The Impersonation Of Christianity

1 Thank you, Brother...?... It is always known, that it is a privilege to be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus with His people. And today I have the grand privilege of visiting this church of our Brother pastor, and a wonderful time of fellowship we had together, while we were seated in the heavenly place at the Baptist church this morning.

And then with a luncheon with Dr. Wer--Weirwill (I just can't get that right) and his brothers and some more, Dr.--dentist and some groups that we had lunch together just a few moments ago. And I... This has certainly been a joyful day, and I trusting to God that it will continue to be that way throughout the day for all of us, as we have met together again in Christ and just setting in heavenly places with Him.

2 And it's fallen my privilege to--to speak to you again this afternoon. Just a little hoarse, because of, well, I had just a little cold I come up with, and I'm--it's a--it's kinda hard on our southern blood, you know; it's kinda cold up here and a little colder than at home. And then traveling around so much...

One week, now, week... In about another week or ten days, the Lord willing, I'll be in Phoenix, Arizona, where the kids are all bare-footed, running around, then over into California and then up the West Coast again where it's freezing again. And that's the way evangelistic services go or life goes, rather, for an evangelist. But it's such a privilege to serve the Lord. How glad I am.

And it's a--it seems like someone was saying, "Brother Branham, I guess your entire life is a victorious life." Oh, you just don't know it all. Oh, it's--it's a victorious life, like you know it to be in Christ. Oh, what a privilege it is for me to know that He lets me talk to His children and how that we get to come together and speak, talk, and worship. That's wonderful. But the things that goes with it is very hard, such as leaving the family for one thing. I've a lovely family, and a little boy that when...

3 I been married twice. My first wife died when the--my little girl was just eight months old, and little Billy was just eight--eighteen months old. She was twenty-two, I think, and I was about twenty-six. And I--I lost her, and she... I--I--I beg your pardon I didn't mean to say that that way. I never lost her. She just went upstairs, and her and the baby together. And I had Billy for years, and then when he went to school, the Lord gave me a lovely little wife, and we were married four years and a little girl, Rebekah, come along. Four more years...

During that time I was in Minneapolis once in a meeting... Where I go for my next meeting, after here I go to Evansville then to Minneapolis, then to Phoenix after a short stop in Louisiana... So then I was up there, and I was taking the life of Joseph, just reading his life. And you know, Abraham (preached on this morning)--Abraham was election. And Abraham begot Isaac which was justification. Isaac begot Jacob which was grace. And Jacob begot Joseph which was perfection, not one thing against Joseph. And I seen his great life, and I said, "Oh, God if..."

4 And I--I'm just kind of a simpleminded person, as you already know. And I went into a little closet, because, well, and God will hear your prayer anywhere, but He said, "Enter into the secret closet," and oh, I guess there's just enough about me that I haven't grown up good yet in all these forty-seven years, so I just went into the closet and pulled the door together. And I was just weeping for joy.

"Oh," I said, "I'll be so happy someday when I cross over to meet Joseph and shake his hand, see Daniel and ask him how he felt when those lions down there and that Pillar of Fire of Light stood there and held those lions off all night long. See the Hebrew children, how they come out of the fiery furnace with that Pentecostal wind around them whirling around, keeping the breezes away..." I said, "What a wonderful time." And I said, "Oh, God, if You ever give me a child, I'll call his name Joseph--boy." And Billy was a good sized boy then, and then... You know, as I looked on, I got into the... Well, I don't know what to call it. I can't explain that; I don't want... You can't explain God. God's beyond explaining.

5 If there be somebody here who'd like to approach it from what I call the scientific realm, that's in another dimension. You're somewhere else, except it's real as this is, but you're just somewhere else, and you're conscious you're there. But you know your voice is here, but you're there. See? Explain it, I can't. But Something said, "You're going to have a son, and you'll call his name Joseph."

Oh my, right from the meeting, "I'm going to have a boy named Joseph." Well, after while we knew that we were going to have a baby. Everyone said... And my wife, her people and all of them has to be caesarean section birth. And so the doctor said after Rebekah was born, said that ought to settle it on account of two conditions that she couldn't never have no more children. Well, I said, "The good Lord knows all about that."

6 And--and so then when we knew we was going to have a baby, so we wondered. And someone said, "Is that Joseph?"

I said, "I don't know." I said, "But we're going to have a Joseph. So..." I said, "I kinda believe it is."

And when it was born, it was a girl. Oh, you talk about razing me. Everywhere I got letters said, "Oop. Your vision is getting wrong." It never lied. I said, "Joseph is coming."

And so when the doctor delivered the little girl, he said, "Oh, Mr. Branham," he said, "so thin," he said, "We should do something about this." He said that--they no more children could come up. But oh, no. Joseph is coming. And so standing there...

Then after awhile went--went on four years passed. Some of them kept saying, "Well, that's one time it failed."

I said, "No. Remember I never said that was Joseph. I said, 'Joseph is coming.'"

7 So after while we knew we was going to have another baby; after about four more years, going to have another baby. Well, I said, "Well, I hope this is Joseph."

So then after awhile, I was... All of them said, "Is this Joseph?"

I said, "I don't know. But Joseph is coming."

So when we got right down just a few days on the Caesarean and things I couldn't speak before a mixed audience. But they're supposed to go in for their operation way before the time. And there had been some lady that lived in the city that the poor thing got all mixed up that she thought that she ought to be the spiritual leader of my life and tell me where I should go and what I should do. I just refused it flat (see?), because the Holy Spirit does that.

8 And so she was passing out cards and she said, "Now, here's when that Billy's going to get his," said, "God is going to take Meda away from him now." And had it all wrote out and put across the country, you know. And my wife being nervous anyhow, oh, the poor little fellow was just about dead.

And she come to me, said, "Oh, Bill, did you hear that?"

And I said, "Oh, that don't make any difference. God said we're going to have a baby and that settles it." So we...

I--I could sense, you know, and her so weary... I just went to a place; I've got a secret place (You've heard of it.), way back where I go into a cave, pull back; the FBI couldn't find me. So I--I goes back in there. I was back there praying, and the Lord sent me out to the front of the... when He speaks to me... There's an old log lays right across, way in the hills where I used to trap when I was a boy. And in there He--He let me know not to let a bit of worry...

And when I went home, pulled in down at Brother Wood's (the man's here with me and sister), I seen the poor little fellow coming out in the back yard, her little face looked gray, and she was going to empty some slop out at the--the garbage can. And I walked up to her. She was crying. She said, "Oh, Billy," said, "Margie can't even take care of me." That's the nurse, Mayo nurse that was healed in my meeting, weighing thirty-five pounds, of cancer, the first case. And she's on the cancer clinic in Louisville, been dead (nearly ten years). She's nursing now at the hospital. So...

Said, "Margie's on an emergency, can't take me in," said... She loved her so much.

I said, "Look, Honey, we love Sister Margie, but we're not depending on Sister Margie; we're depending on the Lord Jesus. See?" I said, "We love Sister Margie." And I said, "I want you to be of a good courage."

Said, "Why?"

I said, "You know where I been?"

She said, "I have an idea."

I said, "I got THUS SAITH THE LORD." That settled it (See?), right there.

