” Don't you believe it. The Lutherans will come forth in the resurrection just the same as the rest will come forth in the resurrection. Baptists, Presbyterians, and all of God's children will come forth in that resurrection. And that's the reason today.... People say, “Oh, well, there'll be a sweeping revival that'll go out here and save a hundred million Pentecostals. They'll all get saved and there'll be the rapture.” You're mistaken. That rapture will be hundreds of thousands, that's right; but they're being made up in six thousand years of salvation too, six thousand years back.

Man walks in the light as the light comes to him. He crosses the bridges when he comes to them. Now, if he refuses it, then he's left in darkness. But if he keeps moving on....

Now, notice, then the coming of the Lord Jesus is so close at hand until the Spirit ... from way down in here (just barely justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Spirit), and now right into the time of the coming of the headstone. The church has got to be so perfectly like Christ until Christ and the church can unite together, the same Spirit. And if the Spirit of Christ is in you, it makes you live the life of Christ, act the life of Christ, do the works of Christ. “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also.” Jesus said that, see. Now we're going to have ... we got a ministry coming that's just exactly like the life of Christ. What does that ministry identify? The coming of the Lord.

Look at it in the world today and watch what Khrushchev's saying, all these other great things, and great world-wide conflicts right at hand. At any time could go to powder, at any second. That's right. And we know that that's close. Any sensible person can read in the newspaper or listen to a radio will know that that is close. Well, remember, Christ comes for his church before that happens. So how close is the coming of the Lord Jesus? Maybe before this meeting ends tonight. We are at the end time. Certainly true.

Watch the church as it's come, as it moves. Just take it in your own mind, you historians that studies history. Look at the Lutheran church under justification, coming just so freshly from Catholicism. Look at it moving. Then look at Wesley coming a little closer, into sanctification, weaving into the Scriptures. Look right in between, the Wesley. Then the next thing come in was the Pentecostal age—and the Pentecostal age with the restoration of the gifts, the spiritual gifts. Now, look at the age coming now right up to the headstone. See what I mean? The coming of the Lord, the making known. God and all creations is waiting for the church to positionally find its place.

Trouble today, pretty near everyone I met.... I was rolled out, we was taking.... I have to have a physical examination, you know, for going overseas. You missionaries and so forth know that. When I was taking the examination, they brought me out of the room there. I'd been drinking that old—looked to me like dough meal or something—and I had been drinking it. And come out there, sat down, wait for a half hour to see whether it went out of my stomach or not.

I looked across there, and there was some little woman, looked like she was just about to die. She was so ... little legs and little arms. And I kept moving down from this man to that man, this man to that man, getting closer to her, till I got down to where she was. She looked like poor little thing was about to die. And I got up close to her, I said, “Pardon me, madam.”

She said, “How do you do?” Oh, she was so sick!

And I said, “What's wrong?”

She said, “I went to Tucson to visit my daughter. I got sick. They can't find what's wrong.”

I said, “One thing I want to ask you.” I said, “I'm a gospel preacher. Are you a Christian? Are you ready to go if that hour shall come?”

And she said, “I belong to such-and-such a church.”

I said, “That wasn't the question I asked you. Are you a Christian, filled with God's Spirit, and ready to go when He calls you?” The woman didn't even know what I was talking about, see. Oh, what a pitiful sight the world is in!

Now, “...make known unto us the mysteries of his will,” the coming of.... Let me read you something. I was reading ... let's turn over now to the mystery of his will. Let's turn to Hebrews, here, just a minute. The seventh chapter of Hebrews, I believe it is. I'd like to read you something that would just make you feel so good when we think that we're sitting together in heavenly places. Hebrews, the seventh chapter:

For this Melchisedec [now watch], king of Salem, priest of the most high God....

What's the mystery now? Here's a mystery, watch this. Who is this fellow? Making known the mystery of his will.... This Melchisedec.... (I'm waiting for everybody here—the Bibles still turning.) Hebrews, seventh chapter, Paul speaking, same man of Galatians:

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, ... met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, ... after that ... King of Salem [Who is this fellow?], which is, King of peace;

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor ending of life....

Who was this man? Who was he? He never had a father, he never had a mother. He never had when he begin, or he never did have a time he ever died. He met Abraham coming from the slaughter of the kings. What was he doing? He went out to get Lot, his lost brother, to bring him back. And he slaughtered the kings, which, them kings had slaughtered, I believe, ten or fifteen kings in their kingdoms. But Abraham armed his servants and went after him, separated himself by night. See when he caught him? In the nighttime. Oh, brother, we're working in the darkness now. Only light we have is the gospel light. But he separated himself, and caught him and brought him back.

And on his road back, after the battle was over.... Let's go to Genesis 14, just a minute, see if the story ... more plainer. Let's go over here in Genesis, the four ... I believe it's the fourteenth. Genesis 14. Yes, let's take Genesis 14:18. Begin ... let's start just a little before that. Let's start, yeah, the eighteenth verse. Genesis 14:18, “And Melchisedec....” Now, that's Abraham returning now from the slaughter of the kings. Came back, on his road back, bringing back Lot, all the people that they had taken away.

All.

Like David, who went and got the.... What did David do? Took the little slingshot, went out and grabbed this little lamb out of the lion's mouth. Think of a slingshot, going after a lamb. Who in the world would do that? Tell me what man in here would do it, rise up your hand. I'll tell you right quick you're wrong. You didn't see me put mine up. No, I wouldn't go after him with a 30.06, hardly. But he went after him with a slingshot—a little piece of leather, like, with two strings on it—wind it around. Because....

And when it come time for Goliath to make his boast, he went after Goliath, and he said, “The God of heaven has let me deliver a lamb out of the mouth of the lion, out of the mouth of the bear.” He knew it wasn't the slingshot; it was the power of God that went with him. He was the one that brought that lamb back.

And that's what we say today. God's got Davids sticking around, yes, sir, that's feeding Father's sheep. And once in awhile a tumor will come, or a cancer will come, or something, and jump plumb out of the hands of the doctor. That won't stop that David. He'll go right on out there after that fellow with a little slingshot: “Ask anything in my name, it shall be given.” I don't care, doctors can laugh, and everybody else can make fun of him, he'll go after him anyhow, bringing that sheep back to the fold. Yes, sir. “He's God's child, take your hand off of him!” Knocked this lion down. Then the lion rose up, and he grabbed him by the beard and killed him. A little bitty ruddy boy, probably weigh eighty or ninety pounds.

Now watch. Melchisedec, the King of Salem, which is King of peace—which, actually, Salem lays across the hill. It's the King of Jerusalem, who it was. That's exactly who it was, King of Jerusalem. Which, Jerusalem was first called Salem, which was “peace.” That was Jerusalem first, before it was called Jerusalem. He was the King of Jerusalem. He was the King of righteousness, the King of peace, the King of Salem. He had no father, he had no mother, he had no beginning of days, he had no ending of life, he had no descent. Who is this fellow? Watch him. After the battle was over, after the victory was won, watch what he said. “And Melchisedec....” Eighteenth verse, the fourteenth chapter, Genesis:

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.

Let's read a little farther:

And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods for thyself.

And Abram said unto the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, [Listen how he abbreviated that, hmm, how he give it to him!]

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that ... of thine, lest thou should say, I have made Abram rich:

Save only that which the young men eat....

Notice this Melchisedec as soon as he met Abraham coming from the slaughter of the kings. The mystery of God now being made known—who was he? Nobody ... they can't find any history of him, because he didn't have any father, he didn't have any mother, he never had any time he began. He never had any time he'd ever die, so ever who he was is still alive. He never did have a beginning, so it couldn't have been nobody else but El, Elah, Elohim—self-existent, self-abiding, Almighty God!

Jesus had a Father, Jesus had a mother. Jesus had a beginning of days, Jesus had an ending of earthly life. But this man had neither father nor mother, amen, no father nor mother. Jesus had both Father and mother. This man had neither father nor mother. Amen. And what did he do, after the battle was over, after Abraham had took his position?

After the church takes its position, we're called to the adoption of sons by the Holy Spirit. And when each man takes his position (what God has called him to do), and stand to the end of the road, going after the lost....

First, Paul takes all the scare out of it, said, “Now, if you're called—if you're not just worked up in your mind by some kind of theology—if you're really born of the Spirit, then God predestinated you before the foundation of the world, put your name on the Lamb's book of life, and now we come together to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. A holy people, a holy nation, a peculiar people, royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices unto God, that is, the fruits of our lips giving praise to his name.”

