The resurrection of Lazarus

The resurrection of Lazarus

Preached on Sunday afternoon, the 13th of August of 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. (49 minutes) 1 Good evening, audience, and Brother... I'm very happy to be here this afternoon. I got just a little tired last night, but I feel fine today. And I had the same sort of a convention, religious convention and they said... I feel fine, 'cause the Lord has... prepared for today's services... very... And then, this type of service coming along this afternoon, speak of His--speak from the Word and--and talk to you friends face to face... thoughts of salvation of your soul. I--I love to do that. I'm... preacher, but I am... I love the Word of God. And I like to talk about It. But my--my calling is--is to get into a--a gift that came from God for an inspiration for the people. And as Brother Ramsey had rightly said, "It is not just something another that..." Well, as God has just done to one individual person or something, I'm just for a--a little bitty part of it. But it was given to me in order that it be demonstrated before the church, that everybody might catch the vision of the supernatural part that God lives and reigns in His church today. And He's here to bless us all. 2 And the blessings, I trust that... One of the finest groups of ministers I've met, I believe that these brothers here, that... I've just got to shake their hands about once. But they're certainly fine brothers. And I'm so glad to know that when we leave here, we leave these converts, and so forth, in hands of men like that, that love God. May God richly bless. And may there be an old fashion revival start from this, that'll just sweep out through the country, ready for the coming of the Lord, for I truly believe it's drawing close at hand. I do not wish you'd say that I was a fanatic, and said when Jesus was coming right now. I--I do not know that. No one knows when Jesus is coming, not even the Angels; just the Father is all Who knows. But He said when we see these signs begin to come to pass, then get ready, for the time was at hand. And we know we're right there at the time. 3 Now, in the--a day like this... The brethren give it to me. And--and usually on Saturday nights, or something like that, I try to put in as much time as possible. The gift has such an effect, for it just pulls the life out of me. And sometimes I get till I don't even know where I'm standing at. It's just such a anointing. You just get to a place... And many times, there's other reasons why they take me. I--I... We're just all God's children (Aren't we?), just home folks. And I believe you'll love me. I love you with all my heart. And many times that way, I hold myself on the gift. Now, it's not around me now, 'cause I haven't been praying. I got up, had just a little bite of breakfast, and I won't eat any more, probably, till after the services, and so forth. I have to keep empty. 4 If your--if you keep your stomach empty, the blood is at your brain, and you must be ready. And if you're all full when you're... That's the power of fasting. When you're--when you're full, the blood goes into your stomach to digest your food. You see? And then when you're empty, it's in your--in your brain. So you can be just... 'Cause them two spirits is so close it could deceive the very elect, if possible. And many pe--many times you hear It cry. I've heard people shout. Now, as I told you, I hope I--God that has let me find favor with you that you believe me. I've heard people shout when it wasn't God. I've heard people cry when it wasn't God. See? And their sympathy sometimes, the devil wants to be petted. And it--it takes a real sheep raiser to know the difference between the bleat of a goat and a lamb; they're so close together. You see? And so therefore, on this platform, you must be very careful. Can be just one thing is all that Satan wants to--wants to throw out before the public. So therefore, I have to be fasting, prayerful, every minute on the guard, watching for something. 5 And now, on a service like this it just feels like you just... We call it a street expression, just let down your collar, and come in and talk, just... And you don't have to be looking at that; you're just going to talk on the Word. And then sometimes when it gets in that subconscious position on the platform, goes to calling the people... Critics and things in the meeting, sets in the meeting, and that causes a disturbance. Sometimes they get angry and huff around about it. And I just try to hold it just exactly to one thing: that's on healing, is what I'm representing here on Divine healing, and so forth. Now, if the patient's up here, and something in the patient, why, it's called out. But sometimes out in the audience, it just pulls right out, the critics and so forth setting there, hurt feelings. A discerning Spirit's an awful... It sometimes you have to speak very sharply. And you don't speak yourself; It speaks. You see? 6 And so it's a great day that we're coming into. Not long ago, I was talking to someone. Said, "Oh, the days of evangelism will be after this church is done gone, and there'll be another age raised up." Don't you believe that. Now is the day. You get ready now. You're probably living in one of the best days that you'll ever see. That's right. You must take heed today to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit's been in the world for evangelism for nineteen hundred years and better. This is the day of evangelism, to move out and get the church in order. God's showing these signs and wonders... [Gap in the audio] Supernatural... Now, I'm... As I told you awhile ago, I'm just a long ways from being a preacher. I--I usually a little... I don't believe in joking at the platform. This is no place for jokes. This is sacred. This is the platform. See? And we mustn't do that. This is God's house, God's place. So we must be real sincere. Now, as a minister, I remember when I first got my papers, ordination papers at the Missionary Baptist church, and I thought I was a--a preacher. Oh, my. I just loved to tell everybody I was a preacher. 7 And it kind of reminds me, one time I was... My father was... My mother is from Oklahoma and Texas. And she was born in the state of Kentucky. And my grandfather went west. My mother's mother come off the Oklahoma reservation. She's full blooded Cherokee Indian. And my father's Irish. And my mother, on the other side, by her father, was Irish. And so there's forgiveness for that. I--I'll tell you that so. We--we know that God, no matter what we are, who we are, God will forgive us (That's right.) of our sins and trespasses. My father was a rider. And he went west breaking horses. And he met my mother; they were married. I was born when my mother was sixteen years old, and my father was eighteen: just children. And so I used to want to be like my dad. 8 Next Sunday afternoon, the Lord willing, if we get to stay over for next Sunday, I wish to tell my life story next Sunday afternoon from the platform here. And how I loved my daddy, how I wanted to do things like dad did. And he used to like to ride, so I said, "I wanted to be a rider, also when I got to be a man." I used to take our old plow horse and of the afternoon when the work was over, and I'd put some cockleburs under the saddle and pull it down, you know, real good and tight, get down behind the barn where the watering trough was, and get on the old horse. And the poor old thing was so tired, he couldn't... He couldn't buck, so he just stand and bawl, you know, and just cut his feet up and down. And I'd take off my straw hat and hit him, like that. And I was--thought I was a real rider. 9 So one day I got to be about eighteen years old; I went out west. I landed in Arizona. And I thought I wanted to be a rider. I went out to their corrals to find out if I could get a job riding in the rodeo. And I climbed up with a pair of Levis on, on the corral fence where they brought the horse out. And they had to come out through the stalls and catching pens. And I seen a fellow jump on the horse there. And my, my, sure didn't act like my old plow horse. And he throwed that fellow. My, he had a handful of mane in his hand. And the fellow coming by, caller came by, said, "I will give any man fifty dollars who will stay on him a half a minute." He kept coming on by all those riders there setting, come right straight to me. He said, "Are you a rider?" I said, "No, sir." I was--I was very scared, because I wasn't a rider. 10 That just reminded me when I was first got ordained as a Baptist preacher. I'd carry my Bible under my arm, you know, and go down the street. And I... Everybody would say, "Are you a preacher?" "Yes, sir." See? And one day, I was at St. Louis, Missouri... [Gap in the audio] I went into a tent meeting. There was a minister there by the name of Reverend Daugherty. He's a Pentecostal preacher. And he got to preaching. My, he would preach till his breath would leave him; he'd turn red in the face, and his knees would go together; and he'd go plumb down to the floor and come back, catch his breath; you could hear him for about two squares, still preaching. Some of them said, "Are you a preacher?" I said, "No, sir." I wasn't no preacher. I was a preacher all right, till I met him. So when I come around where these Pentecost preachers, I say, "I'm no preacher." And my old slow Baptist ways don't think of it that fast. And so--so I just have to do the best I can. But I do love the Word of God, for It is really good. And It's good to our hearts. 11 And this afternoon, my brother is fixing to go away to the Army. And they sent him... They called him last night. And he has to leave right away to return into the active service. And here not long ago, I preached a little subject on "The Resurrection Of Lazarus." I don't know whether anybody here heard anything preached on it or not in other places. If you have, raise your hand, of "the Resurrection of Lazarus"? Three or four. And I'm... He asked me... That was one of his favorite subjects, and he asked me if I'd hit on it some ways here this afternoon. And I promised him I would. You'll bear with me just a little bit, we'll have prayer. 12 Our heavenly Father, now we've come together this afternoon for one purpose: to speak of Thee, and to love Thee. And we all love You. And we've come facing this, today knowing that today may be the--someone may seal their eternal destination from the service today, the attitude towards the Word. We realize that no one can come in a service, and return, and be the same person. We go out... If we reject, we go out worse than we were when we come in. And if we accept, we go out better than we was; for the Word shall not return void; It'll accomplish that which It was purposed for. And now, Father, realizing that maybe many unsaved are here today, and I'm to speak before them for this Word. And I pray, God, that You'll take the Word and by the Holy Spirit, and may It give out to each one. May every one be blessed, Father. Keep us humble. We realize that--that we're nothing in this earth, and we may not live to see the sun set this afternoon. We may go out to meet God before that time. And now, Father, bless Thy servant this afternoon. And help me as I minister of the Word of grace to the people, for I ask it in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen. 13 What could we do without Jesus? We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Jesus. Now, friends, I'm just a little funny about standing up and speaking before people, because I haven't got any education. So now, don't judge me by my--my education, but--but what I mean, what's on my heart, if you will. I wish to read this portion of Scripture found in Saint John the 11th chapter, if you would like to read just a little with me, and will pray with me, if you will, for just a short time. And I'll try to close and not keep you too long, so you can be here for the evening service. The 11th chapter of Saint John, let's begin about the 20th verse of the 11th chapter. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary set still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died. I love that, don't you? Just listen at this reading of the Word. Let me read that 21st verse again. Listen. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou will ask God, God will give it to you. Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. (There's the attitude of approach.) Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (See, those Jews believed in the general resurrection. Listen at the 25th verse. Notice.) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She said unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. May God add His blessings to His Word. 14 Now, let everyone just forget about the work you have to do tomorrow, what you've done last week, and let's think of Jesus just now, and get this story kinda in our minds of--of Him, and scene at this time. This was during the time of His--beginning of His ministry. His ministry had gotten great. They called Him so much till He couldn't go to different... He had to go to different parts of the country, I mean, to minister to those who were in need. And it had a very hard time. Isn't it strange that God takes those things of low estate and brings them up. When He was borned, He was born with a black name to begin with, black mark on His Name. He was supposing to--to have been a legitimate Child, or--or illegitimate Child; borned by Joseph, being His father, before he and Mary was married. 15 Someone not long ago told me; he said, "Brother Branham, don't you believe that that was just a little bit of a slip-up, like we have in all days now?" And I said, "No, sir. I believe that He was truly the Son of God. He was God's Son." And he said, "It's against all scientific research, Brother Branham." He was a scientist. He said, "It's against all scientific research for anything like that to happen." And he said, "First place, your thought of God is just psychology." He said, "There is no such a thing." Said, "It's... that people believed in that." I said, "No. I--I different with you, my friend. No." I said, "I know there is." 16 He said, "Now, don't you think that if Joseph was really the father... He was just a--a good man, a good teacher, and a smart man. And they just made a religion around Him?" I said, "No, sir. I believe that He was the virgin born Son of God." And I said, "I believe it with all my heart." He said, "Well, It could not have been born without He had a earthly father." Said, "Now, corn--it has to have a pollen. All things has to be polled between natural, between male and female. An it's utterly impossible for any child to be born without a direct sexual affair of a male and female." And he said, "He has to have a earthly father and mother." I said, "Brother, I... or, friend..." I couldn't call him my brother. But I said, "Friend, look, that's... I different with you." I said, "Now, you were just telling me awhile ago that according to some of the Darwin's ethics, or something, that the first man, when he came here, was a germ-- or come on the earth was moon and star, begin as just a tadpole, and so forth." I said, "I want to ask you something. If you will credit Him of having an earthly mother, but you can't believe He come here without having an earthly father..." He said, "That's exactly right. It's against all scientific research." I said, "Then if you will credit Him of having a earthly mother, and can't believe that God was His father, and you say they had to have a both earthly father and mother or He could not have been here..." Said, "That's right." I said, "How did the first man get here without father or mother then?" Let it be what he wants to be. See? Let him be... If he was a monkey or a tadpole, whatever he was, who was his father and mother? There you are. 17 You have to bring it back till He... God's the Creator. And God the Creator, created a blood cell in the womb of Mary. Come from the Father, which is God, by virgin birth, and that is the Son of God Who we love and cherish today, Who died and gave His Blood at Calvary, that we might have remission of our sins and healing of our body. That's my faith in the Gospel of Christ. Now, I believe it with all my heart. Now, if today, if we should have an altar call, and--and--in this city today, and ten thousand people would come to Christ, and all ten thousand would die tomorrow; in fifty years from today I would return back, and they would come back, and I would be laying here dying; and they'd say, "Oh, that's fake, that's fake. Jesus isn't the Christ. No, sir. We done been there and come back. And we know that it isn't the Christ," and I was dying, I'd say, "Let me go in Jesus, for I believe Him." No matter what, that's... If I prayed for ten thousand people, and every one of them died in an hour after I prayed for them, I'd still, dying, I'd say, "I believe in Divine healing, for it's the Word of God, and I know it's the Truth." See? That's right. 