Questions And Answers On Hebrews #3

553 ... to be here tonight again at the Tabernacle to anticipate in this wonderful fellowship and worship around the Word of God which is given to us freely. And we are--love to be partakers of this blessing.

And I only trust that God will bless us tonight like He did this morning, with the message of the morning. And I was just talking to my neighbor, Mrs. Wood, awhile ago, and we were discussing it, and Mr. Wood and them. And I believe that was Brother Neville's best sermon. Out of all the fine ones he's preached, that was the one that was better to me than any one he's ever preached yet. I certainly did admire and appreciate that wonderful sermon. And it give me courage, and it trimmed me down. So I--I like to admit the truth, you know. So about the courageous parts, you know, to be courageous, and how to...

David was there, and how that he... When in that great trial, instead of saying, "Well, I'll go do this, Lord, You just help me," he waited, went and asked the Lord what to do. He brought down the ephod, you know, and said, "Now, let's stand and ask God what must we do in this crisis?" Oh, that was really rich. That had more vitamins than all the drug stores that was got in the country. Yes, sir, that really do you good.

555 Now, tonight we--we don't aim to stay not no longer than midnight, if we can, on these questions. So we are--we are going to get right into them right away. It's the finishing up of these questions. And every time I start to finish them up... (Now, Sister Hattie, I didn't mean that; you know that. I was just saying that. See? And... All right.) But I got some real stiff ones here from a minister, and they're really hard to answer. You know, them preachers, they twist it around through the Bible and try to find their own answer before they'll ask you. You see? And then... And this is being tape recorded, going down to Georgia to a minister friend of mine who's got eight outstanding Bible questions here which are very, very steep.

556 And now, this coming week, don't forget and pray for us. And my wife is way better; she's up now, and she helped cook today. Our dear friends from Canada, Brother, Sister Sothmann, are here visiting with us, and we surely do appreciate their visit. And my wife, knowing that they were coming, why, she was going to be up so she could have some of the entertainment and the fellowship of these dear Christian people. We're glad to have Brother Freddie with us tonight, and she stayed with... She was here this morning, but I believe she stayed with... No, that's right; she's with Meda to kind of be with her while we come down; 'cause I know it'll be a little late tonight. It's communion and feet washing. So we're happy to have them and the visitors with us.

558 Now, before we start to try to undertake to answer questions... And just remember that I can be wrong. You see? I--I don't claim to be right on everything that I do. I--I try to be right, but maybe I'm--I'm wrong. And--and if I am wrong, then you just forgive me; and I pray God will too, because I don't mean to be wrong. I don't try to answer them just to--or the way that I just for prejudice; I answer them the very best of my knowledge. See? And if I have to alter my ideas on a Bible question, I think that's just the thing to do. We should alter any time when God's Word speaks, because it's God's Word.

And now, I think we're going to pray for the sick again tonight, as usual. And sometimes you just wonder; you take like a small group like this, that less than, oh, the little Tabernacle here, and sometimes you don't see the results that you would like to see. But the thing, what you're doing, you're just drawing from about two hundred people. And one of the big meetings, maybe you're drawing anywhere from three to ten thousand (You see?) and--and maybe more. So that's the way you get to see a more massive. But tonight I have just been answering... 'Course our phone rings just every few minutes through day and part of the night.

560 Is this Mrs. Reisert setting here, I'm looking at? Your Bible, sister, Sister Wood has it back there. I brought it this morning for you, and I--I didn't get to give it to you. And I--I didn't see you this morning, and Mrs. Wood has it.

So to answering the phone and finding the--the great things that's been done. A lady called me and she said, "Brother Branham, I was at a certain-certain meeting, and I'd been suffering with certain-certain trouble so long. And, you know, you just spoke back there, and just..." Said, "I almost fainted when It just brought up the back life." And said, "And I've never suffered since."

562 And a lady come in and said. I believe she's here tonight, or she was going to drive from Bedford, I believe, or somewhere up in there. Their son was in here, I believe, that had heart trouble, in such a bad shape. And he was setting here in the meeting, and--and the Lord moved around and touched, said to the boy about his trouble, and he couldn't hardly raise his arm, and a heart attack, and his arm all cramped, and his heart like this. And immediately he got right in the car and drove home, never been bothered with it since. Is that lady get here from Bedford? Are you here? They--there she is, in the back. Yes, she just called me awhile ago.

Then there's a lady called me from down in Evansville. And she couldn't get here, 'cause she's too far away, didn't know we was going to have service tonight of healing. And she said, "Brother Branham, I was setting in the Evansville meeting," and said, "you looked back over the crowd," and said, "told me who I was, and what I had done, and what I'd suffered with, and so forth like that." And she said, "I've had that asthmatic condition, and just had to burn Asthmador and everything in the room since I was a little girl." Said, "That's been two years ago, and I've never had one spot of it since." See?

564 And just for those who are here tonight, wasn't here this morning to enjoy the testimony; I was over to the ten cent store, buying a doll yesterday. Now, that wasn't for myself. See? That was for my little girl Rebekah there. And--and Sarah was going to something another today. Some of her little schoolmates was having some kind of a little get-together, of a birthday, or something, and she taken her a little present; and I was buying a little baby doll about so long. And there was a lady walked up there, said, "You remember me?"

And I said, "I don't believe I do."

And it come to find out, it was a relative of Brother Neville's here, that about... When I was on my road to Sweden, they... She come in here, had a little boy in a wheelchair, just like little Edith there, and the little fellow had cancer, malignant growth on the brain. And his little head drawed down, and he... And the doctors had give him just three weeks to live. They'd taken it out and diagnosed it, and seen it was--what it was, and just give him three weeks to live. And they had to wheel him around in a chair, and then put him on a stretcher when he went to the room and examine him, then bring him back down. Went and prayed for that little boy, and asked the Lord to heal him, and the very next day, when they took him over there, said, "I don't want that wheelchair."

Got in the car and rode over there, and the doctor rolled out the stretcher, said, "I don't want that stretcher."

Run up there and set down, the doctor examined him, said, "Well," said, "instead of three weeks, I'm going to give you a hundred and eight years." He's going to live.

And yesterday the mother met me. And she may be here for all I know tonight. And the little boy was out playing football, a young man now: malignant, cancer on the brain, and it just goes to show...

Oh, the thousands of things... See? God cannot fail. He--He just can't fail.

Brother John, is your eye better, brother? He had an accident, and was driving a nail, and it struck him in the eye. And we were all praying for Brother John O'bannon, our brother from Louisville that'd had the accident with the nail that struck him in the eye.

572 Now, these questions are the--the deepness of somebody's heart; that they read through the Scripture and find these things, and they don't--maybe can't satisfy themselves, so they hand them in here for us to try to answer. And you see what a predicament it puts us in; because what you'd say, they'd lay on to it. So you must be sure you're right, and I'm... As sure as you can be... So then, the thing to be sure that we're right, let's just ask the Holy Spirit now to interpret this for us, while we bow our head.

Now, heavenly Father, oh, what a privilege it is to say "Father" to the great Creator of heavens and earth. And we just ask that You will take these questions into Your own care now. They were handed in here with the deepest of sincerity. And, God, let that come from our hearts, the deepest of sincerity, to answer them in the best that we know how; grant it.

And may Thy mercies rest upon each one. And may something be said here tonight that'll just help everyone that's here. And when we leave, after the prayer for the sick and taking the communion and so forth, may we say like those who came from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us along the way?" For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

575 Now, as I have said many times, that these--these here are--are the best of my opinion of them, and then sometimes it raises a little discussion. The first one here, I see it's something that I've said before, that it's handed back again. I won't--want to read it now, if you will.

65. When Adam and Eve had their children in Eden, was there other people on earth at this time? In Genesis the 5th chapter and the 16th verse, Cain dwelt in the land of Nod and knew his wife.

Now, that's a--a wonderful question. Now, we are taught in the Bible... And many times these... Sometimes we have carelessly... I used to put on a little slip of paper and say, "Ask... Answer any Bible question."

And someone said, "Well, who was Cain's wife?"

Oh, I'd little joke with it or something, I'd say, "Oh, that was his mother-in-law's daughter," something like that, you know, or--or, "She was Mrs. Cain." But that don't answer the question. There's...

There Cain had a wife, because the Bible said he did. And if Cain had a wife, he had to get her somewhere. And this would line right into it here.

Was there other people on the earth when Adam and Eve had their children in the garden of Eden?

580 Now, if you notice, in the Bible it's very seldom ever recorded about a woman being born. It's always the man child is the one that they record in the Bible, not the woman. Seldom is it ever mentioned about the birth of a girl baby in the Bible. Or, frankly, I don't know as I can recall one right straight off now in mind, where it ever recorded the birth of a baby; said, "They begot sons and daughters."

Now, the Bible only gives record of three children being born to Adam and Eve, and that was Cain, Abel, and Seth. Now, if all three of those being men, if there wasn't any females borned, and then when the only female, Eve, died, the human race would've ceased to exist right then, because there'd been no way for them to--to have any--the human race to have furthered, because there would've been no females left. Eve would've been the only one. But you see, they don't record the--the births of girl babies in the Bible; so therefore, they had to have girls the same as boys.

582 Now, the old writer, one of the most ancient writers we got, Josephus, claims they had seventy children, and Adam and Eve; one of the oldest writers: seventy children, and they were both sons and daughters.

Now, if... And then if Cain went to the land of Nod... Now, if you notice, the writer was very, very brilliant writing here. Did you notice how he quoted it?

In Eden, when they had their children in Eden... Now, not in the garden of Eden, the writer knew that. Ever who wrote the note here, said: When Adam and Eve had their children in Eden, not in the garden of Eden, because they'd been driven out of the garden of Eden. But they were still in Eden, and the garden of Eden laid east in Eden. But Eden was like a county or--or what--or a state, and then Nod was another state or county next to it.

585 Now, the only person that Cain could've had, or married, would had to be his own sister. He had to. Because there's only one male and female that they could've come from (See?), and he had to marry his own sister. Now, that was legal in those days.

And Isaac married his own first blood cousin, Rebekah, ordained of God. Sarah was Abraham's sister, his blood sister, not by his mother, by his father. See, a blood sister that--that Abraham married, a different mother, but same father...

So you see, to marry in relation then, before the--the stream of blood was weakened in the human race, it was legal and all right. Now, it isn't. If you'd marry your sister today, and have children, they'd probably be... Well, they'd just be deformed and everything. Even down to a first and second cousin should never be married (See?), because the blood stream becoming low and running low.

588 But the only thing then that Cain could've done, would been marry his own sister. And that's where the children was that... He got his wife, went to the land of Nod and knew her, and from there come the--the children. See, the...

And if you notice, out of the line of Cain come the smart men. Out of the line of Seth come the religious men, I mean, the--the vine of righteousness. Right there, those two brought forth the very line that we're living in today.

If you'll notice today now (just in finishing this question), that lineage of Cain still exists, and the lineage of Seth still exists. They both come down just the same. Cain's children is here in Jeffersonville tonight, and Seth's children's here in Jeffersonville tonight. As the blood stream weakens and goes out, but that lineage still hangs on.

591 Now, watch. Cain's children were always... And before the antediluvian destruction, they were the smart people, the scientists, the educators, and very religious, but was the condemned bunch. See? Now, watch. They were just like their father Cain. Cain, he was a religious man. He built a beautiful altar, and made a beautiful church, and tried to make it look prettier than that little mission that Seth had down there. Did you know that? He sure... He decorated the altar with flowers, and fixed it beautiful, and made it pretty, and made a great, big, swell church, because he thought that he could find favor with God by doing so.