People come in and say, “Them people are crazy.” Sure they are. The wisdom of God is foolish to man, and the wisdom of man is foolish to God. They're contrary, one to the other.

But a real Spirit-filled church, full of the power of God, sitting together in heavenly places, offering spiritual sacrifices, praises of God, the Holy Spirit moving among them, discerning sin and calling out the things that's among them that's wrong, straightened out and making the place level.... Because why? Always in the presence of God is that bloody sacrifice.

Now remember (we went through it this morning), you wasn't saved by the blood; you're kept saved by the blood. But you were saved by grace through faith, believing it. God knocked at your heart because He predestinated you. You looked up and believed it, accepted it. Now the blood makes an atonement for your sins. Remember, I said God does not condemn a sinner for sinning. He's a sinner to begin with. He condemns a Christian for sinning. And then, because He has condemned him, Christ took our condemnation. So “there's no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus that walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

And if you do anything wrong, it isn't willfully. You don't sin willfully. A man that sins willfully, goes out and willfully sins, never come into that body yet. But a man that's once in there, he's dead, and his life is hid in God, through Christ, sealed by the Holy Ghost; and the devil can't even find him, he's so far back in there. He'll have to come out of there before the devil can ever get him.

For you are dead.

Tell a dead man he's a hypocrite and see what happens. Kick him on the side and say, “You old hypocrite, you.” He'll not say a word. That's right, he'll just lay there. And a man that's dead in Christ, you can call him “hypocrite,” call him anything you want to, he'll never rise up about it. If anything, he'll slip off somewhere and pray for you. That's right.

But, oh, some of them's very much alive. That's what I think about ... we're supposed to bury dead people. Them that's dead in Christ, we bury them in water. Sometimes we bury too many people that's alive, too much malice and strife. And there's too much in the church, but we can't separate that. But God does. He knows his people. He knows his sheep. He knows every voice. He knows his children. He knows who He can call out, He knows who He's predestinated. He knows who He's given these things to, what He's making Hisself known through. How....

God can put confidence in his children, on what to do, knowing that they will do exactly. Do you believe God does that?

Why, Satan said to Job one day ... said to God one day, “Yeah, you got a servant.”

God said, “There's none in the earth like him. He's a perfect man.” Had confidence in him.

Satan said, “Oh, yes, he's got everything easy. Let me have him a little while. I'll make him cuss you to your face.”

He said, “He's at your hands, but don't you take his life,” see. And he done everything but take his life.

But, old Job, instead of.... What did he do? Did he cuss God when God took his children, when he done all these evil things to him, and everything? Job didn't question. He fell on his face and worshipped. Hallelujah! Said, “The Lord gave and the Lord taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord!” There you are.

God knowed his trust in Job. God knows how much He can trust you. He knows how much He can trust me.

But what we're speaking of now is placing this child.

Now, in the Bible when the battle is all over, when everything is finished, then what is the next thing we do? What is the thing we do after the battle is over? Did you know what we do? We meet Melchisedec. Let's turn to Matthew 16:16, right quick, see if that's right or not. St. Matthew, sixteenth chapter and sixteenth verse. I'm pretty sure that's right, Matthew 16:16. Matthew six.... No, that's wrong, couldn't be that close. 26:26. Well, sixteen here, He's talking to Simon Peter. Pardon me, I didn't mean to say that. 26:26, because just ... last supper, that's what I'm trying to get to. Matthew, the twenty-sixth chapter and the twenty-sixth verse. Now we got her. Here we are, at the last supper.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins [s-i-n-s, sins—Christians who does things wrong.]

All right. But listen, twenty-ninth verse.

...I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.

What? The same thing Melchisedec did after Abraham had got his position. Set his men in order, and won the battle, and he come home, and Melchisedec come out with bread and wine. After the battle's over, then we'll eat the wedding supper with the Lord Jesus in the new world. Oh, blessed be the name of the Lord.

All right.

...the mysteries of his will, according to his good pleasure [back over now again in Ephesians 9], which he has purposed in himself.

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times....

And remember that, we just passed over it. Ephesians, first chapter, tenth verse.

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times....

Now, we learned that the fulness of time is waiting for what? The fullness of all time, the time that when sin will cease, the time when death will cease, the time when sickness will cease, the time when sin will cease, the time when all the perversions and perverted things, that the devil has perverted, will cease—when time itself shall cease. Watch.

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times that he might gather ... in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on the earth; even in him;

“Gather all things through Christ.” As I said this morning, all the little nuggets that we find, these great little things, you can polish them in Genesis, you can polish them in Exodus, you can polish them in Leviticus, and bring them through, and in Revelation they'll end up being Jesus. You take Joseph, you take Abraham, you take Isaac, you take Jacob, you take David—you take any of those nuggets, those men of God—and see if you don't see Jesus Christ displayed in each one of them. “That He might gather all things into one, Christ Jesus.”

Now, a little farther now. Now that eleventh verse:

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance....

Oh, an inheritance. Somebody has to leave you something to inherit it. Is that right? An inheritance—what inheritance do we have? What inheritance did I have? I didn't have any. But God left me an inheritance, when He put my name on the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world.

Oh, you say, “Now, wait a minute, brother. Jesus did that when He died for you.” No, He never. Jesus come to purchase that inheritance for me. Read the very next line:

In whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own good will:

God, before the foundation of the world, as we've took it down through the lesson, you people.... How we seen God was self-existent: how that in Him was love, in Him was to be God (there was nothing to worship Him); in Him was to be a father (He was by Himself); in Him was to be a saviour (nothing lost); in Him was to be a healer.... That's the attributes of Him. There was nothing there, so his own self, his own good counsel produced these things, that He might through this one man, Christ Jesus, gather it all together again. Oh, eye has not seen, ear.... No wonder it's a mysterious thing.

Look ... has predestinated us unto this inheritance. If I'm a right inheritance of something, if God is knocking at my heart and saying, “William Branham, I called you a long time ago, before the foundation of the world, to preach the gospel,” I have an inheritance—an inheritance of eternal life. Now, God sent Jesus to make that inheritance real to me, because there was nothing I could do to inherit it. It was blank. It was valid. There was nothing I could do. But in the fullness of time God sent—in his own good time—Jesus the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. His blood was shed that I might go to my inheritance. To be what? What inheritance? The sonship, to be a son of God.

And now this may just choke you to death, but did you know that men that are sons of God are amateur gods? How many ever knowed that? How many knows that Jesus said so? The Bible, Jesus, said, “Did not your law say itself that you are gods? And if you call them gods...?” Which, God said in Genesis 2 that they were gods, because they had full domain over the dominion of the world. He gave him dominion over all things. And he lost his godship, he lost his sonship, he lost his domain, and Satan took it over.

But, brother, we are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God who will come back and take it over again. Waiting for the fullness of time, when the pyramid gets up to the top, when the full sons of God will be manifested, when the power of God will walk out (Hallelujah!) and will take every power that Satan's got, away from him. Yes, sir, it belongs to him.

He's the Logos that went out of God. That is true. That was the Son of God. Then He made man that little god. And He said, “If they call those who the Word of God came to (the prophets), if they call them gods who the Word of God came to....” And God said so, Himself, that they were gods. He told Moses, “I made you a god, and made Aaron your prophet.” Amen. Whew! I may act like a religious crank, but I'm not. Oh, when your eyes can come open and see those things! All right.

He made man a god, a god in his domain. And his domain goes from sea to sea, from shore to shore. He has the control of it. And when Jesus came, being the one God, without sin, He proved it. When the winds blowed, He said, “Peace, be still!” Amen. And when the tree ... He said, “No man eat from thee....”

Verily, I say unto you [you that's little gods], if you'll say to this mountain 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you've said.

Go right back to Genesis, to the original.

What is it? Now the world and nature is groaning, crying, everything's a-moving. What? For the manifestation of the sons of God, when true sons, born sons, filled sons, speak and their word is backed. I believe we're on the border of it right now. Yes, sir. “Say to this mountain, let it be so.”

“Brother, I desire so-and-so, a certain thing done. I'm a believer in Jesus Christ.”

“I give it to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. There's a manifestation.

“Oh, brother, my crops are burning up out yonder. I haven't had any rain.”

“I'll send you a rain in the name of the Lord Jesus. Yes, sir.” Oh, waiting, groaning, all nature waiting for the manifestations of the sons of God! God ordained it at the beginning. He gave man the domain.

He gave Jesus Christ, and Jesus gave his [unclear word] name, with this assurance, “Ask the Father anything in my name and I'll do it.” Oh, Brother Palmer! Waiting for the manifestations of the sons of God—the position, the church.