18 Them theories don't change God's Word. No, sir. God's Word is eternally true, and It's right, and It... our faith is based on there. And by... I'm not saved today because I got down at the altar and cried. [Gap in the audio] I'm saved because the Word of God tells me I'm saved. Satan can whip me around anywhere on how you feel. But I believe it, because God said so, and I accept Him upon the basis of His Word. That's how I was saved. I believed it, and confessed it, and then it works the results. But the first thing, I'm saved because God's Word teaches I'm saved. That's how you're saved, if you're saved. Satan can whip you on your ideas and things, but he can't go around the Word of God. Jesus said, "It is written," and that settled it with all. It is written in the Scriptures. 19 Now, when He was there, He was borned (and as I said) in the world, come in here with a black mark on His Name. How that God so marvelously brought Him here. Just before His coming, the age had got just about like it has come to recently: into a backslidden condition. Israel had been brought into captivity by the Romans, and there they had been taken away. And the priests had got to a place, and got away from the supernatural part of God, been teaching just upon a doctrine of their own theories of what they taught. As Jesus said, "You teach for commandments, the word of men, making the Word of God of non effect." And that's about the kind of a time that He was born. But God has always had a witness here on earth for Him. Now, notice, then during this time, just before His--His birth... 20 Before God does anything here on earth... I want you to catch this close. Before God does anything on earth, He always sends a witness from heaven to declare it. Now, before Jesus was born, why, God sent a witness of this. Signs and wonders begin to appear of His coming, just as it's appearing today by witnesses of His second coming again. See? Signs and wonders... This is a day that... There's never been an age through all the church ages that's ever produced what this age is producing right now, for it's the coming of the Lord's drawing near. Don't you believe it? Drawing nigh, rather... And we're nearing the time of the close of this world's history when Jesus shall come. 21 Notice, signs begin to appear. There was a man by the name of Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth: righteous, holy people, keeping the commandments of God and walking in all the statutes and ordinances of God, blameless. That's the kind of a home we need today. Don't you believe it? In the stead of that in the church today, we have everything else but holiness and righteousness. But they were righteous people, godly people, walking in the commandments of the Lord, keeping all the ordinances, blameless. Zacharias was a priest at the temple. And his office was to burn incense while prayer was being made. And one day, while he was in the temple burning incense, Gabriel, an Angel from God, came down and stood by the altar of incense, and said, "Zacharias, fear not. Your prayers is heard." Oh, I love that. They... His wife was barren. She hadn't had any children. She was past the age of bearing. But he lived right before God and believed on God. And all of his great, dark, long hours of worry finally the Angel come and said, "God has heard your prayer." Now, if you want God to hear your prayer, send an Angel to your home, live right, do right, treat everybody right, be right before God, and God will grant that to you. 22 Now, he said... Now, notice, sometimes in that day, like it is now when our prayers are a little bit lingered, we become dull, sense-bound. So Zacharias doubted that that could be so. He didn't believe it. And notice, after he had plenty of examples... Now, Sarah and Abraham, how old they were when Isaac was born... Hannah came to the temple past the age of bearing, went to the temple that day to serve God. Probably the women all went up to Shiloh, maybe to see what kind of hats one another wore, but not Hannah. She went up with something in her heart. She wanted to talk to God. And she prayed in such deep sincerity, till the priest misunderstood her. Like today, sometimes we're called fanatics because we pray and cry out to God. We're just... We're not fanatics: misunderstood; that's all. 23 But then when... He thought she was drunk. (They did the same thing on Pentecost. They do the same thing today.) She said she was not drunk, but she was praying God take away her reproach. He blessed her. And as soon as she received the blessing from the priest... Notice, didn't wait now. God could've put the baby in her arms right then. But she went home happy, knowing that in due season God would bring it to pass. That's the kind of people we need today, taking God at His Word. You see? Then he had that example, and many others. But being a priest, studied the Word, and still doubted how his wife, as old as she was, could have a baby after that age by him. 24 Notice that the Angel of God will perform His Word. He'll bring His Word to pass regardless. When the season comes, harvesters are ripe, God is going to send His Word and perform His things. Today... Listen. I believe that God is going to call a people out of the Gentiles for His Name in this great latter movement here of a revival sweeping the nation. And if the holiness people don't want it, He will raise it up out of something else. That's right. It's got to be. It's got to come. He's able of these stones to rise children unto Abraham. What's the matter? We've let down the bars, compromising. An old minister used to sing: We let down the bars, We compromised with sin; We let down the bars, The sheep got out; How did the goats get in? You let down the bars (That's what it is.), let down on the Word. We're getting stiff and starchy, afraid to come back to the old fashion Gospel (That's right), to the old salvation that makes you clean up, fix up (That's right), make right and come before God. 25 That's what's the matter with the church today. We need a revival. We don't need a new seminary. We don't need new preachers. We don't need new church buildings. We need a revival in what we got. That's what it is. Stirring up... Amen. All right. I'm not amening myself, but "Amen" means "so be it." And I believe it with all my heart. That's what the world needs today is an old fashion, God sent, sky blue, sin killing religion, old Saint Paul's revival, and the Bible Holy Ghost back into the church again. That might be pretty strong for a Baptist, but that's right. True. I'm a Pentecostal Baptist. I got the Holy Ghost since I've been a Baptist. That's right. Notice, Cleans up, sets aside. Makes a different person, new creature in Christ Jesus. All right. Here's what we need. 26 Then he doubted it to be so. But God's going to confirm His Word. Don't you worry. "God's able of these stones to rise children to Abraham," said John. Watch. Then in all of that, what taken place? God was sure to bring it to pass, 'cause it was at the season, at the time. His Words, every cog must fit the same place; when them prophetic wheels begin to roll together, it's got to happen. And there's coming a time when there's... Right now, in the near future, that when great judgment's going to be upon these nations that forget God. When you put up with what I've seen the last few days, and see around in this country under the name of religion, and living the way people's living, no wonder communistic things break out, and things the way they are. [Gap in the audio]... that the Bible teaches. That's right. We're letting down, compromising. But God's going to have a remnant of people, a Blood washed church without spot or wrinkle. Amen. I believe it with all my heart. 27 Notice, then God was going to bring it to pass. And He said, "Because that..." Gabriel the Angel said, "Because you have doubted My Word... I'm Gabriel..." [Gap in the audio]... stands in the Presence of God... [Gap in the audio] "... you doubted the Word, You'll be dumb till the day the baby's born." Hallelujah. I believe God. God send the line. [Gap in the audio] See, God's determined. When He speaks, He's sovereign. He can't lie. God, the hour is come for something to... [Gap in the audio] Many times, I go into a place, and the people say, "Oh, I don't believe in that. I believe it's hypnotism. I..." Don't make no difference what... [Gap in the audio] God can show forth His power, His hand, by stretching forth the hand of His Son Christ Jesus to heal the sick, and to bring the nine spiritual gifts back to the church, get a church ready to be raptured at some of these hours... [Gap in the audio] 28 "'Cause there's doubt in me now. You'll be dumb, but the thing's going to... [Gap in the audio]... or something." He went home to his wife, and she conceived. [Gap in the audio] There's anything... No matter how impossible it looks, it's going to happen. That's right. And she conceived and hid herself for six months. Six months later... [Gap in the audio] Things are happening around Bethlehem and Judaea, and around in Palestine now. 29 Notice, what's happening again now too. [Gap in the audio]... Behold the Lamb of God. Get ready. Wake up, get your conscience back out here. Get your soul out here with God. Get away from that sense-bound existence, thinking what you just look like... that for another day. Lift up your heads; redemption is drawing nigh. Get ready. Signs and wonders appearing... Critics, infidels wax worse and worse. We've got to put up with them. But we're not looking to them; we're looking to God. This Gabriel come down from heaven. Let's give just a little drama here. I imagine it'd be like on Monday, a wash day or something in the city of Nazareth. A little woman by the name of Mary, she starts out to the pump, you know, the old fashion. They had great big jars had handles on them. Packed the water on her shoulder and on her head. I can see her coming from the spring, or the pump out there by the well now, packing water on her shoulder, her head, and walking along, a little virgin. 30 With all of the aristocrats, all the fine dressed people through the country, the educated, God came down to Nazareth, the meanest city in the world to pick out of the woman that He found who was virtuous to bring His Son to the earth. My, a little virgin, she's walking home, packing the water. Persecuted and made fun of, probably the way they lived. Then it'd be something like it is now. She didn't get out and rowdy around with the rest of the crowd. She was a fanatic. But she knowed where she was standing with God. Walking along with her head down, all of a sudden I can just notice a big Light like, swing around her. She looked, standing in that Light stood the great Angel, Gabriel. It excited the little virgin. It would excite you. It'll excite me; It did when He was here, the Angel, whatever He was. I can hear her say--hear Him say, "Hail, Mary, blessed art thou among women." And the little virgin stopped and was startled at the salutation of the Angel. And she looked at Him. And He said, "I'm..." told He was sent from the Presence of God, told her about her--her cousin, her... Elisabeth was Mary's first cousin. And then told about that, and said that she was going to bring a child knowing no man. 31 Look. Oh, my. I--I just feel good. Notice, right when those calloused clergymen... Zacharias failed to believe the Angel's message. Many times there's many clergymen today, brethren, that don't believe it either. [Gap in the audio]... resurrection power, trying to resurrect a church now, bringing it back to God again. But the social Gospel, denying the Blood, denying the power, denying the Holy Ghost and all... But thank God, there is some who does believe It. 32 Notice, but this little woman... Zacharias back there, he had much Scriptures behind him to believe where miracles had happened on the same order. But Mary, there had never been a baby born like that. But notice, instead of fussing at the Angel like Zacharias did, she said, "Behold the handsmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to Your Word." Oh, I love that. There it is. Take Him at His Word. Don't try to figure it out, how it's going to be, just take Him at His Word. And notice, as soon as she got His Word, and heard His Word that she was going to have the baby, she didn't wait till she was positive. She didn't wait till she felt life. She started right out testifying about it. God, give us some more Marys down here in Cleveland, that'll take God at His Word and testify about It before anything happens, just so the Word of God says so. Amen. Now, maybe I'm deafening you out there. That thing's got an awful voice. Look, I don't aim to yell at you. But sometimes I get to speaking when you feel the response of the Holy Spirit coming back, knowing that It's anchoring somewhere. It's hard to hold quiet. That's right. 33 Notice, she took Him at His Word. God said she's going to have the baby, told it by an Angel. That was good enough for her. Away she went, testifying, telling the people she was going to have the baby before there was any sign of anything. She had the Word of God; that's good enough. That's good enough for me this afternoon. If He's Jehovah-rapha, the Healer, if He promised to heal me, I'll take Him at His Word. If He promised me the Holy Ghost was to me, I'll stay there till It comes; that's all. That's right. He promised It; stay with it. Just take Him at His Word and stay right there. That's the only way to do it. All right. I can see her. She was so happy she wanted to tell somebody else about it. Trouble of it is, the people get saved today, they think, "Well, maybe I'd better keep still. My neighbor don't believe in this." Huh-uh. You never really got saved; I don't believe. No, sir. You can't hold it. That's right. Say, "So well, I--I--I'm afraid to testify of healing, afraid the--the--the doctor won't like it." Brother, if you got healed, you'll testify about it. Don't hold it. Tell it. That's right. Tell it out to somebody else... You overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and your testimony. That's how you overcome. 