Why?

1 It's a... deem this another great privilege to be here in the--this auditorium tonight to--in the service of the Lord.

And now, tomorrow night is a special night for prayer for the sick, for the, I believe they give over mostly to the people that are... They're going to--going to come from the hospitals and things.

Usually in the meetings when we have it set up, we have a--an emergency room that where that when they have a big meeting where they--the people can get in and be prayed for each time when they come, that can't get into the prayer line. We have a room that... Maybe they've come for--flew in by plane or something for hundreds of miles and just have to be there that one night and go back. So we always try to catch them all. But when we're having this type of service, I--I feel that every person that's in the building is prayed for each night (See?), because as I try to make it plain (You see?), that--that if there was...

2 I--I see a, like a man setting here in a wheelchair. If I knowed that there... If I could take a quarter and push it with my nose around this city, have that man to get up out of that chair and be made well, I'd do it. Sure, I'd certainly do it. And now, maybe he will live an ordinary lifetime setting in that chair. But maybe there's a man setting out there somewhere that's got heart trouble, and just a few hours from now he's going to be dead unless something helps him. He's in a more critical condition than this man setting in the chair. Then I would push the quarter, certainly, around the city with my nose which would take me days to do it, if... But... And I'd probably have no nose left when I got through pushing it around. But I would do it to see that poor mortal healed.

So I--I cannot heal anyone. I never have healed anyone, but I have seen tens of thousands healed. And so I--it's... Only thing I try to do is to get them to have faith in what's already appropriated for them. So when you see... You just think. If Jesus came here tonight and was wearing this suit of clothes that He gave me, and you'd walk up to Him and say, "Lord, will You heal me?" He would perhaps look astonished at you. He'd say, "You're a believer in Me? Do not you read the Scriptures?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Well, did not you read that where I purchased your healing at Calvary? See, I have already done it, my..." If you...

3 Here's what it is. If you ever seen anything in a pawn shop, and then you go and redeem that from the pawn shop, you cannot redeem it the second time. It's already redeemed. If someone gives you a ticket, where the price has been paid, and that article is redeemed, it's redeemed. You don't have to pay for it the second time.

There's where Moses made his sin by striking the rock the second time instead of speaking to it. See? He smote it the first time. What did it speak of? The weakness of the Blood of Jesus that He'd have to be smitten for each individual. Christ was smitten for our healing. We just speak to the Rock now and it brings forth Its healing.

4 But you see, we have been taught wrong all about this here of laying on of hands, and sensations, and... Don't never build your--your hopes of salvation upon a sensation, 'cause you can have all kinds of sensations. But build it upon the Word of God. There's where you can beat Satan any time, upon the Word. It's THUS SAITH THE LORD.

I remember one night... I don't want to keep you here. I ain't going to say nothing tonight. I was... So many things that if I could stay here for a month I could half--not half enough... If I could write in books of what I have seen the Lord do, it would almost make a library in itself. Hundreds of books wouldn't write of the things that I've seen that just--just know He did in these about thirty-five years, or thirty-one years, it is, of service for Him, that I've seen Him do in the meetings that I've held, and around the world. And the great things. It was startling.

Well, I hope you remember them and think of them. But we don't write of them just let them go, 'cause sometime Jesus said, "See that you tell nobody," See? After all, Jesus died for a people that God foreknew would be saved. See? Now, that is true. He came to save that which was lost, but by His foreknowledge He knew which would be saved.

Now, healing certainly is for everybody that has faith enough to receive it. Salvation is for everybody who has faith enough to receive it.

5 In a meeting, if I'm not mistaken, is was right here in Illinois. Isn't there a little place up here called Vandalia or something? Vande... Van. I believe that's where it was at, Vandalia, or--or just across the river in Missouri. It was somewhere here, I believe, in Illinois, coming through the line one night, there was a lady. And then...

You have to watch what He says. Now, in these visions that you see here taking place in the platform, I don't do that. You know who does that? You do it. You don't know it, but you are the one that's a doing it. You say, "Brother Branham..." That's exactly right class. You do that yourself. That's just... I wished I could explain it but there's no way of doing it. It's just like shifting your car and getting it into a gear. See? And just like the Holy Spirit, just a gift to know how to shift yourself out, and let Him do the talking. See? Shift yourself out, then it isn't you talking; it's Him. And you do that yourself.

6 To try to make a little exclamation of it... I said exclamation, I'd say this. Maybe we're all in--we're all going to a carnival. There's this carnival coming to the city, a circus. And we're all up here, we ministers, we're--we're young fellows and we want to get in to see that. So it happened to be that I was a great big, tall, skinny fellow. And brother here was short and sturdy. Now, he maybe'd have a better chance to... He's stronger than I am. Well now, he could pack water. He's big and strong. And he could do things that I couldn't do at all. Now, I can't help 'cause I'd be tall and skinny; he can't help because he is short and strong. See? "Who, taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature?" said Jesus. We are what we are.

And that's one thing that has hurt our Pentecostal move and other moves, is somebody trying to be something that they're not. They are trying to impersonate someone else. You can't do that. You're just what you are; that's all. And when you do that, God will use you in just what you are. And you're just as important as anybody else.

As I said the other night, the little bitty hair spring in this watch is just as important as the mainspring, 'cause it takes it all together to make time. And that... When we realize our position in Christ and then abide in that, if it's just a little housewife, stay right there. That's what God wants you to do. See? Just be what you are.

7 And many of you remember the healing of Congressman Upshaw, had been in a wheelchair for sixty-six years, served seventeen years in the United States government as a--as a congressman and so forth. Never seen him in my life... And Doctor Roy E. Davis of the Missionary Baptist church that baptized me into the Baptist faith, was a--or Baptist fellowship we call it. We believe that the Baptist church, that the Spirit baptizes you into the body, but we are baptized... If you've been a Campbellite, been immersed any way you want to, and you have been to the Baptist church, got to be baptized over into that fellowship. So we call it baptized into the fellowship of the Baptist church.

He was the one that sent Congressman Upshaw there that was... and he was... Never seen him, just walked into the building there in Los Angeles where thousands times thousand in wheelchairs everywhere. And I seen him in a vision and begin to speak. And he was healed that night. For the first time out of that chair without those crutches and things for sixty-six years: Congressman William D. Upshaw. Fine friend of Churchill and all of those.

And as you all know that when I went there and prayed for King George when he had multiple sclerosis and he was healed instantly; the next day he played eighteen holes of golf, and he couldn't even set up for just a few minutes at a time.

8 And I was up to Gustav. And Gustav's brother is a Pentecostal. And why do some of you people dally into Pentecostal? Is because you live here in a little city and don't know the rest of the world. Forty percent of our government is Pentecostal; that's right, or either Pentecostal influence. Billy Graham said, "No longer can you hide the Pentecostal church. It's the fastest growing church in the world." What did... Our Sunday Visitor, the Catholic church made a statement that last year alone the Pentecostals had a million, five hundred thousand registered converts, more than all the rest of them put together. We're not a bunch of trash. We've come out of the alley; we're up on glory. We... The Pentecostal church, and the government officials, and all had breakfast.

And Mr. Nixon right there in Washington, DC and speaking a few days with some of the state senators in my home... Ask my secretary. These private interviews like we had this morning, and what we have of a morning where the people come to find out what the Lord has to say. They stay there. We wait there until the Lord speaks not like these little visions you see here; I mean, you do them. But doctors, statesman, congressman, potentates from world over...

9 I was talking to my secretary. That's his mother and his father-in-law and mother-in-law setting right there now. The other day I... They're waiting on the list from internationally over, six hundred waiting now from around the world, come in and set before the Lord and we pray until He comes down and tells them what to do: doctors, statesman, lawyers, congressmen, and everything else the nation over. Even I've had doctors from Mayo Brothers Clinic. Not something just hearsay, friends; God. So here's what the visions are.

Now, in these meetings, these evangelistic meetings, you don't see one-tenth of it. Ask the brethren who go with me. See? These are just little... These are something that you do yourself.

10 Now, here, and I'll go back to my point. Excuse me for leaving it. But we're going to a carnival. And there's a great big--or a circus, there's a big board fence around it. And we--we don't know how to get over it. So we want to see what was on the inside.

And there's no man in the world but what wants to know where he come from, what he is, and where he's going. There's only one Book that can tell you, and that's This; what, who you are, where you come from, and where you're going. But every human being likes to look a past the curtain to see what's on the other side. But we're going to do that now for a parable.

And now, we go along, and I look at this brother. And I'm a stronger, great strong looking man, and me, a little skinny fellow. Well, I think that maybe he can do his part towards getting in to see the--the--the show, what's on the inside. Well, how am I going to do it.

11 The first thing you know, I happen to spy a knothole a way up high. Now, he can't reach up there (See?), but I can. So but to do it, I have to reach down and jump real high, and I get a hold just with my fingers and pull myself up and look through that knothole, like to nearly take the life out of me. And I drop down. "What did you see, Brother Branham?"

"A giraffe."

"Oh, you did? What else did you see?" That's all I had time to see. Like to kill me.

"Look and see if you can see something else."

Now, you don't realize it, but that's you on the platform and that's you setting out there. You're the one that knocks the strength out of me. Last night, someone was coming that... almost fell four or five times getting out. And you don't... People don't realize that. If you read the Bible...

12 Do you know the poets, or prophets, or so forth, they go into inspiration, sometimes they don't even know where they're at. Did you ever read of Stephen Foster, wrote, "Old Kentucky Home," "Way Down Upon the Swanee River," gave America its best folk songs. He was considered a neurotic. Every time he'd write a song, inspiration, then he would go out and get on a drunk. One time when he wrote, he come out, he'd just come out then he got a razor called a servant, and committed suicide, cut his throat.

Did you ever hear of William Cowper? Certainly you have. I stood by his grave recently and cried. He--he was considered in England a--a goofy guy, crazy. Anybody that's real spiritual is, science says, is just one stage away from insanity from the world. So it's the human mind trying to cope with that mind there (You see?), you don't realize. No one will ever know on this side of eternity what it means.

13 So then William Cowper, finally the day... You remember when he tried to even get in a cab and go commit suicide. Come back, got a rope and tried to hang himself, and--and went down and tried to drown in the river then wrote that famous song.

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's veins,

Where sinners plunge beneath the flood,

Lose all their guilty stain.

14 Look at the prophet Jonah. As soon as he come out of the belly of the whale and went and gave his prophecy, and long as he--the inspiration was on him, giving his prophecy he was fine. But when the inspiration left him, he set on top of a mountain and prayed for God to take his life.

The prophet Elijah under a--a vision of the Lord, fixed it and called fire out of heaven, called rain out of the heaven the same day, and killed four hundred priests himself. And then, when the inspiration left him, run at the threat of a woman and was forty days and nights out in the wilderness not even knowing where he was at, wandering around. And God found him pulled back in a cave. Now, is that Scripture?

15 See, people don't realize it. You don't realize what these... You say, "Well, if I had a ministry like that..." You'd want to get rid of it right quick. You don't realize what it does to you. It kills you. But it--it... God has given it to you. Critics laugh, make fun, everything and me standing right here. I know what they're thinking. Certainly I do. I used to call them out and say everything. But when I did, I found out it hurts. Jesus said let both go; don't pull up the tares; that's God time at the end to pull the tares out (See?) at the end it will harvest. Just let them alone. See? Go ahead, I've got the ministry to serve and so... God to serve and I just do it the best I can and then go on.