As I said, the book of Ephesians is the book of Joshua, is Joshua placing the people where they belong. Now, if they wouldn't stand still; and he put Ephraim here and they run over in Manasseh's land; and this one would come back and fussing and stewing; how are they ever going to get along? When one say, “I'm a Baptist, I'm a Methodist, I'm a Pentecostal, I'm Oneness, I'm Twoness, I'm So-and-so,” how're you going to do it? Stand still! God's going to place his church as sons and daughters of God.

God, let me live to see it is my prayer. So close till I can just feel it with my hands almost—just right there. That's what I've longed to see. Waiting for the time when we'd walk down the street, there lays a cripple laying there, from his mother's womb, “Silver and gold have I none....” Oh, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, hallelujah, when God will make Hisself known—when they'll stop sickness, they'll stop cancer, they'll stop diseases.

You think cancer's something? The Bible said there's coming a time when men will rot right in their flesh, and the buzzards will eat off their carcasses before they even die. Cancer's a toothache to what's a-coming. But remember, that horrible thing was forbidden in that day to touch those who had the seal of God. That's what we're striving for now, to get in and be positionally placed into the kingdom of God before those horrible plagues strike. Oh, how good! The dispensation of time, fullness of time, the inheritance....

In whom we also ... obtained an inheritance, being predestinated....

How was our inheritance given to us, through what? Predestination. Predestination is “foreknowledge.” How did God know He could trust you to be a preacher? His foreknowledge. “Not he that willeth, or he that runneth, or he.... It's God that sheweth mercy.” That's right, predestination. He knew what was in you. He knowed what was in you before you even come on the earth. He knowed what was in you before there was an earth for you to come on. That's Him, that's the infinite God. Infinite. We're finite, we can only think finite.

It's been so much to me since that.... What happened to me I don't know. When I think there ... when I stood there for those few joyful moments, and thought, “There's no tomorrow, there was no yesterday, there's no sickness, there's no sorrow. There's no little bit of happiness; then a whole lot of happiness. It's all happiness.” Oh, my! Oh, when I stood there, and I said, “What is this?”

That voice said, “This is perfect love, and everything that you ever loved and everything that ever loved you is here with you now.”

“And you'll present us to the Lord Jesus when He comes, as trophies of your ministry.” I seen those beautiful women standing there, all grabbing me and screaming, “My precious darling brother!” Seen those men, with that shaggy hair around their neck here, running, grabbing me and saying, “Our darling brother!”

And I thought, “What does this mean?”

He said, “They're your people.”

I said, “My people? There couldn't be that many Branhams. There's millions.”

He said, “They're your converts! [Hallelujah] They are your converts. They're the ones that....” Said, “You see that woman standing there [the most beautiful woman I ever seen]?” Said, “She was past ninety years old when you led her to God. No wonder she's crying, 'My darling brother.'” Said, “She'll never be old no more. She's passed from that. She's in the splendor of youth. She's standing here. She can't drink a cold drink of water; she don't need it. She can't lay down to sleep because she don't get tired. There's no tomorrow, no yesterday, nor nothing—we're in eternity now. But some glorious day the Son of God shall come, and you will be judged according to the Word that you preached to them.” Oh, brother!

I said, “Will Paul have to bring his group?”

“Yes, sir.”

I said, “I preached it just exactly like Paul said it. I never divvied, I never took into any church creeds or anything else. I stayed the same.”

And all of them screamed with one accord, “We know that! We're resting with assurance.” Said, “You will present us to Him, and then we'll all go back to earth again, to live forever.” Oh, my!

Just then I started coming to. I looked laying there on the bed, and I seen my old carcass here getting old and wrinkled, and drawed-up, and diseased-up, and afflicted—and I seen my hands behind my head, and I thought, “Oh! Will I have to go back in that thing again?”

Then I kept hearing that voice, “Keep pressing on! Keep pressing on!”

I said, “Lord, I've always believed divine healing. I'll keep believing it. But I'll press for them souls, so help me. I'll have so many there, I'll.... Let me live, Lord, and I'll put another million in there!—if You'll just let me live.”

I don't care what color, what creed, what nationality, what they are, they're all one when they get there. Them old boundary lines has passed away. Oh, I could see those women, so pretty. Never seen ... long, long hair way down their back, long skirts way down, they was barefooted. See them men with shaggy hair around their neck, redheads, blackheads, and all different colors. And they were throwing their arms around me. I could feel them. I felt their hands just (God is my judge, and this sacred book open) ... I could feel them just the same as I feel my hands on my face.

They were just throwing their arms around me—no sensation of women like there'd be now. I don't care how holy you are, who you are, what kind of a preacher you are, priest or whatever you might be, there's no man can let a woman ... throw his arms around her without having a human sensation. That's exactly the truth. But, brother, when you pass between here and yonder, it ain't that way there. Oh, my! It's so, oh, there's ... it's impossible...! It's all love. Everything is real brother and everything's real sister. There's no death, no sorrow, no jealousy, no nothing. Nothing can enter there. It's just perfection.

That's what I'm striving for. That's what I'm placing for.

I said, “O Lord....” That's what I'm here at the church for, trying to set the church in order, telling you, brother, sister, there's only one thing that can enter that, that's perfect love. Not because you're loyal to the Branham Tabernacle, or the Methodist church, or Baptist church. Them's all right. You should be. But, oh, friends, you've got.... Not because you spoke with tongues, danced in the Spirit, because you've cast out devils or moved mountains with faith. That all's all right, that's all right, but still, unless that real perfect love is in there.... That was where perfect [blank spot on tape].

...have obtained an inheritance [We inherit what? Eternal life.], being predestinated....

How? Does everybody understand that? Did you call on God? No, God called on you. No man ever sought God; it's God seeking man. Jesus said, “No man can come to me except my Father draws him first.” See, it's the nature of man to run from God. And you say now....

That's what bothers me, though, to preach to you people; don't remain on in the same condition you've been going in. Change now! Hear me as I say it, “Thus saith the Lord....” I've never called myself this (I'm not.), but you call me your prophet, or a prophet. The world believes that, the world around, millions and millions and millions of people. I've spoke directly and indirectly to ten or twelve million people or more, directly speaking. I've seen tens of thousands of visions and signs and wonders, and not one of them have ever failed. And that's right. He's foretold me things that's never failed to happen just exactly. I'll bring any man to his trial for that. That's right.

I don't claim to be a prophet, but you listen to me:

Thus saith the Lord, it'll take perfect love to put you in that place, for that's all there was there. No matter how many, how much religious demonstrations, how many good deeds you done, or whatever you done, that won't count nothing on that day. It'll take perfect love. So whatever you do, you lay aside everything else until you are just so filled with the love of God till you can love those who hate you.

I'm just ... as I said this morning, I was made ... my whole makeup is grace. A lot of people say, “Now, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Right. You do something for me and I'll do something for you.” That's not grace. Grace is if your back is itching, I'll scratch it anyhow, whether you scratch mine or not. You slap me on the face, and say, “My back needs itching ... needs scratching,” I'll scratch it. See, that's it. Do something. I don't believe in works. I believe that works is love. Works is the manifestation that grace has taken place.

I don't live true to my wife because I believe she'd divorce me if I didn't. I live true to her because I love her.

I don't preach the gospel because I think I'd go to hell if I didn't; I preach the gospel because I love Him. Certainly. Do you think I'd cross those stormy seas, and them planes diving back and forth, and lightning flashing around, and everything else, and most any minute ... and everybody screaming, and “Hail, Mary”s are going on through the plane, and everything? Them people swinging in them safety belts, and the pilot saying, “Enough gas to last fifteen minutes longer, don't know where we're at.”—do you think I'd do that just for the fun of doing it? Huh!

Do you think I'd get back out there in the jungle where German soldiers had to put their arms around me, like this, each night and take me in and out of the meeting (until the Holy Spirit begin to perform miracles), Communists sitting with night scopes, to shoot me a mile away—do you think I'd do that just for the fun of it? Because something in me ... love. They're humans that Christ died for. Paul said, “I'm not only willing to go up to Jerusalem, but I'm going up there to be crucified. I'm going up to die. I'm going up there to die for the cause of the Lord.” It's something—love—that constrains you, that makes you. That's exactly right.

If I'd have preached the gospel for money, if it would have been, I wouldn't have been twenty thousand dollars tonight in debt. I wouldn't have been that in debt. No, sir, because I'd have kept some of the millions that had been given to me. One man, one man, sent an FBI agent with a $1,500,000 money draft. And I said, “Take it back.” Not for money! It isn't money. I don't preach the gospel for money. It's not for that; it's because of the love.