And Abel went over and got a little lamb, and started pulling it over to the altar, and laid it on a rock, and killed it.

593 And now, if God being just, if all He required was worship, Cain worshipped God with just as much sincerity as Abel did. Both of them were sincere. Both of them was trying to find grace with God. They were neither one of them infidels. They were both absolutely believers in Jehovah. Now, there, that gives us something to think of.

Some here tonight I've never seen, people, I've never seen you before. But you must realize this, and keep this in your mind. See? No matter how religious you are, that don't have one thing to do with it. You might live in church; you might be ever so sincere; and you're still lost. See?

And you say, "Well," you say, "our pastors are the smartest; they come through the seminaries and get the best education. They're theologians; they know all--all the theology and so forth. And they're smart, trained, the very, the elected best that we know of." And they could still be lost. See?

596 Now, Cain on his line, they were every one very religious, a very famous people; and they were scientists, and doctors, and builders, and workers, and smart men. But all that lineage was rejected from Cain all the way down.

And on Abel's side they wasn't builders, nor educators, or smart men; they were a more or less humble, sort of sheep raisers, and peasants that just walked by the Spirit.

Now, the Bible said, "There's no condemnation to them that's in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." The spiritual man has a spiritual soul that can never die. And the carnal man has a religious atmosphere around him, and wants to worship and so forth, but is carnal, not an unbeliever, but a carnal believer; and it's the kind was rejected.

599 Now, from there Cain went and married his wife in the land of Nod. Now, it doesn't say who Seth married or who others married. And the very beautiful thing of that is to know that--that Cain marrying, we have the answer to it. 'Cause he had to marry his sister, or he--or there'd been a... There was no more women on the earth, but just had to come from Eve. She was the mother of all living. That's all the people that was living, she was the mother of it. That's the reason that she... The word "Eve" means "the mother of the living." So she came and brought this child. And Cain married his own sister, would be the only way that I could see out of it. So there was people living in that day, truly. See? Well, and...

When Adam and Eve had their children in Eden... Now, watch, that's the question: When they had their children in Eden, was there other people on earth at this time? No. Then in Genesis 5:16 (You see?) Cain dwelt in the land of Nod and knew his wife. Sure. See?

601 That's Genesis 1, where He created man in His own image, which was in the theophany. And in Genesis 2, He made man out of the dust of the earth, which was the human man that we have now. And then in 3 was the fall and was kicked from the garden of Eden; and then the children begat children. And Cain took his wife and lived with her in the land of Nod, outside, because God had separated him from the fellowship with his own brother, because of the death of--of Abel. And that's who he had, his own sister, and married her; is the only way that I could, myself, can see how that--that he married.

602 Now, it's been said... And I hope that my colored friends that's in here will excuse this remark, because it's absolutely not right. The first time I ever met anyone in my life, after I'd been converted... I was--met Brother George DeArk and them down there. And I was walked, and the Lord led me to a little place. And they was discussing where the colored man came from. And they were trying to say that the colored man, that Cain married an animal like an ape, and through there come forth the colored race. Now, that's wrong. Absolutely, that's wrong. And don't never stand for that. 'Cause there was no colored or white, or any other different; it was just one race of people unto the flood. Then after the flood and the tower of Babel, when they begin to scatter out, that's when they taken their colors and so forth. They're all come from the same tree. That's exactly right. Adam and Eve was the father and mother, earthly, of every living creature of human beings that's ever been on the earth. That's right. Black, white, pale, brown, and yellow, whatever color you might be, that's absolutely the place that you live in, and the way that--that the... Just like I think...

603 I might express this while I'm on it. The people here now in these segregations and laws and things they're passing, I think it's ridiculous. I really do. Listen. Just let those people alone; they know what they want. God made a man a colored man, and he's happy about it. Absolutely. If God made me a colored man, I'd be happy about it; if He made me a brown man, I'd be happy; if He made me a white man, I'm happy; if He made me a yellow man, I'd be happy. God made us in our colors, and He made us the way He wanted us, and we're all His children. Absolutely. And they oughtn't to fuss and carry on like that. That's wrong to do that. They shouldn't do it. God made us... The way we wanted... And the colored man, he don't want to get out there and break up his--his generation or his color, and mix it in with a... the white and everything like that. I don't blame him. I don't. The colored man has things that the white man don't even possess. Absolutely. That's exactly right. And God never intended them to be that way.

605 Well, look. The colored man is... He's--he's a... He's got a--he's got a disposition about him that the white man never does have. He's got a happy-go-lucky, a "trust God, and just let the rest of it go." Whether he's got it or whether he hasn't, he's happy anyhow. I'd like to have a whole lot of that tonight; I sure would. Well, he's got it, and that's his possession. He don't want to mix it up with some other race and break it out either. That's exactly right.

I think the lady down there at Shreveport made one of the best--best comments I ever heard in my life. She made a comment, and they put it in the paper. She walked up; she said, "The way these things are going in here in this segregation, I don't want my children going to school over at that white school." Said, "They won't get the attention they'd have if they had a colored teacher." That woman's a smart woman. She knowed what she was talking about; they get a better education. That's exactly right. So I think the people do wrong by doing that.

And then they say, "Cain and Abel..." and so forth like that. No, sir. The color had nothing to do with it. It's the spirit inside of there that has something to do with it. That's exactly right.

608 So Cain knew his wife, and that was his sister. And they... He took her to the land of Nod, and there come forth the great tribes of the earth: the religionists and worshippers.

And just think today, friend, just stop and think just for a moment, that there are tens of thousands times tens of thousands and thousands of thousands of absolutely church going people, just as sincere and consecrated to that church they can be, that's just as far lost as Cain was. See? It's God Who chooses. It's God Who elects (See?), God Who gives mercy. The clay can't say to the potter; it's the potter over the clay. That's right.

610 Now, here's a beautiful one, the next one here.

In II Peter 2:4--2:4...

Somebody got a Bible, want to turn to these Scriptures right quick while I'm reading them, if you want to, and kind of help me along here, while we get this question.

Now, on this Cain and--and so forth, if that don't satisfy it now, you just let us have it. We'll be glad...

613 Now, II Peter 2:4. All right, sir, here we are.

66. II Peter 2:4, For if God has... For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down into hell, then why did Christ preach to the spirits in prison in I Peter 3:19?

Now, we got Peter 2:4, first. All right.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down--down to hell, and--and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto the judgment;

Now, now, let's find out in I Peter (that's II Peter), I Peter 3:19, listen at this. Here we are right here. These just come in, the reason I didn't have them wrote out.

.. which also... went and preached to the spirits in prison;

Oh, yes, here we are. Let's begin a little before that, the 18th verse.

For Christ also... once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Which sometime were disobedient,... (My dear friend, if you'd just read the next verse, it'd explained it. See?)... Which were sometimes disobedient, which once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark being prepared, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. See?

Now, if you'll notice in here, I think this preacher's got another one on the--something on the same line, will be answered a little later.

619 I Peter 4, or 2:4, if you notice, "for if God spared not the angels," how is that "angel" spelt? Little "a." See? Now, over here, "the spirits that were in prison that repented not in the long-suffering of the days of Noah," same angels. It was men: messengers, preachers: "spared not the angels." Did you know that a--the word "angel" comes from the word "a messenger"? How many knows that "angel" is "messenger"? Absolutely, angel is a messenger, "and He spared not the angels." See?

And over here in the Hebrews, you remember we went through it a few weeks ago: "the angels"?

And over in He--in the Revelation, "To the angel of the church of Sardis write these things... To the angel of the church of Ephesus write these things... To the angel of the church..." Remember that? And we run the "angel" word back, and from the dictionary, and find out that means "a messenger." It could be "a messenger on earth, a supernatural messenger," the word "angel."

622 So in this state, if we'd take the Lexicon and run it back, you'll find out it starts from "messengers, the first messengers." See? "If the--if he spared not... For if God spared not the angels that sinned (See?), and the supernatural beings (See?), after the waiting..." Now, watch, he said.

..if... spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be preserved unto judgment;

Then look over in I Peter here again, 3:19; watch how this reads now.

For by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison;

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah,... (See, it was the messengers of that day: messengers.)... while the ark was being prepared, wherein... that is, eight souls were saved by water.

624 Now, if you'll notice when those beings were in heaven... Now, over in Revelations 11--or the 7th chapter, I believe--or no, no, it's the 12th chapter, He gives a picture of the woman standing, the moon at her head and the sun--or, the sun at her head and the moon under her feet. And the red dragon stood to devour the child as soon as it was born; and he took his tail and pulled a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. Did you notice that? Now, that doesn't mean that Satan has a--a long tail that he hooked around people, but the tale that he told, and pulled a third part of those stars. Those stars were Abraham's seed.

Abraham said, "Oh..."

God told Abraham, "Look up to the heavens and number the stars if you can."

He said, "I can't do it."

He said, "Neither will you be able to number your seed," the stars.

629 Who is the Bright and Morning Star? Jesus of Nazareth, the brightest that ever lived in human flesh. He is the Bright and Morning Star. And He is the Seed of Abraham, coming through Isaac. And we, being dead in Christ, take on Abraham's Seed and are heirs according to the promise.

So the stars of the heaven represented the spirits of men here. And when the red dragon (Rome, under its persecution) hugged in two thirds of the--or a third of the stars, and cast them down, that was at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus when they rejected Him and He was--and cast Him out and had nothing to do with Him; there was that third part of the angelic stars, the angelic beings.

631 See, in your body, inside of you (We got another question on that, directly, that'll answer it better.)... So when... Inside of you is a spirit, another man. The outside of you is a--one man; the inside of you is another man. So the inside of you is the supernatural; the outside of you is the physical. See? And this being, if you are Spirit-led by God, you became a messenger of God or an angel. God's messenger, God's angel is the very same word; can't separate it: God's messenger or God's angel.

And which has the greatest authority, an angel from heaven or an angel at the pulpit? Which has it? The angel at the pulpit. Paul said, "If an angel from heaven comes and preach any other Gospel to you than this which I've already preached, let him be accursed." So the angel anointed with the Holy Spirit and with the Word stands next to God (That's right.) in the heaven, his authority...

633 "All powers in heaven and earth is given into My hand. Go, and I'll go with you. Whatever you bind on earth, I'll bind in heaven. What you loose on earth, I'll loose in heaven."

Oh, if the great holy Church only realized its power to do these things. But there's so much doubt and fear and trembling, wondering if it will, "Could it happen?" As long as that exists, the Church can never stand upright. And when every talk of fear is vanished and the Holy Spirit is completely in control of the Church, then all fears are gone, and that Church has the power. See? Why, they have everything that heaven owns behind them. They're ambassadors of the throne. Absolutely. An ambassador of Christ has the authority, and everything that Christ owns belongs to that ambassador. And He said, "Go ye into all the world; you are My witnesses after the Holy Ghost is come on you." And what is a witness? Is an ambassador, is to come and witness something. The whole powers of heavens is right in your hands. Oh, why do we set, and the church is barren, and we set dormant? Is because that we don't recognize these things.