9 And the next morning the little one was born. And when the nurse came down... We was all a bunch of fathers; you know, how we walk the carpet out, you know. So, I was right along with them. The nurse came back; she said, "Reverend Branham?"

And I said, "Yes, ma'am."

She said, "I am showing you a fine 7 pound 3 ounce boy."

I said, "Joseph, you've been a long time getting here. But I'm sure glad you're here."

Said, "Why'd you call him Joseph?"

I said, "That's who he is."

It's so hard to leave him, as he's just begin to know how to walk around and holler, "Where dada?" But it's such a privilege to do it for the Lord Jesus. And I know you men, many of you here, same way you have things. But one of these glorious days, if I'm faithful to my Saviour, to His guiding hand I'll cling, He will guide us over the river. That's the main thing.

10 Now, we'll have to--we'll have to get out a little early so that you can go home, and have your lunch, and come back. And they'll be giving out the prayer cards for tonight. How did you think about last night? Did you like that? Say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]

I was so thankful for last night, the first time that I've had that since I--for years and years. How many's attended my meetings in other places? Just... You know, that's true. And I...

This wouldn't happen to be who I think it is, is it...?... Oh, my, is Jimmy here? The... This man, Brother Green, and his son-in-law's wife can drive a Ford, his other son-in-law. And I just wondered if Jimmy was here, a fine Baptist boy, and I certainly love him.

11 And we are--we're trying to get out a little early so that the--the boys can come back and give out the prayer cards for this afternoon. And we're expecting a great outpouring of His blessings at night.

Standing here last night, when I had the regular line, without the other (See?), and so I put my hands up over those lumps and knots and things. You just feel something happen under your hand and look away and it wasn't there. That--that makes you feel happy. I tell you; it really does. Makes me feel like going back and having a healing services.

Over in the--this blessed old Bible, which is a guide Book to Life Eternal, and in the Ezekiel the 36th chapter, and we're going to read a--just a line out of the--the 36th chapter, the 27th verse. And for a text I want to use this afternoon the "Impersonation Of Christianity." And may the Lord add His blessings to His Word as we read it.

And I will put My Spirit in you... and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

12 Now, Ezekiel was a prophet, and a prophet in the Bible was considered the eagle. Now, the eagle is a powerful bird, and he can fly much higher than any other bird, because his--his make-up is different from the other birds. He can stand the--the altitude up high, and he goes way up in the air. And God likened His prophets to eagles. They were just made up that way. They would rise in the Spirit and go way high, and they could see far off things coming. Then when they come down, they could tell what was in the making.

And Ezekiel was one of God's eagles, who could fly way up and see hundreds and hundreds and--of years to come. You know, it's like, higher you go the--the farther you can see. And so the--the eagle has a--a real keen eye to go with that altitude; 'cause if he didn't have much of a eye, it wouldn't do him any good to go up high; he couldn't see very far. But the eagle's eye is far better than the hawk at any time. He can out-see the hawk, out-fly him anyway he wants to. And he's way higher than the hawk.

13 And I studied wildlife and--and birds. And one time I was in Cincinnati down here at the big zoo. Many of you has been there. And they just got an eagle and threw him into a--the cage. And that poor bird, I sure felt sorry for him. He would jump against those bars with everything that he had. He beat the feathers off of his head, the wing feathers off of his wings. He'd flop into it like that, trying to fly out. And he'd hit the bars and fall back, and lay there on his back. Them eyes would search across the sky.

And I thought, "Oh, what a miserable thing that poor bird is. For he was built, made to be a heaven flying bird. And here he is trapped for the rest of his life in a little cage." And to know that he can look and see the things that, the places where he longed to be, but he could not get out of his cage.

I thought, "What a miserable person--a bird he must be." I thought, "That's about one of the most saddest sights I ever seen."

14 But then, as turning around, I seen a sadder sight. And that is, the sons of Adam, who were made to be the sons of God, beating their brains out, trying to find pleasures to satisfy in this life, and knowing that they were born to be sons of the living God; and they just simply beat themselves to death, running here and running there, and shooting each other, and gambling, and stealing, and robbing from one another, when they're really born to be sons of God. That's the saddest sight I ever seen, is men imprisoned by sin.

But there's one thing about it. There could be such a thing as some kind-hearted person let that eagle out of there. And I'm so happy to say to the sons of Adam this afternoon, that there has been a kind-hearted person come to the sons of Adam, the Lord Jesus Who will let everyone go free that wants to go. It's up to you.

15 Now, we find so many people trying to impersonate Christianity. Christianity is--doesn't mean joining a church. Christianity is an experience. Someone had said to me... Well, it was at Little Rock, Arkansas. We were in the Robinson Memorial Auditorium, and the people had gathered and packed into the streets, and the Lord was giving a great revival.

And there'd been a brother who was a Nazarene, was at the platform, and he'd sold pencils on the street. And he had crutches he'd walked on for years. He'd stand on these crutches with his hat out and have pencils to sell, a beggar. And when the Lord in His Divine providence, wisdom, and grace to the man, showed a vision, told him about what something had happened, and the man was instantly healed. And the next day he had a big sign on those crutches walking down the street, like this, packing it around, showing everybody. "These old buddies used to support me. Now, I'm leaning on the everlasting arms (And he was... ) of the Lord Jesus."

And he was so enthused. And when he come back to the service that night, he was setting up in the balcony, something like that. And the best I remember, it's got two or maybe--maybe two or three balconies. And anyhow, I was just beginning to speak as now, and he was just so carried away, the poor little brother, till he raised up and said, "Brother Branham, I want to ask you something."

I said, "Yes, brother."

He said, "I heard you preaching, and I just knew you was a Nazarene." And he said, "Then I hear you--somebody else say that you was a Baptist." And said, "Then I see all around you is Pentecostals." Said, "What are you, Brother Branham?"

I said, "That's easy. I'm a Pentecostal, Nazarene, Baptist." I said, "Is that..."

16 Christianity is a life. Pentecost is--is... I know they've organized it, the word Pentecost, and just capitalized on the name. But Pentecost is an experience, not a denomination. Pentecost belongs with the Baptists, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Nazarene, all of them. Pentecost is an experience.

And it seems to be that some people have such a hard time trying to live a Christian life, when really, it isn't that, it is...

17 Someone said when I come out of my great trials that time, after I'd lost wife, baby, and everything, said, "Brother Branham, did you keep your religion during that time?"

I said, "No, sir, it kept me during that time." So that's what it's for. I can't keep Christ; He keeps me. It isn't whether I hang on; it's whether He held on. And it's a gift to me.

And then when, noticing that people have this hard time, there's got to be something wrong somewhere. Now, if the Christian religion only consists of a declaration of a creed, denominations, or intellectuals, then we don't need nothing but a real good smart group of people. That's all we need, if the church is to be governed by an intellectual.

Now, intellectual is all right. You can receive the Word intellectually, but let It soak down through to the heart. That's where it--it begins to read the results.

18 Now, but if God meant for us to run His church by denominationals or by creeds, then only thing we need is the intelligence of a man: smarter the man, better the church. But that was not God's program. God's program was for the Holy Ghost to run the church. The Holy Ghost was given for the church. And we can't have two faculties running the church at the same time. If man runs it, the Holy Ghost goes out. If the Holy Ghost runs it, usually the man goes out. So it's just one or the other.