The thing I want to do is, when I cross that last breath yonder, which may be in five minutes from now.... It may be in two hours from now, it may be fifty years from now—I don't know when it'll be. But when it does ... I do arrive there, I want to see the splendor of youth running, hollering, “My darling brother. My brother!” That's what's in my heart. That's why. I don't try to disagree with you to be different, but I'm trying to put you on the road that's right. That's the way in. Not your church, not your denomination, but your birth in Christ. Oh, my. Whew!

In whom ... we have obtained ... inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Listen. We're going to close in a few minutes. Listen close now before we close.

That we should be to the praises of his glory, who first trusted ... Christ.

In whom ye also trusted....

Watch this now, closely. Get on your jackets—gospel jackets. Hold your ears open, listen close. I'm on the thirteenth verse.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard ... [Faith cometh by hearing the Word of (Congregation says “God.”)] after that you heard the word of truth,...

What is truth? The Word of God. Is that right? John 17:17, you that's taking down scriptures. Jesus said, “Sanctify them, Father, through the truth: thy word is truth.”

... after ... you heard the ... truth, the gospel of your salvation....

What was the salvation he was trying to tell them? Predestinated before the foundation of the earth (is that right?), to adoption of sons. Predestinated to eternal life. Now, after you come into eternal life—after you've been saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Spirit—you're a son; now God wanting to place you positionally so that you can work for his kingdom and his glory.

That's the gospel. Being, first, hear the Word: “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”—taking away all your sins, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the promised land. The promise is unto every sojourner that's on your road. If you left your home tonight a sinner, saying, “I'll walk over to the Branham Tabernacle,” God gives you the opportunity tonight. There's one thing lays between you and the promised land. What is the promised land? The Holy Ghost.

What laid between Joshua and the promised land was the Jordan. Exactly right.

Moses, being a type of Christ, led the children up to the promised land, then.... Moses did not take the children in the promised land; Joshua took the people in and divided up the land. Jesus paid the price, led them up to the Holy Spirit. God sent the Holy Spirit down and He positionally put the church in order, each man, filling him with the presence of his being. You see what I mean? All in Christ Jesus—how God predestinated this to the calling of this gospel.

Paul, Galatians 1:8, said, “If an angel come preach anything else, let him be accursed.”—the truth, the gospel. Now listen close as we read on, finishing the verse:

... the gospel of your salvation: in whom also [listen closely] after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise,

In the last days, the Bible said (now watch) in the last days there's going to be two classes of people. One of them's going to have the seal of God; the other one the mark of the beast. Is that right? How many knows that? Well, if the seal of God is the Holy Ghost, then without the Holy Ghost is the mark of the beast. And the Bible said that the two spirits would be so close together it would deceive the very elected if it was possible. It'll never do it, because they were elected to eternal life, see.

Church going just as [unclear word]

ten virgins went out to meet the Lord, all sanctified, all holy. Every one of them sanctified. Five were dilatory and let their lights go out, five had oil in their lamps, and, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh.” And the five that had oil in their lamps went in to the wedding supper; and the others was left outside where there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Be ready, for you don't know what minute the Lord comes. Have.... What does the oil represent in the Bible? Holy Spirit.

Now to you Seventh-day Adventist brethren who said the seventh day is God's seal, produce one scripture to prove it. The Bible said that the seal of God is the Holy Ghost. Watch this. Watch the thirteenth verse now.

...after that ye believed, you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise.

Turn to Ephesians 4:30, I believe that's it. See if we don't ... get 4:30, see if this isn't the same. Ephesians, the fourth chapter and the thirtieth verse. Yeah, here it is, 4:30:

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed until the day of redemption.

How long? When you really received the Holy Ghost, how long is it to last you? Until the next revival, until Grandma crosses your path, until the boss bawls you out? Until the day of your redemption! Hallelujah!

After you have died, after you have passed into that land, that you're standing there with your loved ones, you are still filled with the Holy Ghost. (Scripture.) You're just as you are now, only you've got a ... you've moved into another body. You just changed houses. This one got old. You couldn't tack the shingles on it no more, the rafters got rotten. That's right. So you just turned the old thing away and let it rot on down, and moved into a new one. Is that right? “For if this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one waiting.”

You remember the other day, going through that? When the little baby is being formed in the womb of the mother, and its little muscles are kicking and jumping and going on.... But just as soon as the mother drops the baby and the baby's to earth, the first thing there is a spiritual body to catch that little natural body. Maybe the doctor give it a [Brother Branham claps his hand.] like that, or something, or shake it, and “wha, wha, wha.” And immediately right to that mother's breast it'll go, “mm-mm-mm,” moving its little head up and down on the mother's breast to make those milk veins bring milk.

A little calf, as soon as its dropped from the mother, it'll get up on its little knees after a few minutes. What will it do? Move right straight back around, get ahold of that mother, and begin to shake its little head up and down like that, and get its milk. Hallelujah!

Yes, sir, when this natural body comes into earth, there's a spiritual body waiting for it.

And when this natural body drops on the ground, hallelujah, there is one waiting yonder. We just move from one into another, we change our dwelling places. This mortal must put on immortality; this spiritual ... this corruption put on incorruption. This old wrinkled-up, drawed, stooped-over body.... But it won't change its appearance at all—I mean, when it gets yonder you'll still have the same spirit.

Let me give you a little something sounds twisting to you, but it's the Bible. Then I'll give you one that'll untwist it for you. Watch this one. When old Saul, the king, the big old denominational preacher down there that time, you know, that got head and shoulders above them all ... and was afraid. He didn't know nothing about the supernatural. David had to come and deliver the lamb out of the lion's mouth, kill Goliath. Watch him. He got so far back from God, he got to hating this holy-roller preacher. And instead of being for him, to try to help him, he turned against him. If that just isn't the picture exactly, exactly pictured. Turned right from him.

How many was in here when I left on my first trip and preached David slaying Goliath when I left? Many ... some, a few of the old timers. I'm fixing to leave again on this. Remember, we see what ... this come around last Sunday? It's moving right into another phase. David's second campaign, second phase of his ministry, that's exactly right. Which, then he become king over Israel. Notice the ministry now is moving out into a greater phase, coming out greater. So did David. Now notice this as it come—David, oh, when God had David come out there and slay the lion, notice, and slay the bear, then slay the Philistine.

Now, there come a time when God gave an evil spirit over to this old boy. And to what? To hate David. And I believe....

(Now, these tapes: now listen, brethren, you on these tapes, if you disagree with me, forgive me. See, I love you. I'm going to meet you over yonder anyhow, see, because if you're a man of God I'm going to meet you anyhow.) But I want to say this. Here's the reason: just because that Saul saw that David had something that he didn't have. Then what happened?

A little old ruddy, drawed-over ... the Bible said he was ruddy. That wasn't a very fair child. Ruddy is just a little old drawed-up sort of a fellow. And he went out there. And Saul, when he put Saul's armor on him, I imagine the shield come plumb down over his feet. And he said, “Take this stuff off of me.” Maybe he give him a doctor's degree, a PhD, or LLD, or something, you know. But he said, “I don't know nothing about that stuff, because I haven't proved it. Let me have this what I know what I'm doing with.” Yes, sir. He took the slingshot.

And it made David ... mad because the daughters, the churches was singing, “Saul might have killed his thousands, but David killed his tens of thousands.”

Then he got jealous. (“That old Jesus' name stuff, there's nothing to it.”) That's right. And what did God do to him? God sent an evil spirit upon him to hate David, and he hated David without a cause.

David could have wrung his neck a few times. He could, but he just let it go. He just never said nothing. He sure could have done it. He went over and cut the tail of his coat off one night, come back, said, “Look here! You see?” Yes, sir. He could have done it, but he just let him alone. He could have broke his congregation up and scattered them, and started an organization of hisself if he wanted to. But he didn't do it. He just let Saul go on. Let God do the fighting. Yes, sir.

So as he went on out, and the campaign finished on, and got on, that evil spirit got so that Saul couldn't get no answer from God. After a while the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. And old Samuel, the one that they had turned down, the one that really was the voice of God to them, the one that said to them, before they even wanted to act like the world....