16 Well now, when you come to the platform, that's you that's doing that, like the woman touched His garment. It's your own faith that does that. I have nothing to do with it. To me I--I can do noth... I've asked God for something over and over for myself for the past five years, and He won't even say a word to me about it. My own mother was laying here dying and saying, "Son, what shall be my end?" And my sweet old mother, I couldn't tell her until God tells me. See? I... He has to speak. I don't do the speaking; it's Him. And it's not me that causes the vision here on the platform.

Ask my brethren that's with me. This week I have eat nothing but crackers and milk. That's true. Fasting, waiting, seeing which way the Spirit will lead me... The boys at the door said, "There's a big smorgasbord down here, Brother Branham. How you love to--to go to a smor..."

17 I said, "I do, but not in healing services." And wait on the Lord. This comes out only by fasting and praying. Here comes tomorrow night and cripples, and hospital cases, and dying people will be setting here. Be ready for it. You love people. And if you don't love people, you might as well get out of the ministry; that's all. Because if your heart don't burn for them... I'd rather you'd say something good about my son than you'd say about me, because that's my son.

And if we can't love one another, how are we going to love God Whom we haven't seen. See? We must find the vein. We've got to love one another. Though we different, you got to love anyhow. You can't bluff it. You got to really do it. You got to. And that's the greatest power they found in healing, is love, when you have sympathy and love for the people, trying to help them.

18 Sometimes I scold and--and go back home and just think, Lord, what did I do it for?" But it's because I love them. If I have to scold my little boy for running out on the street... He will get killed if I don't get him off that street. Sometimes I have to whip him, correct him, say, "Son, stay off of that street." It's not because I don't love that child; it's because I do love him. That's the way God has to do to us, scold us, and shake us, make us a real true... Person that let's his child just do anything is not a good parent. That's right. There's too much of that in America today, and we need the old fashion mothers.

19 Now, someone comes to the platform, a lady. Here I am; I've got myself relaxed. And she comes up, who is she? I never seen her, don't know her. What is she? I don't know. "O God, I'm depending on You now." All day long I pray. "What is it, Lord? Step across this Bible here. God, there's Your Word; You made the promise, between me and that woman stands Your Word. Your Spirit's here somewhere. God, maybe one thing that might set this whole building a fire. Maybe the Holy Spirit has come in, ward off all the unbelief tonight. There's nothing in here but what's going to believe me, everything's going to believe because I have preached it just as simple and I can. And they've read the Bible and know it is the truth, and a promise for this day. Surely they will, Lord."

20 Then trying to relax myself, talking. The first thing you know, what am I doing? Reaching up, reaching up, find out what kind of faith that woman's got. Finally find she's got faith. What does it do? It touches. Then between her and I, I see it. Now, where will It go? Here, up, up, up, grab it. "You have tumor."

"Yes, sir."

You turn towards the audience, "He guessed that." See? "Well, that's mental telepathy. Dr. Jones said it was so-and-so. Oh, that's mind reading." See, there you are again. Well, what can you say? Look out there, here sits this one, that one, up here, down. There it is back here. "God, what can I... Well, Lord, You had to go through the same thing."

21 Now, what else did... What else is wrong with her? Here you go again. You're already, fingers aching as it was, hanging on there. Now, your heart's aching. See? Then up you go again. "And besides that, you got TB, and were at the doctor the other day. And he told you, you were... He--he was a tall man."

"He read their mind." Isn't that strange?

Even Christians saying, "Well, I suppose it's all right." See?

Well, after while, that one passes by. Here's another on. Then you are just about sagged out. See? Here's another one. Well, there stands a whole line of them. If you don't get every one of them, boy, they never got prayed for; there's something wrong.

See--see I'm trying to use a prophetic gift in an evangelistic service. That's the reason it don't work so well. It does in Africa, it does anywhere else but the United States, anywhere else but here, it'll work. It doesn't here. People just don't get it. I don't know why, but they don't.

22 That's one thing can happened in Africa, thousands will rush to the altar, screaming, crying, jumping out of their wheelchairs, if they have to crawl over anything else. They believe God; that's all; they get it. But we didn't... See we didn't indocumate it with so many different isms and so many different things, somebody says it's this, somebody says it's that. "He belongs to another church; he's not--he's not one of us." "He's a holy-roller." "He--he--he might be a medium; he might be a devil," You see, and all of that that just grieves the... Then somebody would say, "I'll get out of here right now. Oh." See?

Now, how can you have a meeting under that? You let me ask you something. Throw this audience with one accord with one faith one time. Let me turn to you in the Name of the Lord, there won't be a wheelchair left in here but what he will be walking. You just try it one time and find out. I've seen it. Twenty-five thousand got in the wheelchairs, stretchers, and everything else and walked.

23 But you got to minister anyhow. This is the nation that's got the money to send me yonder; they haven't got money to bring. I ain't got no big backing up on me. I have to do is just depend on God, and you, if you have mercy, do something. "Wherever You lead me I'll go." And that's what I do. See?

Now, perhaps maybe the ringmaster comes by now, "What are you boys looking at?"

"We were looking in, sir."

"Oh, well, come here." He's a great big fellow. Reaches down, picks me up into his hands, said, "I'll tell you how this goes, Brother Branham. You see that show over there?"

"Yeah."

24 "Now, that's where the Garland ride starts there. They come out here they ride around this way; they come through here, and they do this. And this does this, and this, that."

"Oh, yes, sir." setting in the palm of his hand.

"And this is this, and this is this." Sets me down there at the grand stand, you know, and he showed me everything was going to happen.

"Oh," I say, "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

"Now, you be a good boy."

"Thank you, sir."

"What happened? What did you see?"

"Oh, bless God." See--see, I'm not tired. See? He just lifted me up and showed me. Now, that's you using God's gift, or God using His Own gift. See? Now, you say, "Is that Scriptural?"

"Yes, brother."

25 A woman touched His garment one time, and He said, "I got weak." Is that right? But one day, when He was in the home of Martha and Mary and them, He... the... God showed Him. He said He done nothing till the Father showed Him. And God showed Him that Lazarus was going to die. So He said, "You go away, and they're going to send for you." I'll prove that. He said, "Go away, and after four days he's going to die. And then You go back, and You'll wake him, go to the grave and wake him, and so forth." Because He had to had done it or if He didn't He told something wrong. So He went...

26 And they sent for Him. Did He go back? "Your friend Lazarus is sick, ready to die." He knowed what the Father had told Him, so He just went on. They sent again, "Lazarus is sick. Come, see him right quick, he's going to die." He just went on.

If you'd sent for your pastor and he didn't come, you would have went and joined the next church. See? That's the reason you don't get nowhere. You've got to believe the servant God sends you. See? If He's led of the Spirit, let him alone.

Then after four days, Jesus turned around, 'cause that's what the Father, no doubt had told Him, 'cause He said He did nothing till the Father showed Him. He turned around and said to His disciples... He knowed the time was fulfilled, He said, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep."

"Oh," they said, "he's doing well." He said...

Then He told them in their own language, "He is dead. And for your sake, I'm glad I wasn't there." So He said, "But I'll go wake him."

And when He got to the grave, listen what He said, "I thank Thee, Father, Thou has already (See?) heard Me. But I just say these--this for those who stand by. I said if for their sake," See? Then He said, "Lazarus, come forth." Lazarus came forth.

27 He never said a thing about getting weak, did He? That was God using His gift. The other one was a woman using His gift. See the difference? You understand now? That's what it... It's you that's a doing it.

Now, in the interviews and so forth, they have times where the Holy Spirit... Like setting this morning before a young couple, how it went down through their life, picks it up and brings it back.

And my, here a famous doctor set in the room recently and asked me about a certain thing. I said, "Will you pray with me?"

He said, "I will, sir."

We knelt down and prayed. I Said, "Now, you're studying of building a clinic. And there's certain thing fixing to happen. And you looked at a certain place to build this clinic. You said they couldn't touch it for twenty-five years." But I said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, Dr."

He said, "Do you think the city needs a clinic?"

I said, "Yes, sir; it needs a clinic. I think you're a fine doctor so you go..."

He said, "It can't be that though. It can't be there." Said, "I've done fought that in court" said, "you can't build it there."

I said, "It'll be built out of red brick; it'll have a light roof it; it'll almost be a city block long; and it'll be there. And your name will be on the front of it. I saw it. THUS SAITH THE LORD."

He said, "I would like to believe that, sir."

I said, "You remember when you sent me that man not long ago that didn't even have any liver half of it eat out, that minister? That morning I saw those five apples come down and a big healthy apple eat up the unhealthy apples, and I told you THUS SAITH THE LORD, he would live, and you said, 'How can he live without a liver in him?'" I said, "He's preaching. He took my place at the Milltown Baptist church." I said, "He's still there."

He said, "Oh, I remember Reverend William Hall, Milltown Baptist church."

I said, "He's still there. That's been about five years ago." I said, "You're clinic will be there."

He said, "I hope you're right."

And I said, "Hope?" I said, "He's always right."

28 And so the next morning he called me up, he said, "Brother Branham..."

I said, "Yeah."

He said, "I'm freezing to death." And it was in July.

And I said, "Freezing to death?"

He said, "Shivers running over me." Said, "They had a meeting in Boston last night with all the bids in for that place. They picked me. It ain't going to happen in twenty-five years; it's already settled. I bought the place already this morning."

There's the clinic right there tonight. In St. Louis just recently in a great medical meeting he made a speech and he told that. Got a sign of it sticking on his door engraved in brass. He said, "If anybody ever doubts, any physician, have him to call me collect." That's right. Oh, you see, friends, see it's not nothing... The thing of it is, you can't wake yourself up. That's all. You can't wake yourself up to the reality of what it is.

You children and you people here in these wheelchairs, you know if I could help you I'd come do it. You know. God bless their heart. I'd certainly do it. But you're no more... To heal a person in a wheelchair is no more than heal one with heart trouble. And the greatest thing He ever done was a save a man's soul to change his whole disposition and everything. For you just think you're bound for that all that time. You're not. No, sir. I've seen tens of thousands of wheelchairs of people healed of it (See?), and I know. And it is true, someone says my grammar's bad.

29 I remember in Fort Wayne not long ago I was preaching at B. E. Rediger, where his daughter had been healed of insanity a few days ago. Oh, there I go again, so many things to say. An insane girl that was going through the morgue. And the Catholic school wouldn't even let me in. And I went it as a visitor, spoke to the girl a few minutes. I said, told her father, I used to go with the girl's mother. I said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, she has her right mind." And her mother grabbed me around the waist, and she said, looked to her husband, she said, "He's never wrong."

I said, "Now, she didn't mean me, she meant the Spirit of the Lord."

30 And about two hours after that, the father called me up, weeping; he said, "Brother Branham, I don't know what to say." His daughter was just only eighteen years, a teacher in music. And played overtures and so forth, same studies that my daughter's a studying. He said, "I don't know what to say." Said, "That girl instantly come to herself, and these doctors are holding a counsel right now." Said, "She's going home with us this afternoon." Right. See? That's right. I said... He said, "Oh, I'll blast it through the country."

I said, "Sh-h-h, tell no one. Go ahead, just thank God and move on. You see? Just keep going on."