34 Notice closely. Now, let's follow a little farther. Let's watch Mary. The Angel told her that. She said, "Behold the handsmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to Thy Word." Went around, begin happy and rejoicing, she said she's going to have a baby; she knowed no man. Impossible with men, but not impossible with God; for all things are possible to them that believe. She believed God took Him at His Word. When the Angel met me in the room that night, and said to me "Go do this," some said, "Aren't you afraid that you'll make a mistake?" No, sir. I can't make a mistake. Certainly not. I could, but as long as He's here, I can't make a mistake. That's right. 35 I remember here not long ago, standing up in the mountains... I love to hunt. I was way in the mountains hunting elk, late. Now, all my life, that's how I learned of God was by hunting, being out. I never went to shows, dances, never smoked, drank. I was a black sheep, sure enough. And all of them laughed at me. But I'd go hunting. And out there in the woods, I'd see a sunset, and I'd cry. I'd hear the winds blowing through the leaves of the trees, and I'd wonder, "Oh, my. What brought them trees here?" Flowers would die in the wintertime, come back to life in the summer; how the little flowers would go away and come up again; how the winds would... that little seed up and bury it in the ground, and tears from the fall would bury the seed. Is that all of it? No. The ground would freeze, and the seed would burst; the pulp would run out. Is that all? No. In there there's a germ of life. Just as sure as that warm spring sun begin to shine, yet all soft petals fall off, seed, pulp, everything else gone from the flower. But God's made a way for that flower to live again. Just as soon as that sun goes to shining, there's a germ of life in there somewhere that's stayed through the freeze. And I'll tell you, it'll live again. 36 And if God made a way for a flower to live again, what about a man that's made in His image? The freeze might come, but when a man's borned again of the Spirit of God, there's Life in there, Eternal Life that'll stand the freeze. And when the Son of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings, there'll be a church to go up to meet Him in the air. Amen. You're going to call me a holy-roller anyhow, and I might as well have a good time anyhow. So there you are. Notice. Yes, sir. There's a Life comes from God that only God alone can give. The freeze might come. It might break me this way or that way. But when that germ of Life in there, it'll stay. That's right. And God will bring it forth again in a resurrection. Oh, my. 37 Standing up there in the mountains I was telling you, one fall, I remember, about four years ago, I was way up in Colorado. I'd go seventy miles back by horseback to a little ranch out there where nobody goes, way up in the top of the Corral Peaks, just to be alone. An old rancher and I, and he sleeps by my side at night, only soul there. That old camp bag in--in night time. We live there and look at the stars. First time with him... I was talking to him about the Lord; he was unconverted. I felt a hand reach over under my... bag, about one o'clock in the morning, said, "Preacher." I said, "Yes." He said, "Looks like Him up there, don't it?" I said, "Oh, God bless you, brother. Let's settle it right here." That's right. The deep calling to the Deep. There's got to be a Deep to respond to it. 38 There one day I was up in the mountain, going along. It was early in October, and the freezes was coming, the storms a blowing. The wind would blow against the evergreens in storm. I got behind a tree, and I was standing like this, the wind blowing. I was waiting. The storm passed over, and the sun came out. I walked out from behind the tree. There was an old blow-down near, and I looked. And oh, the... It'd been cold while the rain was blowing, froze all over the--the evergreens, and the sun was setting. Down through the crevices of the rocks over there, flickering against there made a rainbow come down through the valley. Oh, my. I looked at it, and I laid my gun down; I said, "O Jehovah God." Seventy miles from civilization, I stood down there. 39 And a old gray wolf got to hollering up on the rim; the mate answered down at the bottom. The elk herd had been lost; I heard them bugling one to another. Then the deep begin to call to the deep. And here's where there's something in nature that pulls out. I love that. God's in His nature. Look at the sunset. Get saved once and watch how different things look when you get saved and look at God in His nature out there. That's right. Standing and looking at that, I thought, "Oh, my. How wonderful, how that I have to go down here." And I'd run around and around and around the tree, and shake my hands. If somebody would've come by, they'd have thought I was out of the insane institution. And I scream to the top of my voice. I said, "O God, O God, how great You are. Why would it be that I'd ever have to go down into the valley." I remember Peter and them said, "It's good to be here; let's build three tabernacles." 40 Looked at that... [Gap in the audio] Thought I heard something moving. I looked over where there was a big old eagle that had been forced... [Gap in the audio] He was under the brush. [Gap in the audio] " You wouldn't have put an eagle before me unless You wanted me to see You..." [Gap in the audio]... wait till I see it about him. [Gap in the audio] 41 May be your darkest hour. Don't worry, Jesus will be along. It may be your darkest hour, sister; may be yours, sister; may be yours, brother, but don't worry, Jesus will come along. He's always there just in the darkest of hours. There they was setting there... [Gap in the audio] Them people. And he said, "There they goes out, and she's going out to the meet Him now." She just pressed right on by them. She knowed in her heart if she could ever get to Jesus, she'd get the desire of her heart. That's right. There you are. She probably read in the Bible where the Shunammite woman... When her baby was dead, and she knowed if she could ever get to Elijah, that she would know why that baby died, or get the will of God. 42 Now, he--she knew, Shunammite woman knew, that God was in Elisha. There's where the Spirit was in the prophet, and there's where she must get to, that earthly vessel that had the Spirit of God in it. If she'd ever get to Elisha, she'll--she'd get her heart's desire. So she just stayed there. She said, "I'll not leave you." Oh, my. I like that, don't you? "I'll stay with it." Yes, sir. And went right... She said... He said, "Well, I'll send my handkerchief," in other words. "I'll send this stick to lay on him." She said, "As the Lord God lives and your soul never dies, I'm not going to leave you." And he stayed right there until Elisha went to the house and laid his body on that dead baby: never prayed. Laid his head and hands over, like that, put his lips out against it, like that, and the Spirit of God that was in Elisha come upon the child and brought it back to life again. 43 Why, she knowed if God was in Elijah, surely He was in His Son. Hallelujah. That's right. There, she said, "If I can only get to Him, I'll find out the reason my brother died. So she pressed right on through that crowd of unbelievers. When she got down there to where He was... Now, look, seem like... (Closely now. I'm going to close just in a minute.) Seem like that she had a right to upbraid Him, doesn't it? Say, "Why didn't You come to my brother?" Scold Him. "Why didn't You come to my brother?" If she would've approached in that attitude, she'd have... That miracle would've never happened. It's your attitude of approach, how you approach anything. If you come... Like on the gift here, you've got to approach the gift in the right way. You've got to approach God in the right... You can't come, say, "Now, Lord, looky here. I've been a pretty good fellow. I've... Get some hand-me-downs. But I'll tell You; I want You to take me tonight and say..." No, no. God don't take it like that. You come God's provided way, or you don't come at all. That's right. That's true. 44 That's the way she come to Jesus. She came to Him, and she run and fell down at His feet. Look at her now; let's look at the scene. I can hear her say, "Lord (Giving Him His right title. That's what He was.), Lord, if Thou would've been here, my brother would not have died." Oh, her heart was broke. She knowed her brother was gone. She was turned out of her church now. What did she have left, just her and Mary, to struggle together. She said, "Lord, if Thou would've been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, Lord (Oh, my.), whatever You ask God, God will give it to Thee." Oh, isn't that wonderful? "My brother's dead. He stinketh. He's in the grave four days. The skin worms are crawling through him. But even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will give it to You." 45 Oh, look, sister, it may be a dark hour to you. "But even now, Lord, whatever You ask God." He's setting at the right hand of the Father to intercede for you. "Even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will do it." Say, "Well, I got a cancer, Brother Branham. The doctor says I'm going to die. I can't make it. But even now, Lord, whatever You ask..." "Oh, Brother Branham, I've had prayer cards, but I just couldn't..." But even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will do it. Oh, right now, even now, this minute, God can take every cancer away from the people here. He can heal every crippled person. He can make the lame walk. What... "Even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will do it." God can make the eyes of this blind man break forth. He can heal the cross-eyes of that--cross-eyed girl setting there. He can make this woman here bound, raised to health and strength. Why? "Even now, Lord." Friends, "Even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will give it to You." [Gap in the audio] 46 That went through the heart of Christ. I can hear Him raise--or, see Him raise and say, "Thy brother shall rise again." She said, "Yea, Lord. He'll raise again at the last day, for he was a good boy." See, they believed in a general resurrection at the last day. He said... She said, "Yea, Lord. He--he'll raise at the last day." Look at Him. The Bible said there's no beauty we should desire Him, little old spindly looking Fellow, probably was skinny and bony. But I can see Him pull His little Self together, said, "I am the Resurrection and Life." Oh, my. I still believe He's the Resurrection and Life. "I am the Resurrection and Life. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" She said, "Yea, Lord." 47 Look. Oh, there's the gift of God before her. There's everything that she had need of. She's approaching it right. The wheels are coming together. She regarded Him as Lord in title. That's what He was, called Him the Son of God. "Even now, Lord, I believe whatever You ask God, God will do it. (See?) And I believe that Thou art the Son of God which is come into the world." Oh, my. Something has to happen. When faith like that is met at the right spot, something has to happen. I know that by experience. [Gap in the audio] Oh, brother, sister... If you approach with faith, that has met at the right time, it has to happen. It's got to. She said, "I believe what You said is the truth. I believe that You're the Son of God that was to come into the world." "Where have you buried him?" Oh, my. "Where have you buried him?" Here they go. 48 A woman said to me here not long ago, said, "Brother Branham," said, "He was a good man, but He wasn't Divine. He was just like an ordinary man." I said, "Oh, yes He was Divine. He was Divine." Said, "He was a good man, but he wasn't Divine." I said, "Yes He was." "I'll tell you what." She said, "Here's the reason He wasn't." Said, "When he went down to the grave of Lazarus, it proved that he wasn't Divine because he went to crying. And that showed that he was a man. The Bible said, 'Jesus wept.'" I said, "Look, lady. He might've been a man when He was weeping, but when He said, 'Lazarus, come forth,' and a man that had... [Gap in the audio]... returned back that had been dead four days... [Gap in the audio] and Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He was more than a man; He was a God-man. He was God in that man. He was personifying Himself here in His Son: God was, Himself, in Him. It's God, dwelling. Look at Him. He was a man truly when he was crying, He was a man. But when He raised the dead, He was God. 49 When He come down off the mountain that night when He was hungry... [Gap in the audio] something to eat. 50 But when He took five biscuits and fed five thousand, He was God speaking out of His Son. God was in His Son. Don't you believe that? Yes, sir. 51 Oh, He was a Man when He was in that prayer meeting, and all the virtue had gone out of Him. He was laying on the back of that little ship that night, when it was floating around like a bottle stopper on a mighty sea, ten thousand devils of the world... [Gap in the audio]... 52 Said, "Peace, be still," and the waves stopped. That wasn't a man; that was God speaking. Oh, my. That was God speaking out of His... 53 He was a God--He cried for mercy like a man at the cross. He did that. But when He rose up on Easter morning, He proved (Hallelujah.) what He was. Yes, indeed. He proved what He was. 54 When He stood at the grave as a mere man and He called a man that had been dead four days, stinking in the grave... Look at Him. He said, "Take ye away the stone." 55 I believe if He'd have spoke to the stone, it would've vanished. Don't you believe so? Looked like if He'd have been a man talking to them two little old women, that He'd took the stone Hisself away, but you've got something to do yourself. That's right. "Take ye away the stone." He was a man. 56 They went over there and pulled the stone away. Then I can see Him, not much to look at with your eyes. The Bible said, "No beauty you should desire Him." I see Him stand there, raised back His head, said, "Father, I thank Thee Thou hearest Me always; but for these that stand by, I said it. Lazarus, come forth." 57 My. And a man that had been dead and in the grave, his body mortified, "rotten" in plain words, laying in the grave, and his soul was four day's journey somewhere out in space... I don't know where it was, neither do you. But he returned back, that soul of that man rushed into its master. The soul returned back into a man that had been dead for four days, and he stood on his feet and lived again. Believest thou this? 58 I believe the Bible said He's the same yesterday, today, and for ever. Believest thou this? I believe He's the One that stopped the mouth of lions with Daniel. Believest thou this? I believe He's the One that's coming some of these days in great power. Believest thou this? I believe His power is here this afternoon to heal every sick person in this building. Believest thou this? I believe He'll give every person the Holy Ghost that wants It, right now. Hallelujah. Believest thou this? I believe He's here wanting to heal this woman, that baby, this woman, all of you. Believest thou this? I believe if we stand to our... [Gap in the audio] thou this? Let's stand and accept Him then, all in this audience. 59 For the 2003 release it was discovered that some of the text that previously followed was a duplication and some was in the incorrect location. The non-duplicated portion was placed at the end of 50--0820A and the duplicated portion has been removed from here. E-59 Lord, people believe that You're here. Lord, send the Holy Ghost in power upon these people. Heal every sick person in the building just now, Father. Grant, Lord, that Your goodness and blessings be manifested unto this people, in Jesus Christ's...

