The True Easter Seal

Had a most grand service this morning, the early sunrise service, where Brother Neville spoke to us a very outstanding message on the Easter service.

And now I know it's terrible to have to be standing. Our seating capacity here is very small. And they just asked me if they could open up the back here and put the people in the baptistry. I said, “That's a good place for them.” That was a very good place for them. They ... so they're going to pull the curtains in a few minutes and have ... I think they're just going to stand around the rim. I don't know whether they are, or not. I see it's full of water, so they'll pretty near have to stand on a board. But I see they're getting some of it ready now, so they'll probably open it up in a few minutes.

Now, Easter is a great day for all of us. We just like Easter so well! And now we're going to try not to keep you too long because ... under the conditions.

But I'd just like to make an announcement or two, and that is that our services begin next Sunday, now, to you out-of-town people. They begin at Bloomington, Illinois, at the Methodist College grounds there. And they'll go through Sunday through Sunday. And then there will be a ministerial breakfast. And then I am to speak to the student body of the ... at the college one morning, and there is to be a breakfast there, I understand.

And then the following week, after ... that's the twenty-third, through the last Sunday. Or what is that? [Brother Neville says, “There's a slip on that, right over there, brother.] Oh, yes. Well, it's already give out then, they know about it. [”I announced it.“] That's fine, good. Chicago, now there's been a ... so I understand from last night, they can't get the Lane Tech Auditorium, so it'll be an auditorium just about ten minutes' drive from the Lane Tech. There'll be another auditorium, as I understand. Of course, they'll probably have some signs there pointing you on to where the meeting will be.

Then we go up to British Columbia. And then on July, the 1st through the 4th, in Miami, Florida.

So then it's ... wondering about a big tent meeting. If that comes, I want to really be there to ... all of you that can, in Washington, D.C., at the capital, for a meeting. Be my first tent meeting, you know, where the Lord promised me He would meet me in that little place in the meeting. And they're planning on that now. They called us and told us, the businessmen there, that they would either get the Convention Hall, where we did speak, or put up a big tent. And as soon as he said “big tent,” something kind of registered. Maybe that's where the meeting place will be, at the capital house. So that's very, very, fine. So we'll see about it, and then let you know a little later, as the Holy Spirit leads that way.

Now I believe they have some little babies here that come from out of town that they wanted dedicated to the Lord. Now, there's many people sprinkle them, and so forth. And that's perfectly all right. I have nothing against that. However, sprinkling is not scriptural, to baby or adult, see. Sprinkling is just a ecclesiastical form that has been adopted, first by the Catholic church, and then handed down through Protestantism. But there's no scripture for ... no sprinkling of adult or baby. And being that we like to stay right with the Scripture just as close as we can....

In the Bible they brought little children to our Lord, and He lifted them, picked them up in his arms and blessed them, and said, “Suffer little children to come to me.” Now that's what we are trying to do, follow the commandments of the Lord in that way. And we bring the elders of the church, and we stand around and dedicate the children to the Lord. If our pianist will play our song, “Bring them in,” all right, and those mothers that's got the little ones, will come, stand forward. Brother Neville and some of the elders will stand with me here, if they will, and we'll dedicate these children unto the Lord.

Bring them in, bring them in,

Bring them in from the fields of sin;

Bring them in, bring them in,

Bring the little ones to Jesus.

Now this is just a form, of mothers dedicating their little ones to the Lord. And this Easter morning, what a wonderful time for baptism or dedication, this early season and the resurrection time. Let's sing it again while the rest start.

Bring them in, bring them in,

Bring them in from the fields of sin;

Bring them in, bring them in,

Bring the little ones to Jesus.

Now, friends, I know them ... each one is the prettiest baby in the world. I know that. I know better than to say anything else about that. That's right. And that's the way you should feel.

They're little treasures that God has given you the responsibility of raising. And I've always said, and made this kind of a saying to mothers.... We know, written, of four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But there is a fifth gospel, unwritten: that's Mother. She gets them before Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John's teaching gets them. So the responsibility is placed upon you mothers and you fathers to raise these children for the kingdom of God. And I'm sure that's your heart's desire.

We lift them to God in prayer, and dedicate your babies to Christ. The elders and I will come forward to ... you just give us the name. And now I know my wife is kind of jealous of me in this job.

Lisa Ann Mitchell. Oh! Lisa Ann Mitchell, a treasure for anyone's heart. Let us bow our heads. Heavenly Father, as your servants, we lift this little Lisa Ann Mitchell to Thee, in the name of the Lord Jesus. We dedicate her and claim her life for the kingdom of God. May she live and grow and be a wonderful person to the kingdom of God. We do this, because we're commissioned of our Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. (God bless you.)

H. A.... E. J. Junior. E. J. Junior, while he's taking a nap. Let us bow our heads. Our heavenly Father, we lift to You this little fellow, pray that if Jesus tarries You'll make a great servant of God out of Him. The mother gives him to You. And we present him in the name of the Lord Jesus, that You'll bless him and the home that he comes from. May he be raised to the glory of God, as we dedicate him to Jesus Christ. Amen.

God bless you, sister. I'm kind of careful of that job, because I'm always afraid I'll hurt the little fellows.

Now, let me get just like this. This is a little fellow! The name? Deborah Myers, little Deborah Myers. She's bright-eyed this morning. Let us bow our heads. Heavenly Father, we bring to You little Deborah Myers. We pray Your blessings upon the child. As we dedicate her to the Lord, as the father and mother now presents her, in commemoration of our Lord Jesus who blessed the little ones, who said, “Suffer them to come unto me,” we give to You little Deborah for a life of service, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now, which one of these other little fellows? All right, sir. Now this young fellow. Sarah Ruth, little Sarah Ruth Wheelen ... Wheeler. Our heavenly Father, we bring to You this darling baby that's been given into our hands for dedication. And we stand with bowed heads and hearts to thank You for her, and pray that You'll bless her life to a life of Your service. We give her to You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. God bless you. It's all over now. She looked back at me, if to say, “Anything else?” All right.

There's a sweet little girl. Now what's your name? Mica Ungren. What a sweet little thing this is. How do you do? She's all suspicious, wanted to know what's going on up here. Let us bow our heads. Our heavenly Father, we give to You this lovely little child on this Easter morning, bringing little ones to You. We dedicate her to the Lord Jesus for a life of service. Grant, Lord, that she'll live long, unto the coming of the Lord if it be possible. And make her a service to You, as we dedicate her to You, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

What's the name? Oh, Melinda, little Melinda Ungren. They want to see you out this way, Melinda. You're pretty. My! Let us bow our heads. Father God, we give to You this little lady, in the name of the Lord Jesus. We dedicate her to You, her life, for a life of service for You, Lord, pray that You'll spare her and make her one of your handmaids to serve You and to do that which she has been born to do. We give her to You in dedication, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

All these pretty little girls! Let's see now.... This, oh, here, this is the one. How do you do? How are you this morning? What's her name, now? Jane ... Jamie Lynn Daulton. Our heavenly Father, we bring to You this sweet little girl, and we pray that You will bless her. And we ask, Lord, that You'll bless the homes of these children. May they be raised up in the admonition of God, to a life of service for You. We give to You this little darling, as we dedicate her to God in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.

How do you do? Well, now, you can almost hold me, can't you? What's her name? Theresa Katherine. Look out here, Theresa. Isn't she a pretty little thing? All these are such pretty little babies. Our heavenly Father, we give to You this darling little girl that her loved one has presented to us. As we hold the child to You, we give her for a life of service to God. We dedicate her to God's service in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.

God bless you, sister, and bless your little one.

Little blue eyes; and then brown. What's her name? Cynthia, little Cynthia Sharp. Look out here, Cynthia (them pretty little eyes). Our heavenly Father, we give to you this little girl this morning. Let her live long, let her be your handmaid. The loved one places it into my arms for dedication I bring it before the elders, and place her before God, and dedicate her to God's service in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.

Now, this is kind of a small one too. Now, Meda, you ought to be up here to hold this one. I'm always afraid I'll break it. James, James Bliss. He's a mighty wise-looking little fellow, isn't he? That's it. Our heavenly Father, we give to You little James. May he be like the one his name comes from, James in the Bible, no doubt, who showed wisdom in the counsel of the Lord's service. I pray that You will bless him, for a life of service to You. Bless the home that he comes from, and may he be raised in the admonition of God, as we dedicate him to God's service in the name of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Amen.

What's this little girl's name? Come up here, honey. Tammy Brown. Oh, little Tammy Brown. Her mother and father was baptized this morning. Another pretty little girl. Let's bow our heads. Father, we bring to You this little child. I'd imagine it was something like this when the mothers brought them to You when You were in your earthly journey. We dedicate her to You, Lord. As I understand, her father and mother was baptized this morning here in that precious name of the Lord Jesus. Then her home will be right. I pray that You'll bless her and give her a life of service as we dedicate her to God for his service, in the name of Jesus Christ, his Son. Amen.

Thank you. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I didn't see those. How do you do? Well, what a fine man. Can I hold you? What's his name? Danny Johnson, Danny William Johnson. Oh, my, he even looks like a preacher, doesn't he? Heavenly Father, we bring to You this little boy. Maybe he's too young to know what this is about, but there's a God of heaven who looks down and knows these things. We give him to You, Lord, as the mother placed him in our arms. By faith we come in the name of Jesus Christ and claim him as a trophy to the grace of God and dedicate him to God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Bless you, dear.

Did we get ... no. My, what a pretty little girl coming here! That's the prettiest little dress that you have on, and little hat. Adler, Adler, Eileen Gail Adler. What a beautiful little girl. Our heavenly Father, I hold to You this treasure of the home, a little girl that's come into the world. And the loved one brings her forward to be dedicated for service to You, knowing that this evil day that we're living.... We claim the child's life as a trophy for God, and we dedicate her to the service of God in the name of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Amen. Bless you, honey.