635 Now, the souls that were in prison that repented not, were not Angelic beings that had--had been brought down in the form of Angels, but it was the spirits of those angelic beings that fell before the foundation of the world, back there when the war went on in heaven. And Satan and--and the dragon fought, and then... Or Michael and--and the--the dragon fought and Lucifer. And Lucifer was cast out with all of his children, all of the angels that he had deceived, and those angels come to the earth and was subject then to become human. And when they did, that's when the sons of God saw the daughters of men was fair, and took unto them wives.

They are sons of God. Every man that's born in this earth is a son of God. Regardless of whether he's sinner or what he is, he's a son of God, created in the image of God for the praises of God; he's created that way. But God in the beginning knew who would receive Him and who would not receive Him. Therefore He could predestinate, or not predestinate, but by foreknowledge He could tell who would be saved and who wouldn't be saved, for He knew which person would take up which spirit.

637 And those spirits that come from the throne of God, and stands before the throne of God, and lived--and billions and billions and aeons of time before the world ever begin in the Presence of God, you think they don't know something about worship? And they come down and get right into men, and they worship God. Absolutely, they worship God; and they have a knowledge of God, and they're smart, and shrewd, and educated, always. But God rejected them from the beginning.

So therefore, friends, membership of a church, or--or knowledge of some theology or something, doesn't have one thing to do with it. It's got to be the Blood of Jesus Christ and a new birth that joins you to Him as one person. There you are.

639 God, in the beginning when He knowed that... Man and women was made one, not two; they were made one. They were separated, one put in flesh and one in a theophany. He knew that. So in order to prove that to you, when God made the woman, He never took some dust and made her like He did the man; He took a rib out of the side of Adam, and she become a by-product of a man, because she's part of him. You get it now? See? There you are.

There the angels... And God and the spirit that's joined with God is one Spirit. That's right. Now, the Spirit of God that dwells in the Church, is the Spirit that come from heaven, that God knew before the foundation of the world, that rejected the devil's lie. And that spirit had to take a body of flesh to be--to take his testings. He had to come flesh like these others did, and all of them put on the equal yoke. And God, by the beginning, knowed the spirits that would and which would not. There you are. That devil is so wise he has--deceive the very elect, if possible.

641 So these spirits, these angels that preached, was in prison... Angels, if you'll notice it here, it's a little "a" which means "men": angels, messenger's here on the earth. They sinned, and the only way that they could sin would be disbelieve. And the way... They had their own religions, and they did not believe the message of Noah. They did not believe the message of Enoch. And they rejected their message and was condemned; the Bible said they were.

Enoch prophesied to them, said, "The Lord's a-coming with ten thousands of His saints."

And they prophesied. And Noah built an ark, and they said, "He's a holy-roller. He's a fanatic. There is no such a thing as the rain coming." And a hundred and twenty years went on, and he had a religion that had salvation in it; there was a way of escape made, but they were satisfied in their condition.

644 That's the way it is today, that men are satisfied in their condition. But there is a way of escape, and that way is through Jesus Christ. Amen. There you are: the same tribe, the same spirits.

And they were absolutely religious men, very religious, but they missed the covenant vow.

So is it today. Men go to church, and join big churches, and try to be the most popular person in the city. If they want to join a church, they get the biggest in the city, the best and well-thought-of in the city. How far they miss the calling. How far they miss it.

The only way you'll ever know Jesus Christ is by spiritual revelation, not by theology and how much you study the Bible. Whether you be Christian Science, Methodist, Jehovah Witness, or whatever you are; no matter what you are, you'll never know It by the Word; it's the Spirit of God that reveals Him to you. It's a spiritual revelation.

648 When Adam in the garden of Eden, and Eve... When those children was cast out, here come Cain with good theology. He said, "God should know that we are doing this from the best--best of my heart. I'll build a beautiful altar; I put flowers on it; I put fruits on it; I make it pretty. Surely I can appease God with this and let Him know that I'm sincere in my heart." He was right as far as the Word went; God wanted worship; he went to worship. He made a beautiful place to worship in, great, fine cathedral as we'd call it today. And he made it right; he built it right; he put an altar in it; he wasn't an infidel.

But Abel, upon the Word of God... There was no Bible wrote then, but God revealed to him that it wasn't fruit that brought us out of the garden of Eden. It wasn't apples that Adam and Eve ate; it was absolutely sexual things that had separated them and divided them, and knowing that they become mortal, and through the blood of Adam, and through the blood of the serpent that had started this... Abel by Divine revelation went and got a lamb and offered it, and God said, "That's it." Sure.

650 When they come down off of Mount Transfiguration, Jesus said, "Who does man say I the Son of man am?"

"Some say You're Moses, and some say You're Elias, and some say You're Jeremiah, and some say You're that prophet."

He said, "But Who do you say I am?"

Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

He said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonas, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. (Watch.) Not no more through the letter, not no more through the school; you never learned it in a seminary; neither did somebody tell you. Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you, but My Father which is in heaven has revealed it to you. And upon this rock I'll build My Church, and the gates of hell can't prevail against it." There you are. There's the church of the living God. That's it. Upon that church... Upon that revelation, this church is built. It's a Divine revelation that God has revealed, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and you accept Him as your personal Saviour, you've passed from death unto Life.

655 And the Holy Spirit's a-moving and working in the members of this body. There's the church. No matter if it's poor, and in a mission, and you stand out under a pine tree somewhere, or wherever it is, if it's in somebody's house in a private meeting, no matter where it would be... Beauty and things doesn't enchant God. It's the sincerity of the heart by a revelation that Jesus Christ has been presented as the Son of God, a personal Saviour. Amen.

My, we can never get these, go through like that, will we?

657 There's the ones that--over there that He went... The angels, the messengers, them preachers, them the intellectuals, them messengers that believed not when Noah went to preach to them and told them, "Why, come into this ark."

They said, "Listen to that holy-roller. Listen to that fanatic. Why, there's no rain. Whoever heard of such a thing? Why, my, don't we have churches? Aren't we religious?" Why, they were religious.

Jesus said it would be a generation that passed just then, would be--that generation would repeat again just before His coming, "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of man. For they were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage." They had a Reno, Nevada, then somewhere. They had all kinds of nonsense that they got today, rallying, and frolicking, and making fun, scoffers, and so forth: having a form of godliness, but denying the real truth: the covenant, the Message of grace. God making this way and giving the people His--His covenant, how they could escape; It had salvation in it. Salvation was a place to escape.

660 "What do we need with salvation?" Today people say, "Aren't we living under a good democratic form of government? What do we need?"

I don't care how much democratic form of government we live; we need the Blood of Jesus Christ. Right. We need Christ. I appreciate a democratic form of government; that has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul. Absolutely. Those governments will pass, and every nation will pass. And I've stood by the--where the pharaohs stood, and you have to dig twenty feet under the ground to find their thrones where they set. All the pharaohs and his kingdoms of this earth, and all of its faltery things will fail and go away, but Jehovah will reign forever, for He's the immortal God. Solidly upon the rock Christ Jesus we stand, for all other grounds is sinking sands.

Care whether it's... Kingdoms will arise and fail, but oh, there's nothing... I don't care whether it's anything. There's nothing present, nothing future, nothing, starvations, or perils or anything can ever separate us from that love of God that's in Christ. When a man is borned of the Spirit of God, he's a creature no longer of time, but he's a creature of eternity. Amen. He's passed from death unto Life. He's passed from the... He's passed from the time element into the eternity. He can never perish. And God swore that He'd raise him up in the last days.

663 So they can have all your big churches, and all your big times, and all you wish to, and tell your dirty jokes, and have your bunco games, and soup suppers, and everything else that you want to, and have some educated preacher standing there. Maybe he can do a better job at it than some of these little old boys hardly knows their abc's. But I'm telling you truth; I'd rather have a boy didn't know his abc's preaching to me, that knowed Christ, than all the great theologians there is with all you're educations could be thought of. Absolutely.

664 Down here in Kentucky not long ago, a little old boy that couldn't even hardly read his own name, said the Lord called him to preach and he wanted a schoolhouse. Why, the authorities wouldn't let him have it. Some great big preacher come by there with a handle on his name like that, some great doctor of divinity, why, they let him have the school. Sure. He held a two weeks revival, not one soul. And his father went back, said, "Now, if you let him have it, I'm a taxpayer; I got a right for my boy to have it. And my boy should have it also."

So he went back to find out, and after... They said, "Well, we'll let him have it at least two nights." And they went on and let him have it two nights.

And that night that little old boy got up there and couldn't even read the Bible, had somebody read his text. But when he walked to the platform, he was anointed with the Holy Ghost. And when he preached, about twenty come to the altar; and that self-styled preacher wept her way through to Calvary at the altar.

Sure, brother, it's not--not what you know; it's Who you know. That's the idea; that's what it takes. It takes to know Christ. To know Him is Life; to reject Him is death.

668 Quickly to our other questions, the questions now that goes down to Georgia...

67. What do the stones in the--represent in Revelation 21:19 and 20?

If you wish to take the time to open your Bibles, which we haven't too much time now, but I'll try to answer them quickly. Revelation 20, I believe it's 21:19 and 20. Yes.

All right, in there you'll find out that he was talking of the stones that was in the building. And the stones were foundations. If you'll notice... I do believe you have it there, Brother Neville. And each stone was a foundation. Not one stone a foundation, and the others... But each stone was a foundation. Each stone was a constant foundation. And there were twelve stones. And if you notice those twelve stones, give each... First starting out with jasper, and sardius, and so forth like that, representing each stone.

671 In the Bible there you'll find out it was called certain stones. Some of them a little difference, you never heard of it. If you look back in the dictionary you find out it's the same stone, just a different name change.

But it starts out with--with jasper. Jasper was the stone of--of Benjamin--or the stone of, oh, the first son, Reuben. The first stone was Reuben, which was jasper. The last stone was Benjamin, the last stone on top.

Now, these twelve stones that the foundations was laid on, them--them twelve stones hung on the breastplate of Aaron. And they--he represent... He was the high priest of these--of these tribes. Each one of their birthstones in here, in this--this plate... And when the people saw this plate, they recognized that Aaron was the high priest of that entire tribe, when they seen the birthstone in this plate.

674 Now, when we got this morning at Brother Neville's message. And as many times they brought the Urim Thummim. You see it mentioned in the Bible as the way they knowed whether their message was truth or not. Those stones, when they'd go to telling what the man said, the prophet prophesied, and those stones all reflected together. It made a conglomeration of light that took sapphire, and jasper, and carbuncle, and all those other stones reflecting their light; it made one great big beautiful rainbow color that blended the whole thing together.

Now, now, the day when that Urim Thummim was taken away with that priesthood, now this Bible is God's Urim Thummim today. And when a preacher preaches, it must not be just one little place here, and that's all he puts his hopes upon; it must be the entire Bible reflecting the message that the man's a-preaching. That is the thing. Not just one place, and say, "Well, the Bible says this." Oh, sure, it says lots of things. But you must make it all be put together. And when the Spirit of God comes and gets into the--the Word, It places it all together and reflects one great big Light, and that Light is Jesus Christ. Amen.

676 Now, these twelve stones was twelve foundations that was started out from Reuben, and Gad, and on down to Benjamin: twelve tribes, twelve stones. And those stones in the temple, in the new heavenly Jerusalem, each foundation will be laid upon one of the patriarchs.

Now, watch, you notice the stones. Now, you're going to watch them patriarchs reflected right into something else, just in another question.

678 68. Explain--explain the fourth--the four beasts of Revelations 5.

Brother Neville, if you've got that right there close, or some of you, of Revelations 5, we'll read this just for a minute. It's a--it's a beautiful picture here of the... Here, I have it myself, Revelations the 5th chapter.