So, we must come to this conclusion that God intends the Holy Spirit to run the church. Now, I don't mean just the Spirit gets up and preaches, because the Holy Spirit sets people in the church for certain things. But I mean, if just the intellectual is all it needs...

19 Notice, now Ezekiel is speaking; he said how that He would put a new heart (same chapter), take away the old stony heart, and He'd give you a new spirit. And then He'd put His Spirit in you.

Now, the new heart does not mean work up the old one. It doesn't mean that the church needs a face-lifting. It means the church needs a birth. God's church don't need a polishing; it needs a conversion. That's right. Then just to take the old church and set, say, "Well, I tell you, we'll change the deacon board. We'll swap pastors."

That isn't what the church needs. It needs the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It needs the power of the living God.

A revival doesn't mean to go out and get new members, a revival means to revive that what you've already got.

20 Here not long ago, such a wonderful experience I had of that in Chicago. I was standing out by the great Lake Michigan, and I seen the waves a dashing into the air, and the foam a flying, and oh, what a time it was having, tossing the little ships about. And as I looked at her, I thought, "What you so happy about? You've got a revival." But I thought, "You know what? You might be jumping and carrying on out there, but you haven't got a one more drop of water in you, than you have when you're perfectly quiet. That's right. Just the same water, only you just got a revival."

Now, what does the revival take? It takes the wind to come, go to blowing. That's what the church needs, is some of that wind that fell on the day of Pentecost, sweep down and revive us, not a new Baptist, not a new Methodist, but a revival in the Baptists and the Methodists. And what does that kicking of the water do out there? It--it's for a purpose. It washes all the trash out of the water up on the bank. That's what a revival does, kinda beats all the differences out of us, if we let the Holy Ghost do the beating. And then it makes us so different, clears it up, clears up the waters then.

Now, you can't just have a polishing time in the church as a revival. And I trust that after this meeting, that there'll be revivals everywhere through this city; I do. All over the country, I think it's revival time. And this great revival that we're speaking of has to come from heaven. It can't come by man. It wasn't borned of man. It's borned of God, and it has to come from God. And you can't put this revival in an old theology and mix it up. Jesus said that in Saint Luke. You can't put new wine in old bottles.

21 I often wondered why that statement was made, why you can't put new wine in old bottles? I come to find out that... I said, "Look. Where we got a glass jug, a bottle, why couldn't I put new wine in those things? They put old wine in it."

But I found out that back in the days when Jesus was speaking of, the bottles wasn't made of glass. They didn't have the glass blowers in those days. And they was made out of an animal skin. And the animal skin had been tanned and was sewed up, or tied up and they put the--the wine, the water, the liquids in a skin bottle. And then after that bottle becomes so old, until it--no wine in it or anything, it dried out. The animal oil of the skin left it. And then it got hard and stiff.

22 And I see what Jesus meant then; if you put new wine, unfermented wine, into a bottle like that, and that new wine had life in it, and it went to working and fermenting, it would burst the bottle. And that's the way you take the baptism of the Holy Ghost and put it in an old, dry, formal cowhide; it'll blow up as sure as the world. You just can't have it like that.

You try to take the baptism of the Holy Ghost with an old experience of some long drawed out church experience, it'll blow up sure as the world. "But new wine," said Jesus, "goes in new bottles." The new bottles has still the animal oil in the skins, and it's flexible. That's the way God's church must be for a revival: flexible.

23 You know, you can put the new wine, which represents the Word, put the new wine in an old bottle, and you'll read the Word and it says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." The old bottle will go "Poof," [Brother Branham makes a sound--Ed.] blow up: "I don't believe it."

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is just as real today as it ever was, "Poof, I don't believe it."

And what do you do? You spoil both bottle and wine. You're casting pearls before swine. Your message is gone to pieces, and no one receives it, and it just blowed up till that's all there is to it. But you get new bottles and put some new Holy Ghost wine into it, and the Word says it's working alive in our hearts and it says, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever."

The wine says, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

The new bottle says, "Amen, such as I."

Said, "Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, with His stripes we were healed, just the same yesterday, today and forever." The new bottle said, "Amen." It spreads out with new life. Both of them is kept and preserved. So you can't put new wine into old bottles.

On the day of Pentecost, God had a hundred and twenty brand new Pentecostal bottles setting with their necks up. And when the Holy Spirit fell from heaven, It filled those bottles, and they bounced all over the place, preaching the Gospel to the known world, declaring that Jesus Christ was the same yesterday, today, and forever. Notice it.

24 Here some time ago I had an experience. I was up in the north woods, far British Columbia. And I'd had some meetings up in there among the Indians and the people in that country. And one of the men who knew that I loved to hunt so well, said, "Billy, how would you like to take a hunting trip back over into the mountains after the meetings."

I said, "Nothing better."

So we got twenty-one horses, and packed up, and we was eleven hundred miles from a hardtop road and about two hundred miles from a grade, with twenty-one horses, back hunting mountain goats.

And I remember one day... I just love the outdoors. There's where you find God. If you'll just get alone in nature, you can see Him. And I'd been tracking an old grizzly bear. I didn't want him, 'cause I didn't have money enough to buy a pass to take him out. But I just wanted to look at him. And I chased him from hill to hill on my little horse. And I was having a lot of trouble with this little horse; he was just a three year old, and he was determined to throw me. And so, he'd stop once and awhile and just see how good a throw he could make out of it. And so around the bushes we would go.

25 And I'd spur him up and up over the hill. And finally, I got turned around. I thought, "Now, just which is east and west now?" So I thought, "Now, wait. You don't want to get turned around up here." 'Cause you can just go for a long ways without finding anything. Frankly, the trapper went out once a year on the ice when he come down the river, called East Pines River.

So then I thought, "Now, which a way did I come?" I thought, "If I climb to a higher mountain..." And it'd been raining, a little fog in the valley. So I thought, "Perhaps maybe I can find my direction."

On the road up I caught my direction, but I seen I had to turn and go another way. I was way late getting in. And I thought, "Lord..." Riding along there on my horse and just praising God for being alone, I thought, "Oh, it's so beautiful to be alone in the woods." I just love it. And it's...

26 The storms had passed over, and the moon had come out after the sun had set. And the moon was shining and the--this white clouds, what I call buttermilk skies, just like big lumps of clouds go over. And I was riding along; I stopped. Something just seemed to encourage me to stop. So I stopped and tied my little horse, 'cause he was lathered pretty good. And I got up on a log and sit down.

And I looked up toward the skies; I said, "O Lord Jehovah, You are so great and so wonderful. How I love You." And I begin to hear a strange noise, real weird. And it was a mournful noise, just something that would make you feel kind (as we would say, the cute expression)--kinda spooky.

And I looked around, and I was near an old burn-over. I don't know what you know what a burn-over is or not. It's where the fire's went through years before and burnt all the bark off the trees, and they didn't stand there. And when that sun, or moon, rather, come out from behind the clouds, and all those bleached white poles, standing up trees, it looked like tombstones. And the wind blowing, as the clouds was fastly passing over, it let out a mournful sound, "Oooh!" [Brother Branham makes a sound--Ed.]

I thought, "O God, why did You put me in a place like this? This is a terrible place to be here." And I looked around, and all the moaning and groaning I ever heard, "...?..." [Brother Branham imitates sound--Ed.] The winds blow and them trees moaning in the wind... I said, "Lord, I always knew that You lived in the forest, and why was I attracted to stop at this place, for this looks like a terrible place."