Here's a little preacher boy, couple of them. Are they twins? Five and eight. What's this one's name? Johnny. From Richmond, from Richmond, Virginia. I thought I remembered your face. We had an interview together, when the Lord was present. I remember you. I knowed your face and I couldn't make out who you was. All right. Well, we know he'll come in the right home. His name is John, Johnny. Our heavenly Father, we bring to You this little boy, Johnny. And we lay our hands upon him, because that is the way You did it. You laid your hands upon them. And we bless him and claim his life as a trophy of God's grace, dedicate him to God's service in the name of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Amen. Bless you, little boy.

Louis. This is Louis. Heavenly Father, we bring to You this little boy, Louis. And the father brings him forward for dedication to the service in the house of God. As we think of days gone by, when Hannah went down into the temple, and prayed, and God gave her a baby, and she brought the baby back and give him to God.... That's what these people do today, bring their little ones in, their little treasures, dedicate them. And the prophet taken him, Father, and raised the little fellow, and he became a prophet. Now we dedicate little Louis this morning to the service of Almighty God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Bless you, son.

Sure good to see you down here from Richmond, Virginia, this morning. God bless you.

Now let's see, is that it? All right. Oh, it's all those little fellows! You don't know, we might have dedicated a many little missionary this morning, and a preacher, we don't know. That all lays in the hands of the Almighty.

I want to announce that the services tonight, here at the Tabernacle, there will be a communion service. And if you've never attended one of our communion services, we also observe feet-washing.

Now, there is some handkerchiefs laying here for me to pray over. One belongs to Brother Grimsley, our brother here at the church. I don't know whose these are. We send these out, hundreds and hundreds of them, across the world. And now I want to pray for them after I start in praying for the sick.

I want to speak first, just for a while, on the little continuation of Easter message. And now before we approach God's Word, let's approach Him by prayer.

Our heavenly Father, we are grateful in our hearts this morning for this glorious morning. And above all that, we are grateful for this what it represents, the resurrection and sealed proof of our religion, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, some two thousand years ago, and presented Himself back to his church alive forevermore. After two thousand years, we are so happy to be still enjoying that fellowship with the disciples of a resurrected Christ.

We pray, Lord, that his presence will be so felt in this building this morning until every person here that's not saved will accept Him as their Saviour. And those who have not been filled with his Spirit, may this be the day when the Holy Spirit will do the finished work upon them. We ask that He, in his great atonement that healed the sick, may He come so close to the people, that faith will be prominent, Lord, and dominating over unbelief, that will cause the sick and the afflicted to go away from here healed and well.

We would ask, Lord, that You would bless the one now that's undertaking to explain thy Word of the resurrection. God, bless all the ministers everywhere, your children, your servants throughout the land, throughout the world.

And come, Lord Jesus, quickly, because we see clouds floating in the air, Lord, and we know that there is a great thing moving up. Gird up your people. Oh, may they take the sword of the truth, buckle on the armor, pull down the helmet, shod themselves with the gospel, and above all things, take that shield of faith and move forward. Grant it, Lord, for war clouds are hanging low. Bless us today now, for we know that soon, as far as we know, we will see Jesus soon. And we pray that we'll be ready to go when that hour comes. May we prepare our hearts and finish that, settle it once for all in the morning service today. In Jesus Christ's name, speak to us through thy Word. Thy Word is truth. Amen.

Now to you that would like to read with me in the Scriptures, turn to Luke, the twenty-fourth chapter. And I want to read quite a lengthy portion of it here, the Lord willing, to get a background to what I want to base a few-minutes' talk on. And now if you want to ... if it's hot, I guess, or whatever, you just make yourself as comfortable as you can, and I'll be just as quick as possible.

And we want to say this, that we certainly appreciate your loyalty to come. And when—though people tries to say that the gospel has lost its attraction—and when people will come from across the nation to stand, in a place where their limbs are hurting, for a service of the Lord, it still shows that God has got people, and there's still a longing in their heart to see God. Yet the gospel in its simplicity, just as simple as the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is, yet it's the greatest power that's ever struck the earth, the gospel of Christ. And the gospel is not in word only, but through power and demonstrations of the Holy Spirit. May He grant these things to us as we read now from the thirty-sixth verse of the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Luke:

And as they ... spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you.

But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bone, as ye see me have.

And when they had ... spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

And while they yet believed not for joy, and were wondering, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

And they gave Him a piece of ... boiled fish, and ... an honeycomb.

And he took it, and did eat it before them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

And he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Then said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

And that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And ye are witnesses of these things.

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.

And he led them out as far as ... Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was departed from them, and carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Now if I should call it for a text, I'd like to take this, “The True Easter Seal.”

How I come to think of such a thing, was about a week ago I was on my road down into Georgetown, a little city below New Albany here, and there was boys standing on the street, taking up offerings for Easter seals. And I begin to think about Easter seal. And I thought, “What is an Easter seal? Surely it means more than what these boys are taking up offerings for, an Easter seal.” And I thought, “What do they do with such seals, and with the contribution that's taken from them, or for them?” They are placed, of course, these seals, upon letters and things. And it's a free-will offering for them, and it goes to put people in the hospital that's got tuberculosis, and so forth, and to put them in the hospital, at a place of rest, until they are finished.

And I thought, “Surely Easter has something more than that, a seal of Easter. It would mean something more than placing a person in a hospital to keep him comfortable.” Which, that is very fine. Now, I have nothing against that. That, God bless them, that's a wonderful thing. But still, seems like it should go just a little further than that, being that Easter meant so much to the Christian church and to our Christian heritage, the seal of the resurrection. And how could a little postage stamp, like, take its place? It could not.

So I begin to think on that, “What was the Easter seal?” And that's how I drew this idea of speaking this morning on Easter seal.

Now Easter has ... and seals, and so forth, is all through the Bible. We find them. They're as old as the Bible is. All the way back in the garden of Eden we find it. And then we find that anything that we find anywhere in the Bible goes back to Genesis. It all started in Genesis.

And then I was thinking that what I had in my mind as Easter seal.... Then I wondered why that it was so rejected, and how that people would refuse it. Why was it so condemned? And I was thinking then that it's not always condemned, and all people doesn't condemn it.

But God has so made a way that man is placed into a position to where he's forced to make a decision. Man cannot live on earth without making a decision. God forces the issue to him. He must make some decision. And there's a time when you have to make a decision of schooling, you have to make a decision of who you'll marry, and you have to make decisions of different things.

But in the garden of Eden, where they had only two boys, the decision was forced upon man to make a decision. And I think it's done to show his true color, what he is, to show what he is inside of him. Now we find that the time came, between Cain and Abel, that the decision had to be forced, because that the time of worship had come, and each boy had provided a way to make a worship to God.

And if you'll notice, between right and wrong there's just one little breath of difference. And the wrong, in the last days, has been prophesied that it would be so close to the right that it would deceive the very elected if it was possible, between right and wrong.

Now, in the boys, as they came to their altars, and made worship.... Now I was thinking then of how many altars this morning in churches, that beautiful flowers is set upon the altars. And that's all right. I have nothing against that. But that seems to be just about the end of the worship, is to put some flowers on the altar, or a pretty church, or fine decorations or something, and that seems to end it.

And it was somewhat that way with Cain, because he brought in the fruits of the field, and made his service to God; and it was rejected because he did not come the right and precise way that God had ordained him to come. But he had made his offering and done everything religiously just as his brother, but he was rejected. And because he was rejected on the spiritual side, then it caused a jealousy to rise in him, because he was greedy.

That's in man. He can't help being what he is because he's born in that condition. Man is represented in heaven as a sinner by a sinner. I was speaking on that some time ago, and someone said, “Then that's not just. If I am to be represented by one man's disobedience, then I don't have a chance.”

I said, “That's true, because you are borned a sinner, but you are represented. You are condemned to condemnation by representation. Well, then, that looks very cruel. But turn it on the other side, then we are ordained to eternal life by representation. Where one represented us to death, another represented us unto eternal life, so it puts us back again before the throne again. Every human being comes right back to the same place, to make our choice.”

But that greed that's always been—right and wrong, wrong trying to overthrow the right. It started in Eden, and it has come down through the ages. It's come down till it's entered into national affairs. It's come down into church affairs. It's come down into home life. Greed, trying to rule or ruin, trying to overpower, push out. And we see the thing working everywhere, and it always has—the same thing, trying to overrule or overrun.

Down through the Old Testament, God, in the days of the prophets, back.... I've got several of them written down here that I will not have time to get to. But, God, in the days of the old prophets, in the midst of everything, like He did in the garden of Eden.... When the true voice of God and the true worship of God was condemned, and sent out and killed in the garden of Eden, and the voice of God hushed by the greed and jealousy, it's been that way in the church ever since—trying to hush the true voice of God.

But if you notice, as soon as the voice of Abel was silent in death, God raised up Seth to take his place, which was nothing but a pre-Easter, a pre-resurrection, or a replacement until resurrection came. That went for a while. Down through the Old Testament we find it going. The prophets, God kept his voice alive with the prophets. They spoke the Word of God, and they stoned them. And as soon as they would stone one and put him away, God would raise up another one. And they would stone that one and put away; God would raise up another one. He's always kept his witness alive. Down through the ages He's kept his voice alive before the people, all the way from Eden.

And now we find out, as soon as Cain realized that he had did what he did, well, he went out from the presence of God, and was sealed away from God, by a mark was placed upon him. He went out, the Bible said, from the garden of Eden, from the gates of the garden, east of Eden. He went out, sealed, marked, went out from the presence of God. What a thing!

What a tremendous thing, that Cain, because of jealousy, and because of ... not willing to be reconciled to God by the same appropriated way that his brother came. God said to Cain, “If you'll worship like Abel, you'll do well.”

But Cain as much as said, “Here's what I've put together. This is what I've got, here's what I give You. Take this or leave it, either one You want to do. Just suit Yourself.”