And I saw in the right hand of him that set upon the--upon the throne a book written within and without and--and--and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

And I...

Now, that's not the place. I'm wanting to get just a little further, the four beasts. Let's see, the 14th verse. All right, sir. Now, here we go; that's right. Now, let's begin up here at the--at the 12th verse, no, I guess the...

And the four beasts said, Amen...

Now, there's a little place behind that, Brother Neville.

Behold, I heard the voice...

Let's see, just a minute, I was reading it awhile ago. Oh, here we are; let's begin at the 6th verse, the 5th verse.

And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the... seals thereof.

And I beheld, and,... in the midst of the throne and... four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven heads and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits... sent forth from... unto the earth.

681 I want you to hold that question, and if I don't catch it down here in a minute, I want you to bring back again. I want to deal on that, "the seven Spirits of the seven eyes that was on the Lamb." Oh, that's a real beautiful thing. (Well, we want to get this brother's question now.) All right, don't forget that now.

And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that set upon the throne.

.. when he had taken it, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb,... every one of them having harps,...

Now, that's the--the four--the four beasts here, if you'll notice. Now, let's go ahead and read just a little farther.

.. golden harps,... full of vials and odours,... and prayers of saints,

And they sang a new song,... Thou art worthy... (and went ahead and made their--all their worship to the Lord)

683 Now, these four beasts of Revelations, if you notice them, every place... (You Bible readers, and which the man is going to listen to this tape recording...) Those four beasts, they had four faces: one had a face like a man; the other one had a face like an ox; and the other face was like an eagle; and the other face was like a lion. And they never went backwards; they couldn't go backwards.

How many remembers the old book of Revelations when they taught it years ago, when I took about two years here on the Book of Revelation? A lot of the oldtimers do.

Look, they could not go backwards, because every way they went they were going forward. If they went this a-way, they was going like a man; if they went this a-way, they was going like a lion; went this a-way, they was going like an eagle; if they went this a-way, they was going like an ox. See, they couldn't go backwards; they were going forward all the time.

686 Now, those four beasts... Now, to quickly get this, 'cause I don't want to stay too long on this. But the four beasts... The "beast," in Bible represents "power." And you notice these beasts were not out yonder in the lake or in the sea somewhere coming up, but they were at the throne of God, and they were worshipping God. Those "four beasts" means "four powers" that come up out of the earth, and those four powers was the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; one don't contradict the other one.

And one of them, the... As the Gospel goes forth as a lion, it's stern, it's bold; the Gospel is brave like a lion, and it's a king like a lion. If it goes towards a man's face, it's cunning and shrewd like a man. If it goes the eagle, it's got the swift wings and the high heights. It... See what I mean? If it goes like the ox, it's the work horse that can pull, the work ox that pull the--the--the burden of the Gospel. The four beasts was the four powers, which were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four Gospels that ring out in the Presence of God. That was...

688 If you noticed, they had eyes in front and in the back. They--they... Everywhere it went, it reflected. They seen everywhere they were going. And that's the power of the Gospels as it goes out; it can... It's got the shrewdness of a man; it's got the swiftness of an eagle; it's got the--the--the--the power, the pulling power, the burden-bearer like an ox; it's got the--the sternness and the boldness of a lion. See, it's the four Gospels, which are the four powers of the Revelations the 4th chapter. All right, now the next...

689 69. Who are the twenty and four elders? All right, I believe that would be on the--the... Who are the twenty-four elders?

Now, that's just simple; we could get to it. The twenty-four elders was setting before the throne. That's in the ver... I believe it's in verse 4, is where it's found. "And there went out another..." I've got to... Let's see, I've... 4:10.

All right, Revelations the 4th chapter and the 10th verse. That's right. We'll get to it.

And the four and twenty elders fell down before him that set on the throne, and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying,

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

691 Now, the four and twenty elders, an elder is an overseer. Now, notice, they were twelve patriarchs and twelve apostles. And they were setting, twelve on one side and twelve on the other. There were the twenty and four elders, which were, the twelve patriarchs on one side, the Old Testament, the twelve apostles on the other side, of the New Testament. Didn't Jesus say, "You'll set on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel"?

And how the foundations looked... There's even a tree in there. And the tree on either side bears twelve manners of fruit. And they yield their fruit once a month, which is twelve months in a year. They render twelve manners of fruit every year as it goes by. "Twelve," is that "worship number." You see? And there's a twenty and four, would be twenty-four, twelve apostles and twelve patriarchs. They're setting at the throne.

693 All right, now the 4th verse--or the fourth question.

70. What did the scarlet thread in Genesis 38 represent?

The scarlet thread, if you'll notice, it was Judah. And he had a--sons, and one of his sons married a Canaanite woman. And this Canaanite woman didn't have any children, and his son died. Then the law then was to take... The next son had to take the brother's wife and raise up seed to the dead. And the other man did not cooperate and do as he should do, and the Lord slayed him. Then he had one young son; so Judah said, "Wait till this son drives--grows up until the place where you can marry him."

And when he grew up to a place that he was supposed to marry his two brothers' former wife, well, he was supposed to take her then to raise seed up to his brethren that had been--that had died before him... Judah did not give the woman, the Canaanite woman, the son, the boy, and just let him go ahead. So she seen that she was doing wrong, so she goes out and wraps a veil over her face, and set in a public place as a harlot would set.

696 Judah come by and took the woman as his wife, and she was a harlot, and lived with her. And said... She said, "Well, what would you bargain with me?" And he... She said...

He said, "A gift of a--a kid." He said...

"Well, give me a sign that you'll do it." So she took his staff and his signet and so forth, and kept it.

And when they brought the kid, they couldn't find the harlot, 'cause she wasn't a harlot.

After while, she showed up that she was to be a mother. And when she showed up that she was to be a mother, they come told Judah, "Thy daughter-in-law has played the part of a harlot." Said, "Because that she--she's to be mother, and your both boys are dead."

He said, "Well, she'll be called forth and burned."

And so she sent word to Judah, and she said, "The man that did this, owned this staff and this signet." All right. That was her father-in-law.

And he said, "She's more righteous than I am."

703 Now, when she...?... her children was to be delivered, there were twins. And when the twin... The first baby that was to be born, the old Jewish custom, the first child had the birthright, the first child to break forth. And that, remember, was her first child. None of the rest of the boys had had any children by her. She'd never had a child till this time.

And when her first child broke forth, it was just a hand. And the midwife put a scarlet streak around, because a scarlet streak spake of redemption that the first son of the virgin Mary would be--have the scarlet streak of redemption.

And when he drew his hand back, the other one come first. And when he did, said, "Why did you do this? The other one has the birthright."

So that's what Genesis 38 means. You see? That the first child still remained until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the first was under the redempting law.

707 You--you know I said... The little mule, you know, I've told about, that his eyes was whatevermore, his ears broke down, but if he was born with a birthright, a innocent, perfect lamb died in his place. There it is.

So that was for the birthright. The first baby that broke forth from the mother, and they seen that hand (and knew that it might turn back again). And when he pushed forth his hand to show that he had it, he was the first one, the midwife bound the scarlet thread around it and he pulled his hand back. See? But absolutely, he was the first. That was the scarlet streak; the scarlet streak has always through the Bible, that means redemption; which was pointing forward to the first child coming.

709 The first horse born, the first cow born, ever what it was, everything that was born first (that come forth) was under redemption, had to be redeemed; everything had to be redeemed. Hallelujah. Oh, that just thrills me. Do you get it? The first had to be redeemed. It was a law. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

And when Jesus Christ was born, He redeemed the whole world. Certainly, He did. He was the Redeemer of every creature that was ever created on the earth. He was the Redeemer. And at... All redemption lays in Him, and no other way at all can you ever come by good works, by joining church, or whatever it is; you must come by that scarlet streak, that Redeemer, that Kinsman Redeemer.

711 All right, now the next is...

71. Where are the gifts... What are the gifts to be sent regarding the death of the two witnesses of Revelations 11?

Oh, Brother Palmer, if you can't ask some questions.

Now, the redemption, these streaks here, this scarlet streak, we see it meant redemption.

Now, the next question is.

What is the gifts in Revelations 11?

There's coming a time... Now, here's going to answer a question that was answered the other night, that a preacher friend of mine wrote about the Jews, how it would be.

Now, these Jews has got three and a half years promised to them. How many knows that? Seventy of weeks was promised. Said, "Messiah will come and be cut off in the midst." Three and a half years Christ preached, was killed in the--exactly three and a half years, three years and six months He preached. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

And then the abomination maketh desolation, the--the Moslem of Omar was set--put on the holy ground, as God said, twenty-five hundred years before it happened, it would be standing there. The prophet saw it, and seen it, and said, "They would... The Gentiles would be in possession there, until the Gentile dispensation would be finished."

716 Now, there's yet three and a half years promised. If you notice, these witnesses of Revelations 11 prophesy a thousand, two hundred and three score days, exactly three and a half years. Now... And they were in sackcloth. Now, watch their ministry, what they are. Now, these two witnesses are killed.

Now, the... They returned to the Jews after the rapture of the Gentile church. The Gentile church goes home for the wedding supper, and as Rebekah was taken into Abraham's place with Isaac and there was married... And Rebekah and Isaac come out with full possession of everything that Abraham had; it all went to Isaac. Absolutely. And it could not come to Isaac until first Isaac was married. Oh, hallelujah. There you are.

718 And Christ becomes... God dwells in that perfect...?... marred body completely forever and through eternity. When the Lamb and the Bride is married in heaven, she walks out in full possession. Absolutely. Isaac and Rebekah came forth in full possession.

And while this ceremony is going on in heaven of the Bride, the Gentile Bride being married to the Prince, God's Son, in glory... While they're being married, there's three and a half years that takes place while the--Moses and Elijah...

Which, Moses was never abso... No, his body was packed away. The Angels took him; he did not mortify; he did not corrupt. He was a perfect type of Christ. He died, and the Angels packed him away, and even the devil don't even know where he's buried, and tried to dispute with Michael the Archangel about his burial. That's what the Bible said. God took him up in the rapture.

721 And Elijah, when he was walking there, a prophet of God walked down to the Jordan, took off his mantle, and struck the waters, and she parted right and left. He walked up on the mountain. Elisha said... Said, "What are you following me for?"

He said, "I want a double portion of your Spirit."

Said, "You've asked a hard thing, but if you see me when I go..." He kept his eyes on him.

And after while, down from the heaven come a chariot of fire, and Angels of fire, horses of fire, and Elijah stepped on and went up into glory. He never tasted death; he was translated. He's got to die.

And if you'll watch these two prophets of Revelations 11, they do the very same thing that Moses and Elijah done. You say, "Brother Branham, do you mean to tell me that Elijah and Moses is still alive?" Absolutely.

726 Why, before Mount Transfiguration... At Mount Transfiguration, before Jesus went to Calvary, there stood both Moses and Elijah standing there talking to Him. Certainly, they did; they're not dead. And they've never died; they're mortals; they got to die. So they're just in a glorified state waiting for that time.

And then when they come back and preach exactly three and a half years under the anointing of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, while the blessings are taken from the Gentiles, and the church is taken up, and the cold, formal church is hunted down like dogs by the communist and Roman parties... And when they're hunted down and killed, they--they are killed... Then these prophets preach three and a half years, and the Bible said that they were killed in the great--in the street of called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. That's back in Jerusalem (See?), back in Jerusalem, spiritually called.