pai é chegada a hora - william marrion branham

FATHER, THE HOUR HAS COME

William Marrion Branham

Baixar pdf 

_ Thankyou,BrotherJoseph.Thankyou.Shallwepray?

²               OurFather,wethankThee,today,fortheLordJesus,forHisgrace toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died in our stead to justify we, ungodly people, and bring us back into the fellowship with the Father, through the reconciliation by His Own Blood at Calvary, where He so freely gave it for us all. And, today, we’re enjoying these privileges, because He was willing.

³               And now, Father, may we be willing to go and share this great blessing with others. Help us to know Thee better by the gathering this afternoon, for we ask it, in Christ’s Name. Amen.

Be seated.

4              

Happy to see, today, is our host pastor (Brother James Jones) from Indianapolis, back there. So happy, and the brother from Spindale, also; Brother Winston Hare from California. I believe just as looking, I seen Brother Sothmann here was last from—from up in Canada, where we just had the great meeting up there. And many other friends that’s setting around. It certainly is a privilege, today, to speak to such a host of people, who I am expecting to live an Eternity with, in Glory. And have the privilege today to be standing to speak to you and fellowship with you around the Word of God. And it certainly is a privilege to do this.

⁵               Now, last evening we had a great time in the Lord, the Holy Spirit was really poured out His blessings on us last night in a tremendous way. And tonight we’re going to have the old-fashion prayer line that we used to have years ago. Because we’re going to…It’s, I was to speak to you a little while this afternoon, fellowship with you with the Word,andthen,tonightspeakagain.Andsometimesthatwaythe—the anointing of the Holy Spirit for those Divine visions doesn’t come just as they should if you’re kind of upset. Not at…I don’t mean upset, I mean over-enthused or something, it just doesn’t seem to work just right. So Brother Joseph, I told him I’d like to have one night of that before leaving. And he has been so gracious to give it to us and to have it that way.

⁶               And now, I am expecting God to heal many of the sick and afflicted. I’m going to ask the boys if—if they will go ahead and give out the prayer cards anyhow, a large number of them tonight, so we can keep order in the prayer line to have the sick to come through. So if you’ve got any loved ones that’s needy of prayer, and you believe that “by laying on hands” is God’s healing power for the sick today, why, youbring themout tonight,’cause weexpecttogetagreat hostof them through the line.

⁷               And now, it’s such a short time we have to speak, and such a…so much to speak about. As long as we’re speaking about the Lord Jesus, we got much to speak about, how every Word is so inspired. And I’m going to ask Pastor Joseph if he’ll make ready to read a text for me, or— or, Scripture reading, being that I…something else come on my mind just now, and I’m just have the New Testament with me, so I want him to read a…for a background, from the Old Testament, Second Chronicles 18:22-27. I’m going to ask him to read this for us, and you might read it with him, if you wish to, as a background for my text this afternoon. [Brother Joseph Boze says, “Second Chronicles?”—Ed.] 18:22 to about—about 27. And may the Lord add His blessing now to the reading of His Word.

⁸               Whilehe’s…you’returningtoit,I’mgoingtoaskthisbrotherhere from California, have you heard anything about the meeting where we’re going, what time we’re going to be there in your city, in Oakland and through there? The brethren was making it up a few days ago, and I…[A brother answers that he does not know—Ed.] Yes, sir. Well, thank you, brother. Yes, all right. Thank you. I just wondered, it’s to be…I think we’re to go east after Idaho in November and December, and come there in January or February, I think is, last of January, the first of February, or either, this other part is to be up here in the east. Or either, they’re going to give that to the West Coast and then go east. But I hope to see you there, brother, hear some of that wonderful teaching. All right, Brother Joseph. Uh, 22nd to 27.

⁹               [Brother Boze reads the following Scripture, from Second

Chronicles 18:22-27—Ed.]

[Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee.]

[Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?]

[AndMicaiahsaid,Behold,thoushaltseeonthatdaywhenthou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.]

[Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;]

[And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.]

[And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.] ¹⁰ Now,inthe—the17thchapterofSaintJohn,Ireadforatext:

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come;…

And may He add His blessings to His Word.

¹¹            Today, thinking to use this for a platform, the reading of the Word that…out of the Old Testament, for a platform for the text in the New Testament, and praying that God will give us the context as we wait upon Him.

¹²            This time in the Old Testament had been a—a…it was a very shaky time. Now, Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah at the time, while Ahab was king of Israel at the time; they had been divided. And any time where, when we are divided, we can look for trouble. We must be united, and then we will stand.

¹³            And,butJehoshaphatwasa—arighteousman,agoodman.Hehad had some good bringing up and a lot of examples, as we’ve had today. He seen his father, Asa, how that when Asa served the Lord, then God was with him; but when Asa failed to serve the Lord and got stubborn, then God departed from him.

¹⁴            No matter how well the Lord loves us, and how well you love the Lord, when you depart from serving and worshipping the Lord, then just remember, you can look for trouble to start in. Because God told Davidonetime,“ThouartamanafterMyOwnheart.”Andthenwhen David did wrong, David had to reap for what he sowed. And we… He’s never told us that we were after His Own heart, so we’ll surely have to reap what we sow.

¹⁵            But during this time, Asa got a disease in his feet, and he died with it, because he did not ask the Lord for Divine healing; he just went to the doctors alone. He wouldn’t ask the Lord; he was too stubborn. And he just got to a place where he’d begin to listen to some modernistic views and didn’t believe, maybe, or didn’t believe the Lord healed, so he didn’t consult the Lord nothing about. He thought, “Well, my doctor can’t help me; there’s no need of asking anybody else.” So the Bible said he slept. He was taken to the tombs of his father…his fathers, and there he rested.

¹⁶            And now, Jehoshaphat his son, raising up to take his place, had a good background to look upon, to see that when a man will walk for God and walk with God, God will walk with the man. But when that same individual turns his back from God, then God just lets him shift for himself. And we find out it—it’s very sad thing when we have to shift for ourself.

¹⁷            I never try to trust my own wisdom, ’cause I have none. I’m so glad that I do not. If I had some, maybe I would try to trust in it. But the Lord just seen fit that I didn’t have any, so I just have to trust in Him. And I believe it would be good if we all just tried that awhile, don’t you think? Just don’t take our own ideas about thing, but rest solemnly upon THUS SAITH THE LORD. Don’t try to reason it, ’cause you can’t reason it. If you can reason it out and see just exactly how it’s going to be, it would not be a act of faith anymore.

¹⁸            Faith is what you do not see; it’s what you believe, that you don’t…you do not see it, but there’s Something inside of you, sees it. And that’s God that’s inside, sees His Own Word being made manifest. But you couldn’t reason it. I just…There’s no way of doing it. God never can be reasoned, because He’s beyond reason; He’s God. And we just take what He said about it and call it the truth.

¹⁹            Now, in this convention today, and while this is going on, and having this great fellowship, I kind of thought, maybe, that just a few words of how to present to the people; because knowing that most of you here are far ahead of me when it comes to—to teaching Scripture. AndI—Iknowofapositive,there’smensettingherethat,my,thatIfeel little to stand here by. But being that—that we’re associated together, I would like to give my view of what it is, and—and my warning to those whorefusetowalkinGod’spaththatHe’sordainedforustogoin.

²⁰            Now, during this time Ahab was king of Israel, and he was a very indifferent. We have people like that today, what I would call kind of a borderline believer. He just goes any way the—the wind is blowing. I believe we, today, call it “mission trotting.” And just any way the wind blows, they got their sail set to go into it. The Bible don’t want us to be that way. He wants us to be stedfast, unmovable, always abounding, have our sail set directly towards Calvary. If the wind’s blowing contrary, there’s a way of tacking that sail, or, ship, and making that wind, though coming right in your face, you can sail rightstraightintothewind;it’sthewayyousetyoursail.That’sit.

²¹            And we get our chartered set right towards Calvary, and no matter which way the wind’s blowing, we’re still looking to Calvary, whether it’s opposite, or whether whatever it is, we still are set towards Calvary. That’s the true believer. And then we’re not tossed about by every wind of doctrines, and this comes in, and that comes in, and this takes place; we just got one solid course: that’s right to Calvary.

²²            I think that’s what God meant when He spoke through Jude, and…over there, and said, “A cloud without rain, wandering stars…” just wandering around about. That’s—that’s not right; we shouldn’t do that. We should just…When a Christian is first borned in the Kingdom of God, his affection, his life, everything is set right on Christ. If he’s just a little bit smart, if you don’t watch, he will put all of it over on education and go off to real cold, formal, and indifferent, and everything, some theology, or some great interpretation of Greek words.

²³            I met a man here some time ago, and he said, “Billy, I just learned a certain Greek word. I’ve been on it for five years, trying to learn the real meaning of this Greek word.” Said, “Oh, when I found it, is it a blessing.”

Isaid,“You’vebeenfiveyearslearningoneGreekword?” “Yes.”

²⁴            I said, “In that five years, by God’s grace, I’ve won a half a million souls to Christ not knowing any Greek word.” So that’s, it isn’t what you know, it’s Who you know: To know Him is Life. And we spend so much time on those things which is foolish. Just, I don’t mean foolish, which it doesn’t do us any good. When you do know, what good does it do you? None. So you just might as well know Him.

²⁵            Andthenifhebecomes,thispersonthat’scenteredonChrist,ifhe’s just a little bit nervous or emotional, if you don’t watch that individual, he will drift off to this side, into fanaticism. And he will become a regular…just every way the wind blows, here he goes. Everywhere the rattle comes, why, he will take after it.