Why does the church want to act like the world? Why does Pentecostal-baptized, Holy Ghost-experienced Methodists and Baptists and Presbyterian want to act like the world? Why do they do it? I don't know. I just can't understand it. You say, “Well, it's no fun to play poker.... Just a little bit for fun, just a little penny-ante,” ever what you call it. It's a sin. You shouldn't have them things in your house. “Why, it's no harm to take this little bitty glass of beer out there. We just got a few. Me and my wife has a few in the afternoon.” And the first thing you know, your children's got a few. Sure it is.

And you women, umh! Devil's just made a.... That's what he did in the beginning, and he certainly has made a target out of you sisters. He does that just because he knows what he can do. He can deceive a woman a thousand times quicker than a man. I know that hurts your feelings, but that's the truth. That's exactly. That's what he done in the garden of Eden. He can make.... Now, she was honest, she was sincere; but she was deceived. “Adam was not deceived,” the Bible said. He wasn't deceived, but she was deceived. So he can deceive her.

And yet pastors will go right out and ordain women preachers, put them out over congregations like that, and this Bible condemns it from Genesis to Revelation. You say, “Well, it's all right. It's all right. They can preach just the same as.... I know that's right.”

Like somebody started speaking in tongues one time. I just kept on preaching. And when I got outside, a woman said to my son, said, “I got a message to give tomorrow night,” said, “when your daddy comes on the platform.”

Said, “A message, what do you mean?”

And that night when it got ready, when I was fixing to make the altar call, she fixed her hair all up and pulled up her stockings and everything, got ready. Jumped up in the middle of the floor and began to jump up and down, spoke in tongues and prophesied. I just kept on preaching, made my altar call. Well, I never really respected it a bit. It wasn't right. So then.... Well, the Bible said not to. Said, “The spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” God's on the ... God's speaking at the platform, let Him speak. Paul said, “If something be revealed to one, let him hold his peace till the next one finishes.” That's right.

Now, then when I got outside, these people said, a big bunch of people, said, “You grieved the Holy Ghost tonight.”

I said, “What doing? What'd I do?”

Said, “Well, when that sister gave that message, hallelujah,” said, “that....

“Why,” I said, “I was preaching. She was out of order.”

“Oh,” said, “that was fresh right off the throne. That's fresher than what you was preaching.” Huh!

Now, that just shows you. That shows either this—and I say it to respects—either insanity, or either disrespect, or illiterate teaching that don't know no more about God than a rabbit knows about snowshoes. Now, I don't say that to be a silly remark, because this is no place to joke. But that's exactly the truth. A person that ... would know that God's not an author of confusion. He's a peace. The Bible they don't know. All they know how to do is jump up and down, speak in tongues, say, “I got the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah!”

I've stood and seen, in Africa, witch doctors and things speak (by the five thousands of them at a time), jumping up and down, blood all over their faces, speaking in tongues, and drink blood out of a human skull; call on the devil, and speak in tongues.

And yet speaking in tongues is a gift of God; but that's not the infallible proof of the Holy Ghost. Let me tell you that now. I do believe that all inspired saints speak with tongues. I believe a man some time ... when you get so inspired with God till you will speak with tongues. I believe that. But I don't believe that's any sign you got the Holy Ghost. Yes, sir.

I believe there's times when you have faith—a person—you walk right out and lay hands on a little kid that's got a cancer (when fifty preachers had prayed for it), and it'd be healed because that mother has faith for that child. God's given it to her, she's a member of the body of Christ. Yes, sir, I believe that. I've seen that done and I know that's true. But what it is, is get the church in order, set in order so we can work.

Now let's finish the rest of this verse here before we go.

...after that you receive, you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise.

Sealed—what is a seal? What is a seal? A seal is: first thing it shows is a work that has been completed, a completed work; the next thing it shows is ownership; and the next thing it shows is security, keeping it.

Say, for instance, I used to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad. I used to work with my father on the railroad. We would load cars. And we'd put in, down here at the packing company, we'd put in tin cans. And we'd set some up here, and some down here, and some up this a-way. But before that car was ever sealed, the inspector come through there. And he pushed on it, shoved on this one, shook that one. “Aah ... condemn it! They'll break all to pieces before they get there. Condemn it! Take 'em out. Do it over.” The inspector condemned the car.

The Holy Ghost is the inspector. He'll shake you a little bit, and you rattle. “Do you believe all the Word of God?”

“I don't believe that old Jesus' name stuff.”

“Condemn it.” You rattle, see.

“I don't believe in divine healing. There's no such a thing.” Still rattles. Take him out.

“Do you believe Jesus Christ is the same yesterday....”

“Well, in some way.”

“You rattle. Kick it out, it ain't ready yet.” Yes, sir.

Brother, when it's ready to say “Amen!”....

Have you received the Holy Ghost? “Amen!” Has everything been completed? “Amen!” Then what does the inspector do? Everything's packed in good and tight, full of the gospel. Oh, “Every word of God is good. Everything is perfect. I believe every word. Amen! Amen! Amen!” Do you believe that God still heals? “Amen.” Do you believe Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever? “Amen.” Do you believe the Holy Ghost is just as real as it ever was? “Amen.” Do you believe the same Spirit fell on Paul falls on us? “Amen.” Do you believe it does the same things on us it did on them? “Amen.” Oh-oh, she's getting tight now. See, getting tight now, we're ready to close the door. All right.

Then the inspector closes the door. What does he do? He puts a seal on it. Then he gets down here and gets ahold of his little pliers of a thing, reaches over there on this little thing, and seals that. You'd better not break it. If that car ... its destination is Boston, it cannot be broken—it would be a penitentiary offense to break that seal—until it gets to Boston.

And a man that has the authority can open that seal, and him only. That's right. It's owned by the certain-certain railroad company. It their seal. It's their assurance that this car has been packed, this car is ready, it belongs to them. They couldn't put the B&O on the Pennsylvania.

You've got to be sealed, and when it's sealed....

And when the Christian is packed with the gospel, filled with the goodness of God, all the good things of God laying in him, with an open heart, ready to work, willing to be positionally placed, do anything that the Holy Spirit tells him to do, passed from death unto life, sanctified from all the things of the world, walking in the light as the light comes to him, moving on, he's ready. Then God shuts the door of the world behind him, and kicks it together like that, and seals him with the Holy Ghost of promise. Hallelujah!

How long? Until the destination. Don't get him out here on the railroad track and break it open and see if everything's all right again. It's all right, just leave it alone. The inspector has done inspected it. How long are you sealed? Until the day of your redemption. That's how long you're sealed.

“Well, when you die, then, Brother Branham, what about after you die? You said you still have it.” You have it forever. Where does life begin? At the altar. Right there you see a little bit of shadow. That's the shadow, the seal of the Holy Spirit. Then it's a shadow of the shadows of the shadows, as I said the other day. But when you die.... You keep on going through those shadows until you come to moisture, from moisture to a little trickling spring, from a spring to a creek, from a creek to a river, from a river to an ocean, see, of the love of God. You're just the same person.

Look here. Old Saul, the old backslider, he could not get through to God, yet he wasn't lost. He certainly wasn't. He was a prophet, but he just got outside of God. (That's the reason, brethren, I said you're not lost.) So then remember, he just got out of the will of God. So then the first thing you know, he wouldn't agree. (Now, maybe I shouldn't have said that. All right, I'm just going on for a happy congregation tonight.) So then, you know, and the first thing you know, oh, my, then he went to the Urim Thummim.

You know what the Urim and Thummim was. It was the breastplate, the ephod that Aaron wore. And it was always ... God always has been a supernatural God, answering in supernatural ways. And when a prophet prophesied, and them mystic lights didn't come across that Urim Thummim, he was wrong. When a dreamer told a dream and it didn't flash on that Urim Thummim, I don't care how good it sounded, it was wrong. That's right.

And I don't care just exactly how many doctor's degrees you got and how big your organization is, when you prophesy or preach it ain't according to this Word, you're wrong, brother. This is God's Urim Thummim. When you say you wasn't predestinated before the foundation of the world, she won't flash, because the Bible said you was. When you say that you ought to be baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost, it doesn't flash, because nobody in the Bible was ever baptized that way; only in the name of the Lord Jesus. It won't flash, so there's something wrong somewhere.

So the Urim Thummim wouldn't answer old Saul, and he couldn't even have a dream. He was so far gone till he couldn't even have a dream. So you know what he done? He went down to the witch and—this old witch, the old devil doctor down there, witch doctor—and he said, “Can you divine?”

She said, “Yes, but Saul said he'd kill everybody divining.”

He said, “I'll protect you.” Dressed like a footman. He said, “Divine for me and bring me up from the world of the dead that's passed on beyond here [Now listen to this.], bring me up the spirit of Samuel the prophet.”

