Israel And The Church #4

1 In the Book of Numbers we turned last evening; we been having four stages, three stages of the journey to take this week, of the pilgrimage of the children of Israel, typing, as we believe in typology, typing the old church with the new: them in the natural, we in the spiritual. The Lord has met with us.

We got back in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, on down into the bondage in Egypt.

Then last evening the Lord blessed us and we brought them out up to the Red Sea, over to the smitten Rock, there standing before God.

4 Now, tonight we take them into Kadesh-barnea, up to the judgment seat before the brazen altar, or the brazen serpent, rather.

Tomorrow night, the Lord willing, we take them over into the homeland. Oh, my. Come out; we're going to cross Jordan tomorrow, the Lord willing. Joshua told them, said, "Gather yourselves together now; we're going to cross over." Now, just before...

6 You know, there's none of us but, or any minister, but what has got God on his heart, but when he looks at the Scriptures he--he just has a little fear, "Am I going at it in my ownself, or is the Holy Spirit here to lead me?"

Remember, that the seed that's sown, it'll no doubt take hold somewhere, and we want it to be the real true unadulterated Seed of God that's sown into the people's heart, for someday I must stand in the judgment to give an account for what I've said and done in this life, along with you. If I be a misleading, then I would be counted a--a misleader. And I certainly wouldn't want to do that, not willfully.

8 Just before we have prayer, or before we have prayer over the Word... You know, the Bible said that when John saw it in the Book of Revelations, he said he saw the Book, and It was sealed on the back, front and back side, and no man in heaven, and no man in earth, or no man under the earth was worthy to take the Book nor to even look on It. And then a Lamb that had been slain from the foundation of the world, came and taken It out of the hand of the One that set on the throne. And the elders cried out, "Thou art worthy." Now, may that Lamb tonight come and open up the Word. We can lay back the pages, but it takes the Lamb of God to open up the Word.

9 Shall we bow our heads. Brother Junior, lead us in a word of prayer if you will, while pray that God will open His Word to us, if you will.

[Brother Junior prays--Ed.]

[Brother Junior prays--Ed.]

All right. Lord bless you now.

10 Turn, to begin with tonight, to Numbers the 13th chapter. We begin there, and then we follow on, just... I'll try not to do as I have been doing, just keeping you a long time, but I--now let you go just as soon as possible. As soon as the Holy Spirit will say it's enough, then we'll go.

11 Tomorrow morning, now remember, Sunday school, nine-thirty. And before, or by ten o'clock we'll be answering the questions. Bring in your questions; bring them in tonight. After the service, give them to some of the elders so I can get them, or some way, for the questions tomorrow. Got a nice number of them. Tomorrow night is Crossing the Jordan.

Now, we've had three stages. There's three stages of the journey: Israel in Egypt; Israel in the wilderness; Israel in the homelands, Palestine, promised by God hundreds of years before.

13 All right, we find then, taking the church back just for a little preview, found out that God promised Abraham that He would save him, give him a unconditional promise, unconditional covenant. He would save him and his Seed; not all of his seed, but his promised seed Isaac. Abraham had eleven sons, you know, but only one of them was the promise, through Isaac. That's the reason Paul said in--in Romans the 9th chapter that all that are Israel are not Israel, but through Isaac shall the Seed be called. Now, then God, through Isaac, representing Christ...

We notice, Christ was in Abraham; Christ was in Isaac; Christ was in Jacob; Christ was in Joseph; Christ was in Moses.

15 Christ is in all the Old Testament, and all the Old Testament. All the... If we had time... Here seven years ago this last week... This last few months we've taken the Book of Exodus from one side to the other, typing everything. Even the waters of separation; the red heifer, it couldn't be a brown one; it had to be a red one, not a spot on it. It had to be burned and then made into the waters of separation, and it's to sprinkle the people after they had sinned and was gone outside the camp. How the hyssop and cedar wood, and all mixed in together, how the wood in the tabernacle, how the brazen altar, the laver, the shewbread, everything pointed to Christ. And in Him we are complete in Jesus Christ.

16 Now, how wonderful our lesson is tonight, how God brought Israel as a type, foreshadowing what would be.

Now, we find out then, they, after four hundred years... God had promised Abraham that his seed would sojourn in a strange land for four hundred years, but would come out under the mighty hand. God's promises always comes true. God always makes His Word right. The old prophetic wheels and cogs of God grind slowly but surely, comes right up to the place.

18 That's the reason tonight, studying this exodus of the church, I believe that we're in the exodus again. I believe, Moses being a perfect type of the church organization which failed God, and Joshua the new--new leader, represents the church in their failings of God, and Joshua took Israel across to the promised land. Perfect, if we'll watch it, how that God moved back there in the days. Everything went fine; they thought they were settled down for good; but when the time of the promise drew nigh, there arose up a Pharaoh who didn't know Joseph. Things begin to move different, and it was a time for a deliverance. The people begin to groan and cry, and then God came down to deliver them. How perfect.

19 And then He sent a man; a child was born, a peculiar child, and he was raised a peculiar life, but God had His hand upon him. Moses, how he was hid in the bulrush, born in a time of persecution, just like Christ, borned a proper child just like Christ. And he was borned in this world to be a deliverer just like Christ. And, oh, how he, his work, how he was a law-giver, went up in the mountains and stayed forty days, come back out with the law. And he, his besetting sin was temper; he broke the commandment. Went back up, showing that that priesthood must die, pass away.

20 Just as Jesus went into the wilderness forty days, and when He came out, Jesus, Satan met Him just in His weak spot, like he did Moses. Jesus' weak spot was hunger. He said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be turned to bread."

Jesus said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'" He knew he hadn't met Moses then. He knowed he had met Something besides Moses, for Jesus knew the Word.

And there's anything that the church ought to know today is God's Word, how to set It together and apply It to your heart.

23 For, this is the day, brethren, you'll bear me record, a day of isms. I've been studying Genesis now for two years, of Genesis. That's the beginning, the going forth, the seed chapter. And you notice that all those cults of this day are beginning in Genesis. They had their start back in Genesis, winding up out here in the last day.

For instance, many of them, like how that formal religion begin in Cain, how it come on out and come down through the sons of Noah, Ham. Out of Ham he had Nimrod. Nimrod built the tower of Babel. Babel comes on down through King Nebuchadnezzar's time, and on out into Revelations, Babylon. How that little seed started way back there at the east side of the gates of Eden, coming on down, winding out; all kinds of cults and everything started back there, winding themselves out to the end.

Now, it behooves us to watch, be careful, be set in the Word. Many things are taking place today which are unscriptural. Let's watch the Scripture; be sure that where we're right. That's what we've been trying to teach this week.

26 The greatest thing that I find against the church tonight is fear; everybody's scared to death about something. What are you scared about? If a man's borned again, he should be happy, carefree, just like these fellows singing up here, and the brother testifying back there, just free. There ain't nothing can harm you. Nothing present, nothing future, nothing can separate us from the love of God that's in Christ. God has promised.

27 He's called, by election. He set His church in order. Jesus said, "No man can come to Me except the Father draws him." You never come to God because that you wanted to; you come because Christ called you. God called you. "And he that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out. I'll give him Everlasting Life," not just lasting for a week, one revival to another, but Everlasting Eternal Life, "and will raise him up at the last day." Oh, my. If that doesn't take the wind out of Satan's sails, I don't know what does.

Say, "How do you know?"

I said, "Jesus said so, THUS SAITH THE LORD."

Jesus said so, that settles it. If He said It, I believe It. He said, in John 5:24, pet subject to me, "He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has Everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto Life."

Say, "That's pretty easy, Brother Branham."

29 No man, no man can believe Jesus to be the Christ, in his heart, and will be the same man that he was before. Can't do it. No, sir.

As I said last night. Drinking, smoking, gambling, all those things isn't sin. It isn't a sin to gamble; it isn't... Or gambling isn't sin, rather; smoking isn't sin; drinking isn't sin; swearing isn't sin; it's a attribute of sin. Because you're a sinner, that's the reason you do it. If you was a Christian, you wouldn't do it. He said, "He that loves the world or the things of the world, the love of God's not in him, even in him." So now, you're either a... You never did see a halfway Christian.

31 I asked someone the other night; I said, "Are you a Christian, brother?"

Said, "I'm a pretty good Christian."