728 And they laid on the street for three days and nights. And then at the end of the three and a half days, the spirit of life come into them and they rose up. They had to die like other mortals; they had to do it. And when they killed these two preachers...

They preached against wrong, and they brought fire out of heaven. Who did that? See? They brought plagues out of heaven, and smote the earth as quick as--any time they wanted to. And they brought fire out of heaven. And they stopped the heavens from raining, as long as they wanted to. Who was that? Exactly Moses and Elijah. And there's them two witnesses.

730 And when they tormented the church, or the world, by their preaching, and receiving back the Jews, and bringing them back to repentance, bringing them back to believe on... When they see Jesus coming for the Bride, they'll say, "Lo, this is our God Who we waited on. That's Him." But He's not coming for them; He come for His Bride. And His Bride...

When Joseph went into Egypt, he did not take his brethren with him, but he got his bride there. Absolutely. But when he made hisself known to his brothers, there was nobody present. That's exactly right. And when He makes Hisself known to these Jews, they'll be nobody there but the Jews. There's them who killed Joseph, standing there; and he said, "Well, I'm Joseph, your brother." And he wept.

And they said, "Now, we know we're in for it, because we killed him."

733 The same thing, those Jews will have that great time of trouble just before the coming now, of that persecution running them back into the homeland... It's shooing them like a bunch of sheep back to Mount Carmel yonder.

When the Lord Jesus shall come for his Bride, and they see Him, they'll say, "That's the One we've waited on; there He is." He'll rise with healing in His wings. That's right.

And the church, the remnant of the Jews, when they finally kill these two prophets, and they lay in the street spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified, they send gifts one to another (the world does).

736 Now, Brother Palmer, here you are. Look back into the Roman history, and you'll find out there's only one nation in all the world that ever sent gifts after a battle: that's the Roman empire.

That's the reason I say that the antichrist comes out of Rome, The beast comes out of Rome; it can't come out of Moscow. It comes from Rome, the red dragon that stood at the woman to devour her child as soon as it was born, that devil... Where was that devil? Who was it? Caesar Augustus that sent forth and killed all the children from two year old down. The red dragon, the dragon, beast means "power." The Roman power persecuted and tried to find that Christ Child.

738 And that same thing... Every time that the Romans, the old pagan Rome used to have a great victory, they'd send white stones and everything to one another as gifts like that, as a memorial. So those stones that was... What it was, was little gifts sent between the Roman church. Absolutely, exactly. It's got to be.

I stood right there in the Vatican City and verified it with the Bible. The pope wearing a triple crown, Vicarius Filii Dei, all those things which I've heard and so forth, it's absolutely the truth. A religious group that governs every nation under the heavens, and it does. There it is; it's those...

740 Nothing against Catholic people (No, sir.); they're just as good as anybody else, but their religion is wrong according to this Bible. If this Bible's right, they're wrong. They say they don't... "It doesn't matter what the Bible says; it's what the church says." We believe that the Bible speaks with the supreme authority. Absolutely, it's God's Word.

So you see there, these stones that were sent then, of Revelations here, is the--the stones that were gifts sent one to another. Which only goes to show... The Bible said, the Revelation here, said, "Let him that has wisdom count the numbers of the beast. Let him that has wisdom do so-and-so. Let he that has the spirit of certain gifts do so-and-so." You see how short the church is?

742 A young man asked me this morning about spiritual gifts, about speaking with tongues, a young fellow, very sincere. I believe he's to be a minister some of these days. And about the church, I said, "There's so much of it that's flesh. We don't want that, but we want the real thing. We long to have it."

You can't go to teaching in the church; the first thing you know, you get, one's got a tongue, one's got a psalm, then you have to battle the thing out. But when God has give a gift sovereignly, it'll manifest itself. That's right. See, that's the gifts of God; that's what He sends to the Church for overcoming.

744 Now, the antichrist has something like pro and con; it has the--the--the perverted way of doing it. And that's the Roman empire which sends gifts one to another, natural gifts. God sends spiritual gifts to overcomers; the Roman sends natural gifts to one another.

We believe the Holy Ghost is a Spirit; we receive It by a baptism that comes from on high.

The Catholic church teaches, "A holy eucharist which is the body of Christ, that when you receive this bread and kosher, it is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the holy eucharist." See?

We believe it's a piece of bread; we don't believe it is the body of Christ. We're fixing to take it in a few minutes. We believe it represents the body of Christ. But it isn't...

748 That's the difference between Catholic and Protestant doctrine. See? The Catholic church says, "The body is... The bread is the literal body. The church has the power to transform this." Did you ever see a Catholic passing a church, bow his head, make crosses? Is because that little light's burning in the church there under that little tabernacle; it's got a light in there; and that kosher bread lays in there. "And that's the body of Christ. And when you take that, you're absolutely taking the literal body of Christ on your first communion and your confessions and so forth: you're taking, literally, the body of Christ."

749 We say that it represents the body of Christ (See?), that it's nothing in the world but a piece of bread. And no matter if it wasn't even bread, if it was anything else, it was to represent just the same, just--just exactly what it is...

Like these people that say, "I wouldn't be baptized in a pool, I want to be baptized in the river."

What difference does it make, as long as you're baptized? If it's in a pool, and... Why, Philip was baptized in a pool... when the eunuch was baptized... When Philip baptized the eunuch in the pool, the Holy Spirit raptured him so much that He caught Philip away; and he wasn't seen for two hundred miles, caught Him in the Spirit, give him a--a chariot right out of heaven for two hundred miles. Amen. Wonderful.

Now...

Where will the saints be after the one thousand years' reign? And what kind of a body will they have?

I'll get back to that in a moment [Brother Branham answers this beginning at paragraph 820, as question 74--Ed.]. They'll be with Jesus.

752 All right, the--the seventh question.

72. How shall we judge angels?

That's found in... How shall we judge angels? By being sons and daughters of God. Angels are servants; we are sons and daughters of God. And the Bible said that we'll judge angels. That's right.

754 Now, now, if you... The 8th question...

73. Why hair because of angels of I Corinthians?

Now, somebody get me I Corinthians the--the 11th chapter, and we'll see there, that you'll find out that the--the... In I Corinthians the--the 11th, we find out that Paul is speaking. Let me get over to it just a minute, and then we'll read it right quick, and then we'll--we'll have it down.

I got something to say on this other verse here, that I hope the Lord gives it to us the way we should have it. If somebody find it... I think that's the 11th chapter. Yeah. All right. Now, listen close, real close now, so that you'll understand. Now, take all your conscience and put it in your vest pocket till after I read this (You see?), comment on it. Listen real close, this is THUS SAITH THE LORD.

Be ye followers of me, even as I... am of Christ. (Paul said, "You follow me, just as I follow Christ.")

Now, I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keeping of the ordinances, as I delivered... unto you.

But I would have you to know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

See how it is? God, Christ, man, woman. Now.

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors Christ.

But every woman praying or prophesy with her head uncovered dishonors her head:...

Now, we get just a minute, and show you that the hair to the woman is her covering.

.. for that... even all one as if she was shaven. (That means that if--if she's going to cut her hair, then shave it off.)

For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: ("Shorn" means "shaven." See?)... but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

758 Now, we're getting right down to the question you're asking. See? All right. Now, it is wrong for a--a lady to cut her hair according to the Bible. Now, you listen right here and see if the Bible don't give a man a legal right to put away his wife if she cuts her hair: see if this is right or not.

If a man... For a man indeed ought not to cover his head,... (That's, have long hair.)... forsomuch as he is in the image and the glory of God: but the woman is in the glory of the man. (Did you ever think of that?)

I want to stop here, 'cause I want this to soak in real good. See? And now remember, I've seen tens of thousands of lovely women (know them right now, and plenty of them setting in this church) that has short hair, that's Christians. And what I lay it onto, is not you; it's the way you been taught. See? That's it. Your preacher never told you this. But if any of the women around the Tabernacle like that, then they're guilty (See?), 'cause we sure tell them about it.

Now, now watch this.

.. a man... For... (7th verse)... For a man...

761 Now, who's speaking here? Now, sometime a lady say, "Oh, Paul was an old woman-hater."

Well, now while we're at that, let's just turn over here to Galatians 1:8, and see what Paul says about this (See?) in Galatians 1:8. You'll find out that Paul said here in Galatians 1:8...

..though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than this you've already heard, let him be accursed.

Now, don't blame me, you blame Him. See?

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forsomuch as he is in the glory and the image of God: but the woman is in the glory and the image of man.

Now, watch the next verse.

For the man is not of the woman; but the woman is of the man.

Neither was the man created for a woman; but the woman was created for a man.

765 Now, I mean this now with real love and sweetness, and I hope you understand it the same way, I say this. But America... As a international traveler, America has some of the most lowdown, degraded rules for their women of any nation in the world. Paris, France, could be a sky-high scraper up the side of the way America lets their women do. It's a disgrace.

Did you realize that the god of America is woman? I can prove that to you by this Bible. That's right. Do you realize it has to come that way so the Catholic church can bring in their doctrine of the virgin Mary?

Now, if a woman was made not for a man, not... If a man was not made for a woman, but woman made for a man, then how you going to worship a woman? See? Now, what did it, it started in Paris and landed in Hollywood. Now, Paris has to come to Hollywood to get their models and get their fashions and things; it's the degrading of our American women.

768 What is it? Our nation has come so little until they've even taken the jobs away from the men, and put women out here in these places, till ninety percent of them, nearly, are prostitutes. And talk about man being gone, sure, it's because they got women out there in their jobs. And they got so lowdown till they put women as peace officers on the street. That's a disgrace to any nation. Yes, sir. What are you going to do about it?

"What do you do about it, Brother Branham?" I have to respect it; I'm an American citizen. I do what the big boss says do. If I ever... If a--if a family ever loses its respect for the family (the children lose the respect to the parents), that family's tore to pieces. If a--if a church ever loses respect of its pastor, why it--it--it--that church is gone. And if a nation ever loses their respect of the Supreme Court and its decisions, that nation is gone to pieces. That's exactly right. We've got to respect those things, because they're the big boss. See? But it isn't right in the beginning. Absolutely.

770 Did you know that a man in the Bible of Genesis the 1st chapter, when God created woman and--and man, and made the men and women, and God told Eve that your husband will rule over you, be your ruler? Speak that in America and see where you'll get. Boy, it's not that, the woman rules over the man; they have to do that. The public places are set up...

I could bring women, if I had to, from my room there, by the dozens, of decent women... I don't say all women shouldn't sometime have to work; maybe they got a sick husband or something another, they have to work. But if they don't have to, they shouldn't do it. Their place is at home, their little castle; that's exactly where they should be.

772 And our American women's been privileged to go and eat hog or die. Even in all animals and so forth, when that thing prevails, it takes place and it degrades the whole race of it.

There's a little bird in Africa, and she's a little pick bird. Now, usually, the female is always the ugliest of the two. The male's always the most beautiful: the male deer, the male elk, the male pheasant, the--the male chicken, and always is the most... Because the female is the home bird. She sets on the nest; she raises her little ones. She's disguised from the hawk, the snake, the coyote, whatevermore (See?) to raise her little ones.