And she went in to divine. And when she did, she fell on her face. She said, “I see gods coming up.” See, she was a heathen. Gods, two or three of them—like Father, Son, Holy Ghost, or something like that, you know. She said, “I see gods coming up.”

Said, “Describe him. How does he look? What does he look like?”

Said, “He's thin and he's got a mantle over his shoulders.” He hadn't changed a bit.

He said, “It's Samuel. Bring him in this room. Bring him here before me.”

And watch when Samuel come before Saul. He said, “Why did you call me, seeing you've become an enemy to God?” And watch. Not only was he still Samuel, he still maintained the spirit of prophecy. Say it's wrong, let anyone say it's wrong. It's the truth! He was still a prophet. For he said, he prophesied and said, “The battle's going against you tomorrow, and you and your sons will fall in battle tomorrow, and by this time tomorrow night you'll be with me.” Is that right? He was still a prophet!

Now you say, “Oh, but that was a witch did that.”

All right, I'll tell you when it wasn't a witch. Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and went up to Mount Transfiguration one time, and was standing up on top of the mountain. And Jesus ... God was placing his Son, like I'm trying ... had the other night, placing son. And when they did, they looked around and found out that there stood Moses and Elijah. They were talking, communing. Not little white flags floating around, or little white clouds, rather, floating around, but they were men, talking. Moses had been buried in an unmarked grave for eight hundred years. And Elijah had went home in a chariot, five hundred years. And here they both was, still just as much alive as they ever was alive, standing there talking to Him before He went to Calvary. Hallelujah! “Sealed until the day of our redemption.”

I'll hurry, and then we'll close because it's late; and we'll pray for the sick. About five more minutes. Fourteenth verse. Wait, let me read the thirteenth over, get it backgrounded.

In whom ye ... trusted, after that ye heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation....

Now remember, what salvation'd they have? These were Ephesian Christians. Now look. Did you notice the Corinthians? He always had to tell them, “When I come among you, one has a tongue, one has a tongue, one has a psalm, one has a prophecy, one has....” See, he couldn't teach them nothing, because they was always desiring this, that, or the other. These people had the same thing, but they had it in order. He never taught the Corinthians nothing like this; he couldn't. The church wasn't in order to teach it. Now, he could teach these people the real thing.

But ... your salvation: in whom also after ... ye believed, you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest [Oh, let me not pass that.] the earnest of our inheritance until ... redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Whew!

What is the Holy Ghost? (Now, then I'll read the rest of it real fast if you'll bear with me this much.) Where was we at the other night, Brother Mike? Where they were all happy, oh, everything was peace. That was perfect love. Now, every time you come this way you drop down a little. Every time you make a step, you come inches closer. When it gets down to the earth, you got a shadow of the shadow of the shadow of shadows. Now, that's how much Holy Spirit you got in you. That's love. But, oh, you thirst for something.

Oh, would not.... People, like old people ... how would I like to go back and be fifteen again, twenty! Oh, I'd give anything. What good would it do me? I might be fifteen, and die yet tonight. It's uncertain. What if you was fifteen tonight? How do you know whether mother would be living when you got home or not? How do you know you're going to get home? How do you know you're going to be living tomorrow if you're twelve years old, perfect health? You may be killed in an accident, drop dead, anything might happen to you. Uncertain, see. There's nothing here certain. But you long for that. What is it? It's that up there making you long for it.

Now, you walk into this, then you have eternal life. Now what does it happen? It is the earnest.

What is the earnest money on anything? If I come to you to buy a car, I say, “How much is that car?”

You say, “This car, Brother Branham, costs you three thousand dollars.”

“What's the down payment?”

“Well, I'll let you have it for five hundred dollars.”

“All right, here's the five hundred dollars. I'll bring the rest of it to you sometime, soon as I can. You hold the car.” I give you five hundred dollars. That's the earnest. Is that right?

Now, hold that. It's the earnest, it's the down payment. After ... you were sealed by the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of promise, after ... you were sealed....

Which is [What is this seal of promise, the holy Spirit of promise?] ... which is the earnest of our inheritance until ... redemption of the purchased possession....

What is it? It's the down payment. And, brother, oh, oh, oh! If this is the down payment, what's it going to be when we really [unclear words]? What is it going to be! If this is the.... If this, what we enjoy now and get so happy till.... I've seen men ninety years old just couldn't....

I've seen an old preacher that raised up one night. He come out like this, come out on the platform, and I said, “That old man going to preach?”

He said, “Well, bless the Lord!” An old colored fellow—great big, old, long preacher's coat on.

And I said, “Why didn't they let some of them young preachers preach? That old man, how can he ever preach?”

He said, “Well,” he said, “brethren,” he said, “today I've been hearing the brothers preach all day long,” he said, “about what Jesus done on earth. I'm going to tell what He done in heaven.” He said, “I'll take my text tonight from Job 7:27,” said, “when it was way back yonder before the foundation of the world,” said, “when He said the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy.” So ... like that. Said, “You know, something went on back there.” He said, “You know....” And he begin to bring on what taken place in heaven. He brought it down the horizontal rainbow in the second coming.

About that time, the Holy Ghost struck him. (Now, they had to lead the old fellow out. He was around ninety-five years old. He was just like this, all bent over, and just a little rim of hair, you know, like this.) He got out there and he started preaching. He said, “Whoopee! Hallelujah! Glory!” Got to jumping up and down like that, said, “Oh, you ain't got enough room here for me to preach.” And took off across the floor like that, hard as he could go. And that's just the earnest. Oh!

What does the Holy Spirit do? Oh, here's a good place. Let me read the first verse of the next chapter. Can I? Is it all right? Say “amen.” All right, the first verse of the second chapter, quickly. Listen.

And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins....

“You has He quickened.” What does quickened mean? “Made alive.” Just about gone, but He quickens you, just by the earnest money. What will it be when you really get all the dividends? Oh! No wonder Paul, caught up into the third heaven, said, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered in ... entered the heart of man, what God has for them, in store, that love Him.” What will that be? You talk about joy unspeakable and full of glory! Whew! Hmm! You who were once dead in sin and trespasses has He quickened together, by the shadow of the shadow of the shadows. What's it going to be when you come to the shadow of the shadows, into the shadow, the shadow then into the creek, the creek into the river, the river into the ocean?

And what is it when you're way out there in redemption, with a brand new body? You've turned back to a young man altogether again, or a young woman—you're never going to die no more. And you look down on earth, and think, “I could enjoy some grapes and some good cold water, but, you know, I don't need it here.”

But someday Jesus is coming, and this angelic body, this theophany that I'm living in, will not come through the womb of a woman anymore. It'll not come through sexual desire anymore. But because that He was born without sexual desire, I'll be resurrected without it. And He will speak someday and the dead in Christ shall rise, and that body that I once lived in will resurrect into a glorified body, and I'll walk, and I'll talk, and I'll live, and I'll enjoy. Hallelujah! [Unclear words] ages that is to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. There you are, brother. That's the gospel.

“Wherefore I also....” Paul's just telling now what he is. (I'll read the rest of this and then we'll pray for the sick.) Until the possession, this is the earnest until the possession, unto the praises of his glory.

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith [I heard that you believed this stuff, I heard that you really believed in predestination, eternal life, and salvation, and so forth] in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all ... saints,

Cease not to give thanks to you, making mention of you in my prayers;

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation ... knowledge of him:

“...just keep revealing Himself to you all the time, growing from grace unto grace, from power unto power, glory unto glory. Not fall back, but from glory unto glory—keep moving on. I'll keep praying for you.”

The eyes of your understanding....

You know, in the Bible it said you were blind and didn't know it. But here Paul said, “I'm going to pray that your eyes of understanding....” You understand with your heart. That's what he's talking about. You look with your eyes; but you see with your heart. You know that. All right. “That the God of glory....” Let's see, the eighteenth verse:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of the calling, and what the riches of ... glory of his inheritance in the saints,

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward [Whew! They say the power's gone? The power hasn't even arrived yet.] who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

[You who have believed to the working of his mighty power, I just pray that God will just pour out his power upon you, see.]

Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Far above ... principalities, ... powers, ... might, ... dominion, and that every name that is named....

Oh-h-h! For.... No, I better not. We could sure take the rest of the night on that.

...every name that is named, not only in this world, but ... in the world to come....

