On je Svetlo, Pravda; Svetlo a v Ňom nieto žiadna temnosť. A On rozháňa temnosť, keď prichádza, pretože On je Slovo. Slovo je Svetlo. Je to tak. Pretože On povedal, “Buď svetlo,” to bolo Slovo, ktoré sa stalo svetlom. Keď On hovorí toto, to je svetlo na ten vek, zakaždým. On je tu, nie v žiare; ale ľudia žijú v žiare. Ale On je potvrdené Slovo. On je absolútne Svetlom v čase temnosti. Tak veru. Všetky tieto falošné žiare a také veci, to všetko zvädne. Tak veru. On je tu. Nebojte sa. Rozsvieťte Svetlá, Jeho zasľúbené Slovo. Ono žije. Ono robí ...
“Ten kto verí vo mňa, skutky, ktoré ja robím, vy tiež robíte.” Potom, to je Slovo. “Ako mňa poslal Otec, tak ja posielam vás.” Otec, ktorý poslal Jeho, išiel v ňom. Ten Ježiš, ktorý posiela teba, ide v tebe. A potom, skutky ktoré On činil, On robí tie isté veci, pretože (prečo?) Slovo sa stalo telom, v ľudskom tele, manifestuje sa ako svetlo na tento deň. Tu to máme. Tu to je. To len ukazuje cestu do Svetla, vo Svetle. Múdry človek, ktorý nie je oslepený vyznaniami a denomináciami bude chodiť v tom svetle. Ó!
Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlá, dobre. Čo On robí? Tým, že potvrdzuje svoje Slovo na tento deň. Ježiš, Syn Boží, ktorý zasľúbil Slovo na tento deň je práve tu s nami.
Neľakajte sa. Nevenujte žiadnu pozornosť tomu čo oni robia; ak to robíte budete chodiť v temnosti.
Buďte múdri. “Tí, ktorí múdre konajú,” povedal Daniel, “v tých posledných dňoch, vykonajú hrdinské činy pre svojho Boha.” Vidíte? Vidíte? Oni budú chodiť vo Svetle, ako je On vo Svetle.
1 Skloňme teraz svoje hlavy. Náš Nebeský Otče. Ďakujeme ti dnes ráno za tvoju dobrotu a milosť, že nám dávaš privilégium znovu sa tu dnes spolu zhromaždiť, v dni po tejto strane tej veľkej večnosti, aby sme uctili toho milovaného, Pána Ježiša Krista. Ďakujeme ti, že On prišiel na zem aby nás vykúpil z hriešneho života a dal nám toto veľké dedičstvo, ktoré máme skrze Jeho spravodlivosť. A keď sme tu, dnes ráno, ako jeho veľvyslanci, aby sme lámali tento Chlieb Života pre toto očakávajúce zhromaždenie, nech Duch Svätý inšpiruje každé slovo a umiestni ho do sŕdc ľudí, práve tak ako to potrebujeme. Prosíme toto v Ježišovom mene. Amen. Sadnite si.
2 Skutočne považujeme toto znovu za veľké privilégium dnes ráno, že som tu s vami. Je mi ľúto, že nemáme viacej miesta aby sme sa postarali o ľudí; naša modlitebňa nie je dostatočne veľká. A sme veľmi vďační, že sme tu cez tieto sviatky, z nášho domu v Tucsone. Počasie bolo dosť drsné, ale sme radi, že sme tu a že máme zhromaždenie.
Chcem oznámiť, že dnes večer budeme mať službu s uzdravovaním alebo sa budeme modliť za chorých. Povedal som to Billimu práve teraz ... On povedal, “No, čo budeš robiť?”
3 Povedal som, “No, možno radšej rozdaj nejaké karty dnes večer okolo 6:30, aby ľudia nemuseli ... A vidíte, je to tu tak napchané, a takto ich vieme priviesť jedného za druhým, tak môžete byť zavolaní podľa čísla vašej karty a tak nebude žiadny nával. Môžeme ich volať jedného za druhým a necháme ich prechádzať zaradom, keď sa budeme za nich modliť.
4 Tak vy ... Ak ste chorí alebo máte svojich drahých, ktorí sú chorí a chcete ich sem priviesť, príďte okolo 6:30, nejako tak, o 7:00 a zoberte si modlitebnú kartu; On bude pri dverách, alebo akokoľvek ich bude rozdávať, keď budete prichádzať.
5 A potom, toto bude pravdepodobne posledný krát čo sa sem dostanem na nejaký čas, pretože mám teraz veľmi nabitý program. Budem stále v Spojených Štátoch až do pozdného jara. Tak možno, že sa sem znovu naspäť dostaneme trochu neskoršie v lete. Ak Pán dá, rád by som, ak dostaneme tu to miesto, keby tam bola klimatizácia. Pýtal som sa Billyho. Rád by som hovoril o tých siedmich trúbach, mal zhromaždenie tu na tému Sedem Trúb, ak bude vôľa Pánova. Lebo je Sedem Cirkevných vekov a Sedem Pečatí a teraz Sedem Trúb. A mohli by sme mať nejaký čas napríklad v júny, keď ľudia majú dovolenku, dať im čas aby mohli prísť.
6 A som rád, že tu dnes ráno vidím brata Shepherda, z nemocnice. Bol som ho tam jedného dňa pozrieť. A sestra Shepherdová, nevyšlo mi aby som ti včera zavolal. Ten sen, ktorý si mi poslala bol veľmi, veľmi dobrý. Videla si, ako to bolo, Kristus na oblakoch na tom bielom koni, ale ešte bol uviazaný. Vidíš? Ale predsa, prv ako sa to stratilo, celá tvoja rodina to uvidela. Výklad toho snu je, že tvoja rodina uvidela Jeho pohyb v týchto posledných dňoch prv ako to pominulo, čo to je. Tak to bolo veľmi duchovné a veľmi dobré požehnanie pre tvoju rodinu. Tá rodina vyšla z nejakého veľkého súženia aby prišli tam kde sú dnes.
7 A teraz, máme niečo, trochu na tej smutnej strane, dnes ráno. Odvtedy čo som tu stretol ... Jeden z našich drahých priateľov, ktorí prichádzali do tohoto zboru, z rodiny Coat, ktorých všetci milujeme. Oni prichádzajú z východu. Alebo z okolia Chicaga. A sestra Billie Habib a jej sestra, Armstrong a všetky tie dievčence. Oni ... Myslím, že predtým boli Nazaréni a prišli ku Pánovi a sú naši veľmi drahí priatelia. A brat a sestra Couts, ich otec a matka boli na ceste domov nedávno, odtiaľ zo západu a niekto dostal šmyk a zabil na mieste sestru Coats. A keď mi telefonovali do Tucsonu a dopočul som sa to, sedel som tam práve s krabicou cukrovín, ktoré mi práve ona upiekla, sedel som pri stole. Neviete ako som sa pri tom cítil. Ale myslím, že - ďakujem Pánovi dnes ráno, že nemusela trpieť. Pribúdali jej roky a nemusela trpieť. Odišla domov aby bola s Bohom.
8 Práve som uvažoval a rozprával sa s jej dvomi dievčencami, práve teraz, tam v tej miestnosti. Brat Coats je tu dnes ráno; má zlomené nejaké rebrá. Zazvonil som mu do nemocnice, tam kde bol hospitalizovaný, tam v Missouri, so zlomenými rebrami ale on má opravdu skutočnú odvahu, skutočný kresťan, vie, že jeho malá kráľovná nie je mŕtva; je živá naveky, s Kristom. Vidíte? A príde čas zjednotenia.
9 Jób raz povedal, “Ó, aby si ma ukryl v hrobe a strážil ma na tajnom mieste, až kým neprejde tvoj hnev.”
10 Všimli ste si niekedy, že Boh robí v prírode to isté? Ako miazga, ktorá je tu hore v stromoch, drží listy a prv ako nastane zima, hnev, ktorý je vyliaty na zem ... Vidíte, voľakedy na zemi nebola zima. A v miléniu nebudú viacej zimy. Vidíte? Tak to je hnev na zemi. Potom keď sa to stalo ... Vidíte, prv ako prichádza hnev, Boh vo svojej milosti posiela tú miazgu rovno dole do - pod zem do koreňov stromu a drží ju tam až kým neprejde ten hnev zimy, potom to povstáva znovu naspäť v čase jara. “Ó, aby si ma ukryl v hrobe a zachoval ma na skrytom mieste, až kým neprejde tvoj hnev.” To On urobil pre našu sestru; to robí pre všetkých kresťanov.
11 Brat Coats, nech ťa Boh žehná. Som tak rád, že viem, že Pečať Božia drží v hodine ťažkostí. Viem cez čo on prechádza, pretože pred rokmi som prechádzal cez niečo podobné. Ale som ... Jeden za druhým musíme prejsť cez túto veľkú rieku a ja - v jednom z týchto dní príde môj čas; a tvoj čas, v jednom z týchto dní. Ale ako povedal Dávid, “Nebudem sa báť zlého, lebo Ty si so mnou. Tvoj prút a tvoja palica ma potešujú.”
12 A teraz, na pamiatku sestry Coats, našej drahej sestry, ktorá odišla ku Bohu, ... Ako malú spomienku na ňu dnes ráno, chcem aby zhromaždenie na chvíľu povstalo. Skloňme svoje hlavy a pomyslime na niekoho, kto raz pred pár dňami chodil v tejto modlitebni, vchádzal a vychádzal medzi nami, podával nám ruku, milá kresťanka a teraz je na tom mieste, ktoré mi Pán dal pred nedávnom vidieť, znovu ako mladá žena, čaká na svoju ďalšiu rodinu.
13 Náš Nebeský Otče, ďakujeme ti na spomienky s našou sestrou Coats. Aká vzácna, drahá sestra. A teraz, prichádza čas, keď dožijeme náš čas v živote, ktorý nám bol vymeraný, potom my musíme prekročiť tú rieku. Ďakujeme ti, že ona nemusela trpieť. Nemuselo byť nič tu proti nej, kvôli čomu by musela trpieť. Odišla rovno do náručia Božieho, v jednej chvíli.
14 Jej muž, jej deti sú tu dnes ráno, Pane, rovno znovu na svojom mieste. Ako ti ďakujeme za tú statočnú vieru! “Viera našich otcov stále žije, napriek žalára, ohňa a meča.” Ďakujeme ti za všetky tieto veci.
15 Daj odpočinúť jej drahej duši, Pane. Ona bola naša sestra. V srdci máme smútok, roníme slzy, lebo tu nie je ale z tých vyronených sĺz vytryskuje radosť, ktorá nám dáva s istotou vedieť, čo hovorí tvoje Slovo, že žije v nesmrteľnom živote, že nikdy nemôže zomrieť. A tam, kde je teraz nebude nikdy nijaká nehoda, len očakáva na tých, ktorý prídu neskoršie aby sa pridali ku nej.
16 Požehnaj brata Coats a požehnaj ich dievčence v jej rodine, Pane, a tých milovaných a všetkých, ktorí ju milujú. A jedného dňa, Otče, veríme, že ju stretneme tam hore na druhej strane, kde nie je choroba, žiaľ ani smrť. Až do toho času, zachovávaj nás všetkých v zdraví a v poriadku, aby sme ti slúžili a tešili sa na ten deň. Prosíme to v mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
17 Nech ten veľký Duch Svätý, ktorý tu účinkuje s nami v tejto modlitebni a zjavuje nám svoje Slovo, nech dá odpočinutie jej statočnej duši v pokoji až sa znovu stretneme.
18 No, dnes ráno je tu teplo, pretože telo, viete, je tu toľko ľudí a každé telo vydáva teplo.
19No, chceli by sme teraz oznámiť. Niekedy tu naše zhromaždenia sú ráno dlhé, to preto, to skutočne nie je dobre mať zhromaždenia tak dlho, pretože - hodina, hodina a pol, niekedy dve hodiny. Ale čo robím, nahrávam tu pásky. Rozumiete? A tieto pásky idú do celého sveta. A to je to, čo - zhromažďujeme sa tu ráno tak dlho, to preto, že sem prichádzam nahrať tieto pásky. To je na to ... Oni sú ... Vidíte, môžete vidieť tam v tej miestnosti - nahrávajú tam tie pásky a oni idú všade, po celom svete.
20No, zanedlho, ak Pán dá, toto nadchádzajúce, len čo odídem odtiaľto ... Odídem zajtra ráno, ak Pán dá, naspäť do Arizony, pretože mám tam zhromaždenie. A potom cez celý juh. A vy južania tam z Georgii a Mississipi a z Texasu a z Alabami, prídeme rovno tam, celou cestou až na Floridu.
21Odtiaľto pôjdem do Phoenixu, potom do Californii a naspäť do Dallasu a možno skočím do San Antonio, myslím, že tam a naspäť do Alabamy a na Floridu a z tade. Tak vás tam zanedlho uvidíme, ak Pán dá.
22A potom, modlite sa stále za nás a my vám dáme vedieť kedy, ak nám ... Pán dá na srdce aby sme tu cez leto mali zhromaždenia na niekoľko dní.
23Mal som naplánovaných niekoľko sérií zhromaždení. Mnohí z vás v New Yorku viete, keď prišlo to videnie, kde bolo povedané, že tie zhromaždenia v Škandinávskych krajinách ... Pamätáte sa, oni ich tam naplánovali? A potom, kým som bol v New Yorku prišlo to videnie, že každé to zhromaždenie bude zrušené z určitého dôvodu. A pamätám sa, niektorým z vás som to povedal, keď sme boli v New Yorku. To je presne to čo sa stalo, pretože oni to chceli všetci v ten istý deň a nemohli dostať tú budovu. Tak potom, to nám môže nechať malý priestor v júny. To mohla byť vôľa Pánova, myslel som si, možno, aby som prišiel naspäť kvôli týmto Trúbam rovno sem, prv ako bude príliš neskoro. Vidíte? Tak vieme, že všetko ide v úplnom poriadku. Tak som to mal na srdci, tak to môže byť to, čo On chce aby sme urobili.
24Vidím, že sa navzájom delíte s miestom na sedenie, tam v hale a všade. A teraz, keď budeme mať tie Trúby, to je - chceme prenajať telocvičňu na strednej škole; myslím, že je tam na sedenie 5500 miest; a potom by sme mali šancu, že by každý mal miesto a sedel, a v pokoji počúval, keď budeme kázať.
25Tie Trúby, to je veľmi, veľmi dobré. Nedávno som sa na to díval. Viete, na tú Šiestu Pečať, všetkých Sedem Trúb zneje rovno tam v tej Šiestej Pečati (Vidíte?), tesne pred tým, ako Siedma Pečať otvára príchod Kristov.
26A dnes večer mám veľmi dôležité posolstvo, ktoré chcem hovoriť pred službou s uzdravovaním. A ak ste tu a chcete zostať na ňom, no, budeme sa snažiť, ak to bude možné, aby sme začali trochu skorej, pretože sa potom budeme modliť za chorých. Nechcem kázať príliš dlho, ale je niečo čo už nejaký čas chcem povedať cirkvi a tak nejako vás postaviť do ... ako všetko prebieha v tomto čase a kde práve stojíme, podľa môjho najlepšieho poznania z Písma.
27No, chcem aby ste teraz ráno prešli so mnou, ak si to chcete poznačiť alebo zapisovať, to čo budeme čítať z knihy Izaiáša a chcem čítať zo 42. kapitoly Izaiáša.
28Sme veľmi radi, že dnes ráno tu máme tiež brata Daucha, ktorý tu s nami sedí. Kým si to otvárate ... Viete, oni tu v Shreveporte si vtedy mysleli, že nebude žiť. On mal skutočne vieru. Tak veru. On sa z toho dostal; Pán ho žehná. Keď vidím brata Daucha, 91 ročného a mal úplné zlyhanie srdca a ešte ku tomu srdcovú porážku. A práve ten doktor, ktorý povedal, že nevidí pre neho nijakú šancu aby žil, brat Dauch žije a ten doktor je mŕtvy. Vidíte? Pretože, on ... Vidíte? Brat Dauch tu sedí.