Now that's kind of the attitude of people all the time in church life, in other life. They say, “I go to church. I help the church, I do this. If God can't accept that.... That's the best I can do,” see. But still it isn't that that God requires. God doesn't require that.

God requires a provided way. He has provided a way, and He requires you to accept what He has provided, see. He doesn't need our assistance in telling Him what to do and how to do it. He has made the way for us to do, and the things that we should do, and how we should do them; and He doesn't need our ideas in it at all. We are not to come that way. But we find that men are prone to do that, all down through the age. But God kept his voice alive with his prophets, and so forth, down through the age as He's come.

And we find it today.

And we find it in politics. I've got some things set down here about politics, that how that we would find even in this day that where we are, that people has sold their birthrights for politics. And if none of you has ever got the tape that I spoke on up at Middletown, Ohio, Sunday, a week ago, on Jezebel and Ahab, I wish you would listen to it sometime. And how that the nation, because of greed, and a few extra dollars, and a more popular idea amongst the people, they have absolutely sold out Christ just as much as Judas did two thousand years ago for thirty pieces of silver. Oh, it's a tremendous thing to think that the condition that exists amongst this nation and these peoples today! To think that many years ago they would've never done a thing like that. But today they're so greedy, trying to get more money, trying to get easier times.

Now that is, 'course, the un-Christian.

The Christian doesn't ask for easy things. We are not.... There's so much promises today made amongst Christian people, so many ministers promise the people a false thing: “If you'll just come to Christ, all your troubles is settled.” I tell you, when you come to Christ they then begin. That's when you put on a uniform and take a gun, and enter the battlefield. This Christian road is not a flower bed of ease. It is a battle, from the very hour you start until your spirit is set free by death. You are not at no picnic. You are on a battlegrounds. And so we are promised things.

And I become sometimes (I hate to say this, but I mean it from my heart), that I become perplexed when I hear so much “super-duper faith, super-duper religion.” And everything today has become a super-duper something. It's the super-duper man. And the television has opened the way through spacemen, and so forth, and a bunch of nonsense—super-duper. Oh! And they bring out even into divine healing today, “super-duper healings.” Now, God doesn't have no such things as that.

They bring people, many times, to the platform—and gifted men, no doubt, but with a misunderstanding of the gospel—put oil upon them, and pray, and stand there and shake them until something happens, they get healed. And maybe that person living in sin, and they go back out and find it comes right back on them again. Maybe they was under an excitement at that time. Which, the faith of God that they accumulated did heal them, but when they get off amongst unbelievers it comes back again. It will do that again.

What we need today in divine healing is clean-cut decisions for Christ. Right.

I was reading a letter just recently that was sent me from the Lutheran Association in Germany, where a brother had been staying, and having a healing service in Germany, with the sponsorship of the Lutheran church, and Pentecostals, and so forth. And this copy of this letter was wrote. And he said, “You preach that divine healing, and all they have to do is you lay your hands on them, and they feel something and get healed.” He said, “I certainly differ with you.” He said, “Then what about little Deborah Stadsklev when she died up there? A perfect healthy child one day, and the next few hours she was laying dead. And you all went up there, and you prayed, and you shook her, and you anointed her, and everything, for healing, and there was no life. The baby laid there.” Said, “Then they telegrammed Brother Branham. And he never said a thing until he got a good clean-cut decision from God, and then come in the name of the Lord Jesus to say the words.' ”

Now that's what we need—get a clean-cut decision from God. That's why we've got to come ... that's why we baptize in the name of Jesus Christ. It's a clean-cut decision from the Word of God. That's the reason we stay with the things we do, because they are God's orders and God's gospel. And we've got to stay with it just the way it's wrote. Whether agreed, whether you're hated, whether ... no matter what takes place, that doesn't have one thing to do with it. God wants clean-cut decisions.

And how can you do it when you know you're wrong to begin with? You cannot have a clean-cut decision from God. How can you come and ask for divine healing when you know that your heart's not right with God, to serve Him? See, you want to go back out and do the things that's in the world. You'll never get healed like that, see. You must come clean before God, and dedicate your life and heart to God, and then God will heal. And it's lasting then, because your faith has been anchored.

Now it's in ... we find that greed, though, in church, and in politics, and in national affairs. One nation ... look down here in Africa now, what's going on. Look, because of greed, look what's happened down there now in Africa; not only there, but all over the world, everywhere, because man wants to be somebody. This is all they have, is right here on earth, or, they live that way. If this was all I had, I'd be a miserable person. I'm looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. There's where we lay our treasures up, for that purpose.

The sons of Cain, or rather sons of Satan (they are sons of Satan because Cain was the son of Satan), and so, therefore, the sons of Cain today.... And you say, “Are you sure of that, Brother Branham?”

JOHN8:44

Yes, I am. I'm positive of that, for.... Listen. Jesus, when He was here on earth, He promptly told them religious leaders that “Ye are of your father the devil.” Yet they were pious, and they were religious, and they were scholars, and they had great buildings, and they had great churches, and they had great scholarships and priesthood and orders and so forth; but they failed to recognize who Christ was. They failed to catch their day.

And as they did then, so do they do now, just exactly the same. They fail to realize the day that we're living and the things that God is doing. Now we see therefore, would put.... If those religious leaders.... Now here it is! If those religious leaders in that day were called sons of the devil.... We know then that the devil, in the beginning, was the one who inspired Cain to persecute his brother and to kill him. That's the same thing taken place by them same leaders that persecuted Jesus Christ and killed Him. They were forced to a decision just the same as they were forced back there in the garden of Eden. They were forced to make a decision, “Well, what about this?” The sons of Cain, the sons of Satan.

You say, “Does that go to nations?” When Satan took Jesus up to the top of the mountain for temptation, he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Now, that was all that was and all that would be, all the kingdoms of all the world. And he said, “These are mine, and I do with them whatever I want to. I can make them fight, I can make them do this, or any....” And he claimed the kingdoms of the world, so then we can see how greed and selfishness comes into politics, see. We can see then where it is in the church and in the church leaders, where greed and selfishness comes into the church.

Now watch. That same old greed that started in the garden of Eden, that put a bad seal on one, and the right seal on the other, come right down into the times of our Lord Jesus. When He was here on earth, He was given a trial by what was called justice, a court of justice. What an unjust mockery that was! There wasn't one thing that they could find against Him. That was the political side. They couldn't find nothing against Him. Even so much as Pilate, himself, said, “I find no fault in Him.”

And then comes the church. They are forced now to make a decision. After the political world had set Him free—to cooperate with that same spirit that was in the church, that was in politics—to show that if Satan lost his battle here, he still had something in reserve.... He could fall right back to the church, and they crucified Him, because they were forced to make a decision, and they said, “Give us Barabbas instead of Jesus.” See how they did it?

It's right before our eyes today, the same thing, and has been and always will be—forced to make a decision! Now, when they forced the decision, Pilate knew in his heart that when he released them to ... released Jesus to the church, that.... He knew the church was the one delivered Him to be crucified, and if he loosed Him back to the church, the church would crucify Him. So, Pilate isn't excused! He got water and tried to wash the blood of Christ off his hands, but he cannot do it.

Ever since that time, up here in Sweden ... or Switzerland, rather, where Pilate met his end years later (lost his mind, went insane, plunged himself to death in a hole of water), there's a legend that says, “At three o'clock in the afternoon that blue water comes up from the bottom of that pool. People gather there from all over the world to watch it. At three o'clock that blue, indigo-looking water comes up from the bottom of somewhere, and shakes on top of the water, and goes back down, to show that no water can wash the blood of Jesus Christ off of any man's hands.” He's guilty!

And every man that Christ has ever ... placed on your hands, there is nothing that can wash it off of there. There's only one thing to do, is accept it, believe it.

Sons of Satan, sons of Cain, persecute the sons of God, put them to death. That's what they did to Abel. That's what they did to Jesus, that's what they done to the prophets, that's what's in them to do again. And they will do it as soon as the road is made open for them to do it.

Remember, we have kind of meddled around and fooled around, and got people off of the track of the gospel and of history, of what is to take place. And here we are faced with it again, right here in our nation, and there's nothing we can do about it. But you say, “Then, Brother Branham, what's your reason of speaking against it?” No more than I could stop sin; I can put my voice against it. And that's exactly what I'm doing now against sin, and against the wrong thing. We have done wrong, and we're going to reap what we've sowed, exactly.

Since Middletown.... They had a hearing. Brought a priest, a Baptist preacher, and a Presbyterian preacher together, consult about this school funds. And the priest agreed that the Protestants paid taxes the same as the Catholic, and that the funds should be given to both sides, and said, “What we ought to do is make one school, a Catholic school.” Oh, sure, get those children when they're little. Oh, oh, what a thing!

And how has people sat there and brought this thing in, just because of politics? How, I don't understand it. But here we are, right here on this Easter morning, and the very thing.... The very reason we come to this country and become Americans was for freedom of religion against that Jezebel system; and we turned right back around and elect it on the platform up there in the White House. The very thing that we come here to be free from! Oh, it's a tremendous condition that we are living in now (you know that), the church spiritual—because it sold out.

They put Him to death, killed Him just like they did faithful Abel. Why did Abel kill ... was killed? Because in his heart he had the revelation of God's acceptance of what it took to redeem man from sin. That's the very reason they put Jesus to death, because in Him was a revelation of what it taken for God to cure sin. That's the very reason today that they're against the real church of the living God, because it preaches the cure for sin, the thing that makes people live different, act different.

And when you bring it right down into the church that we're living in today, into our Pentecostal groups, they have went right straight back, and doing the same thing that they were freed from doing. Goes to show there's something wrong somewhere. A sin cure! It's come in very easy. It slipped in just, well, just like under disguisement of true Pentecostal religion. But if it doesn't produce that kind of an article, if it doesn't produce that kind of goods, there's something wrong with it somewhere. How can a pumpkin produce watermelons? It can't do it. How can a grapevine produce peaches? It doesn't do it. If it's producing peaches, there's peach tree life in a grapevine.

