God Keeps His Word

1 Be seated. And happy to be here tonight in the service of the King. We used to sing an old song years ago, "I Am Happy In The Service of The King." You remember that song? Wasn't that just a--a dandy? Happy in the service of the King. Anybody that's serving in the service of this King that we're talking about has got to be happy, hasn't he?

Now, tonight it's a pleasure to be in the little tabernacle here. The People's Tabernacle, I like that name, that title. It's to the people, all people. That's right. Everybody's welcome. I think them titles like "People's Tabernacle, Church with the Open Door, House of Prayer," I kinda like that, kindy something about it, instead of saying it's the Presbyterian, or the Baptist, or the Catholic, or some church like that.

Well now, that don't mean them churches are not all right, understand. They're titles are all right. But I just talking about my own feeling. I think it's a--it's a people's tabernacle; "The Church With the Open Door," or "The House of Prayer." The Bible said, "It is written, My Father's house will be called a house of prayer." And so, they take that... 'Course that don't make it any--any better, any worse. It's just the names they give it.

2 And someone was telling me, said, "What do you think about different denominations, and do you think it's these people has, and this people has, and so forth." I tell you: it was a--a dean of the Lutheran college. He'd wrote me a letter. And you talk about giving me a good raking over, he gave me one. I was at Minneapolis, and he said, "I drove fifteen miles last night in a blinding snowstorm, thinking I was going to hear a servant of the Lord, and what did I find but a polished up soothsayer." And he said, "And your theology is, oh, my..." Twenty-two pages in the letter, and he really give me a good one.

And he said, "The very idea of a man that stands before the people that you do and makes statements like you made last night."

I kept on reading; well, I thought, "Wonder what I said." I thought I was going to have to call some of them, get the tape and check up. So he said... Here's what he's getting at me for. He said that I said the devil couldn't heal. And he said, "I want you to understand that with all your brag of twenty-five years of ministry," he said, "son, I was preaching the Gospel before you was born."

Well--well now, I thought, "Well now, that's all right. I... It's okay."

3 And he said, "And let me tell you why that I know that the devil can heal." He said, "I live in a city where there's a woman that has a familiar spirit." You know, one of the devil's spirits. And said, "People come to her for healing." And what does she do but pull some hair out of their head, pluck some... No, she pulls hair out of her head, I believe, and plucks the veins and bleeds it on the hair, from her arm--from the arm, goes down to the river behind her house and pitches it over her shoulder. And she walks up, and if she is constrained till she has to turn around and look at it, then the disease remains on the person and comes back. If she doesn't, then she tells the people they're going to get well.

And said, "We've kept count of it," and said, "about twenty percent of those are healings." He said, "And then you mean to tell me that you'd stand up there and have the audacity to say that the devil can't heal."

Well, I thought, "Well now, that's all right. See, everybody's got a right to their own opinion." And I said, "I just have to answer this little letter, little one." And I got me, the one that I was answering was going to be the little one. I couldn't think of all that.

4 So I set down and I addressed him, after he first told me he thought I was a devil (See?), a soothsayer, which would be a devil, of course. So he said, "You..." I--I said, "Dear beloved brother, I was glad to get your letter. I'm always glad for friendly criticism. It helps me." Helps you if you'll just take it that way. Yes, sir. Let somebody criticize you, might have some spots that ought to be cleared up.

I said, "I'm very happy to get your letter. And you must think something of me or you wouldn't have wrote to me." I said, "And then, another thing that I admire you for is your fifty years of service for my Lord." And I said, "I--I am certainly respect that with high respect." I said, "Then another thing," I said, "you must love Him, or saying that the crowds that I stood before and my theology." I said, "You must've thought something of the Lord and love Him, because you wouldn't have tried to correct me (See?), 'cause you love Him; you don't want His work going on wrong." So I said, "You must love me."

5 And I--I said, "Now, the first thing I'm going to say to you: I forgive you for calling me a soothsayer," I said, "because... and a devil. Because you remember, Jesus when He was doing that very same thing, saying, that 'I can do nothing except I do what the Father tells Me,' and with seeing the visions and telling the people what, who they were, and what they were, and what happened, and so forth; the Pharisees said that was the works of the devil. It was a soothsayer, a Beelzebub."

"And you know what Jesus said to them? He said, that, 'You speak that against Me, the Son of man, I'll forgive you: but when the Holy Ghost is come you speak against Him, it'll never be forgiven him then.'" I said, "What if I was right? Just say what if I was (See?), then what have you done? See? There'd never be forgiveness in this world, or the world to come, according to the Scriptures which cannot lie. See?" Well, now... Now, that's the blaspheme of the Holy Ghost. It's call the works of God, an unclean--by an unclean spirit. See? And so...

6 Now, I said, "Just to straighten you up, brother," I said, "I'd just like to ask you something: I'm surprised that a Lutheran dean would base his theology upon some sort of an experience." Why, I said, "In the Baptist church in the--in the first year of school we learned to base everything upon the Bible." I said, "All our theology must come off the Bible, and here you're trying to base your theology on an experience." Well now, I said, "To settle it, Jesus said, that the... Satan cannot cast out Satan. That settles it then. If Jesus said Satan can't heal, then I don't care what anyone else would say; that settles it. He can't heal; that's all."

And if you look at it, he can't, 'cause the only thing can heal is when it's being made, new cells developed and come back. Like you cut your hand, the doctor can't heal it. Certainly not. The medicine can't heal it. Takes God to heal it. You break your arm, doctor can't heal it. He just sets it, and God heals it. See? 'Cause there's only one Creator. And if you say that Satan can create, oh, my, where do you got yourself then? You got him equal with God. See? And he's a god then. If he can create, he can make himself. See? But he can't. He can create himself if he--if he could. But he can't create, he can just pervert what God has created. And so then he can't heal.

7 And I said, "But now, to answer your--give you to my opinion of your answer to your question that you was condemning me on," I said, "that reminds me a whole lot of the things that's going in the world today, Pentecostal fantastics." I said, "Certainly, I believe that people were healed. I believe that every one that comes approaching will be healed." And I said, "But it isn't the witch that's doing the healing, no more than it is these fellows say, 'I got healing in my hands. Feel it, feel it, feel it.' No, you don't. You might feel their hand, but you don't feel any healing. It's a finished work. It's already done. See? So and all these different things that they do..."

I said, "I don't believe those fellows ever healed anybody. And I don't believe the witch ever healed anybody. But what brings the healing is the individual's faith, thinking they're approaching God through that witch. And God's got to honor faith, I don't care where it's at. See? So it's their faith, thinking they're approaching..."

8 I've seen heathens kneel at idols and get healing (See?), sure, Divine healing from God through the idol. But it's their faith. They believe that God is in the idol, and they got faith, and they believe it and God's got to recognize that faith, because them things are based upon faith.

Healing is not based upon your works, or your good deeds, or your experience of Christianity, and upon your salvation of your soul; healing... I've seen people come through the line was renowned saints, and go right off the platform sick yet. I've seen ill famed people walk through and be healed with blinded eyes and everything. See? It's based upon your--your faith, not upon your religion, not upon your experience. It's on faith.

9 So last time over there...?... He wrote me a letter back and he said, "Mr. Branham, I hear you're coming back for the Christian Businessmen's international convention, to speak." Said, "Could I have a few words with you?" I referred him to the manager, and the manager told him, "All right." So when he got there that morning, here he was. So went back out to the college, beautiful place way out there. And when we went in, he had dinner set for us, or you all call it lunch here. Down south, if I call it lunch, I--I miss a meal. And it's breakfast, dinner, and supper to me. I--I just...

So we... This was--this was dinner time for us. And so we went out there, and they had a great, oh, a beautiful place, hundreds of acres where the students could work their way through and so forth, pay their tuition. And he had seventy something students setting there.

10 And after we had our dinner, he said, "I want to ask you a question, Mr. Branham."

I said, "Yes, sir." And I thought, "Oh, my, here it comes now, Lutheran dean."

He said, "I've been down to the Pentecostals, and see them kick the furniture around and everything like that. But I want to ask you: Is anything to it?"

I said, "Yes, sir, there is." I said, "It's like a little kid, when he gets a toy, he just falls." And I said, "Like Ezekiel said, there's a valley full of dry bones. He said, 'Can these live?' He said, 'Thou knowest.' So he said, 'Prophesy to the dry bones.' And when the bones come together, there was a rattling and a shaking, lot of noise. But then when the skin come on, or the meat come on them, there wasn't much noise. He said, 'Prophesy to the Spirit now.' See? I think that's what's going on. See?" So I said, "They... I see them make a lot of noise." I said, "I think the bones are coming together."

11 And so he said, "We're hungering and thirsting for God."

I said, "That's fine."

Said, "And we want you to tell us how to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost." He said, "Now," said, "we believe that--that in we receive the Holy Ghost when we believe."

And I told them, "Did you ever read Acts 19?"

And he said, "Yes."

I said, "Well, there's some mighty fine Baptists up there had a good pastor, good preacher; his name was Apollos; he was converted lawyer. He was proving Jesus the Christ of the Bible." And I said, "Paul passed through there in the upper coasts of Ephesus, he find certain disciples, and he said to them, 'Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?' They said, 'We know not whether there be any Holy Ghost.' See? So after that was done, and they was baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and Paul laid his hands upon them, and then they received the Holy Ghost."

12 He said, "But Abraham believed God, Brother Branham, and it was imputed to him for righteous, because he believed. What more can a man do but believe?"

I said, "It's all a man can do." I said, "You believe and accept Christ as personal Saviour; that's your faith. But remember, God gave Abraham a seal of circumcision as a confirmation of his faith." That's right. And I said, "Then and that was the Old Testament. In the New Testament, when we say we believe, God gives us the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is a seal of confirmation. See? Ephesians 4:30 says, 'Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption.' See? It's a seal that God has recognized your faith. But if He hasn't give you the Holy Ghost yet, He's never recognized your faith. See?"

13 So he said, "We want the Holy Ghost."

I thought, "You're a Lutheran college?"

I said, "What's the Lutheran people going to say?"

Said, "We don't care what the Lutheran people say; we want God."

Well, I said, "Wonderful." I--I said, "When do you want..."

He said, "Right now."