29A potom muž 91 ročný so zlyhaním srdca a infarktom ... A vtedy, keď som tam išiel, videl som ho ako prichádza po ulici; Videl som ho v zbore. A išiel som tam a povedal som mu, keď bol pod kyslíkovým prístrojom, “V mene Pánovom, podáme si ruky na ... Uvidím ťa znovu v zbore a na ulici si podáme ruky.” Hneď na ďalšom zhromaždení bol tu, znovu sedí v zbore. A išiel som do Louisville, kde jedávame v Blue Boar, najesť sa a len čo som vystúpil z auta, vykročil som po ulici a tu ide po ulici brat Dauch. Stalo sa to úplne presne tak. A ako ho Pán požehnal.
30No, o uzdraveniach a takých veciach budeme hovoriť dnes večer a máme skutočne mimoriadne veci, ktoré chceme dnes večer povedať.
31Ale teraz, aby som mohol teraz nahrať tie pásky, pripravte sa a zapnite ich. Chcem začať čítať z Izaiáša 42. kapitolu od prvého do siedmeho verša a Matúš 4. kapitolu, začneme, myslím, 15. a 16. verš.
32No, budeme čítať 42. kapitolu Izaiáša.
Hľa, môj služobník, ktorého podopriem, môj vyvolený, v ktorom má záľubu moja duša! Dám svojho Ducha na neho, vynášať bude národom súd.
Nebude kričať ani nepovýši ani nedá počuť na ulici svojho hlasu.
Nalomenej trstiny nedolomí a tlejúceho knotu nevyhasí; súd bude vynášať podľa pravdy.
Nebude tlieť ani sa nenalomí, dokiaľ nepostaví na zemi súd, a na jeho vyučujúci zákon budú očakávať ostrovy.
Takto hovorí silný Boh Hospodin, ktorý stvoril nebesia a roztiahol ich, ktorý rozprestrel zemi to, čo vychádza z nej, ktorý dáva dych ľudu, ktorý je na nej, a ducha tým, ktorí chodia po nej.
Ja Hospodin som ťa povolal v spravodlivosti a pojal som ťa za tvoju ruku, budem ťa ostríhať a dám ťa za zmluvu ľudu a za svetlo národom.
Aby si otvoril slepé oči a viedol väzňa z väzenia, zo žalára tých, ktorí sedia vo tme.
33A teraz, v evanjeliu Matúša v 4. kapitole chcem čítať vyplnenie tohoto proroctva, ktoré Izaiáš prorokoval. V 4. kapitole Matúša - začnem čítať. Ak je to možné začnime od 12. verša namiesto od 15.
A keď počul Ježiš, že je Ján vydaný, odišiel do Galilee
a opustiac Nazaret prišiel a býval v Kafarnaume, ktoré leží pri mori, v krajoch Zabulona a Neftalima,
aby sa naplnilo to čo bolo povedané skrze proroka Izaiáša, ktorý povedal:
Zem Zabulona a zem Naftalima, na ceste k moru, za Jordánom, Galilea pohanov,
ľud, ktorý sedel vo tme, uzrel veliké svetlo, a sediacim v krajine a v tôni smrti vzišlo svetlo.
Odvtedy začal Ježiš hlásať a hovoriť: Čiňte pokánie! Lebo sa priblížilo nebeské kráľovstvo.
Nech Pán pridá požehnanie do čítania Jeho Slova.
34 A teraz, zvláštny text, niekto toto povedal, počul som to hovoriť, ale ja to chcem zobrať ako text: “Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo.”
35Teraz budeme hovoriť na tému svetla. Toto nadväzuje na tie tri témy, na ktoré som práve hovoril. Na jednu z nich v Tucsone, či vo Pheonixe, o tom prečo Ježiš prišiel cez Betlehem. On musel, pretože On je Betlehem. Betlehem, B-e-t “dom”; e-l, “Boh”; e-h-e-m je “chlieb, chlieb: Dom Božieho Chleba.” A každý kresťan, ktorý sa narodil v Kristovi sa narodil v Betleheme, v Božom dome chleba.
36A potom tam som ukazoval na príklade Dávida, ktorý bol utečencom, pretože vtedy bol vyhnaný od svojich ľudí, bol daný nabok a Betlehem bol obliehaný, Filištíni obsadili Betlehem. A Dávid, utečenec, to je príklad cirkvi dnes, Krista. Vidíte, Kristus je dnes utečencom zo svojej vlastnej cirkvi. Oni majú ... Utečenec je niekto, kto je odmietnutý. A Dávid bol odmietnutý a pritom bol pomazaný na kráľa, prorok ho pomazal.
37A v tomto čase, keď bol utečencom od svojich ľudí, nazbieral veľa statočných pohanov. Jeden z nich zabil osemsto mužov, za jeden deň s kopijou, či s mečom. A iný skočil do jamy a zabil leva v deň snehu. A zbierali šošovicu, to je fazuľa alebo hrach alebo niečo také a všetci utiekli, a on tam stál a zabil tých ľudí až mu zmeravela ruka. Oni tiež zabili tých obrov, Goliášových bratov. Statoční ľudia, držali sa Dávida, pretože vedeli, že príde k moci. Oni to vedeli bez ohľadu, čo ktokoľvek hovoril, Boh pomazal Dávida a oni to vedeli. To boli pohania. Bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi ho odstrčili nabok, oni predsa vedeli, že on príde k moci. A jedného dňa ...
38Čo je to za príklad na dnes, na Krista, utečenca. Poviete, “Kristus a utečencom?” Podľa Biblie, sme ... Boh nás statočne previedol cez tých sedem cirkevných vekov. V tejto Laodicejskej cirkvi, Kristus je utečencom, vyhnaný zo svojej cirkvi, odmietnutý, snaží sa znovu dostať naspäť. Vidíte? Je utečencom zo svojej vlastnej cirkvi. A utečencom je preto, že je Slovom a oni nechcú dovoliť Slovu vojsť; namiesto neho prijali vyznania.
39A potom sme zistili, že v tomto veľkom úsilí týchto statočných mužov okolo Dávida, pohanov ...
40Ak si všimnete ako sa formoval Betlehem. Nechcem prejsť na tú tému. Ale ako sa Betlehem ... V skutočnosti Rachab, tá smilnica, to bol jej syn, ktorý založil Betlehem. To bolo pšeničné centrum a bolo tam veľa dobrej vody. A on založil to malé mesto. Ono bolo najmenšie zo všetkých miest, pretože prorok povedal, “Betlehem Judský, či nie si najmenší medzi všetkými kniežatami miest Jeruzalemských - či Judských, ale z teba vyjde Panovník, ktorý bude vládnuť nad mojím ľudom.” Z toho malého.
41Dávid, keď bol tam vybraný, tí veľkí fajní bratia, keď ho tam išiel prorok Samuel pomazať, oni všetci sa tam postavili. Veľkí chrabrí mužovia, zdalo sa, že budú, že by im to pristalo, byť kráľom. Ale práve ten odmietnutý ním bol, Dávid, na neho bol vyliaty olej. To odmietnuté mesto bolo to, kde sa Kristus ... To čo Kristus zbiera, je odmietnuté (Vidíte?), tých, ktorí sú odmietnutí.
42Potom nachádzame, že po ňom prichádza Obéd a po ňom prichádza Boaz, a potom do toho vchádza ďalšia pohanka, Ruth, cez ktorú on prichádza. A z tade prichádza Jesse a z Jesseho prichádza Dávid. A z malej maštali na úpätí kopca, z tade prišiel Kráľ kráľov, Ježiš Kristus, Syn Dávidov, jeho duchovný Syn.
43No potom, on, Dávid sa narodil v tom meste, musel prísť do tohoto malého mestečka. A to sa nazývalo “Betlehem” čo znamená “dom Božieho Chleba.” A On je ten Dom Božieho Chleba.
44A Dávid, keď tam vtedy ležal na kopci a díval sa dole a videl posádku Filištínov, takto okolo neho, muselo mu byť teplo a bol smädný. Povedal, “Ó, keby som sa len mohol ešte raz napiť z tej studni.” No, jeho najmenšie myšlienky boli rozkazom pre jeho - pre tých, ktorí ho milovali.
45Tak je to dnes, tie najmenšie Ježišove myšlienky - alebo jeho Slovo - to má byť rozkaz pre nás pohanov, ktorí Ho milujeme. Lebo vieme, že On prichádza do moci, bez ohľadu ako veľmi je odmietnutý. Nebo i zem pominú ale toto bude stále vládnuť, presne tak isto, aj keď celé nebesia i zem pominú. A vieme, že On prichádza do moci, pretože nič tomu nemôže zabrániť. [Brat Branham klepe po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] Toto je Kristus, jeho zjavenie a toto sa stane presne tak ako Slovo hovorí, pretože On je Slovo. A tie najmenšie jeho prikázania v ňom, bez ohľadu aké sú malé ... Ak sa jedná byť znovu pokrstený alebo čokoľvek to je, každopádne to urobíme. To je jeho rozkaz.
46A najmenšia z Dávidových myšlienok bola rozkazom pre tých pohanov, lebo oni znázorňujú dnešnú cirkev z pohanov, sta- toční muži. Vidíte? Tí muži, ktorí stáli pri Dávidovi boli pohania, ale statoční muži. Nebojácni. Oni ani nevedeli čo je to strach.
47Jeden zobral meč a zabil osemsto mužov, všetkých okolo seba. Čo za chlapa to bol. Jeden z nich, iný ... Nejaký Egyptský bojovník tam vybehol s dlhou kopijou; a tento mal v ruke len palicu. Zobral tú palicu a vyrazil mu z ruky tú kopiju, zobral ju a zabil ho. Vidíte?
48Jeden z tých obrov mal prsty dlhé štrnásť cólov, takéto. No, štrnásť cólov ... Vaše prsty sú také dlhé, ako keď zavriete ruku. Otvorte ju; to by bola ruka na dvadsať osem cólov. A s kopijou ... A on skočil rovno tam a zabil ho. Vidíte? Prečo? Bol to statočný muž, pohan, ktorý hľadel na toho pomazaného, o ktorom vedel, že prichádza do moci.
49Všimli ste si, oni boli takí statoční pre Dávida, že keď Dávid nakoniec prišiel ku moci, urobil ich vládcami nad mestami. Či Ježiš nezasľúbil to isté? To isté, urobí ich vládcami.
50Potom v tom, keď Dávid mal túžbu mať čerstvú vodu ... On tam hore mal možno nejakú starú, teplú stojacu vodu, ktorú pil. Ale stalo sa, že začal rozmýšľať o tej čerstvej vode, tam dole v Betleheme, “v Dome Božieho Chleba.” A povedal, “Keby som sa len mohol napiť z tej studni.” A tí muži vytiahli svoje meče a prebili sa štrnásť míľ cez Filištínov, nie preto, že ich o to požiadal, ale preto, že vedeli, že to chce. A prerúbali sa cez tých Filištínov, až ku tej studni. Kým dvaja z nich bojovali, ten ďalší zobral vedro s vodou a prebojovali si cestu naspäť, celú cestu a dali ju Dávidovi. To hovorí o statočnosti.
51Dávid, ten bohabojný muž, povedal, “Bože uchovaj aby som to pil od týchto priateľov, ktorí vystavili svoj život nebezpečenstvu.” A priniesol liatu obeť, vylial to na zem pre Pána: “Dám to Pánovi, On jediný je toho hodný, nie ja.” Oni nasadili ...
52To presne znázorňuje Samého Krista so svojím Večným Životom, ktorý mal v sebe, ako udretú Skalu, vylial svoj život na zem, ako obeť za hriech pre nás aby toto Slovo mohlo žiť.
53Ó, pohania, ako som povedal, kto vytiahne ten meč so mnou? On chce dnes ráno čerstvú vodu, nie tieto staré hnijúce cirkevné vyznania a také veci, s ktorými robíme hlúposti; On chce skutočnú vieru v jeho Slovo, kto bude veriť každému Slovu z toho. Poďme ku studni a prinesme piť, občerstvenie, uctievanie, ktoré nestojí na vyznaniach a denominácii, ale skutočné uctievanie v Duchu, s Kristom medzi nami, ktorý žije svoj Život tak, ako On chce medzi nami, nie s vyznaniami a rôznymi takými vecami. Majme Ho takým spôsobom.
54No, to ďalšie bolo to, ako Boh jednal s tými ľuďmi skrze sny vo dňoch Jozefa. Všimli ste si? Sen je druhoradý. To je druhoradý spôsob Božieho konania. Niektorí ľudia môžu mať sny, ktoré nič neznamenajú. Môžete sa príliš veľa najesť a mať nočné mory. A sen je druhoradý spôsob. Rozumiete? No, prečo by Boh chránil svojo vlastného Syna druhoradým spôsobom? On sa zjavil Jozefovi. Zabezpečenie svojho vlastného dieťaťa poslal druhoradým spôsobom. Zamysleli ste sa niekedy nad tým? Pretože v kraji nebol žiadny prorok. On musel konať cez sny. A to nebol sen, ktorý musel byť vyložený. Anjel Pánov povedal, “Jozef, neboj sa zobrať si Máriu svoju ženu, pretože to, čo sa v nej počalo je z Ducha Svätého.”
55To bolo neobyčajné aby sa to stalo. Jozef bol spravodlivý človek, on ... To bolo neobyčajné. Boh je neobyčajný. A to neobyčajné sa dá ťažko porozumieť. Preto je tak ťažko dnes porozumieť Pravdu; ona je tak neobyčajná. Žena má mať dieťa, bez toho aby poznala muža, to bolo veľmi neobyčajné. Ale ak si čestný a úprimný, Boh sa ti môže zjaviť dokonca vo sne. To ti ide ukázať, že všetko čo máš, či je to tvoja myseľ, či dokážeš pískať, spievať, svedčiť alebo čokoľvek dokážeš robiť, ak celá tvoja bytosť je odovzdaná Bohu, Boh to môže použiť, ak mu len dovolíš aby to urobil.
56Potom, za tým, ten večer tu brat Neville kázal na tému “útek”, ako ľudia utiekli. A myslím, že to bolo dosť pozoruhodné a zdá sa, že dnes ráno Duch Svätý chce aby som hovoril na tému svetla, hneď to ďalšie. Ide rovno ďalej, na začiatok, ako Kristov život začal v jasliach. Vraciame sa ku tomu a znovu cez to prechádzame v našom texte. A on to nevedel; Ja som to nevedel; a tu je to znovu pri tom istom. Vidíte? Rovno ďalej, to ďalšie je tam, keď On vchádza do svojej služby. A dnes máme niečo, čo sa bude prelínať rovno s tým, aby sme išli ďalej, dnes večer, keď Pán dá.
57No, veľké Svetlo! “Pohania, ktorí boli v oblastiach tieňa smrti, zjavilo sa medzi nimi veľké Svetlo. A Zabulon, Naftali na ceste - Galileja pohanov, veľké Svetlo, uvideli veľké Svetlo.”
58No, svetlo, prvý krát, keď svetlo - vidíme to v Biblii, je to v Genesis 1:3. To bol Boh, ktorý vypovedal Slovo a stvoril svetlo. Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” Genesis 1:3, a bolo svetlo.
59No, pamätajte, potom svetlo prichádza skrze vypovedané Slovo Božie. A svetlo je potvrdenie, alebo predmet, že to, čo On povedal je svetlo. Keď svetlo letí, ukazuje to. Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo.” Nebolo žiadne svetlo a On povedal, “Buď svetlo.” a bolo svetlo. To je dôkaz; svetlo je potvrdenie jeho Vypovedaného Slova; to isté je dnes, potvrdenie jeho vypovedaného Slova.
60No, keď vidíte, že jeho Slovo sa potvrdilo, alebo inými slovami, dalo sa poznať, dokázalo sa, to je Svetlo jeho vypovedaného Slova. A bez svetla, nič nemôže žiť bez svetla. Dnes nieto život na zemi, ktorý - jedine ten, ktorý prišiel skrze svetlo slnka, v botanickom živote a tak ďalej. A nieto Večný Život pomimo Syna Božieho. Vidíte? On je Svetlo.
61Nachádzame, myslím, keď teraz študujeme ... A toto svetlo ... Zem bola neladná.