And that's what we know today. If the church, no matter how much it professes to be the church of the living God, if it isn't producing God by old-time salvation, bringing the people back to a real salvation of God, and it shows among them, God lives among them, then it's the wrong thing. It's not producing the life that Christ said it would.

Christ died at Calvary. How that He went up to that cross.... I was reading a little book here not long ago, that ... on some kind of a research. And in this research I found something most startling. I sat down, and I laid the book down, and raised up my hands and praised God, got up and walked around a little bit, and sat down and read it again. I thought, “Oh, is that so? That on this same hill where Jesus was crucified, Adam died and was buried. On the same hill that Jesus died on, and was buried ... on the same hill where Adam died. He died on Golgotha, and was buried on Golgotha.” And I thought, “What appropriate,” whether it was right or wrong.

Let's say it was right. Then the first Adam died and was buried and there yet in the dust, because he represented the world and the people, to sin. But the second Adam, being the God of heaven, when He died on Golgotha, there wasn't enough earth to hold Him there. He rose on the third day and is alive forevermore. But the sin problem was settled. God settled the sin problem there at Calvary. That's where the debt was paid. When this Adam, second Adam, died, He paid the debt of sin for the human race.

And the world put Him in a tomb, and sealed Him up in that tomb.

And they would do the same today. They are trying to do the same today. I don't want you to miss this. The world is trying—and will get worse all the time—to seal Christ back in the tomb again. They're trying to make Him a historical God, one that walked in days, and give power to disciples to heal the sick, and to cast out devils. But what did they do? As soon as they thought they had got rid of Him, just like Cain did when he thought he got rid of Abel, they sealed Him in a tomb, and put Him in there.

And today they're trying to keep Christ in a tomb. But, oh, what an Easter morning done! An Easter morning ruined all of their theology. And when an Easter morning came for a people, a church here nineteen hundred years later, it ruined their theology. He's not dead; He's alive forevermore! They cannot keep Him in no tomb. You can put Him in a Methodist tomb, or a Baptist tomb, or a Presbyterian tomb, or whatever you want to, but He raised out of that tomb, and is alive today! I had a Baptist tomb, and you might have had a Methodist tomb, but one day Jesus rose from there—from a historical God to a living, present God, alive forevermore.

Something taken place on that Easter morning. It was a seal, a satisfied seal. When they took Him and put Him in the tomb, and put a Roman seal up on top of it.... But when that hour arose, when that hour come.... He stayed there for a while, it's true. He stayed there for those three days and nights. But on that set time which the Scripture said (hallelujah), on the time when He said, “Destroy this body, and on the third day I'll rise it up,” then there's nothing can stop that Scripture. It's got to come to pass. And that seal was broken, and He rose up, the same Jesus, alive again forevermore!

And for some nineteen hundred years, or maybe I'll say fourteen or fifteen hundred years, the churches has had Him sealed away. But He said.... “It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God....” There's nothing going to stop it! “There will be light in the evening time!” “The works that I do, shall you also.” “It shall be light in the evening time.” I don't care how many seals you try to put over it, God will break every seal. He broke the seal of the tomb, He broke the seal of hell, He broke the seal of death, He broke the seal of the grave, and arose forevermore. Triumphed over the grave, death, hell, tombs, and every man-made thing there was, to show that He was God and cannot be sealed away from the people anymore. God, forevermore! Nothing can hold Him. The grave couldn't be dug deep enough, hell couldn't be hot enough. Oh, nothing could hold Him!

He broke every seal with that great Christmas seal ... or, not Christmas seal, but Easter seal that He was sealed with. And He said, “The same seal that I wear, you shall wear also. And this seal that I wear, it shall do the same things when you are sealed. For he that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; even greater than this shall he do, for I go unto the Father.”

How're you going to keep it down? What can people do about it? You are forced to a decision, to make your decision what to do about it. That's exactly right.

Now we find that no seal could hold Him. He come forth. God broke the seal, the seal of the tomb, broke the seal of death, broke the seal of hell, broke the seal of the grave, and came forth triumph. What did it? That great seal that was on the inside of Him. They could destroy the body, but they could never destroy that seal. [Break in tape]

... destroyed one prophet, there raised up another. They kept destroying, but God give them something then that they cannot destroy. It's a supernatural Spirit. It's the Holy Ghost itself. And it's infallible and it's imperishable. It cannot be destroyed! It'll live on and on and on. And because He lives, we live with Him, because we're sealed into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. No way, no way to ever be destroyed. Cannot perish, but has eternal life. Amen. God's great ripping of them seals!

He also broke another seal I want to speak of here, found over in Exodus. But I won't have time to get to the Scriptures, but He ... find it over in Exodus. When man had sinned and separated himself from the presence of God, and he came to worship God, there was a veil that hung between the holy and the holiest of holies. Inside the holiest of holies was the Shekinah glory. They were not permitted to go in there. They were not permitted even to look of it. And a man going in there had to be anointed once a year, dressed right, blood on him, blood in his hand, blood in a charger, to sprinkle the mercy seat. The Shekinah glory was so great until he lost his rod in there one year. Come out without bringing his rod. And when he went back, the thing had already come to life, and was budded and blossoms was all over it, because it was laying in the presence of the Shekinah glory. But there was a veil that hung between there, because there was sin upon the people.

But, oh, brother, when it was sprinkled that day with the blood of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God rent the seal from the top to the bottom, and brought man back. Not only kept him away from the presence of God, but He brought him back into the Shekinah glory, into the presence of God, that he....

His dead life.... Jesus said, “If they did this in a green tree, what will they do in a dry?” And if they did that to Him, being the green tree with life, what will it be to the old dead formal tree that has no life, see, now when the wrath of God is poured out? How can an old dead formal tree stand it? when the green tree, it even perished the green tree, and sent it to hell. The wrath of God poured out for disobedience, of sin, sent the green tree to hell. What will it do in a dry tree when it strikes it? “If the righteous will be scarcely saved, where will the sinner and ungodly appear?” That person that rejects the way, that person that knows better, that person that it's been revealed to him and he still refuses to walk in God's way, what will happen to that person? What's it going to be?

Yes, He broke the seal that kept us from the Shekinah glory, because sin was finished.

And, now, the seal is a sign of a finished work. And we know that a seal.... Like you're going to seal a box car, well, they put all the work in it, and store everything up, and then it's sealed till its destination. Any seal is a finished work. When you write a document, then it's sealed at the end. Never sealed until it's finished.

Now, the blood of goats, and heifers, and so forth, would not take away sin. But when this was finished at Calvary, it took away sin.

Now watch. At the garden of Eden, to keep people from getting back to that tree, God set an angel there as a seal, with a sword, turning all ways, to guard that tree. And when he made his worship, and he came down.... Now remember, who was at that tree? Who was that tree? It was Jesus.

The tree of death was your mother. She brought you here in natural life. Christ is the birth through spiritual life. All that live by the woman, die; all that's borned of the man, lives. All that comes by the woman is natural; all comes from the man is spiritual. Not the man here; the man Christ Jesus.

And watch the tree. Guarded. It cannot get back because there was no offering appropriated to take sin away. So therefore when they come to worship, the Shekinah glory was behind the veil, sealed off from them. It was sealed off from them from the garden of Eden.

But when the day of Pentecost came, brother, when Jesus died there at Calvary and finished the work, He didn't seal man out; He sealed man inside with Himself. And now we're sealed up, and shut up in the presence of the Shekinah glory. Not only are we sealed in, but we're sealed in eternally. Amen! Oh, I love that! Sealed inside now. That's your real Easter seal. “For by one Spirit we are all sealed into one body.”

You say, “Is the Holy Ghost a seal?”

Ephesians 4:30 said, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption.” That's the genuine, true Easter seal. Shows that sin has been paid for for you, and God has accepted you, and you're sealed into Christ by the Holy Ghost. Sin is finished. The eternal seal has been finished.

Now we are resurrected today. Why can we have such a time over the things of God? Because we are resurrected. “Those who he foreknew, he called; those who he called, he justified; those who he justified, he has glorified.” Then we are now resurrected. We are resurrected from the inside out, not from the outside in. Oh! Do you notice, not sealed out this way; but sealed in. Oh, my, if the church could just see it! See, we're not sealed out; we're sealed in. Them days, when sin was abomination before God, and there was no appropriation to take it away, we were sealed away from it. Now when that ripped in two, and that seal was broke by a sin-offering being made from us, now we're baptized inside, and sealed inside.

We are resurrected. We are now resurrected. Already resurrected. How do you know? The Bible said so! Amen. We are now resurrected. We are now raised with Him in spiritual resurrection. What does the word quicken mean? Quicken means “resurrection.” That's right. We're already resurrected, right now, sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, enjoying the Easter seal. Amen. That's God's true Easter seal. How are we? By one Spirit baptized into the body, and sealed eternally. We are now raised spiritually. What did we raise from? From a life of sin. We were once sinners and loved the things of the world.

Now, there's many people say that they have been raised, but their life proves different. Your life proves what you are. “By their fruits you shall know them,” Jesus said. That's the reason we never could go upon making a man speak in tongues and say he's got the Holy Ghost. We don't believe that. There's no scripture for that. No, sir. Men speak with tongues and go on out and live like the world. Women speak in tongues and bob off their hair, wear make-up. Huh! You couldn't say that was the Holy Ghost. Surely not, certainly not. Certainly not. A man smoke cigars, and go out here and live with the next man's wife, run around, carry on. Say that's the Holy Ghost? No, no. “By their fruits you shall know them. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruits; neither does a good tree bring forth corrupt fruits.”

We are sealed by the Holy Ghost, God's true Easter seal. We are sealed into the body of Christ, eternally sealed. Not a seal for a space of time, but for eternity. And now that person that's received that is raised from the dead, from a life of sin. What is it? His spirit has been raised, his ambitions are raised, his life has been raised, he is a new creature. And he comes together with fellow citizens, like we are this morning, to pray for one another, and to help one another, to encourage one another, and to sit and gather in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, sealed by the Holy Ghost.