I said, "Well, scoot back your place and I will pray." And I had them all go around by the wall like that, laid hands on them, and seventy-two Lutheran students received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They got signs and wonders and healings going on in the Lutheran college in Minneapolis, Minnesota. See?

14 Oh, He's wonderful. It's not just for you Pentecostal people. It's for the Lutheran, the Baptist, the Presbyterian. Whosoever will, it's for all. The only thing we just... The thing of it is, I think what we need is to get ourself in control, and just quit scattering and jumping, and respect the gifts of God and things, and put them in their places like that, and let the Holy Spirit operate the church, and then them other people will go to hungering and thirsting for it. But as long as you let it just run loose, and this one this way, and that one that one, and no control, they just think it's a babbling. They talk better than that in the Bible. It's not the gifts that they've got against; it's the way you loosely use it. That's what it's against.

Jesus said, "You're the salt of the earth." But the salt can only be a savour as it contacts. So you've got to make a contact. And your life is the best thing to make a contact with anybody. I'd rather you'd live me a sermon than preach me one any time. And the rest of the world will the same thing.

15 Well now, for just a few minutes... My wife's in the building, and she looked straight at me, and she knows that I preach too long and cause people to stand up. And I just somehow or another I don't know, Brother Jackson, I just don't know when to quit. I'm just a glutton on the spirit, I guess.

So I'm--I never did like to try to go to work of a morning when I work hard and somebody set me out a little dish of corn flakes, about like that. I can't. Just couldn't thrive. I worked hard. And I had to have something, some biscuits, and some sorghum molasses, and chunk of ham meat, and--and I just sop it all up. So I--I'll--I... That's the way I--I like to eat. And if I'm going to work...

And if I'm going to live for God, I like to have a good square four hour meal once in a while, you know what I mean, just come right out, and get the Bible, and lay right with it. But we southerners down there kind of used to that, but we know that you yankees up here are more of a cultured type. And so we--we know that...

16 I tell you; I'd sure like to live up here though. That's right. I sure love this country, beautiful, and the snow real dry, and--and you can just hear it crunching under the wheels when you hear a car going. I just think of back when I was a little boy when we used to have snows down southern Indiana like that. But the world must be a little out of its orbit now somewhere; she isn't working just right. And we... I believe it's so close to the coming of the Lord Jesus that everything's topsy-turvy. The one thing that ought to be straight and running straight is the church of the living God. That's right.

So let us bow our heads a moment just before we approach the Word now, when we lay aside every little things, the little get together, and little, as it was a handshake or something. Now, we're going to approach God now.

17 Our heavenly Father, in the Name of Thy beloved Son, we come asking this petition, Who said when He was here on earth, "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, I'll do it." Now, we're so happy for that. And He said, "When thou prayest, believe that you receive what you ask for, and you shall receive it." And I thank Thee for this, for it's a promise of God. And every promise in the Book belongs to every believer. So I thank Thee for it.

And I pray tonight, as I have laid back these pages of this sacred Book called the Bible... I'm only able to physically to open it up, but only the Holy Spirit can interpret it to us. So we pray that He will come tonight and interpret the Word and the meanings that would create faith for the salvation of souls first, and for the healing of bodies next, and for the bringing of joy to the saints and establishing them, that they might continue on. Grant these blessings, Father, and the forgiveness of our sins, as we ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

18 The Word is just such a wonderful thing. I love It. And now, to announce what we'd call for a text, for just a little while. And I... And then read some of the Scripture here for to--to get a context. I'm going to... My text tonight is "God Keeps His Word." And I wish to read from Saint John the 12th chapter and the 35th verse beginning.

I like to hear you all turning those pages and things. I--I like to see a people bring their Bibles to church. And it means that, just if I read His Word... Now, my word will fail because I'm a man. But if I would get no more out of the service tonight than just reading this Word together, we'll be blessed; because we'll feed that much on the Word of God. His Words will never fail. They can't fail. God Himself. At the 35th verse:

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not where he goeth.

While ye have the light, believe in the light... (May I stop here just a moment, and quote that over again.)... While ye have light, believe the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and hid himself from them.

But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

Now, while I go into the context of this in a few moments, now Jesus had done many miracles as He seen the Father show Him what to do. We got that last night, did we? Nothing but what the Father told Him to do. Now, 38th verse.

That the saying of the prophet... That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which was spoke, The Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore they--therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again... (Notice that? They could not believe, because Isaiah said, about eight hundred years before this.)

He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

19 Now, may the Lord add His blessings to this Word. Did you notice here how strange that read? That these people could not believe, because Isaiah a prophet had said so. Did you catch it? Now, do you know that--that the Word of God once spoke, it can never be taken back. And the Word of God is so perfect, till here that John was trying to explain it to the people that Isaiah had prophesied saying, "Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Isaiah 40th chapter.

And he said, "Again Isaiah says (See?), who has believed our report?" Who believed it, about the Lord Jesus? Who--who accepted it, the report that He was the Messiah? And then he said again over here, Isaiah said, that, "He has hardened their heart (See?), blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, unless they should see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted." Now, because Isaiah said that, had spoke that about eight hundred years beforehand, that had to come to pass. See how perfect the Word of God is? No matter how much they wanted to believe, they couldn't believe, 'cause Isaiah said they couldn't. See? Now, how...

20 You think Isaiah cursed the people like that? No. But by seeing a vision which God had already knew before the foundation of the world by foreknowledge, and Isaiah looked in and seen what was coming, and Isaiah reported what God had said before the foundation of the world. For this Word here tonight is only what God said before the world was created. And the...

A prophet, and it's call a gift of knowledge. Many times a prophet is referred to in the Bible as an eagle. A eagle can go higher in the air than any other bird, 'cause he--he's built. He's a heaven bird. He sails way above. He has it all to himself. There's no other birds around him. And he goes way high. And being high up, he can see far off. And his eagle eyes, unmatched with any other bird, can never match his eye. The hawk hasn't got a chance. See? When he--to the eagle, because the eagle can look far away. Well now--now, when you're high up and can see far away, then when you come back down, you can tell what is ahead of us if we're traveling that way.

21 And God takes His eagles of the Old Testament there, and He raises them up, and lets them see far off things that's coming. Then when they come down, they can predict what they see. You understand now? They are eagles. And I guess many, some of you scholars here has read Pember's "Early Ages" and lot of those and, "Preacher and Prayer."

And so I was wondering one time when I was at the Cincinnati zoo at Cincinnati, Ohio. I seen a sight that struck me. Being that I'm a lover of nature, I love animals. I was a game warden for years. And I love nature, and I love to study the--the habits of animals and everything, 'cause I--I--I love them. They're the creation of God. And He's give them to us.

22 So watching that, and I was studying the eagle. And I seen a sight one time that broke my heart. And it was an eagle that had been caged. He'd been caught somewhere in a trap. And he was just put in the cage, and he didn't understand why he should be caged up. And that eagle would get back, and he'd set those big wings, and he'd hit that cage. And the feathers would fly when he'd flop his big wings against the cage, till it'd knock him backward. And he'd raise up, and shake his head, and fly again. He'd fall on his back, and he'd look upwards, and his eyes looked around. There he was; he was in a cage. Mankind had caged him. A super race to him, had caged him. And he was--he was a heaven bird. And he looked through those bars and longed to soar with his big mighty wings. What could he do with them any more? He--he looked into the heavens. It was a sad sight to see that eagle.

But I seen a sadder sight than that, when I seen the sons of God caged down in denominations, and under barriers, and isms, till they know that there's something in them would like to spring forth. They were made to be sons of God. But a super person, the devil, has tied them down in such places, till they just roll their heads and wonder. "There is a fountain somewhere; oh, if I could reach to it." That's the saddest sight I ever seen: men who was made to be sons of God, and yet let the devil tie them down under their God given privileges.

23 Satan has trapped them and put them into a place, and said, "The days of miracles is past. There's no such a thing as Divine healing. Oh, them things was past long years ago." That's a sad sight to see a man in that shape, when God made him in His own image to be as free as a heaven soaring child of the living God, spread forth his wings and rejoice and flop in the breezes.

I've seen them when they'd set their big wings like this, not flop around, just set their wings and ride the tide as it comes in. The wind would come, they just knowed how to set their wings and ride on up. And they'd go so high till they... It was just like a little black dot into the heavens. See? He didn't--he didn't strain. He didn't study. He didn't go from seminary to seminary, from church to church, or from mission to mission. He just set his wings and moved with the current. As it rode, he rode up with it and went right on out.

24 How that men tonight would just take God's Word, and not try to add anything to it or take anything away from it, but just set your faith right in the wings of God, right in His Word, just ride as the Holy Ghost lifts you up above the, all this old "Chatter-chatter, day's of miracles is past, and there's no such a thing as Divine healing; there's no such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And--and if you just study that you'll lose your mind." Just look right straight to the Word of God and ride away on the wings of faith. You're eagles of the day.

God Keeping His Word, and Jesus said, that, "Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never fail." Now, that settles it. And now, in saying this, I'm only bringing this to this little church. As a few moments ago before they come picked me up, I said to my wife, I believe I'd give testimony tonight of some experience. And I thought on that. And then the Holy Spirit seemed to say, "Give the church this little warning." Set this in this a way. So I want to be obedient.

25 Now, I have nothing against anybody's belief. See? Nothing against the--any denominational church or anything, but there's a lot of stuff going on on the television and the radio today, that ought not to be. And that's this Bishop Sheen and those on those programs. Now, nothing against the Catholic. If he wants to be a Catholic, that's his business. See? But I... That's up to him.

But when a man will stand on the--in--in the sacred place of God and say, "To try to live as the Bible is like walking through muddy waters, and if the... Who wrote the Bible? I guess God take notion to give you a Bible, so He wrote it on some paper, and give it some Angels, and they come down from the corridors of heaven and give it to you." And just say it's a bunch of epistles was written four hundred years after the death of the apostles, and they're not accurate and things like that. And if...

You know the Catholic church. I'm from a Catholic family. The Catholic church does not... They accept the Bible, certainly. But here's what they say: that God is in His church. Regardless if the church says something that's contrary to the Bible, take the church's word.

26 Now, I had a discussion with a priest in my den room here just recently. And he said... I was talking about baptizing a girl. He asked me how I baptized her, by immersing in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "The Catholic church used to do that."