62No, niektorí ľudia argumentujú dnes vo svojich školách a tak ďalej, že svet je starý veľa miliónov rokov a snažia sa odsúdiť Bibliu a hovoria, že je zlá. Oni vôbec nečítajú Bibliu. To je to. Pretože Biblia nám nehovorí, aký je svet starý. Biblia povedala, “Na počiatku stvoril Boh nebesia a zem.” Bodka! Kedy, ako, to je - nevieme. No, to je prvé. A, tam je bodka, to je koniec vety.
63“Na počiatku stvoril Boh nebesia a zem.” To mohlo byť stovky miliónov alebo biliónov rokov, alebo koľkokoľvek to bolo. A ako to urobil, to je na Ňom aby to vedel (Vidíte?) Nie na mne. Ale svet bol ... Zem bola neladná a pustá a vody boli na zemi; a Boh povedal - vznášal sa nad vodami a riekol, “Buď svetlo.”
64No, verím, že slnko a tak ďalej, mesiac, to už existovalo, verím. Ako to prebieha, Genesis 3, aby to vysvetliť ... Ale verím, to čo tu bolo, že svet, použijeme to; a preto ... A to preniklo; po celej zemi bola hmla a hmlisto, to tvorilo tmu. A Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a tma sa stratila a bola bezmračná obloha.
65A verím, že to je spôsob ako Boh robí veci; On ... V Biblii ten ďalší verš hovorí - 4. verš hovorí, “A oddelil svetlo od tmy; a svetlo nazval dňom a tmu nazval nocou.” A Božie Slovo stále oddeľuje svetlo od tmy. Vidíte? To je Slovo, ktoré oddeľuje svetlo od tmy.
66Boh stále robí to isté. Keď sa pripravuje použiť čokoľvek, ako sa pripravoval použiť túto starú hviezdu alebo čokoľvek to bolo, tento svet, On musel oddeliť svetlo od tmy. Keď sa pripravuje zanechať, či vlastne použiť skupinu ľudí, musí oddeliť svetlo od tmy. Keď sa pripravuje použiť nejakého jednotlivca, oddeľuje svetlo od tmy. Vidíte?
67Svetlo prichádza od Boha, a ... Pamätajte, svetlo prichádza skrze jeho vypovedané Slovo. Slovo Božie povedalo, “Buď svetlo,” keď nebolo žiadne svetlo. A On poslal svetlo aby oddelilo temnosť od svetla.
68Tento slovný rozkaz vyčistil oblohu, že slnko mohlo zasvietiť na zem. A dnes jeho Slovo čistí každú atmosféru nevery.
69Hovoril som ... Mal som, myslím, jedenásť osobných rozhovorov dnes ráno tesne predtým, ako som prišiel sem za kazateľňu. Tak zle ...
70Jedného dňa, jeden môj priateľ, Jim Pool, jeho malý chlapec, mysleli si, že má srdcový záchvat, bežali s ním do nemocnice. A to bol astmatický stav, ktorý vrhol toho chlapca ... Nemohol ... Srdce mu pumpovalo a dychčal, a kričal a nemohol nabrať dych a zdalo sa, že ten chlapec zomiera, keď ho sem priviezli. A ja som už chcel ísť do nemocnice; priviezli ho sem. A chytil som jeho malú rúčku, povedal som, “To dieťa dostalo osýpky, to má z toho. Ten malý dostal osýpky, horúčku. Pozorujte ho; za pár dní ho chcem znovu vidieť. Bude celý osypaný.” A tu je celý v osýpkach. Vidíte. Vidíte?
71No, čo? Boh oddeľuje tmu od svetla - alebo svetlo od tmy. A oddeľuje smrť od života; a robí to svojím Slovom. Jeho Slovo toto stále spôsobuje.
72No, svetlo ... Semeno bolo už na zemi. Verím, že Boh zasadil to semeno a akonáhle sa slnko mohlo dostať ku tomu semenu, ono začalo rásť. A preto boli potrebné len dni aby to vyrástlo, pretože to semeno bolo už v zemi. Všetko čo potrebovalo, bolo svetlo.
73A to je spôsob, ktorý Boh má dnes. Jeho semeno je už tu, Jeho Slovo. Tá jediná vec, ktorú ono potrebuje je, aby naň svietilo Svetlo; a On je tým Svetlom, lebo On je Slovo. Slovo a Svetlo, to je to isté. Život v ňom je Svetlom Slova (Vidíte?), to je Život. Gén života leží v zrne, a zrno ... ten život je to čo vychádza a prináša život z toho zrna. Takto vlastne Kristus v Slove spôsobuje, že Slovo robí to čo má robiť. Presne ako život v pšeničnom zrne alebo v akomkoľvek; on spôsobuje, že pšenica robí to čo má robiť, pretože to je život, ktorý je v nej. Každý život!
74Tak, život je jedine skrze Slovo Božie, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Život prichádza jedine skrze Slovo Božie, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Pokiaľ je ono len v Knihe, ako toto, stále sa o tom môže pochybovať; ale keď sa zamanifestovalo; potom vidíte ten produkt o ktorom ono hovorilo, že sa zamanifestoval, potom to je Svetlo na - na Slove. Vidíte? Toto privádza ... Slovo tak povedalo a potom, keď sa to deje, to je Život vo Svetle, Svetlo prinášajúce Život. Svetlo prináša Život.
75Zasaďte tu pšenicu, ona bude ... a dajte ju do pivnice, celé to zakryte a ona nikdy nič nezrodí, pretože nemôže. Nie je tam žiadne svetlo. Ale akonáhle na ňu zasvieti svetlo, potom zrodí život, ak je v tom semene zárodok.
Tak isto je to so Slovom. Vidíte? Slovo je Boh a keď naň zasvieti Svetlo, to privádza Slovo znovu do života. V každom veku to stále tak bolo. Ó, ako si ceníme tieto veľké veci, keď je Slovo potvrdené, to je Svetlo toho vypovedaného Slova. Vidíte? Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo.”
76No, čo keby to len povedal a neprišlo by žiadne svetlo? Potom nevieme, či je to pravda alebo nie. Nevieme, či je v poriadku. Nevieme, či On je Boh alebo nie, pretože On len povedal, “Nech sa stane,” a nestalo sa. Rozumiete? Tak potom, keď Boh hovorí a vidíme, že sa to deje, potom to je Svetlo, ktoré svieti, Pravda Slova. Vidíte? Tam je Svetlo a Život.
77Celý prirodzený život pochádza z jeho vypovedaného Slova. A slnko je jeho vypovedané Slovo. On povedal, že stvoril veľké svetlo na nebesiach pre deň a menšie svetlo pre noc. Vidíte? A všetok prirodzený život musel prísť cez Božie vypovedané Slovo. Kvet nemôže rásť bez svetla Božieho vypovedaného Slova, ktoré naň svieti, lebo slnko je, [v angličtine je slnko: “sun“, pričom výslovnosť je rovnaká ako pri “son“, čo znamená syn. – pozn.prekl.] s-l-n-k-o je vypovedané Slovo Božie, keď On povedal, “Buď svetlo.” Vidíte? To je Boží vypovedaný život a bez ohľadu ako veľmi sa ľudia snažia povedať toto, to, či tamto, stále to zostáva tak isto. Musíte mať to slnko a tak život, prirodzený, môže prísť len cez vypovedané Slovo Božie.
78A duchovný život, Večný Život, môže prísť jedine cez Božie vypovedané Slovo Života. Teraz tým životom je S-y-n. V ňom je Svetlo a v ňom nieto žiadnej tmy; a On je Božím vypovedaným Svetlom. Je to tak? Božím vypovedaným Slovom; lebo, “Na počiatku bolo Slovo a to Slovo bolo u Boha a to Slovo bol Boh.” A to je naveky Boh. Vidíte? A je potrebné aby Božie Svetlo zasiahlo Slovo a oživilo ho. Tu je to čo On povedal [Brat Branham poklepal po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] a teraz nech Svetlo svieti! Amen! Nech Svetlo svieti. A to Svetlo privedie každé Slovo do jeho správnej pozícii v jeho čase. Amen. Ó! Vidíte, keď príde jeho čas!
79Niekedy to malé zrnko leží v zemi nečinné cez celú zimu, ako semeno zimnej pšenice, zasadené do zeme. Ale keď to slnko zasvieti tak akurát, ó, to musí ožiť. Vidíte? Ono nemôže žiť bez slnka. A Boh dal zasľúbenia na každý vek a každý deň, a keď sa to Svetlo dostane do náležitého stavu a svieti na to, to vyprodukuje presne to čo Slovo povedalo; pretože On je Svetlo a Život.
80Božie Slovo prichádza jedine cez Bibliu. Božia Bibla je - vytlačená forma Syna Božieho, pretože Bibla povedala, že to je zjavenie Ježiša Krista. To je Boh, ktorý sa sám zjavuje cez Krista a Kristus je Slovo. A je potrebné aby Svetlo Božie svietilo na Slovo, aby ho potvrdilo, aby dokázalo, že Boh stále hovorí Život, Večný Život. On hovorí prirodzené svetlo, prináša život. Život prichádza jedine skrze svetlo, cez Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo, alebo ktoré sa stalo telom. Keď sa všetky zasľúbenia stali, v Biblii, keď sa zamanifestovali, to je vtedy, keď Ježiš Kristus, Slovo, sa stal telom medzi nami. Boh stále pracuje cez človeka. Človek je Boží objekt.
81 No, ak vám je teplo, môžete otvoriť okná, alebo čokoľvek chcete, znížiť kúrenie. Možno vrátnik by znížil trochu vykurovanie. Vidím, že mnohým vám je teplo. A tu je tiež teplo, tak pamätajte na to. Som radšej, že je tu teplo než zima, pretože mám rád teplo. Teplo stále prináša svetlo, život, potrebný je oheň.
82Všimnite si teraz, “stalo sa telom,” Keď sa Slovo stáva telom, dochádza do jeho zamanifestovania. Ako napríklad, vezmite Slovo a dajte ho do správnej pozícii a na správnu pôdu, ono zrodí. Semeno zrodí svoj druh. A Slovo, prinesené do správneho srdca, ono sa zamanifestuje. Prinesie svetlo. Zrodí sa z toho. Dobre.
83Nič telesné, nič telesné alebo duchovné nemôže žiť bez Božieho svetla. Život môže potom prísť jedine skrze svetlo. Nič telesné ani nič duchovné nemôže žiť bez Božieho svetla. Zamysli- te sa nad tým. Dobre. Ale keď nám On posiela Svetlo a robí všetky tieto veci, a potom to odmietneme, to je potom poľutovania hodná roľa, keď je svetlo odmietnuté, keď je nám poslané.
84No, mohli by ste si predstaviť dnes nejakého človeka, ktorý by hovoril, “Ja proste odmietam uznať, že je niečo také ako slnko, Neverím, že je slnko”? A bežal by do pivnice a zavrel by všetky dvere a sedel by tam v tme a povedal by, “nieto niečo také ako slnko. Nie je niečo také ako svetlo.” Hneď by ste vedeli, niečo nie je s ním v poriadku. Vidíte? Niečo je zle, keď beží do tmavej pivnice a odmieta uznať úžitok Bohom daného svetla. Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. On nechce jeho teplé lúče. Nechce jeho podstatu, ktorá dáva zdravie. Nechce jeho svetlo, aby v ňom chodil. On bude radšej sedieť v tme. To ukazujem, že s tým človekom je mentálne niečo zle, prirodzene.
85 A hovorím toto so všetkou láskou a s rešpektom. Tak isto je niečo duchovne zlé s tým človekom, ktorý bude bežať naspäť do svojich denominačných vyznaní a odmietne vidieť Biblické svetlo, keď ono svieti rovno pred ním. Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. Vidíte, ide naspäť do svojich vyznaní a foriem a zatvára dvere a hovorí, “Také niečo neexistuje. Dni zázrakov pominuli. Nie je niečo také ako Božské uzdravenie, nič také neexistuje. To bolo pre apoštolov.” Ten človek je duchovne blázon. Vidíte? Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. Zatiahol záclonu a odmietol Ducha Svätého, ktorý mohol prísť na neho. Ak môže ...
“Ak zostanete vo mne, a moje slová vo vás, potom, Svetlo svieti na toto Slovo, proste si čo chcete.” Vidíte? Vidíte?
86Niečo je zle, že on odmieta Bohom dané zdroje, ktoré nám Boh dal aby sme nimi žili, Jeho Slovo. “Spravodlivý bude žiť vierou.”
“Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe, ale na každom Slove,” nie na časti Slova, “na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” A keď to človek proste odmietne, s tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku; niečo nie je v poriadku s jeho prežitím, on tvrdí, že miluje Boha a potom odmieta Boha. S tým človekom sa stalo niečo zlé. Poznáme to, bez tieňa pochybnosti. On to odmieta, beží na toto miesto a hovorí, “No ja len ... nič o tom nechcem vedieť. Nič mi o tých veciach nehovor. Ja ničomu z toho neverím. Bez ohľadu na to čo hovoríš.”
87Nedávno mi povedal jeden človek. Hovoril som vám o tom. Povedal, “Je mi jedno, či by si tu doviedol päťdesiat prípadov uzdravených z rakoviny a päťdesiat doktorov, ktorí by o tom svedčili, ja neverím. Je mi to jedno aj keby si vzkriesil mŕtveho, rovno predo mnou, neveril by som tomu.” Vidíte? S tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku. Nie je. A pri tom ten človek bol kazateľ, údajne bol.
Ale len pre to, že tá organizácia neverí v moc Božiu, neverí, že Slovo znamená presne to čo ono hovorí, ten človek beží do tej pivnici, starej, plesnivej, špinavej, nečistej pivnici nejakej organizácii, a odmieta teplo a životodarné lúče Ducha Svätého, Ježiša Krista, ktorý je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Potom s tou osobou je niečo zlé. Vidíte?
On bude radšej žiť v tej plesnivej temnosti, a podobne, než aby žil vo Svetle Božom a Biblii, ktorá povedala, že “Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Skutky, ktoré ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť. Ešte väčšie ako tieto budete činiť, lebo ja idem ku svojmu Otcovi.” S tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku. Bez akejkoľvek pochybnosti, niečo nie je v poriadku.
88A vy, ktorí počúvate toto, po svete, čokoľvek ste. S vaším prežitím nie je niečo v poriadku, keď hovoríte, že milujete Boha a odmietate jeho Slovo. Je niečo. Odmietate samotného ... nie divu, že tie veci sa nemôžu stať, cirkev je v stave, a veci sa nemôžu stať ako ich Boh zasľúbil, pretože vy ani neprijímate Slovo ani nechodíte vo Svetle. Biblia povedala, “Choďme vo svetle, ako je On vo svetle, potom Krv Ježiša Krista, Božieho Syna, očisťuje nás od každého hriechu.” Hriech, to je “nevera.”
89Potom keď chodíme v Bohom danom Svetle na túto hodinu, potom Boh berie to Slovo, ktoré dal na túto hodinu a potvrdzuje ho.
Tak ako to urobil v Genesis 1:3, povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a svetlo sa zjavilo. Jeho Slovo vystúpilo a svetlo ho nasledovalo a odstránilo hmlu. A temnosť odišla do jedného rohu a svetlo svietilo na druhej strane.
90Tak to Boh robí dnes. On posiela svoje Slovo na túto hodinu a Duch Svätý prichádza a oživuje to Slovo. A temnosť odchádza do ich vyznaní a denominácií, ale Svetlo svieti, pretože to je Slovo Božie, ktoré sa potvrdilo, že jeho Slovo je pravda. No, na tom nie je nič falošné, to je presne Písmo. No dobre.
91No, nachádzame, že tí mudrci, tí dávni mudrci nasledovali tú Bohom danú vec. Nasledovali Slovo Božie, do Svetla, pretože to bolo Slovo, ktoré prinieslo Život. Vy poviete teraz, “Ako to nasledovali?” No oni boli takí mágovia, vieme.
92A potom nachádzame, že Balám, ten prorok tam v Numeri 24:17, Balám tiež bol takým mágom. On bol prorok, skutočne a on tu prorokoval a povedal, že hviezda vyjde z Jákoba.
A keď títo mudrci videli, že Slovo Božie povedalo, že hviezda vyjde z Jákoba, oni nasledovali ten malý Bohom daný znak až ku zdroju Večného Života.