I said, "No, you're not."

There is no pretty good Christian. How many ever seen a drunk-sober man? Nobody. How many ever seen a black-white bird? Nobody. It's either... You never seen a sinner-saint. You're either borned again or you're not borned again. You're either on one side of the fence. And now if you are borned again, you have Everlasting Life, and there's nothing within you... All the old things has passed away, and there's just the--the fountain. Bitter and sweet water don't come from the same fountain. See? The tree is known by the fruit it bears. "By their fruits you shall know them."

33 Long time ago, all the Methodist people thought, "Boy, we got It; we can shout." After Lutheran days, they thought 'cause they were shouting they had It. I believe in shouting too, but that's no reason I got It; that's the attribute that I got It.

The Pentecost come along, spoke in tongues; they said, "Oh, now we know we've got It." Did you? About changed your mind now. That ain't It; you find out it isn't It.

Brother! "Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious Blood shall never lose Its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more." See, here's what it is, "Every since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supplied, redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die."

36 "Though I speak with tongue of men and Angels and have not love, it profit me nothing. Though I have give all my goods to feed the poor, it profit me nothing. Though I have power to move mountains, and so forth, it profit me nothing. Where there is prophecies, it'll fail. And where there's tongues, it'll cease. And where there is knowledge, it'll vanish away. But when perfect love has come into the human heart, all demons in hell will never be able to upset it." That's right.

37 If my wife would--was respect me because she was afraid of me, I wouldn't be--I'd be afraid to leave her. But she loves me. She's got confidence in me because she knows I love her, and she loves me. Now, when I go away, I don't have to say, "Now, Mrs. Branham, I'm going to leave you a rule of orders here that you should do, a group of orders. You shall not look at any other man; you shall not do this, or you... I..." Why, she just... It's automatically. I love her and she loves me, and that just settles it; I just go on.

That's the way it is living for Christ. Hallelujah. You just love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind, and go on; that's all. There's no evil can come out. That's right. 'Cause, in here, all thing, you're dead. You are dead, and your life is hid in God through Christ, sealed in there by the Holy Ghost. How's the devil going to get you? No.

39 You take a boxcar, they'll start loading it, and loading it, on the track. Many of you people here, I know some of you that loads cars. And they'll go around; they'll call for so much here and so much there. But before that car can be sealed, the inspector has to come along. He looks through and he sees that everything's in there is tight, and everything's ready. It's going to its destination. Well, if there's anything loose, and afraid it'll break, he will say, "Take her out; fix her over again until you get it." And when it's altogether tightened and packed and set down, then he will slam the doors and seal it, and no one can break that seal until it goes to its destination. That right?

40 That's the way it is where it says of Ephesians 4:30, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption." Got some loose rattles, God will take it out of you and--and fix it up before you're sealed into the Kingdom.

Every man in here, and every woman, without the baptism of the Holy Ghost; the only reason you haven't got It, because you believe not. That's right. The belief... We've took it this week and proved it that Abraham believed God, by faith. That's right.

42 Now, that's good Baptist doctrine to believe God. Brother Tom, you know, I think you come out of a Baptist church, that they said, "Believe God." So did I. It's a good church to be out of. Oh, oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to say that. Now, just a moment; I ain't got nothing against the Baptists; they got a whole lot of good things.

43 But look, brother, I heard them on the radio the other day, a fellow, fine Baptist minister tried to bypass Acts 19. He said, "Apollos didn't know Jesus, so that's the reason they had to be rebaptized again." Oh, no.

Apollos did know Jesus, and he was proving by the Word of God, that Jesus was the Christ. Amen. And he said, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" That's right.

45 A... God gave Abraham the promise, and he believed the promise, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness; but He give him the sign of circumcision as a seal of the promise. Hallelujah. You believe God by faith, that you are saved, and accept Him; and, whenever you do, God gives you the Holy Ghost as the Seal of the promise that He promised you. The Holy Ghost is a Gift of God (That's right.) that circumcises the heart, cuts away the surplus flesh, and makes you a new creature in Christ Jesus. Amen. All right. There you are. It's nothing you had to do in yourself; it's a gift of God. And when you believe correctly, God gives It to you. It's by faith. You... Now, faith isn't what It is.

46 Just like I have a quarter, and a loaf of bread costs a quarter. The quarter... [Brother Branham drops a coin--Ed.] (I'll pick it up after while.) The quarter is not the loaf of bread, but the quarter purchases the loaf of bread. It's the prac... it's the... It's what purchases the loaf of bread. (Happened to be, that happened to be a half a penny from Africa, so I guess that's the reason it flipped.) All right. The quarter is not the loaf of bread; the quarter purchases the loaf of bread.

Faith is what you have in God. And that, in recognition of God, for your faith, gives you the Holy Ghost that circumcises the heart and ears (Is that right?), makes you a new creature.

48 Now, God getting ready to deliver. We found out that he was, Moses was taking his own son down, for to deliver the children of Israel, uncircumcised. And Zipporah took a sharp stone, cut the foreskin off her child, and throwed it before him, said, "Thou art a bloody husband to me."

You know, did you ever study that right close? Moses had a temper, you know; that finally kept him out of the promised land: his temper. And God had set him back out there and give him a little high-tempered wife too. I bet they had some trouble on the backside of that desert, don't you? God knows how to tame you down. So He fixed him back out there with a little woman, shows. She cut that foreskin off and throwed it before him, said, "You're a bloody husband." My, He knowed how to fix him up, take that temper out of him. All right.

50 Then they went on down, and he done signs and wonders and miracles, And notice. Oh, my, I felt Something strike me. Look how that Jambres and Jannes, them two astrologers, stood there and performed the same kind of miracles that Moses and Aaron did, went right along with them.

Impersonations, brother, we got the world full of it today. The church is full of it today, carnal comparison. And there's one thing. Now, to cut this off, notice. As a great Bible teacher the other day, on the radio, said that Divine healing was of the devil, that the devil did Divine healing... I want you to find me the Scripture where the devil ever done Divine healing, where it was ever promised by him.

God said, "I'm the Lord," Psalms 103:3, "I'm the Lord Who healeth all of thy diseases."

And Jesus said, "If Satan cast out Satan, then his kingdom's divided against." He can't do it. He can't cast himself out. So all healing, no matter where it comes from, comes by God alone.

54 And watch these magicians. They could bring the lice, but they couldn't take them away. They couldn't heal. They could perform the miracle, but they couldn't perform healing. Healing lays in God alone. And when they called for boils, the Egyptians broke out in boils themselves.

They said, "This is the finger of God." Hallelujah. I think of that finger of God. If God could open a blinded eye by His finger, "this is the finger of God," could do all these things. Look what He did with His finger, He healed the sick and raised the dead. All these things He done with His finger. But when He went after a lost sheep, He never used His finger; He put him on His shoulder and brought him in. Hallelujah. What a security, a lost sheep on His shoulder. Not His finger, He didn't use; He used His shoulder to pack the sheep in.

56 Notice. Then God, after fixing Moses, getting him ready, sent out the--the signs, then the last sign we taken last night was death. And we found out, that spiritual death in the church, the last plague now, church drying up, blowing away. That's right. We're living in a horrible time. How that the church, the old-timers that used to really have the victory is losing out, dying time, letting the Blood get off the front of the door. "When I see the Blood I'll pass over you."

57 On up they come into the smitten Rock. Notice when they come to the Rock, they had need. Now, Moses smote the Rock with the rod. That's where we left last night. Smote the Rock with the rod, and the rod was God's judgment rod. And he smote the Rock, and there was a cleft in the left side of the Rock. When the children of Israel got hungry, they went there. And a beehive, a bee had got in there and had made a hive, and they got honey out of the Rock. Everything they had need of was in the Rock. The Rock followed the church, and the Rock was Christ Jesus. When they were thirsty, they drank from the Rock. When they were hungry, they ate from the Rock. Wherever they went, the Rock followed them. And the Rock's still following the church. Christ is the Rock that was in the wilderness. Notice now, then, that same Rock...

58 No wonder when he came into Jerusalem, they said, "Make him hold his peace, make them hold their peace."

He said, "If they hold their peace, the rocks, stones will immediately cry out." What was it? That Chief Cornerstone what come, rolling down among the stones. Something had to take place: rocks crying out.