27 And as I set there, there was a Scripture came to my mind. And that was over in Joel. He said, "What the palmerworm has left, the caterpillar has eaten. And what the caterpillar has left, the locust has eaten." On down, the different insects have eaten all the life out of the tree. And I thought, "Yes, that's right. And here I stand in them trees. Once they were great trees that stood here. And as the winds blew in the days gone by, they frolicked back and forth in their great kingly positions; they moved kingly as the winds blew them. But oh, now what a difference." Something had happened. Oh yeah, they were trees yet. That's right. But something had happened. The sap line, the lifeline of the tree had been burnt off, taken away.

And I thought, "Well, what does this mean?" And I begin to think then of places where I had been, and the people who had, I'd heard opposing and saying that all the days of miracles was past. And I thought, "That's right. That's just like some of these great big high spires of churches that stand with great names behind them, historical names that, "Once we was so-and-so; we were so-and-so." But the lifeline has been cut.

28 The denominationals from the time of the early reformation and their founders, a new set of teachers got in and cut out all of the real life of the Holy Spirit. And they were made to sway with the rushing mighty wind like came on the day of Pentecost. But now, when God continually sends his wind, and they lay down, the only thing they can do is moan: "The days of miracles is past. There is no such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. All these things has passed away."

What a spooky place to be. And I thought, "Oh, no, no doubt they were trees; they had the history behind them as trees. But the life had gone from them."

And that's what's the matter with our Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness; the denominational bugs has eat the life out of it, and it's just become a big old dead spire. What we need is a coming of the rushing mighty wind and a new lifeline to receive it. Right.

29 Oh, don't misunderstand me. I'm not condemning the church or the organization; I am condemning the lack of Christ in these places. And the only thing that makes them groan and moan when God sends the Holy Ghost revival to the world, is because of the lack of flexible life in them to receive it. The Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, for whosoever would believe would receive It.

Peter said in Acts 2:38, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." And if God is still calling, the Holy Spirit is still falling. It's got to be.

30 So as I set in amazement, looking, I thought, "Well, what caused this? What stripped the life? What the Lutherans left, the Methodist eaten; what the Methodist left, the Baptist eaten; what the Baptist left, the Nazarenes eaten; what the Nazarenes left, the Pentecostal eaten." And brother, we haven't got nothing but just a church name. I thought, "Isn't that something? No wonder there's so much impersonation of Christianity. Nothing but a mock..."

"I won't go over to that building. No, I wouldn't cooperate with such a thing." A lack of life, that's all, not a lack of church, a lack of life...

So I said in my heart to God; I said, "Why do You still send the wind then?" Then my mind went on down in the Scriptures, too dark to read my little Testament in my pocket. But I said, "Why would You send the wind?" And my mind went on down; the Scriptures said...?... "I will restore, saith the Lord. All that the caterpillar has eaten, all that the locust has eat; I will restore."

31 And then to my amazement, looking out in the bottom of--of the cones of these trees and their different seeds, down on the ground, not quite so high, and not so big, but there was some undergrowth coming up, new trees coming up. And when the wind blew, they just frolicked, and shook, and jumped, and quivered, and went on. I said, "If that isn't an old fashion revival, I never seen one." That's the children of God just rejoicing and frolicking in the blessings of God as it pours down. Well, something come to me, said, "They're green. They're young and green." I'd rather be young, and green, and be flexible, have some life, than to be old, and stiff, and dead, and have nothing. So even a little wildfire, instead of no fire at all.

32 And as the winds blew, those little trees frolicked and just had a good old fashion Pentecostal revival. And I thought, "Why do You do that then? Would not they come up just the same if you didn't have these baptisms falling over them and shaking them? Aren't they trees just the same?"

But something says to me in my heart, "Yes, but every time I shake them, I loosen the roots so they can grow deeper." That's the way a great revival takes place in the city.

Now, what is these new Pentecostal revivals? They are nothing but the product from the old tree. Exactly where the old trees died, God had a way to reproduce life. Just like when we get old and die out, God raises somebody else by us like the tree, the seed, or anything else. We take the same Bible they read.

33 What if some of you Methodists, shame on you... I was just reading some of the notes of John Wesley. And here when he was over here with Asbury, and he was riding his horse one day, and the horse fell and broke its leg. And Wesley gets down, and takes his oil from his pocket, and anoints his horse with oil, and gets on him, and rides away.

Why can't you cooperate in a healing revival? If God can heal a horse, surely He can heal a man. What's the matter? Your young, foolish teachers has pumped you full of embalming fluid and that's the reason you can't live. That's right.

Baptists? John Smith wept and prayed for revival until his eyes were closed, till his wife would lead him to the table to eat his meal. What would he say to our modern Baptist church if he should rise? What would John Smith say to rise and look upon the holiness groups? When they--he preached his last sermon at eighty-something years old, I believe it was. They packed him to the pulpit, and he didn't preach just a short one--four hours. And you can't stand twenty minutes. There's no life to receive the wind that's all.

And he said, "It breaks my heart to see our Methodist daughters wearing gold rings on their finger." What would he say now with a pair of little halter shorts on? That's the truth. And it might make you good and sick.

34 When I was a little boy, we didn't have much to eat, down in the mountains. Mom used to get meat skins from the grocery, and put them in the big old bread pan, and boil them out, or roast them out, get the grease to make the corn pone. We had black-eyed peas and corn bread. You northerners don't know what good eating is.

So when we'd--when we would get that... And then every Saturday night we had a big old wooden tub, and the teakettle setting on the stove. And one would get a bath, and just add some more water, and the next one take a bath, till all the kiddies got their bath, and then a dose of castor oil. And I just got so sick on that stuff; I couldn't even stand to smell it yet. I wouldn't want one of my kids to ever have to take castor oil.

I'd come to mama, and I'd hold that nose, and I'd cry. I said, "Mama, this stuff makes me so sick."

She'd say, "But if it don't make you sick, it doesn't do you any good."

So maybe I'll apply that to this message. Maybe it will cause the gastronomic, spiritually speaking, to get stirred up, to get you to pray back to the place where you should be.

35 Yes, watch the order of the Scripture. "I will take away the old stony heart, and I'll give you a new heart." That's the first order. Some of them stop on that first order. Now, that's... You are--you're just getting started. Then He said, "I'll give you a new spirit."

There's where a lot of you Pentecostals fail. You had to have a new spirit. Oh, you felt good and you felt like that, "Oh, well, I just, oh, I feel fine. I--I--I couldn't have it." Well, you just got started. You're just getting fixed up now to just... You're just coming in line. He had to give you a new spirit. Why you couldn't get along with yourself with the old spirit. So how could you get along with God's Spirit? So He had to give you a new spirit.

36 Now, watch the Bible. "I'll give you--take the old stony heart away, and give you a heart of flesh, tender-hearted. And then I'll give you a new spirit. And then, I'll put My Spirit in you.

Now, watch. His Spirit was different from your new spirit. And many people gets the new spirit and think they get the Holy Spirit. They get feeling happy, and jump around, and maybe do a few things religiously. And they think that they got the Holy Spirit. Oh, no, the Holy Spirit makes you act different. The Holy Spirit makes you think different. The Holy Spirit was put right in the middle of your new spirit. And your new spirit was put right in the middle of your new heart. The new heart, the new spirit, in the middle of the new heart, and God said, "I will put My Spirit in you."