Tak múdri ľudia dnes, ktorí nie sú zaslepení vyznaniami, budú nasledovať Bohom dané, vypovedané Slovo, až kým neuvidia plnosť moci Božej, ktorá rozkvitá v tejto hodine. Oni to vidia a vedia, že je to tu v Písme. Boh to zasľúbil na tento deň.
93Bez ohľadu na to koľko observatórií, koľko iných ďalších vecí hovorilo týmto múdrym mužom, “Čo, vy ste stratili rozum!” Oni putovali dva roky. Prešli cez veľa národov a tí sa ich pýtali, “Kde idete?”
94“Ó, videli sme jeho hviezdu na východe a ideme sa Mu pokloniť.”
A keď prišli do Jeruzalema, do denominačnej centrály, nedostali odpoveď. Chodili hore dole po uliciach, volali, “Kde je ten narodený Kráľ Židovský?” A tí nič o tom nevedeli.
Tak išli do Slova, aby to zistili. Nasledovali ju, vedeli, že tá hviezda ich vedie ku Večnému Svetlu. “Veď nás do tvojho dokonalého Svetla.” A Slovo je to čo vás vedie do Svetla a Svetlo je to, čo potvrdzuje Slovo. Všimnite si, to boli múdri mužovia.
95A múdri mužovia dnes, nie ... “Múdrosť tohoto sveta je bláznovstvom pred Bohom. Všetci vaši vedci a vy ľudia ktorí spoliehate na nejakej veľkej vzdelanosti, alebo niečom takom, hovoria vám ako štiepiť atóm; to vám nemôže dať Život. Nie je nič, čo vám môže dať Život okrem vypovedaného Božieho Slova. To je to jediné z čoho môže prísť Život, to je cez Jeho vypovedané Slovo.
96A to je v poriadku, vedieť ako sa štiepi atóm. Prajem si keby na to nikdy neprišli. Ale keď ... Oni to musia urobiť, pretože tento svet dnes visí ... To sa musí stať aby roztrhli tieto veľké diery v zemi a dali vytrysknúť láve aby omladila znovu tento svet, aby vytvorila novú zem; kde spravodliví budú kráčať po popole bezbožných, kde hriech bude zabudnutý. Všetko má svoj spôsob obnovenia. A človek, ktorému bolo dané aby žil na tejto zemi, skrze svoju vlastnú múdrosť, tým že zobral strom poznania namiesto stromu života, on zničí zem, ktorú mu Boh dal aby na nej žil. Ale tí, ktorí sú stále na Strome Života prídu do nového neba a na novú zem, kde už viac nie je choroba ani smrť. Svetlo! Svetlo, Pane, pošli nám Svetlo.
97To boli anjeli Pánovi, ktorí ukázali svetlo na tom kopci, aby viedli pastierov ku Večnému Svetlu. Vidíte, to prichádza len skrze Svetlo. Život môže prísť len skrze svetlo. Tí pastieri, chceli vedieť. Viete, keď sa kráľ narodil, oni spievali, veľké predstavenie, keď sa kráľ narodí. No, On sa tak tajomne narodil, narodil sa v maštali, v jasliach, kde dobytok a kone žrali, ale predsa to bol kráľ. A anjeli prišli dole a spievali pastierom chválospevy, vo Svetle.
Anjeli, oni sami, boli svetlami, ktoré sa ukázali so Slovom Božím. Oni mali Slovo Božie a povedali im, “Dnes v meste Dávidovom, v Betleheme sa narodil Kristus Spasiteľ.” Anjeli mali Slovo, a Slovo prišlo skrze Svetlo, aby ich viedlo. A oni nasledovali slovo anjelov ku večnému Svetlu. Našli tam nemluvňa, zavinuté v plienkach, ako im povedali. Lebo, vidíte, Život prichádza jedine prostredníctvom Svetla.
98Všimnite si, On bol Slovom, ktoré urobilo Svetlo, alebo sa stalo Svetlom. Slovo v tej generácii, On bol Svetlom Slova tej generácii, pretože tí dávni proroci hovorili o Ňom a On tu prišiel a potvrdil, že je Svetlom Božieho vypovedaného Slova. Vidíte? Všetko čo tí proroci povedali sa vyplnilo v Ňom, vidíte, tí proroci tu so Slovom.
Ako Boh na počiatku, keď povedal, “Buď svetlo, “ a prišlo svetlo.
Teraz prorok povedal, “Panna počne a porodí Syna. Nazvú Jeho meno Emanuel, lebo to bude Boh s nami.” No, oni to povedali, Slovo vyšlo; ale On bol Svetlo. Čo On bol? Vyplnenie. Haleluja! On bol vyplnením Slova. On bol manifestáciou Slova.
99Tak je to dnes, Božie Slovo sa vyplnilo v tejto hodine! To je Svetlo. To je Boh, ktorý sa manifestuje. On bol Svetlom sveta.
100A keď proroci, inšpirovaní Duchom Svätým, povedali, “Dieťa sa nám narodilo, Syn nám je daný; a nazvú jeho meno Radca, Knieža Pokoja, Mocný Boh, Otec Večnosti,” tu to je. Čo On je? Svetlo, ktoré vyplnilo Slovo, amen, Svetlo, ktoré vyplnilo to Slovo.
101V Matúšovi, vo svätom Matúšovi vo 28. kapitole nachádzame. A keď Ježiš vstal z mŕtvych, On bol tiež Svetlom hovoreného Slova cez Dávida, ktoré hovorilo, “Nezanechám jeho dušu v pekle; ani nedám môjmu Svätému vidieť porušenie.” Smrť bola v temnosti. Ale On prelomil pečate smrti a vošiel do nej a znovu z nej vyšiel. On bol Svetlom, potvrdeným Slovom, že mŕtvi môžu po smrti žiť. On bol.
102Na deň letníc, to bolo Svetlo, ktoré sa ukázalo, keď prišiel Duch Svätý.
Izaiáš povedal, v 28. kapitole Izaiáša, Izaiáš povedal, že, “Príkaz musí byť na príkaz; úprava na úpravu, trochu tu a trochu tam.” “Drž sa mocne toho čo je dobré.” “Lebo bľabotajúcimi rtami a inými jazykmi budem hovoriť tomuto ľudu. A toto je odpočinutie, toto je Sabat, ktorý dám ... A všetko toto nepočúvali, odchádzali preč, kývali svojimi hlavami.”
A keď v deň Letníc, keď Duch Svätý padol na tých ľudí a oni sa správali ako opilí muži a ženy potácali sa pod účinkovaním Ducha Svätého. A ľudia odchádzali, krútili hlavami a hovorili, “Títo sú opilí, plní nového vína,” a tak ďalej. To bolo presne to Svetlo, Slovo, ktoré bolo prorokované sa zamanifestovalo.
103Tak je to v každom veku, Slovo sa zamanifestovalo, prišlo do Života, to je Svetlo na daný vek, tam sa Slovo zamanifestovalo. Práve tak ako to bolo v Genesis 1, keď Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a bolo svetlo. Keď Boh povedal, že tam bude Syn; a bol tam Syn.
104Keď Boh povedal v Joelovi 2:28, “Stane sa v posledných dňoch, že vylejem svojho Ducha na každé telo; vaši synovia a dcéry budú prorokovať; na mojich služobníkov a na dievky vylejem svojho Ducha; vaši mládenci budú vídať videnia; vaším starcom sa budú snívať sny.” A všetky tieto veci, ktoré On zasľúbil, keď Duch Svätý padol, to bolo Svetlo na tom Slove. Keď sa Slovo zamanifestovalo, vtedy sa to stalo Svetlom.
On je Svetlo. On je Svetlo, ktoré máme nasledovať. On je to jediné Svetlo. Tí anjeli našli Svetlo, nasledovali ho a prišli ku Nemu.
105No, vo všetkých vekoch, Boh dáva toľko a toľko Slova na každý vek. Boh stále posiela niekoho aby Slovo mohlo preniknúť a ukázať jeho Svetlo. V každom veku robí to isté, stále sa to tak deje.
106On bol vyplnením, ako som povedal, všetkých tých Božských, svätých mocí tých prorokov. Oni boli malými bohmi. Keď Slovo Božie prišlo ku nejakému mužovi, sám Ježiš povedal, že to bol boh. Poznáte to. Povedal, “Ak váš zákon povedal a vaši otcovia vtedy, nazvali tých, ku ktorým prišlo Slovo Božie, nazvali ich “bohmi,” ako môžete odsudzovať mňa, keď som povedal, že som Syn Boží?” Vidíte?
Keď sám Boh, ktorý povedal to Slovo cez tých prorokov, On bol manifestáciou toho hovoreného Slova. A ak prorok bol nazvaný bohom, pretože bol manifestáciou Slova iného proroka, ako môžete odsudzovať Jeho, keď On bol tým istým? On bol Syn Boží, bude nazvaný Synom Božím.
107On bol ten dlho zasľúbený Mesiáš, na ktorého svet čakal. On bol tým Mesiášskym zasľúbením, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo.
108Pozrite sa na Neho keď tam stál. On povedal, “Ak nerobím skutky môjho Otca, potom ma odsudzujte.” Vidíte? “Ale ak nemôžete veriť Mne, verte tým skutkom, ktoré činím. Oni svedčia kto som. Oni vám povedia kto som.”
Vidíte, tá slepá, temná hodina v ktorej žijú, nemohli to vidieť. Oni to proste nemohli porozumieť. “Ako by On mohol tým byť? Ako On môže byť nejaký Syn Boží, keď sa narodil rovno tu v Betleheme?” Keby len vedeli, že Slovo povedalo, že to sa tak stane. “Aha, jeho otec, Jozef je tesár. Jeho matka, no, v skutočnosti sa to tak verí medzi našimi bratmi, že sa narodil mimo manželstva.” Vidíte? Ale Slovo to predsa tak povedalo.
109On povedal, “Skúmajte Písma, lebo si myslíte, že v nich máte večný život a oni sú to, ktoré svedčia kto som. Oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o mne, tieto Sväté Písma.” Čo On potom bol? Božie Svetlo. Nie divu, že povedal, “Ja som svetlo sveta.”
110On nepovedal len, “Ja som svetlo,” ale povedal, “Vy ste svetlo.” Ak je vo vás jeho Slovo, nesie svedectvo o sebe, potom ste svetlom sveta. Všimnite si, nachádzame, svetlo každého veku sa zamanifestovalo tak isto.
111Potom sa chcem opýtať, keď ... lebo náš čas beží. Prečo, prečo to potom oni ... prečo to odmietli? Ako to mohli urobiť, keď ... Sama ich Biblia, ktorú čítali, bola pred nimi zamanifestovaná. Dávajte teraz na to dobrý pozor.
112Pamätajte, hovorím teraz ku veľa ľuďom, viete. Nie len tu ku štyristo, päťsto, ale hovorím ku veľa tisícom.
113Zastavte sa na chvíľu. Zastavte svoj magnetofón a položte si otázku. Prečo by nábožní ľudia, dobrí ľudia ... Prečo Jozef pochyboval? Vidíte? Prečo Jo- ...? Pretože neskúmal Písmo.
Prečo kňazi pochybovali? Nemali ani jeden dôvod; oni to vedeli. Nikodém to dobre povedal. Povedal, “Rabi, my vieme, že ty si učiteľ od Boha. Nikto nemôže robiť to čo ty, ak by nebol s ním Boh. My si to uvedomujeme.” Ale čo to bolo? Ich tradície im bránili, aby to prijali.
114Tak prečo odmietli Mesiáša? Lebo ... Prečo odmietli to Svetlo? Tu je Slovo o ktorom vedeli, že sa má vyplniť, ale keď sa to Slovo zamanifestovalo, aby ukázalo, že Slovo Božie sa vyplnilo, porovnajte to s dneškom. Vidíte? Keď je tam napísané v Slove, že sa to stane, prečo to títo ľudia odmietli; tí učitelia? Pretože žili v žiare iného svetla. To je to. Oni žili v žiare. To je to čo robia dnes. Oni žijú ...
Dôvod prečo to odmietli je ten, že žili v žiare iného svetla. Vidíte? No, oni žili v žiare toho, čo povedal Mojžiš, tak to tvrdili. Žili v žiare iného veku, toho, čo už prešlo.
A dnes je to ten istý dôvod, že toto Posolstvo, že “Ježiš Kristus je stále ten istý,” je odmietnuté, pretože ľudia žijú v žiare iných vekov. Ten istý dôvod, prečo to odmietnu. No, vidíme to.
115A Webster hovorí, že “Žiara je určitý druh falošného svetla. Žiara je falošné svetlo; tiež niečo čo žiari.”
Ako fatamorgána na ceste. Idete po ceste, mnohí z vás cestujete autom a dívate sa pred seba. Keď vidíte, že slnko na zemi, svetlo sa tam odráža, ako fatamorgána, zdá sa akoby všade po ceste bola voda. Ale, keď tam prídete, nič tam nie je. To je len klamná fatamorgána, žiara z pravého svetla.
To je to čo diabol dnes robí, ukazuje ľuďom fatamorgánu, Cirkevnú Radu, skupinu denominácií, čo sa ukáže, že je falošné. Pretože je skutočné svetlo, ktoré svieti. Keby to skutočné svetlo nesvietilo, nemohla by tam byť fatamorgána. Skutočné Svetlo svieti. A to je ... Oni žijú v žiare iného veku, inej veci, lebo to zažiarilo a prešlo.
No, žiara, táto fatamorgána je falošná. To je žiara slnka.
116A takto, oni urobili to isté, falošnú žiaru pravého Svetla.
117No, to dokázalo, že On je tým pravým Svetlom. On bol Svetlo. Prečo oni vedeli, že On je Svetlo? Ako vy môžete vedieť, že On je Svetlo? Pretože Slovo, ktoré bolo zasľúbené sa zamanifestovalo cez Neho, tak On bol Svetlom toho hovoreného Slova. Amen! Ó, to robí zo mňa skoro letničného baptistu, že vykrikujem. Všimnite si, zamyslite sa nad tým!
118 Žiara, viete, žiť v žiare! Ale keď pravé Slovo žije, to je Svetlo, to čo Boh povedal.
No, čo keby Boh povedal, na počiatku, “Buď svetlo,” ó, dobre, a ukázalo by sa niečo iné, len nejaká fatamorgána? Rozumiete? To by nebolo to čo Boh povedal. Nie, nebolo by. Čo keby Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a prišla by väčšia hmla? Vidíte? To by nebolo svetlo. Ale svetlo prišlo preto, lebo jeho Slovo sa zamanifestovalo.
A dnes, keď Boh povedal, že také veci sa budú diať v tomto čase a vidíte, že to sa deje, (čo to je?) To je svetlo Božieho Slova. To je Slovo, ktoré sa stalo Svetlom, manifestuje sa.
119No, oni povedali, “Čo Ty hovoríš, že kto sme my?” povedal, “Ty sa snažíš ... vieme že si blázon. Aha, Ty si Samaritán; nemáš zdravý rozum. Ty sa budeš snažiť ... Kto môže povedať ... Vieme, že si sa v hriechu narodil. Neviem odkiaľ si prišiel. Nemáme záznam tvojej identifikácie v našich skupinách. Si blázon. Máš démona.” Vidíte? Povedali, “Stratil si rozum.” Ale On bol v skutočnosti tým originálnym, pravým Svetlom Božím, ktoré svietilo.
A žiara oslepila ich oči. “My máme za vodcu Mojžiša!”
120On povedal, “Keby ste verili Mojžišovi, poznali by ste ma.”
121A keby ste verili Ježišovi a Biblii, poznali by ste túto hodinu, v ktorej žijete. Oni hovoria, “No, my sme kresťania. My ...” Ak ste, budete poznať skutky Krista na tento deň. Rozumiete? Budete to poznať.
122Ježiš povedal, “Všetci tí proroci hovorili o Mne. A ak veríte tým prorokom, tak budete poznať Mňa. Moje skutky ma identifikujú. Pretože, to čo oni povedali Ja robím, Ja to robím. A kto ma môže teraz usvedčiť z nevery?”
123A oni to stále nevideli. Prečo? Ich oči boli oslepené tou žiarou; vidíte, žiarou niečoho iného, čo prijali, než čím bolo skutočné vypovedané Slovo. Zamyslite sa nad tým. Zamyslite sa. Oni tvrdili, že veria tomu Slovu. Ale ich tradície odvrátili ich tváre od pravého Slova na žiaru, a tak nemohli vidieť tú skutočnú vec.