He's wonderful if you'll just believe Him. One more little thing to you people. Just because that you're here in the meeting, and you accept your healing, it don't happen right away, don't pay any attention to that. It will happen if you've got enough faith to believe it'll happen.

31 There was a woman come in the meeting one night; she passed through. She had stomach trouble. The Holy Spirit said to her, "You are Mrs. So-and-so, you came from a certain place." Said, "You have a stomach trouble." Said, "What it is is a duodenal ulcer." Said, "It's very dangerous, and the doctor says that you might hemorrhage with it sometime, because they been wanting to operate." I said, "But you're afraid of the operation; and therefore, you're not able to eat anything hardly at all but just broths, and...?... like a bouillon and so forth."

She said, "That's right." And she said, "Is he right, Mr. Branham?"

I said, "Certainly your doctor's right." And I said, "The reason it is 'cause it was caused by tension. You're under such a tension all the time."

She said, "I have been a nervous child."

32 I looked at her. And I seen her setting down by a nice big steak, eating, you know, and eating a piece of apple pie. That's what I saw in the vision. I said, "But THUS SAITH THE LORD."

Watch what It said. See? You're the one that's making It say this, but look that It says behind it. That's the thing. See? You say, "You got a cancer," and you know that. But see what He says about that cancer. See? That's when you watch it. So then--then... She... It told her. So she said, "I'm going out and eat." So she went out and eat.

And a little bit behind that come a lady that had a big growth on her throat. And the Holy Spirit told her, "That growth shall leave you, THUS SAITH THE LORD."

33 So they happened to be neighbor women. And so the next day she tried to eat, and oh, my, she like to died. And so she tried for two or three days, and she'd just vomit and gag and blood fly out of her mouth and everything. And her... After about a week, her husband, being a Christian, but he said, "Honey" said, "you're bringing reproach upon the cause." Said, "You mustn't say things like that."

34 She started crying. She said, "Hubby, listen," she said, "that man didn't never see me in his life, and by some sort of a power that I believe was the Holy Spirit, according to what I read in this Bible, he told me what my trouble was, who I was exactly to the letter, and told me that THUS SAITH THE LORD that I'd be well." She said, "Until that time comes, I'm going to be acting like it." Good.

So he said, "Go ahead, burst your ulcer and then you'll bleed to death." She just went on. 'Course he--he didn't have... See, it never happened to him; it happened to her. It wasn't his faith; it was hers.

35 Well, about two months passed, nothing happened. One morning the children had left to go to school, and she was washing the dishes. And she was singing. And after while, she had the funniest feeling come over her, she said. She come testified of it. So said the funniest feeling went over her. She got real hungry at...?... And she said... Well, the children left some oats in their plate, you know. I guess mother's do that. And so she got a little bit of oats, and eat it, and she thought... She usually would vomit with it. So she got a little oats, and she eat it, and that toast looked so good she was taking a bite of the toast some of the kiddies had left.

So she went on a few minutes, and she was still hungry, didn't bother. So she just poured her out some, stir them up, eat her a piece of toast, went on washing, she just felt fine fixing her house around. She got real hungry again, so she just went and fried her two eggs, and some bacon, and got a cup of coffee, and had a gastronomical jubilee. And so she--she just really got ready for it. And so she just eat all she could, waited about to about ten o'clock, nothing happened. She was getting hungry again.

36 So she thought, "Oh, praise God." She said, "I'm going down and tell my neighbor." And when she got down there she heard someone screaming and crying. So she run to the door and shook the door, and nobody answered. She thought maybe somebody had died. And so she run into the house real quick, and here this woman with a sheet in her hand, shaking it like that, and screaming to the top of her voice. And she said, "What's the matter?"

She said, "You know what?" Said, "Last night I was standing before the mirror looking at that knot on my neck. Now, look, it's gone." Said, "I've shook every sheet, everything else, trying my best to find it, and I woke up this morning and..."

Now, I've got their names and address (See?), documented statements. And see, what it was, when that Angel of God... Now, anybody that's a Bible student knows that sometimes that God does not come right on the scene when He--when He should come, when we think He should.

37 You remember, Daniel prayed. It was twenty-one days before the Angel could get to him. Is that right? All right, how many knows that? What happened? The very Angel of God that made the promise... Not me now. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't know them. But said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD." It taken Him almost two months, but He was passing through the neighborhood confirming that Word that He had spoken. Glory to God. If that ain't the same God of the Bible, I don't know my Bible. That's happened tens of hundreds of times, friends.

So what am I saying that for? Building your faith for tomorrow night's healing service. I want you to... if it... Now, don't bluff it. It won't bluff. You can't bluff the devil. You remember when Jesus gave His church like... He gave His church power in Saint Matthew the 10th chapter to cast out devils, heal the sick, and--and the lepers, and raise the dead. Is that right? Now, I want somebody who doesn't believe in Divine healing show me by the Scripture where He ever took that power away from the church. I want the chapter, the Book, and the verse. Where He give that power to His church I can show you chapter, Book, and verse, where He told them it would be at all races, all places, to all the world. Now, you tell me where He said, "I made a mistake. I've got to take it back." Show it to me, some critic. It's not in God's Word.

38 Now, you see, it isn't... Where you're looking at, my critical friend, is this: you're looking at the weakness; you're looking at what the people is doing about it. But don't look at that. Look at what God said about it. See? That's it. You're looking at it the wrong way; you're cross-eyed. See? And the man that's cross-eyed don't know which way he's going. See? So you just... You look single-eyed at God, what God said, not what people's doing about it, what the seminary said, but what God said. And if this isn't the Word of God, then go get something that is the Word of God.

39 No wonder the priest has--the Catholic priest has to be so smart. He's got six hundred books that he has to learn that's just as sacred to him as that Bible. Six hundred other Bible's like, of other men who wrote books that he's go to learn. Smart; there's no way to keep up with them, talk about, when it come to intellectuals. But God don't use that at all. That's foolish to Him. The humility of believing Jesus Christ, God respects it. Makes it even the fool should not err in it. Now...

Now, look here. Jesus in Matthew 10, had gave them power to heal the sick. They went out and cast out devils, come back rejoicing and so forth. And ten days after that time, they were totally defeated on a epileptic case. That's right. I can imagine, hear Andrew say, "Step back, boys."

"Surely you can't do it."

"Let me show you how I done it over in Capernaum."...?... Grrrrr. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, come out of him, devil, come out of him, devil. Hallelujah. Come out of him, devil." Boy just kept on in the spasm.

40 And I can hear Peter say, "Oh, remember, you all don't know. Let me show you how I have done it there at Joppa. Come here. Let me have him." Pulls him over there, said, "This is the way you do it." They was all defeated. Not because they didn't have power. Now, watch.

And after while, look, coming down off the mountain there, I see Him come, walking quietly. The Bible said there's no beauty we should desire Him, maybe a little stooped shouldered Fellow. Oh, and He come walking up to where He was...?... That father run and said, "Lord, I brought my son to Your disciples, but they couldn't do anything for him." He said, "Will You help him?"

And He said, "I can if you believe, for all things are possible to them that believe. See?"

He said, "Lord, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief."

And brother, when that devil walked in the face of Him, he knowed he meet Him on a different level than what them disciples had. He said, "Come out of him."

And the boy fell, and he had the worst fit he ever had. Then he straightened out. Said... Then they said, "He's dead."

"He's not dead. Take him up."

41 Disciples come along and said... Now, listen, here's the modern day, "Well, Lord, I guess You took all my power away from us. The church don't have power any more."

"No."

"So why couldn't we cast him out?"

Said, "Because of your unbelief." Is that right?

The church still has the power. You Methodists here, you got that power, you Baptists, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness, but you are afraid to use it. That's all. What good would it do for me to have a fine hunting gun, and lay it on the wall, and afraid to shoot it. I'd never get any game; I'm sure. Well, I might make a whole lot of fizzles, and have some backfires, and not hand load very good, Brother Gene, but I'm shooting anyhow. That's all. I'm trying awful hard. Yes, sir, so you will do that. Let's have faith and know that if we believe it... Amen. Let us bow our heads now.

42 Lord Jesus, sometimes we talk like children. And we're glad to be that, for if we know so much, you can't lead us no more. But as long as we're children You'd forgive us of our ignorance, and--and we just trust Your hand. Sometimes we scream and shout and carry on, because, Father, we're children. We--we--we don't depend on our own ability. We're just happy that we're--we have a Father that watches over us. We're so happy for this.

Lord, there are people here that's sick, afflicted, some of them are saved, some are not saved, some believe they're saved and not, some are... They--they're just all kinds, Father. It's all mixed up. Will You help us tonight that we could have one--one great mammoth, mass healing tomorrow? Grant it, Lord. May there be such a outpouring of Your Spirit. Lord, I pray that You'll just grant it in such a way till there will not be a feeble person left in the building. Grant it.

43 Now, we're going to open back the pages of the Word. Now, I cannot open this Book, or no one can, only physically with my hands. Let the Holy Spirit open It and interpret to us a few words that would build our faith in such a way, that all of the unbelief would fade away from us, and that we'd be perfectly satisfied with a pure unadulterated faith in God, that He heals the sick, He saves the lost. And if there's any sin in our midst, Lord, take it away, please, Lord. And let us sanctify ourselves tonight through the faith in the Blood of Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We ask it in His Name, Amen.

44 Now, here just talking to you, and it's time to close. I've got quite a few Scriptures that I've written down here I'd like to refer to. I might not get to any of them. But for a bay--a way of context. Now, I won't be too long. Honest, I hope I'm not. But I'm just...

Want to read from the Book of Jeremiah, the 8th chapter, the 22nd verse. This is a question of three letters I'm going to ask the audience tonight.

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? then why is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

45 Now, I'm going to ask the question like God did, "Why? W-h-y?" "Why is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered?" [Brother Branham clears his throat--Ed.] Pardon me. Now, that is quite a statement. But I believe that if God makes a way for anything, makes a way of escape, makes a way for it, and the people doesn't receive it, doesn't walk in it, then He has a right to ask why.

46 If you went and bought your boy a car... You say now, "Junior, I--I do not want you to--to go to any pool rooms. Your father and mother, we are Christian home. I don't want you smoking cigarettes. I don't want you going to dances with--these modern dances where they drink and things. We--we are Christians here, Junior, and you'll--you'll bring a reproach upon our home and upon the cause that we stand for. And I'll be real good to you, Junior. I'm... Daddy works hard. So I'm going to slave away till I save enough money to buy you a little car, 'cause you can go to school in it, you and sis, and--and just be nice. And I'll get you nice clothes." And then you find out that Junior is smoking, and drinking, and going to places. Then you've got a right to ask that boy, "Why," 'cause you made every way for him to have pleasure, and to take his little car, and go fishing, and--and so forth, and go out riding. And then you'd have a right as a father to ask him, "Why, why did you do it?" Isn't that right, brethren?

47 Then if God made a way for His people to escape and get away from the wrath that's fixing to come, and they don't receive it, then He's got a right to ask why didn't they do it.

I landed in Bombay, India, here sometime ago. I was reading a piece in the paper. I still have it, or... I beg your pardon. Tommy Nichols has it now; it's coming out in Christian Business Men's "Voice." And said, "The earthquake must be over." Now, India isn't rich people like they are in America. Now, the foreign people really think that as long as you're an American, you are rich. Well, that is right according to them. But according to the status they have to live in. But they--they have their fences where they pick up rocks like we did in early America, make their fences. Their... All their homes are built out of rock and mud.