I said, "When?"

He said, "In the early days."

I said, "What early days?"

He said, "The early days of the Catholic church."

I said, "How early was the Catholic church?" Which I had all the sacred histories laying there, the Foxe "Book of the Martyrs." I had Pember's "Early Ages." I had all the Josephus writing and all the other historians right there. And I--I said, "I'd like to ask you when."

He said, "Well, the first apostle."

And I say, "And you say they were Catholics?"

He said, "They were."

I said, "Is the Catholic church a universal church?"

He said, "Is it."

I said, "The very word Catholic means "universal," doesn't it?"

He said, "It does."

Well, I said, "Why is it then that the teaching of the Catholic church today is so contrary to the Bible?"

He said, "Well, you believe the Bible. We believe the church."

Well I said, "There's no way at all. We..."

He said, "Well God is in His church."

I said, "The Bible said God is in His Word." That's right. And also the Bible said in the closing of the Book, "He that will take out of here anything or add anything to it, the same will be taken of his part of the Book of Life away from him." So I believe the Bible infallibly. I believe it's the infallible Word of God. I believe there's no more to be added to it, or anything to be taken away from it. I believe that that is God's blueprint to His Church. We builders have made a mess out of it; I'll admit that. But that has nothing to do with the blueprint. It still remains just the same. It's God's Bible, and I believe it to be... God is in His Word. And God is responsible to His Word.

27 Now, for a little context, to go back to get a background to the things that I--I want to say. And the reason I've always tried to stay on the Bible... I've went into churches many times. Just so that you'll get a--a little general picture. And I've went into churches, and you watch this. You go into a church and you'll find usually the way that pastor acts, that's the way the congregation will act. See? I believe they get one another's spirit instead of the Holy Spirit sometimes.

Well, that's possible. Absolutely. You take a real good woman and marry her to a no account man, he will either become a gentleman or she'll become no account. See? You just take one another's spirit. You do. Birds of a feather flock together. And you're a spirit being. That's what's the matter...

28 Put television out way it is now, and uncensored programs of all this vulgarity and everything. Let a little boy go. The gate is the eye to the soul... The eye is the gate to the soul, rather. Let him go in and, let these little girls go into one of these movies, or something, or other and see one of these here women out of Hollywood with eight or ten husbands, making love to some man. That little girl will practice the--the same thing the next day. Let some fantastic, nonsense come out out there with some kind of a little old scandal looking skirts on or something or other like that, and watch the American women go to wearing the same thing. That's right. See, you catch each other...

What you feed on... Let me go in your office, sir. And you tell me you're a Christian. And let me hear your... You turn on your radio when I'm there, and you're listening to some kind of old boogie-woogie music, and let me see half-dressed women, pin-ups on the side of your wall, I don't care what you say, I know what your spirit's feeding on. That's right. It's exactly right. See, always.

29 I'd rather have an old home with no rug on the floor, and with a little old iron bedstead setting there, and an old dresser somewhere, or whatever, and a little old kitchen table made out of boxes with a sign hanging on it, "God bless our home" than all the fine homes in the world, your pin-ups and nonsense that you have today, and a Bible laying on the table instead of all these old love story magazines and things laying around of dirt, and filth, and lust, and everything else to breed into the children. How can you expect anything else but a bunch of infidels and agnostics to answer out. That's true, friends. Bring up a child in the way that it should go, teach him on the Word of God.

Abraham Lincoln, until he was a grown man, had two books: One of them was the Bible and the other was the Foxe "Book of the Martyrs." Abraham Lincoln... And he studied that so hard, he read; he--he concentrated on that. That's what developed that kind of a character that Abraham Lincoln was.

30 Show me what you read. Show me what you listen to. Let me hear your songs you like best; I'll tell you what's in your soul feeding on it. "By their fruits you shall know them." That's right.

Go in to some of the places to eat, and that rattlety jukebox nonsense. I've went in a many time and asked the man, if I done set down to order my dinner, 'fore I knowed that the thing was in the house, I'd go out and say, "Mister, how many records will that thing play an hour?" He'd tell me. I'd say, "Here, jerk the plug out and I'll pay you right now till I get through eating. I--I want to eat in--in--in decency." And I'll say, "I'll unplug the thing, if--if you just--just please keep that thing off while I try to eat back there, will you? And I'll pay you every record that they could play. If they play one just every two, three minutes, I--I'll make every one of them right (See?), while I'm in here." Oh, such nonsense, and of all that.

31 Now, that's the reason America's where she's all worm-eaten today. That's the reason the very foundations is eat out from under it.

Now, you take people that's let the canker eat into them like that, how can you ever tell them people of the supernatural. The only thing they hear at church is some little doxology, or something, or other, or something about who's going to be the next mayor, and never the Word of God. See? If it is it's in some little baby mild form, like a little baby aspirin to an adult. See? It doesn't ease the pain of a--of a heartsick human being. That's right. You've got to have something that's God's hypo. Amen. It stimulates.

You know, He was called "The Lily of the Valley." And the lily is where we get opium. Opium comes from the lily. And I'm telling you: If you're heartsick and wore out and tired of sin, just let God give you the opium from the Lily of the Valley, and you'll find out it'll ease every pain and every care; and it'll set your heart looking towards God in respect to His Word and believe it with all your heart. Right.

32 Now, for a background, in the Bible we're going back over into I Kings just for a little bit, in a mental conditions, to let our mind drift back to a certain event. There was King Ahab of the Old Testament. Which King Ahab in his time, is a beautiful type of the--the New Testament. And notice. Just as Ahab married Jezebel, an idolater, and brought idolatry into Egypt, was a type in the--the seven dispensations of the Old Testament, as the seven candlesticks of the New Testament.

In the dark ages, the fifteen hundred years of dark ages, protestantism married Romanism and brought idolatry into the church just the same way. Watch the Bible and see if it doesn't say that. That's right. Through that fifteen hundred years of dark ages, you come out with a false baptism, sprinkling, the false name, false everything else. And God said, "You have a little light, and you have a name, but you've denied Mine." See? So that's the same thing.

33 And Ahab, this lukewarm, borderline, backslidden Israelite, oh, he might've been circumcised in the flesh; he might've had his name on the book somewhere as an Israelite. But in his heart he thought more of that little painted-face Jezebel, than he did of the Kingdom of God.

And how many tonight, how many people has sold out their birthright to the things of the world and got away from God. Stay with the Word. That's the reason coming into a meeting, talking about taking one another's spirit. Coming into a meeting, we like to stay right with the Word. Stay with the Word so that the Spirit of the Word will be on the people, not the spirit of some fantastic, or some minister, or something. That we'd have to answer for at the day of judgment.

Well, when I stand there at that day with the--the people that I've preached to around the world, I want one thing: that I didn't try to project something of my own, my fantastics into them people, but I've stay with God's Word. So that thing will lay right there before me, and I say, "God, You were the One Who wrote it." See? That's the kind of a spirit you want, something that'll take the Word of God, and not a bunch of fantastics, and a bunch of theology that's man-made. Stay with God's eternal Word.

34 Now, Elijah, the great and mighty prophet had prophesied, and he told Ahab because he'd killed Naboth, that what was going to happen to him, how that the dogs licked his blood and so forth. And he told Jezebel what was going to happen to her. Then along after the going away of Elijah...

God always, from Genesis to Revelation, God has always had at least one man that He could put His hand on. He's never been without a witness.

And along came a young fellow by the name of Micaiah, a little prophet. He was hated of the others. And Ahab had... Well, he thought, maybe the Jewish religion was all right. Now, that's the way the modern believer believes it today. They just take it as something that just, well, it just happens to be that way. See? And they go to church because they know it's a decent thing to do. If that's all you go to church for, you're just a hypocrite. That's all. You don't go to church for, thinking it's a decent thing to do; you go to church to worship God. You go to meet God, to thank Him, and to praise Him, and to worship Him. A house of worship. Now, that's what we need.

35 And then Ahab, he had him a bunch of prophets that he'd well schooled and had them with their, all the best theology that they had in them day. He had taught them. And there was many of them, four hundred. And he had them all well dressed, and well fed, and taken care of. Out of his kingdom he fed these fellows up. He said, "Well now, wait a minute. If I ever get in trouble, well perhaps maybe, I could run down and find my pastors and they would--they would console me in the way."

So one time, Jehoshaphat, which was a son of a righteous man, and a righteous man himself, he came down to see Ahab. And there's where he made his fatal mistake.

Listen. Oil and water don't mix. And many time, a many a good life has been completely wrecked by your associates. Show me your company, I'll tell you who you are. See? That's right. It's an old proverb, but it's the truth. Associate with people who believe God.

36 Don't let your children... If he runs across the street to little Oswald over here, he's a nice little boy; but be careful who little Oswald is. Find out what his daddy is, what his mama is. They may be a hater of the Gospel. They may have everything projected into little Oswald. And you let your little boy or girl associate like that, and the first thing you know, he will come up and be like little Oswald. Now, you know that's right.

Watch your associates. Keep your company clean. Don't go in the poolroom with that boy just because you think you can win him to Christ. If you can't win him to Christ in the church, or out at your own home, or setting in your car, you'll never do it in the poolroom. I tell you, you're on the devil's grounds. Stay away from it. That's right. Separate yourself. God said, "Come out from among them and be ye separate," saith God, "and then I'll receive you." God's looking for somebody who's got the--the courage to stand forth. God's always wanted that.

And every man of God that's ever stood, from Genesis to Revelations, and from Revelations to this modern time, has disagreed and set himself apart from the world ecclesiastical system: That's the churches of the world in their day.

37 Any of them, you search through the Scriptures, and search through the history, and find out. Martin Luther, John Wesley...?..., Calvin, Knox, Finney, Sankey, whoever it might be, just look at them, how they come out from among them things and stood alone upon their convictions, God's servants.

And sometimes even in your own family, you'll have to stand alone. Sometimes your mama and papa will disagree with you. Sometimes auntie and uncle, sometimes your lodge members will disagree with you. If God's Word, you're standing on That, stay if you stand alone on God's Word. For every man that ever amounted to a hill of beans, stood on God's Word with his testimony. That's right, 'cause it's the only way to be a--to make the goal.