Tak je to dnes. Tak to bolo v každom veku. Vidíte, pravé Slovo svieti ale oni boli tak zahľadení do tradícií, že nemohli vidieť to Slovo. Dívajú sa na žiaru a sú slepí. Žiara vás oslepí. Ona vytvára oblúk. To vás oslepí. A to bude, keď ...
124Ježiš povedal, “Vy ste slepí, vediete slepých.” Oni mali byť schopní vidieť to, vidieť kto On je. Ale nevideli, pretože žili v tej žiare.
125No, žiara, ako som povedal, je falošné svetlo, fatamorgána, falošná predstava pravého Svetla. Falošná predstava; to je niečo čo by malo tak vyzerať, ale to nie je To.
126Jedine ako mohli uvidieť rozdiel, bolo na základe práve tých vecí, ktoré Ježiš činil, oni dokázali kto On bol, že On je Svetlo. Oni si mysleli, že sú vo svetle. Ale ak sa teraz na chvíľu zamyslíte kto bol vlastne vo svetle.
127No, dnes! Ak takú nerozvážnu chybu vykonali cirkevní ľudia v tom čase, takú nerozvážnu vec, ktorú vykonali, bratia, či nemyslíte, že je čas aby sme sa zastavili a rozvážili čo je Svetlo? Nerobme takú nerozvážnu chybu. Ale vy ju robíte. Už ste ju vykonali a neviete o tom, tak isto ako oni vtedy. Zastavte sa teraz na chvíľu a zistite čo hovorí Slovo na dnes.
128Keby sa oni zastavili a zamysleli, “Tu On vyplňuje do písmena presne to čo Slovo povedalo, že bude robiť.”
A On ich vyzval, ako ja vyzývam vás! Rozumiete? Vyzývam vás aby ste sa pozreli do Slova, skúmali Písma, a pozreli sa či to nie je tá hodina. Vidíte? “Skúmajte Písma, lebo si myslíte, že v nich máte večný život a oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o mne.” Oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o tomto skutku dnes. Samé tie skutky svedčia, že to sa stalo a Písmo hovorí, že to sa stane, tak to je Svetlo tejto hodiny. Božie Slovo tak povedalo.
129Vaše tradície a také veci sú presne tým čo Biblia hovorí, ako tí ktorí krútili hlavami a odchádzali preč. “Všetky stoly sa stali plné vývratku,” hovorí Biblia. A oni sa tam dostali. Oni by tomu neverili. Krútili hlavami. A džentlmen, uvedomuješ si to? A brat, uvedomuješ si to, že keď odmietaš tú vec, ktorú Boh pred tebou potvrdzuje, že robíš to isté čo urobili oni, že odchádzaš naspäť do svojich tradičných vývratkov?
130“Ako sa pes navracia ku svojmu vývratku.” Ak mu bolo z toho zle prvý krát, bude mu z toho zle aj po druhýkrát. Ak Katolícka cirkev, ktorá sa zorganizovala a urobila prvú organizáciu, priniesla chorobu do cirkvi, to isté spôsobia Lutheráni, Metodisti a všetci ostatní, Baptisti, Presbyteriáni a Letniční. “Pes ide naspäť ku svojmu vývratku a sviňa sa ide znovu váľať v blate.” Vidíte? Prídeme ku tomu za chvíľu ak Pán dá.
131Žiara, chodia v žiare, vo fatamorgáne, vo falošnej predstave pravého Svetla. On dokázal, že je Svetlom.
Pretože, On, bol v menšine, ó, milióny proti Nemu! Ani jedna šestina ľudí, ani jedna deväťdesiatina ľudí na zemi vôbec nevedela, že On tu bol. Myslím, že možno stotina Židov, alebo sotva jedna päťdesiatina z nich alebo štyridsatina z nich, myslím, možno menej, v jeho vlastnom kraji vedeli, že On tam je. A tí, ktorí vedeli, že tam je Ho pokladali za niečo falošné, pretože denominácia im povedala, že On je taký. Vidíte?
Ale jednako On bol tým pravým Svetlom, o ktorom sa hovorilo od Genesis, na počiatku a bolo im povedané aby skúmali Písma a zistili či On nežije práve v tom čase; či On, tie skutky ktoré činil, nevyplnili presne to, čo bolo zasľúbené na ten čas. Amen. Ó!
132 Aká vážna vec to je, brat! Žijeme v ohromnom čase.
133On dokázal, že má pravdu. On bol tým Svetlom, o ktorom tvrdili, že ho uctievajú. Tvrdili, že uctievajú to Svetlo.
A tak je to dnes. Tvrdia, že to uctievajú. Letniční to tvrdia. Tvrdia, že to robia a sú tak slepí, že to nevidia. Prečo? Organizujú ale sú oslepení žiarou. Vidíte? A niektorých ľudí dáva dokopy tradícia; a hovoria, “Pôjdeme a urobíme toto a toto, a toto a toto.” A teraz prídem ku tomu prečo sa to muselo stať, ak Pán dá.
134Všimnite si, jeho skutky boli vlastne živým Slovom. To čo On robil bolo živým Slovom, a to ukazovalo, že On je tým Svetlom, ktoré bolo zasľúbené od založenia sveta. On bol tým Svetlom. Jeho Svetlo na zasľúbenom Slove toho veku spravilo, že ono žilo presne tak, ako hovorilo zasľúbenie, ale oni to mali tak poprekrúcané, že to nemohli vidieť. Rozumiete? Ale On bol Svetlom na ten vek.
135On bol Svetlo, o ktorom tvrdili, že ho uctievajú. Mysleli si, že uctievajú samého Boha stvoriteľa. Žili a uctievali v žiare, a Ježiš povedal, “Márne ma uctievate, učiac učenie, ktoré je tradíciou ľudí a nie Slovom.” On je Slovo a On bol Slovom, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Oni to mali vedieť.
136Dúfam, že to môže prenikať všade tam kde to počujete, vidíte, to je Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. “Ó,” hovoria, “ó, my máme Slovo.” Aha, Slovo, každý nosí Bibliu, kto chce. Ale, keď je Slovo potvrdené, keď sa zamanifestovalo!
No, hovoria, “Dobre, my veríme!”
137Áno, veria, po celý čas. Satan tiež. Títo Farizejovia, kto ich mohol usvedčiť, že neveria? Ale neverili Slovu na tú hodinu. Uctievali v žiare z niečoho iného.
To je to isté čo robia dnes. Vidíte? Dodržiavajú Lutherove tradície, alebo Wesleyove tradície a tých ostatných, Letničné tradície. Ale čo s touto hodinou?
Farizejovia zachovávali svoje tradície. Ale za ich tradíciami bolo pravé Slovo Božie, ktoré začínalo svietiť a keď zasvietilo, oslepilo ich oči. Nemohli to vidieť pretože dávali pozor na niečo iné.
Tak je to dnes! Nech by Boh spravil aby to vsiaklo, až to skutočne trafí do domu ľudí, ktorí tomu majú veriť. Je neskoršie ako si myslíte.
138Môj syn, Billy Paul, hovorí zo sna, ale nesníva sa mu príliš často. Jednej noci mal sen, ktorý ním otriasol. Povedal, že sa mu snívalo, že bol v zbore a ľudia ... ja som ešte neprišiel.
Povedal, keď som prišiel, že z očí mi šľahal oheň a povedal som, “Nastal čas. Je koniec.”
A každý začal kričať, “Ja nemôžem! Moje deti!”
139A dokonca moja žena povedal, “Nemôžem dostať Sáru aby sa pomodlila pri stole a tak ďalej.” A ja som povedal ...
On povedal, “Musím ísť a zobrať Loyce a dieťa.”
140Povedal som, “Loyce nemôže teraz prísť. Dieťa je príliš malé aby to vedelo. Billy, tá hodina je tu. Musíme ísť.” Povedal som, “Teraz je polnoc. Pred úsvitom tu bude Ježiš. Ak nie, potom som falošný Kristov svedok.”
A niekto prehovoril a riekol, “Nikto nepozná minútu ani hodinu.”
141“Ja som nepovedal minútu ani hodinu. Povedal som, “Niekedy od teraz do úsvitu.” A povedal som, “Ideme.” ...?... Povedal som, “Je náš čas. Ideme.”
A nasadli sme do auta a vyrazili, a začali sme vychádzať na kopec. A keď sme tam išli vyzeralo to akoby na oblohe nastávalo svetlo, ale na zemi bola tma. Povedal, že som zabočil na kraj cesty a držal som takto hore ruky, z očí mi stále šľahal oheň. A povedal, že som riekol, “Pane, urobil som toto na tvoj rozkaz. Urobil som to pretože si mi to Ty povedal, aby som to takto urobil. Urobil som tieto veci podľa toho, čo si mi Ty povedal.”
A pohol som sa ku veľkej žulovej hore; a Svetlo, bez zásahu rúk, odseklo kameň z tej hory, vážiaci stovky ton a tu To prichádza. Povedal som, “Otoč hlavu, nedívaj sa. Za chvíľu sa všetko dokoná.” Povedal, že potom všade nastalo veľké sväté ticho, ako tento Kameň prišiel na to miesto.
142Môže byť neskoršie než si myslíme. Vidíte, to je presne podľa Písma, viete, “ten Kameň, bez pričinenia rúk, odseknutý z hory.”
A tak v jednom z týchto dní to tak bude, keď bude kričať o niečo. Povedal som im, “Vy ste už mali ten čas. Boh vás ustavične varoval, čas za časom. Áno.” Povedal som, “Aj keď sú to moje vlastné deti, alebo ktokoľvek to je, hodina je tu. Ja môžem vravieť len to, čo mi On povedal, a to bude,” a to bolo.
A potom, zrazu [Brat Branham pleskol rukami. – pozn.prekl.] tu On prichádza, “Kameň odseknutý z hory, bez pričinenia rúk.” Daniel to videl, viete, dávno pred mnohými rokmi. Billy nič o tom nevedel, ale to bolo - to bol sen, ktorý mu poslal Pán.
143No, vidíte, oni tvrdia, že uctievajú práve toho Boha, z ktorého si robili žarty. A tá istá vec sa znovu dnes zopakovala, z toho istého dôvodu, žijú v žiare namiesto v Svetle. Veľké svetlá svietia. Dobre.
144Pozrite sa v akej tme sme dnes! Pozrite sa čo sa dnes deje! Pozrite vraždy, znásilnenia, boje! Prečo, to sa stalo. Myslím, že Billy Graham povedal, na jeho poslednom zhromaždení, “Za desať rokov od teraz, každý obyvateľ Kalifornie bude musieť nosiť pištoľ na svoju obranu. Orgány trestného konania nebudú stačiť.” Ľudia sa proste zbláznili; strieľajú vraždia a znásilňujú a všetko možné, vidíte. Svet sa proste zbláznil, vidíte, na uliciach. Vidíte, to je deň v ktorom žijeme, Sodomský deň. Vidíte?
Ale svieti Svetlo! Keby sa len pozreli, keby len videli, pozreli sa do Slova a videli čo má byť v tejto hodine; vedeli by čo sa to snaží vykonať.
145No, oni tvrdia, že uctievajú to Svetlo, tak tvrdili aj oni, že uctievajú to svetlo ale oni sa modlili v žiare iného svetla namiesto toho skutočného. Vidíte? On je Svetlo.
146Vyznania a tradície, v ich slepom stave, ich odvrátili od pravého svetla zasľúbeného Slova. Slovo, ktoré Boh potvrdil, cez Ježiša, Svetlo sveta, prišilo a spravilo, že to Slovo žilo presne v Jeho čase, presne v tých dňoch. “On bude vyťatý uprostred sedemdesiatych týždňov, je to tak, čo je tri a pol roka jeho proroctva. Mesiáš príde, to Knieža, a bude prorokovať a tri a pol dní z tohoto, potom bude vyťatý z pomedzi živých a učiní zmluvu.” A to je presne tak. On kázal tri a pol roka. A ich ...
147A v tom žalme v ktorom Dávid povedal, “Môj Bože, môj Bože, prečo si ma opustil?” V 22. žalme, “Všetky moje kosti, oni hľadia na mňa. Kývajú svojimi hlavami. Prechádzajú okolo mňa.” Osemsto päťdesiat rokov potom, keď Dávid spieval tú pieseň v Duchu a to bolo uvážené proroctvo a dané. Oni spievali tie piesne v chráme, keď práve tá Obeť visela na kríži s prebodnutými rukami. “A prebodli moje ruky a moje nohy.” Vidíte? Vidíte to tam? Potom, prečo? Žili v žiare. Nevideli Svetlo.
148Môžete si predstaviť, že niečo také robí rozumný človek? Ani ja si nedokážem predstaviť, že by rozumný človek bežal dole do pivnice a zavrel by dvere a povedal, “Odmietam vidieť, že existuje svetlo.” To je nenormálne.
A jeho duchovný stav sa niekde pošmykol, keď človek vidí, že Biblia toto zasľúbila a vidí, že to žije rovno pred ním a zamanifestovalo sa to a potom stále zostáva v tých vyznaniach a takých veciach tam, ktoré to odmietajú. To je duchovná kriminalita. Presne tak.
149On tu teraz bol. “On bol Svetlo sveta a svet ho nepoznal ... Prišiel ku svojím vlastným; Jeho vlastní ho nepoznali. Na svete bol a svet povstal skrze neho a svet ho nepoznal.” Vidíte? “Ale všetkým, ktorí Ho poznali, tým dal moc stať sa synmi Božími, tým, ktorí veria v Neho.”
150Pamätajte, nemôžeme žiť zo včerajšieho svetla. Včerajšie svetlo pominulo. Už viac nie je. Ono, včerajšie svetlo, to je len spomienka. Včerajšie slnečné svetlo je len spomienkou alebo históriou. Už viac nemôžeme žiť vo včerajšom svetle. A tak isto, hoci je to to isté slnko, to isté slnko, ale každý deň vydáva svoju silu trochu viac aby dalo dozrieť zrnu na žatvu. Vidíte?
151Slnko dnes prichádza, stáva sa trochu silnejšie. Každý deň teraz sa stane trochu silnejšie, trochu silnejšie až nakoniec tá pšenica, ktorá tam leží, naberie život. Po nejakom čase, ten život sa ukáže, potom je to trochu silnejšie a silnejšie. Marec, apríl, máj, jún, júl, prišla do žatvy, vidíte. To isté slnko, ktoré svieti dnes, v januári alebo v decembri rozpúšťa sneh, zavlažuje zrno, prináša vodu; to je to isté slnko, ale tá pšenica nemôže žiť v tom istom slnečnom svetle v júni. Vidíte, nemôže. Vidíte, slnko sa každý deň stáva trochu silnejšie a to zrno má byť zrelšie aby prijalo to slnečné svetlo.
152To je to, čo sa deje dnes. To zrno, ktoré bolo zasiate vo včasných otcoch, tam v čase Luthera a Wesleya a iných, zakrpatelo; ono nedokáže prijať Syna. Syn (Slnko) ho zabíja. Ono odmieta rásť. Vidíte? Odsekáva to, odstúpilo akoby od stopky a prichádza tu hore, a urobilo zo seba niečo svoje. Stáva sa potom šupkou a nie je v tom žiadny život. Zrno musí dozrievať a silnieť, keď sa slnko každý deň stáva silnejšie.
153Pozorujme to teraz za chvíľu. Pozorujme tie cirkevné veky. Je sedem cirkevných vekov. A ako tieto cirkevné veky, každý jeden, pozorujte ako On ku ním hovoril, čo sa dialo, ako zrno dozrievalo a tu prichádza do svojej poslednej hodiny, do tejto poslednej hodiny v ktorej žijeme. Tak tie cirkvi musia robiť to isté. Vidíte? Tie cirkvi.
154No, pozrite sa. Luther zasial zrno a Luther bol zrno a on ho zasial. Dobre. Tak tiež Wesley; a tiež Letniční; tiež Baptisti, Nazaréni. Ale, vidíte, Luther teraz nepôjde naspäť a nebude žiť vo svetle tej prvej denominácii, vo svetle Katolíkov. Nie, on bol iným svetlom. Boh dával niečomu dozrievať. Malá menšina vyšla z toho, z toho Lutherovho prebudenia.