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid in Christ, through God, sealed by the Holy Ghost,” Scripture said. That's the Scripture. Now you see we're sealed by the Easter seal. The Easter seal of resurrection, which confirmed that his life and what He had said was true. Now we find out it's a complete work, it's a finished product. God's resurrection is a finished product. The Holy Ghost is God's seal of a finished product.

Now we come to Christ. First thing we do, we get justified by believing on Him. When we do that, then we realize that we've done wrong, we ask God to sanctify us—that's cleanse us from our life of sin. Martin Luther's justification, his message; then come Wesley with sanctification. And then when it's all complete, and his church is completed, what's the next thing? A finished work. A finished work is a seal, that the church has been completed.

Like in the pyramid. Notice on a dollar bill. I have referred to this. I don't know whether I ever did here at the Tabernacle or not. You notice on a dollar bill, it's called “the great seal.” Now how could you say that the United States could recognize that over in Egypt they had the great seal and here's the seal of the United States on the other side, an eagle? Why would they be forced to make that a great seal, “the great seal?”

Because, if you notice, right behind, up above the pyramid there's a little block, and that little block is the headstone, and that headstone was never put on the pyramid. It's an open top, if you've ever been there. By the grace of God I have. So there's no top on the pyramid. What is it? Enoch built it before the flood. It was a memorial. That's the reason it never destroyed during the time of the flood. There's nothing destroyed it, because it is a memorial.

Now if you notice, way down at the bottom it's wide, then it's shaped up a little more in the minority, and then a little more, and then it goes to the headstone. That's the Lutheran age, justification in the church; sanctification; then the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But as it shapes towards the top it continues from Lutheran age, to Wesley age, into Pentecostal age. But after it leaves the Pentecostal age, it still shapes up until it has to get to such a place till all those stones are so honed till a razor blade....

They weigh tons and tons, up there. How they ever got them up, that's still a mystery to man. But they take this razor blade, and can run along, and it's honed out so perfect until you can't even put a razor blade where mortar should be. That's how perfect the stones are put together. And now when this head stone ... which, the stones dovetail in like this—kind of set in in a way that angles so that the headstone will come in a point, and sit right down into it. It won't need any mortar, it'll set perfect.

Now that's what God is doing to his church. He's honing-off the people, and making it in such a perfect way that when the headstone, Christ, comes, it fits the building together. And then a resurrection of the whole thing—the church is gone up! The headstone.

Now we are sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now we realize that Jesus, the body of Jesus, was caught up from the resurrection. Now we know that the Bible speaks of three heavens. We know it: first heaven, second heaven, and third heaven. I believe it was Paul that was caught away into the third heaven and seen things that wasn't expedient for him to speak of them. Now, the first heaven is called, in the Scripture, like the clouds—in other words, down below, here on the earthly seal. Now when that atmosphere from up in above the clouds becomes down into the church, that's a heavenly place. Then the second heavens is considered the solar system. And the third heavens goes beyond that.

Now we just happened to think.... Just watch this just a minute. Now, Einstein proved, by scientific, that if two objects was coming to each other, like two cars coming down across the road, and if they were coming fast enough.... Now they'd really have to be going fast, like a billion miles per second, but they could pass right through one another and never disturb a thing. The speed would do it. Pass them right through one another without disturbing anything.

Now, if you'll notice.... I was standing here not long ago at Mount Palomar, in California, and I was noticing there that telescope that can see 120,000,000 years of light space. Now think, 120,000,000 years of light space, how many miles that would be to be broke down! See?

But yet heaven is so many billions and billions and billions of light years beyond that, till it's not even thought of. How would we get there? It's the travel—it'll be like the mind, it's so fast. It'll be faster. If you could think of heaven, that's how quick you'd be there.

Jesus, after He was resurrected, came right through the walls, right through the doors, and stood, and eat boiled fish, and honeycomb. Hallelujah. Speed! No sooner than life has gone out of this body, we're in the presence of God, yonder. We only know as feet and inches, and yards and miles, and so forth. We're in this earthbound system, but when we leave here, brother, oh, my, what a time!

Speaking the other night on Abraham and his seed after him, how that God showed through Abraham ... how He justified Abraham, the twelfth chapter of Genesis; and on down, sixteenth chapter, how He confirmed the covenant through sanctification; on the seventeenth chapter, let him nurse from his breast, draw in the Holy Spirit. And then He confirmed, or placed him (like you've heard me preach the sermon of “Hear Ye Him”). Took Abraham out and changed his name from Abram to Abraham, give him part of his name, Elohim, h-a-m. Then we find out that after that, He appeared to Abraham.

Now to his seed, watch how He's done the seed the same way. The seed of Abraham come through justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost; manifestation of his name, revealing of who He is (that revelation of who Jesus Christ....), baptism in his name, and so forth like that, that revelation, dividing his name with his church, calling them out. Then what did He do? In that same church that He called his name, Jesus' name, what did He do? He appeared in the same form that He did to Abraham, being able to discern spirit behind Him, see. Appeared in that same name, in that same thing, in the same form. We're just at the end of the road.

Now notice what taken place. When He did that, that was the last sign that He give the church before the change come to the church, to Abraham and Sarah. Now when the angel told the mystery, the woman (the church, which ... represented), she could hardly believe it. She just laughed within herself.

See, she was a hundred years old. It failed to be with her and Abraham as husband and wife (You understand what I mean—family relationships.) probably twenty years before. Well, they was dead in that manner. Sarah ... Abraham as good as dead, Sarah's womb as good as dead. But what happened? What taken place? She said, “How could I, being as old as I am, and my lord...? We haven't ... ceased that way, we been that ... ceased from that way for many, many years. It's impossible for him. It's impossible for me. How can I do it?” And she laughed in herself.

And the angel said, “Why did she laugh? Why did she think within her heart? Why did she say this?” Now watch, that was the last sign before something happened to Sarah and Abraham.

Now I preached here one time, and told you that God turned them back to a young man and woman. To prove it, she went down ... they took a little trip and went down to Gerar. And Abimelech, that Philistine king, fell in love with Sarah and wanted to marry her—because she was a young woman again, beautiful.

And notice, He had to do something. He had to change her. He didn't just put her back to a young man and woman, him and her. He didn't do that, because if they would, the same thing would have existed. See, they'd come ... because he married her when she was about sixteen and he was just a young man, and they lived all their life with no children. If He just set them back, well, they'd just done the same thing again. But he had to do something different. He had to change them so that they could have this promised son, the promised son they was going to receive. But He had to change their whole system, and turn them back young and change them, to receive the son.

The same thing He's going to do next. After that, remember, after that sign was manifested fully to Abraham and his group, then the next thing come was that change, see. Now we done seen everything— through justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, placing of the son, and the signs and wonders of Him, being in his presence to discern the thoughts of the heart, and so forth. As He said, “As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.” We see that taking place right now.

What was the next thing? The change of the body. Now, show that this ... we are looking for an expected Son. Glory! Is that right? We cannot meet Him in these bodies. If we are changed back to young men and women, still we can't meet Him, because we have to meet Him in the air. There has to be something done besides changing us back to young men and women. We've got to be changed and caught up in the air to meet Him. And the next thing coming is the rapture of the church, and the change of the body of the sleeping saints, to meet the Lord Jesus in the air.

Oh, the memorial of Easter, those that are sealed away by the Holy Spirit! Now at Eden gate, man was sealed away from God; at Pentecost he was eternally sealed into God. He goes in or out no more, he's there for good! Look. One Spirit ... we're baptized into one body by the Holy Ghost. Is that right? Then we are sealed until how long? To the day of your redemption. He no more goes out for the things of the world. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid in God through Christ, sealed in by the Holy Ghost.” Oh, what a beautiful Scripture—sealed into Christ by the Holy Ghost!

Then when Jesus raised from the dead, men was again forced to make their decision: “Did He rise, or did not He raise?” And what did they do? They did the same thing they did at that mock trial, politics and church together, for the political and the religious got together the same as they did then. Just the same as they're going to do in the future, and doing it right now—politics and religion!

Ahab was a pretty good guy, but Jezebel, he was married to her. I don't say that President Kennedy isn't a good man, but he's married to that Jezebel system. It wasn't Ahab that did it; it was Jezebel behind the throne, that controlled it. It's that Jezebel system that's going to do the damage here. He has to do, because he's married to her. He has to receive it, he has to do it, he's married to her. Oh, my! People, can't you see what the Scripture is doing? Can't you see where we're standing here in the last days?

Now notice man after the resurrection. You see that mock trial. Turned it over to the church, knowing what the church would do. And what did it happen when these soldiers was scared and run away? The church hired these soldiers, and was given money, to go say that his disciples came by night and took Him away. Then I want to ask you. If the disciples came by night and took Him away, why didn't they take the robe that was on Him? If they were thieves, and stealing, why didn't they take the robe, too? But the linen was laying right there, with the napkin over his face, the linen laying where it was over his body. He just moved right through it all, and went up to the resurrection. Not a thing was disturbed. Just the way He was laid, it was laying the same way, but He had went out from the linen. Amen.

See, but a mock trial again, a false accusation. Because why? They were forced. They were forced to make a decision. Men had to make a decision. The church had to say, “He's raised from dead,” or, “He has not raised from the dead.” Amen.

Oh, let's get our hearing on now, put your spiritual hearing aid in. Notice, it's come to that same thing. Men are trying to follow, like our meetings, and saying.... I've heard even churches, the Church of Christ, so-called, said, “I'll give a thousand dollars for any man that can show one evidence of a resurrec... or, a person that's been healed.” I took doctors to them, and they wouldn't even believe it. Why? They are forced to make a decision. They have sealed themselves outside, with Cain, with the religious cults.