²⁶            But you don’t want that. One’s just as contrary as the other one is. But we want to be centered, Christ and there alone. Look to the Lamb of God. Look and live.

²⁷            Now, and so Jehoshaphat had seen, when his father looked to God, that God blessed him. And he had seen that Ahab turned from God, because his wife didn’t want him to go to church on Wednesday night, and so forth, you know. So they found out that he become a lukewarm, wishy-washy, kicked-about.

²⁸            You know, I believe if I did not believe in Christ, I’d be firmly against Him. And I believe if I would express myself, and in my heart I was against Him and didn’t believe Him, if I’d make myself against Him, He’d respect me more, than He would if I be a wishy-washy, tossed-about. That’s right.

²⁹            I believe that even in human life…You take a woman, a young lady…Now, we’re just a school, a class. A young lady, she might not be pretty, but if she’s a real lady, and she holds her place as a lady, you know she’ll be respected more than a pretty woman that doesn’t hold her place. See? That’s right. Cause it’s…Any man that’s got a ounce of man about him, will respect that true and loyalty.

³⁰            And then, if we become a Christian, we must put all the loyalty, and respect, and honor on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, if we’re not, and do not believe it, don’t just wishy-washy about it, just let the world know where you’re standing; that’s the best way. And it will be a great day when the church comes to that place, its members, rather. That whether…It will either be for Christ or against Christ. Then the whole world will know how you stand.

³¹            I don’t like anyone to pat me on the shoulder and say, “Now, Brother Branham, I really love you.” When he knows that I know different (See?), he—he knows that I know different. Cause his spirit just doesn’t fit right, and it—it just isn’t there. And so, I—I, then, I lose respect for that person.

³²            I—I like to see a man if he said, “Now, look, I—I disagree with you, with that. I…” Well, then he’s honest about it. But Ahab wasn’t that kind of a person; he was one he wanted to—to serve the Lord one time, and his wife wanted to do something else; then he turned that way, and have the prophets killed, and so forth, one of those wishywashy, up-and-down, in-and-out; and God can never do nothing with a person like that. He couldn’t in that day, or any day, could He ever use a person like that.

³³            So we notice: But Jehoshaphat had seen the results from that kind of a life; he’d seen the results from his father when he served the Lord, then when he didn’t serve the Lord. So all of that together, and taking it under consideration, Jehoshaphat had purposed in his heart to serve the Lord and to cling to the things that his father, David, did at the beginning.Ilikethat:“Atthebeginning…”theBiblesaid.

³⁴            In other words, he went back to the old landmark and then they clean out the rows. It would be good for Pentecost to go back to the old landmark. It would be good for all of us to go back to the old landmarks and clean out the rows. What would happen today in a…I’m talking to, I suppose, mostly Pentecostal people here this afternoon. What would happen if, actually, the church went back to the old landmark? You talk about a cleaning up, there’d really be one around the Pentecostal church; it sure would. Now, how many knows that’s the truth? Why, sure, yes. There’d certainly be a…certainly, a—a reformation going on. Oh, how people would be acting different, dressing different, talking different, and it would—it would just be altogether a different church, if we went back to the old landmark where we started from.

³⁵            Now, so then God blessed him. God will bless anyone who will go back to the old landmark of the Bible and start from the Bible, not according to theology, but from, or, some man-made theology, but from true Bible theology, and start from the old landmark and move up, God will move with you.

³⁶            So God begin to bless Jehoshaphat, and the first thing you know, He begin to prosper him. And he built up all the garrisons, so that the uncircumcised and the…could not come in. And that’s what the churches needs today, is a garrison of the old-time apostolic teaching, so this lukewarm, formal, in-and-out, up-and-down, doesn’t get into our church.

³⁷            What’d I say? That’s right, though. That’s right. We have permitted too many things to creep in, brethren, too many things, that we left the old landmark from the beginning, to creep in; we never garrisoned the church. And now we got everything in it. That’s right. All “isms” and “hism’s” and—and everything else in the church, because we never garrisoned by the Word.

³⁸            I was speaking today at lunch with Brother duPlessis and Brother Joseph, and was speaking about foreign missions and a worldwide revival, that, a worldwide mission journey that I’m fixing to take around the world, in every city a few nights, every major city in the world.Thenthinkingofthefollow-upIsaid,“It’slike…”

They said, “If you don’t have the follow-up, then you lose what you—you went after.”

³⁹            Like I had a—a bullet in my hand. I told you what a famous shell that was, how the velocity of this shell will penetrate at a certain distance,andwhata—a—amuzzlevelocityithas,it’lltravelatthespeed of five thousand feet per second, over the old-fashion gun that maybe travel, oh, a thousand foot per second. Now, the shell is all right, if I place that…the—the cartridge into your hand, but what can you do with it? You haven’t got a gun to use it in.

⁴⁰            So, there you are. We’ve got to have a follow-up; we’ve got to have a garrison; we’ve got to have the church set in order, marching, a great front to go forward. We’re just losing time until the church gets in that kind of a condition. We’ll find a few here, that’s true; but not like we would if we were all one great undivided group of people, one great big front.

⁴¹            The enemy…In a army if part of them…if the Kentuckians are shooting at the Hoosiers, and the Hoosiers are shooting at the Kentuckians, the Illinois at the Missiourians, in a war, why, the armies will just stand off and say, “Let them kill themselves.” But when they all become united, that’s when the enemy sticks his ears up and takes away. And when all the great host of God unite themselves together under one banner, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and moves on as the great Church of the living God, then the enemy will take flight. He’s got to do it.

⁴²            And we see in the Bible our example. So if you notice, after God blessing this great man, Jehoshaphat, prospered him and everything begin to go fine, one day he thought he’d take a visit down to his neighbor, Ahab. And as he went down to visit Ahab, thought, “Well, I’ll have some fellowship down there.” Now, there’s where he made a mistake, right there, ’cause oil and water won’t mix. That’s right. Neither will a believer with unbelief mix together; you got to be one sideortheother.You’vegottomakeastand,andcontinuetostand.

⁴³            So as he went down to see Ahab, oh, what a reception he got. Oh my, Ahab killed ox, and sheeps, and so forth, and lambs, and made a great feast and…Now, that’s just the way the enemy comes in. That’s just the way it did to you sisters. When it begin, some woman come in, and the church begin to pat her on the back, and she—she was a bobbed-haired woman, and wore make-up, and things like that. The first thing you know, it begin to gradually creep in, and now the whole church is mixed up in it. Amen. That’s right. Now, you…Don’t let it hurt you. But we need a operation. That’s right.

⁴⁴            And when the man got to a place that he wasn’t a man, her husband, and let her do that, that showed his weakness. That’s right. He’s supposed to be the head of the house.

⁴⁵            So, but today the whole nation is in that trend. And America is not no more really America; it’s not no more a Christian nation; it’s a woman’s nation. Little ol’ Jezebel go down the street all painted up, and, brother, men will fall on their knees to her. That’s right. I know thatkindofhurts,butthat’sthetruth.Weneedtheoperation.

⁴⁶            Now, that’s in the world, with Hollywood. That’s not only in the world and Hollywood, that’s in the Pentecostal church. We’re not garrisoned against those things. And the pastor was weakling enough to let them get by with it. If you’d cry out against the thing, the whole church in one big, united army, then it would’ve ceased a long time ago. But oh, we’ve got it now till it’s no different; they just do anything they want to: liberation of women, they wear these little ol’ dirty-looking, vulgar clothes, and go out on the street.

⁴⁷            And let me say something right here, my lady. I hope you all love me, and I’m not here to criticize you; I’m only here to know that yonder, at the Day of Judgment, I will have to answer, when I know these things and don’t tell them; then if I do warn you, then the blood’s off of my hands.

⁴⁸            Did you know Jesus Christ said, “Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Does anybody know that? The Bi-…And if you dress yourself sexy-like, no matter how modest you think it is, and go out on the street, and some old sinner looks at you to lust after you, at the Judgment Bar you’ll be guilty of committing adultery with that man when he answers for it. Why is it? It was you, was the one, done it; you presented yourself that way, so you are the guilty one. And you, no matter how virgin and pure you’ve lived, you’ll be guilty before God of committing adultery with a sinner, just the same as you went through the act. Jesus said so. That’s not skim milk, brother; that’s the truth. It’s barbed wire. But it’s what God’s Word says, it cuts, and sharper than a two-edged sword.

⁴⁹            I don’t know whether your pastor will appreciate that or not. But I’m telling you, my sister, at the Judgment Bar I’ll have to answer for it, and if I don’t say these things…I don’t care how many people say “liberation of women,” that’s a doctrine of the devil. And it’s not in this Bible. That’s right.

⁵⁰            You see what happened back in Rome; you see what happened in Greece; you see what happened back in the old Roman colonies long ago, to the Christian church when they got acting like the world. You know history, or, your pastor should teach it to you. And you see in every age what happens to that crop. And you see exactly where it is right now in the Pentecostal church. So it’s time to draw a line, and make a garrison, and preach the truth. You got examples, the same as Jehoshaphat had examples. So let’s draw our line, straighten ourselves up,andwalklikemenandwomenoughtto,andpresentourselves.

⁵¹            Now, the man, of course in his dress, he’s not a…is a…he is not a sacred, or, not a person like a woman’s body; we realize that. Now, it’s the women. And the women is marvelous.

⁵²            I’ve been called a woman hater. Anybody says that is…don’t… there is—there is something wrong. I am not. But I—I love them, and I want them to be God’s daughters, and to act like God’s daughters, just the same as men. We must do that.

⁵³            So we see those things as an example, and while you committees here, while your convention’s going on, brethren, what’s happened to you? You’re reading the same Bible; you know the Bible teaches those things. So let’s get down to business with it. Let’s either be for God or be against God. When did God answer the most? When we acted like Christians or now? Why, John Wesley’s move would raise up and condemnthisPentecostalgeneration,backintheoldholinesstime.

⁵⁴            Now, you know that’s so. John Wesley was more respectable in his teaching, and in the old-fashion church long ago, than we Pentecostal have ever been. That’s true. Look what they did; they did things that we know nothing about. Well, God honored them and blessed them, because they walked upright before God. That’s right. And we know that to be an example.

⁵⁵            Now, but when he come down and made fellowship with Ahab, then he got in trouble. Now, Ahab…And when you take the world that’stryingtofindfellowshipwithyou,justremember,there’sarabbit in the woodpile somewhere.

⁵⁶            When you take that little cigarette-smoking boy, that wants to take you out at nighttime, young lady, you Pentecostal girl, that little drinker, and his hair combed down, slick enough to hold his mouth open. Let me tell you something now; there’s something in the making. And he says, “I’ll marry you, dear, if…And then I—I’ll join your church.” He’s lying to you. If he loves you and loves the Lord, he will do it then; he don’t have to take you. That’s right. And you men, you young boys with some of these little painted-up Jezebels, the same way. You shouldn’t do that.

⁵⁷            Shame on the pastors that fail to say that in their church. We are a called-out, separated, different people, sanctified to the Lord in Israel. Yes, sir, we know the landmarks; they’re wrote right down here, a plain view of it. But we’re just tossed about. This one come in, say, “All this, that, and all this, that.” We just fail, fall right with it. Sure. The Bible said the devil would be doing that in the last days. And that’s exactly what he’s doing.

⁵⁸            Now, then he made him a great dinner and invited him. Now, he had some motive of doing that, he said…’cause he knowed he was a great powerful man, and he said, “Now, let’s join our ranks together, and let’s just all come in one great big rank, and then we will go up to Ramoth-gilead. And—and then when we go up there, we’ll defeat the enemy, because this certain-certain ground belongs to us anyhow. Ramoth-gilead belongs to us. And it’s actually our possession, so you helpus go up and getwhat our possession is.”See,greedy.