155Potom prišlo Wesleyove prebudenie, a potom, v tom, aha, nemohli ísť naspäť, aby z nich boli Lutheráni. Vidíte?
A potom ďalej prichádzajú Letniční. A potom sa Letniční zorganizovali a urobili to isté, nabrali formu šupky. Všimnite si.
156Ale zrno ide rovno ďalej. A teraz sme v inom veku. Prečo to nechcú prijať? Prečo nechcú vidieť, že zrno dozrelo? Tu je zasľúbené Slovo na tento deň. [Brat Branham klepe po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] Prečo to nevidia? Pretože žijú v žiare Luthera, v žiare Wesleya, v žiare Baptistov, v žiare Letničných. Oni žijú v žiare iného svetla. Preto nemôžu prijať Svetlo úplného Slova, ktoré sa potvrdilo, ako to Boh zasľúbil. Tých Sedem Pečatí, kde celé to tajomstvo bolo zjavené, prišlo naspäť a povedalo prečo sa tieto tajomstvá takto stali; a jednako, keď to prichádza, oni odchádzajú preč od toho, ďalej než kedykoľvek. Sú bez výhovorky.
157Boh to urobil skrze Ducha, skrze zjavenia. On to dokonale potvrdil, skrze vedu a všetko ďalšie, že to je Pravda, že to je Pravda. A oni stále chcú žiť v žiare Letničných, “Ja som zo Zhromaždení Božích! Ja som Jednotár! Ja som z Cirkvi Božej! Ja som toto!” Vidíte? Žijú v žiare veku, ktorý bol pred štyridsiatimi, päťdesiatymi rokmi. Žijú v žiare Luthera. Žijú v žiare Wesleya, Baptistov, Prezbyteriánov alebo Nazarénov, v žiare iného cirkevného veku, ktorý odišiel a zorganizoval sa a urobil to isté a odmietol, a zavrhol Svetlo, keď ono skutočne svieti.
158A žijete vo fatamorgáne. Hovorím to vážne, nie aby som vás urazil ale aby som vás zobudil. Žijete vo fatamorgáne.
Čo keď Ježiš povedal, “Vy ste slepí a vediete slepých.” Oni nemohli ... On sa im snažil povedať; nevideli to. Povedal, “Nechajte ich tak. Ak slepý vedie slepého, obaja spadnú do jamy.” To je hodina do ktorej sme prišli! Ak sa budú potkýnať, ja tomu nemôžem pomôcť. Urobil som všetko čo môžem. Urobil som to presne.
Urobil som to na tvoj rozkaz, Pane. Ty si svedkom.
Od 1933, tam dole pri rieke, keď to Svetlo, ktoré ste videli, tam zasvietilo, bolo to rovno tu v modlitebni a svedčilo vám po všetky tie roky. A všetko čo Ono povedalo sa stalo. A oni stále idú ďalej. “Nech slepý vedie slepého.” Ja budem len čakať na tú hodinu; On príde, v jednom z týchto dní.
159Všimnite si, žijú v žiare Luthera, žijú v žiare Wesleya, žijú v žiare z predošlých dní, preto nemôžu vidieť pravé Svetlo. Keby sa na chvíľu zastavili a zobrali Bibliu a čítali ju, videli by, že ... toto je Svetlo zasľúbené na túto hodinu.
160Vezmeme teraz na chvíľu niektoré z týchto vecí. On zasľúbil, podľa Malachiáša 4, že sa stanú tieto veci. On zasľúbil, cez všetky Písma, že to sa stane. Vidíte,
161Všimnite si tiež Izrael, náš vzor, na tej ceste. Pozrite sa, jedli mannu, ktorá bola ich svetlom, životom, dávala im silu, život, je to tak? Izraelci nemohli jesť mannu zo včerajšieho dňa, ktorá im napadala. Ona bola zhnitá. Bola červivá. Nebola pre nich dobrá. Zomreli by z nej. Manna, ktorá ich držala včera pri živote, by ich dnes zabila. Biblia hovorí, že v nej boli baktérie, skazila sa. A mannu, každý deň museli zbierať novú mannu. Amen.
A čo to je? Ľudia ktorí žijú na manne Luthera, Wesleya a inných tam vtedy, jete skazenú vec, ktorá vás zabíja, duchovne. To vás zabíja, ste mŕtvi vo vašich tradíciách.
162Včerajšia, Lutherova manna by nefungovala pre Metodistov. Metodistická manna by nefungovala pre Letničných. Letničná manna nebude fungovať dnes. Vidíte čo chcem povedať? Každý deň prichádza, deň za dňom, čerstvá, a tak to bolo počas cirkevných vekov.
Lutherova manna, to bolo posolstvo ospravedlnenia. Wesleyove posolstvo bolo manifestáciu posvätenia. Letničné, bolo prinavrátenie darov. Ale toto je uvedenie Štítového kameňa, posledný deň, Strom Nevesty, čo je úplne iné ako všetky ostatné a predsa je to to isté Svetlo na dozretie.
Ako to isté slnko, ktoré svieti dnes, bude dávať zrelosť zrnu na žatvu v júli. Rozumiete čo chcem povedať? Ale dnešné svetlo by nič nepomohlo tam vtedy v júli. Ono je silnejšie. Pšenica je viac rozvinutá; je pripravená prijať to. Amen. Samozrejme je. Oni nemohli prijať to, čo je teraz; to môže byť prijaté potom. Vtedy nebol ten správny čas; teraz je.
163Nemôžete ísť proti Božej prírode. On má zákon a postupovať proti tomu zákonu, to zabije vašu rastlinu. Musíte postupovať podľa Božieho vypovedaného zákona a jeho zákonom je jeho Slovo. Každý zákon je vypovedaným slovom. A slovo je zamanifestovanou myšlienkou. Vidíte? Teraz vieme, že to je pravda.
164Videnie je čo? Slovo Božie alebo niečo predpovedané, alebo predzvesť nejakej udalosti. A videnie, ktoré mali proroci a Ježiš, Pavel a všetci ostatní a hovorili o tomto dni, to bolo predzvesťou toho, čo sa stane. A tu vidíme, že tá predzvesť sa zamanifestovala a ľudia to ani nezbadali. Vidíte čo chcem povedať? Včerajšia manna ...
165Pozrite sa sem. Všimli ste si niekedy, slnko putovalo, z východu na západ, zakaždým keď išlo. Všimli ste si to? A, všimnite si, cirkevné veky robili to isté. Čo? Slnko začalo na východe. A civilizácia postupovala so slnkom, s Božím vypovedaným svetlom pre nich, aby v ňom žili. Oni išli, nasledovali slnko, vidíte kde to išlo.
166Život samotný, keď sa narodíte, je ako slnko. Idete stále, rovno až do západu slnka, od vášho narodenia do západu slnka.
167Človek putoval na západ, stále. Najstaršia civilizácia ktorú máme je Čína, vo východných krajoch. Jeruzalem ... A, všimnite si, ona stále putovala smerom na západ, ako išla, ďalej a ďalej, na západ.
168Tak isto sa posúval aj cirkevný vek, skrze Syna Božieho. Pozrite, Pavel, tá včasná cirkev, začala na východe; z tade išla, preskočila cez more do Nemecka. Urobila tri potiahnutia. Pozrite sa sem. Z Ázii, dole v Palestíne, preskočila cez oceán do Nemecka; to bol Luther. A od Luthera to preskočilo cez Anglický kanál do Anglicka; skrze Wesleya. A od Wesleya skočila na západné pobrežie, do Spojených Štátov. A toto, ak pôjdete ešte ďalej, príde to znovu na východ. Toto je čas večera.
169Pozrite sa ako tie cirkevné veky bojovali. Luther ... Pavol, prv, tam v tom včasnom veku; potom to prichádza k Ireneusovi a tak ďalej; do Francúzska; odtiaľ do Nemecka; do Anglicka; stále sa to posúva na západ.
A teraz už nemôžeme ísť ďalej. Toto je posledný vek. A čo hovorí Biblia o tomto poslednom veku? Vidíte, zemepisne, chronologicky, a takmer každým spôsobom ako to chcete vziať. Najprv podľa Písma, podľa Písma, v prvom rade, samozrejme. Dáva to najavo, historicky, akýmkoľvek spôsobom to chcete zobrať, že sme na konci, v poslednom cirkevnom veku.
170A sledujte to, keď to napredovalo, rástlo to a stávalo sa to mocnejšie a mocnejšie. A tak tá skutočná malá menšina cirkvi rástla z ospravedlnenia do posvätenia, do krstu Duchom Svätým a teraz do príchodu Štítového kameňa, formuje sa. Po tomto už nie sú žiadne ďalšie organizácie. Už ich viac nebude. Vidíte, nemôže byť, sme na západe.
171Len aby som vám to ukázal cez všetky tie príklady a to všetko. A pozrite sa na tieto tri skoky, tri potiahnutia. Vojdeme do toho dnes večer, vidíte, ako sme v čase konca. To je len ...
172Slnko putovalo tak ako Syn, Syn ako slnko. Cirkev prišla do toho istého, od Siedmich Cirkevných Vekov a tak ďalej. Civilizácia sa posúvala rovno ďalej na západ a cirkev sa posúvala rovno ďalej na západ. A teraz ak by sme išli ďalej, než ako sme teraz, znovu by sme prišli na východ. Žijeme na západnom pobreží, išli by ste naspäť do Číny, Japonska, znovu rovno naspäť. Prešli by ste sedem tisíc míľ a dostanete sa znovu na východ. Tak, východ a západ sa stretli, to je to všetko. Sme na konci. Nezostalo nič.
173A to isté sa stalo dnes, čo sa stalo tam vtedy. To isté sa odohralo na západe, čo sa odohralo na východe. Ľudia žijú v žiare iného svetla, ktoré sa celkom snažilo ukázať Svetlo, ktoré malo prísť a To odmietajú, pretože majú žiaru namiesto Svetla. Ó! “Veľké svetlo v zemi Pohanov; zem Zabulona, Neftalima; Galilea, ... v Galilei, v zemi Pohanov.”
174Toto je siedmy cirkevný vek. Pamätajte a stále keď slnko začalo svietiť na východe, to je to isté slnko, ktoré svieti na západe. A ten istý Duch, ktorý bol počas všetkých tých vekov, takto, je ten istý Syn dnes. Len, čo to je? Tak ako dozrievanie, sezóna. Slnko, ktoré je teraz, bude to isté slnko, ktoré dá zrelosť zrnu na jeseň, vidíte, ale (čo to je?) To je toto slnko plus to, čo to bude. A dnes, v tomto poslednom veku, to je to, čo oni boli, plus toto.
A jednako oni chcú žiť tam, ako zákrpok, idú naspäť do nejakej plesnivej, starej nominačnej pivnici a ťahajú tam dole svojich slepých, hovoria, “Odmietam to vidieť. To všetko je nezmysel.” Keď sama Biblia, o ktorej tvrdia, že jej veria, identifikovala skrze toho istého Ducha Svätého, že prinesie Svetlo v posledných dňoch!
175Všimli ste ti? Dobre sa pozrite na to tam v Malachiášovi, ako to rozložil, “Vieru otcov deťom a detí otcom.” Vidíte? Ten istý Duch, keď padol tam vtedy, keď to povstáva znovu tu, tá istá vec. Vidíte? Len naopak, presne, znovu to ustanovuje. Pretože, prečo? Východ a západ sa stretli. Rovno pred našimi očami a oni to aj tak nevidia. Prečo? Nie divu, Ježiš povedal, “Nechajte ich tak, potom. Sú slepí a vedú slepých, všetci spadnú do jamy.”
176Svetlo tých iných vekov len odrážalo toto Svetlo. Vidíte? Slnko dnes len odráža, je odrazom slnka, ktoré bude v júli alebo v auguste, ak Boh ... na žatvu. A Syn, z času Luthera, Martina Luthera a Wesleya, a Sankeya. Finneyho. Knoxa, Calvina, Moodyho, a všetkých ostatných, tých veľkých mužov tam vtedy, ktorí mali to svetlo; a John Smith z baptistickej cirkvi a Alexander Cambell, Cambellská cirkev a tí tak zvaní Učeníci Kristovi, Cirkev Kristova a akékoľvek ďalšie mená mali pre nich. Všetci tí mužovia tam vtedy, vo svojom veku, len odzrkadľovali to, čo to bude tu na konci.
177A potom tu, tie deti, hneď po svojich zakladateľoch, čo urobili? Nezostali na steble. Odtiahli sa od toho a urobili si tu malú šupku. To znamená, keď odchádzate prečo od skutočného zdroja života, nemáte žiadny život. Zoberte šupku a zasaďte ju do zeme, ona tam bude ležať a zhnije. A tak je to s vami, snažíte sa jesť zhnitú mannu z tých dávnych dní.
Žatva je zrelá! Ježiš rozprestrel stôl, pri ktorom svätí Boží jedia dozretú Potravu dnešného dňa, skrze Svetlo Evanjelia, ktoré dokazuje a potvrdzuje, že On je dnes tu. Amen. Svätí jedia ten Chlieb.
178Len si predstavte. Tá stará šupka včerajšieho dňa, nesaďte ju tam. To je zhnité. Nemôže, nemôže to s tým zostať. Nie veru. To nič dobré neprinesie. Nebude rásť. Je to bez života; a Slovo je Život. Je to tak. Šupka odpadla, to malé ôstie a také veci, to odpadlo. Stáva sa z toho denominácia a odpadáva to. Odmietajú ísť ďalej so Životom.
Ale Svetlo to potvrdzuje. Ó! Tak veru.
179To čo bolo včera ... ó, ako to potrebujeme vidieť! Rozumiete? Tie zhnité veci, ktoré boli včera, nejedzte ich dnes. Sú v nich červíky. Viete, tie malé krútiace sa chvosty, ako ich ja nazývam. Neviem veľa o zárodku života ale viem, že vždy sme ich nazývali krútiace sa chvosty. Oni sa dostanú do všetkého čo začína trochu hniť. Vidíte? Ja ich potom nechcem. Ak ste s tým spokojní, len si dajte, ale nie ja. Ale pamätajte ...
Hovoríte, “Prečo to potom bolo dobré včera?”
180Keby ste len vedeli, že práve tá stopka, ktorá bola na pšenici od začiatku, ak zostane v zrne, vytvori sa z nej neskoršie zrno. To je práve to čo tvorí kvet pšenici, to čo bolo včera; ale ak sa to oddelí od zrna a nedozrie, potom odchádza preč. Vidíte? Ale ak to prechádza tým procesom, proces, ktorý dáva život, keď to odumiera z jedného, prelína sa do niečoho ďalšieho a tvorí zrno. Ak nie, odkiaľ to pochádza? Amen. Rozumiete?
181Ako Anglická kráľovná, raz, išla do veľkej papierni a povedala, že by rada videla ako sa melie papier. Tak jej ukázali mletie papieru, to bolo pred veľa rokmi prv ako prešli na kašu a takú hmotu, tak vynašli ... robili papier z toho. Tak, po chvíli prišla do miestnosti kde nebolo nič len veľké hromady starých špinavých handier a ona sa opýtala, “Odkiaľ je toto? Čo to je? Och.”
Riaditeľ tej továrni povedal, “Z tohoto vyrobíme papier, z týchto špinavých handier.”
Ona povedala, “Z tohoto vyrobíte papier?”
“Áno.” Ona tomu sotva mohla uveriť.
182Tak potom keď odišla, ten človek zobral tú hromadu špinavých handier a previedol to cez určitý proces a urobil z nich čistý, pravý papier, viete, previedol to cez proces a urobil skutočný ... A dal to toho jej profil a poslal jej to, odrážala sa v tom, čo nazvala, “špinavé handry.”
183To je vlastne to. Tie mŕtve veci zo včerajška; posolstvo Luthera, posolstvo Wesleya, posolstvo Letničných, keby to len mohlo prejsť cez proces Božieho Ducha Svätého a Slova potvrdenia, prinesie to odzrkadlenie Ježiša Krista, Kráľa. Amen. Ale ak to necháte ležať, sú to špinavé handry. Vidíte?