What is every ... every name of every person will bear the name of what? [Congregation says “Jesus.”] The whole heaven is named Jesus, the whole church is named Jesus, everything is named Jesus, for it's the only name that God ever had. He's called Jehovah—Jehovah-jireh, the Lord's provided sacrifice; Jehovah-rapha, the Lord that healeth thee; Jehovah, the Lord's banner, manasses; and Jehovah ... different Jehovahs. He's called the morning star, He's called Father, He's called Son, He's called Holy Ghost, He's called Alpha, He's called Omega. He's called beginning, He's called the ending, He's called the Branch. Oh, He's called ... He's just called all kinds of titles; but He had one name.

That's what Matthew was talking about when he said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name [not in names], in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Father is not a name, Son is not a name, Holy Ghost is not a name. It's a title to a name. It's a name of three attributes that belongs to one God. What was his name? The angel said, “Thou shall call his name [Congregation says ”Jesus.“] for He shall save his people from their sins.” That's the reason they all baptized that way in the Bible. That's how St. Augustine baptized the King of England about a hundred and fifty, two hundred years after the death of Christ—in the name of Jesus Christ. All right.

Far above ... principality, ... powers, ... might, ... dominion, that every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

And hath put all things under his feet, and hath given him to be the head over all things to the church,

Which is his body....

Now, if my body has the power over all things, then what my body is is what I am. Is that right? That's what I am. That's what you know me as. Is that right? Well, then, all that God was, He poured into Jesus, for He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Is that right? And all that Jesus was, He poured into the church: “These things that I do, shall you do also. Even greater than this shall you do, for I go to the Father.”

Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Oh, how I love that. How I love that. I was reading the other day a book that was wrote about a trip I went ... to minister in Africa. Never did read it before. How many ever read the book Prophet Visits Africa? In there I was looking at a little Indian boy. How many seen that picture?

I heard a certain evangelist, been praying for the sick for about fifteen years or more, he said, “I never seen a miracle performed in my life.” He said, “I've seen people that said they had headaches got well. I've seen people say they had tummy-aches got well, and so forth. But a miracle, something that's created and made something....”

I thought, that boy ought to have been standing there and seen that. That Indian boy's leg was just about this big around. One of them. The other one was a normal leg, like a human being's leg. And if you notice his brace, there was his shoe about fourteen inches or fifteen inches higher, like this. He had an iron plate on the bottom of it. His shoe sat up on top of two long standards that stood. He walked up to where I was standing. They brought him up there. He had two crutches. He took his big iron shoe and chomped it down like that. I looked at his leg. It was about that big around.

Now, them people are Mohammedans. Did you remember last Sunday when I read you what the papers had to write? I've got it right here myself, from Africa, sent to me by a returned missionary, Brother Stricker. There's the article how Billy Graham backed up on it (that's exactly) and let the Mohammedans push him right into the sea. What's the matter? The missionaries are leaving the field. What's the use of staying any longer? They're just whipped.

I love Billy Graham. I think he's a wonderful man of God. But what Billy Graham ought to have charged him with, say, “Wait a minute....” If some of these self-starched Baptists would have let him do it, I believe he would have done it. I believe Billy Graham's a man of God. But if he'd have said, “Wait a minute. I'm a minister of the gospel. You believe in the Old Testament, and you said that Jesus wasn't nothing but a man. I challenge you on a debate.”

I don't believe in taking the devil's challenges, no sir, but I'd have challenged him back, and said, “Let's you and I come together. I'm a doctor of divinity [Billy Graham is a doctor of divinity]. Let me challenge you on this, and let me prove to you that Jesus was the Christ. Now, when it comes to divine healing, I don't possess those gifts; but we've got some brothers that does. Now, if you want to bring them people out there, let me just call one of them, Oral Roberts or somebody.”—somebody that has a great ministry that would really get there. Come over there, and then seen what ... take place. Say, “Christianity is not what you think it is.”

Now everybody feels let down because he just walked off and left him. 'Course, now, I don't believe in the devil giving you a challenge. I've spit in his face, too, like that, and walked away from him. That's right. But when it comes to a place where.... Billy could have made that Mohammedan feel like a little weed, like that. He could have took that Bible and took Isaiah 9:6, and said, “Who was he talking about, 'Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given'? Who was this man? Who was this he was talking about? Who was this prophet? Who was this Messiah that was to come? Show me where He produced Hisself in Mohammed.

“'He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, chastisement of our peace was upon him, with his stripes we were healed.' Show it to me in Mohammed. How did He cry, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? They pierced my hands and my feet,' and so forth? Show me by your own word, your own testament.” Why, he'd have beat that Mohammedan so bad till he wouldn't've knowed where he was at. That's right.

But when the paper had to turn around, that's what hurt, what made my heart jump. When it said there, “Though Billy had to back up and made a back-up, how can the Mohammedans say that it was wrong?” said, “when Reverend William Branham at Durban, South Africa, on undisputed miracle after miracle, with divine power, when ten thousand Mohammedans fell on their face at one time and surrendered their life to Jesus Christ.” Absolutely. They know about it. Them fundamentalists know about it. Don't you tell me.

One time there was one come to Jesus, said, “Rabbi.” (You know, he was a Pharisee.) He said, “We know you're a teacher come from God. We know it. We know it, because no man could do the things You do except God be with Him. We understand. We know it, but we just can't confess it, see, because if we do, well, we'll be put out of our church. See, we'll lose our prestige.” And so Jesus said ... began to tell him he must be born again.

On that Mohammedan boy, when he was standing there.... There's his picture; the camera won't take a lie. There he is standing there, one leg that much shorter (about fourteen inches) than the other one, standing on that iron shoe. Said to him, I said, “Do you speak English?”

“No, sir.” Couldn't speak English. The interpreter said, “He don't speak English.”

“How long you been that way?” the interpreter asked him.

“Since birth.”

“Can you move the leg at all?”

“No, sir.”

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ?”

He said, “I'm a Mohammedan.”

I said, “Will you accept Jesus Christ if He'll make you well?”

“I will accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour if He make me well.”

“If He'll make that well, that leg come like the other, you'll accept Him?”

“I will.”

“O God, what will You do?” This is the next thing. All questions are answered. Brother Mike, got to feel Him. I waited just a minute to see what He was going to say. I looked around, seen the boy going, walking along, like beside of the walls like that.

I said, “How many of you Mohammedans will accept it? Here's a Mohammedan boy. Look at him, stand him up there.” I said, “You doctors, you want to look at him? There he stands.” Oh, you know where you're at then. See, you know where you're standing. Nobody ... there he was.

I said, “Walk across this way, son.” And they got him. Here he come, ta-lomp, ta-lomp. I said, “Looks like about twelve, fourteen inches shorter. About like that.”

“Yeah.”

I said, “But Jesus Christ the Son of God can make him well. Will you Mohammedans believe it and accept Him as personal Saviour?”

There was thousands of those black hands went up out there like that. “Well, Lord, now's the time.” I said, “Heavenly Father, if You ever answered, answer me now. This is for your glory. This is for You. I pray You make this boy well.” I just prayed over him like that.

I said, “Take off your shoe.” He looked at me real funny, the interpreter. I said, “Take off your shoe.” He unlaced it. (Because I done seen that vision, what was going to happen.) He took off that thing. When he took it back, walked over there to me, both legs just as normal as I'm walking right now. I said, “You want to walk back and forth?”

He started crying, like that, going back and forth, he didn't know what to do. Walking like that, he said, “O Allah! Allah!”

I said, “Jesus, Jesus.”

Oh, “O Jesus, Jesus,” then. “Jesus! Jesus!” Like that.

I said, “Is there any questions, any questions?”

Julius Stadsklev, how many knows him? Brother Stadsklev, come here at the church. He just went to Germany. Said, “Just a minute, Brother Branham. Just a minute to bring a photographer out. Can I take his picture?”

I said, “Help yourself.”

Walked over there. He stood his shoe here. He stood like that, took the picture of the boy. There was both legs just as normal and straight as they could be; there stood his old shoe and brace like that.

I said, “How many of you Mohammedans now reject Mohammed as prophet, and believe Jesus to be the Son of God, and accept Him as your personal Saviour?” Ten thousand hands went into the air. Hallelujah! They don't want a....

They try to keep it back, because we're “holy rollers,” they call us, you see. Just the same, God's a-moving, placing his church. He's doing the “exceedingly abundantly” above all that we could even do or think. He's just as much God tonight as He ever was.

So, little friends, let me tell you something right now. My darling precious people—you here in this land, and the others in tape lands, which will be overseas and wherever you are—don't be afraid. Everything's all right. Father God, before the foundation of the world, knew everything that would happen. Everything works right along. Do you love Him? Keep your heart right.