48 But one day there come a strange thing happen. And all the little birds that lived in these rocks along the fences and in the big towers all flew away from their nest and left it, just evacuated their nest. And the cattle and sheep that... When the day got hot... They'd feed early of a morning and late in the evening. But instead of... And then in the heat of the day, they'd come and stand in the shadows of this fence to keep cool. But instead of that, they run right out in the middle of the field and all leaned against one another: cattle, sheep, animals.

And the people wondered, "What strange action this is." Two days it happened. All of a sudden a earthquake blowed the country; them walls fell in. The earthquake shot four or five different times for maybe two days. They had earthquake after earthquake. Finally the little birds begin to fly back into their nest, places that was left, the cattle come back around what walls was left. What was it? The same God that warned the birds and the animals to go into the ark for safety, shows He is the same God today. See? He warned His animals to flee and to get away from those great walls that was fixing to fall.

49 Now, if God can do that by instinct to an animal, how much more should we, who claim to be His children, filled with the Holy Ghost, be warned of the Spirit to flee these things of the world, and get away from them? They're fixing to crumble in. Go to the Ark of safety, which is Christ. Just as quick as you can get into Him, go quickly. Don't wait a minute, for the hour is coming when the door will be closed and mercy will be no more. So if God has made a way, and then at the judgment He's going to ask, "Why?"

I used to know a song we sing. "When the last book is open, what then? When the preacher has preached his last prayer, or prayed his last prayer," something like that, "the Bible's closed on the pulpit, the arms are all stacked, the taps sound out for its last times over the hills, the retreats are made, the sun setting for its last time, the--the mimic has made his last act, and Hollywood is finished, what then?" You're going to be asked to give a reason why you didn't come, then what then? What's going to answer for? How are you going to escape it?

50 Now, we want to think these things seriously for about thirty minutes as I try to refer to some Scriptures here. Now, you're going to be asked every one of you, "Why?" When it comes to a spot that when God has made every preparations sent the Holy Spirit, and revealed, and showed everything that He promised in the Bible right before you, then what are you going to do?

You know, it's something like the other day in Louisville, Kentucky; there was a woman had a little baby. And she was packing it around from place to place and was in a ten cent store. And she'd say, "Look, darling. Look, darling. Look, darling." And--and she got hysterically. And after while she said, oh, just screamed out. And the people, the patrons in the--the building begin to notice the strange action of the woman. And she just fell across the table and said--begin crying. And when--they wondered what was the matter with her. They went over.

She said, "My little boy here, two years old," said, "about six months ago, he just set and stared." And said, "I took him to the doctor. There was nothing that should attract a little boy like him, will attract him." Said, "He just sets and looks blank." And said, "I shake these little trinkets and things that ought to attract his attention, but he just sets blank. There's something wrong with him."

51 Now, please forgive me if I... I don't mean to hurt feelings. But remember, this is where correction is. This is judgment. That's a whole lot like the church is today. God has shook all kinds of spiritual gifts before them, and they still set like they were just staring. They don't want it. You can speak against women wearing short hair; they never do anything about it; about wearing--and immorally dressed. They didn't do anything about it, about fussing in the denominations: one's better than this, and this one's this, and this one's this. They don't do nothing about it; they just go right on fussing just the same. I wonder what we're going to do at the judgment when God says, "Why?"

52 He sent an Oral Roberts, a Tommy Hicks, spoke in tongues and interpretation of tongues, and give messages, and prophets, and everything else that He promised in the Bible, every blessing He shook it before the church; and constantly, they wade on unbelief. Then God will say, "Why?" Then what's your answer?

Now, don't--don't think I'm trying to hurt, but look setting there in these wheelchairs. Look out here at the sickness. As many times as Oral Roberts and many great ministers of healing gifts, and Jack Coes, and things with them bulldog faith and grabs a hold of it. And you seen things done. Then He come a along with a prophetic gift, and shows, and discerns, and lay infallible proofs world around. Then they set and say, "Well, I wonder if something could happen?" God's going to ask you, "Why?" And you are going to have to answer. Now, that's true.

53 Now, one time there was a king, his name was Ahaziah. He was the son of Jezebel and--and Ahab. And he took his father's place in Samaria when Ahab was killed according to the prophets, and the dogs licked his blood, just exactly what the prophet had said would take place. And Ahaziah took his place. And he was a renegade just like his father and his mother.

And one day he was walking through the lattice of his house, perhaps, the same lattice that the--that the queen of Sheba or some of the... in her days that they... when they built the temple of Solomon. And he--he fell through that lattice, and hurt hisself, and got sick. And he sent up to Ekron to Beelzebub, a devil, sent two men up there or group of men, said, "Go up and consult and ask Beelzebub, the god of--of Ekron if I am going to get well, yes, or no."

54 And God sent a Angel down to the old Elijah setting down there in a little cave door. He said, "Go up and meet them." God knows when to send and when not to. Said, "Go up and meet them and tell them THUS SAITH THE LORD." And old Elijah walked sternly up there and stood in the road. When he seen them come up, he said, "You're on your road over to the--to--to Ekron over there to meet the--to meet Beelzebub, to meet their prophets, to consult whether Ahaziah is going to get well or not." Said, "Go back and tell him, 'Why did you do that? Is it because there's no God in Israel? Is it because there's no prophet there? Why would you go to a thing like that then?' Go tell him THUS SAITH THE LORD, he's not coming off that bed." Oh, my. That's God.

55 What's the matter that we change our papers from Methodist, to Baptist, to Presbyterian, and all the different denominations and things running around? Why do we do these things? Why do we go... Why do we stay home on Wednesday night and watch "We Love Susie," or some of them plays and television programs and things like that? Is it because there is no God in Pentecost? Is it because there's no joy in the house of the Lord? Is it because there's no prophet there? Is it because these things are not so?

"Is there is no physician there, is there no balm in Gilead?" Balm is healing. "Then why is the daughter of My people still sick?" Asks why. Why do we do these things? Why do we act like the world? Why does our women still dress like the world? Why do our pastors let deacons come in with two or three different wives and serve on the deacon boards? Why do we have it, go just like the world, and begin to act like the world, and talk like the world, and--and... Why are we doing it? Is it because...

56 Why do we have to great build shrines that's worth millions and millions of dollars, and preaching Jesus is coming the next few days? Missionaries on the field with no shoes on their feet, living on one meal a day, why would we throw money away for stuff like that, and missionaries that I know of have to put shoes on their feet? Men of God will answer for it someday. God going to say, "Why?" That's right. Mother, trying to hand you a little baby, and his little belly swelled that big, dying with hunger. We try and want to keep up with the Joneses. God's going to ask us, "Why?"

Now, out great organization's building tens of millions of dollars worth of buildings and things like that and preaching Jesus is coming soon. Our own testimony meets us in the face by the Word, know we don't believe what we are talking about. Just become a routine, around, and around, and around. "The Father said so; we say it too." If you really believe it, act like it.

57 If you believe in Divine healing, accept Him. If you believe the Holy Ghost is right, stay there, not for ten minutes, but until He comes. Don't take no substitute. Stay there till the real thing's there, when you've passed from death to Life. And brother the birds will sing different, everybody, all the ones you hated, you'll love, and everything will be different when you do. Why do we substitute something instead of it? God's going to say, "Why?" Then we're going to have to answer.

Now, that is right, brother. You believe that. All of you do, you men. Now, that's--that's where we're standing. We should be a church on fire with faith, brother, burning, my, my, instead of that we look like a bunch of little coyotes backed up in a corner. "Well, uh, uh, yeah, I believe it, uh-huh." You're backing up. Stand up for a toe-to-toe to it. If we're Pentecostal be Pentecostal.

58 If we're not, why don't we just break the thing down, and consolidate with some other of our denominations, our Methodists brethren here, our Baptist brethren, our Pent... out Presbyterian or... Why don't you all go back and be Catholic. That's the oldest one in the bunch of them. See, go back and be that. But if we're Pentecostal, let's be Pentecostal by experience. Rise, shake yourself. Yes. Said, "Go tell him. What's the matter?" Why would the Pentecostal people...

A girl asked me the other day, said, "Brother Branham, they're beginning to wear a scandal skirt."

I said, "What's that?"

"Oh," she said, "the girls are wearing skirts that's cut down this way that shows their underskirt. Do you think it's wrong for a girl to do that?"

I said, "Sister, what in the world does the Pentecostal Holy Ghost filled girl want to show her underskirt for?" I'd just like to ask one of them. If she'd been right with God, she wouldn't have had to ask that.

59 I got a little Bible when I first started out, I wrote a little book; there should be if somebody say, "Is it wrong to smoke, is it wrong to drink, is it wrong to do so-and-so?" Like that.

I said, "Don't ask me foolish questions. Make this up in your mind. If you love the Lord with all your heart, you don't smoke, chew, or drink any shine." And that's... I still stand by that. When the love of God's in your heart, you have got no time for nothing else. You're sold out. The Bible says, "If you love the world or the things of the world, it's because the love of God's not even in you." And your own life tells about it. I hope that's plain enough, I won't have to get any plainer. See? But that's true. "By their fruits you know them."

So shake ourselves. Let's be Pentecostal or--or be something else. If we are not Pentecost, let's quit saying we are (See?), until we get back to the real Pentecostal experience, get back to faith, daring faith. Them disciples sealed their death with their faith. Oh, faith of out fathers living still in spite of dungeon, flame, or sword. That's what we want, real genuine faith.

60 You Methodists need it; you Baptists need it; you Pentecostals need it; all of us need it. God's going to say, "Why? Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there, then why? Is there no--is there no prophet in Israel, is there no God there?" Has Pentecostal lost their God? Don't they have any more gifts in amongst Pentecostals? Have they no more prophets, gifts of prophecy, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists, no one else to speak in tongues and give message? One thing, you don't reverence them gifts enough. Another thing, you don't prove them first. Then you get every kind of spirit in there speaking. When you get that spirit that don't say something that's right, get it out of there. You don't want a substitute. God's got a real one for you.

61 Some man speaks in tongues, then let him... It's a message to the church; everybody keep still; that's God speaking. And listen and see if it's not to the church, then it's in the flesh. See? If it's something to the church, and it doesn't come to pass, then that's a foul evil spirit 'cause God won't lie. Then you'll have your church setting in order. See?

But the way it is, just let it fly loose anywhere and somebody chewing chewing gum, and another one eating popcorn, one talking, and another one whispering to somebody, trying to speak in tongues, three or four at a time, and--and this, and trying... Oh, my. It becomes a Corinthians affair again. You ought to get it back in order, back to the Holy Spirit. Test that gift. You say, "Oh, Brother Branham, we test that too." Well, brother, it has to be tested right here, don't it? That's right. Don't be afraid. If it's God, it's right, one hundred percent right.

But... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] the top of it... [Blank.spot.on.tape] of that.

62 I was talking to the man, an editor, Bob, what's his name that writes Christian Life? And he done it... Sho... Not Bob Shuler, he's the Methodist brother. I know him real well, but I can't think of his name that writes "The Christian Life," the... Walker. He come to Indianapolis. And he said, "Brother Branham, what about the Pentecostals?" He said, "They do this and do that?"