38 Now, this here fellow Jehoshaphat come down, 'cause Ahab invited him down. And he killed ox and sheep and had a great big blowout. And a lot of times we get in trouble around these big, what we call blowouts, these big social affairs where they're have their parties, and all their carrying on, and so forth. And when they did this, maybe Jehoshaphat got a few extra steaks, and a few glasses of gin, or whatever they had to--to drink down there. And Ahab said, "Now, I'm going up to Ramoth-gilelid--gilead, and I want you to go up with me."

Well, Jehoshaphat all under the influence of the big fine things and the revi...

39 That's the way the devil does. He shows you the bright side. And that kind of a bright side, if it doesn't tally with God's Word, is a mirage. You know what a mirage is, is something that looks like it is. It's an optical illusion. So it isn't there when you get there. You know, go down the road, looks like water; when you get there, there's no water. That's the way the devil does you. He's always a promising something out yonder, out yonder, showing you something bright. When you get there, it's never that way.

Stay with the Word, you're on the line then. You're in God's blueprint. Stay right there. What God says, no matter what it looks like, you don't... Faith--faith is not what you see; it's things you don't see. You confess the things that you don't see. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

40 Now, then notice. As this all taken place, the first thing you know, Jehoshaphat signed an alliance and joined himself up with that great people down there of Israel, when he was a--ought not to have done it. He was a believer. And he said, "Now..." But he was religious enough, and had enough righteousness about him, till he said, "We had better consult the Lord before we go up to Ramoth-gilead."

And he said, "Oh," Ahab said, "well, certainly. Yeah, that's right. We--we--we probably should do that." So he says, "Now, you know what? I've got a bunch of the best D.D.'s down here that you ever seen." Said, "I tell you: Our church has no nitwits in it. We are of the better class. We got the best class that there is. Why, we've got men down there who is--has D.D., Ph.D., LL.D. Why, you ought to see."

Jehoshaphat said, "Well, let's bring them up here."

41 So the kings got on the thrones at the gates, and four hundred prophets come up. And the one of the great big ones called Zedekiah, he comes up, you know, and he says, "Now, let me see. Let us prophesy. Yes, THUS SAITH THE LORD, go on up, the Lord's with you." See, why they were paid to. They wasn't paying no attention to the Word. They were paid well. They were fed well. They had meal tickets.

And a many good man today makes a mistake there. Brother, I'd rather lay on my stomach, drink branch water, and eat soda crackers, and stay in God's Word, and tell the truth, than to have fried chicken three times a day and live in a palace. That's right. It's the truth.

42 Right here in Dowagiac, not Dowagiac, but Benton Harbor, Michigan, an old man John Rhyn (not the John, you know, with the long beard, but the one from Fort Wayne) that was healed in the meetings. And they taken me over there; that rabbi... And he said, "How did that man, John, receive his sight?"

I said, "The Lord Jesus Christ gave him his sight."

And the rabbi said to me; he said, "Now, he wasn't either Jesus... Or He might've been Jesus, but He wasn't no Christ." And there we had it, right down. He said, "Oh, you Gentiles can't chop God in three pieces and give Him to us." See?

And I said, "Well, we don't chop Him in three pieces, sir."

He said, "There's one God."

I said, "That's correctly. Correctly."

43 And then he said... He got on talking like that. He said, si... Said, "Jesus was a thief."

And I said, "A thief?"

He said, "Yes, sir. Your Scripture, what you call the New Testament said He went through the corn fields on the sabbath day, and stole corn, and give it to His disciples, wasn't even legal." Said, "You know that." And said, "Your..." They're--they was so confused. He said, "He stole corn and give to His disciples and eat it Hisself. That makes Him a thief in my way of seeing."

I said, "Just a moment, rabbi, I'm surprised at you. Your own Levitical law said that a man can go through the field and pluck and eat what he wants to, but don't take any out in a bag." That's right. I said, "Shame on you, that don't know the Scripture no better than that." I said, "He was absolutely keeping the law." That's exactly right.

44 So I said, "What... Who was Isaiah speaking of in Isaiah 9:6 when he said, 'Unto us a Son is born, a Child is given.' Who was he speaking, the Messiah?"

"Yes, sir."

I said, "Is... When the Messiah comes, what's He going to be then? 'A Child is born.'"

He said, "Why the Messiah will be a child."

"Uh-huh. And He'd be borned of a virgin."

"Yes, sir, but not that you're talking about."

I said, "Now, I'm just asking you to answer my question."

And he went ahead like that, went on like that. I said, "Then what if the Messiah... What relationship is He going to be to God? See? What's going to be the difference between the Messiah and God? What relationship is He going to be to God?" I said, "There's only two things that your law condemned Him on is breaking the sabbath and making Himself God." And I said, "He was the Lord of the sabbath and He was God." I said, "God was in Christ reckoning... Jehovah God was manifested in flesh in His Son Christ Jesus to take away sin." I seen it got him after while.

45 He said, "Well, about this man's eyes, did you do that?"

I said, "No, sir. Jesus Christ did it." I said, "John's a seeing, isn't he?"

He said, "Yes, he sees." Said, "I've give him alms many time."

And I said, "There he was, setting blind twenty years, beggar. And here he is now, could read finer print than I can." And I said, "Now, what about that? Something give him his eyesight." I said, "Jesus Christ done it."

I seen as he turned his head around like that, the tears running down his cheeks, like that, off his gray, or turning gray beard, as he turned his head and walked away like that, walking to one side. And I said, "Just a minute, rabbi."

He said, "I'll see you later."

46 And I said, "Just a moment. You be a gentlemen with me. I want to ask you something. You believe that that was the Messiah?"

He looked around at me; he said, "Mr. Branham, I will admit that He was a good man." Well, he done hung hisself right there. See?

And I said, "You say...?..."

"Yes."

I said, "What about His Word?"

He said, "He was a prophet."

I said, "Rabbi, You believe he was the Son of God?" I said, "First thing, if He's a good Man, you couldn't believe Him as a liar. And a prophet, He wouldn't be a liar. And He said, 'I'm the Son of God.' Now, you've got yourself somewhere in trouble. And you said He was a good Man and a prophet. And you have to admit His Word was prophecy, and He said He was the Messiah of God. That's right." I said, "Now, you believe..."

And he said, "Look." Looked over to that little place towards there at Benton Harbor, he said, "If I taught that, I'd be down there in that street begging." 'Course he was a Jew, you know, with money, the one that says, "What profit is this," throwed Joseph in the ditch. See? "All right. Let's sell him, get the money out of it."

But he had his name on that big gold there on that school. I said, "But, rabbi, I'd rather be down there a picking up bread crumbs around the garbage can." (Which I wouldn't have to do it if I served God.) But I said, "I'd rather do that, than to have my name on that building there, and in my heart know I was wrong in the sight of God. I'd rather do it. God's Word stands first." Right.

47 Notice. Now, all these preachers said, "Why, go on up, king. Why sure, the Lord is with you. Why you've took care of us. You've built fine churches. You've made us a great denomination. You're... Why, just look how we've prospered under your money. Why, sure the Lord's with you, king. Go up."

That's the way people are today. They look at their fine church, their well scholared, polished-up preacher they got in the pulpit sometimes. And he might be a real gentleman. He might be a servant of God. He might be polished up and still a servant of God. I don't say that. But there's too many of them on the other side, that's polished up and denies the Word of God. That's the one I'm talking about, not the real, genuine brother. No, sir. It's the other side. "Well, we belong to certain-certain church, Rev. Branham. Of course we cannot cooperate in a--a healing campaign, or something or another, or--or any things like that, because, well, of course you know, the... Yeah, the king won't stand for that." The king... Yes, sir, sir. The king over your group wouldn't stand good for it. He wouldn't--he wouldn't even endorse it. You'd be excommunicated if you cooperated in it.

48 Some great man here not long ago, said, "The only thing I have..." The only man that ever I seen that was--had enough conviction to stand on was truth was Rufus Mosley. That's right. If any of you... You know Rufus Mosley, down there in Macon, Georgia, oh, one of the great fundamental schools there with thousands in there. He said, "I don't care what you say; this is of God." Brother, God shook the country around there too. And what he did, he had convictions like Martin Luther. He had conviction and like John Wesley. And he... Any man that's got conviction of the Word of God, not in some fantastic, but in the Word of God, and placing it in its time... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

49 Notice what taken place. Then after all these prophets begin to prophesy... And, oh, my, this is it. "Dr. Jones, what do you think about it?"

"Amen."

"Brother Levinski?"

"That's exactly right. THUS SAITH THE LORD."

"Well now, Dr. what do you think about it?"

"Yes, sir. Amen."

"Well, now, I'm the head of it, Zedekiah, and I... And you're the secretary, and you're the chief man, and you're the state presbyter, and you're the 'what you call it.' Now--now, what do we all say?"

"We'll agree."

That was very fine, but it wasn't according to the Word. And Jehoshaphat was spiritual enough to know that. I can see Ahab walk over and say, "Now, you see Jehoshaphat? I know you're just a little bit on the queer side (See?), 'cause you're just a little radic' in your religion. But here's hundreds of prophets standing here, the finest scholars in the country, saying, 'We're going up.' Now, you see, we don't have nothing to worry about."

50 Jehoshaphat said, "But haven't you got one more?"

"One more? Well, we're the whole organization...?"

Said, "So what about it? The whole organization says we're right. All the doctors and all of them say we're right."

"Seems to me like I read where the Lord... Ahab, you just got another one?"

He said, "I got a holy-roller out here," or something, ever what he was. He was an outcast, off brand. He said, "He's the son of Imlah; his name is Micaiah." But said, "I hate him." Oh, sure you do. Said, "He won't join with my group." Well, I don't blame him. Said, "Oh, my," said, "he's radical. And he never says anything good against me." Now, that lets the cat out of the bag right then. See? See, the reason they said that? See? Said, "He never says anything aga..." How could he say anything good against him? They're a--a good for him, 'cause he was no good to begin with. God had condemned him and rejected it. And how you going to bless what God has cursed? Or how you going to curse what God has blessed?