184To musí byť pretvorené do niečoho iného. Luther musí byť pretvorený do Wessleya a Wesley musí byť pretvorený do Letničných a Letniční musia byť pretvorení do Krista. To prechádza cez určitý proces. Tak evanjelium prešlo cez proces. To je proces. Lutherov vek ospravedlnenia, veríme tomu; Wesleyov posvätenia, veríme tomu; Letničný prinavrátenia darov, pre Ducha Svätého, veríme tomu, samozrejme. Ale sformované to všetko spolu, čo z toho dostanete? Ježiša, áno, toho istého včera, dnes i naveky. Ó! Vyjde z toho Ježiš.
185Keď človek v zlievárni odlieva zvon, on ho musí vyrobiť aby mal určitý zvuk. Keď robí tú formu a vlieva tam železo, dáva tam určité množstvo mosadzi, určité množstvo oceli, určité množstvo medi. Prečo? On presne vie koľko toho tam vliať aby to vydalo ten správny tón.
A to je to čo Ježiš urobil pri svojej neveste. On musel vložiť do toho toľko Luthera, toľko Metodistov a toľko Presbyteriánov, toľko Letničných. Ale čo mu z toho vychádza? Jeho vlastné odzrkadlenie.
Čo to je? Tak ako posolstvo pyramídy, viete, to sa hromadí, prichádza do menšiny, so Štítovým kameňom. Služba Ježiša Krista na zemi, musí byť taká istá, ako služba, ktorú mal, inak nemôže do toho prísť. Tak ako hlava, ku nohám. Hlava ... Nohy nie sú hlavou ale hlava nesie nohy alebo hovorí nohám, kde majú ísť. Rozumiete? Nádherné, to je Svetlo na túto hodinu.
186Wesley mal veľké svetlo. Ako On povedal o Jánovi Krstiteľovi, “On bol veľkým svetlom na svoju hodinu.” Skutočne ním bol.
187Tak veru, tie čisté handry ... Vlastne tie špinavé handry zo včerajška, ak takými zostanete, to musí ... To po celý čas zostane špinavými handrami. Poslúžilo to svojmu účelu, ako oblečenie, ale teraz sa z toho stáva papier.
Ospravedlnenie poslúžilo vo svojom čase, v ospravedlnení pri Lutherovi, potom sa z toho muselo stať posvätenie skrze Wesleya. A posvätenie poslúžilo svojmu času, až sa z toho stal krst Duchom Svätým. A krst Duchom Svätým poslúžil svojmu času; až Duch Svätý (a je len jeden Boh) vchádza do cirkvi a cirkev do Krista a to odzrkadľuje Ježiša Krista na zemi, to čo On zasľúbil tu v Biblii. Možno tomu neveríte; ja nemôžem spraviť aby ste tomu verili. Ja som len zodpovedný za Slovo. Vidíte? Je to tak.
188Tak vidíte to? Vidíte to? Ak vidíte, bude to ako - raz jeden človek išiel ... v čase, išiel do Wales, v čase Welchského prebudenia. Skupina ľudí tam išla zo Spojených Štátov. Tak tam išli a povedali, že chcú nájsť budovu, v ktorej majú to Welchské prebudenie. Mnohí si pamätáte to prebudenie vo Welch, veľké prebudenie sa prevalilo medzi ľuďmi vo Welch, vo Wales. Tak títo ľudia, títo dôležití, veľkí kazatelia a takí išli zo Spojených Štátov, tí doktori teológie. Išli tam aby zistili čo za veľké veci tam vykonali, viete.
Tak išli po ulici a povedali ... stretli malého policajta, ktorý tam stál na rohu, krútil si obuškom, viete, a pískal si chválospev, takto. Povedali si, “Aha, on si píska chválospev. Môžeme ísť za ním a zistíme čo bude robiť. Opýtame sa ho.” Tak prišli ku nemu a povedali, “Pane, kde je to Welchské prebudenie?”
189Nadvihol klobúk a povedal im, “Vážení, Welchské prebudenie je tu,” v jeho srdci. Ó, to je to, on bol Welchským prebudením.
Ó Bože, keby sme len porozumeli, že my sme odzrkadlením Ježiša Krista, jeho zamanifestovaného Slova. Ste odzrkadlením jeho Slova. Vidíte?
“Kde je Welchské prebudenie? V akej budove?”
On povedal, “To je v mojom srdci.” On bol Welchským prebudením. To je to.
190A dnes cirkev má byť Ježišom Kristom v akcii na zemi. “Pretože Ja žijem, vy tiež žijete; a môj život bude vo vás. Skutky, ktoré ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť.” Vidíte? Cirkev sa musí dostať tiež na to miesto. A On zasľúbil, že to sa stane, a to bude. To tak musí prísť. Tak, vidíte, to je to čo sa deje. My tak musíme byť.
On je Svetlo.
191Tak Noe bol svetlom vo svojom čase. On bol svetlo. Noe bol tým Svetlom. On bol svetlom aby čo? Aby predniesol Božie Slovo, “Ja zničím človeka na zemi, ktorého som stvoril. Postav archu a všetci ktorí túžia do nej vojsť budú spasení.”
Noe tam vyšiel, povedal, “Je jedna cesta a to je archa.”
192Oni povedali, “Ten starý fanatik.” On bol Slovom, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Noe bol svetlom na tú hodinu, skutočne bol. Na svoj deň, na svoj vek, on vydal svetlo.
193Mojžiš bol svetlom na svoju hodinu. “Určite vás navštívim,” povedal Boh Abrahámovi. “A zostúpim a vyvediem svoj ľud mocným ramenom a ukážem v Egypte svoju moc.”
A keď Mojžiš stretol tam ten horiaci krík a zistil, že v tom kríku bol ten JA SOM, Mojžiš tam odišiel a on bol tým Svetlom. Amen. Nie divu, že mohol zobrať prach a vyhodiť ho a povedať, “Nech sa na zemi zjavia blchy.” On mal Slovo Božie. Čo sa stalo? Prach sa začal rozvievať a blchy začali prichádzať do existencie. Haleluja! Prečo? On bol manifestáciou Svetla Božieho Slova, “Raním pliagami Egypt.” On bol prorok. Čo povedal to sa stalo. On bol Svetlom toho dňa. On bol Božím Svetlom.
194Faraón mohol mať všetko čo chcel a tí ostatní, všetci kňazi mali to čo chceli, ale Mojžiš bol tým Svetlom. Prečo? On ukazoval Božie Slovo, manifestoval. Boh zasľúbil, “Ja ich vyvediem mocným ramenom a Ja sa oslávim.” To On tam robil.
Preto Mojžiš dokázal, že môže stvoriť. Nie preto, že to on chcel; pretože mu to Boh povedal. “A s tým, - choď do zhromaždenia, povedz, “Zajtra ...” Pán Boh mi povedal, Zober za hrsť prachu vyhoď ho takto do vzduchu, a zavolaj na ne.” Žiadne tu nie sú, ale tam budú.” Amen!
Ó, dúfam že nespíte. Ó! [Brat Branham pleskol rukami. – pozn.prekl.] Manifestácia!
195On povedal, “Ja som poslaný. Boh povedal našim otcom, že nás tu určite navštívi a vyvedie nás. Prišiel som, aby som vám dokázal, že tá hodina je tu. Zbavte sa toho čo máte. Ideme!” Áno.
196Niektorí z nich povedali, “No, ja myslím ... “ Dátan povedal, “Nemyslím, že sa treba ponáhľať. Nemali by sme byť pri tom takí vzrušení.” A pozrite ako to sklamalo, štyri alebo päť krát. Ale, tak isto, to išlo ďalej.
197Oni si mysleli. Vyšli a povedali, “Ukameňujeme tohoto Mojžiša! Odstráňme ho od nás! Nechceme ho tu vo svojej skupine.”
Mojžiš aj tak išiel rovno ďalej, pretože on bol životom, on bol Svetlom tej hodiny. Čo mal, čo to bolo? Boh manifestoval svoje zasľúbené Slovo cez Mojžiša a Mojžiš bol Svetlom.
198Eliáš bol Svetlom. “Choď tam a posaď sa na tom kopci! Prikázal som krkavcom aby ťa zaopatrovali potravou.” Amen! Tak veru.
199On prišiel naspäť s TAK HOVORÍ PÁN. “Ani len rosa nespadne z neba až kým ju nezavolám.” Amen! Slnko môže svietiť, môžete volať na všetky oblaky a robiť čokoľvek chcete, ale ani len rosa nespadne až kým ju ja nezavolám.” Čo on bol? Svetlo! Haleluja! On bol Svetlo. Svetlo. On bol zamanifestovaným Božím Slovom.
200Oni si mysleli, že je blázon, keď tam sedel. Mal nosičov, ktorí mu donášali jesť; a tam tí hladovali na smrť. Oni chceli žiť vo svojich tradíciách; ísť tak ďalej. Mojžiš nie, či Eliáš nie, on žil rovno vo Svetle. Sedel tam pri potoku Karita a mal proste dobrý čas; mal jedlo a niekoho, kto sa staral o neho a všetko. Oni si mysleli, že je blázon, ale on bol - on bol Svetlom.
201Oni hovorili, “ Hej, čo sa deje s tým starým fanatikom, ktorého sme tu mali? No, viete čo? Niekto bol raz na poľovačke a povedali, že ho videli, že sa usadil tam hore na vrchu na tom kopci. Stavím sa, že ten starý chlap je už teraz vyschnutý.” Ó nie, on bol Svetlom. On bol Svetlom. On bol Svetlom Božím vo svojom dni.
202Ján, keď on prišiel na zem a išiel na púšť, aby získal vzdelanie od Boha, nie zo semináru. On musel predstaviť Mesiáša. Tak keď vystúpil, Ježiš povedal, “On bol jasným, svietiacim Svetlom.” Haleluja! Prečo? On bol zamanifestovaným Slovom.
Izaiáš tak povedal. To je to. Je to tak. “On poslal hlas na púšť, ktorý volal, hovoril, - Pripravte cestu Pánovi a vyrovnajte jeho bránu, vyrovnajte jeho cestu. On volal ... hlas volajúceho na púšti.” On tu prichádza. Čím bol? “Hlasom volajúceho na púšti.”
Čím bol? Manifestáciou Slova, Svetlom. Ten istý Boh, ktorý hovoril v Genesis; ktorý povedal toto, a tu prichádza to Svetlo. A povedal, “Buď svetlo, pre slnko,” slnko začalo existovať; povedal, že bude hlas volajúceho na púšti,” a tu to prichádza. To bolo Svetlo na tú hodinu.
203On tiež povedal, v posledných dňoch! Amen! To je Svetlo tejto hodiny, volajúc na púšťach Babylonu, “Vyjdite z nej, ľudu môj, aby ste neboli účastní jej hriechov. Nedotýkajte sa jej nečistej veci! Choďte preč od toho! Utečte pred hnevom, ktorý prichádza!”
204Ján povedal to isté. “Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu.” Nemal vzdelanie, nehovoril ani ako kazateľ. Hovoril o hadoch, a paliciach, a stromoch, a sekerách a takých veciach, na čo bol zvyknutý na púšti. Nebol vychovaný v nejakých týchto ohromných, veľkých, výborných veciach, ktoré dnes majú, ako ich vtedy mali. On vystúpil so svojím vlastným jazykom. On sa tam nepostavil a nehovoril, “Ah-man,” a nerobil všetky tie smiešne úklony. On hneď vystúpil, z púšte, surový a drsný. Povedal, “Nezačínajte si myslieť, že “Patrím do tohoto a patrím do toho.” Boh je schopný z týchto kameňov vzbudiť deti Abrahámove.”
205Nemyslite si, že preto, že ste Metodisti, Baptisti, Presbyteriáni, že máte nejaké oprávnenie na Boha. Boh je schopný zobrať priekupníkov a smilnice z ulice a urobiť z nich synov Božích. Niekto to bude počuť a niekto tomu bude veriť.
206On tiež povedal, “Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu. A každý strom, ktorý neverí je zoťatý a hodený do ohňa.” Tak to bolo jeho posolstvo. On bol svetlom na ten deň.
207Ježiš povedal, “On bol jasným a svietiacim svetlom, a vy ste chceli na chvíľu chodiť v ňom.”
208A čo povedal Ján, ten prorok? On práve teraz stojí medzi vami. Ja nie som hodný rozviazať jeho sandále. A len čo On vystúpi na scénu, ja odchádzam.” Ó! Lebo On bol tým Svetlom.
Nie sú dve alebo tri Svetlá, nie štyri alebo päť rôznych organizácií. Bolo jedno Svetlo. To nie sú Metodisti, Baptisti, Lutheráni, Presbiteriáni. Kristus je tým Svetlom a to Svetlo je Život. A zamanifestované Slovo je tým Svetlom na danú hodinu.
209Buď svetlo a bolo svetlo.” Tak veru. “Buď svetlo,” a je Svetlo! On povedal, že bude Svetlo v tomto dni, a je Svetlo. On prichádza. Verím tomu. Pozrite sa na zasľúbenia tohoto veku. Ó!
210Každé svetlo, ktoré kedy svietilo, tieto cirkevné veky, vidíme ako oni ... Je to žalostný pohľad, vidieť ako to odmietajú. Zjavenie 3, zapísal som si to tu, Zjavenie 3, a viem čo som potom hovoril.
211Pozrite sa na zasľúbenie na túto hodinu, v ktorej žijeme; odmietnuté Svetlo. Čo tam urobili? Oni to vtedy odmietli. Prečo? Žili v žiare. Čo robia teraz? To isté.
212No, si kresťan? “Ja som Luterán. Ja som Baptista. Ja som Presbyterián.”
To nič neznamená. Práve tak by si mohol povedať, že si “prasa, sviňa” alebo akokoľvek sa chceš nazvať. Rozumiete? To len aby som ukázal, že to vôbec nič neznamená. Nie aby som vás znevažoval, ale ak to beriete do základu, je to tak.
Opýtam sa, “si kresťan?” To je Kristus v tebe. A ak je v tebe Kristus, potom je v tebe Slovo. A potom, ak je v tebe Slovo, keď to Svetlo svieti, ako z Toho odídeš? Vidíte? To je otázka. To je teraz vo vnútri, Svetlo. To večerné Svetlo svieti. Strom Nevesty kvitne.
213Ó, pamätajte, oni okresali ten starý strom. “A čo zanechal chrobák, to zožral červ a čo zanechal červ to zožrala húsenica.” Čo zanechali Metodisti, zjedli Baptisti; a čo zanechali Baptisti, zjedli Letniční. On povedal, “Tento Strom bol,” Joel tam povedal, “bol zoťatý do pňa,” ale chcel vedieť, či znovu ožije. Ó! On si rezervoval ten strom. On si rezervoval ten strom, tak veru, lebo to bola Jeho Nevesta.
A povedal, “Ja prinavrátim, hovorí Pán.” Čo to je? “Ja privediem, všetko čo zjedli Luteráni a čo zjedli Wesleyovci a všetci. Ja to prinavrátim, pretože to je stále v koreňoch toho Stromu.” Vidíte?
To leží tam v zemi. Práve tak ako šťava, ktorá zišla dole, ako som hovoril o tej sestre, to tam leží. A trúba Božia zazneje, jedného dňa a tí vyvolení Luteráni, Metodisti, Baptisti, ktorí nemali nič spoločné so žiadnou organizáciou ...
214Luther nikdy nič nezorganizoval. Moody nikdy nič nezorganizoval. To bola tá skupina Riki (svetských ľudí), po ňom, oni spravili organizáciu, zobrali šupku. John Smith nič nezorganizoval. Nikto z nich nerobil organizáciu; to bolo svetlo na tú hodinu. Luther, Wesley, ani žiadny z nich; to urobila tá skupina po nich, ktorá prišla, oni urobili organizáciu.
215Duch Svätý nikdy nič na letnice nezorganizoval. Letnice, to je prežitie, nie nejaká denominácia. On nikdy nič nezorganizoval. Ó, nie. Ale ľudia, ktorí tvrdia, že sú letniční, to zorganizovali. To je tam šupka, ktorá zomiera. Namiesto toho aby to vytlačili na papier a spravili aby vyšiel z toho plný obraz Ježiša Krista; nie, oni sa vytiahli von, tak nemajú nič do toho. Nechajte ich len tak.