But in the race where that the--or in the sex that--that--that woman, or the female prevails in beauty, it's always a degrading type. In Africa, you take a bird... There's a little bird there, and the only one on the continents that I know of, that the female is more prettier than the male. And when it does... That--that bird is a constant prostitute. She'll run around and find a mate, and run out and lay the bunch of eggs after she's mated with that one, and let the mate set on the eggs while she goes and hunts another mate. That's exactly right. See? See what I mean?

776 It... Now, look, in America today of our women... A young man from Kentucky told me a few days ago, that there was eight hundred women working at a certain plant here in Kentucky. And he said, "I could possibly feel safely in swearing that four hundred of them is absolutely street prostitutes, and married women with children." One guy took his wife out there and worked her up with a board, and then he liked to killed her. And another one went on to shoot a man, and another one cutting and fighting. That shouldn't be. That's not right.

Put the woman back in the kitchen where she belongs, then everything will be all right. But you put her out there in public work, she's gone. Abso... I don't say that...

The American women snicker up their nose and say, "There's nothing to that." And, "You show me." Certainly, you've got to do it, because the Bible predicted you'd do it. You have to do it.

779 And here when... It used to be a long time ago in the Methodist church, if a woman cut her hair, she was put out of the church. Certainly, they did it. Yes, indeedy. Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness, Pentecostals, all of them used to do it. What happened?

You know why? You got some sissies behind the pulpit. That's exactly right. Somebody's afraid their meal ticket, afraid you'd excommunicate them, run them out of the church. They didn't have the very audacity to stand and stand on God's Word whether It hurt or whether It didn't. That's exactly right.

781 Listen here, the man is the ruler; don't you think you can rule the house. You're not the ruler of the house. You're absolutely... You're not a slave now, but you're a helpmate. And Adam... The man has the rule over his wife, and he's responsible solely for his wife. God makes the man answer for his wife. Now, read and see if God says that now.

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forsomuch as he is in the image and the glory of God:...

God is not a woman; God's a man. You know when they make virgin Mary and all that, and interse--or intercessions and everything like that, and pray to the virgin Mary, you know what it reminds me of? The great goddess Diana, who Paul rebuked and run out. That's right. He said, "Why, God ain't no woman."

A rock fell out in the field, and they said the goddess throwed down their image; that's the reason woman at Corinth, and up into there, the--that worshipped Diana, they wanted to become preachers. They said, "Why, the spirit told us we could preach."

He said, "What? Came the Word of God out of you, and came it from you only? If any man thinks himself to be spiritual or a prophet, let him acknowledge what I say is the commandments of the Lord: let a woman keep silent and be under subjections in the church, not to teach or to have any authority." That's exactly. That's what the Scripture said. See? And God's going to make a bunch of preachers answer for that at the day of judgment.

Well, listen. You say, "Well, I tell you, I was taught that." You know better now. That's right. If you or somebody start to take a dose of medicine, and somebody tells you it's arsenic, and you--and you go ahead and take it anyhow, that's your own fault after that. See?

787 Now, listen to this.

For the man is not of the woman; but the woman is of the man. For this cause ought a woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Any of you read it? I Corinthians the 11th chapter and the 10th verse. If you notice, "power, power of the angels," I Corinthians, because the angels is the man, the messenger. Look, it's a little "a" again. Where Angels are concerned, of heavenly Angels, it's a big "A," capital "A." Where it's a little "a," it's men, angels.

Nevertheless neither is there man... or woman,... neither is the woman without the man--the man, in the Lord.

For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman;... all things are of God.

Judge... yourself: is it comely for a woman to pray to God... (with short hair)... uncovered? (Think of it now.)

Now, watch.

Does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair,...

Say, "What did it pertain to?" Hair. Don't you see what Paul's talking about? Hair, long hair. If... The woman ought to have long hair. 14th verse now.

Does not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it's a shame to him?

791 You get it? It's a shame for a man to have long hair, but a wom... That's a woman's place. God made a man different from a woman: sex and in looks, and in everything else. She oughtn't to wear a garment... The Bible said that if a woman will put on a pair of slacks or any garment that pertains to a man, it's an abominable and dirty and filthy sight in the front of God. And God will make her pay for it. Who you going to listen to? But this is the Bible.

And you run around and say, "Why, I think it's nice for--see women wearing slacks." But God made them different; He wants them dressed different.

And the Bible said, "If a woman will even put on a garment that pertains to a man, it's an abomination." You know what abomination is? It's "something that's filthy in the sight of God." And the great Jehovah Who looks down upon you as being a filthy thing... And the Bible said...

794 And you that said... Some of you ladies now, to your young girls around in teenage, eighteen, twenty years old, letting them run out here dressed like she is... And you too, mama... See? When you go out and wear those slacks and things and live, and get on the street, and--and have those old clothes that's so naked nowadays, and make you look like something that you're not... See? And you go out there on the street all sexually looking, you might be just as innocent and pure before your husband and everything, but if you go out on the street and a man looks upon you because you presented yourself like that, you're guilty, and going to answer at the day of judgment for committing adultery with every man that looked at you like that. That's what the Bible said.

The Bible said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery with her in his heart already," and you're guilty and will...

797 You come to the judgment and say, "Lord, You know my heart; I never committed adultery; I lived true to my husband."

But here will be a man; here will be another one, here another one, another, another, fifteen, twenty, thirty, forty of them standing there saying, "Guilty of a adultery." Why? Some man looked upon you.

"Well, I had nothing to do with it." Well, why'd you present yourself like that for? When God told you not to put them on, it was an abomination to do it, and you go listen to "Who Loves Susie?" Or what's that...

Did you find out what taken place with that "Who Loves Susie's" husband? You all seen that here recently in the paper. When we was out in the Casper, Wyoming, it come out. And what's his name? That guy that... on that "We Love Susie," or what in the--what in the world was that? The... Oh, what you all stay at home Wednesday night and miss prayer meeting to see. What is that now? "We Love..." What is the name of that? [A sister says, "I Love Lucy."--Ed.] "I Love Lucy," her husband supposed beats around, has been caught out yonder at Reno, Nevada, with a colored girl, and been living with her for years. And that's what you stay home to see instead of going, hearing the Gospel. The woman confessed it. Oh, mercy. There's nothing clean outside of Jesus Christ.

Bless your heart, brother, I--I will tell you--you guy, some of the... You say, "Oh, my, look at the class." Some of the--the very worst vultures we got and scavengers are pretty birds. You can't judge a bird by its feathers. See? So just remember that. Oh, my.

802 Now, watch.

Does not even nature... (That's that 14th verse.)... teach you, that--it's a shame for a man to have long hair? (That belongs to a woman.)

But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her:...

Now, what's he talking about, a hat that you Catholic people wear in church? No indeedy. A little covering over top of your head, with a handkerchief? He's talking about your hair.

Now. And if a woman cuts off her hair, she cuts off her glory, and is not permitted to the altar to pray. See, just what it said here, "Isn't it a common thing for a woman to go pray with the head uncovered?" Says here, says, "Well, she got to cut her hair." So let her be shaved off slick then. "And if she's going to be shaved off slick," said, "that's a dishonor; it's a shame for a woman to do that." Then said, "She ought to be covered." Now, I'm just--I'm just reading Paul's letter. You all, it's up to you. See?

805 But if the woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given to her for a covering.

Did it say she'd be given a hat? You Catholic people or you Protestants, either one, that goes to church and wants to wear a hat, say, "Well, I'm going to church, ought to put on a hat." No, you ought to let your hair grow. That's the difference. See?

.. for her hair is given to her for a covering. (And it's a shame for her to come in church without covered, to go to the altar to pray.)

But if a man seem to be--to be... (I don't believe I can pronounce that word, c-o-n-t-e...)... Contentious, contentious... (You know what contentious is.),... we have no such custom, neither the Church of God.

Now, if you want to argue about it, you argue with That. All right, you want to be contentious about it, "Oh, it don't make any difference. Let's let them go ahead. Why, I think it's nothing. I... It's not what the hair is anyhow, it's what the heart is." That's true; if the heart's right, the hair will be right. Uh-huh.

807 Go ahead, you want to be contentious, Paul said, "We have no such custom, neither the Church of God." So if you want to belong to Cain's side, well, just go ahead. But this is what Paul was saying.

Oh, and I don't mean to laugh, 'cause it's not a laughing matter. But I tell you friends; it's a shame to see the way that these things has been permitted to do, I...

Listen. To you, my dear sisters, I want you to look your best and be your best; that's what you ought to be. That's what you ought to be. And you ought to be as sweet and fresh and everything as you can when your husband comes, just the same as that was your sweetheart. And you ought to meet him at the door with a--with just with a kiss as sweet to him as it was the day you kissed him at the altar to be your husband. That's right. I don't blame you for looking your best and being your best. And I want you to be that way. God knows I do.

810 Here some time ago, I was talking to Jack Shuler. Whoever heard of Jack Shuler? The most famous preacher the Methodist has got. He said, "A woman come, said--hair all dirty, and chewing chewing-gum, and her clothes half on her, said, 'You know, my husband won't even put up with me any more.'"

He said, "I don't blame him."

That's right. Now, but what you've got to do, you've got to be in the right way. Don't take your freshness and beauty out of Hollywood; take it out of the Bible. Before God, be a lady; act like a lady; dress like a lady; be clean. Act like a lady; don't wear those...

813 Any man that lets his wife get out and wear those little old things before men, and them little old things, get out on the lawn and mow the yard, and things like that... Mister, I'm telling you, brother, I don't--I don't mean to be mean, I--I... God knows that; that's my heart. But I--I... I'm going to have to change a whole lot before I'd let mine do it. I'm going to be boss up on the hill up there as long as I can. You see? And when I can't, I'm going to move off from there. That's right.

Oh, brother, that's a shame and a disgrace for women to do that. And I--I don't mean, sister... I--I'm not degrading you; I'm just trying to say... Our church here has no members; people just come here. But this is a house of God, and we absolutely tell people not to wear those things, that it's... They're going to answer for it at the day of judgment. Now, watch here. And let your hair grow out (See?) and be a lady.

815 Now.

Now, in this that is... I declare unto you I praise you not, for that you come together for... not for the better, but for the worse.

For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and so forth,... (It goes on now to the communion table.)

Now, listen to that. That's why that the angels...

Now, Brother Palmer, I ain't telling you on this tape: you preach the same thing down there that I'm doing here. But you know good and well, and you being a preacher, you know that's the truth, brother. All right.

818 So the angels here are the men. If you notice it, Brother Palmer, it's in the little letter, the angels. And the Bible goes ahead... He's talking about the man and his wife (See?); that's what the subject is.

That's the way people get so confused in the Bible; they say, "Well, God says one thing here, and one..." No, you--you get off the subject. Stay right on the same subject; that's all. He's talking about man and wife.

820 Now, one more thing I want to hit just before we close; it'll take me about two minutes.

74. Where will the saints be after the one thousand years' reign? And what kind of a body will they have?

I think that's the sweetest question; I just love that. Now, let's look right straight into it.

In the beginning God... We'll go back to our Hebrew teaching just for a few minutes. God was this great big fountain of seven colors. How many knows that? See? And how many knows that God has seven Spirits? Absolutely, seven Spirits. And there was seven eyes in the lamb, and so forth, all that coming together now. See? Now, that was God.

Now, when He, the Logos went out of God, which was God coming from this one big fountain into a body in the form of a--of a man, and it made the Logos, which we call theophany...