Now then, God's Spirit sets right in the middle of your spirit, your new spirit. And then you don't have to go out and act like Mrs. Jones does and like Mr. Jones does. There's just something in you; you just got the love of God so down in you, till you just live it. It isn't you; it's something in you.

37 So many people try to put on a Christian face or a Christian front on Sunday. And on Monday you should see the kind of face they got on. But now, that's impersonation with... They're nothing in the world in my book, but hypocrites. Exactly.

As congressman Upshaw, you all know, was healed in my meetings after he'd been crippled for sixty-six years. He said, "You can't be nothing that you hain't."

And that's right. Be what you are. God grant the day that when the Christian church will be what it's supposed to be. If you're for Christ, live for Christ; give your all for Christ. Open up your heart. Don't think of what the things are around you. Think of what Christ is to you and in you.

38 That new spirit in you, and God's Holy Spirit setting in the center of your new spirit, is just like the mainspring in a famous watch. As the--the spring in the famous watch, just begins to tick, it makes every organism of the watch work just exactly right; it's the new spring, the main spring. And the main spring of Christianity is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, not some man-made theology, not some denomination; but it's the baptism of the Holy Spirit that sets every organ in that church working in order. Something wrong, brethren. That's right.

Just as the Holy Spirit moves and governs His church, every little tick goes just exactly the same, and it fits just exactly in time with the Bible. Everything fits right around the Bible; no matter what the theologian says; the Bible says. It ticks right with that, 'cause if the Holy Spirit that wrote the Bible, come in to tick the Bible off and lay it out, just exactly the way it's written. Oh, I hope you see that. You see it?

39 Not because you see it better with a new spirit, not because you cleaned up your drinking and stuff; that's all right, but the... Not because you jumped, and shouted, or spoke with tongues, or you joined the church, or whatever way you--religious thing you did, that don't have one thing to do with it. Jesus Christ said, "By their fruit you shall know them." The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, goodness, meekness, patience, long-suffering, faith, temperance, all these fine qualities that the world is looking to see in the Christian church. They put the scope of God by the--on the Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostal, Nazarenes, and all of that. They're looking for God.

40 Paul said, "Though I speak with tongues of men and angels; though I could go out and heal the sick or move the mountains and so forth, and have not love to back that up, I am nothing." The Holy Spirit in you hits your life, then the yoke becomes easy. Oh, some of them say, "Brother Branham, if I could only live that life."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about it, brother. It's not you anyhow. It's the Holy Spirit in you."

Paul said, "It isn't... The life that I now live, it's not me, but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live..." Remember, he was once a religious man. Certainly he was, a scholar. And he was a man who knew all the Scriptures. And he set under Gamaliel, one of the--one of the best noted teachers of the day. They had one of the best seminaries of the day. But he said he had to forget all he ever knew to find Christ, the Holy Spirit.

41 Then... You say, "But my neighbor would say to me, 'You are a holy-roller.'" Oh, that disgraceful name that the devil tacked on the church of God.

I've sailed the seven seas by the grace of God and preached nearly to the world. And I'm in the second million souls to lead to Christ by the grace of God, and I've never seen a holy-roller yet. Of all the religions of the world I've never seen a holy-roller. It's just a uncouth name that the devil tacks onto a believer. Say, "A believer? I'm a believer."

Oh, we'll find out. He said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Check it by the Word.

42 Now, notice, you can't stand persecution. Now, listen friends, you know I'm not here to scold you. I'm here to love you. I'm here to tell you truth. And I believe that's why the Holy Spirit lets these things happen in the meetings. That's a Divine gift, but that don't... That's just a vindication of something.

Listen, I'm here to help you, not to scorn you or to make fun of you. I wouldn't do that, not at all. But you must have this new life. And the reason that you find people that come to the altar and you see in the... I take my own church, the Baptist church. They come up and make confession and are baptized, and you see them in a few weeks in the same old rut.

43 Billy Graham, well known, world-wide known. Our cause has crossed many times overseas. Just recently in Zurich, Switzerland, he ended up in the stadium in Saturday afternoon. I begin Sunday morning. A modern miracle of the day, a wonderful man, a real Christian... And I love the man and pray for him, for he doesn't appear to me to be some stuck-up theologian who just knows it all, but he's really frank and flat on the Word, as far as he's permitted to preach.

Now, I'm noticing in his work... And not long ago I had the privilege of talking to him. But I was in a meeting where I heard him make a statement something like this. It was at the breakfast, it was, in Louisville, Kentucky, a few months ago. And something about he said, "The Bible is the standard of God." Oh, how true. He said, "But I'll go into a city." And he said, "There's no one in the country knows any better than I do, that I'm not a forceful preacher." He said, "But God called me to do this work, and I'm trying to do it the best I know how for God." Wonderful. God could raise the man up like that, and he stay that humble.

But he said, "But I'll go in and say there was so many converts, ten thousand converts in this six weeks meeting." And said, "I return back in a year or two, and I don't find one tenth of them."

44 Oh, how I wished I could have just said something. But this man is using his life out for God. He strikes people where would never come to hear me. But here is the reason... I find it in my meeting. Oral Roberts finds them in his meeting. And we'll find them everywhere.

But here's where it's at. They only get emotionally worked up. And they never become converted. They never really become a believer, upon the basis of the Word. They just make a cold, formal confession, and that's about the end of it. And the first little persecution comes along and said, "John, what went with the cigars?"

"Well, I was...?... at the Billy Graham meeting."

"Well, wife, I can't stand it any longer. Get me my John Wilson's." See it? See?

"Liddy, what happened to that make-up? I seen you're letting your hair grow out. I heard you was down to one of the Branham campaigns."

"Well, I just can't belong to this club and live in peace. I'll just get my stuff back and smear my face up." Go ahead, there's one woman in the Bible painted her face to meet man, and God fed her to the dogs. That's right. If you want to be dog-meat for God, go ahead.

45 But now just a minute. Listen, I want you to hear something. What happened? They never went far enough. They just might got a new conception of Christ. But look, when you get a new heart, a new spirit, and then God puts the Holy Spirit, His Spirit right in your new spirit, the cross becomes lined with feathers. It doesn't chafe any longer.

They can say about you anything they want to. It won't bother you. Why, my, the burdens that the world casts on you, why you seem to be so strong in the Spirit, and that new spirit in you, and the Holy Spirit took the world life right around towards heaven and the Word of God. Why, you're just like Samson. You pick up the brazen gates of Gaza, and pack them up to a certain hill called Calvary, and pray for that person. Certainly. The cross has got wings on it. It just moves along easy.

46 And that's the reason just a little puff blows them out. That's the reason we take in thousands of members a year and the wind blows them out. The first little persecution, they can't stand it. The first little raw place comes it...?... the cross and they throw it off. They haven't lined it yet. See? God lines the cross for you. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me. My yoke is easy." Sure it is.

Is he just been made up in God's mechanism? His mechanism now, is not linked with some theology or some intellectual feat, but get the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then you begins, the mechanism begins to move you, not you moving it and trying, "Why here's the way I think it ought to be." God said this is the way it should be. It's for the Holy Spirit that moves right in the Word. And you just move right along. It's so easy when you do that. "A new heart will I give them."