63 I said, "And what about the rest of them? They do the same thing. But many times their members are in the paper; they're out... The editors of the paper and things, you don't hear about it." But I said, "They do just as bad." But I said, "Sometimes somebody does get off of the wrong end. And then what do you all do, you jump plumb across the real thing and pull over to that. And this over on this side, the real wild fire, pour it plumb back over to old cold formal." I said, "It's right in the middle of the road goes the genuine Holy Ghost, the church." Glory. Them old cold formals on one side, and radics on the other side. It's all false from the real thing.

Isaiah said in the 35th chapter, "There shall be a highway." You Nazarenes call it the "highway of holiness." You're wrong. Not disputing your word but said, "There shall be highway and ('and' is a conjunction)... There shall be a highway, and a way, and it shall be called (not the highway but) the way of holiness." The middle of the road.

64 Dr. Weed, I know you Assemblies brothers knows him. He's a darling brother, precious friend of mine. I was preaching on that one time. Brother Weed got up and he said, "You know what?"

Brother Vibbert, I guess all of you know Brother Vibbert. He's my cousin, big assembly is at--at Evansville, Indiana. We had a man's meeting over there, Sunday.

Said, he said, "Brother Branham talked about 'the middle of the road.'" Said, "That's not good driving ethics."

So I happened to be standing behind him; he didn't know it. I said, "You see, Brother Weed, just how earthly you can get, you Assembly brethren?" He's a precious brother. And the Assemblies is one of my great sponsors. So I said, "You see, you just think about the earthly things so much, and get in such a twist so all you can think about is just the things of the earth." I said, "Sure, riding on earth that's bad ethics, but this road I'm talking about it. You don't come back, it's just a one way ticket. You can't..." And so we just laughed. How many knows Roy Weed? He--he's one of the finest men that you could get. He's been a real brother to me. And so there you are.

65 But God's going to ask us, "Why?" He asked the king, "Why?" Now, it wasn't because they didn't have a prophet that he could consult. No, no. No, sir. He could have went and consulted the prophet of God. It wasn't because there was no God in Israel, sure. The God of Israel would have told the prophet about the king. But it was the king's own stubborn way.

And that's what's the matter with the nations today in the world. It's not because we haven't got a God, but science is trying to rule Him out of the picture, and the people are too stubborn to stand up on the principles of God's Word. It's exactly right.

66 They say, "Oh, that's a bunch of holy-rollers." Let it be whatever it may be. I've been... I've traveled the world over several times; I have never seen a holy-roller yet, and I've looked. There's nine hundred and sixty-nine different organizations and churches recorded in Washington, and there's not a one of them called holy-rollers. That's a dirty name that the devil put on the church. There's no such a thing as holy-roller. No such an organization's called holy-rollers. They call anybody that believes in holiness holy-rollers. And if... "Without holiness, no man shall see God." So you see where the essence of it comes from. Yes.

67 All right, the king, he--he was just stubborn. He didn't want to listen to the prophet. They had a prophet. They had God, but they--the king was too stubborn. That's the way it is today; people are too selfish. They talk about Divine healing. They'd rather lay out there and die, than even to admit they believed in Divine healing. People would rather...

It's just like a man dying on a doctor's doorsteps because he won't take his medicine. The doctor's got the toxin for the disease he's got. And the man will set on the door step, and the doctor's got plenty of toxin, but he won't take it, just too stubborn to go in and take it. He will die. And he ought to. So then... If you feel that way about it. It's not because the doctor... Don't lay it onto the doctor. If the doctor's got the toxin and willing to give it, and the patient's setting on the doorstep just too stubborn to come in to take it, don't lay it onto the doctor. It's not the doctor's fault, neither is it the toxin. It's the patient's fault that won't take it.

68 The same thing it is in the church. We've got plenty of balm in Gilead, and we got physicians here. But people die in the pews in sin without the Holy Ghost, because they're too stubborn to come take it; and they're afraid it'll hurt their social prestige; it'll break them down, might cost a little of their card parties and things, afraid they might cut up and little and act unruly. No, don't blame the doctor; don't blame the remedy; just blame the patient for not taking the remedy. That's where it's at. We got toxin; we got plenty.

The world is full of the Holy Ghost; it's just everywhere. We got physicians, brother, that knows how to give the medicine, but the--the people won't take it. "Oh," they say, "I'm Presbyterian." That don't mean no more than a hog would be able to wear a sidesaddle in a stable of a racehorse. That don't have nothing to do with it, has nothing to do with it. Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, or Pentecostal organization, or anything else don't mean that to God. [Brother Branham snaps his fingers once for illustration--Ed.] You must be borned again. Dying in the church pews, not because there's no toxin, plenty of toxin, but it's because they refuse to take it.

Now, you know what? If you refuse to take the doctor's medicine, it's dangerous. You might die if you don't take the doctor's toxin. You might die, and that's dangerous to not take it. Like the Salk vaccine, like the smallpox...

69 When I go overseas I--I... They believe... They--they give me so many shots I look like a guinea egg to get into places where they just, the shots--shots with yellow fever and--and all kinds of toxins. They say that keep you from taking it. I didn't want to take it, but you have to take it anyhow. So that's all right.

You say, "Brother Branham, do you believe in medicines?" Why sure, certainly. They are God-given things; we believe that. But that ain't what heals you. What if we didn't have health and hygiene, what would we have? The way the people has accumulated on the earth today and how many things. If the hospital is not of God, then burn the thing down; it's antichrist. See? Sure, but it is of God... But they don't do no healing. They are just a place to keep you away, and to help you, try to keep you clean while you... If you are ever healed, God healed you.

Famous doctor, I wouldn't call his name, he said to me... He said, "Billy, you come in here and the first thing," said, "a horse doctor has to have more sense than we do." Said, "He has to know where the horse is sick at." Said you come in and say, "What's the matter with you?"

Said, "You tell me what's wrong."

Said, "I am in a hurry; I'll write you out a little prescription."

Said, "Do you notice who's name is on there? The druggist, he paid for this." Said, "I'll charge you ten dollars. You go over and get it filled, and he will go back and fill it, and charge you three dollars for something he paid two cents for." Said, "You take it for three or four days," said, "if the Lord hasn't healed you by that time, you come back to my office; I'll charge you five dollars more," and said, "go and get it repeated again." See, there you are. It's God that heals.

Now, I'm not condemning a good doctor. God knows that. And I'll say this one thing. Let me stop a minute. I have found more doctors believing in Divine healing than I have preachers. That's right. And I have went from hospital to hospital.

70 Famous doctor had me go to an old man the other day, an old doctor that--that I ain't got time to tell you, that was eighty years old, been unconscious for two weeks. Brother Goad here, knows of the case. Happened to belong to the same club, shooting club that I just went into a few days ago. And that old doctor was laying there. A famous, one of the best doctors there is in the south. Said, "Brother Branham, when you come over just have a word with the old man." He'd been unconscious. And while I was holding his hand, he come to and said, "Hello, doctor."

71 I said, "I'm not doctor," I said, "I'm Brother Branham."

He said, "I must've been asleep."

"Yeah, about three weeks."

I said, "I guess, doctor, how long have you been practicing medicine?"

Said, "How old are you?"

I said, "Fifty-two years old."

He said, "Before you were nursing."

And I said, "I guess a many nights you've had a flashlight down along the creek banks," old country doctor, "down along the creek banks trying to find some baby with a bellyache or a mother in labor."

He said, "Not a flashlight, a lantern."

And--and I said, "I guess you... then you didn't get nothing for it, maybe a setting of eggs or something."

Said, "No, I didn't expect nothing."

And I said, "Well, you know what I think, doc? You believe in God?"

He said, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

72 And I said, "You know what I think?" I said, "Over in the gloryland, they must have a little place over in the corner where all them good old doctors that's helped so many times." He started crying. I said, "Now, I'm getting you excited."

He said, "No, no, no. Stay right here."

Doctor... my doctor standing there, friend of mine, started ringing his hands, crying, standing back in the corner. Afterwards he said, "I never seen anything like it in my life." Said, "What did you do to him?"

I said, "I never done one thing but put my hand on him."

A God-fearing old man. He said, "No." I held his hand; I said, "I guess you form--performed a many operation, doc?"

He said, "I never picked up a knife before I asked my Creator to help me and guide it."

I said, "You may be eighty-six years old, but if I had to have an operation, I'd want them same hands to perform it." That's right. I said, "There must be a little place over there in heaven where you at."

He said, "Brother Branham, do you think He will let me in?"

I said, "I think so." He started crying, and I hugged him up.

Here he was down on the range the other day, those big old muskets down there, saying, "Watch me hit that target, boys." He's back practicing, eighty-six years old. That's right.

73 Oh, yes, they got real men in there. And they got some renegades too. And don't holler at them, 'cause we got some others, renegades, that calls themselves "reverend." That's exactly right. So sauce for the goose is for the gander. Yes, sir. A man's got toxin and--and Salk vaccine for these little children, and now polio. I pray daily that God will send us something for cancer.

If we can't have faith, let's get something else. Faith is the first. Let's take the next best if we can't get that. Look at the world in the condition it's in: poor suffering humanity. Help everybody you can. Everything that helps is of God. Let's help; let's do everything we can and pray for men. The thing to do, brethren, is get our arms together, both medicine, doctors, hospitals, nurses, church, and all together, and put our faith in God and move forward. That's what we need. God's going to ask us why we didn't do it some of these days.

74 You remember, Luke was a doctor too. Now, God never condemned him for being a doctor, but you remember, he wrote the great stories of healing. It was surprising to him to see what God could do. He was the one who wrote them, "former treatise, O Theophilus, I have wrote to you and so forth like that. Jesus of Nazareth what He all begin to do and say." He knowed what Jesus was.

75 Now, people dying in the pews because they refuse the remedy... Now, it is a serious thing to refuse that. But how much more serious is it to refuse God's Balm. What is God's Balm? The Holy Ghost. That's the cure for sin. You might refuse the toxin of the doctor, and you might go ahead and live an ordinary hour, week, or two, or--and die and go on. You might do that, you might shorten your days. But if you refuse God's toxin you'll die eternally. You'll be completely separated from God and mercy for eternity. So don't you never...

"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Then what's the matter with the daughter of My people that they can't believe in Divine healing no more? Is it because it's not taught?"

"No."

"Well, what's the matter then? What's the matter with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, did they quit teaching it?"

"No."

Got... "Did it fill... people get it?"

"Yeah. Well, is there plenty of balm?"

"Whosoever will, let him come drink from the fountain, gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, calling whosoever will," physician standing there to pass you to it? And why don't you come? Then God will say, "Why? Why didn't you?"

76 "What are you trying to do, Brother Branham?" Shake a faith into a people that they'll realize. "Is there no balm in Gilead?"

Now, I want to ask you something. The reason they dodge the issue, is because they're afraid of the new birth. That's what it is. "Oh, we Americans are so stylish, you know. Oh, my, so much. We just got to put on the--what we call 'the dog' you know." Everybody's got to just be like the Joneses, but they got... I hope there is no Joneses here, if there is I don't mean it to them. But that's just an American expression like Doe, John Doe, I would say. They got to be like that. We--we got to be so classy. They're afraid of the new birth. Let me tell you, brother, they say, "Oh..."

77 One time I was out there preaching, and there was a boy from a certain church that I used to belong to come up; he said, "Billy, you know what? I was enjoying your message so much until that woman got up back there and begin to screaming and crying then she got all them people started crying."

"Oh," I said, "that excite you?"