824 Now, if you take the theophany when you are looking at that, that's a man. Now, that we... Now, that's where we were in the beginning. Now, you do not understand it now, but you was back there in the beginning that way. When man made... When God made man in His image, He made him a theophany. And He only placed him in flesh... When God made man in His image, in His likeness, they were... In Genesis 2, there were... Or Genesis 1:28, I believe it is, "There was no man yet to till the soil," and God had done made male and female. That's right. "No man to till the soil..."

Then God brought man a little lower down and put him in animal life; that's this body, just like the animals so that he could till the soil, could touch. That theophany doesn't touch; it doesn't see, taste, smell, hear, these senses that we have. So God put man down there in order to--to touch and to feel.

826 And--and as he walked through the garden of Eden, first as a theophany (like the Holy Spirit is in here now walking in here), it led the animal life. It controlled everything, but it couldn't till the soil. See? So God put him in flesh so that he could till the soil, give him his five senses to till the soil and fix up the--the vineyards and--and so forth, and then the man still looked lonesome. Oh, this is a beautiful picture.

Look, for when he was first made, he was made two people together. He was made both male and female; the man was. The Bible said he was. God made man both male and female, "created He him." Notice. Now, when man was separated from the theophany and put in flesh, he was--he wasn't just altogether there; part of his being was still a theophany, so it didn't look right.

There went the male and female in the cow; there went the horse; and there went the ox; and there went everything else, pairs. But Adam, he... it was... See, there was something lacking. That very crave showed that there was a mate waiting for him. You get it? And the very thoughts that we have to die here, that we're troubled and perplexed, and we long for a Life that has no death, it shows it's waiting for us. See?

829 And Adam was lonesome. And God, to show that they could not be separated... (Now, I'm going to get back into this same thing, just a second.) Look, He never went and got dirt and made a Eve, but He made from the original dirt: Adam. He took a rib from his side and made him a helpmate, and that was Eve. She was made for the man and part of the man. She was part of him in the beginning in the creation in the theophany. She was part of him down here in this creation. She could not be divided in another creation; she had to be made in the same creation.

That's exactly why Christ and God had to be the very same Person; it could not be anything different. If He'd been a good man or a prophet, He wouldn't have been a Redeemer; He had to be the Creator Himself. But He's still a theophany now (You see?) and the way He was then.

832 Now, a man come down here and he--he was wonderful; and God loved that; He said, "That's beautiful; let them be on earth and live there forever. That's all. For--for eternity, on and on and on, let it just grow, and every plant bring forth, and everything like that. And let the man live, and the beasts live, and everything else forever and ever. That's all right." See?

And then sin entered. And I want to make this statement. In the... So many people make such a terrible mistake on this one Scripture, and that is on the 23rd Psalm. They read It like this, "Yea, though I walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death." Now, there is no such a thing. The Bible doesn't say, that, "The dark shadow of the valley--or the dark valley of the shadows of death."

Says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." Now, before it could be a shadow, it has to have light to make the shadow. See? David being a prophet and under the anointing, he didn't make a mistake; he just said the Truth: "Yea, though I (not walk through the dark valley) but through the valley of the shadows of death..."

835 Then you have to have a certain percent of light to make a shadow. And that's the way it is here. We are both natural and supernatural. This body is subject to death, and was brought forth by a woman, not by nothing but through, not by God, you're a reproduction from Adam and Eve. Be black, white, or whatever you are, you are a production, an offspring from Adam and Eve. That makes your body borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. You're damned and condemned at the beginning of your life, not even--without a chance.

Now, because the spirit that you have come to you by nature, and by nature coming from sexual intercourse, desire by man and woman produces a earthly child. And let that child alone, and don't teach him nothing right, he'll go wrong. Don't teach him neither right nor wrong, he'll take wrong. Because it's his nature to do such.

837 Watch a little old baby, not over higher than that, just get so mad, he'll just... He--he'd wring his hands, and turn red in the face, and hold his breath. Sure. What is it? It's his nature. He got it from his pappy or his mammy, one; she had enough temper to fight a buzz saw, or his daddy. If they didn't, his grandfather or grandmother did. See, it's offspring.

So that makes... You're borned in the world. You come by a nature, and your whole being is black, and smutty, and damned, and cursed and going to hell. That's right.

But when you're borned again, then the Light of God shines down into that soul (Hallelujah); then it's no more a dark valley, but it's a valley with a shadow in it. You may be veiled here with the flesh, and with things known by faith, but there's enough Light in there. And someday that Light and darkness has to separate. And when the light shines, darkness flees. And when we go to be with Christ in that body, darkness and death vanishes, and we burst out into perfect Light. Glory to God. There we are: no more sickness, no more dark mixed with it.

840 Right now we have both sickness and joy, and have health and strength, and we have ins and outs, and ups and downs, and joy and sorrow, so forth. Well, it's just a shadow. We got enough light to know that there's Light there; and we're still in the body, in flesh. But someday the day's going to break. That's when the death angel sets at the foot of the bed; that's when the doctor says it's all finished; and this natural comes away from the supernatural, and the light springs back to Light, and darkness goes back to darkness. Then this mortal puts on immortality. That's when this corruption puts on incorruption. That's when this mortal puts on immortality, and we become from a creature of time to a creature of eternity. You cannot go out there with total darkness; you've got to have light in the darkness. There you are. That's that body you receive.

841 What do we do? Well, my dear sainted brother, my dear sainted sister, before the foundation of the world, when God created you in His image, or created the--the man in His image, and created the woman in the image of the man for the glory of the man, He made you a theophany just like Hisself, when He said, "let us" to the creatures that He had made, "let us make man in our own image, in our likeness..." a theophany. God had never become flesh yet; He was in a theophany.

And Moses saw Him. Moses cried, "Lord, let me see You."

He said, "Go yonder and hide in the rock, in the cleft. And Moses got back in that cleft; and when God passed by, the lightning and thunders... And as God passed by, He had His back turned like this. And Moses said It was the back of a Man. Hallelujah.

Who was It? The Melchisedec that come down, the King of Salem, with no father and mother, no beginning of days or ending of life. That's Him. And He come down; that's the One that talked to Abraham; that gathered Him up a little body of flesh like that, and [Brother Branham blows--Ed.] breathed into it, stepped into it, and come down and eat a calf, drank milk from a cow, and eat some butter and corn bread. And the two Angels...

And when He walked out there, and all of that stuff just [Brother Branham blows--Ed.] vanished and went away.

846 I never thought of that. Here sometime ago, loading a rifle shell, I had a .22 rifle; it's a .220 Swift. And you rifling brethren in here know. The little bullet, it's a forty-eight grain bullet, just about that long, regular .22 bullet. It's loaded almost on a chamber powder of .30-06. Now, I... The factory only loads that to about forty-four hundred feet per second. All right, but you can put enough... Load it yourself, and you can put it up to five thousand feet per second. And--and otherwise, if you was shooting... We was shooting the other day at two hundred yards, and the bullet would hit, and the dust would fly before the gun would ever echo. That's how fast it is.

847 Then you take a toothpick (you know, the flat part on a toothpick) and reach down in your powder and get that thing full of powder, just about four or five little grains, and lay it on top of there, and then put your bullet in there. Stand here, and you got a bullet in your hand in a second. And shoot it out there at the ground hog setting two hundred feet from you, and the ground hog never even moved. The bullet turns back to its original conditions, back to gases. Here's a bullet that's copper and lead mixed together, and one split second it's back till you'd never find it again. It went back like it was a hundred billion years ago, back to gases. Those gases have to form and come back into copper and into lead, and so forth, like that. Those gases has to settle.

848 Now, there you are. That's the way we are here. We come from a higher being. In the beginning we were in the image of God. The veil and the darkness keeps us from knowing it now. But Jesus told His disciples He was with them before the foundation of the world. See? We were. You can't know it now, but you was in the beginning. And if this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting. Hallelujah. And then we move into this theophany, what we once lived, so we can eat and shake hands. And the souls under the altar cry, "How long, Lord?"

849 There's seven steps that goes to God, for the seven Spirits as--as It comes down. All right, as you go under the altar of God, they was crying, "Lord, how long? Can we go back?" They're down here.

God said, "Just for a little season, until your fellow men suffer the same thing that you've suffered." See?

And then the souls return back, and they become men and women again, and live forever when all the darkness and death and sickness and sorrow of the blackness has faded out; there's no more shadow; it's absolutely sunlight.

852 Listen. Here's what. Let it get as dark as it wants to get; it cannot get too dark until the sun will smash every bit of the darkness. Darkness and light cannot dwell long together. For the... Which is the most powerful? Is the light. And when the light shines, darkness flees. Amen. Aren't you glad? Aren't you happy that you know? No doubt, there's not a shadow nowhere. But this blessed Light that's in our hearts right now, something testifying back the Son of God, the power of God.

And we walk here; watch the power of the Holy Spirit come down and go out into a meeting, and say, "You was Mrs. So-and-so, that you did a certain thing at a certain place. You've been plagued with this so long, but THUS SAITH THE LORD, stand to your feet, you're healed." And a crippled and blind rise to their feet. And a shadow of a man, eaten up with cancer, rise to life and new health again.

854 There's no doubt, Jesus said, "These things that I do, shall you also." And He said, "I do nothing till the Father showed Me."

What is that? That's the Light that's come mixing into this darkness (You see?) to redeem us. Get what I mean?

Now, someday it goes right back to there, and then when the theophany becomes immortal flesh again like it was in the beginning, then Jesus comes, and God... When Christ will be one... Christ will set on the throne, and all the people will be human. Christ will be on the throne of David, a man, the Lord Jesus, never to die. Never will we die; never will we be sick, have no more sorrow, and we will live through the thousand years.

857 And when the thousand years are expired on this earth, then the devil comes up; and the second resurrection comes, the resurrection of the unjust. They gather a great army like the sands of the sea, and they come up to compass the camp of the saints. And when it does, God rains fire and brimstone out of the heaven and destroys them.

And John said, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth was passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." There you are.

859 There he said, "The wife... The Lamb and the Bride will be there forever." There'll be a new earth, millions and millions of square miles. Oh, my. The city, the Bible measures out the city of fifteen thousand square miles. It's fifteen thousand miles long, fifteen thousand miles wide, and fifteen thousand miles high. That's exactly the description the Bible gives of the City. No wonder there's no more sea, there wasn't no place for it.

Oh, there'll be such beauty. And in there, there's a fountain right at the throne of God, that flows before the throne. There's a tree on either side of the tree--of the river of Life. And in this tree dwells prayer--twelve manner of fruit, and yields its fruit every month.

861 There's the twenty and four elders. There's the Bride. There's the forty and four thousand, the temple eunuchs. Oh, brother, we're going somewhere. Things lay ahead for us. The four... The twenty and four elders, the hundred and forty-four thousand eunuchs, the Bride setting with Christ, my, you talk... My home, sweet home... Amen.

To think that I have the privilege of going there, and you have the privilege of going there. And why would you choose to walk in this darkness and see no Light, and die and go into chaos and become nothing? For when Light takes its supreme authority, there's no place for darkness. Go, find where the darkness went when light comes. That's the way it is when all things are turned back to God that had... Darkness had a beginning; darkness has an end. Light never had a beginning or it never has an end. God never had a beginning or never has an end. So someday the whole debauched world with all of its sin and its beauty, so-called, and all of its fantastics and sensations, and all of its glamour and everything will fade out into nothing, and it'll be no more. It'll be no more, no more thought of. It said, even it won't even come into the remembrance any more.