The true little church of God is in the minority, but always moved that way, but she'll.... How did she suffer that fifteen hundred years of Dark Ages?

They say, “The Roman church....” Sure, the Roman church was first the Pentecostal church, the Catholic church was. It began at Pentecost, but then it wanted to organize. And if this Pentecostal church would stand for another two thousand years, they'd be worse than the Catholic is now, they're getting so far away from everything.

I was questioned the other day, “Are you going to preach, if you come to this place, on women wearing make-up, they shouldn't wear shorts, shouldn't wear these things?”

I said, “Don't ask me then. No, sir. Don't ask me to come.”

“Are you going to preach these?” They said, “What business is that of yours?”

I said, “It's the Lord's business, and I'm about his business.” That's exactly right. Exactly! So I said just....

“What do you do that for? Aren't there other things to say?”

I said, “Yeah, but let them do that, and then we'll talk on other things, you see. See, let's get the foundation laid.”

That's what's the matter. You're trying to jump up on top of the ladder, when you ought to be on the bottom yet, see. Get started down here, clean up and get started right, and then we could build upon that. Otherwise, you cannot build, because any foundation that's not built upon the principles of Christ will fall.

In the Bible it said, “It's an abomination for a woman to wear a garment pertains to a man.” It hasn't changed one bit, and God hasn't changed. He's eternal, and his thoughts yesterday is the same as they are today, and will be forever. His Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His works is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His redemption is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There's no way of getting around it. Now the proof of the pudding is the eating thereof. We know that. Is it right? God said it was.

Man was forced to make a decision. What was they forced first in the days of Christ? What was they forced to do? They were forced, first, to accept Him. He showed them his sign, his seal, He was the Messiah. How did He show it? By just exactly what the Bible said He would do. He was a prophet, and He discerned the thoughts in their mind. And they said, “He's a devil, Beelzebub.” They were forced to make a decision. They could not hold it any longer.

And neither can the Pentecostal church, or the Baptist, or Presbyterian. The Holy Ghost has ... Christ has arisen, and He's in the church. And they say, “This man baptizes in the name of Jesus. He believes you don't have to speak with tongues for the Holy Ghost, and things like that, that that's not the initial evidence. He believes in women, our women all wearing their hair like that. I think it has nothing to do with it.” Then why is God vindicating that this is the truth? Find out where it's at.

They refused his Messiahship when He showed them He was the Messiah. They were forced to say something. And so are they today, turning it down, and won't sponsor it, and washing their hands from it. The decision is forced upon them. There's no middle road! We're at the end time. Men are forced to receive it or reject it. You've got to accept it or turn it away. It's forced upon America. It's forced on the Branham Tabernacle. It's forced on the Pentecostals, on the Methodists. It's forced everywhere. You have to take it or leave it.

God has confirmed his Word, showing his signs, backing his ministry, showing exactly what He is, by proving that He's God. Jesus said, “If I do not the works of my Father, then don't believe me.” That's right. “But if I do the works of the Father, then you believe the works.” There you are. See, they can't find nothing in that, because that's true. Then why don't they receive it? Is because of denomination. They can't receive it, so they are forced now to make a showdown.

And in Ohio just a few days ago, the same churches that sponsored me a year ago, because I attacked it and showed that it was wrong, there wasn't one of them (but one church, Brother Sullivan), would cooperate. I said, “I still have the same hands, I still have the same feet, I still have the same message, I'm still Brother Branham. What's the matter with me?” It's not me. The Holy Spirit still speaks, the Holy Spirit still does the same works, He still shows it. But they're forced! That's right, they are forced. The great Holy Spirit falling right in their midst, and speaking the words and saying the things that He said then. Then still they....

Look here in California the other day. I think I can find it here. Here it is. I was at Clifton's Cafeteria, the breakfast. And there a Baptist brother.... After I got through just tearing the churches to pieces —telling them how they were doing evil, and the things they were doing, rejecting God—this Baptist brother come up here to put his arms around me, to pray. And when he did, he started speaking, like in tongues. Now, he was a Baptist, knowed nothing about it. When he got through, he said....

And a woman standing back there, from Louisiana, a Frenchman, said, “That wasn't unknown tongue; that was French.” And here sat another woman from Switzerland, Lucerne, which speaks French. (I've been there). She said that she interpreted it right. Here come a young man walking down through there. I never seen him, nobody had ever seen him. He was the French interpreter for the U.N. Said, “Exactly, it's right,” said.

And this man says.... And you know this man. I'll call his name just in a minute. His name was Henry. I'll get his last name just in a moment. I think it's wrote on here, I don't know. It's in the “Businessmen's Voice,” if it isn't. But he.... Oh, yes, “By Danny Henry.” Now that is ... I can't think of that movie star. [Someone says, “Marilyn Monroe?”] No, it isn't Marilyn. Meda... ? Jane Russell. Jane Russell's cousin. And he came up and put his arms around me, to commend me, and here's the words he said. He said, “That sermon could be put into the book of Revelation.” Said, “It's right.” He said, “I want to pray for you, Brother Branham.” He throwed his arms around me, begin to speaking in French, and didn't know nothing about it.

And here was the interpretation. He's got it wrote down. There's a document come (in form), and so forth. It said, “I, Victor D-e-D-o-w-x [French name], am a Frenchman [and so forth], and was there when Danny [what-you-call-it], Danny Henry, gave this message over Brother Branham, on February the 11th, 1961.” He lives at 809 North King's Road, Los Angeles 64. Listen at the reading:

“Because thou has chosen the narrow path.... [Now, you see, I get that all right. There's part of it I don't.] Because thou has chosen the narrow path, the harder way.... Thou has walked of thy own choosing.”

I can get that all right, see. See, you choose it yourself. Moses made his own choice. He didn't have to do it. Neither did I have to take this path. I could've had big buildings out yonder like some of them has got. I could be all across on television. But who would sponsor me on tearing the very foundation? But one thing, I don't have to bow down to nobody's feet but the Lord Jesus Christ. That's right. Yes. I preach what the Bible says. I don't have to compromise with their organizations, because I don't belong to them. I made the choice. Just like He said up there, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you.” And He give Moses two signs of confirmation, to prove. And Moses made his own choice. See, Moses made his own choice. So that's easy to understand that, see, “Thou has chose.”

“Because thou has chosen the narrow path, the harder way.... Thou has walked of your own choosing. [Now look, now this man....

Now watch how it's wrote. You can see it's wrote in foreign words.] Thou has picked the correct and precise decision, and it is my way.“ Bless God! ”It's my way,“ He said.

“Because of this momentous decision, a huge portion of heaven waits thee.” He had never heard about the vision, you see, now just.... You remember the vision. “... huge portion of heaven waits thee. What a glorious decision thou has made!” See.

“This in itself.... [Now here is ... from here on, I don't understand.] This in itself is that [big parentheses around it], which will give and make come to pass a tremendous victory in the love divine.”

I don't know what that means, “this will make come to pass....” Perhaps in the little tent one of these days, sitting back yonder, He'll make it known.

Why? Not because we had to do it. Not because that it's just an easy way. You can be popular. You'd have everybody patting you on the back, money flowing in from everywhere for radio or television, and so forth. They said they would take it and televise it. I don't believe in taking God's things and putting them out on such vulgarity stuff of the world. I don't believe in all this whooping up and making something that isn't. I believe in just letting it alone, wait. God, He's God, let Him do with it what He wants to. We are servants. Just serve the Lord, just do as God said.

Man, in the midst of all of it, though, is forced to make a decision. They were forced to make a decision when Christ was here on earth, because He proved to them He was the Messiah. Is that right? And they were forced, and what did they call Him? “Beelzebub, a fortune-teller.” Then by his sign, seal, at Easter, God proved it, that He raised Him up from the dead. After all these other things, He raised Him from the dead!

Now the church that claims to have the Holy Ghost, God's proof of it, that you've passed from death unto life, because the old things has passed away, and things have become new to you. That's God's proof of the resurrection. You're not like you used to be. You are changed! Where you used to doubt God's Word, everywhere God's Word speaks you say, “Amen!” See, there's something happened to you. That's just the first form of the resurrection, the Spirit on the inside.

Now, Pentecost. After Pentecost, when these people received the Holy Ghost, man was forced again to make a decision: “Is that of God or isn't it of God?”

And what did they say? “They are heretics. That's crazy. They're in delusion.”

Even Agrippa told Paul, “You are mad.” Mad means “crazy.”

And what did Paul say? “In the way that's called heresy, that's the way I worship God.” He had the Easter seal! He had been there when something happened. I'm glad to join hands with him this morning, in heart, and say, “Paul!”

Why? We'd have to preach the same Word. Paul commanded them to be baptized over, in Jesus' name, after they had been baptized other words. He said, “If an angel from heaven said anything else, let him be accursed.” He preached divine healing. He preached the power of the resurrection. He preached Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Visions, and powers and manifestations of the Spirit followed him.

You'd have to have the same message, the same thing. Not a theology, not some church doings; but the power of God, Pentecost, and the same seal. The seal of the Holy Ghost, God's true Easter seal is a man's credentials. Right! It's your birthrights. It's a credential that you have passed from death unto life, and God is working through you the same way He did the Lord Jesus, because it's your credential. “These signs shall follow them that believe. Go ye into all the world.” After Easter, after the Pentecost, after the seal of Easter was given of the resurrection, what was it? The life that was in Christ that was raised up, has come and quickened his church, and lives in the church to do the same signs.

I hope it don't go over your head. I hope I'm not keeping you so long that you won't get the joy of what I mean, see. I know it's hard, you people standing. Please, just a few minutes, try if you can. See, I want you to get this point, friends. I want you to see what's in my heart, what's been here thirty-one years, since I laid that little cornerstone yonder on the corner. See, there's the truth. I've tried to stand for it. There's been all kinds of things went out from it, that is true, but it's always been that way.