51 Another old false prophet tried that one time, when he brought all of his big denomination out and set them up there, fundamental to the dot: Yes, sir: seven altars, seven sacrifices, seven clean bullocks, and the seven rams, speaking of the coming of the Lord Jesus the first time. And there set a bunch of holy-rollers down there in the bottom by the name of Israel. They was a little bunch of interdenominationals down there, dwelling in tents. And Moab was a great fenced in country, all the celebrities standing there, and just as fundamental as he was. Right. But he failed to see that Smitten Rock and that Pillar of Fire going before Israel. That's what he said. He seen that supernatural God working in the shout of a King in the camp. He failed to see that.

I'm afraid today that lot of our great big celebrity fails to see the hand of God moving amongst that bunch of radics they're talking about. I know they got radics and everything, but I'll take my way with them. I'll put my choice down there, if I have to take sides. It'll be right there. Lewi Pethrus told me not long ago, "I seen them carry on and everything too, Brother Branham." But said, "I went with them so I could bring them back." And he did it.

52 Now, notice. Well, he said... Jehoshaphat said, "I'd like to see him."

"All right. We don't even let him stay around here. We don't let him have none of his missions or things around this country. We outlawed that a long time ago. You have to go over to Amon to get him." All right, so they sent... Said, "Go, fetch that fanatic." So here... And so all the celebrity got around him you know and kinda told that fellow, the runner, the officer, what to tell him.

So little old Micaiah setting over there, reading the Bible or whatever he was, pulled up the scroll, said, "Yep. That's it. I have a strange feeling today, but that's what it says. Amen. I believe it, Lord. I don't care how funny it looks. I believe it anyhow. That's right, Lord."

"What did you say? Where do you read the..." Is--Isaiah prophesied, the prophets, and said so and so, he said, "I believe that. I believe that, Lord. That's right."

53 Somebody knocked at the door. [Brother Branham knocks--Ed.] "I'm the king's bodyguard."

"Well, come on in."

"Are you Micaiah?"

"I am."

"Are you that fanatic they talk about?"

"Well, I suppose I am."

"Well, I've got a order here to take you to the king."

"Well, you don't have to handcuff me; I'll walk along with you."

"Now, he wants you to prophesy."

"Oh, he does, huh?"

"They'd had a great meeting down there."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, all the prophets got together, whole denomination. Everybody come together. Oh, they, having a great time now."

"Yes, they have? What did they do?"

"Oh, the king... Do you know Jehoshaphat--that Jehoshaphat's come down to see Ahab?"

"(Oh, I see what the Lord is talking to me about.) Oh, he did?"

"Uh-huh. Yeah."

54 "What in the world Jehoshaphat doing down there with that backslider (See?), that borderline, dishwater weak, that little wishy-washy? What's he doing down there?" think in his heart.

"Well, what did they do?"

"Well, as of course you know that the king has made a great denomination, that one you was kicked out of."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I know."

"But you know Jehoshaphat, he's from a old more illiterate group up there. See? And he doesn't know just like King Ahab does down here. So you know King Ahab's a great man."

"Yeah."

"And Jehoshaphat was down there awhile ago, and King Ahab wants him to go up to--to Ramoth-gilead up there to meet the enemy. And all the prophets was... Oh, the whole school come out, and they every one prophesied, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, go up, the king's with you, and the Lord's with you, and everything's with you; so you're bound to win.' And you know what? It's so positive till Zedekiah's made hisself two big iron horns. He put them up on his head and running through the street, hollering, 'By these, by these you're going to push Syria plumb back into her place, by these horns.'" Real prophets, you know. My, my. They got everything.

55 That's just about like a lot of oil and blood running out of the hands; there's no Scripture to it. That's right. But all this here nonsense that's going on today in the Pentecostal ranks. That's right. Lot of it is not Scriptural, so stay away from it. There it is about all this stuff saying, "It's the church; it's the church, and not the Bible." If it ain't in the Bible, keep away from it. It's the Word.

Now, these fellows set down, and after while they met a group, and they said, "Now, look here, Micaiah, you want to stand in good with this group? If you do, you must say the same thing that the rest of them say. See? You just say--prophesy and tell him to go on up and everything's going to be all right. Just agree with him, and I'll tell you what: You'll be the state overseer next year (See?), or you'll be something like that. Oh, he--he will--he will put you in position if you'll just say the same thing they do."

Micaiah said, "As my God liveth, I'll only say what He says." Amen. Now, that's what we need. That's what America needs. "I'll say just what God says, no less or no more." That's right.

56 So Micaiah knew that Elijah, the prophet of God, a true genuine prophet, had prophesied evil against Ahab, so how could there ever come anything else out of it, but evil? So Micaiah... These other fellows had the minority--majority, rather, but Micaiah had the Word. So there's what made the difference: the Word.

No matter how big the people are, how many the communists, and how many of this, and how many of the unbelievers, and the skeptics, and--and the great things today, no matter how big they are, it's what God is. It's what the Word says. If they call you a fanatic, if they call you a soothsayer, if they call you whatever they want to, what difference does it make? You don't pay attention to them men.

If your hopes is built on men, then you're lost to begin with 'cause he's a failure, borned a failure, and can't be nothing else but a failure. But, "My hopes is built on nothing less than Jesus' Blood with righteousness; when all around my soul gives way, then He's all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other grounds is sinking sand," Eddie Perronet said in his--in his song. That's right.

57 Notice, Micaiah had the Word. He knowed what that Word said. How could he bless this fellow when the prophet of God had THUS SAITH THE LORD and had cursed that fellow. How can we expect blessings to come out of things, out of unbelievers and--and things where God has put His curse upon? How can you do it? Fear of men, afraid you're going to lose your position, this, that, or the other, how can you do it when God has cursed that thing? Put your hopes in Christ. Put your faith in His Word. Stand there, regardless of what's said, yes or no. Stay with God's Word.

Now, closing, listen. Micaiah come up there before the king. And I can imagine the king, face red, and this little old ragged looking guy come walking up in there, you know, looking around, seeing all these preachers standing around there, the D.D.'s. I don't think he felt alone, 'cause God was with him. See?

58 Walked up there. I can see the king, said, "How do you do, Micaiah?" That big fake, you know, 'cause Jehoshaphat...

Jehoshaphat said, "There's just something about that guy I like. I don't know; he just looks pretty well to me, like he's pretty well on the line. Now, I see he hasn't got much education. He might not know all the--all the great words and how to pronounce them right. But I believe one thing: that guy knows God. See?"

So he walks up there. He said, "Micaiah, what will you say? Now, your word must be with the rest of them, and they all say, 'Go up, the Lord is with you, and you'll prosper.'"

He said, "Go ahead." Said, "Go on up. If they said that, well take off." See? And he said, "Oh, go on up there and prosper. Like to see you do it."

And Ahab thought, "Now, that..." I mean, he said, "That just don't sound right out of that guy. How could he be prophesying evil, and you see him come down here and say that?" Said, "I'll adjure you, as I always know you tell me the truth."

He said, "I said go on up, prosper." He said, "But I seen Israel like sheep scattered, having no shepherd: and the Lord said, These has no shepherd: let them return to their--to their own home in peace."

He said, "I told you. I told you. I told you that that holy-roller wouldn't say nothing but evil against me. I could just tell it. I knew before we went."

59 Now, what was the difference? One, oh, the whole country was rallying with these prophets, but here's one man. The reason that he knowed he was right, and he come out he was right; he was standing on THUS SAITH THE LORD, God's promise. And he knowed that no matter how many preachers, or how many denominations, and how many kings, and how many anything else said anything contrary to it, God's Word will prevail. If he stand...

He had to stand by himself with the whole nation against him; but he stood there alone on the Word of God, knowing that God would keep His Word. 'Cause Elijah said to Ahab, when he cursed him there by the Lord, and said, "The dogs will lick your blood, because that evil thing you done." How could that man turn around and predict blessings, when God had put a curse on there by a genuine prophet? He knowed nothing could happen but evil, so he stayed on the Word of God, and stood alone before the whole nation, with hundreds of preachers and doctors of divinity around him, everything else, but he stood alone with God.

60 You know what that head chief captain of the priests did like that? Walked right up, and pulled them horns off the top of his head, and smacked Micaiah right smack in the mouth. That showed his religion, didn't it? Well, he just might've had a bloody jaw there for a few minutes. And he said, "Which a way went the Spirit of God, when it went out of me to go to you?"

He said, "Just wait till you're setting, hiding in the cage over yonder, and you'll know which way it went," Micaiah did.

Micaiah said, "I saw Israel scattered." Said, "I looked up into the heavens, and I saw the great throne of God; and there was Angels standing on the right hand and left hand of God. And they were holding a counsel when they seen this all happening." Like they was holding their counsel down here. Remember, when something's going on down here, persecutors, and laughters, and fun makers, there's something going on up there too, you know. Just remember that. Fix your faith on that.

61 So then he said, "I--I saw them all having a counsel in heaven, and they were going before God and trying to find some way they could bring Ahab out there to fulfill," of course the word of Elijah, the prophet. Elijah spoke it under the inspiration; it had to be so. There was nothing else could stop it. So he knowed it had to happen.

And said, "I seen a spirit come up before God, and said, 'I'll go down, and I'll get in all them preachers and be a lying spirit, and I'll make them prophesy a lie. And that's the way we'll get Ahab out here and fulfill the Word of God.'" 'Cause God will... He let that evil spirit, that lying spirit come down, and get into those preachers, and anoint them, and prophesy in the Name of the Lord, a lie.

You say, "Then, Brother Branham, how could we ever know whether the prophecy is right or not?" Line it up with the Word. That's the way to stay with it. If it's not according to that Word, don't you believe it.

62 I told you last night this is God's Urim Thummim. If any kind of fantastics rise, wherever they are in this little church, whatever it is, pastor, stay with the Word. Don't feed these sheep something that'll kill them. Stay right with the Word, for it's written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Stay with the Word. See?

Now, Micaiah knew he was right, because he was with the Word. And they had just a swelling, popular idea. What happened? They took Micaiah, and smote him in the mouth, and took him up there, and put him in prison, and locked him up in the inner jails, and fed him b--bread and water of sorrow. Said, "Till I return in peace..." said Ahab. Ahab...

And Elijah, or Micaiah said, "If you return in peace at all, God hasn't spoke to me." That's right. 'Cause his vision compared with the Bible.