863 But the blessed of the Lord shall always be with Him. We'll have a body like His own glorious body, and live with Him, and eat with Him, and set with Him, and dwell with Him forever and forever and for the aeons of time. And the eternal ages will roll on, with worlds without end.

And you have a choice tonight. If you're not prepared to meet that place, no matter how much you go to church, how good a member you are, you're lost until Christ has give you new Life in that darkness that you walk in. You may be religious. Religious? Listen friends; religion is intellectual. See? All the Cain's children has always had religion. Those Jews had religion when Jesus come, but they rejected salvation.

865 You may be very religious tonight. You may be Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness. You may be just as religion, go to your church and testify; you may sing and shout and praise the Lord. You may bring your tithes to the church; you may treat your neighbor right. That doesn't have one thing to do with your eternal destination. Cain did every bit of that. Absolutely.

The Bible said that the wheat and tares come together. The little old wheat's said... It's starving for rain, and the--the briers is too. When the rain come, the briers is just as happy to get the rain as the wheat is. "But by their fruits, you shall know them."

867 Now, let us pray while you examine your fruits. Now, Father, God, there's been some stiff questions here tonight. I may not have done the right thing, but the best of my knowledge... You know my heart. I pray, God, that You'll receive it. And now, maybe, in some of these questions, if I haven't made them right, then You speak to the people's heart, and You make them just where they should be. I feel that You told me. But if I could be wrong, then You forgive me.

And I pray, God, that each one of these will take these things in their heart, and may they ponder over them and think like this, "Yes, there is the church; there is these things. That's what the Bible said."

869 Maybe the ladies, Lord, You know I didn't mean anything personal by telling them. But, God, I--I love my sisters, and You know that, Father. You know how I think of them. But to stand and tell them something wrong, I'd be a--a deceiver to them. I do not wish to be a deceiver to my sisters; I want to tell them the truth. And, Father, I take It right from Your Word.

And now, I don't condemn my brethren, but, Lord, I say that they been wrong when they permit these things. And if the lady knowed different and went and done it, then it's up to her; the pastor's not guilty, that...

But, Father, those things are Your Word, and they're to You. Now, You speak to the hearts of the people. I commit them all to You. I'll see what You've done, Father; You know. Speak to each heart. We ask in Christ's Name.

872 And with our heads bowed, I wonder if someone would raise their hand, say, "Brother Branham, just remember me, that I can be a complete overcomer, and at the last day wear the wedding garment and be with Christ." Will you raise your hand, say, "Pray for me"?

Everybody keep your head down now, and just bow. God bless you; that's fine. There, God bless you, my sisters, and my brothers too, raising your hands. That's wonderful.

Now, Father, You see their hands. I know, sometime you think, "Well, just a little prayer like that?" God, I'm thinking about that mother, said yesterday, "Just a little prayer there in her house that day when that boy was dying, three weeks to live, that malignancy on the brain, and now the change came."

875 I think of Hezekiah, leaning his face towards the wall, and crying, "Lord, I beseech Thee, to be merciful to me. Consider me, for I've walked before You with a perfect heart." It changed from death to life.

One scream from the Son of God, "Lazarus, come forth," and a dead man came forth.

O God, You said, "Speak; ask, and it shall be given. When you say anything, believe that what you say comes to pass; you'll have what you say."

Now, Father, I pray that each that raised their hand will receive what they raised their hands for. And may they be blessed. And God, I pray that You'll help our sisters, that they'll be... Let them conduct themselves, that Satan through television and "True Story" magazines, and so forth, that's been so loosely handled, and uncensored programs, how the dirt and vulgar on the televisions and so forth, which would--could be an instrument to win millions of souls to You, but how they're not censored, and put out all these old dirty things that they... Oh, how pitiful. And to know that the spirit of the devil has got in and around our sisters, and are tried to make them fashion and dress like that...

879 And we find out that in the--in our brothers also, Lord, that how they figure that they can smoke, and drink, and carry on like that, and still be Christians because they say they believe. Let them know that the devil believes also. And he is not saved; he believes and trembles.

And now, Father, we pray that You'll be merciful to us all, and forgive us of our sins, and maybe some didn't raise up their hands; O God, be merciful. May the next opportunity they have, may they raise their hands.

We're fixing to take the communion, Lord. Forgive us of our trespasses and our bygones of life. And may we receive of Thy blessing, for we ask it in Christ's Name. Amen.

882 The Lord bless you. I'm sorry to keep you like this. I just wonder, just before communion, if there's anyone come to be prayed for, would want to be prayed for, well, we'd be glad to do that just at this time, if there's anybody to be prayed for.

All right, brother, you bring her right on up; that'll be fine. And just a moment, and then we're going to--we're going to dismiss. And then when we dismiss, then those who wants to stay for the communion, can stay. But right now we're going to offer prayer for the sick. What did the Bible say?

If the brother can't raise up? That's all right. Just let him set there; we'll come to him. That's all right, just let him set right there. And we'll come down and pray for him. That's okay. All right, sir, just let--let him set right there. It's hard for him to stand here, why, we'll be glad to come right to him.

885 Now, I want to make this one little mention, my dear friends. See, I--I know that the Lord has proved this over and over so many times. See? I'm not much of a preacher; I have not education and so forth. I love the Lord Jesus. God knows that I love Him. But one thing I was called to do: pray for the sick. You believe that?...?... Even before I ever knowed about the gift, I used to go out here at the hospital; and I remember them nurses say, "Now, you're going to get well." See? And just something that God has been so gracious to honor my prayers for the people.

I imagine tonight, if it would be called, just a whole worldwide blast to everywhere in the world, and say, everybody that Brother Branham has prayed for, come here, I'd like for you to give an answer to the United States government with a letter. And that would be a worldwide broadcast, I guess, maybe four or five million people would answer that call if it was known. See?

887 And them people, or some of them were already been dead, laid out by the doctor, and--and the undertaker. Some of them has been killed in accidents; some of them died natural death. Some of them are blind, halt, lame, twisted, afflicted, mentally, in hospitals, didn't even know we was in the hospital to pray for them. Bring them in, have to take them. They'd fight their way through and cut theirself to pieces, not even know where he's at. In a five minutes, be normal, sweet, loving people, and sane the rest of their days. See?

It's... What is it? It's not Brother Branham. It's Jesus Christ; He sent me to pray for the sick. Now, here's what it is. It's not been too successful in Jeffersonville, because here's why. Now, I want you to know I got some of my closest and best friends is right here in this city. Although the city itself, the state of the city, I do not like it. I do not like this situation and never did; when I was a little boy, setting, reading my history books, I said, "Someday I'll leave here." See?

889 I don't like Jeffersonville; it's a swamp; it's down in here. It's just real swampy, and--and it's very bad. Go up here on top of Spickert Knobs or somewhere, and look off down towards New Albany and Jeffersonville, if you want to see. Look here, the doctors are even saying now that the people of this valley is becoming anemia because of the condition.

A little lady up here, Mrs. Morgan, was healed of cancer took her dog out here to the clinic, thought it had mange. You know what it was? The settlings of Colgate's and things on the weeds where it went through. It's the most unhealthy place.

891 A fellow was in the Army, went down here and got... He had asthma. Went down here in Florida and his eyes become real black, and he went over to the doctor, and he said, "Doctor..."

The doctor said, "Now, you been in a fight, haven't you?"

He said, "No, sir, I haven't."

If you want to know who it is, his name is Herby... Now, if I can just think... It's--it's in Union National Bank in New Albany; he's a teller. Just go there and see the one says "Herby," ask him.

And he said... He went; he said, "Doctor," he said, "I've got sinus."

And he examined him, said, "That's right." He said, "I thought you had been in a fight." Said, "Boy, where do you live?"

He said, "You might not know the place," said, "I live in a little city across from Louisville, Kentucky, called New Albany, Indiana."

Said, "You mean to tell me that you taken sinus trouble off this salt water here in Miami, from coming?" Said, "If you could live in Jeffersonville, Indiana, or New Albany, Indiana, you can live anywhere in the world the United States army would send you." That's all. See?

It's the most unhealthy place there is in the world, that I know of, less it'd be in some malaria swamp. See? And I--I--I--I've got friends here.

900 Looky here, I can just go to call them like this. Look at Dr. Sam Adair, my buddy. All right. There's Mike Egan, setting there. Oh, my, how many could I name, just hundreds of real good buddies, my old chums, that I've chummed... No matter how many new friends I find, there's nothing will take a place of an old buddy. You know that.

There's my old mother setting back there, not many days for the earth; she's in her sixties now. There's my wife's mother, seventy, going on seventy-one, setting back here somewhere, I think, tonight. And there, leave her... My daddy's buried up here; the wife buried out here on the Walnut Ridge, my baby laying out there. See what I mean?

902 I--I--I don't like... I--I--I--I don't want to stay here, and I believe that soon, right away, I'm going to have to leave (See), 'cause it's been coming to me (I say this over the pulpit and my Bible.), constantly.

When I told my wife, when they give us the money to build that parsonage which I turned over to this church... This church owns that parsonage; go down here and find out if it isn't. See, I wouldn't take it myself.

Now, when I was going to build there, Meda said, "I want to stay here on account of my mother."

I said, "Honey, just as sure as we do, we'll be sorry of it. See, it just won't work. God has said, 'Separate,' I've got to do it."

And said, "Well, my mother..."

I said, "My mother too. 'But he that won't forsake his own, and follow after Me, is not worthy to be called Mine.' And that's true."

Someday, shortly, I feel I'm going to have to move; that's--or go away. But here's the way, the meetings won't work here. It won't work like it does anywhere else. And anybody that's ever been in the meeting knows that's true, because it's right here in my own hometown. That's it.

909 Jesus said the same thing when He come. They said, "Who is this guy? Isn't that the carpenter's boy out here? What school did he ever go to? Where'd he get this learning? Now, let me see you do... You said you did miracles over here, let me see you do the same thing here. What you done in Capernaum, let me see you do it here."

Jesus said... "He marveled at their unbelief." He turned and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, a prophet's not without reward unless he's amongst his own people in his own county." Is that right?

And we know... Look at... Take Finney, take Sankey, Moody; take John Wesley, never could make a go of it (See?) till he left his country. Look at--look at the--at--at Moody. When Moody, a Boston shoe cobbler, couldn't go at all, he come to Chicago before he come famous. See? He had to get it from his own. You'll always have to do it.

913 But now, here, God will answer prayer if you'll forget it's William Branham (See?), if you'll forget it's William Branham has anything to do into it, only just one to stand and pray for you. It's Jesus Christ that's already did what you've asked to do, if you'll just believe it. See? It isn't anything to do... I have nothing to do with it, just to witness. But seeming like after raising here with you, and you know every weakness I have, and every fault I have... And you know what God has done, right in this city.

This city, at the day of judgment, will answer a great price someday, for there's been hundreds and hundreds of outstanding healings right here (That's right.), right here. Signs and wonders, and the appearing of the Angel down there, and the papers blasted forth and everything, and still people don't... Why is it?

915 Now, someday I'm going to leave here. I'm wondering, "What will be my end?" Is it over? Is it just about? I'm forty-eight years old. Is it just about over? I wonder this, if it is.

Look, why didn't the world realize that picture there? Why didn't they catch that right quick? Why don't they catch these other things? Why don't they catch these prophecies and things? You know, they can't do it now, but one day I'm going to leave the world, and when I leave, then they'll recognize It. Some of you young people will realize that after I'm gone. See? But God wouldn't permit it to be done now...