I was reading on Martin Luther, said, “It was a hard thing to believe that he could protest the Catholic church and get by with it. That was a great thing. But the greatest thing, that how he could hold his head level above all the fanaticism that followed his revival, that he'd stay true in the Bible.” Say what God says, and say nothing else. Just stay right with it, walk in that straight, precise decision of God. And say, “If God decides it to be this way, let's stay right with it. That's his decision.” Amen. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

The seal of Pentecost is the believer's credentials that he's passed from death unto life, because he has received the Pentecostal blessing, God's Easter seal to his Son. He sealed his first Son with the Holy Ghost. Is that right? True. And He sealed all of his other sons with the Holy Ghost.

Now we find out here that in sealing this now at this time, as the end time is drawing near.... There's a place here I ought to hit, about the sons. Cain's sons, out there now, has been forced to a place that they've got to make a decision. See, it's hard for them to do, because if they do, they have to give up their denominational rights, see. So did the Pharisees. You know, the Pharisees made a decision on Jesus, when He proved He was Messiah. And when the Holy Ghost has proved this way that's called heresy, has proved that it is the Holy Ghost, men's got to make a decision. They can't stand still.

Here the other night, I was out praying for a sick lady out in the hospital. And when I went down, I heard somebody holler, “Billy!”

And I looked around. It was one of our brethren here. He comes here, Roy Slaughter. He was standing down the hall from me a little ways, and he said, “My brother's wife is sick. Will you go in and pray for her, Billy?”

And I said, “Sure.”

Went in there. And there was another aged lady, about sixty years old, laying there, looked like her son sitting beside. After I talked to them a little while, I said, “Can we.... We're going to have a word of prayer.”

She said, “Pull that curtain!”

And I said, “All right.” I said, “Are you a believer?”

She said, “I'm a Methodist.”

I said, “That's not what I asked you.” I said, “Are you a believer?”

She said, “I'm a Methodist. We are Methodist. Just pull that curtain!”

I didn't do it. I prayed, anyhow, and prayed for her, so I prayed God will save her. But that's it, see. You're not a Christian; you're a Methodist. See, you're not a believer; you're a Methodist. Your own testimony tells it. Mercy, goodness, how far can you fall from the Bible?

Believers! “And these signs shall follow them that believe!”

Are you a Christian? “I'm a Methodist.” That shows you're not a Christian.

Are you a Christian? “I'm a Church of Christ.” That shows you're not a Christian.

You're a Christian because you're a believer. And if you are a believer, Jesus said in Mark, sixteenth chapter, “These signs shall follow them that receive the Easter seal, to the end of the world.” That's right, you are a believer.

And the people are forced. They are forced now. The thing is operating, and they're forced to either receive it or condemn it. And what are they doing? Condemning it.

But he couldn't do it back there at the age of Pentecost, because Pentecost is going right back and organize, coming, organizing themselves into the same thing that they just pulled out of. Pentecost come out. Pentecost is not an organization; Pentecost is an experience that comes to a believer. But they made an organization out of it, and has done the same thing that they fought so hard to get out of.

The same thing the nation and politics did. Come over here for freedom of religion from the old prostitute Catholic doctrine; and come right back and by a blindness of politics elected one of their key men, a millionaire (made a millionaire by whiskey and graft, and stuff of the world, how he become a millionaire), and put him on the White House throne, with the system of Catholicism behind it. Which, he ain't been in there six months yet, and proving that it's right.

And the Pentecostal church come out of the organization, and called it cold and formal; and their women, the way they did; and the men, the way they did. And Pentecost organized, and took the spirit and went right back into it. Why? So that the real church of God could be showed in her power and in her glory. You are forced to believe it. You are forced to accept it or deny it. Glory to God! It's before you, you can't deny it. You've got to say “yes” or “no.” There's no way of getting out of it. Yes, sir. Yes, they're forced. There's no middle ground. The whole world has to receive it or deny it. And that's the way it stands today.

Now we find out that after Easter, Jesus, in Mark 16, told them, “Go in all the world and preach the gospel, these signs would follow.” And men.... God then forced the issue to those people. They had to see them people had something! And that lasted for 306 years after the death of Christ. Then what come into the church? They were Catholics, exactly right, Pentecostal Catholic. The word catholic means “universal.” The whole church was universal, and they were Pentecostals. Then what did they do? They went to getting in the businessmen, converting the others, bringing them in. And they had the big society ideas.

And first thing, you know.... In the Bible we found out in our teaching when we taught the church ages, that Jesus told them before it happened, about two hundred years, that there would be a doctrine—or, first it would be a deeds of the Nicolaitanes, and then finally become a doctrine. And then when it did that, He said, “I hate it!” And what did the Pentecostal do? The Pentecostal up-and-ups, starchy class, organized and made the Catholic church, the first mother organization.

The little minority was forced off to one side. And it's been that way ever since. It come down fifteen hundred years, and that little minority survived it. Amen!

Somebody said the other day, said, “Think of the Catholic church, how many great battles she's survived.” Great battles? Sure, with the law on her side, with the nation on her side, with politics on her side!

Think about that little Pentecostal that had nothing but the Holy Ghost, but she survived it. Right here this morning is a living evidence that she still lives, and she'll forever live. Not the organization; the Pentecostal believers, the real ones! That's right.

Now, after the Easter this was done, forced to make a decision. Men must make a decision. They must make it now. (I'm passing a lot of these comments.) No middle ground!

And Satan's sons will be sealed in this last days. There's a time now that the Bible spoke of, that all that did not have the seal of God took the mark of the beast. And we know that the mark of the beast is disbelief. The first time.... “Where'd you say the mark of the beast begin?” In the garden of Eden. Mark of the beast and the seal of God was performed in the garden of Eden. Exactly. It was performed through Easter, for the death of Abel brought forth Seth. That's right. Notice.

Cain was the son of Satan. He was the son of the beast which beguiled Eve. You can call it whatever you want to. He was the son of Satan. And what did he do? God put a mark on him, and sent him out from the presence of God. Is that right? And he got him a wife, not out of the heritage of God, but got him a wife from the land of Nod, another land.

And what did the organization do? It left the true Pentecostal belief when it organized, and got a wife out of the organization. That's exactly right. Now what's she done? Look how the Pentecostal wife's begin to do, and what she's saying, what she's doing, look at her actions. And standing right back around, and trying to cut down now. The very thing that she stood for at first, she's trying to cut it down, smother it out, because it's against her creeds, like it was there. But she's forced again to make a decision. She's got to make it. She's got to make it.

God, help me and my brethren who will stand with me. Help, God, help us to stand there gallantly. No matter if it's martyr's blood, stand there! “I must fight if I must reign; increase my courage, Lord!”

When I see his Holy Spirit moving amongst the people and doing the same things, I know He's that same resurrected Jesus Christ! Amen. That settles it, as far as I'm concerned, see. Amen. Over in Romans 4:25, the end, talking of Abraham. “He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”

Ephesians 4:30, the Holy Ghost is God's Easter seal that seals us for eternity. Amen. Seals us for eternity, God's Holy Spirit! Oh, are you glad? Are you glad for Easter? Are you glad for this experience? Sealed, shut in with God in a secret place, shut in with God by his divine grace, sealed till the day of our redemption. That's the real true Easter seal.

What time have we got? Noon, five minutes till twelve. Are you believing? Are you believing? Let's just bow our heads a moment.

Our heavenly Father, no matter what I would say, and yet men should believe this Word because it is written here. I pray that men everywhere will receive You now as their Easter seal, the firstfruits of the resurrection, knowing that they've passed from death unto life. Where death once trod, now life takes its place. I pray that You'll show to this congregation this morning that You're still Jesus, that You still are the One who does the miracles and performs the things. And knowing, as I just said, as it was confirmed to father Abraham, that that angel stood with his back to the audience ... or, to Sarah, and told what she was saying and thinking. O God, we've seen it time after time. We've seen the confirmation, the placing of the Son, the giving of the name. We've seen all these things take place, Lord, and we know we're at the end time. This is an Easter. (Many are standing, legs are cramping.)

And now, Father, all I could say would not mean one thing after You have spoken, unless it's in according with what You speak. And if I have spoke your Word, then, Father, I believe that You are God that will confirm that Word. I pray that You will grant it. Let thy Spirit, Lord, come into the midst of the people, and make this confirmed to the people.

As we have our heads bowed everywhere, there perhaps is sickness in here. There's no doubt at all in here but what there's sickness in amongst the people. I want to know how many in here that's out of town that's sick. Raise your hand, out of town. Well, they're just everywhere. All right, you may raise your head. I'm going to ask that so you can see. All that's out of town, that I don't know, that's out of town and I don't know you, raise your hand, say, “I'm sick.” Raise your hands, everywhere now, so I can just get a general idea.

If He don't keep this, there's no resurrection. If He does keep it, it's assurance of the resurrection. It shows that the Easter seal ... that He is not dead, but He's a-living. Then to condemn that would be blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and it's unforgivable. Now if the Holy Spirit will come into this meeting....

I thought maybe we'd just raise the people up, but we can't have a prayer line. Look here, just jammed in here, little kiddies all over the altars, and everywhere. We can't have a prayer line.

But, look, I want to ask you something. Is He just at one place, or is He omnipresent? He's everywhere. Now how could I know you, you had raised your hands that I do not know you, and you're strangers here? I don't want any of the Tabernacle people. I'll see you later, see. But just the people ... so that you'll see it's out of town people that I don't know. Let the Holy Spirit speak whether it's right or not. Let Him do the talking. Then my words will be one thing; and if it's God's Word, God will keep that Word.

Now remember, Pentecostal, the real, true believers of God, has always been in the minority. And they're a bunch that's laughed at and made fun of, and people are not willing to take that way.

When they were Lutheran, God gave them justification and they were persecuted, made fun of, and even martyred. But Luther's went right in, organized it after the death of Martin Luther. Not, Luther didn't organize no church. No, sir. But the people after him did, the church. Wesley never organized nothing. No, sir. It was the people after him. And now, after the Pentecostals, they come in, organized what they come out of. See?