63 Now, there's where I want to dwell just a moment. His vision was with the Bible. Now, if it was... Now, the other's vision was contrary to the Bible. But Micaiah's was with the Bible, and God's got to keep His Word. Do you get it?

Now, what happened to Ahab? He was killed that day, and the dogs licked his blood as the sun went down, out of the chariot at the pool before they washed it that night. That's true. For one man, who took God's Word, his vision lined up with God's Word, and it was perfect, the absolute truth.

And now, friends, closing, this: A vision must line up with God's Word. A preacher must line up with God's Word. No matter what we think, and what are, the emotions are of the country, the crowd, or whatever it is, we must line up with God's Word. And that's the reason that I have defended.

64 In the first place when the Lord begin to give visions when I was a little, bitty baby boy... And He begin to show those visions, my clergymen told me it was of the devil.

But one night, it was better than ten years ago at Green's Mill, Indiana, where I was there in the old camp, and the--my wife setting there, right there now, who was seen when the vision struck me that evening and I set there under it, and I said, "God, I don't want to be possessed with a devil." Why, certainly not. And I told her I didn't know when I would come back. And I took off to the place to pray. And that night by the grace of God...

65 About ten years before that, about--about fifteen, nearly ten or fifteen years before that, when I was just a young Baptist preacher, no more than a boy, baptizing out there in the river, hundreds of people that afternoon, my first revival; and that Light come down from heaven and stood there before thousands of people. They fainted and everything, years ago when I was baptizing. And a Voice spoke from there and said that I would take a message around the world, which would start a revival just like that it did in the days of John the Baptist before the second coming of Christ. I knowed a bit more about it than nothing. I wrote it down and kept it. They kept it. The newspapers had it, and everything. "Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Boy, Pastor, While He's A Baptizing In The Water," and all about it.

And then after that time, when it come time, the Lord Jesus sent His Angel back again, and tried to tell me that night when I was there praying, "God, don't never let that happen to me again. You know I don't want to be possessed of the devil, and You know I love You. And my clergymen tell me..." And here come the Angel of the Lord, and told me it was His work, and He had ordained it, and to where He said it'll sweep around the world.

66 And when I went to the--the general overseer, one of the high Baptist men, frankly, the one that baptized me, Dr. Davis, into the Baptist fellowship. I went and told him about it; and he said, "Billy, you need a rest. You've had a nightmare."

I said, "I don't appreciate that. I'll resign the Baptist church right now."

Said, "You mean with your seventh grade education, and you're going to go around the world preaching the Gospel and thing."

I said, "That's what He said, and that's what I believe."

He said, "Don't take it that seriously, Billy. I think if you rest a few nights you'll feel better." I walked out.

67 By the grace of God, I started. And now, what's happened? The revival fires are burning on every hill around the world. When old Goliath was slain and Israel saw, they drew their swords. That's what's happened. Men of vision, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, whatmore, when they seen that God had poured out His Spirit in these last days, that signs and wonders were taking place, and the bones had done rattled, and shook, and kicked over the chairs until they all got together, but now sinew skin is on them, and they're standing up like a great mighty army. And men begin to pull their swords, and say, "God, if--if Goliath the biggest can be slain, then we'll cut too." And they're cutting right and left, from east, from west, from north to south; and a great revival has swept the whole world. When the...

When they said, "It can't be done. It can't be done. It can't be done," but God did it anyhow because He promised it.

He said, "The things that I do shall you also; greater than this (or more than this) shall you do; for I go unto My Father." When He was here on earth, He didn't claim to be a great person. He claimed only to be the--the Son of man when He was here. He was the Son of God, yet He was the Son of man through Mary. He was the Son of God by Mary. He was God Himself by Spirit. God in Christ, heaven and earth reconciled together, when earthly man borned of a woman, and the Spirit of God dwelled into Him. When the lamb and the dove came together, heaven and earth kissed each other. And that's right on that great day.

68 And He went about. He didn't claim to be a healer. He's claimed He wasn't a healer. He said, "I only do as My Father shows Me to do. I can do nothing in Myself. What I see the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise." Men stood before Him, strangers to Him, He knew who they were. He called them by name. He called the people by name. Did He do it? Is that the Bible? Is it the Bible when He said He did nothing except the Father told Him? Is that the Scripture? Saint John 5:19, read that. Every word's infallible. Everything in the Bible is the truth.

Notice. He did nothing, but He stayed right with the Word. What did He say? "These things were done that it might be fulfilled." Is that right? They could not believe, because Isaiah said. Jesus said that they brought to Him (Matthew 8), said they brought and laid to Him, all their sick and afflicted and He healed them be--that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities, and bore our sickness," and so forth. Everything He done was to fulfill the Word of God.

69 My brother, sister, as I say to you tonight, as your brother in the bonds of fellowship, a citizen of the Kingdom of God with you, though we be few in number tonight, and though we be just a little group, God will bless us and has blessed us and brought His great Being among us. "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, I'll be in their midst." That's exactly what He said. "Whatsoever they shall agree upon, as touching one thing, and ask, they shall receive it." God promised that.

Now, if that's so, then the Word must be fulfilled. Jesus said, "The things that I do, shall you also." Did He say that? That Word must be fulfilled. Did He say, "Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." All the world, the Gospel, the power of the Holy Ghost, demonstrations of the power of the Holy Ghost to every creature... You say, "Does that mean that?" How are you going to ful... Read the next line then. "These signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name they shall cast out devils, and heal the sick," and the things that He did.

70 How can you do it just with the letter alone? The letter won't do it alone, until the Word falls into a ground to produce the life that's in the Word. How... You hold a grain of wheat ever so dearly in your hand, you'll never get a beard of wheat off of it until you put it in the ground and it rots and brings forth another life. And except you die out to yourself, and your own ideas, and your own theologies, and just lay down in Christ, and be baptized in the Holy Spirit, rise with the Word in your heart... And if anything seems to come to you that's contrary to the Word, don't believe it. That's right. No matter what you're setup is.

That's exactly the way the Jews failed to see Him to be the Son of God in the first place. They had in all the picture drawed up, how the Messiah would do, how He would come to the temple, and where He would set, and all about it. But when Jesus come He was contrary to it. Every way that they thought He was coming, He was contrary to it. And that's the reason they said, "Oh, that's not the way we been taught."

But God don't have to do things the way you been taught. He does it the way He says He will in the Bible. That's right. Yeah. Them prophets in our Scripture lesson tonight, they'd been taught something too. But the Bible had said something else, and Micaiah stayed with the Bible.

71 Now, my contentions is this: Don't--don't never, never accept anything, 'less it comes out of the Bible. See? This is the Blueprint. Let it be set in order and in the Bible. And God's the omnipotent One, the omnipresent, the infinite God Who knows all things, and has predicted that in these last days these signs would take place. The things that He did would be done again before the coming of the Lord.

He said there would be false things rise up, and they... How we going to "diviate" them? Now, there's a good question. How are we going to differentiate from--from one to the other. We see things out here going on, say, "Yeah, just look over here. Looky here at this. Look at this here. See right down. Look over here. That's right." Oh, yes, brother. I'll admit that. But tell me one time that the true Word of God ever failed. You got a bunch of fantastics. So was those priests. Do you understand what I'm meaning? Those preachers, prophets with them horns butting around, "Oh, THUS SAITH THE LORD, THUS SAITH THE LORD." But it didn't cope with the Scripture. See? But when it's absolutely coping with the Scripture, it has to come to pass.

72 And the hour is here, brother, when... "As Jambres and Jannes withstood Moses, so will they, men of reprobate mind, concerning the truth, who was foreordained of old to this condemnation," says the Bible. They could not believe. And they will not believe. The Bible said that in this day that we're living now, that men from old was ordained to be condemned, who turned the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Do you see what I mean? Jude 4th chapter, or 4th verse. Read and see if that isn't so.

Now, men of old foreordained to this con... How can they believe when the Bible has done said they can't believe? How can we stop all that nonsense that's going on around in the land? How can we do it when God said it would be? Well, then you say, "Which is right and wrong?" Like Micaiah was, with the Bible. A true Spirit of God will move right with the Word, for He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

73 There's no doubt sick people in this building tonight. There's not a person in here I know except my wife and daughter setting there, and Brother Gene, this brother here, the brother setting right there. I believe I do know this little girl that's here, that I believe they're his daughters and this is his son, this... And then there was somebody else I passed by a few minutes ago that I... Oh, it's... I... only... I'm not sure, but the lady setting here, isn't that your wife? Uh-huh. It's your wife. All right. That settles it. How many here knows I don't know you, let's see your hands.

How many here is sick and needs God to touch your body to heal you, let's see your hand? Raise your hands. I don't care what you got wrong with you, raise your hand. All right. Pretty near sixty percent of the little audience here tonight... Then I want to ask you something: What if Jesus Christ stood here tonight, with this suit (as I've often said) He gave me? What would He do if you were sick and you wanted to be healed? What would He do about it? What could He do about it? There'd only be one thing He could do, was stay right with the Word. Is that right? Stay right with the Word.

74 What does the Word say? "There will be a man rise of who will have oil in his hands, and he will rub this oil..." No, that ain't the Scripture. Huh-uh. What does It say? "There will be high bishops, and if any authority is to be said, they will be the one who say..." No, no.

"They that are sons of God are led by the Spirit of God." All right. What will it say about Divine healing? "He was wounded for our transgressions; with His stripes we were healed." It's a finished work.

What if any man desires salvation? Who could give it to him? The pope? The bishop? The cardinal? No, sir. No, sir. The pope of Rome could have nothing to do with it. The--the archbishop of Canterbury would have nothing to do with it. None of the rest of them, there's none of them could have nothing to do with it. It's your own individual, personal faith in a finished work of Christ at Calvary. That's the Bible. That's what the Bible said.

75 "If I'll go to a Pentecostal church, will I be saved? If I'll do what the Pentecostal does?" No, sir. You won't be saved. You'll be an impersonator and a hypocrite by doing it. That's right. You get saved and do what God tells you to do, not try to act like the rest of them does. You do what God tells you to do. And your experience must line up with God's Bible. If it doesn't, then you're wrong yet. No.