When the woman that had a blood issue for so many years, she spake to the Rock, and the Rock brought forth healing. When Lazarus was dead, Martha spoke to the Rock, and It brought forth resurrection. When they were upon the seas, stormed about, and little old boat tossed around like a bottle stopper out in the middle of the sea...

61 A woman said to me, here not long ago, she said, "Brother Branham," she said, "Jesus wasn't no more than an ordinary man." Said, "He was a prophet, but you try to make Him God."

I said, "He was God. He was either God or a deceiver."

And he said, "Oh, He was a good Man; He was a philosopher. But He couldn't be God; He wasn't Divine."

I said, "He was Divine. He had to be Divine. If He was a man, He was born sexual birth; but He was born a virgin birth, so He was God's Blood. The Bible said we're saved by the Blood of God."

She said, "I'll prove it to you, He wasn't no more than God--no more than a--a--a prophet, and He wasn't Divine."

I said, "If you can prove it by the Bible."

She said, "I'll do it."

I said, "Let's hear your Scripture."

She said, "In St. John the 11th chapter, when Jesus went down that day to the grave of Lazarus..."

I said, "I remember it."

Said, "He cried. The Bible said He wept."

I said, "That's true." I said, "What's that got to do with it?"

She said, "That proves He wasn't Divine, because He could not weep and be Divine."

66 I said, "Look, woman. He was the God-Man." I said, "When He went down there, crying, while He was crying, He was a Man. But I'll tell you, when He pulled that little frame up there, and said, 'I am the resurrection and Life,' and He spoke to a man that he's been dead four days, his body was rotten, the skin worms was crawling in and out, corruption knew its Master. And a man that had been dead four days, stood on his feet and lived again. That was more than a man speaking. That was God." Yes, sir.

67 He was a Man when He was up there on a mountain that night, come down, looking all around over a tree to find something to eat, a fig tree, trying to. He was hungry. He was hungry when He was a Man. When He was looking on that tree, He was a Man. But when He took five biscuits and two pieces of fishes, and fed five thousand, that was more than God--more than a man; that was God in that Man. Yes, sir.

Truly He was a Man when He was laying in that boat, and the stopper was like a bottle stopper; said, "Oh, I'll go push Him around, and bounce Him up and down." Ten thousand devils of the sea swore they'd drown Him that night. He was a Man, so tired that He couldn't move. But when He put His foot on the brail of that boat, and said, "Peace; be still," and the winds and the waves obeyed Him, that was more than a Man. That was God. Yes, sir.

When He died at Calvary, He screamed for mercy like a man. He was a Man, when He died. But when He rose Easter morning, He proved that He was God. That's right, rose up from the dead!

70 No wonder the poet said, "Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; buried, He carried my sins far away; rising, He justified freely forever; someday He's coming, O glorious day!"

The God-Man... God was in His Son, reconciling the world to Himself. They had claimed Him to be a--a magician, and a--a soothsayer, and a devil, and Beelzebub, and everything. But He was God Immanuel, dwelling among us, reconciling the world to Himself.

We got that on a question in the morning anyhow; we'll get on that and finish that tomorrow. All right.

72 Coming on up, that smitten Rock... When they had need of anything, they went to the Rock. Now, after all of that, and the blessings and things, they still murmured.

They come to the place called Kadesh-barnea. Now, we want to study this just a moment. Kadesh-barnea was the judgment seat of the world in the day. That's found, 13th chapter now of Numbers. And go to marking the Scriptures, if you wish now. In there was the judgment seat. Read the previous chapters to it, in your--in your studying. We just have to hit the high places now in three or four days revival like this, can't study it verse by verse. But it was a judgment seat. There was a great well there. Had many little wells out from it, the tributaries or--or springs from this great huge spring, Kadesh-barnea.

Perfect type of the church. The church is the judgment seat. Judgment begins in the house of God.

75 There Israel gathered around in Kadesh. And now, Moses said here, 1st verse, 13th chapter.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I have given unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

Now, God ordained that they should send twelve men over, one out of each tribe, sending them over into the land of Canaan to spy out the land, to see whether it was a good place or not. The spies went forth, one out of every tribe: one out of Dan, Asher, oh, all through until they got the twelve men.

77 Perfect of the church today in our journeying. We're journeying up till I believe that the church is standing today at Kadesh-barnea: judgment. Now, God help me. I hope God will help me to get this, it'll sink in good and deep.

Sending out exploits... Remember, they had come this far because God had promised them. And all along the line they had signs and wonders and miracles, and now they're right up to the borderland.

79 And I believe we're on the borderland tonight. I was wondering about all my meetings and things, how I had to cancel them out. I truly believe, before the church can have the rapture, it's got to have rapturing faith. We can't even have faith for Divine healing, let alone rapturing faith. Got to have a faith that'll change and quicken this body, and be taken away. I believe there's a church on its road tonight, a power of the living God, that men will speak the Word here and there, and it'll flash like lightning. And a church is coming out, not a psychologist, not some of this put-on, make-belief; but a real, true, genuine, anointed Holy Ghost, called-out church. Amen.

80 Here they are standing at Kadesh-barnea. They said, "Go over. The land was given to us hundreds of years ago by God, through our father. We are the seed of Abraham. God has led us safely this forty-some-odd miles from Egypt, up to the borderland at Kadesh." They had got up there in a few days, but, remember, because of their unbelief, made them wander for forty years.

Unbelief... Notice, the church I'm speaking of, parabolic speaking. What the Old was, the New is in a more magnified way. What the natural was, the spiritual is.

82 Now, Kadesh... And there he said, "Now, you go out and spy out." God sent them; Moses never. God sent them over, and said, "Go over and spy out the land, and come back and tell us whether it's a good land or a bad land, or whether we can take it, or what this, that, or the other. You go over and find out."

And twelve went over. They cut a great cluster of grapes. You know about the harlot Rahab and so forth. All right. They went over and cut this cluster of grapes and returned back. But listen at the report: twelve men, and ten out of the twelve said, "Oh, they are a fearful people." Look over here, what a--what a sight.

Listen to this when we turn over now to the 17th verse, or the 27th verse, rather, to read: Goes ahead and tells there the men that was sent out. And when they returned back, their hearts were fainting; they said, "Oh, they're great men." Listen here.

And they told them, and said, We come into the land wherewith thou sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and it is a fruit--the fruit of it. (Just as God had promised. Now, notice.)

Nevertheless the people are strong and dwell in the land--and dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great:... Moreover we saw... children of Anak there.

And the Amalekites dwell in the land... and the Hittites,... the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell at the sea,... or the coast of Jordan.

And Caleb,... (Hallelujah.)... Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

I like that. My, just a little farther.

But the man that went up with him said, We be not able to go... against the people; for they are stronger than we.

And they brought up a evil report of the land which they had searched out for the children of Israel, saying, The land,... which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men... great stature.

Listen to that. And it goes on to say that, "We look like grasshoppers up the side of them." That's the report.

But Caleb and Joshua said, "We can take it. We are able to do it." Why are they able to do it? God had promised them to do it. I like that courage.

88 Ten of them... Now, the church came. And it's come now to a place to where we've come down through the Luther age, the Methodist age and the Pentecostal age, and on down to a place, and now some of the full Gospel people turned firmly against Divine healing, believe that it wasn't even in the atonement. Well, it's got to a place, friends, where you... It's getting horrible out here. "Old-time religion," they say, "it's something that's passed long ago, can't have it; it's too much. We're living in a modern day; we've got to get modern ideas. We got to have shuffle boards in the church, ping-pong games, and everything to hold our young people."

89 Brother or Sister, if it ever gets to a time that I have to have a card party in the church to hold an audience, I'll quit preaching the Gospel, 'cause It's lost Its power. I tell you, brother, what we need today is the old fashion, simple Gospel, Holy Ghost power preached in Its simplicity, then "If I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto Me." Yes, sir.