He said, "Why, I couldn't hear what you were saying." And said, "That... It was all right up to that time."

I said, "Oh, she was just rejoicing."

Said, "Oh, that just made chills run up my back."

And I said, "Brother, if you ever get to heaven, you'll freeze to death; let me tell you." I said, "Because even the Angels in heaven is screaming with wings over their face and over their feet, day and night, 'Holy, holy, holy unto the Lord. Holy, holy, holy unto the Lord.'" I said, "You're living in the quietest world you ever lived in. If you go to hell, there'll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. If you go to heaven it will be, 'Glory, holy, holy, holy unto the Lord,' day and night. This is the quietest place you ever lived."

He happened to play on the Colgate's baseball team. And he said, "Well, I don't... They don't do that in my church."

And I said, "Now that's... But I hope you don't think yours is the pattern."

And so he said, "Well..." I said... He said, "Well, that don't look very much like a Christian to me when a minister's speaking to say a thing..."

I said, "You know what? That encourages me. Here them say, 'Amen,' means 'so be it.'" I said, "I used to have an old dog." And I said, "He'd take anything but a skunk." And I said, "I--I'd get him to tree under a brush pile, and the only thing I had to do was get him getting that skunk; I didn't want it myself, so..." And I... That's how I got my school clothes, was--was trapping and hunting. "And I'd get this skunk under the brush pile, and old Fritz would stand there. The only thing I had to do to get him going there, raise up the pile, and he'd get back and look at me like that, saying, 'Master, you're not going to run me under there are you?' I said, 'Go get him, boy. Sic 'im, sic 'im, sic 'im, boy. Go get him.' He'd go get him." I said, "The devil is the biggest skunk I know of. When I hear people saying, 'That's right, Amen,' we got him treed then, brother; we'll get him pretty soon. Just--just let him go." Yes, yes, that's right. We got... Amen.

78 I said, "Look, I heard you the other night when Charles Nolan knocked that home run," I don't live very far from the park. I said, "not over about five blocks." I said, "I never heard such as noise in all of my life."

He said, "Oh, Billy, you ought to have been there." Said, "There was three men on base. And you know Charles? You went to school with him."

I said, "Sure."

Said, "He knocked a home run." And said, "Man, I am telling you, you ought to have seen them slide in."

79 I said, "You unholy-rollers down there. I couldn't even sleep for you. Unholy-rollers." I said, "If we are holy-rollers then you are unholy-rollers. See?" I said that... I said, "You would be a poor baseball fiend setting there, saying, 'Oh, yeah, I see, it's a home run.'" I said, "You say you wasn't very much enthused. You knocking straw hats down over one another's head, and slapping one another, and shaking and everything like that." I said, "When the preacher gets in the pulpit and hits one of them home runs like that, and see them saints open up the way, and see heaven before them, they holler, 'Glory, glory; I see it; I see it. Hallelujah, hallelujah.'" I said, "They just starting the King's highway; that's all."

There it is. See? Yes. Oh, yes, they--they... It's strange how they miss it, but I guess it's just to be that way. It's all cut out by God, and I guess He... That's the way it's supposed to be.

80 Now, how does a doctor ever find what kind of medicine that to work on a person with? Yes, they're afraid of the new birth. You know what? The reason they're afraid of the new birth... because... Listen, excuse me, my sisters, will you? I'm--I--I... This is a mixed audience, but you listen to your doctor; I--I am your brother. Any birth is a mess I don't care where it's at. If it's in the pigpen, in the barnyard, or if it's in the pink decorated hospital room, it's a mess. And the new birth is too. It will make you squall, and bawl, and wash all that paint off your face. It--it'll do things for you that you didn't think you'd do. You'll carry on like you never did think you'd do. It's a mess.

But you know, before you can be borned, you have to die, and some people die awful hard. They kick, and bawl, and scream, and carry on. "But unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone." If you want to bring forth fruit, die to yourself and your own man-made theology, and be borned again of the Spirit and the resurrection. That's right. Get rid of the old spirit of selfishness and dryness that's in you. Take on new Life. It's messy.

81 Unless a grain of corn falls in the ground and rots, unless a man rots to his own theology, 'less you rotten to Methodist theology, 'less you rotten to Baptist theology, unless you rotten to Pentecostal theology... Until you rot to those things and give yourself into the hands of God, then the old man will die, and the new man will be born, Christ Jesus we will rise. Glory. In the power and the resurrection of Christ and the life that was in Christ will be in you, and, "These signs shall follow them that believe." That's what's the matter? Yes. There's where it's at.

82 How do they get medicine? You know how they get medicine? They take a guinea pig, and they work up some kind of stuff, medicine, and think this ought to do a certain thing, and they shoot it into a guinea pig. And if he survives it, they'll give it to you. You know, everybody ain't made like a guinea pig. You know, sometimes the medicine will kill you. There's been about as many killed with penicillin as there has been healed or helped. So you know, everybody ain't made alike. So it'll help some and kill the others, 'cause all men ain't made up like guinea pigs. But you know, it'll help some and kill the others, but there's one thing sure, God's toxin will hurt no one, but cure all. That's right. For He said, "Whosoever will..." It won't kill you; it'll heal you. Oh, heal the brokenhearted, lift up those feeble hands to joy.

Take the little wash woman that's so backward she can't even talk to the insurance man that comes to the door, and let her get filled with the Holy Ghost, she can give a testimony that'll shake the shingles off the top of the house. She's got something. Something's happened to her. She's born of the Spirit of God.

Take the orneriest prostitute that ever walked the street out here, the dogs wouldn't ever look at her. That's right. Let her come in and get cleaned up from God, she'll be a credit to any neighborhood. That's right. That's what the grace of God does. It don't whitewash but it washes white. That's right. Make her gun barrel straight...

83 I believe in an old time backwoods, sky-blue, sin-killing religion, yes, sir, that's kills out sin and self and you're born again of the Spirit of God and live for Him. That's the kind that saves you, brother.

Sometime when I go back down in the state of Kentucky... You know what? Them Baptists down there in the state of Kentucky would make some of us Pentecostals feel ashamed. They said, "Brother Branham, you said you was a Baptist?" Yeah, I was the real Baptist though. We didn't walk up and take the right hand of fellowship. Brother, we got down at the altar and beat one another on the back till we come through. We got up from there, we had something.

84 The other day in California I was in a great church, one of our great Pentecostal churches, and made a altar call, and three or four people come to the altar. And I begged for five minutes to get somebody to come pray with them sinners. I was so tore out and wore I couldn't hardly stand up from preaching, and I said, "Will somebody come, pray?" Just set there just as starchy: a Pentecostal church... Well, them Baptists there would make them ashamed.

I was preaching down there on Declaration Day way back up there in the hollow, an old horses were eating corn all around, dinner on the ground, foot washing, you know, and standing out there preaching, preaching on, "We shall rise, hallelujah, we shall rise on that resurrection morning." I said, "There lays my old grandmother. I held her in my arms, a hundred and ten years old, when she throwed her arms around my neck, said, 'God bless your little soul, honey,' (dying), 'for evermore. I'll meet you in heaven.'" About that time, my old aunt standing back there with them big long bonnets on, she said, "Hallelujah." Here she come, like that.

85 An old sinner boy standing there with a big old limb bark hat in his hand like that, He said, "God, be merciful to my soul." And here he come down to the altar. Before he got there there was about twenty of those old mammies around him. Well, he got saved 'fore he even got to the altar, brother.

You want to know what time we eat dinner? About four-thirty that afternoon. Brother, they stayed there till they come through. Oh, used to be the old cold formal Baptists, now it's the old cold formal Pentecostals. That's right; it's exactly right.

Yes, they give the little guinea pig the noxin--toxin, give it to him. If he makes it, then they give it to you. Won't work... But you know, when God got ready to try His toxin out, He didn't give it to a guinea pig, gave it to Hisself. Amen, that's right. God became flesh and dwelled among us in order to try the toxin on Himself.

Any real good doctor will try it on hisself before he gives it to his patient. That's right. And God, that's the reason He had to become flesh. Jehovah was a Spirit, God is a... God the Father is a Spirit, God the Son is a Man Who the Spirit of God dwelt in. We all know that. So then when... God came down and made flesh so He could take the toxin. So on the banks of the Jordan, He taken the injection Himself, the greatest thing that ever happened: when earth and heaven kissed, when the Lamb and Dove come together. The dove, the meekest bird of the heavens. God, Jehovah reckoned Himself--recom--represented Himself in the meekest bird of the air, the dove. God, the Son, which was Jesus Christ represented Himself in the meekest animal.

86 A lamb and a dove, they're both the same nature. What if that dove would've fell down on a wolf? He'd say, "Days of miracles is passed." The dove would swoop right off of him. Sure. First time the wolf snorted... Know one them big tempers, you know, they got like that, "I'll tell you right now; you don't belong to mine." Oh, oh. The dove don't stay there. Dove is meek; the lamb is led. The lamb don't have but one thing to offer: that's wool.

I heard someone tell me, said... woman said, "It's my American privilege if I want to smoke cigarettes."

I said, "That's exactly right."

Said, "They sell it."

87 I said, "That's exactly right. But if you're a lamb, you forfeit your rights. But if you're a goat, you won't do it. Somehow you just do whatever you want to. See?" It's your right, but you forfeit it for the Kingdom of God's sake. That's right. You forfeit all your rights. Kingdom of God's sake, forfeit it. Certainly.

Now, we find out that God took the noxin Himself, the toxin. He was inoculated. They watched Him through life. When they spit in His face, He said nothing about it. When they put an old dirty rag around His head and hit Him on top the head, said, "Now, if you're a prophet, tell us who hit you and we'll..." He never opened His mouth. They jerked handfuls of beard out of His face till He was bleeding. They put a crown of thorn on His face. He said, "I could speak to My Father and He'd send me twenty legends of Angels, but My Kingdom's not of this world." See, the toxin held in the time of temptation.

They stuck Him on the cross and let Him thirst up there and die, bleed till His human body run dry; toxin held. "He riled not back when He was riled on." That's the kind of toxin.

88 Everybody there, the world was watching it; the disciples was watching it. Then they seen Him till it finally when He come to the last hour, what would He say, "Oh, I was wrong, I was wrong. Take me off; I'll join your churches; I will believe your theology." He said, "Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit. Father, it's finished." Amen. O God, the toxin held, brethren, the toxin held.

Then they hear Him. Some of them said, "This impostor said that He'd raise on the third day. Let make sure." So they took a hundred men, rolled a big rock up against the door and put Caesar's seal upon it. Better not break it. What's going to happen? Where's the toxin at now? Glory to God, on Easter morning, it proved where it was. Amen. It broke the seal of Caesar; it broke the seal of death, broke the seal of the grave, broke the seal of hell. It rose up again (Hallelujah.) triumph over death, hell, and the grave. God's toxin held.

89 There was a hundred twenty people said, "I want to get inoculated too." I want that kind of inoculation, don't you want that? Jesus said, "The same inoculation I've got, you'll have it, also. It'll work on you just like it does on Me. The works that I do, shall you also if you'll just get inoculated with this toxin that I'm on."

Well, if... You say, "That's wrong."

Oh, wait, it isn't either. Two come to Him, said, "Lord, let my, one of my sons set on Your right hand and one on the other."

He said, "Can you drink the cup that I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with?"

Said, "Yes."

In other words, "Inoculated with the inoculation that I am inoculated with?"