⁵⁹            And there’s where Jehoshaphat made his mistake. Then being a spiritual man though, he said, “Yes, I’ll go with you, but first, let’s consulttheLord.”There’sagoodthing:prayineverything.

⁶⁰            And then, he said, “All right, we’ll just do that. Now, I’ve got a seminary down here; I’ve got some of the best prophets there is. Oh, they’re educated to the moment. They’re the smartest men there is in the country, ’cause I’ve seen to it. I’ve taken care of them. I support the seminary. And I’ve got some of the best, so I’ll call for the elect to come.”

⁶¹            So he went and got all the fine scholars and brought them up there. And they all got together: four hundred of them. And he said, “Shall we…?” I can see the king. And everybody, just going right the way the…whatever the king says; whatever the bishop says, they all do, you know. The general overseer, you know, what he says, they all do. See? Hand in his coat, you know, and said, “Now, gentlemen, shall I go up to Ramoth-gilead or shall I forbear?”

⁶²            One said, “You know who that is, don’t you? You know where our mealcomesfrom;we’llbeexcommunicated;wewon’thavethis,andwe won’thavenothingtobackusup.Um-hum,nowyou’dbetterwatch.”

“What do you say about it, pastor?”

“Well, I tell you; I believe we better.”

“Yep, I think so too. What about the superintendent, what does he say?”

⁶³            “Oh, he passes the word right along; we all better say good about theking.”Oh,my.Webettersay,“Oh,thisisthegreatestdenomination there is, and none like it; nothing can do it but this. We’re the only ones that has the say-so over it.”

So they all come out with one accord, said, “Oh, the Lord says, ‘Go up; He’s with you.’”

Ahab said, “You see, sure, we’re going up.”

⁶⁴            But you know, there was something about a spiritual man, when it’s…no matter how many says “yes,” if it’s contrary to the Word, that man don’t believe it. Jehoshaphat said, “Well, how many you got out there?”

⁶⁵            Said, “Four hundred. And they’re all seminary student; they’re great men; and with one accord they’re giving us the right; oh, we’ve just got to win.”

Andhesaid,“But—but—but—but—buthaven’tyougotonemore?”

⁶⁶            “Well, what do you need one more for? Here’s four hundred, the best; what would one more make any difference, if you got four hundred saying, ‘Yes’? Well, why ask for one more?”

Hesaid,“Butyouknow,haven’tyoujustgotonemore?”

⁶⁷            He said, “Yes, I got a little holy-roller down here, but he…” Well, he’s a holy-roller; he was an outcast, you know, he said. He said, “I got onedownhere,butIhatehim.”Oh,yeah,sure,gotto,hesteppedonhis corns all the time. He’s kind of rough; scuffed him around a little bit.

He said, “I’ll tell you before he comes, I hate him,” he said, “because he’s always saying evil against me.” Sure, what else could he do? The Word said evil against him.

⁶⁸            So how could I hold my peace about Christian women painting up? How do I hold my peace of the weakness of the Christian church when the Word is against it? Sure, it is; the Word is against it. I don’t care what the pastor says; the Word says so; let’s stay on the Word. Four hundred was giving one consent, that it was all right to go ahead and do it. “Yeah, that’s all right; ah, ain’t going to hurt nothing; don’t believe him, he’s—he’s weak minded.”

⁶⁹            But Micaiah had the truth. That’s what we want, is the truth. Regardless of where it hurts, circumcises, or who It cuts off, we want the truth. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Amen. Oh, sure.

Oh, he said, “They…Look who they got; they got that group of holy-roller up there now. Listen to him now.”

⁷⁰            But I want you to notice, before he got there, they sent a committee to meet him, and said, “Now look, all the theological seminary boys are up there, and they’ve every one told the king it was all right for him to go do what he wants to do. Now, Micaiah, don’t you say anything contrary to what they say. Now, he’ll want to unite together now. You want to say the same thing he says.”

If it would’ve been according to the Word, it would’ve been right; but it was contrary to the Word. That’s right.

⁷¹            Like a minister here not long ago was saying; he was going… evangelist, going to a church to hold a—a meeting. And I hope you don’t take this for a joke, because it’s no place for jokes; it was absolutely told to me for the truth. And it was supposed to be in a fine denominational church.

Andthedeaconboardmethimdownatacertainplaceonthetrain, and got on, and said, “Are you the evangelist?”

Hesaid,“Iam.”HewasreadinghisBible,writingdownsomenotes as he studied and prayed.

He said, “Now, we were sent, as a committee from the church, to tell you now, a few things about our church.”

⁷²            He said, “All right, I’d like to hear them before I get there, I know more how to approach the church and the people.” He said, “I want to be a blessing to you while I’m there.”

⁷³            Said, “All right, that’s what we want you to be. Now, we’re just say to you, evangelist, that, don’t say anything about horse racing,” said, “because the pastor owns a racehorse,” and he said, “and he bets on the races all the time. And we would not have you to hurt our pastor’s feelings, no.”

⁷⁴            And said now, “Usually evangelists are them fiery fireballs,” and said, “we have better thoughts than that of you, so, or, don’t say nothing…Usually they’re always kicking about these here Bunco games in the church.” Said, “Now, the Women’s Aid Society always has a Bunco game every Wednesday night, after prayer meeting, in the basement. So be sure, don’t say nothing about that.” And he went on withawholelistofthings,whathecouldnotdo,couldnottalkabout.

The evangelist said, “Then what will I talk about?”

And he said, “You might speak about the Jews, because we only have one of them in the church.”

⁷⁵            Now, there is such evangelism as that today in Pentecost. They’re afraid to speak the truth. Right. I don’t care if it hurts the pastor or who it hurts; it’s God’s Eternal Word. And we’re responsible for it, the preachingofit.Wemusttellthetruth;Idon’tcarehowbadithurts.

⁷⁶            But you know, they’d spoke to the wrong man when they spoke to Micaiah like that. Oh, no, he wasn’t one of these compromisers with his wings set to see if he’d get a good offering or not. Oh, no, no, no. He was a man of God.

⁷⁷            Why, I could imagine, the Scripture doesn’t say so, but maybe perhaps they’d said, “Now, if you’ll say the same thing, what these prophets say, from the seminary, you know what? They might give you a degree from that college. You know, they might absolutely, after a while, after you learn to speak a little better grammar, you know what? They might actually make you one of them, if you’ll say the same thing theysay.”Oh,yeah,they’lldothatyettoday,too.Sure,theywill.

⁷⁸            But what did this little holy-roller say? He said, “I’ll only say what my God puts in my mouth to say.” Amen. There’s the kind of a man to have.

⁷⁹            NowondertheHolyGhostdowninJehoshaphat’sheart,said,“Yet there’s one more; he will tell you the truth; he will tell you the truth. Just one more, but he will really be honest with you.”

⁸⁰            Sothen,littleMicaiahcomesover,afterprayingandseeingavision. And Jehoshaphat set, with all of his four hundred preachers around him, the Dr., Ph.D., and all the rest of them, you know, around there, and the general superintendent, and the—the bishop, and the…all of them,youknow,wasallaroundthere.Oh,greatfellowship,eatinglamb steaks and so forth, having a wonderful time. And they were all dressed justright,theircollarsturnedaround,andtheirlongrobesflowing,you know, with “holy father” wrote on them, and everything like they do, you know, all dressed up.

⁸¹            But you know, that just didn’t please the man of God down in his heart. He thought there was something different from that. I do too; I reallydo.PutsmeinthemindofSaultryingtoputhisecclesiasticalvest on David; it just didn’t work on a man of God; that was all. Just don’t fithimright,said,“Takethisthingoffofhere,I’veneverprovedit.”

⁸²            Now, that’s what we need today, is take off some of our ecclesiastical vests and put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, try and quit speaking great big words where they all, congregation don’t know what we’re talking about anyhow. That’s right. Just plain old sassafras preaching is what will save them. It’s the truth. No matter how flatfooted it is, it’s—it’s the Word anyhow; they understand it that way. We’re not rich and up to date in all these great big things; we’re old fashion, or we should be. Now, we don’t have to learn how to use great grammaranddoallthesegreatwordsandthings,justspeakitplain.

Then what taken place? What a time. The next thing we find out, that these great classicals standing around…

⁸³            And let me speak this just a minute. Did you know where class come from? Class is of the devil. Now, that’s THUS SAITH THE LORD of the Bible. Class and pomp came from the devil. In the very beginning when Cain and Abel come up to worship, Cain come before theLordinclass.Abelcameinrighteousnessbyrevelation.

⁸⁴            Now, look, when Cain came, he brought the fruits of the field, everything that grows, the flowers and everything, and decorated his altar, and he worshipped God; a true picture of the carnal church member today, and the carnal-minded pastor who wants a church that sits higher than the rest of them in the city, and—and their seats all plushed, and million-dollar pipe organ. God don’t care [Brother Branham snaps his fingers—Ed.] that for that. Right, don’t have a thing…You build all those great big places like that and strain your peopleuntilthey’rejustaboutpoorpaupersandeverythingelsewithall your stuff to put in the church, and thousands of heathens dying on the mission field without knowing Christ one time. Right, it’s a disgrace to Christianity. Yes.

⁸⁵            Oh, if you only could see one time, you’d know what I was speaking of. Building a million-dollar church, and two-thirds of the world never heard of Jesus Christ; what a pity.

⁸⁶            Now, watch him. Then it was class, and Cain came anointed with Satan and made a great big classical thing. But now, Abel, when he came, he never come in class, but he come in revelation. The Bible said in Hebrews 3 that, “Abel by faith offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” And the only way he did it was by faith and faith in what? The Word of God, ’cause that’s the only thing you can have faith in. God had revealed to him that it was the blood. And Cain had a beautiful offering, yet not covered in blood. And Abel didn’t have a beautiful offering, but it was covered in blood, and it was according to theWord.AndGodrecognizedit,becauseitwasHisWord.

⁸⁷            Andtoday,Godisnotwatchingthegreatbigchurch,howbuild… its biggest builder, how well the—the choir can sing, or all this, the other, or what class of people, whether they’re well-dressed, or not well dressed, in your church. He is not looking for such things as that, no, not by a million miles, He’s not.

⁸⁸            He’s watching for someone to come the way of the Blood, revelation. And Abel, by faith, he heard the Word of God, and took God at His Word; and by faith in the Word of God, God received him. That’s the only way God will ever receive anybody, is by taking God at His Word by revelation that God will keep His Word.

⁸⁹            God said the Holy Ghost is good for this day; that settles it for me. If God put the power in the church to heal the sick and cast out devils; and the prophets and so forth, set them in the church, and promised it, that they would be to the end of the world; that’s satisfies it to me. Don’t care what any theologian, or how much they can do like a worm in a lemon, run here, squeeze out here, squeeze out there; doesn’t make a bit of differen. God said so, and that settles it. Let’s stay with God; have faith in His Word.

⁹⁰            Now, God told Cain, said, “If you’ll do well (See?), but if you not, sin lieth at the door.” Sure. Cain was a type of the carnal believer today, who goes down and thinks, “I’ll join…Look, you know the biggest church there is in Chicago, is So-and-so and Dr. So-and-so. I’ll go join that over there.”

⁹¹            Then you go to read in the Bible and you find out that none of the things that Jesus said was going on in the church, “These signs shall follow them, believe,” it doesn’t follow. Jesus said they shall follow them that believe, not they maybe will, perhaps they will, they will for a certain amount of time. He said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” And it was promised to the end of the world. I want the page and Scripture where He said He took it away from them. Then He would contradict His Own Word. See what a mess you’d get into? “These signs shall follow them.” That was a marking, a memorial, a mark of true believers, that He was in their midst. Cause He’s showing Himself and manifesting Himself by these signs. Amen.

⁹²            Now, to think, a church being built on that, let the world creep in? Why certainly it’ll rouse the indignation of a real true servant of God.