90 We... Today they say, "Oh, we can't go back and do those things that the apostles did."

We're living in the last days, when God has promised He'd pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Hallelujah. We are here at the end of the road. Thank God for some Calebs and Joshuas that's ready to go over (Hallelujah.), go over and bring back the evidence (Hallelujah.), it's a great land. Bringing back two bunches of grapes, and they was walking like this to try to pack it. What a ground, what a place. Thank God for people who's crossed over out of that old formal, shackled-down, ungodly church, mossback condition (Hallelujah.), got to a place where they stepped over in Canaan land, and eat a lot of good grapes that even make you slobber in the pulpit. Hallelujah. It's all that good old fashion... Drunk on the wine, like Peter drank on the day of Pentecost, when the power of God took over the church. Hallelujah. Kadesh-barnea... We can do it.

92 Fellow said, "Do you mean to tell me we can get the Holy Ghost like they did a long time ago?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, how do you know?"

I said, "I got It. Hallelujah. That's how I know it."

93 We had a beautiful type last night, when the children of Israel crossed the land, crossed over into the--the pilgrimage, which was a perfect type of our pilgrimage. We come up out of Canaan. I pulled my stake, tents, and left (have you?), leaving the old garlics and hash pots down there, and stink of the world. Pulled up tent, left, crossed over Jordan... Hallelujah. The red sea of the Blood of Jesus Christ drowned every old cigarette, tobacco nast', and filth of the world was drowned, like them taskmasters back there, and they're floating in the sea. Hallelujah. No wonder we shout and dance.

94 Look what Moses done, raised his hand and sang in the Spirit. And Miriam got a tambourine and begin to dance, and jump up-and-down, and praised God. And the daughters of Israel followed her, dancing, and praising God, and shouting. Hallelujah. They crossed over the sea. All the old taskmasters was back dead there in the sea. They looked back and said, "Boy, you'll never bother me no more." Oh, my. Burnt the bridges all over, ready to go now, journeying on.

Now, they say, "Can we take it?"

"Sure, we can take it."

"Why?"

"God said so."

95 And remember they--God promised to supply their needs. We had it last night. "How they going to supply it?" I don't know. "Well, maybe they'll send over some dough somewhere from a..."

"There ain't nothing left in Egypt, where's the dough going to come from?" Oh, my. It ain't my business.

97 Someone said to me one time, said, "Do you believe about that Elijah, that bird story up there?"

I said, "Sure."

Said, "You mean to tell me you believe that preacher set down by the brook Cherith up there and crows feed him?"

I said, "Sure."

"How do you know they fed him?"

I said, "The Bible said so." That's right.

Said, "I want to ask you something, preacher." Said, "Where in the world do you think those crows got them sandwiches?"

I said, "I don't know. They brought them; Elijah eat them. That's all I know."

He said, "I believe you all get excited."

I said, "No. I can't tell you where It comes from, but It comes from somewhere. God brings It; we eat It (Hallelujah.), and It brings joy."

102 How it happens, I don't know. God just sends It, and I grab It. I got a handful just a few minutes ago, swallowed It, still tickling me as It goes down. Sure. Don't get excited; I'm not crazy. I've been called that, but I'm not. If I am, just let me alone; I'm happy. All right. Yes, sir, I feel pretty religious right now, oh, sure do. All right.

103 Look at him. Here they are, "How we going to do it?" Now, God rained manna down out of the heaven and fed them, didn't He? He sure did. And they picked it up. We went through it.

Now, that was a perfect type of our feeding today. That manna never ceased; it fell every night, every night, all the time they were in their journey out of Egypt into the promised land. And the Holy Ghost fell as soon as the disciples left Egypt; on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came from heaven, same place the manna come from, like a rushing mighty wind, filled all the house where they were setting; cloven tongues set upon them like fire. They went out of there, screaming, and acting like drunk men, dancing, staggering, screaming, slobbering, and everything else.

105 Did you ever see an old drunk coming home? Boy, he's taking both sides the street, "Hello, stranger." Nothing bothering him.

"And there's no condemnation to them that's in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit," Romans 8:1. Here they come, coming home, now staggered under the impact of the Holy Spirit, which was God's Manna come down from heaven, and It's fell from that day down to this day. Every...

107 We know what the omer was, kept full, that every priest entering in could eat a mouthful of the original manna.

How long was this Manna to last? Reviewing what it was last night, in the lesson, Peter said, "Repent, every one of you, be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, to your children, to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." The Holy Ghost is just the same Holy Ghost tonight as It was back there at the beginning. Can we take it? Yes, sir.

109 The church comes to Kadesh. What you going to do? Here we are. They say... Now, every individual, you're each one at Kadesh; we come there.

And you say, "Now, if I--if I go up there and get some of that holy-roller religion they talk about, my mammy will turn me out of the home."

There you are, at Kadesh. Can you do it? Yes, God promised it to you. "I come not to bring peace, but a sword. I come to separate father and mother, husband, wife, sister, brother, and everything. And he that won't forsake his own and follow Me, is not worthy to be called Mine. And he that puts his hand to the plow and even turns to look back is not worthy." That's right.

112 Brother, I tell you, it means a whole lot more than run up and shaking hands with the preacher and a few drops of water sprinkled on you. That's right. Brother, it runs a whole lot more than walking up to the altar and taking communion, and walking back, and set down in your seat. It means a selling-out, dying-out, brother, and getting an old fashion, backwoods, sky-blue, sin-killing religion that don't wash you white, but--don't whitewash you, but washes you white (Hallelujah.), cleans you up, burns you out, scours you out, sterilizes you, and make you a new person. Amen. That's old sassafras kind, brother, but, I tell you, It'll stick to your ribs. Get some of it. That's right, It'll hold you through the trials. Amen. I feel like shouting, pretty near. That's pretty big for... Yes, sir.

113 When I think of it, brother, it's secured. God said so. Can we take it? Sure, we can take it. "In the last days I'll pour out My Spirit, and I'll show signs and wonders." Hallelujah. He said He would do it. God promised it. We're at Kadesh; let's go get it. Somebody's been over and brought back some grapes. I know the land's good. That's right. Let's go over and get some of them. That's right.

114 The church begin to murmur and squirmer, and everything. God would've sent the church out years ago, if they had just a-listened to Him. But they started to arguing and fussing, and murmuring around.

The Methodist had an old fashion revival back in the days of Spurgeon; they begin to receive gifts and so forth. And the church got right in there and begin to tear that thing up, and the church has been wandering in the wilderness ever since, wandering around. It broke up into Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, and this, that, and this and that, and that and the other, and everything else, till now it's like a big bunch of I don't know what. It's true. They organized great schools and thought they'd teach the theology of some place.

116 As I said last night, it puts me in the mind of an undertaker's morgue. Go around there, and it's so cold. You go in, the spiritual thermometer--thermometer says "hundred below zero."

Somebody, one time not long ago, a little old woman come in from the country; she walked in; she had her little old long dress on, it all up around her neck up here. She walked in, and her--her son taken her down to church. He was ashamed of her. She walked up to the door; she said, "Good morning, elder," walked in like that.

And her husband, or her brothers, or her son said, "Oh, mother, mother, you be still." He'd gone--belonged to some big aristocrat church, you know.

She said, "Well, glory to God. Ain't I in the house of God?" She didn't know no different.

120 Let me tell you, brother, her name might not have been in "Who's Who?" as a lot of them has got it, and they say they have four hundred perfect. But her name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I'd rather have mine There than in all the "Who's Who?" Hallelujah. That tells who's who; there's a name written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

121 She walked in and set down like that. The preacher begin to say, "Now, the Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth to save the sinner."

She said, "Amen. Glory to God. That's right, brother." And everybody squeaked their neck around like a gander somewhere, looking around, wonder why.

And so he said, "Uh-um, uh-um." He was reading his notes, you know. So he was kind of got mixed up then, and he said, "Uh-um, uh-um. Excuse me." Said, "And, as I was saying, the Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth."

She said, "Glory to God. That's right, brother. Hallelujah."

So the usher walked back and pecked her on the shoulder, said, "Mrs., you'll have to keep still or we'll have to put you out." Oh, my. Hallelujah.

125 That's what we got into (That's right.), schools of the prophets. We raise up the teachers; we inject old embalming fluid into them to keep them. They're dead anyhow, and then put embalming fluid in to keep it deader, some of this old theology they teach that the days of miracles is past; there's no such thing as heartfelt religion.

Puts me in mind of a colored man down in the south, an old fellow packing his Bible all around. Said, "Why you carrying that Bible for, boy?"

He said, "I believes It."

Said, "You can't read a word in It."