But that's where we get, see, get right back off into our creeds, and God…The very minute (I can prove it by the Bible.), that any church takes an organization, takes the mark of the beast. Not the individuals in the church, but the church system, because the church system is Catholic. Catholic: making it all universal, pull it in, everything. See? I can prove by the 17th chapter of Revelation that she was a whore and her daughters were prostitutes, harlots. Every organization takes on…it takes on a harlot disposition; and watch exactly what she's done, just exactly like her mother did. So she is quick…Not the people in the church, now. Methodists are real people.

I hope you get the tape where the Lord spoke and showed what would happen to that church during this great time just now facing us, when judgment's fixing to strike the earth. And watch what'll happen to the church.

But her man-head died, you know. But when…She was a widow when Elijah come back from his wilderness journey; she was a widow. Elijah was sent to her, she was glad to hear that prophet then, after her man-head died. See. Her organization was put into the Confederation of Churches, she seen where she was at, and what that prophet had said come to pass, she was willing. God still loved her and the prophet went down there and kept her alive until he crossed Jordan and the famine was over. Yes, it's true.

What a beautiful picture of the Coming of the Lord right there in Elijah. Perfect. And remember, this Message in the last days is to be given by Elijah, the prophet; his spirit upon the church. Right. Right. You know what the word Elijah means? All right. Now, let us pray. And may the Holy Spirit…

I want to ask you people something. Now, you see, is God a living God? Is He present? Then, if He is, I want to ask you something. Now after I've spoken, how many in here that's ... believes that that's the truth? Is there any in here would like to say, “I am not a Christian, Brother Branham. I would like to be. Pray for me.” I can't call no altar up here, because I can't. Just raise up your hand, say, “Pray for me.” Is there any in the building? God bless you, you, you, you. That's fine. All right. God bless you around everywhere. All right, good. All right.

Now you have a right, after a message like this, you have a right to call my hand, and say, “Brother Branham, you've preached to us something, that in these last days.... You said the last sign was when He performed, showed that He was God.”

And I heard a Jewish preacher the other day, had just been.... By my message on the red heifer offering, the man come and received Christ. Come out from a church. Had been raised through a line of rabbis for years and years and years—for four or five hundred years, way back, all rabbis. And the man heard my message, slipped into a meeting and heard that red heifer, and was converted by it, to Christianity. And stood in a church the other day, and say, “Anybody that wouldn't believe that there was three gods instead of one!” He had been believing in one God till that time. He backslid, instead of doing anything else.

God, speak. Now I raised my hand, I don't know them, see. Don't know them. Now if He's still God, won't He do the same thing? The woman that touched his garment....

Some of you women, or some of you there that raised your hand, there's a woman somewhere, I believe. Where? The little lady on the end, did you raise your hand? All right. All right. I'm a stranger to you, I don't know you? All right.

You just see if He's still the high priest that can be touched by the feeling of your infirmity. I never seen you in my life. You're a stranger to me. I know nothing about you. God does know you. And if He can reveal to me by his Holy Spirit the resurrected Christ who come here and give me a temporarily resurrection by my spirit, that my spirit goes away now and his Spirit comes in, then to let you know whether He is alive or not.... Now, I don't know you. That's me, me and my spirit, we don't know you. But He knows you. But He wants to borrow my body to prove that He's the resurrected Christ. I'm so happy to loan it to Him, give it to Him, anything He can get out of it.

If God will tell me what you're here for, will you believe me? You will? You have varicose veins. If that's right, raise up your hand. You got more than that—got a hernia. That's right. You're not from this town. You're from Lima, Ohio. Your name is Mrs. Stoddard. That's right. Your husband is sitting beside you. That's right. Do you believe God can tell me what's his trouble? He's got trouble with his back. He's suffering with his back. If that's right, raise up your hand, sir. Do you believe?

Somebody else down here raised up their hand, down along through here. Here, that lady there. All right. I don't know you. That's your husband sitting next to you there. The thing you're wanting is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If that's right, raise up your hand. That's right. All right, believe on the Lord, just don't doubt at all.

Seen somebody coming from a distance, but I couldn't tell just where it was at. Yeah, it's a man sitting right here, I see him now. He's a stranger to me also. You got gall bladder trouble, sinus trouble. You're not from here. You're from Georgia, a place called like Hubbermill, Georgia. All right, believe now, and go back home and be healed.

Do you believe with all your heart? There's one sitting right back here, behind ... that light standing over the person. They are praying for a loved one that's got cancer, not saved. Believe, have faith, and don't doubt.

[Brother Branham pauses.] I'm just watching. [Pauses.] Here it is over here. The lady standing with her head down, praying. She's got trouble with her feet and her knees. I don't know you, do I? ... we're strangers, raise up your hand. You go back to your home, to New Hampshire, that's where you come from. Believe, and the Lord will make you well.

A lady sitting back there with a little girl, praying for her; with kidney trouble, sitting right back there. She's from Georgia, also. Mrs. Cason, if you believe with all your heart.... You accept it? All right, then go home, be made well. I don't know the woman, never seen her in my life. If we're strangers to one another, wave your hand, lady. That's right.

Here's another sitting right back here, a man. He's from Georgia, too. Don't know him, never seen him. But I seen him come up from that peach country. Right. He's got liver trouble, that's right, and arthritis. He's sitting right on the back seat. Do you believe with all your heart, sir? All right, go back and be healed.

There's someone sitting next to you, a lady, way back in the very back row. No, it's not for her. She's praying for her son. That's right. Do you believe that God can tell me what's the matter with your son, lady? I'm a stranger to you, but God knows you. Ulcers, and a mental trouble. And he's not here. Dayton, Ohio. If that's right, raise up your hand. Now believe.

Do you know He lives? Is He the same Jesus yesterday, today, and forever? There's at least eight or ten people I never seen in my life. And is it true? Now may the God of heaven, who is present, heal and make well these, while it comes from the anointing of the Holy Spirit, not me. May the God that can discern the thoughts of the mind, and prove Himself to be Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, let Him come forward and heal the sick. He's God forevermore! Do you believe that? Now, how many wants to believe Him right now and accept Him as Saviour and healer, and as a baptizer and a coming King? In the name of Jesus! Oh, hallelujah! What? The Easter seal, the infallible Easter seal!

What's the next thing? The transformation of this body, to meet the Son that's coming. We'll be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. Have all your paper seals you want to; but the real seal of Easter is the Holy Ghost in the human heart! Do you accept it? Do you believe in his resurrection? Do you believe He's alive forevermore? Do you believe that He's here? Do you now accept Him as your Saviour, as your healer, as your God, as your coming King? Believe with all your heart!

As these handkerchiefs, praying over them—God, in the name of Jesus Christ! A lot of people anoint them. I believe they took from the body of Paul, handkerchiefs and aprons, and they were healed. Do you believe that?

Now how many more is in here, sick? Now the Tabernacle people, and around this community here, that's around here, now you raise your hands, from around here. Now do you believe that He's here? Do you believe the Holy Spirit is here? Now, wait. Why do we wait for anything else? He's here, so let's act upon it! Charlie, what do you think? Amen. Hallelujah! Oh, it's got to happen!

I cannot heal anyone. I cannot do it. There's nothing in me to heal with. But if you'll accept this Spirit that's on me now, there couldn't be enough devils in hell make you doubt it anymore, and you've got to be healed. I'm not the healer; He's the healer. I can't see visions; He's the one who speaks. It's just my body He's using.

Now that same God said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” How many believers is here? Are you sure you're a believer? Well, He said, “These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.” Is that right? Now put your hands on one another, and let me pray for every one of you. O God! Oh, brother, something's got to take place. Something's just got to happen.

O great Easter seal! Not the lily in the pond, but the lily in the valley! You spoke through that boy the other day. You have come forth by your Word. You made manifest that You're truth. You are truth, Lord. You are the resurrection. You said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. I am the resurrection and life.”

[Blank spot on tape.] It'll not be spoken, then you'll wonder. But while you can hear, obey!

O God, who created the heavens and earth, these people are praying for one another. When You arose on Easter morning, You proved that You was Messiah. You proved that You was Messiah, before You arose. You proved that You was by the sign of the Messiah the seal of God that was in You. You were sealed away with God, to do nothing but what He said. You said, “I do always that which pleases the Father.” That's keep his Word. For to please God we must believe his Word and keep his Word. Then, Father, so is it today, that every son of God, every daughter of God, in order to please God must keep God's Word. And, God, we're keeping your Word now by laying hands on one another. And I'm praying for this audience.

After we have heard the Word preached, and seen the strangers raise their hands, see the great Holy Spirit go out there and tell them the very thoughts in their heart, and who they are, where they come from, what's happening, and all about, how could people doubt anymore?

God, that's a great reward for these who has stood this morning around this great church walls here, and your limbs aching. And the little mothers with their babies, and dads in age, and all, waiting, watching, watching to see one sign of the living God. Then see Him move in on the scene, and prove that He's Jehovah, that He's Jesus, the resurrected One. “I'm alive forevermore, and have the keys of death and hell,” because He broke the seal off of it. He broke the seal of death, He broke the seal of the tomb, He broke the seal of hell, He broke the seal of the grave. And He opened the seal to the tree of life, and baptized us by his Holy Spirit into that tree of life, and made us sons and daughters of God, and commissioned us to lay hands on one another. “And these signs shall follow them that believe; if they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.” Father God, it has to be.

I pronounce, by the power of the gospel, by the God of heaven who ordained me and sent me to preach the gospel, by the God who wrote the Word, by the angel who is present to confirm the Word, I say this because of the faith that I have in the people, that the devil will have to leave every sick person in here, every afflicted person, and the power of God shall raise them up to good health and strength again, as a memorial this Easter service. Come out, Satan. You are defeated. Jesus conquered you, nineteen hundred years ago, and you are defeated. Come out of the people, in the name of Jesus Christ!