47 Now, yoke easy... God wanted to show to the disciples and to the world His power. So in Christ, let's take a look at the power of God that ought to be in the church. Which by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body. And that Body is the Body of Christ. Regardless of your denomination, it is the Body of Christ by Holy Spirit baptism. You believe that? It's the only way you can be.

God wants to show the world the resurrection of Christ. There He lays in the grave. He's silent; His body's chalky white. On Easter morning we hear Him holler, "All power is given into My hands." All...?... to listen. And we see gravitation losing its power, as we see light coming between His feet and the earth. Why? He's the center of gravitation. And He lifts up, up, up. It's the power of God lifting Him up, to show to us where the Lord...?... We were...?...

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

[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... like He wanted to have it. He appeared right...?... Oh, what a great thing it is.

48 Not long ago I was standing down in Nashville, Tennessee, at a museum. And I was watching some different things. I love art. God's in art. God's in music. And I was watching the art, and I seen two young men standing there, and was given the analysis of the worth of a man's body weighing a hundred and fifty pounds. You know how much you're worth? Eighty-four cents. That's right. And as I said this morning, you put a twenty-five dollar hat on eighty-four cents to protect it, five hundred dollar mink coat over eighty-four cents to protect it. Sure.

Oh, if you'd see a spider in your soup, you'd condemn that restaurant and set over at the Chamber of Commerce, and you'd write it up in the paper. Sure, you're wanting that eighty-four cents, but let the devil cram anything he wants to down that soul of yours, that's worth ten thousand worlds.

49 And with these two young man standing there looking... You just got about enough whitewash to sprinkle a hen's nest, and a few things, the calcium's in you, and so forth. One looked over to the other, and he said, "John, we're not worth very much are we?"

I thought I'd stand, and I put my hand on him. I said, "But young man, you got a soul in you that's worth ten thousand worlds, that Jesus Christ died to redeem." Certainly.

50 I was amazed here some time ago in Illinois, going to a little place and there was a--a museum. I was looking through it. And I seen an old colored man. He had just a little rim of hair. He was walking through this place, looking around. And all at once he stopped; his eyes looked over again, and he started weeping. He wept for a few moments. Then I seen him bow his head and begin offering a prayer. Watched him for a little while, thought, "What shocked the old fellow. Well, I believe I'll find out."

Looked over again, and wiped his eyes. He's old, real old. I said, "How do you do, uncle?"

He looked over and said, "How do you do?"

I said, "I'm a minister of the Gospel, and I would like to ask you a question. I saw you praying. Why were you praying?"

Said, "Come here." I went over and looked. Said, "Looky there."

I said, "What's that, the dress?"

He said, "But that stain on there is the blood of Abraham Lincoln." He said, "White man, there's still a mark around my waist here where a slave belt was one time." He said, "That blood taken that slave belt off of me. Would it excite you?"

If that would excite a colored man by taking a slave belt, what ought the Blood of Jesus Christ do to a believer, when you can pass the barroom, the gambling hall, and the things of the world, and know you are free, your heart's beating in line with God's Word, knowing that someday you're going home. Wouldn't it excite anyone? It's an excitable thing.

51 I'm amazed sometimes as I go through the southland. I heard of a story that was told me. In the days when they were buying those slaves, there was a--a buyer would go forth and buy them men, just exactly like you buy on a used car lot today, human beings. And he would buy a bunch here, and buy a bunch over there. So he come by a great plantation where there was many slaves. And he wanted to buy a bunch.

And he found out there was one young man there that was a different from the other men. Now, they were away from home. I preached to them in Africa. And I know their traits and so forth. And when they... The--the Dutch went over, and got them, and brought them here, and sold them for slaves. And they were away from homes; they were disheartened. They had lot of things, and home, and their loved ones. They'd never go home again. They was a slave. They were out of their country. And they--they didn't have no courage to work or nothing, and they'd take whips and whip them. And they'd cry, "Pull on."

52 And one day, this buyer noticed a fine young man with his chest out, his head up. You didn't have to whip him. He was an alert. Every time anything was to be done, he'd hit it.

And this slave buyer said, "I--I want to buy him."

And the owner said, "He's not for sale."

He said, "What makes him so up-and-at-it?" Said, "Is he a boss over the rest of them?"

Said, "No, he's just a slave."

Said, "Do you feed him better than you do the rest of them?"

Said, "No, eats out in the galley with the rest of them."

"Then what makes him so much different and so up. His morale seems to be so high, his morale. So what makes him so much different from the others?"

He said, "I didn't know myself, till I found out recently that his father is a king of the tribe. And though he's an alien in another land, he knows his daddy's a king. And he acts like and conducts himself as a king's son."

53 What ought a Christian to do then? We're pilgrims and strangers, but our Father is a King. How ought we to act and live in this present world? Not like this world, not to be drove around, and sign a ticket we'll come to church, and--and we'll try our best to do this, and we'll go to the next prayer meeting. Brother, sister, we should conduct ourselves like sons and daughters of God. We shouldn't back up when the devil tries to smear over God's Word. That's our Father's Word. Let's stand by it till we die. Yes, sir. Conduct yourself.

Though all the way in another country, maybe in another land, you may be in another country that's a way away, an alien. But it makes no difference how far away you are, how much trouble you're in, God's still your Father. Hallelujah. Where did you come from?

54 Way back yonder in the beginning when God sent the Logos, which was the Son of God from the bosom of the Father, He begin to brood over the earth the Bible said.

What is the word "brood"? What does it mean? Like mothering, like the hen, her brood is called her chickens, her offspring. And the Holy Spirit, as it was, with His arms or His wings brooding over a bleak earth, where there never had been life... And as He begin to brood, the waters begin to separate, and the land came up. Your body was laying here on the earth then. You're made out of sixteen elements of this earth. Your body was here then. Notice, if it wasn't, where did it come from? You live by dead substance.

55 When you eat beef, the cow died. If you eat bread, the wheat died. You can only live by dead substance. Now I asked the doctor this recently. I said, "Doctor, is it true that when I eat, I renew my life."

He said, "That's true."

I said, "Then Doctor, why is it when I was sixteen years old I eat the same food I eat now; I was getting bigger and stronger, and my life being renewed; and I eat the same food now, and I'm getting older and weaker in strength and shrinking away. Scientifically prove to me that here is a container and here's a jug of water, and you're pouring water into it, and it fills to a certain place, then more you pour the farther it goes down. There's only one answer. God has appointed." Death sets in when you're about twenty-two to twenty-five years old, gray hair starts coming, wrinkles in the face. And you're eating the same food, renewing your life, but you're dying. God has appointed.

56 Listen now, in closing. Like to say this now with your strict attention. Oh, if you could only grasp it. Notice, there you laid on the earth in the beginning. And this doctor that I was talking to was an infidel. He was making fun of Divine healing. And I said, "Doctor, I want to ask you something."

"Oh, your virgin birth and all your stuff," he said.

I said, "Doctor, wait just a moment. If something has to die for my mortal body to live, doctor, is there something in me spiritual yet? There's got to be a soul in there that gives me the knowledge to know right and wrong and things. But if something had to die so this body could live, so something had to die that my soul can live." And I looked at him. He looked back to me, nodded his head, and walked away.