Said "I believes It anyhow." Said, "I believe It from civer to civer, believe the civer also."

Said, "How you know?"

Said, "It's got 'Holy Bible' wrote on It." Yes, sir. He believed It anyhow, didn't make any difference.

Said, "What would you do," said, "you'd do anything is in that Bible?"

Said, "The Lord told me to do anything, I'd do it."

He said, "What if He'd tell you to jump through that wall?"

He said, "I'd jump."

Said, "You think you could walk through that wall without a hole in it?"

Said, "If the Lord told me to jump, He'd make a hole in it for me." That's right too, brother. Hallelujah. That's the truth. God tells you to jump, He will have the hole there when you get there. Don't you worry about it.

132 School, theology... Oh, my. You know what they've done? In its place of the upper room, they substituted a supper room, boiled up some old rooster and sell it for fifty cents a plate, to try to pay the preacher. Brother, if you paid your tithes and done what God said for you to do, you wouldn't have these old soup suppers and things like that. Amen. (Even the anointing oil jumped off, on that.) Let me tell you something, brother: God wants a church that moves in the Divine will of God, based upon THUS SAITH THE LORD. Yes, sir. They've taken all the tarrying in the upper room out, like that. What they've done for the Holy Ghost, they've substituted theology for It. Somebody go out and say, "Well, we believe this and we believe that." Why do you believe it? That ain't in the Bible, nothing about it.

133 Somebody said, "What do you think of that priest down here the other day, run away with that woman and married her?"

I said, "He had a right to. He's got as much right to get married as I have or anybody else. You can't find that in the Bible."

Some Catholic boy said, "Is that right, Billy?"

I said, "It's the truth."

He said, "Show it to me."

And I said, "Well, I'll show it to you in the Bible, that marriage is honorable among all. Hallelujah. Paul said, 'Let every man have his own wife.' That's exactly right." I said, "That's a--a Roman hookup, and there's no more truth to it than there is to the bottomless pits of hell." Hallelujah. I believe God's Word. I got to believe something, and This is THUS SAITH THE LORD.

136 One time they had a bunch of them preachers out like that, back in the Old Testament, teaching them a whole lot of things; I'll show you what--what kind of an education they had. They was teaching them all about the theology of that day, the school of the prophets. And they come over to see a real prophet one day. The prophet said to one of them, "Go out and pick you a lap-full of--of some pottage now, we'll put on the big kettle; we're going to have a--a great big cooked up pot of peas out here."

And you know what that preacher done? He went out and picked a lap-full of gourds, green gourds off of a wild vine. Boy, a guy that didn't know the difference between peas and a wild gourd, is some preacher, I tell you. He throwed them into the pot and begin to cook it. First thing you know, everybody got a big dish-full of it like that, and said, "There's death in the pot."

138 That's what's the matter today: there's death in the pot. Some of these old cold seminary, formal, ungodly places going on, trying to teach some theology, they're killing the people, taking them away from Christ. We need the baptism of the Holy Ghost to give Life. Hallelujah. Whew. I feel about twice my size now. But that's the truth, brother...?... you're cooking something. That's right. You're cooking up something, but what you cooking? That's the next thing. A guy that didn't know the difference between green gourds and peas, that's about like some of them. That's the truth. Yes, sir.

Said, "There's death in the pot."

139 Old Elijah was a real prophet. He said, "Oh, don't worry about it. Don't get all stirred." Amen. We got a guy here who's got a double portion. Hallelujah. He had been over across the Canaan's land, and been back, got a double portion. Said... They know what to do when trouble come up. Said, "Go, get me a handful of meal." He took the meal and throwed it in the pot. Said, "Now, eat all you want to. It's all right now."

Why the Meal? The meal was there for the wave, for the meal-offering, the wave-offering before the Lord. And that meal had to be ground by the burr that ground every grain the same. That meal-offering was Christ. Put Christ in, every burr ground the same, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. When there's death in the pot, put Christ in there. Hallelujah. Whew. Glory. Hallelujah.

141 I first seen somebody with the Holy Ghost, was an old colored man with a big long overcoat on. They had to help him out, he was so old, like this, and he got up there and begin to preach. A lot of them preachers begin to preach about, oh, what taken place here on earth. He took his text back in Job, "Where was you when I laid the foundation of the world, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy?" He said, "You think we got some kind of new kind of religion." Said, "Brother, I just got an old-time taste, or a brand-new case of old-time religion." After while the Holy Ghost got a hold of him. Poor old fellow was so stiff, he was standing there; he straightened himself up, kicked his heels together, and said, "Glory. Hallelujah." Said, "You ain't got enough room up here for me to preach," walked off the platform.

I said, "Brother, if It'll do that for a man eighty years old, what would It do for me? I want It." Hallelujah. That's right. Yes, sir, I was having a big time. Went right out in a cornfield, and on my old rusty knees I went, and was praying for It. That's right.

143 Like old Buddy Robinson, kept going along, wanted the Holy Ghost. Said, "Glory to God. I wanted the Holy Ghost so bad, I didn't know what to do." He said, "I was dry--plowing one morning with old Alec," his mule. Said, "Alec kept stepping on the corn. I got mad at him, run over there and bit him on the ear as hard as I could. Alec kicked at me." Said, "I went over and set down. And I looked at him; he was standing there." Said, "I bit old Alec as hard as I could." Said, "I looked over at him, said, 'Alec.'" Said, he said, "'Alec, I'm sorry. I won't do that no more.'" Said, "Alec looked around, said, 'You don't get more religion than what you got now, you'd treat me that way again.'" My, my. That's right. He said, "I got down in the corn row, and said, 'Good Lord, give me lots of knowledge in the gable end of my soul. Help me fight the devil as long as I got a tooth in my mouth, then gum him till I die.'" He said, "'Lord, if You don't give me the Holy Ghost, when You come back to earth You're going to find a pile of bones laying right here." He got It. Amen. That's right.

144 You really get down and mean it before God, God will take you over across there. No matter what the seminary preachers say, we can have the Holy Ghost, 'cause God promised It to us.

That's where Caleb based--based his faith; that's where Joshua based it, because God said, "It's yours; I've already given It to you." Hallelujah. I like that. Not "I will," "I have."

"Those who He called, He justified." Is that right? "And those who He's justified, He glorified." Is that right? Then, brother, in heaven we're already glorified together with Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. That's right. Just let the devil squall and scream, have all of his tantrums he wants to. THUS SAITH THE LORD. That's right. Oh, my.

147 Let's get over here somewhere and go to preaching somewhere else where you get off of that a little bit. Oh, how marvelous.

They got to murmuring after that, fussing. Let's go over about the 21st chapter and begin about the 5th verse. They got to murmuring there, and fussing, carrying on; cut the water supply off.

Maybe that's what's the matter with the church tonight, doing too much fussing and grumbling around. The water supply is cut off.

149 You know, I--I travel around over the world a lot. And one of the most stickerest, nastiest places to try to lay down, is in the desert. Everything there has got a sticker on it. You know why? Every kind of a little old weed's a cactus. You can't lay down nowhere; it's sticking you. The reason of it is, they ain't got no water. Water makes it soft. Where there's lots of waters, you don't have any thorns and thistles, where there's lots of water.

And I tell you, brother; you take an old church that's dry in his bone, and no Holy Ghost in it, and no salvation, no Divine healing, no power of God, no shouting, no joy, and it's always, "This, oh, she done this, and he done this, and he done this," sticker, sticker, sticker... What you need is a good old fashion outpouring, gusher, of the Holy Ghost (Hallelujah.), soften up a little bit. Amen. That means "so be it." Branham Tabernacle needs a good dose of that too. That's right. Oh, is that right? Amen. Oh, I'm having a good time up here. My clothes fit me just exactly right, Brother Higginbotham. Yes, sir. My collar's not too big; my shirt fits, just feels good. Even my wife's not here, so I--I can just have a glorious time. Oh, don't you tell her, no. All right, but I'm having a good time.

You say, "You're happy?"

Sure, I'm happy. How can I keep from being happy, and know what I know? Amen. Christ saved me, filled me with the Holy Ghost, give me a ticket to heaven. I'm just having a big time, going on, saying, "Come on, all of you." Yes, sir.