Said, "Yes."

Said, "You will, but the right and left hand's not Mine. That belongs to the Father to give that." But said, "You shall be inoculated (in other words), receive the same that I have got."

90 Now, wouldn't you like to have that inoculation? Wouldn't that be fine to know that in life you could live that Life. And in life these signs would follow you. In death you could say, "Father, it's finished, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit." Oh, my. Then on the resurrection morning, Glory to God, with my pack...?... and they're fixing to shovel, but on that resurrection morning, you'll come forth again, for the inoculation will hold. They saw held in the hour of death. It held in temptation; it held to the sickbed; it held in the grave; it held in hell; it held on Easter.

91 And there's a hundred and twenty desired that inoculation. So they went up to the upper room to wait for their inoculation. Amen. Jesus said, "I'll send a serum down as soon as you get up there and wait."

Oh, now I begin to feel real religious; honest I do. Glory. You're going to call me a holy-roller anyhow; you might as well get started. You think Baptists don't shout? Here's one that does, and I believe it. Amen. Yes, brother. Hallelujah. Climb in them upper rooms and waited for the inoculation to come. All of a sudden there came the serum from heaven.

92 "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Here come the inoculation down, the medical kit for healing. "For He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquity. Chastisement of our peace was upon Him; with His stripes we were healed." Hallelujah. The symptoms and...?... death on Calvary sent back the inoculation to the church for the commission, "Go in to all the world, preach the Gospel. These signs shall follow them that's inoculated."

There came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind and inoculated a hundred and twenty. How did they act? Just like a branded cat rubbing this way, staggering under the impact of that inoculation. Brother, they were so drunk on the Spirit till the people thought they were crazy. They said, "These men are full of new wine."

Peter said, "Full of new wine?" Got up and begin to preach to them.

93 Now, the first thing you know, they said, "We would like to have some of this inoculation." They seen something real. The hungry-hearted church members saw something real, something that actually those people had that was making them act like that. They seen that they had something, 'cause they looked like they were drunk and yet they were religious, and yet they had signs following. Said, "Well now, have you got a doctor here? Is there any doctor here?"

He said, "Here we got one here, Dr. Simon Peter. Come forth, Dr. Simon Peter, tell them the prescription."

Said, "What can we do to be saved? What can we do to get the inoculation?"

Now, Peter said, "Well, you must take the kosher. You must give the right hand of fellowship. You must be tried for six months first to see whether it really works or not." Oh, mercy. That's man-made theory.

Peter said, "Repent, every one of you, be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost." Amen. All of that...?... said, "I am giving you an eternal prescription." Dr. Peter gave them a...

94 Dr. Simon Peter, on the day of Pentecost, gave us an eternal prescription, not a join hands, shake hands, sprinkle. He said, "Repent." Not come into the church, but said, "Repent, every one of you, be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children (this prescription), whosoever will let him come." That's it.

"Is there no balm in Gilead?" Sure. "Is there no physicians there?" Certainly. That's right. "Then why is My people so sickish." Hallelujah. You know what's the matter? You get a real doctor that'll write out a prescription, and you take it down to some quack druggist, and he goes to mixing that prescription with something else, he will kill the patient. It's exactly right.

95 That's what's the matter. We got too many quack seminaries that's tried to make something else. "Join the church; your mother belongs here. Put your name on the book." Brother, don't you tamper with that prescription; you give it just like that doctor wrote it. Hallelujah. And the same results will come if you'll follow the prescription. Don't divvy from it.

Now, remember, the prescription has so much poison in it, then it has enough antidote to upset that poison and that poison... He diagnoses your case, and then He gives you enough poison to kill the germ, enough antidote to upset it so it won't kill you. And if you put all antidote, it won't help you, put all poison, it'll kill you. So it has to be in a balanced prescription. And God, the Doctor, knowed how to give it to Simon Peter and he wrote it, and he said, "This prescription is for you, your children, and to them that's far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call."

96 Now, you say Pentecost is not right. What's the matter. What kind of a drug store are you going to? That's what's the matter. We got card parties in the church, bunco games to pay the preacher, selling old roof-top roosters, boil them up, about sell them for a dollar and half a plate to pay the preacher, him standing up there talking about flowers and things and never preach the baptism of the Holy Ghost. What's the matter, boy? That's the reason we got sickness; that's the reason we got people that don't believe in Divine healing. It's because they haven't got the right prescription. Amen.

97 You get the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and you'll believe in God's power; you'll believe every word God says; you'll punctuate It with an "Amen" to everything He talks to you. And them people didn't set there and say, "Well, Simon, I suppose, I guess it's all right." Brother, when they got That, they were filled with the Holy Ghost, begin to stagger like drunk men, come.

And remember, you Catholic person, the blessed virgin Mary was right there. And if God wouldn't let her come to heaven without, she took that same prescription, how are you going to get there anything less? Some of you cold starch Pentecostals, you cold starchy Baptists, you cold starchy Methodists, how are you going to get there anything less than that when even the mother of Jesus Christ had to go up there, and get the same thing, and stagger and act like she was drunk? If that's ain't the Bible, I ask any professor to come disprove it. That every time in the Bible they ever got the Holy Ghost, they acted exactly the way they did there. The prescription will take the same effect on every time. Amen.

What time is it? Oh, I thought it was seven o'clock. Oh, brother, listen brother, listen sister, what the world needs today is to see something real. That's what they're looking for, to see something real; I mean the real borned again.

98 Now, them kind that was ordained to Eternal Life will see It, "My sheep hear My voice." Exactly, that's right.

You say, "Well, yes, we are Presbyterian, now..." or "We're Methodists, we..." I don't care what you are, if you hear the real Voice of God, and the real Voice of God made them people act like that, and do like that, and have a ministry like that, the same power of God will do the same thing today if you've got it. That's right. If you received It, It'll act on you like It did them. Certainly it is. Peter said, "This prescription is for all generations." So you people who are making up a bunch of man-made dogma and call it doctrine, call it creeds, church creeds, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and even Pentecostal creeds... What's the matter with you? Take God's prescription.

99 That's the reason the children are sick, they haven't got the prescription fulfilled yet. God's got plenty of Balm, now, don't worry about that. You just obey the prescription and see what happens. Repent and see if the Holy Ghost will come. Do as God said do and see if the Holy Ghost will come. See if It'll take the same effect it did.

What's the matter today, friend? We've got to really have it. That's what God said: something real. While I am talking about real, let me close. Will you give me five more minutes?

100 I like to hunt. I just love to hunt, just to get to see the sunsets, and get in the woods. As all of you know, my mother's a half-breed. My mothers' mother come from the Indian reservation, and draws a pension. See? So we... My conversion never took it out of me, the love of the woods. The Christian Business Men, Full Gospel, they take me on the "River of No Return," around the world. I hunt in Africa, Asia, the mountains.

Bud Branham, the Rainy Path Lodge at Anchorage, that's my cousin. See? And sixteen planes going in for grizzly, sheep, and so forth. You hunter brothers and so forth, you ever go up there let me write him and to get you in there cheap. See? So and... And--and I get to go up there and hold meetings. And they take me in for nothing, 'cause I don't have any money. So... And that's the way... The reason I don't have to have any money, if the Lord wants to send me to Africa, He will say, "Brother Branham..." Somebody will come up and say, "Lord, said to give you this."

I say, "Thank You, Lord." I knowed it. See, there I go.

101 See, I don't have to beg for nothing; the Lord don't want me go, then He keep me here. See? Just... That's the way to live. I love to live that way. Just what He says is all right. I ain't got nothing, don't want nothing. So I just want His grace is all.

I used to hunt up in the north woods. I had a hunting partner up there and you... All you brethren that hunt know what a good hunting partner is. You know one another. He was one of the finest hunters and the best shots I ever seen. You never had to worry about him. Sometimes you'd take a chee-chocker in the woods, and you would get... Chee-chocker, that means "greenhorn." It's an Indian word. But you take him into the woods and you just have to keep an eye or him, or get him lost. But you never had to worry about old Bert. He knowed where he was at, about half Indian himself.

So he was a fine fellow, but the meanest man I ever seen in my life. He was [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... cruel-hearted-est guy. He used to shoot little fawns just to make me feel bad. Now, I don't think it's wrong to shoot a fawn. If the conservation says for you to shoot a fawn, that's all right. Abraham killed a calf and fed it to God. So the fawn part's all right, but not just to be mean. It's--it's not what you do; it's the way you do it. So sometimes it's not what you say; it's the way you say it.

102 And so then this--this little fawn... He'd see them little fawns, and he knew, me being a minister you know, he'd just shoot them little fellows, eight or ten of them a year just to make me feel bad. And I said, "Bert, you are one of the finest buddies, and I like to hunt with you because you're a good fellow; but you are so mean."

He said, "You call me mean."

I said, "You're more than that. You are wicked."

And he said, "Aw, preacher, get next to yourself," said, "you are chicken-hearted like the rest of the preachers."

I said, "I'm not chicken-hearted." But I said, "Man, they... I'm a hunter." And I said, "I--I don't... I'm not a killer; I'm a hunter."

And he said, "Aw, get next to yourself, Billy."

One year, up there, he said... I went up and I was a little late getting up there, season had opened a couple weeks. And oh, if anybody ever hunted in north woods, them whitetails, oh brother, talk about Houdini, the escape artist, they... and... He's--he's an amateur to them when they're shot at a couple times. And they just--just like that. [Brother Branham snaps fingers for illustration--Ed.] And sometimes you can't see over twenty feet away from you in them woods there in Maine where you... You--you'd better know where you are at or you'll never come back, for hundreds of miles it's just level, and you fall in the marsh, and go over your head ten times. And--and it's just dangerous hunting. If you are not a real woodsman, stay out of it unless you got somebody with you.

103 So we were out there hunting and we... And before we went out... My wife was with me, and she stayed up the lodge at the camp, and there's about twenty women up there. So Bert and I, we was taking across the other side of the mountain, and we knew where we were at and was hunting. And he said, "I got something, Billy."

I said, "What is it, Bert?"

He reached down in his pocket and he had a little whistle. He could blow it, and it sound like a little fawn crying (that's a baby deer, you know), crying for it's mammy. And oh, I said, "Bert, you are not that cruel. You would... Would you call a doe up with that fawn call?"

He said, "Aw, get next to yourself." I didn't really think he'd do it, honest.

104 We hunted. There was about six inches of snow on the ground, about good hunting weather, tracking. We hunted all the way till noon, didn't find a thing, not even a track. They was... Them deers feed at night, and then in daytime they get back under the bushes and things; you can't move them. And so, they won't move till it gets night again, unless you happen to step on one, get him out. So then we hunted till about eleven o'clock, eleven- thirty.

And we always packed a--a thermos bottle full of hot chocolate and maybe a sandwich. And we climbed up as far as we could, then at noontime we'd eat then separate, and he'd go another way and me another way. And we'd come back to the...?... camp for that night. Come in maybe ten or eleven o'clock at night. So then... He...

105 It had come to a little opening about the size of this auditorium in here. And he just kind of... He was in front of me so he just kind of hunkered down like this. "The hunker," I guess that's all right here, isn't it? There's enough Kentuckians here know what I mean when I say, "hunker." So just kind of stooped down, rather. And he reached back in his pocket like this, and he was going to get the... going to get his... I thought he was getting his sandwich out. And when he did, he brought out that little whistle. And I looked at him, I said, "Oh, shame on you, Bert."