Sure, it’s wrong; let’s get the thing out of there. Get away from this old lukewarm, halfway, say a little prayer of a morning, little prayer at night, and go to bed, and get up the next morning. No wonder we’re getting worldly. No wonder the world’s creeped into the church, because we don’t stay in prayer. There’s no more agonizing; there’s no more staying before God; there’s no more digging out, cleaning up. We need a old-fashion revival. We just pull ourself, “We’re the Assemblies. We’re the Pentecostals. We’re the Oneness. We’re the Trinities. We’re this, that, or the other. We don’t have nothing do with that other group.”

⁹³            There’s where the Holy Spirit leaves you, right there. When you get that in your mind, brother, you just might as well go back to the altar, because that’s the place you belong. That’s right. Amen. That’s how worldliness creeps in. Let’s forget about it. Let’s put our affections on Christ and look to Christ and Him alone, amen, and have fellowship one with another, while the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If He’d come to mark, today, every one of us without a fault, who would He mark?

⁹⁴            If you think the next man’s in error, remember, the grace of God is just as real to him as it is to you. I’d hate for Him to mark me today, whether I was faultless or not. I don’t trust in that; I trust in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to take me through. I stand in His grace alone. Nothing in my arms I bring. I’ve done nothing; I’ve said nothing that’s worth nothing.

⁹⁵            There’s not a thing that I done, Lord, I just wholly depend on You, just You, and You alone. Sure, Lord, and if I love You with a true heart, I’ll certainly love You, and walk, and try my best not to do nothing to hurt You. And if I do do anything to You wrong, I’ll repent for it as quick as I do it.

⁹⁶            I love my wife, if I’d do anything wrong to her, I’d repent immediately for it, if I did it not knowingly. Or I’d repent, and tell her I was sorry I done it, as sure I would to my Lord. And I wouldn’t do nothing to hurt the poor little thing for nothing in the world. And neither would I do to hurt God millions times more than my wife. If you love Him, you’ll respect Him, you’ll walk right.

⁹⁷            There,notice,butwhatwegotoff,isonourtheology.Oh,my.“You know,Dr.So-and-so,he’ssuchaclassicman.Oh,doyouknowhespeaks in two or three different languages? He does all this, that, and the other. You know what? He pastored the great So-and-so church one time.” Now, isn’t that something? “Oh, you ought to hear how he says, ‘Ahmen.’ It’s the most beautiful.”

⁹⁸            I read a piece in the paper the other day, about that long, where it said that a certain bishop of a certain church, prayed the prettiest prayer to the certain denomination that was everprayed.That’s who he prayed to, the denomination, not to Christ. That’s right; took about a half of page of paper to write his prayer out. He prayed it to the denomination, a pretty prayer. Oh.

⁹⁹            And that’s coming into Pentecost too. “Oh, yes, we’re getting the place so pretty, do things so pretty, and look so pretty.” Sure, we get just like the rest of them. Time to shake yourself; come out of it. That’s right.

¹⁰⁰        What about the Blood? Don’t be like Cain’s offering. Keep the Blood over you; I don’t care how ugly, and raw, and broken-language, and everything else it is; keep the Blood. That’s what we need. Keep under the Blood.

¹⁰¹        We notice, this classical. Yes, God gave him a chance. He said, “Now, if you’ll do well, it’ll be all right; you’ll be accepted. But if you don’t do well, then sin lieth at the door. Now, you seen that I have accepted this—this plan here, and I have not accepted yours. But now, if you’ll do well, you’ll come over and fellowship here. ‘These signs shall follow them that believe.’ And if you see I have accepted that doctrine, My Bible, I have kept My Word, I have confirmed It amongst the people, now if you’ll do well, come on over with them. Let’s have fellowship one with another.”

¹⁰²        But what did Cain do? Just exactly like they do today; he sought outawayhecouldputhimoutoforder.That’sright.Brother,someday, don’t you worry, if you’re a real true Christian, your hide will be for sale.That’s…Don’tyouworryaboutthat.Andrightnowyou’rehated amongallpeopleforHisName’ssake,despisedandrejected.See?

And He said, “Now, if you’ll do well…” But he didn’t do well; but he slew his brother.

¹⁰³        Alwaysclassics;butnomatterhowclassicalallthesepreachers,and before these two kings, yet, Micaiah said, “I saw la-…in a vision, God setting upon His throne, and the host of Heaven standing at His right and left hand. And they said, ‘Who can we get to go down and deceive Ahab, to get him out there to fulfill the Word of God?’”

¹⁰⁴        If you want to see visions, if you want to be right, stay in the Word. God works right in the Word; that’s the plan. See? Now, Micaiah… Listen, here’s a secret: Micaiah was staying right with what the prophet said, the prophet Elijah, because Ahab had done the evil, he said, “The dogs will lick your blood…” And how…“…over the death of righteous Naboth.”

¹⁰⁵        And how that the Word of God through that prophet, which was God’s Word, comes to the prophet, and they stayed right with that. And Micaiah couldn’t go right or left from it, because it was already confirmed the Word of God. Right. God’s Word was with the prophets in them days. He had the law, but He had His Word with the prophets. And Micaiah, being a prophet, a true prophet…

¹⁰⁶        Now, look, let me show you something. Oh, I see it. Looky here; this is fresh. There were four hundred seminary students who claimed to know the Word and wasn’t respecting It. They tried to bypass It because of pomp. They tried to bypass it because it was the king, to pat somebody on the back.

¹⁰⁷        But this little “holy-roller,” as I called him a while ago, he didn’t care how much patting-on-the-back went on, he stayed with God’s Word. And he couldn’t prophesy nothing, or preach then, but what the Word said. Amen. Glory! Stay with the Word, there it is, brother. God will back that Word up every time. He didn’t care what the seminaries taught; he didn’t care what any of the rest of them was; he knowed the Word of God pronounced a curse on Ahab, and nothing else could take the place of it.

¹⁰⁸        So therefore, being with the Word and lined up with the Word, the Holy Ghost lined up with him, or, he lined with the Holy Ghost and saw a vision. Well, glory! I feel real good, real religious. Get with the Word, stay with the Word. And if there ever, a true vision comes, it’ll come by the Word. Amen. Never thought of that before, that’s a new one. Thank the Lord. Stay with the Word, brother.

¹⁰⁹        Elijah, or, Micaiah was with the Word, because the Word had pronounced cursings on that thing. And how could Micaiah say anything else but stay with the Word? So by staying with the Word, God showed him a continuation of the Word. Hallelujah! There you are. I hope you…sinks into you like it does me. But, there it is. God will show the continuation of the Word. Said, “Sure, go on if you want to. It’s all right, go do what the preachers tell you to do, but I saw Israel scatteredlikesheepthathadnoshepherd.”Said,“IsawGodinHeaven; Isawthethrone,andthehostofHeavenstandingatrightandlefthand. Said, ‘Who can we get to go down and deceive Ahab? Who can we get to bring him out here to fulfill Elijah’s prophecy?’”

¹¹⁰        See,MicaiahwasrightonthatWord.ThatWordhadtobefulfilled. And a lying spirit come up, come out of hell, come up there and said, “I can do something for you.” Said, “You know what? I can get in that seminary easy, because they don’t have no, very much prayer meeting, no agonizing. There’s nothing around there, no Blood, so I can just walk any time I want to. Um-hum, um-hum. I can take possession of that thing, that whole denomination. I can get the whole thing; they don’tevenbelieveintheBlood.SoI—Icantakethewholething.” God said, “That’s right, you can do that.”

¹¹¹        Said, “I’ll go down there and get in them fellows and cause them to prophesy a lie, all them preachers. Every one of them, all their great theology, I’ll just blind their eyes from the Word. That’s all I have to do is keep that Word so they can’t see it.”

You know, God does that lot of times. Said, “They got eyes and can’t see; ears and can’t hear.” Is that right? Sure.

¹¹²        Said, “I’ll blind their eyes, and they can’t see it. So I’ll just go down and cause them to be inspired, and they’ll prophesy a lie. Then you’ll get him up there.”

¹¹³        And so one of these preachers, oh, did his—did his great prestige become so (What would I say?), it become so degraded before the people, that he walked up and smacked him in the face. He said, “Which way went the Spirit of God out of me?”

¹¹⁴        Now, he thought he had the Spirit of God. But it was a lying spirit, because it was contrary to the Word. Now, if people says, “Signs and wondersdon’tfollow,”it’salyingspirit;it’scontrarytotheWord.

¹¹⁵        If, “The Bible says,” people tells you, “the Holy Ghost ain’t in this day the same as It was in the other days,” it’s a lying spirit that’s in false prophets. They’re telling you a lie. If the spirit gets…just says, “All liberation of women, and do all these other things, and go out, act like the world.” It’s a lying spirit. It’s not lined up with the Word, stay in the Word. Right. Stay right there.

¹¹⁶        Now, and you know what the story come out. What was it? Years had passed. But the time had come for that Word to be fulfilled. When the season rolls around, don’t you worry, the crop will be there. It’s right.

¹¹⁷        And brethren, if there ever was a time…For the next few minutes now, I want to talk to you, to your heart. If there ever was a time, that the time has come for the Word to be fulfilled, it’s now. This is the day. Seeds has been planted; it’s time to take the hoe and get out here, and gotocuttingoutsomeoftheseweedsandthingswegotgrowedup:saw briers; and stinkweeds; and everything else that’s growed up amongst the people; doubters; disbelievers; lukewarm; everything else. It’s time for us to get the hoe and chop it out. And there’s nothing any better than a two-edged Sword of God to cut it with.

The time had come in the antediluvian world for God to show His Wordmadetruetotheantediluvianpeople.AndHerespectedNoah.

¹¹⁸        The time had come in Babylon, where that they’d laughed God to scorn. They made fun of—of the Hebrew children. They’d laughed at them, told them they was “old fogies,” and everything. “They ought to be modern.” But they stayed put. God respects that staying put. And they had laughed at them, throwed them in jail, done everything to them. But finally, the time come for God to speak. And He showed His power.Hewasabletodeliverthemfromafieryfurnace.HeshowedHis power when the time come.

¹¹⁹        When Daniel was throwed into the lions’ den, the time had come for God to move out and to speak. And He closed the mouth of the lion by sending an Angel into the den with Daniel.

¹²⁰        Jesus, just before Calvary…The time had come when the proclamation must be signed. It come a time where Adam’s race was at the end of the road; something had to be done. It was at that time that Zacharias, standing in the temple, saw an Angel of God, who warned him and told him what was going to happen. The time was at hand. Andhewas…doubtedtheAngel’sWordandwasstrickendumb.

¹²¹        The time come when Mary was coming from the well, that day, with a pot of water on her head. The time had come for the visitation of the Saviour, and she…that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son. The time was there, regardless of what the world didn’t even believe, it was all out of line with their teaching. But the time come, and when the time has come, “It’s going to happen.” Amen. The Angel Gabriel met the virgin and told her she’d be overshadowed by the Holy Ghost and would bring forth a Son, and He’d be the Son of God. Never had happened in all the world, but the time had come.

¹²²        When every Jewish woman had waited and watched for the time for this, hoping it would be her. But the time come when God made His choice. God makes a choice.

¹²³        The time come when John the Baptist was born as a forerunner to fulfill the Word of God. Cause he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness: in Isaiah 40, that there’d be one, several hundred years beforehecome.ThetimecomeforJohntobeborn.Andwhenthetime come, John arrived on the scene. Amen.

¹²⁴        The time had come after Jesus’ death, after Calvary, the time come, there, that He must die for the sins of the world. And He died just according to the Scripture. Cause everybody believed that, lined up withtheWord,andthetimecomethatitmustbefulfilled.