And, remember, when this breath passes from this life, to you old people or to you young people, and you mothers, when you see your little babies.... That little girl baby that died when she wasn't eight days' old, or five days' old, she'll be a beautiful young woman when you see her. That old grandpa was all so stooped over he couldn't hardly see where he was going, when you see him, grandmother, he'll be a fine handsome young man, just as young, about twenty years old, just in the splendor of youth. And he'll be that way forever.

You can touch his hand, you can shake hands with him. You'll throw your arms around him, but he won't be hubby; he'll be brother. Oh, my! He'll be so much greater than hubby. You think you loved him? Sure you did. But that was phileo; wait till you get agapao. Wait till that real divine love catches, and then see what it is. Here this is like an old smoldering dump. It's no good, there's nothing to it. Only thing I advise you to do now is this, my friend....

A little later on I'll.... Would you like for me to pick up them other two chapters sometime? The Lord.... I got to rest just a little before Chatauqua. Now, I can't preach these things in them meetings. There's too many un ... too many different beliefs, see. This is just church alone, see. I can't preach.... I got a right to preach in here whatever I want to. This is my Tabernacle, see, and I'm telling you.

Now, I believe them people are saved. Yes, sir, I truly believe it. But, oh, how much more it is to walk when you know where you're walking. How much more to know what you're doing, see, instead of staggering, stumbling along. Let's just stand right up in the light, and walk in the light and know which way you're heading. That's true. The Lord be with you.

And if each one of you in here now has not been positionally placed.... You might not be nothing but a housewife. Well, you say, “Brother Branham, I never done a thing in my life. I'm not a preacher.” Well, maybe God brought you here to raise a family of children. Out of that family of children may come another family of children, that'll be a preacher that'll send a million souls to Christ. You had to be here. You're here for a purpose. Did you know that?

Well, you say, “All I ever done was harrow across these old clods. And I'd take out every evening, didn't know how to make my kids a living. I looked at the poor little fellows with no shoes on. I've sat and cried. I got an old buggy, and me and Ma went to church.” Don't you worry, brother. You just keep loving Him. He's got a purpose for you. You just stay right the way you are. Just go right on, see. You might not never preach a sermon, but you might be the great-grandfather of one that'll do it.

Did you know that God credited (Let's see now, what was his name?) Levi, to pay tithe when he was in the loins of Abraham, when Melchisedec met him? How many knows that? And let's see. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot Levi—which was father, grandfather, great-grandfather. When he was in the loins, in the seed of his great-grandfather, the Bible credited him for paying tithes to Melchisedec. My, my, my, my, brother! Oh, I'm ...

There's a little Englishman got converted over there one night in England, he said, “I am so hoppy! I am so hoppy!”

Yes, so happy to know that that is true! And some glorious day.... I don't know when that day will be, but if that was a vision, I don't say I was here. Remember, always bear this in mind (may the tape holders do the same.), whether I was in a vision, or carried away in the Spirit, I do not know. But it was just as real as I hold my Brother Neville like that, just as real. And I could look and talk to those people. And there stood my first wife. She didn't holler, “My husband!”; she said, “My darling brother.”

There stood a girl that I used to go with years ago. Perhaps some of her people sitting here—Alice Lewis from Utica, very fine, loyal, Christian girl. Got married a little late in life, and they had their first baby, and died in childbirth. Alice Lewis. I walked into the funeral home to see her. I'd just gotten home, I heard she was dead. I walked down there, was nobody in the room. I said, “Is there a woman here, Mrs....” Her name was Emmerke. She married a fine Christian boy, and she was a fine Christian girl.

I've been with that girl everywhere, all kinds of places and everything. And just kids, eighteen, nineteen years old. Everywhere. Fine Christian. Never knowed nothing about her but genuine Christianity. And I was a sinner; but I would go with her. I walked into.... And her husband, a born-again Christian, real man. And I didn't know.... I knowed she had died. I seen in the paper, and I went down. They told me. I went down there to Coots's, and I said, “Have you got a Mrs. Emmerke?”

He said, “Billy, she's right in the room there.”

I went in there and stood there by the side of the casket. I thought, “Alice, I've been in the darkest of dungeons, I've been over dark roads. You and I have walked together down through the roads and down across by the river. When they used to have the old showboats, we'd sit down and listen to that calliope play. Up and down the lane. What a lady you were! How I thank God for your life. Rest, my dear sister, rest in the peace of God.”

And the other night in the vision, there she come running to me. She said, “My blessed brother,” and threw her arms around me. Oh, brother, sister, it's changed me. I can never be the same no more. It's so real. It's just as real as I'm looking at you, just that real. So, there's no fear.

I may die before the night's over. I want to raise my little boy back there, Joseph. I want to see him in the pulpit. When I can take this Bible, when I get to a place I see Joseph in the pulpit preaching as a young man filled with the Holy Ghost, anointed with the Spirit of God upon him.... And I believe he'll be a prophet. The day when I saw him six years before he was born, you remember me telling you he was coming. Remember when I called him right there at the side of the altar, not knowing what I was saying, dedicating babies, I said, “Joseph, thou art a prophet.”

The other day standing out in the yard, he come in to me, and he said, “Daddy, has Jesus got a hand like yours?”

And I said, “Well, yes, son. Why?”

He said, “I was sitting on my bicycle, watching for Sarah [that's his little sister] to come home from school.” Sitting out there. I won't let him go out on the road; he was sitting back like this. And said, “I looked up.” And said, “When I did, there was a hand like yours, with a white sleeve, holding over me.” And said, “It went on up.” Said, “Was that Jesus' hand going up?” I looked at the mother; mother looked at me. We went down to Mrs. Wood's. (Ever where she's at, sitting here.) We cross-questioned him, back and forth, and every way we could. It was a vision. He saw it. When I can see the time that little Joseph standing.... I hope I live to see him married, if Jesus tarries.

And I'm an old man, the gray whiskers hanging around my neck here. I want to send two or three more million souls to Christ if I possibly can. It's my determination to preach the gospel to every corner of the earth. Yes, sir. So help me God, I'll do it. So, when I can see that time come, Brother Mike....

I can look at the time Mama (Meda, I call her, my darling), see she's ... we're getting old. See her hair turning gray, and see us going away, fading away.

Rebekah, I'm so grateful for Rebekah. Her music teacher told me the other night, said, “My, if she keeps that up, Brother Branham,” says, “it's hard to tell what she'll do.” See, going on in music. I want her and ... I want Sarah on the organ, Becky on the piano, I want Joseph in the pulpit.

When I can see that happen, and me and Mama can stagger in, me on my old cane, some night, come down along the road; and I can look in there and see my boy standing there anointed with the Holy Ghost, preaching this same gospel, I want to take this old Book and say, “Son, here it is, it's yours. You stand with it, don't you compromise on one word. You stay right with it, honey. Don't you.... I don't care who's against you, God will be for you. You preach every word just the way it's wrote in there, and Daddy will see you across the river.” I'd like to reach around and take her in my arms, my wife, and cross over Jordan.

Until that time, God, let me stay on the field, loyal. Let me ... I don't care what the cost is, or how many, what I do, or this, that or the other, let me stay loyal and true to the Word of the living God, that when that day comes I cross over there, and I can look across and say, “There you are.” Oh, my precious friend, my precious brother, my precious sister.

Young preacher, get into the field, stay into the harness. All you young preachers and things, don't you sit around. Don't you just sit and do nothing. Get out yonder and win a soul. Do something! Get on, get moving. Don't stop, young preacher over there. God bless your heart.

He reminds me of when I was about that age, I guess, or maybe a little younger than him. I was only about twenty-something years old when I laid that cornerstone there. I remember I used to wear a blue coat and a white pair of pants, and stood there and laid that cornerstone about thirty-one years ago. See how old I was—I was just a boy. I was standing there, laying that cornerstone. I haven't compromised on one word. I've kept it just exactly the way I laid that cornerstone. Yonder's my testimony laying yonder, where I wrote it out on the flyleaf of the Bible, and tore it out and laid it in that cornerstone. And she still lays there. And may it be written on the pages of God's eternal Word in heaven. Let me stand true unto the end.

Let us bow our heads now just a minute for prayer. In the closing of this night, closing at least one chapter, which is not justified. You ought to have the other one, how He goes ahead and places the church in its place. I'll get it to you sometime, God willing. I've got to get just a little rest now before I go into the Chatauqua yonder, to another big meeting. Then I cross over from there to Oklahoma.