57 Then when the Holy Spirit begin to brood over the earth... Watch, let's take a little picture. It's bleak; it's bare. Watch what happened. As He begin to brood, I can notice a little moisture coming up, and around there wrapped some of the vitamins and elements that goes into the flower. And the little Easter flower come up. What did it? Knowledge? No, the brooding of the Holy Spirit.

Then up come the grass; up come the vegetation. The Holy Spirit kept brooding. Father said, "That's wonderful." Then up comes the fruit trees. Then out of that the birds flew from the dust. The Holy Spirit kept brooding, cooing, making love, brooding from the earth. Out of there come the animal life. Then after while come a man. The Holy Spirit brooding from the earth, brooding over the earth, He brought together a man. From there, a by-product He made a woman.

58 And them sweethearts, as they walked in the garden of Eden together, I can hear Eve say, "Oh, the wind is terrible."

And I hear him say, "Peace, be still." And the wind stopped. And I can hear him say, "Sweetheart..." As she laid her little head over on his shoulder and as they walked around never to be sick. She didn't have to have any Max Factors to make her look pretty. She was to be that way forever. And with her arms around Adam's great arm, they walked as sweethearts through the garden. And after while Leo the lion gave a roar. There was no fear. He said, "Come here, Leo." And he rubbed him on the back. Sheetah the tiger come up, rubbed her. And they followed along behind them like little kittens.

And the sun begin to set on the first day, or the sixth day rather. And as it begin to set, Adam says, "Sweetheart, we must go to church tonight. We must go up to the cathedral." And as they went to the great trees and knelt down that soft...?... God moved down through the trees. Hear His tender voice of the father saying, "Children, have you enjoyed your stay on earth today?" And He kisses them on the cheek, as it was, and lays them down to sleep. The lion, He laid him down and Sheetah the tiger. No harm, no danger.

59 Wouldn't you love to do that again? And is it possible? Yes, certainly. And if the Holy Spirit brood your body from the ground without you having any idea of what you was going to be, or any knowledge of your coming, and could bring you up to where you are, and give you a choice, how much more will it take the Holy Spirit to brood you out of the ground, no matter if your body is scattered to the four winds of the earth.

What brought you in the first place. Dust thou art; sin crept in, and we had to go, we're still... God will never be defeated. He expected this earth to be inhabited, so He just made women to bring children. He still pours the calcium, and potash, and the--the elements into them and builds them up. Then He brings them to a place and lets you make a choice. And if without a choice, God made me one day a young man, strong, and healthy, and happy, and the Holy Spirit... Not some cold, formal theological, theological seminary dogma, but the blessed Holy Spirit, not the tree of knowledge, but the Holy Spirit (You see, it's God's program.) begin to woo over me and make love to me, and I accepted Him. And then He came down into my heart and took His place.

60 How much assurance have I got that He will raise me up in the last days? Why, He promised me; He swore to it. And the evidence of it in my heart right now and in your heart, that He will raise us up at the last days. So what does old age or anything else matter? Not a thing. God gave the promise; the Holy Spirit rules the church. The Holy Spirit brought you here. The whole thing's wrapped into the Holy Spirit.

Now, when the Holy Spirit coos to you, and says, "Sinner, you're God's love gift. I want to make love to you." Won't you do it? Why don't you just open your heart and say, "Yes, Holy Ghost, here I am. Here I am. Oh, I don't care what anyone says. Holy Spirit, I want You. I want You. You're the One that I'm looking for. You're the One."

61 Then when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, the devil, and he returns to his old tin can alley where he used to make you drinks, and carry on, and snort, and doubt, and fuss, and stew about the Bible, when he returns back to his old alley again, you know what happens? God sent His big bulldozer down out of heaven and cleaned the old alley out. Yes, sir, the old shackle-de-shack's gone; the tin cans are gone; the rubbish is gone. It's all pushed out into the sea of forgetfulness, and He...?... it all.

And He built a great, modern, new home. And He's been brooding there, and beautiful lilies has come up in the yard around there. The pretty grass is growing, and a super-duper highway running through it. What? There's been a new person move in, not the old fellow that once laid there that made you fuss, cuss, treat your neighbor wrong, be denominational, narrow minded, skeptic, infidelic, with a little half enough religion to make you sick. But He cleaned you out. The Holy Spirit there brooding. As the Holy Spirit broods, He will bring forth love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, patience. He will decorate His house up right. Sure, He will take that old tin can alley out of your, there, and make your old doubts and fusses and so forth... He will put a highway through there, so all things can run smooth for you. Amen.

Oh, brethren, what we need today is a--not a new mayor of the city, not new police on the force, not a new denomination, not a face-lift to the church, but we need an old fashion Saint Paul's revival and the Bible Holy Ghost back into the church again. Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostal, and all of you, get back and... What we need today, somebody with this experience to be a challenger, somebody that knows God to stand out.

62 Here not long ago when I was in Switzerland... Listen close as we close. How many, and most all of you men of my age, women, has read the famous story of Arnold von Winkelried. Many of you remember him, the great Swiss hero. Oh, those stories are too easy forgotten among the people. His heroism has never been exceeded and seldom been compared with.

One day when the Swiss moved out and got their little homes and things in the Swiss mountains, and praying Christians... And when they had their little homes and everything lovely, a great invading army come marching in. The Swiss gathered at the bottom of the mountains with old plowshares, or hooks, pruning hooks and whatever they could have to fight with. They wasn't war men. They just gathered with sticks, and stones, and whatever they could fight to defend their land.

But their babies and mamas... Where those soldiers had come in and killed their babies, and ravished the women on the streets, and whatmore, tore up their homes and take their living... And here come a great army, fully armored, well trained: tromp, tromp, tromp, long spears, well trained, like the brick wall, comes marching into little Switzerland.

63 Oh, it looked very dark. And the little Swiss army backed up in a little corner at the foot of the mountains. They were totally defeated. They looked this way and that way, and just oh, outnumbered by the thousands. And the tools they had to a fight with, their weapons was nothing to compare with those great long spears. Their protection was nothing, just their bare bosoms to be the display of those spears running into them, when the others was covered well with shields.

They was not trained; they were untrained when the other army was trained and every step just the same. On, on, on it come. Finally, something must be done. Their little economy of a Swiss nation was at hand; everything was at stake.

Finally, a young man by the name of Arnold von Winkelried stepped out, and he said, "Man of Switzerland, this day I'll give my life for Switzerland." Said, "Something must be done, and I will do it." He said, "Across yonder's mountains is a little white home, where a sweet loving wife and three little children wait my return, but they'll never see me again; for this day I'll give my life for Switzerland."

And all the men looked surprised and said, "Arnold von Winkelried, what will you do for Switzerland?"

He said, "Just follow me. Follow me and fight with what you got the best that you can."

64 And he threw down what he had. And he threw his arms up towards the skies, and he screamed to the top of his voice, and said, "Make way for liberty! Make way for liberty!" And as he run towards the Swiss army, he looked to find out where the thickness of the spears was, and he darted right into that place with his hands up. And a hundred of sharp spears guided theirself to pick him up. And when he got there he grabbed a whole armful of them, and throwed them into his breast, and fell to his death. It's such a display of heroism routed that army. They didn't know what to do...?... equal with David and Goliath.