152 Reminds me of a guy one time that went to set a hen. And the old hen had... He had enough eggs to set all but one. And he didn't have... He thought, "What am I going to do for that one egg?" So he goes out and he finds a duck egg, and he puts it under the old hen.

And the old hen hatched out all of her chickens and the duck too. And they was walking along in the barnyard, you know. And if that little old duck didn't look out of his place; about like one of you holy-rollers now, you know. Walked around, "Quack-quack, quack-quack," like that. And, oh, they'd get out behind the barn, you know, and the old hen would catch a grasshopper. And, "quack-quack, quack-quack." Here she'd go, "Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck." And here come the little chickens running to her like that, every one. But the little old duck didn't know what the call was, "quack-quack." He didn't know what an the dust meant; it got in his nostrils and everything. He was a funny-looking little fellow, out of his place.

Like a good old fashion Holy Ghost member in an old cold formal church, just out of place. Talk about all this, that, and the other, and who's president. They want to know Who, God; they want to know about God.

155 But, you know, that old hen made a mistake one day, just like what the old church did. That's right. She got out one day way up in the barnyard like they had being going and after while the little old duck stuck his head up, and [Brother Branham sniffs--Ed.] he smelt water. It was his nature, you know. Amen. He smelt water. He said, "Honk-honk, honk-honk." Oh, my. He wasn't a chicken nature anyhow; he was a duck nature. So he smelt the water; there was a creek run down there. The old hen hollered, "Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck, cluck."

He hollered, "Honk-honk, honk-honk," going right straight to the water as hard as he could.

157 That's the way it is then when a man's borned into the Kingdom of God. The old church can say, "You get away from them holy-rollers; it's nonsense; it's this, that, the other."

"Honk-honk, honk," he's got to get to the water. Hallelujah. Glory.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Glory to God. You say it's crazy; but, brother, we're happy.

"Honk-honk, honk-honk, honk-honk." Them little ducks started to the water. What was it? It was his nature. He couldn't help it. There was something in him calling to the water.

160 And when God's in a heart, it'll call you to an old fashion, Holy Ghost meeting. Glory. That's right, brother; I know it's my nature. Hallelujah. Unless your nature's been changed, you'll still listen to the cluck of the old hen. But when you smell water, if you're a duck, you're a gone gosling, 'cause you're head for the water. Hallelujah.

161 Joshua said, "Aw, we can make it." Joshua said, "We can do it."

Caleb said, "We can do it."

"How do you know we can do it?"

He said, "Because God has said so, and we're going over. We're going to make it, and we're going to do it." And away they went. They took off to the land, and they got the evidence of the Holy Spirit, and they come back to prove it. The land was good. it was bearing good grapes. I'm glad of it, aren't you? Oh, my, just eat them and slobber like a horse eating clover. That's right. Yes, sir, just having a big time, enjoy.

163 What do I care what the world says, nothing to me. The very God that raised me up, that saved my soul, and sent me out around here, praying for kings and everything else, across the country. It was this good old fashion Holy Ghost that did it. I've never been ashamed of It. I've said in kings' palaces, "I have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost." Hallelujah. That's right. They're hungry too. They're hungering and thirsting.

Looky here, they got to murmuring and got to complaining. The water supply was cut off.

165 Now, hurry. What time we got? Say, I'm sorry; I'm late. Excuse me for teaching too long. Oh, I haven't taught yet, have I? But just a minute; I'll get to my lesson after while. No, I was just kidding you; set still. Let's get just a few words here; I got something I want to say.

The 5th verse of the 21st chapter now, and listen real close.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses,

Where have you brought us out into, from Egypt... into this wilderness?... where there's no water; and--and our souls loatheth this light bread.

After been filled with the good Angel's food and everything, they said, "Oh, we're tired of it. We'd like to have some garlic and some pumpernickel." They wanted the old flesh pots of Egypt.

And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and... bit the people; and much people... died.

Therefore... came to Moses, and he said, We have sinned, and we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the fiery serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make... a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent out of brass, and he put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if any--if a serpent had bitten a man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

168 Oh, let me get that, that little thing there before we get into tomorrow night's service. The Brass Serpent, as the smitten Rock last night, as we ended up on the smitten Rock; the Brass Serpent was Jesus Christ.

You say, "A Serpent?" Yes.

The serpent represented sin already judged. God judged the serpent in the garden of Eden, in the 3rd chapter of Genesis and the 14th verse; God already passed judgment upon the serpent. Oh, he was beautiful and walked upright; he was the most subtle of all the beasts of the field. But God judged him, and put him down on his belly for the rest of his days, on his belly, judged.

And Christ was our sins judged. Amen. You see it? Beautiful. My sin, your sins, justly should go to hell and be punished for our sins. But Christ took our place. The serpent, that's why it represented Christ.

171 Brass, the serpent being made out of brass, meant Divine judgment. Now, the serpent was sin already judged, and the brass meant Divine judgment.

Like the brazen altar, the altar was made out of brass that burnt the bodies of the sacrifice. Exodus, 17th chapter you'll find it, then, you that's putting down your Scriptures...

Now, they taken the beast, they washed it (perfect type, baptism), brought it in, put their hands on it, confessed their sins, cut the throat. The blood was--blood poured, and the meat burnt, at the blood on the sacrifice block, on the altar, brazen altar, where the sins were repudiated, where they--where the just God required entire separation. And the Divine judgment of God with the fire burnt up the sin-sacrifice. Hallelujah.

God's Divine judgment was upon Jesus Christ.

174 Look, Divine judgment again in the days of Elijah, show that that's Divine judgment. Eli... It come a time when there was nothing; the people had got away from God. And Elijah went upon the mountain, and he prayed. He come before the king and said, "Not even dew will fall from heaven till I call for it." And for three years and six months, dew didn't even come on the earth.

And when it come to the place, Elijah said, "Let us prove Who is God, the fiery God." Our God is a consuming fire. "Let the God that answers by fire..."

That's what I say tonight. Let the God that answers by Fire, the Holy Ghost and Fire, let Him be God.

177 Now, they put the... Watch, he went up after they had brought the fire out of heaven, and so forth, and had consumed the sacrifice, they looked up to the sky, and it looked like brass. What was it? Divine judgment over all the nation.

And brother, sister, if you'll look around today, you'll see the color of brass again: Divine judgment coming upon a nation: judgment, the fiery serpent, fiery serpents, Divine judgment in there.

179 Now, watch, he lifted up this pole that had the--the serpent on it, made out of brass. And whosoever looked upon that serpent, got healed of their diseases.

What a beautiful picture tonight of Jesus Christ. He said, "As Moses, just as Moses lifted up the brass serpent in the wilderness..." Here it is, now get it. If you're sick, you will find out what will heal you. As Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the brass serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up." The same reason in a compound reason, "He was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we're healed."

They were murmuring against God, and against Moses, and were bitten by serpents. The serpent taken care of a twofold application: the first was to forgive their sin, and to heal their sickness.

And Jesus was lifted up that He might forgive our sin and heal our sickness.

183 Next in the road after that, come Balaam the hireling prophet come down to stop Israel. Oh, my. We'll get into that tomorrow night, how that that fellow... And a dumb mule had to speak and rebuke him. A preacher out of the will of God, and his mind on money, go down there, and a mule had to rebuke him down there, a dumb mule. If God can speak through a dumb mule, surely He could through a man. Yes, sir.

184 Notice there, poor old Moses, after all that time. I want to show you what a man is before God. How Korah and all those... Notice when God told Moses, "Step out of the way, Moses; I'm going to destroy the whole bunch of them and make out of you a mighty nation."

And Moses threw hisself in the front of God, bridged his way, and said, "God, take me." And God could not cross that man, a power of a saint before God. Look at there.

Look at old Isaiah, goes up and tells the prophet Hezekiah, "Set your house in order; you're going to die. THUS SAITH THE LORD."

187 What an embarrassment it was in a couple hours, to turn back again. The Holy Spirit met him. 'Cause Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and wept bitterly, and said, "Lord, I beseech You to consider me. I've walked before You with a perfect heart." And tears run down his cheeks. And God had already sealed his doom, but prayer changed things.

He said to the prophet, "Go back and tell him."

188 Look what a warrior Moses was. In his last hours he got down there with that horrible temper, and finally glorified himself in the stead of God, and God would not permit him... 'Course, it was all pre-pictured just like the organizations today, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecost, all the rest of them, they're glorifying themselves.