"Well, if I'm a Presbyterian, do I have to join the Pentecostal church?" No, sir. You certainly do not. The only thing you have to do is come to Jesus Christ and accept Him as a finished work. And then when you--your faith is recognized of Him, He will give you the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

76 Here's the formula, if you want to know it. All right. The first... When the first church was inaugurated on the day of Pentecost, they were all screaming. And Jesus told them, said, "Don't you preach no more; don't you do nothing." But Luke 24:49 said, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high. After this the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8), after this the Holy Ghost will come upon you: then you shall be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, Judaea, and Samaria, and uttermost parts of the world."

They went up there, how long to wait, how long? Two days, five days? Until. What happened? They was all in one place and one accord. One accord, they wasn't arguing, "Now, I'm a Sanhedrin. I--I'm a Pharisee." No, it'll never come on a group like that, not a bit, never come. They're just waiting. They were brothers and sisters together, women in there with them. They were all up there for ten days, waiting, waiting, one accord, just reading the Bible, a little, maybe someone stand up and preaching like I've just done, saying, "The blessings of God has been promised. Now, God said He'd pour out the Holy Ghost. Joel said He would do it. And we're waiting for the Word to be fulfilled."

77 Oh, my. So, are you doing that tonight? Waiting for the Word to be fulfilled, how that struck fire to my heart. Waiting in the upper room... "Well, it never happened yesterday. It will today. Or if it don't today, it will tomorrow. We'll stay right here till it's over. We're going to wait. Now, the Word said so, and every spot of Jesus' life was a fulfilling of that Word. He told us to wait here before we went to preach the Gospel, all the way around the world, and that every creature on the earth hear the Gospel. Before we started we were to wait here, we were to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost."

One of them said, "Now, just a minute. There's just a little thought in my mind. Haven't we walked with Him hand to hand?"

"That is right. But He said, 'Yet a little while and the world won't see Me no more; yet ye shall see Me; for I'll be with you, even in you.' Well, now, that's right. He did say that. Then He's going to be in us. Yes, sir. That's the Word. Stay with It. That settles it. All right."

78 Here they come. All of a sudden... Now, here's the way we take it. Not for a joke now. I don't... This is no place for joking. There's been too much Hollywood evangelism today, too much joking and carrying on at the pulpit. Listen. This is a sincere thing. And notice, and a sacred thing. Notice.

What happened? As we listen... If we taken it like today, what if we were taking the Catholic church? Now, we'd have to read Acts 2 like this. "And they were all in one place and one accord, making confessions, and they played--prayed to the blessed saint." It's a high form of spiritualism, of course, you see, 'cause there's nothing can pray to the dead except spiritualists. Right. So then, we was... "They was praying to the blessed saints. The priests come in and gave them the holy communion (holy eucharist, which is called in the Greek word), and the people would lick out their tongue and take the holy eucharist, and they would drink the wine." Now, that's the way we go in, take the rights of the Catholic church.

79 Now, don't Protestants laugh, 'cause pot can't call kettle black. What do we do? We get up, and walk up to the platform, and take the hand of the preacher, and shake hands with the preacher, and they put our name on the book, make a confession, say, "We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Every devil in hell believes the same thing and publicly confess it. That's right. Put your name in the book; that's the way we got. Why do I condemn it? Because it's not lined up with the Word of God. That's right.

"They were all in one place and one accord, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind." Not a priest coming up, or a minister coming up, but a sound as a rushing mighty wind coming from heaven. "And it filled all the house where they were setting." There you are. There's the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They begin screaming, and shouting, and--and speaking with jabbering lips and other tongues, till the--even when they run outside screaming and going on and acting like...

The religious people of that day said, "These men are drunk, all full of new wine," the women and all.

80 And listen, my sister, if God required the virgin Mary to have such an experience like that before she come into heaven, how are you going in without the same thing? Virgin Mary was with them. Think that over just a little bit. We're lining up with the Word. That's exactly right. Is it true? Certainly it is.

Then when they were all noised abroad, and they were speaking every man to... This group maybe was Italians, and here's a--and here was another man, here was a Galilean speaking Italian language to this bunch of Italian, was telling them of the resurrection. They said, "Why do we hear in our own tongue, the great works of God? How do we hear every man in our own tongue wherein we were born? Aren't they Galileans, and how do we hear them in our own language?" They said, "This puzzles me." It was the great works of God going on.

81 Now, not like in some of our modern meetings, a bunch of carrying on, where there was no, nothing could be understood, but they heard them in their own language wherein they were born. See? Notice, every man in his own language wherein he was born... They were listening. They said, "Isn't this marvelous?" See?

And other mocked and said, "Hah! Look at them. They're just so drunk; they don't even know what they're doing." They were reeling and staggering like drunk men under the mighty impact of the mighty God. The great unction, which means in the Greek word "dynamite" was in their soul, that had blowed out the roots of carnality, and the Holy Spirit had settled in their heart. There they was. And others begin mocking.

82 But Peter, kinda coming to himself a little, he jumped up on a soapbox stump, whatever it was, and he said, "Ye men of Galilee, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known unto you, and hearken to my words (Listen to me a minute. Give me an audience.): these are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it's just the third hour of the day." Saloons wasn't even open yet. See? "This is just the third hour of the day." He said, "But this is that..." Amen. "This is that." If this ain't that, I'll keep this till that comes. Said, "This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel."

Was Peter a right kind of a preacher? Absolutely. Where did he go to, some theology or some great something another that some man had made up? No, sir. He went straight to the Word like Micaiah did. "'This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel; "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I'll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh.' This is that," he said. Now, there's the point. That's it. This is that God has spoken. God has said it. God has confirmed it. And the people are laughing at and making fun of it.

83 Well, we got back to that place again. Tonight just before the...?... of the time again, when hanging yonder in Moscow tonight is a rocket hanging there with bombs hanging in it like this, that any minute they can direct it anywhere in the United States they want to, and never leave Moscow... Got a rocket that shoots the thing. They time with the stars and with the radar. And they can shoot it, and it'll shoot maybe one thousand miles, and another rocket explode, and shoot around another thousand miles right past, right by the lines in Finland where the Russian guards with a machine gun on me, holding me like this, keeping me from looking on the inside through a little wall that was homemade like that for fifty miles, and like to suffocated in there with the Russian guards.

When we went up there, I seen them Russians come out behind there, and grab them Fins around, and hug one another, and kiss them, them real Christian brothers over there. Brother, Christianity is the answer. That's right. Certainly it is.

84 And going through those places. And there they could time that bomb and throw her into Chicago, and blow Sturgis plumb off the map with the same thing, and never leave Moscow. It's all laying right in the hands of sinful, godless men tonight. That's right.

And they don't need to try to run. Ain't going do you no good. One of those hydrogen bombs, we'll...?... the direction on it, and you have your in your--your air watch and things. When that bomb hits fifteen miles each way, it grow--blows a hole in the ground a hundred and seventy-five feet deep, for fifteen miles. That's thirty miles square, any way it falls, just one bomb. Then it'll go out yonder for miles and miles and miles beyond that, busting trees, and tearing things, and just turn it back to dust and back to cosmic light. That's what's happening.

85 No wonder the Bible said, "In the last days it shall come to pass." What is it? "There'll be signs in the heaven above (flying saucers where even the Pentagon and all don't know what to think of it), fearful sights in the skies, men's heart failing, fear, perplexed of times, distress between the nations, the sea roaring--tidal waves, earthquakes in divers places, and men shall be heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, and despisers of those that are good."

You say, "That's communists."

No, them's preachers; that's religious people: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Turn away. Lift up your heads; your redemption's drawing nigh. Amen.

86 Men and women, my brothers and sisters, after preaching the Gospel practically five times around the world, seeing sights, it's not even--could be good to talk to you about... But I know, something within me; I don't know when; no one else does. But I believe the coming of the Lord is at hand. We're near. Jesus Christ is meeting in His little group. "I'll be with you. I'll confirm the Word." And tonight the Bible says that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. If we're here together, then He's got to be here.

And if He will appear here in this audience and do the very same things that He did when He was here on earth, will all of you have a heart full of faith and promise Him, "I'll stay right with Your Word, Lord, and read right in Your Word, and follow It." Will you do it, if He will do it? Will you raise your hand, no matter who you are, what you believe? God bless you. Let us pray.

87 Now, Lord, it's just a few moments. I have spoke at length and a long time, but knowing I don't when we'll ever meet again this side of heaven. There may be some here will be drawn if I should return back in a few months. I don't know, Lord. But one thing that I want to... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

If you're sick and you ha... Does the Bible say... I'll give you a Scripture...?... Does the Bible say that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession? Does He say it, Hebrews 3? All right. Does the Bible say in the New Testament that we can touch Jesus as the woman touched Him, His garment? Just touched His garment and went off, stood in the crowd, and Jesus turned around and said, "Who touched Me?"

They said, "Why all touched You." Everybody denied it. But His great discernment of spirit, went right straight to where she was, and told her exactly what was wrong. Did He... She... Did that happen? Certainly. Does the Bible say that He is now the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities? Is that right?

88 How would we be recognized then if He has already done the work? I question it just like He give to the Jews in His day. If... "Who do you say the Christ is?"

Said, "The Son of David."

Said, "Why did David in the Spirit then call Him Lord?" See? "The Lord said unto thy Lord--my Lord, 'Set down on My right hand till I make foes the footstool.'"

Then how is it, if He has already finished our works, for--or the works of grace, for our faith to accept Him as Healer, because He has purchased our healing, how can He still be a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities? He has to make a way out. And the only way that done it, basing it on Hebrews 13:8 that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

89 And when He went away, His works was to be carried on in His church until He returned. Is that right? He said, "We are the vine... We are the branches; He is the Vine." Is that right? Saint John 15th chapter: "I am the Vine; ye are the branches." And every branch that bringeth forth fruit is pruned, and fixed up, and purged so it'll bring more. But the branch that doesn't bear fruit is plucked off.

Now, the branches is the one that bears fruit, not the vine. So we, the church, is left as the branches. So your eyes and my eyes is the only eyes that God has on the earth. Your lips and my lips is His--is His branch. He energizes it to bring forth fruit. And our ears is His ears. Our hands to do good is His hands. Our feet are His feet to carry us to church and to do good. "Blessed are the feet that bring--beareth good tidings." And all--all such. We are His vine. And He just pours His energy into us.