When those Swiss soldiers seen what had happened, and they run in and with their plowshares, and their pruning hooks, and their rocks they drove that army completely out of the nation. And they've had peace ever since. There's been no wars in Switzerland. Just name Arnold von Winkelried in the mountains and watch their cheeks color up and the tears run down. They know what their land of peace, what it cost. But the play of heroism, oh, that was just a little thing, till one day something else happened.

65 When Adam's race... The children of Adam was all backed into the corner, death and sickness on every hand, sin crowding in; the law had failed; the prophets had failed; everything had failed; they had refused, and they were in such a muddle. Diseases and ignorance and so forth had just collapsed them into a place so there was no hope left. And there stood Adam's race quivering, shaking. Nothing could be done, hell was opening up her bosom to swallow them up. And in glory, Someone stepped out, the Son of God. "I'll go down, Father. I'll become one of them. I'll go down."

"What will You do," said the Angels.

"Watch."

One day standing down there among the sons of men, He looked down through the greatest dread that man had, which was death, and as He raised His arms and went to a place called Calvary, He plunged Hisself into the darkest mix that man ever feared, which was death and conquered it. And when He ascended up on high, He never sent down a deca--declaration of theological faith; He sent back the Holy Spirit and said, "Take this, and fight with everything you've got within you. Take this and follow Me. As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." And the Father that sent Him, went with Him and went in Him. And when He sent us, He come with us, in us.

66 Men and women, what we need today is not our names on a church book, which is perfectly all right, but we need to pick up that powerful weapon of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, which changes our innermost beings, and makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus, and fights the way through the sinful world by the righteousness and power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That's what we need. That's what the church needs, not a face-lifting or a bunch of new members, but revive that what we've got, and fill with the Holy Ghost, and set out to fight the enemy, to pray for the sick, heal the sick, cast out devils. Freely you receive; freely give. These signs shall follow them that believe. Christ put into the hand of man the strongest weapon that was ever put to human beings, was the baptism of the Holy Spirit: a new heart, a new spirit. "And I'll put my Spirit in there." And then fight with what's in you until death shall set you free. Let us pray.

67 With our heads bowed, before we make any farther move, I wondered if, men and women, are you aware that there's only one thing can give you life, and that's the Holy Spirit. Do you realize it's Him that's brooding over you?

When that little baby was taken and you taken it out to the grave, you patted its little cheek, you said, "Darling, mommy will meet you, daddy will meet you." What was it? It was the Holy Spirit brooding.

68 When day by day, when you kneel down to say that little prayer before you go to bed and something tells you you do something all wrong... He's long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. Do you realize that's the brooding of the Holy Spirit?

Do you say, "Next year I'll try to do better. The next time they have a revival I'll go up to the altar. Maybe when I get a chance and my work's done, I'll have a little time to pray." Oh, do you do that? The Holy Spirit is brooding. I don't know you; God does.

But I want you to raise your hands to Christ right now and say by lifting up your hands, "O Christ, I now know that Your Holy Spirit has been brooding over me to call me to the service of You." Oh, you might not be a preacher or a missionary. You might just be a church member in your church. But the Holy Spirit's calling you. He wants you to have a testimony to that church. Would you raise your hand to Him just now as a sign that's saying, "God, it's me; I'm answering now."

God bless you. Oh, my. Up in the balconies, up what's in there. God bless you back in there. Oh, that's good.

69 O heavenly Father, one more meeting, and the little revival will be closed as far as we have knowledge of. And when we stand night after night and see the Holy Spirit's brooding, taking off afflictions from people, revealing the secrets of their heart, showing great mighty works and signs, we realize we're at the end of the road. You said, "As it was in the days of Noah..."

The world had to become mechanicalized, building of houses, iron, metals, so forth, and then all of a sudden out of that cold, religious, formal world a prophet raised, an Angel appeared, signs begin to take place, and the world was destroyed.

Coming out of Egypt hundreds of years later, when the church had cooled off and their religious ceremonies had got so cold and formal and indifferent, it was just about going home time, an Angel appeared; a prophet was borned; a message was given; signs and wonders were done; supernatural come into existence, which had been dead among them for years and they was denying it. It was at the end of the road.

70 And just when they cooled off again just before the coming of the Lord Jesus, an Angel appeared; a prophet was borned; supernatural was done; and the Son of God came into the world.

Father, it's cooled off now for all these years. And here we are at the junction again. The cold, formal world with her ecclesiastical...?... The formal rituals their church joins. And they're just a...?... They can see with their own eyes that the supernatural's being done, Angels appearing, message gone forth; the works of God is being manifested. O God, shake every heart.

And in this little building this afternoon, where just a few of us has gathered together, there has been dozens of hands that's been raised. They want this wheel in the middle of the wheel. They want your Spirit in their life to govern them, and to make them new creatures, and to control them, and to give them...?... their Christian life and to live within them.

71 And I pray heavenly Father, with all my heart, that You will send the baptism of the Holy Spirit right now. May it come from glory like as a rushing wind and set on each heart. And may the old wolf spirit leave them and may the gentle, quiet spirit of the lamb come, and the Dove of peace will settle upon that lamb as it did on Jordan that day. For they're the only two creatures that could get along together. And we realize that old fighting brutal spirit of the world, the Holy Spirit could never dwell in a place like that. He just--just takes His flight and goes away. And we know that would have been the same thing if that Lamb would've ever acted like a wolf. But it had to be a Lamb.

O God, today in Your own created Being, may the Holy Spirit brood just now to those hands that went up and others besides them, will change their nature to lamb, a new spirit, a new heart, and may the Dove come and set upon their heart, guide them and give them Everlasting Life. This blessing I ask for this little church and this people in the Name of Thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.

72 Do you love Him? You just feel like you're just scoured out. I kept you just a little long. It's four-thirty. And I guess he will be giving the prayer cards about six-thirty, something like that, six or six-thirty.

Now, I want you to do this you that raised your hands and you that ought to have done. I'm not telling you to change your churches. No, sir, no. You just go to Christ and live for Him with all your heart.

Go, tell your pastor, when the Holy Ghost has just filled you, and you say, "Pastor, I'm going to be a different member from what I have been. My life is going to be rich and royal, because in me dwells the Holy Spirit." Oh, how he will appreciate it. And maybe you might lead him to the same experience if he hasn't already had it. Who knows? That's what we want.

The Lord bless you. And you're a lovely audience to talk to. And I pray that each one of you will be filled with God's Holy Spirit.

How many believes what I said to be the truth...?... Thank you. And may the Lord bless you. Now, I'm going to ask your pastor Brother Vayle, if he will come here and finish the service, while I go to pray and make ready for the healing service tonight. God bless you, Dr. Vayle. [Brother Branham speaks to Brother Vayle--Ed.]

Well, I guess, before the healing services. I do. Brother Vayle was asking me; they wanted some photos. Them photos can be taken any time just till the inspiration strikes for the vision, 'cause the Light that I look at... It--it is a Light.

How many know that Jesus Christ is a Light now? Anybody that knows the Bible knows that. Certainly. He was the... Any time while I'm preaching and so forth tonight, will perfectly all right. The Lord bless you with all the goodness of heaven is my prayer...?...