189 A few days ago, one of the biggest churches, just because they couldn't be the only duck in the puddle, they thumbs down on a meeting like that. I said, "I don't have to have your cooperation. Where the eagles are, the carc--where the carcass is, the eagles will gather." And that was right. Yes, sir. You just tell the Truth; God will take care of the rest of it.

And there they was, "Oh, we are the predominating."

I said, "I don't care what you are. God is the predominating One in our lives." That's right. It takes God, not what the church says. And the church, every one of them... Any historian here is a willing to look this up. There never was a church that ever fell that ever rose again. God lays them on the shelf. They never. The Lutheran fell; the Methodists fell; the Presbyterian, Baptist, all down through, and the Pentecostal too. God just throws them back on the shelf.

191 And if--if you believe me to be God's prophet, you listen to this. And I say it with inspiration. Not exactly now, but what has come before this, that there will not be one organization represented (of, what I mean, the whole organization) into the Kingdom of God; but God will pull out of every one of them, the cream of the crop, and fill it with the Spirit, and take it up into glory. That's right.

192 The Bible predicts that the last church age is the Laodicean church age, which is a lukewarm. And that's just as far as the church has got today. That's right. They got down to where maybe they can clap their hands a little bit, and make a little noise, and jump and kick the furniture awhile. But when it comes to really living a pure, holy, unadulterated, sanctified life, they're as far away as the night is from the day. That's right. What we need today is an old fashion dying out, brother, where it ain't go back to the altar and get over, and go back to the altar again, go back to the altar. Go over there and stay till you're dead, and then a dead man knows nothing about the world. Hallelujah. Don't want to get started on that again. Look, brother, let me tell you.

193 God, after having His poor old servant, Moses... Someone said to me one time, said, "I tell you, that shows God, if you call Him God." Said, "He let His servant down."

After Moses' life run in a cycle of forty. He was called, at forty, refused by his brethren, went out on the desert and herded sheep for forty years. When he was eighty, He sent him down to deliver Israel out of Egypt. And when he got close to the promised land, he was a hundred and twenty years old. He had the stride of a young man, and his sight never failed him (That's right.) at a hundred and twenty.

But when he glorified himself down there, instead of God, before that Rock; when God told him, said, "Go, speak to the Rock. Don't smite It. Speak to It." (The Rock was only smitten once.)

196 And Moses got his temper all up, and run down there, and smote the Rock. It didn't bring water. He smote It again; It brought water. Said, "You rebels, must we fetch you water out of this Rock?" Like that, and brought forth the waters, 'cause God had to listen to that prophet because He'd endued him with that power. And that broke the whole program of God's Bible.

Christ was smitten once. We speak to the Rock now, and It brings forth Its water. See? It's already been smitten. Just speak to It, and It brings forth Its waters.

198 Then I see him that morning. Oh, when I think of this picture, my heart almost fails me. I see Moses; he knowed... God said, "Moses, tell them all 'so long,' your congregation; I'm going to call you up a little higher now today."

I can see old Moses standing there, that long white beard, and his hair trinkling down around his face, his old eyes dimming with tears, as he looked over his audience. How he had fell on the... How they had murmured, and how he had stood for them. He looked them all over. He started walking up the mountain. He got up the mountain; he turned back around; he begin to wave good-bye at them. He climbed up, plumb up to the top of the mountain. It was in the month of April. He stood and looked over into the promised land. Oh, how he wanted to go over. My, his poor old heart was breaking. He wanted to go over into the promised land with that bunch of Jews that he'd led and stood in the way. And there he was, he looked over there, and the tears running down his cheeks. He turned around and waved to the people again, good-bye, their old pastor. He was going away. He waved at them like that. He looked back over.

200 And only if I could stand where Moses stood and view the landscape over! God willing, in the next few months, I want to stand on the mount there and look over where they crossed.

I seen a movie the other day, where some of the brethren, about forty of my brethren out of the campaigns and them went over there, and they took a movie reel of it. And when they crossed there, them fellows screaming and shouting, liked to tore down all the bushes on the bank, where the children of Israel went up there, where Jesus was baptized. And every one of them preachers jumped in the water with clothes on and all, and baptized one another over again, every one of them. Oh, brother, there's something in there moving and stirring. We're living... They'd get in a car; they'd ride a little piece, and say, coming over that journey there where the children of Israel did. Like old Buddy Robinson said, "Stop this thing, right quick." And he got out and run around, and around, and around, shouting around the place, and hollering, "Glory to God. Hallelujah." Jumped back in, said, "Drive her on." That's right. He just having such a time. Sure.

202 If I could stand where Moses stood, on that Rock, looking over into the promised land... He wanted to go in; he looked back to his congregation, waved good-bye at them again, the tears dropping off his long beard. His hour was a-coming. His sleeves, run down over his sleeves here, the pulse begin to come up his sleeve, an old veteran.

I can tell you right now, brother, don't think I'm going to Baptist this for a little bit, but, brother, he wasn't lost. No, he wasn't. God won't let His servant down.

There the sleeves coming up like this. And the first thing you know, he was caught, cold pulse--pulse cooling off. His eyes begin to get dim as he looked over there, over in that land. How he wanted to go over. Oh, my. His heart was breaking.

205 And just as he got ready to move out of this life, he happened to look, standing by his side, there stood the Rock. Just so He's there, that's all. He stepped over on the Rock. The Angels come, packed him away.

Eight hundred years from there, there he was standing over in the promised land, by the side of Elijah, talking to Jesus. He don't let you down.

207 Some of these days I've got to come to the end of the road. I'm forty-three years old now, getting pretty well broke up. I've preached twenty years. I've waded through waters, and broke ice, and stood and baptized till I'd freeze, nearly. I've done without, went without, into the jungles and everything else, and diseases and everything lurking. I don't know how long I'll stay. But if I shall live to see longer than this, maybe when I get to be an old man, if Jesus tarries, I'll probably stand with what hair I got hanging down low. All my people takes the palsy when they get old; they shake. When I've fought my way through every battle, all my buddies and things are gone on, and I stand there and hear the dashing of the water coming across there, I'm shaking on my stick, like this, I want to take the old Sword here and stick her back in the sheath of eternity, pull off my helmet and lay it down, raise up my hand (Hallelujah.), and say, "Lord, push out the lifeboat; I'm coming across this morning; I'm coming across the river." He won't let me down then.

208 And while I'm here, while it's light, I'll preach and pray, and beg and sing, and do everything I can for the Kingdom of God. When my soul begins to lift from this body, and I look back down and see my footprints, I want them in the right kind of a place, where "Partings leave behind us footprints on the sands of time."

209 Shall we bow our heads. Teddy, go over to the piano a moment.

Our heavenly Father, oh, for these great rejoicing times, how happy. I guess I get a little bit beside myself, Lord, just the Holy Spirit just baptizing my soul. I just can't help it; Something just gets a hold of me. I'm so thankful, Lord, to have all the dishpans and gutters cleaned out, so the Holy Spirit can come. Keep the kink out of the hose, so the waters of salvation can pour down in any time God wants it to. Pray it out. As Elijah told Jehoshaphat, and said, "Dig ditches. Get all the rocks out, all the sticks and stumps. There's going to be some water coming."

211 Thank You, Lord, Thou hast been here tonight. And I think of old prophet Moses; God, bless his gallant soul. As he stood there on the mount looking over in the promised land, we stand tonight looking that way, Lord. The only thing I ask You for myself, is let that Rock be there when I'm going. God, that'll be all right with me. And all that I've ever done in life, Lord, if I can just crawl up and touch Your sacred feet once, pat them with my unworthy hand, that'll repay me a million times. We all know we got to go that road. Some of us may in a few hours. I don't know. Thou knowest.

212 While we're here tonight, Father, and the Holy Spirit is still present (been down blessing Your people), Father, I ask You something. Is there someone here that's unsaved, Lord, that doesn't know You as their personal Saviour, doesn't know how they stand before You? I'm going to ask You, Lord, if You'll just... Not that these people hear me now, but I'm going to ask You if You'll just speak to that heart and give them courage tonight.

Might be the final call. How do we know? Why take a chance when all eternity rests upon This?