¹²⁵        And He died between two malefactors. They went by, breaking their legs with hammers. And the Roman raised back the maul to break His leg, but the time come when the Bible must be fulfilled, when It said, “There won’t be a bone broke in His body”; and he held his peace.

What was it? The Angel of God stayed his hand. The time had come for the Scripture to be fulfilled.

¹²⁶        They put Him in the grave. They put a seal on the grave. They garrisoned a bunch of soldiers, a century, a hundred men, armed, around there to be sure that nothing would take place. For three days He laid there, through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But on Sunday morning, the first Easter, no matter how many armies was there, how well they was garrisoned, the time had come for the Word of God to be fulfilled. “I’ll not suffer My Holy One to see corruption. Neither will I leave His soul in hell.” The time had come. I don’t care what takes place, it’s going to happen anyhow. The time had come. And an Angel come from Heaven, and the men fell like dead men, and the grave opened, and Christ walked out victorious over death, hell, and the grave. The time had come. Amen.

¹²⁷        After that He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He said, “Before you go, I don’t care how well educated you are. I don’t care how much you’ve walked with Me. Before you can be a witness of Me, you’ve got to wait yonder until you’re endued with power from on High.” What was it? He was lined with the Word.

Joel said, “In the last days it’ll come to pass, I’ll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy.”

¹²⁸        Jesus, before that, said, “This Gospel would be preached to all the ends of the world for a witness unto Me, and must begin at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:49.

¹²⁹        Notice, then they went up in the room. One of them would say,

“Well, how long we have to wait here?”

Other one say, “I believe I will go out.”

I can hear him say, “He never said how long to wait, He said, ‘Wait until you’re endued with power.’”

“How long will we wait?”

“That isn’t the question; that isn’t the commission, is wait until you’re endued.”

“How long should I pray? How many more days should I wait? Should the revival break now?”

¹³⁰        Brother, wait until God pours out His power. Not until we elect a new bishop, not until we put a new pastor, but wait until the Holy Ghost comes from Heaven, like a rushing mighty wind. Not wait till we choose who’s going to be the bishop of this group. Not wait and see who’s going to be the overseer of this group. But wait until you’ve organizedyourself:no,sir.Notwaituntilyousetupadistrictpresbyter: no, sir. Not wait until you have enough finance to build a new church: no,sir.Butwaituntilyou’reenduedwithpowerfromonHigh.Amen.

¹³¹        And then, when that complete Pentecostal number was fulfilled, fifty days, the time had come. Hallelujah! The time had come for Joel’s prophecy to be fulfilled. The time had come for Jesus to pour out His Spirit. The time had come for the fulfilling of the Word.

¹³²        AndtherewassomebodylinedupwiththeWordtohaveItfulfilled. Glory! Brother! And all of a sudden, to those who were lined in line with the Word, waiting on the Promise, “There come a sound from Heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

¹³³        Isaiah said, “Precept upon precept; and line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Hold fast to that what’s good. For with stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the refreshening.” Amen. This is the rest that shall come from the Presence of the Lord.

¹³⁴        No matter if they’d never spoke since Babylon. But it was, time had come for God to unite the nations together, and man together with one heart in one accord, whether what language or whatever it was. He spoke in every dialect under the heavens, one group of people, all Galilean. The time had come. Amen.

¹³⁵        Brother, the time has come. We’re in the last days. We’re in the atomic age. The time has come that they got a weapon that can shake this world from its orbit, in five minutes’ time, into the sun, and cause a total annihilation. They couldn’t have done that before. But the time has come. Amen.

¹³⁶        The time has come where there’s a falling away. The Bible said, “Except there come a falling away, the man of sin won’t reveal himself.” The Pentecostal church is living in the falling-away time. The time has come.

¹³⁷        The time has come for the signs to follow the believers. We’re at the end time. We’re in the latter rain. We’re at the time where men will be heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, and despise those that are good, heady, highminded. The time has come when they’re teaching doctrines of devils, perverting the Bible teaching into theories and theologies to draw groups of people away after them.

¹³⁸        It’s, time has come that God will gather His Church together soon under one great big banner, the Lord Jesus Christ, and pour out His powers among them. And great signs and wonders will take place; the time has come.

¹³⁹        The time has come for the Pentecostal church to make its stand. The time has come to circumcise the church and call off this foolishness. The time has come to go back to the old landmark. The time has come for the outpouring. The time has come for the gathering of the people. The time has come for Jesus to come. The time will be here soon to give out the rewards.

¹⁴⁰        Brother,becarefulthatyourcrownisn’tsetonsomeoneelse’shead. The time has come. We’re at the end time. If we’re ever going to do anything, brethren, we’re going to do it now. The time is at hand. The timehascomewhenGodisshakingeverydenominationunderthesun.

¹⁴¹        I was reading an article where a great theologian in the Baptist church come to one of the meetings, and he seen the working of the Holy Ghost. It was in the The Voice Of Healing. Brother Boze, will reprint it again.

¹⁴²        Where that he said, “A Baptist scribe meets a Pentecostal prophet.” And he throwed away all of his literature. He throwed away all of his theology, got down, and said, “God, if you can do that for that man, do it for me.” And his jaws locked with glory and he spoke in three different languages, and went to the platform praying for the sick and God working signs and wonders. Amen. Glory!

¹⁴³        The time has come that the jewels…The time has come for the prospectors to go to digging. The jewels are coming out of every denomination, being polished up, and given gifts, and set out in order. Hallelujah! The time is here.

¹⁴⁴        The time is here right now. The baptism of the Holy Ghost moves through the city again. It’s time for sinners to repent. It’s time for backsliders to get right with God. It’s time for a cleaning up in the church. It’s time for signs that God showed. Everybody waited on their sign.The signs of Mark 16 is being fulfilled, certainlyit is.

¹⁴⁵        David waited for a sign. He heard; he waited. He waited to start. Thenallatonceheheardthemulberrybushesrattling.HeknowedGod wasgoingbeforehim.Brother,thetimehascomewhenthePentecostal mulberry bushes is being shook again by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost like It fell on the Day of Pentecost, that rushing mighty wind that come from Heaven. The time has come, if they ever go to doing. It’s time. [Message in tongues and interpretation given—Ed.] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. “So be it,” saith the Lord. Amen.

¹⁴⁶        Now, when you hear the Word, hear the Spirit, the tongues, the interpretation, line straight with the Word, how many of you solemnly in your heart say, “I know I been wrong, and from, by God’s grace, from this day on, I take a stand for right and Christ”? Will you rise to your feet? Will you come to your feet? By this, saying, “I now take my standforJesus,regardless.Inowtakemystand,solemnly.”

My hopes is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ Blood and righteousness; When all around my soul gives way, Then He is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other grounds is sinking sand, All other grounds is sinking sand.

[Prophecy is given—Ed.]

Amen. What? Come out from among them; separate yourself, still linewiththeWord.Godiswithus.GodisshowingHishandinmercy.

¹⁴⁷        Friends, I think what we need to do, is a solemn, old-fashion breaking down before God, and saying, “God, I repent for all my evil; and now forgive me and help me to be a real Christian.”

¹⁴⁸        Let us not with—not with no other way, but a broken heart of our evil, while that God is in our midst maybe for the last time for a long time, if He is in our midst now to give us this time of repentance, let’s us repent with all of our hearts, and give God glory, and take a new hold today and serve Him and come out. You women, clean yourselves up. You men, be Christians. You preachers, go to your pulpits preaching. God is with us.

¹⁴⁹        If there ever was a time…When I was in Sweden, or, Finland, they were pulling harrows and scratching the ground to get the seed in. If they didn’t do it, soon the snow would come; they’d starve the next year.

¹⁵⁰        Brother, sister, the seed’s being sowed on scratched ground by the Holy Spirit. Let’s let It take hold, now, and grow.

Jesus of Nazareth, oh…[Message in tongues and interpretation given—Ed.]

¹⁵¹        Amen. Hear that three message? The Bible said, “There’d be three messages at a time.” Here it was, and the last one’s went to the preachers (See?), the other two to the laity, this one to the preachers. Brethren, God is in our midst; God is in our midst. He certainly is. Let us give Him praise.

¹⁵²        O Jesus, Son of God, precious Lamb, let it be known this day, Lord, let it be known, O God, visit Chicago like never before. Stretch forth Thy hand of Thy holy Son, Jesus, to heal the sick and afflicted. Make signs and wonders, Lord, make paths that the people can walk therein. Bless them, Lord. “Give glory all ye people, for His Blood can wash away each stain.”

¹⁵³        How we thank You, Lord. How we repent of our sins. How we look to Thee, the Lamb of God, and believe on Thee, that Thou art the Lamb, the holy One, the only One, the true and living God. We give Thee praise and glory, and—and repent, and ask You, Lord, to forgive us. And to help us, O God, to be examples, not just drawing in boundary lines, only in righteousness, and to preach the Word in season, out of season, as Thou has told us to do.

¹⁵⁴        Bless this people, Lord. Forgive every sin. Take away all of our iniquity, and remove all the stain from us; wash us in Thy Blood. And may the Lamb of God, oh, make every one of us sheep, today; shear us off, Lord, from our earthly privileges of these things of the world. Takeall the things awayfrom us,andlet the Doveof God set upon each heart just now, that this will be one of the greatest times that Chicago has ever had. It is, in this room, this afternoon, because of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in His power.

¹⁵⁵        OChrist,receivethesepeople,Iprayforthem.Andtheseministers, and myself, as we stand here, Lord, witnessing, and knowing that You’re in our midst, and knowing that we’re to stand in Your Presence, someday, to give an account for our words, even to our thoughts. And we pray, Father, that You’ll wash us and cleanse us from all sin. And to make us pure-hearted and clean-minded, and with one motive: to see soulsborntotheLordJesusChrist.Makeusmissionaryminded.

¹⁵⁶        O God, may we go into the streets. Oh, where is the voice in the streets? No more street meetings. No more nothing. And the world has become one stinking place, Lord, oh, because that we have let down. Forgive us, Lord. May we cry like the prophets of old. Oh, help us, dear God. We pray that You’ll receive our repenting, and wash us, and cleanse us, and give us the gifts of the Spirit. And move in us, O Lord, afresh this day, and from this day henceforth. I present this prayer to TheeforthepeopleandformyselfinJesusChrist’sName.

¹⁵⁷        What has happened? What is this? Ask yourself that question. It’s the same Holy Spirit Who knows the secret of every heart. Let’s shake hands with one another and say, “If I have harmed you or done anything, God forgive me.”

¹⁵⁸        This is to you, to me…from me to you: If I have done ought against anyone, God forgive me. If I’ve let down or compromised, God forgive me. I want to be the servant of the Lord. I want to love everybody. And above all, I want to love the Lord, so that I can stand as a m-…between the living and dead, to minister for Him. I love Him. I’m expecting something great to happen now, since this marvelous visitation. I believe it with all my heart.

I will praise Him,

Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;

Give Him glory all ye people,

For His Blood can wash away each stain. (Oh, my.)

I will praise Him, I will praise Him,

Praise the Lamb for sinner slain;

Give Him glory all ye people,

For His Blood can wash away all stain.

I will praise Him, I will praise Him,

Praise the Lamb for sinner slain;

Give Him glory all ye people,

For His Blood can wash away each stain.

¹⁵⁹        While we bow our heads in humble worship, while Brother Mattsson, you dismiss us in a word of prayer if you will, or the words that you desire to say, while I make ready for tonight. 

FATHER, THE HOUR HAS COME

56-1002A

This Message by Brother William Marrion Branham was delivered on Tuesday afternoon, October 2, 1956, at the Philadelphia Church in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. This sermon, number 56‑1002A, is one hour and twenty-three minutes. Every effort has been made to accurately transfer the verbal Message from the magnetic tape recording to the printed page, and is printed herein unabridged and distributed by Voice Of God Recordings.

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