106 He blowed it, and it sounded just exactly like a little baby crying for its mother. And when he did, I looked just across the place, and a great big doe stood up. And he had eyes just like a lizard. And he looked at me with those lizard eyes like that, and I said, "Oh, you wouldn't do that, Bert." I said, "She... That's a mother, brother." I said, "That's a mother. She just thinks that's her baby."

He said, "Oh, get next to yourself, preacher." Sticks around like this with his gun.

I thought, "Oh, my."

And he blew it again. I could just see them great big eyes and big ears sticking out like that, doe, the mother deer. She probably had fawns. You see? So her baby was in trouble. She was listening, them big ears up. And so he blew it again.

107 Now, that's altogether unusual that time of day, eleven o'clock in the day. So she stepped right out into this opening. Now, that's altogether unusual if anybody hunts deer. Walked right out into that opening... What was the matter? She was looking for her baby. She was looking around like that.

Now, she wasn't playing the part of hypocrite. She had something in her; she was borned a mother, and her baby was in trouble. She was looking for that baby.

108 Just then I seen old Bert. We never carry a shell in the--in the barrel; that's a bad policy. So I seen him take this .30-06 and put a hundred and eighty-grain mushroom bullet. Oh, a dead shot... Pulled that kit down, raise it up like that and them cross hairs in that scope right across her heart. I thought, "O God, how can that man do that? That mother looking for her baby, and then he be cruel enough to blow that precious loyal heart plumb through her?" Why across this building with that... using that heavy load of shell, he was, why, he'd blow her heart plumb out of her. I thought, "How can he be that mean just as that precious mother, that loyal heart looking for her baby... out looking for her baby, and then him shoot her heart out of her." I thought, "Bert, you're wicked."

109 And he looked down. I see him moving down like this, just setting himself. Oh, brother, I knowed what was going to happen. I couldn't look at it. And--and the... When I turned around to see what he was doing, the deer spotted the hunter, and she spooked. That--that's the hunter's word. That means she got scared.

And she--she looked up. She threw them big ears up like that. Did she run? No, sir. Death or no death, her baby was in trouble; she was looking for it. Oh, my. She couldn't help it; she was a mother. She was borned a mother. She wasn't playing the part of a hypocrite; she was a mother. Death or no death, that baby was in trouble, and she was looking for it. And I thought, "Surely that ought to strike that cruel-hearted man."

And I seen him level himself getting ready to shoot. I turned my back. I couldn't look at it, I just couldn't stand it to see that precious mother going to get that precious loyal heart... And she loved her baby so much until she was going to have it blowed plumb out of her. Looking at him, looking at him when a hunter was setting there too, and knowed that meant death to her. But she was hunting her baby.

And I turned around; I thought, "O God, oh, how can he do it, how can he do it? My, so cruel." And I was standing behind a little spruce tree. I thought, "O God, how can he do it?" And there was a snowbank there. And I thought, "That precious mother's going to get her heart blowed plumb out of her. God, I can't look at it. How can he do it?"

110 I noticed the gun didn't fire. I turned around to see what he was doing. He was going like this, he was shaking. He looked around to me, and those lizard eyes had changed. Great big tears was running off his cheeks. He grabbed that gun and throwed it on the ground, and he grabbed me by the pants leg, he said, "Billy, I have had enough of it. Lead me to that Jesus that you talk about is so real."

What was it? He saw something real. He saw something that wasn't put-on; he saw something that was genuine. He saw a mother's love that would stand in the face of death, or regardless of what it was. He saw something real, not a sermon I preached or a song that the church sung. He's a deacon in the Baptist church now.

He caught me by the leg on that snowdrift, he said, "Billy, I have seen something that's real." Said, "I've had enough." Said, "Tell me about Him."

I knelt down in the snow, and I said, "Bert, God said, 'If they hold their peace, these rocks will cry out.' Do you love Him?"

He said, "I want the kind of love for my God that deer had for her baby." There on the snowdrift there I led that hunter to God.

111 I wonder tonight, how many in here would like to have that kind of love for your Lord like that...?... that...?... She... what did she do? She displayed something that was real. Now, friends, there's so much make-belief today. Let's not take that. Let's have something real. It's so late.

Let's just stand to our feet and consecrate our lives to God. All that wants God to come into your heart and give you an experience to be a lover of Christ and have the love for Christ that you could face death or anything, the kind of love that that mother deer had for her baby, raise up your heads and hands like this. Let us bow our heads.

Yes, Lord, we got balm. There's balm in Gilead. There's physicians here. God, I pray that You'll help the people now to come and be inoculated, come and be inoculated from temper, from unbelief, get ready for that great service tomorrow. Grant it, Lord.

112 With our heads bowed, how many of you wants that real Pentecostal Holy Ghost love of God? That, Pentecost, is real love. Would you come, stand around the altar while I pray for you? Come, move out of your position now while you're standing, come up here now and say, "I want that kind of love, Brother Branham. I want that love of my Lord." God bless you, God bless you. That's right. Come from the balconies, either way. Come right up.

This might be the hour that all your life... What's--what's any more greater to you, friends? No matter... If you're a church member, that doesn't matter. You say, "Well, I belong to a Pentecostal church." But if you haven't got that dying love for Christ to display before the world so the people can see, won't you come?

113 You Pentecostal people that knows that you're living a life... You got temper, and you got flusterations, and you sometimes fear, doubt. Why don't you come on up? Come around; show God just by coming up, "I--I am sorry, God. I--I--I--I want love; I want real love. I want to love You, Lord, like that mother deer loved her baby."

You say, "But my neighbors, I go to church with them." But your Lord, what about Him? May you... Come from the balconies, would you? There's plenty of you up there. We'll stand right here and wait.

114 You young students here from this college, who are going out to be the men of tomorrow, the women of tomorrow, why don't you come and dedicate your life. We're not asking you to join any Pentecostal church. You stay a Methodist, just what you are. But you come and get this experience of the love of God in your heart so sweet. And when you go to your parish, wherever God will lead you, young man, young woman... Why don't you come and get a real inoculation from sin.

Some of you students out there smoking cigarettes, aren't you ashamed? Come here. Why, John Wesley would've turned in his grave if he'd have knowed it, you being his student then. Come on up here, won't you come? Set... Get God in your heart really. Come won't you? Come out of the balconies all. All, "whosoever will," the prescription's open tonight. We have got balm here in Gilead and here's the physicians right here. Take it from them...?... baptize...?... whatevermore, and believe. We have it here. Won't you come up? Won't you come and rededicate yourself to God and have an experience? God's going to...

115 Now, remember, God's going to ask you, "Why didn't you come?" Before morning, if you get sick, you feel pains in your arms, they're coming up around your shoulders, you know what that is, don't you? You're dying. You feeled your pulse coming up, your hands getting cold; the doctor runs up, says, "It's a heart attack." The ambulance is screaming and you feel your life, you are pressing the pillow, and you know you're going to die, God's going to say, "Why didn't you come?"

"Well, Lord, I belonged to the church." That ain't what He's talking about.

116 Why, why? Why is there still sin sickness in the church? Is there no balm to cure it? Yeah, there's balm to cure it; there's physicians here. Everything's ready, won't you come? Come now while we're waiting just a moment.

.. Saviour,

Hear my humble cry;

Make me a Christian, make me borned a Christian like that deer. What was that deer? She was borned a mother. She was born to be a mother. Come, be borned to be a Christian. Come on. You'll have the same love of God, more so than that deer had for the fawn. "Can a mother forget her suckling babe? Yes, she might, but I can't forget you," said, Jesus. "Your name's engraved in on the palms of My hand."

117 Won't You come? I'm inviting you. And remember, at the day of the judgment when you're asked, "Why," the tape recording of this night will be played over.

.. Do not pass me by.

Saviour...

Come, every soul, every soul that hasn't give their flusterations, doubts... Sick people, come. If you haven't enough faith to obey, won't you come now and get the real thing in you that gives you faith. You're bound to be healed tomorrow night. Why don't you just come now around the altar, stand here, say, "Lord, take all my doubts away this evening. Take all my doubts; let faith have its...?... here, that makes me really know. Give me something that tomorrow night when that healing line's called, I'll say, 'Lord God, there's not a shadow of doubt in my heart, I believe You, Lord.'"

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

Saviour, Saviour,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou are calling,

Oh, do not pass me by.

118 Look setting up here in the corner, a little mother nursing her little--nursing her little baby on her lap... If somebody would come tonight and say to that little mother, "I'm going to kill you or the baby." Which would die? The mother, sure. Why? That's hers. It laid under her heart for nine months; it's hers.

Why don't you lay under His heart now and give your life over to Him. He died for you that you could be saved. Now, that mother could, something could happen to her, and she could forget her baby; the Bible said so. "But never can I forget you," He said. "Your names are engraved in the palms of My hands." Won't you come now? This is the--like a consecration service. Come now. One more time so I'll be sure that I called everybody.

119 Now, remember, you Catholic people... You say, "Brother Branham, I'm Catholic." I don't care. A Catholic can be saved as anything. "I'm Baptist." All right. "Well, I'm Pentecostal." A Pentecostal can be saved just like anybody else could be. But if you hadn't have got...

No, listen, "Though I speak with tongues of men and angels and have not love, I am nothing." That is the Pentecostal, speak with the tongue of men and angels, both the unknown and the known tongues. Now, you Methodists, "Though..." and Baptist and Catholics, "Though I understand all the mysteries of God could explain the whole Bible, know It all, my theology is supreme, and have not the kind of love, I am nothing. Though I give all my goods to the poor, give my body to be burned as a sacrifice, faith to move mountains, though I could do it and have not love, I am nothing. Where there's tongues, it shall cease. Where there is prophecy it shall fail. Where there's knowledge it shall vanish, but when love comes it is pure and forever."

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose it's power,

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved to sin no more.

Listen.

Ever since by faith I saw that stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I'll sing Thy power to save,

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave.

120 Let me live in You with every ounce of my strength my body and all that I am to express the love of Jesus Christ that's shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

Now, every person in here, you around the altar, whatever your trouble is, confess it to God: "I got temper. I got habits. I'm ashamed of my life. I've done this, that, or the other." I'm going to pray for you, I want everybody to be reverent.

121 Our heavenly Father, these people has come upon the simple Word of the living God, and upon the story that happened some twenty years ago when a cruel-hearted hunter to be mean and indifferent, that day up there on that snowdrift, when he saw a mother deer display a real genuine love, he saw something real. That's what he wanted. Surely, if God could give that kind of a love to the animal, he could give it to a man. And there You give him that great experience of the new birth.

Now, Father, these are standing around the altar. They're women, mothers, fathers, children. God, they're standing here waiting to receive that love. May they not walk up here in vain, but may they be so determined that they are going to be inoculated from their egos, their thoughts, their--their--their flusterations, their tempers, until the Holy Ghost will fall upon them, Lord, like a rushing mighty wind. Grant it, Lord. Through Jesus Christ's Name, I commit them to You.

Now, I want you clergymen to walk right up here with me...?... Here's ministers walking up here to kneel and pray.

122 Now, if everybody in the audience, I want to bow your head while I am going to ask our Brother...?... if he will lead us in prayer.

I commit you to Jesus Christ, the Son of God for the desire of your heart that you come for. While we pray.