If there be, Lord, or one wayward one out of the way, maybe climbing the hill to look over into the land, and then be rejected. God, may the Rock be with them, I pray. Help us now, and bless this audience while we wait.

215 Now, if there's a man or woman in here, boy or girl, with your head bowed... And don't no one look up, please. People are very timid sometimes, touchy along these matters, but gentlemen and women.

I've had a lot of--a lot of ground behind me in these forty-three years. Just a few days ago, I was a little old boy running around here, playing marbles with you. Well, I'm failing. I can feel it. I--I've tried for twenty years to try to introduce to you Something.

217 Jeffersonville, why do you reject It, when God's vindicated It, sent His Angel took the picture of It? It's known around the world, why would you think It was some kind of a--a make-belief something?

Are you without God tonight? You'd love to know Him really. You know you want that kind of a salvation before you die.

Here sometime ago in this very city, there was a young girl belonged to a certain church here in the city; she thought she was all right. Her pastor told her she was all right. She made fun of a little girl come to church, 'cause she wouldn't go to a show. She said, "Your pastor is narrow-minded."

The little girl said, "That's all right."

220 After while she got out with some rough company, and she caught a disease and let it run too far. The doctor, a certain doctor of this city, went to examine her; come to find out, she was eat up with venereal disease. She died right after that. They... She was a Sunday school teacher in this big church. They were all out there, and to see her go to heaven. And just about time, her Sunday school class in, her pastor walking out in the hall, smoking a cigarette. And when about time for her to take her flight, the Angels to come get her, she raised up, she said, "Where's there's the pastor?" They went and got him. She said, "You deceiver of men," said, "why did you let me get in this shape? I'm lost."

Don't worry; Adam knew he had fig leaves on when he come before God. It was all right when God wasn't near. Said, "Why did you let me go like this?" Said, "Where's that little old girl from up there at that Tabernacle?"

"Oh, she..." He said, "You're--you're--you're hysterical, going to call a doctor to give you a hypo.

She said, "You deceiver of men, I'm lost, and my soul is going to hell on account of you." She bowed her head.

224 And a good friend of mine works here in the garage right now, was working for an undertaker. They went down to pump the fluid in her body, and he kept pumping; they kept smelling the fluid, and couldn't get her veins filled, and come to pull her clothes down, and looked, and there was a hole eat in her body there as big as your fist, nearly. Venereal disease eat it out. Oh, yes, she was "Going to have a big time. This little old girl was a holy-roller." Don't underestimate anything, friend.

225 Do you know Him tonight? Are you really saved? I'm asking you, in Jesus' Name. If there's a man or woman, boy or girl in here tonight that's not saved, borned again, would you raise your hand, say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham." Now, every head bowed. Yes, God bless you, young lady. God bless you, you, you, you, you, you, you. God bless you. God bless you, you, you. Back in the back, yes, God bless you. God bless your sincerity, young man; I see you. Wonderful. Twenty or thirty hands in this little building, unregenerated. The Holy Spirit's been here tonight, talking to you. He's here now. You need Him. Why don't you come? Won't you come up to the altar and kneel down, say, "Lord God, I'm going to receive You as my personal Saviour tonight. I'm going to accept You now, and I'm going to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I want It. I don't care what the world's got to say. I'm going to receive now. You promised me."

226 And, listen, every one of you that held your hand, you been listening in these meeting--these meetings. No one in here could come to Jesus except God draws him. What's doing that? What's making that desire? God is here. God is here.

Listen, friend, if God will hear my prayer as a man, if you believe me to be His prophet, and you've read the newspapers, and the magazines, and books, and authorities, and look back there at them pictures that they're selling at the back of the door at night, of that Angel of God, flaming with Fire, the same One I'm reading about here in the burning bush, and you believe me to be God's servant, and you believe that He'd hear my prayer, and will hear your prayer if you will pray, would you like to rise up out of your seat? Have you got that much real conviction, come here and stand at this altar, and say, "Brother Branham, if He will open the eyes of the blind, He will forgive my sins of mine." God bless you, young man, to make yourself the first one to move. Who will follow this young man to this altar?

228 I want the ministers of this building to come, in the building, come here to the altar just a minute, every preacher. Come, young lady. God bless you. Somebody else now. I want the ministers come up here at the top of the platform, if you will.

Sinner, friend. Come right up, young man; God bless you. Come right up and kneel down right there. God bless you, sir; you come. God bless you, lady. God bless you. Someone else make your way up here at the altar and kneel down. Are you without God, without Christ tonight, in a world alienated away?

Oh, you say, "It's getting a little late, and my peoples wait."

230 A little crippled girl is making her way. Shame on you healthy people. Are you an alien from God tonight, without God, without Christ, dying in sin and shame? Won't you come? Will you be man or women enough, with common decency enough to rise up and say, "Brother Branham, I'm coming up here; I want to shake your hand and kneel down here at the altar. I want to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour right now"? Will you come?

All those hands up, do you mean to tell me, to know that you're standing here in the Presence of God, to know that you're in this condition, and still refuse to come to an altar? What if your heart stops tonight when you go home? What if you have an accident and you're in a hospital an hour from now, the blood going from your body, and you screaming, but nobody to pray? God said, "If you neglect Me now, I'll laugh at you in your calamity." Won't you come? Friend? Do you mean that you are convinced enough that the Holy Spirit's here, that you'll raise your hand, and won't come to the altar? What in the world's a hold of you?

232 God bless you, sir. I perceive that you're a sick man too, that you're coming. Aren't you? You suffer with TB, don't you? He's going to heal you here at the altar tonight. You're a stranger to me, but I know what you are and who you are.

The Holy Spirit dropped right in the meeting there. And that Angel of God is standing at the platform. You've been in the meetings; you know what this means, don't you?

The man's going to be healed tonight. God spoke just as he raised from there.

God bless you, son, come right on. Come, weeping, and eyes full of tears. God bless you, sister, come right on. God bless you; come, kneel right around the altar. Won't you come?

O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

"Just as I..."

God bless you, little boy. That's wonderful. Won't someone else? Some of you young people back there now, you've put it off for a long time. This is the time. This is the hour.

.. soul from one dark blot,

237 Someone help mother back there with that baby, someone please. She wants to come to the altar; her husband's up here. Some of you help the baby, or hold the baby, let the mother come. God bless you. Come on, mother. That's right. They'll take care of your little one. Come, make a real mother for Jesus Christ and your children.

God bless you, sister; that's good. God bless you, lady. That's the way to come and get over your nervousness. Been having that nervous trouble and habits and things, it'll leave you standing there now.

239 The Angel of the Lord is standing right here at this platform. If you believe me to be His prophet, obey and do what I tell you now, see if It isn't right.

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee, whose Blood... (God bless you, boy.)... cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of... (God bless you, mother.)... I come! I come!

Does any of the rest of you want to come? The Holy Spirit's telling me there's several more people than that. Be honest with God, won't you? What you going to lose to walk up here at the altar and pray a little? You're going to pray somewhere. If you don't pray here, you're going to pray in hell. The rich man lifted up his eyes. Now, if you believe, if you believe God's Word, and believe that I tell the truth, if God's vindicated it true, there's men and women in here ought to be at this altar right now. The Holy Spirit's speaking, saying so. Come. God bless you, sister, you're just one of them. Come on. God bless you. Come now, wherever you are. Young or old, come.

241 Let's stand. All you people in your seats, stand while we sing one verse of this now. Come on now, reach around; let's make our way to the altar. You belong to church, you say. That ain't enough. "Except a man be born again, he will no wise enter the Kingdom." Come on now.

Just as... (everyone)... I...

Won't you come out? Won't you come down the aisle here now? Come here and meet me at the altar...?... Jesus...?... you who just want to pray a prayer...?... [Brother Branham continues to call people to the altar, the words not all understandable--Ed.]...?... God bless you...?... one more.

Just as (God...?...)

That as Thy Blood was shed...?...

.. as I am...?...

.. of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not,

To rid my soul (How many?) of one dark blot,

To thee whose Blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I...

How many in here say, "Brother Branham...?... I want you to pray for me. Raise your hand now while we sing it again. Go right ahead. Raise your hand, say, "Brother Branham, pray for me." God bless you, sister...?... The Holy Spirit come...?... I saw...?... your...?... called of Holy Spirit...?... altar call...