90 Now, there's five gifts that's set into the church: apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, pastors. That's the branches. And God pours His energy into that, some of them to preach, some of them to be evangelists, some to be pastors, teachers, seer. And apostles are missionaries, either one, it's both the same, same word.

Now, if He's raised from the dead, and He's here tonight, then why would... What would He do if He stood here? He would look upon you; He'd know you. He'd know you just as He knew Peter, called his name, and He knows others. He'd know what you had need of in your heart, like He did the woman at the well. He told her--He talked to her a few minutes till He found her trouble, said, "Go, get your husband."

She said, "I don't have any husband."

Said, "You got five."

She said, "Sir, I perceive that You're a prophet. We know when the Messiah cometh, He will do these things. (That right? Saint John 4.) But Who are You?"

Said, "I'm He."

She run in and said, "Isn't this the Messiah? Isn't this the very sign of the Messiah?"

91 So did Philip say the same thing when he brought Nathanael up. Nathanael when he said, "You..." Why, He saw him when he was under the tree, praying, the day before, thirty miles around the mountain. How did He do it? Why, he said, "You're the Son of God, the King of Israel."

But what did the big orthodox church say? "That's the devil."

Jesus said, "You say that against Me; it'll be forgiven; but when the Holy Ghost is come and energizes, speak one word against It; and it'll never be forgiven in this world or the world to come." There you are.

92 Now, I humbly ask you to submit yourself. I ask you to never... Get this. I am not a healer. And there's no other man that's a healer. I've ask you to give your spirit wholly to God, and look towards heaven, and say, "God Almighty, I am in need. And I'm asking you some way, that I'd recognize to increase my faith that You'll appear here and prove by that, by the Scriptures, that You're with us, and doing the same work that You did. And just speak to me. And I'll know whether it's true or not, because I'll--I know." You'll know. Your spirit will bear record with His Spirit as Jehoshaphat did, when he seen Micaiah.

Now, pray. Don't--don't be skeptic. If you do, He will never speak. You get sincere and believe, as I get sincere and believe. And the Lord add His blessings.

93 And little sister at the piano, if you would, just a little song. You say, "Why the song?"

Well, why did Elijah say, "Bring me a minstrel"? To bring the Spirit of God upon him. Said, "If I didn't respect the presence of Jehoshaphat, I wouldn't even look at you." He said, "But nevertheless..." He got all stirred up. He was rebuking Jehoram, Ahab's son. And he said, "If it wasn't for the presence of Jehoshaphat, I wouldn't even look at you. But bring me a minstrel." He got--had to quieten himself down. When the minstrel played, the Spirit come upon the prophet. Is that right?

You play "Abide With Me," will you, softly, while we all... Now, everyone just keep right in your seat; just keep reverent before God; and remember, we're in His Presence. I've talked at--way long. Now, one word from Him will do more than all the words I could say.

94 And if He will return tonight in here... When I know He's here, 'cause that's His Word; I stay right with It. If He will return and do the same thing that He did at the well, with the woman, or with Philip, or with any--any place else, if He will turn and do the same thing, will every one of you recognize Him, and then believe Him, and--and go out... Will you know it's right in the Word, not some mythical something what somebody else has said, but what God has said, what His promises says, His Word has said? All right, sister. Now, be reverent and just be in prayer, just waiting.

Now, when there's a massive people, many times I call prayer lines so that they--that the people would come up and be prayed for. I could get one single person. But you're just a little group. Sometimes before maybe like in India, five hundred thousand, in Africa maybe two hundred thousand, and thousands like that... See? I... The little prayer lines starts till the anointing gets started.

95 It's your faith that does this vision. It's your faith. Jesus didn't say, "I knowed anything about it." She touched Him, and then He recognized it. Now, you touch Him tonight and see if He will recognize you. Just pray. Just pray.

And God of heaven be merciful to us. For now, abide with us, Father. And we have brought Your Word just as humbly as I know how to bring It, at length. Paul preached one time all night on the same Lord Jesus. And a boy fell out and killed himself, and Paul laid his body over him and life come back again.

And now, Lord God, we pray that You'll appear to us tonight, for these people who's accepted You, these seven or eight people that raised their hands. We pray that You'll let them see now that it's not some dead creed; it's not some Buddha, or some Mohammedan, or Sikh, or Jain, or some other religion; it's a true religion, religion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who is not dead, but is alive tonight in our midst. You promised You'd meet with us, Father, and we know You are here.

96 As we set prayerfully, if you wish to close your eyes, all right. If you do not, you don't have to. But just be in prayer. You remember the Angel of the Lord, the picture of it that's here in the book, a very bad picture, where the scientists, and the FBI, and all has examined it... It's hanging down here in Washington, DC, copyrighted.

Can you remember seeing that picture? If you do, say "Amen." That Angel of the Lord, that Light that appeared on the river yonder, that's been took by many newspaper photographer... In Germany here a few weeks ago, they just scattered it all over Germany, when the big German camera caught it coming down.

That Light isn't two foot from where I'm standing. That's exactly right. What is it? Jesus Christ. "Light?" Yes. Anyone knows that it was Jesus Christ Who led the children of Israel in a Pillar of Fire, a Light. He said, "I come from God; I go to God." And while He was here on earth, He was a Man. He turned back and went to God. He appeared to Mary, He appeared to Cleopas, done something. But after He ascended to God the Father, He turned back to Light; and Paul on the road to Damascus seen Him. And He was a great Light that struck Paul down, like the sun shining. Paul... The people stood by there, never seen no Light. They couldn't see Him.

97 But just as my soul begins to enter into the other world, this other realm. Then the Light begins to see it. I see It moving in the--as It's before me.

And I want you to pray and believe. As you people, no matter how strange you are, I know you not, but God does know you. And I want you to believe. Now, I have no way of knowing you. You know that. But God does know you. Now, just as you pray, I'm just watching to see what He will say. Just touch His garment like the woman did, and have faith, and believe.

98 Here He is, standing over a lady right here in front of me with a blue dress on, setting by the side of a woman with a green dress on. She's holding a light blue handkerchief in her hand. She's wearing glasses. She's praying to God. And this Light hangs by her, and as I see It break. And the woman moves away from me, and the lady is suffering with a sinus trouble. That's right, lady. Raise up your hand if that be so, so the audience can see. All right.

I see someone else that appears by you. It's an aged person. It's a woman, very sick. I see a long streak coming. I see a little girl in a... Oh, it's your mother that you're praying for in your prayer. And your mother is seriously ill. And her examination shows that she has diabetes and a cancer also. And you're afraid for your mother. And you're praying to God now to help your mother. That is true.

99 Now, if that is true, I want you to raise to your feet just a moment, if them words are true. Now, I want you to look this a way. I don't know you, do I? Never seen you. But ever what was said is true. Is that right? I wouldn't know it at this time, because it's on the record. Now, the best I can remember it was for sickness. And the tears that you wipe from your eyes on that handkerchief, you lay it on the one that you love.

And heavenly Father, I ask that You will bless and grant this woman's request. Her faith has touched Thee. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... canst believe, all things are possible, all things.

100 Now, since you dropped your head right back here, you're so sincerely watching and waiting, you. You kept watching me to see what my emotions would be. I'm a stranger to you, am I not? But you know that there's Something around you that's not a--not human. You're aware of that. I never seen you in my life. You're a stranger. Do you believe me to be His servant? Do you believe what I told you is the truth?

Now, see the way you get to a gift, it's your--it's your approach to it. One time when Jesus was talking to the people, a woman touched His garment, she felt virtue. But a Roman soldier put a rag on His head, and hit Him on the head, and said, "If you can see visions or prophesy, tell me who hit you." He didn't feel no virtue. It's your approach.

101 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... that pleurisy would leave you. That's right, isn't it? You got more faith than really you thought you had. Now, you're really know that something's anointing you now. When I said that, that just boosted your faith. Wasn't that right? Now, you look at me as God's prophet. You're not from this city. You're not from around here. You come from a big place. It's Detroit. That's right. Elizabeth is your name. Your last name's Marshall.

Do you believe on the Lord Jesus now, lady? See, as you contact His Spirit, how He moves right back down to you? That--that doesn't heal you. It only gives you a contact of Spirit. Now, get her to doubt. Some of the rest of you might, but not her. Neither did Nathanael doubt. Neither did the woman doubt, who the miracle was done on. Neither did the woman at the well doubt.

102 It happened to be it moved over to you, sister, setting over there in the corner. You believe the Lord would heal that back trouble and let you get well, make you well? You're praying for that, wasn't you? Raise up your hand if that's true. All right. Receive what you've asked for. May God in heaven grant it to you, my sincere prayer.

[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]...?... the door a man wearing... No, it isn't. It's a woman; it's right ahead of him. There stands a--that Angel of the Lord, that Light, around the woman. Don't fear, sister. The Lord Jesus will make you well, give you the desire of your heart there. Your name's Alice, isn't it?...?... Granger's your last name. Have faith in God. Don't doubt.

103 There's a young man setting; he's wearing a red coat or a red sweater. He's got his finger against his mouth. He's praying for someone which is dear to him. It's his father. He has cancer. Do you believe, young fellow, that God would heal your dad? You do? Are you aware that Jesus... Now, how did I know what the man was praying for? [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

While the anointing is upon you all, do you want to be healed? Do you wish to be healed? Do you believe me to be His servant? I say to you, that Christ is in our midst. Ask these people; I never know them. Now, it's breaking over the...

104 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... on the sick. I'm afraid to go any farther now, 'cause the Holy Spirit seems to say, "Pray for them." Keep your hand on your baby here, lady. All right. Be in prayer now, everybody. Oh, abide with me.

We're inviting You into our little bark, Lord, our little house, not much. We've mistreated it so, Lord, but You're God. And we pray that You'll bless this little audience just now. Thou has come down and proven Your Word, that You stay with the Word. The Word shall never fail. You said, "Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never fail." Nothing can stop Your Word from failing, or could ever make It fail, rather. There's one thing that's impossible: that's for God to fail, for the Bible said He cannot fail.

And You are the Word. You, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was made flesh, and dwells among us in our hearts, in our beings. When they thought they could destroy it by placing Him in a tomb, driving a spear through His heart, but watch the Spirit of God making a way by an Angel, rolling away the stone, and...?...