216Ale mi sme teraz zistili, že toto Svetlo, tento Strom, Krista, cirkev znovu odmietla. Prečo? Pre to iste, prečo to urobili prvý krát, pre starú falošnú oslnivú žiaru svetiel z iných dní. A “On je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.” Židom 13:8 hovorí, že je. On je ten istý dnes, ako bol vtedy, pretože robí to isté čo robil. To isté Slovo, ten Kristus.
217Počúvajte, chcem vás teraz zobrať a nech je to osobné. Neviem, som trochu rozhodnutý, či to teraz vypnúť alebo nie, viete, lebo to nahrávame. Nechám nech to tam bude nahraté. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.]
218Chcem sa vás niečo opýtať. Pozrite sa, dávajte pozor na toto. Vidíte, “On je ten istý včera, dnes a naveky.” Dávajte pozor. Jeho skutky, to čo On robil, sa manifestuje. Dobre teraz počúvajte. Keď tam stál, v Jánovi 14:12, povedal, “Skutky, ktoré Ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť. Väčšie ako tie budete činiť, lebo Ja idem ku svojmu otcovi.” No, On to povedal. “Nebo a zem pominú, ale to Slovo nikdy nezlyhá.” No, ak sme v poslednom konci veku, kedy, kde tie “väčšie skutky” prídu? Vidíte? Vidíte? Sme tu. Máme ...
219Počúvajte, ak je Rímsky kalendár správny, máme šesť ... zostalo nám tridsaťšesť rokov. Každých dvetisíc rokov, svet prichádzal ku svojmu koncu. Po prvých dvetisíc rokoch bol zničený vodou; druhých dvetisíc rokov, prišiel Kristus. Teraz prichádza 1964 rok; zostáva tridsaťšesť rokov. No, Egyptský astronomický kalendár hovorí, že sme o sedemnásť rokov ďalej, “o sedemnásť rokov viac od toho,” to by zostalo devätnásť rokov.
Ježiš povedal, “Kvôli vyvoleným to bude skrátené, lebo inak by nebolo spasené žiadne telo.” Kde sme?
220“Skutky, ktoré Ja činím vy tiež budete. Také isté ale väčšie budete činiť.” Dávajte pozor. Dobre počúvajte. Modlím sa aby Boh otvoril vaše srdce a myseľ na zrozumenie, aby ste porozumeli bez toho, aby som nemusel príliš veľa hovoriť. Všimnite si. On jedného dňa povedal ...
Vezmime nejaký veľký skutok, ktorý On dokonal. Zastavme sa pri niektorých veciach. Zamyslime sa. On raz povedal, “Vy dajte tým ľuďom niečo zjesť.”
Oni odpovedali, “My nič nemáme.”
Povedal, “Čo máte? Prineste mi to čo máte.”
A oni povedali, “Máme päť chlebov a dve ryby.”
On povedal, “Prineste mi ich.”
221A On zobral tých originálnych päť bochníkov jačmenných chlebov a začal lámať tie bochníky. A z toho originálneho urobil chlieb, ktorým nasýtil päťtisíc ľudí. Je to tak? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Amen.” – pozn.prekl.] Potom povedal, zobral rybu, “Podajte mi rybu.” To bola od začiatku ryba. A z tej ryby zobral ďalšiu rybu a ďalšiu rybu a nasýtil päť tisíc ľudí. Je to tak? [Amen. – pozn.prekl.]
Ale v posledných dňoch nemal nič. On len povedal a riekol, “Povedz, že tam to bude,” a bolo to tam, bez čohokoľvek. Nemal žiadnu veveričku; žiadna tam nebola. On len povedal, “Nech tam je,” a bola tam. Vidíte? Jeho Slovo je spoľahlivé a musí sa vyplniť.
222Mohol by som vám povedať veci, ktoré by s vami zatriasli. Vidíte? Je to tam, keď On hovorí, že je to tam. Nech to On povie. Presne.
223Vidíte, východ, západ tu prišiel naspäť a stretol sa s východom. To bol Mojžiš, zobral piesok a povedal, “Nech sa zjavia blchy,” a tak podobne ďalej, “na zemi.” Ale v týchto posledných dňoch On nezobral nič; vidíte, len Slovo. “Nech sa stane,” a stalo sa. Čo je povedané, tak to bude.
Chcem hovoriť dnes večer o niektorých týchto veciach, o tom čo sa stalo, aby ste mohli vidieť, že On je stále Boh. Jeho Slovo nemôže ...
“Tieto skutky, ktoré Ja činím, vy tiež budete a väčšie než tie budete činiť. Ja som zobral rybu aby som urobil rybu; vy to ani nemusíte mať aby ste mali rybu.” Vidíte? On je stále Boh, stále je ten istý Syn. Ten istý Syn Boží, ktorý zobral rybu z tej ryby, či nie je tým istým Synom Božím dnes? “Tieto skutky, ktoré Ja robím, vy tiež budete robiť.” To bude zväčšené. “Väčšie ako tieto budete robiť.” A ľudia to odmietajú a nechcú to vidieť. Och! “Väčšie skutky!”
224Falošné svetlo. Viete, len som o niečom rozmýšľal. Veľa som hovoril o Anglicku ale myslel som o falošnom svetle. Tu nedávno, všetci si pamätáte tú najväčšiu lúpež, ktorá sa kedy v Anglicku stala. Bolo ukradnutých sedem miliónov dolárov. Myslím, že nikde na svete nebolo nič s čím by sa to dalo porovnať. Veľká lúpež, nedávno, sedem milión dolárov, ani Scotland Yards nemôže na to prísť.
Viete ako to urobili? Pomocou falošného svetla. Na trať dali svetlo, výstražné, a potom červené a zastavili ich. A tam sa stala tá lúpež, presne na tom pravom mieste. Falošné svetlo umožnilo tú najväčšiu lúpež akú kedy národy poznali. To okradlo národy. Najväčší prepad, najväčšia lúpež bola spáchaná pomocou falošného svetla.
225A tá najväčšia lúpež, ktorú cirkev Božia kedy mala je falošné svetlo, oslnivá žiara, ich denominácia. To ich okradlo o moc Ducha Svätého. To zobralo z cirkvi záchranné lano. To ich okradlo o Slovo, keď prijali vyznanie namiesto Slova. To ich okradlo.
Ó, oni tvrdia, že majú Slovo. Slovo samo žije na daný vek; Ono sa samé dáva poznávať. Oni tiež tvrdili, že majú Slovo, tam vtedy vo dňoch Ježiša. Ale Ono povedalo, “Uvideli veľké Svetlo,” a odmietli Ho. Oni to videli ale to odmietli.
226Ó, falošné svetlo, tak veru, to stálo cirkev tú najväčšiu lúpež, ktorá sa kedy stala. Chladné denominačné vyznania, brat, nedajú dozrieť potvrdenému Slovu, zrnu. Biblia povedala, Ježiš povedal, “Slovo Božie je Semeno, ktoré rozsievač rozsieval.” Vidíte? A chladné vyznania nedajú dozrieť tomu Slovu. Nie, nie!
Chladné dni so snehovou búrkou nedajú dozrieť pšenici. Určite nie! Na to je potrebné slnečné svetlo, pretože ono je Božím vypovedaným Slovom aby sa ním dokonali také veci.
A dnes je potrebné Božie vypovedané Slovo, aby ukázalo svätým Božím, že Ježiš Kristus žije, že je dnes presne taký istý, aký bol včera. Vyznania a denominácie to nikdy neukážu. Oni sú chladné a ľahostajné a zrno hneď tam zhnije v zemi. Pod niečím takým nemôže vyrásť.
227Preto máme dnes to, čo robíme. Ako náš vzácny brat Billy Graham, ten veľký evanjelista. Myslím, že Boh používa toho muža. Ale pozrite sa čo robí; ide tam medzi tých Baptistov a Prezbyteriánov. Čo robíte? Získavate ľudí, ktorí sa pripájajú do cirkvi.
228Vidíte kde sa Južní Baptisti vychvaľujú, pretože majú najviac denominácií, ich denominácia rastie viac než ktorákoľvek protestantská. Katolíci ich minulý rok takmer všetky dostihli. Videli ste to v novinách? Skutočne. Netrápte sa, oni ich všetky dostanú, pretože oni berú Baptistov a všetkých, dokopy. A oni sú všetci jedno a nevedia o tom.
Cirkevná rada, Rada cirkví ich dáva všetkých do jedného. Denominácia kladie ... Prečo, prečo budete chcieť zostať tu alebo tu? Pokiaľ odmietate Toto, aký je v tom rozdiel? Či nepoužívate to isté denominačné označenie, presne to isté ako keď ste na tom jednom mieste. Jedno je šelma a to druhé znamenie. Tak, tu to máte, v tom nie je žiadny rozdiel.
229V tom on je. Vydupal si pečať na schválenie a tam to dostávate. A tam všetkých vedie, rovno do Bieleho Domu a do Washingtonu, D.C., a Cirkevnej Rady a tam idete. Tí duchovní ich vedú rovno naspäť, presne to čo Biblia hovorí, že budú robiť.
Prajem si aby tie hodiny nešli tak rýchlo!
[Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Máš dosť času, pokračuj. – pozn.prekl.]
230No, len sa zamyslite kde sme. Pozrite sa na zasľúbenia na dnes, znovu odmietnuté. Ako to cirkvi urobili v tomto poslednom dni, denominačnou žiarou!
231Žiť vo falošnej žiare je príčinou, že to nedozrieva. Preto toto Slovo ... nevidíte zázraky.
232Mal som nedávno pohovor s jedným kňazom a on povedal, „pán Branham, ako krstíš?” Jedno dievča odišlo z tohoto zboru a odpadla, a vydala sa za katolíka a odišla do katolíckej cirkvi. A on ju išiel prijať do cirkvi.
233Povedal som, “Pokrstil som ju kresťanským krstom.”
On povedal, “Biskup to chce vedieť.”
Povedal som, “Dobre, tak ako som povedal.”
Riekol, “Odprisaháte to?”
234Povedal som, “Ja vôbec neprisahám.” A on povedal ... “Áno.” Povedal som, “ak nemôže prijať moje slovo, no, v poriadku. Pretože ja neprisahám. Biblia hovorí - neprisahajte na nebo, lebo je trónom Božím; zem je Jeho podnožou. Nech vaše áno je áno a nie, nie.” Povedal som, “Bude mu musieť stačiť moje slovo.”
Povedal, “No, povedali ste - Kresťanským krstom - čo tým myslíte, ponorením?
235Povedal som, “To je jediný spôsob ako sa vykonáva kresťanský krst. Pokrstil som ju v rieke Ohio; ponoril som ju pod vodu, v mene Ježiša Krista a vynoril. Pokrstil som ju v mene Pána Ježiša Krista, to je jediný kresťanský krst aký existuje.”
Povedal, “Tak je.” Zapísal si to a povedal, “Zvláštne!” Povedal, “Viete, katolícka cirkev tak voľakedy krstila.”
Povedal som, “Kedy?”
A povedal. Pokračoval, chvíľu sme sa rozprávali a on povedal, “No, my sme originálni Katolíci.”
236Vedel som, tam ležali tie knihy, viete, s históriou. Povedal som, “To je pravda, ale prečo to dnes tak nerobíte?”
On povedal, “My máme moc odpúšťať hriechy.” Povedal, “Či nepovedal Ježiš svojim učeníkom - Ktorým ľuďom hriechy odpustíte, tým budú odpustené a ktorým hriech zadržíte, tým budú zadržané?”
Povedal som, “Áno. On to povedal.”
“Tak či to potom nedáva cirkvi autoritu? Peter bol hlavou cirkvi.”
237Povedal som, “Ak bude cirkev odpúšťať hriech tak, ako to robil Peter.” Povedal som, “Keď sa ľudia opýtali - Čo máme robiť aby sme boli spasení? - On povedal, čiňte pokánie, každý jeden z vás a dajte sa pokrstiť vo meno Ježiša Krista na odpustenie svojich hriechov.” Povedal som, “Robte to tak a pôjdem s vami.”
“Ó,” povedal, “vy sa snažíte hájiť Bibliou.”
Povedal som, “To je Slovo.”
On povedal, “Boh je vo svojej cirkvi.”
Ja som povedal, “Boh je vo svojom Slove. Každého človeka, každé ľudské slová sú klamstvom, Jeho Slovo je Pravda.” Vidíte?
238Tak on to nijako nemôže vidieť. Ale tam idú, rovno do temnosti. A protestanti, tisícami, padajú do toho. Aha, idú do toho a prijímajú ich vyznania a všetko, idú rovno s tým. Vychádza Slovo a potvrdzuje to, Ježiš Kristus sa manifestuje, “ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.” V žiare toho vyznania idú rovno ďalej do temnosti. Presne tak ako to robili v čase Noeho, presne tak ako to robili v tých iných dobách, dnes to znovu tak robia, rovno do temnosti! Prečo? Odmietajú svetlo, pretože ich oslepilo ich vyznanie.
239Ó, čo za temná hodina v ktorej sme! Och! Áno, odmietajú Kristove pravé večné Svetlo a to má taký dôsledok.
240Chladné denominácie nemôžu nikdy priniesť život do Božieho Slova, pretože to prináša život do ich denominácii. Teraz máme viac ľudí, ktorí sa hlásia ku kresťanom ... Pozrite sa, ak Kresťan ...
Opýtal som sa toho kňaza toto, “Ak ... Pôjdem s vami, tam kde bola Katolícka cirkev na začiatku, do Letníc.” Nie do Nicei, Ríma. Cirkev nikdy nezačala v Nicei, v Ríme. Začala v Letniciach. Vidíte? Cirkev začala v Jeruzaleme. Ale, povedal som ...
241Aha, ja uznám, že títo ľudia, tí otroci a takí, ktorí mali Ducha Svätého, ich pánovia videli ich moc a to všetko, čo robili; kriesili mŕtvych, hovorili v jazykoch, vyháňali démonov, predpovedali veci. A boli medzi nimi proroci a tak ďalej, chodili v ovčích kožiach, jedli byliny, prišli na ten Nicejský Koncil a tak ďalej, čo za veľkí ľudia. A prišli tam, prišli na ten Nicejský Koncil, stáli za Slovom.
Ale, za tých krvavých pätnásť dní, tí prijali “Otec, Syn a Duch Svätý” ako vyznanie, namiesto Biblickej náuky, “v mene Ježiša Krista.” Cez to prichádzajú všetky protestantské cirkvi, sú narodení rovno do toho, to je to isté a všetko ďalšie. Prijali falošnú predstavu Ducha Svätého, berú komúniu, pijú víno, “To je svätá eucharistia, čo znamená - Duch Svätý.” Kňaz vám to dáva.
242V Biblii nečítame, “Keď prišiel deň Letníc, tu prichádza kňaz s okrúhlym golierom a hovorí, “vytrčte jazyk a prijmite svätú eucharistiu.” Nie, Biblia tak nehovorí. “Všetci poďte tu dookola a podajte mi pravicu na znak spoločenstva, vy Baptisti, Metodisti a Baptisti, zapíšem vaše meno. Prineste dopis od niekoho.”
243On povedal, “Oni boli všetci na jednom mieste, jednomyseľne. A zrazu prišiel zvuk z neba ako ženúci sa silný vietor a naplnil celú miestnosť kde boli. Všetci boli naplnení Duchom Svätým a začali hovoriť inými jazykmi, ako ich Duch dal vyslovovať. A tam ...” Vyšli na ulicu, potácali sa ako opití, Mária a všetci tí ostatní, pod účinkom Ducha Svätého.
Aha, tí ľudia povedali, smiali sa z ních a povedali, “Títo sú opití novým vínom.” Čo boli? Zaslepení vyznaním.
244Ten malý dvojštvrťový kazateľ sa tam postavil, nazýval sa Peter, a povedal, “Mužovia judskí a vy ktorí bývate ... vy mužovia jeruzalemskí, ktorí bývate v Júdei, nech vám je toto známe, počúvajte na moje slová. Títo nie sú opití. Ale dovoľte, že vám poviem, čo hovorí Písmo, čo sa stane. Toto je svetlo. Toto je zamanifestované Slovo.” Amen.
To isté sa deje dnes a oni sa správajú ako vtedy tamtí, odchádzajú a kývajú hlavami. Povedal, “Nechajte ich tak; slepí vedú slepých, oni všetci spadnú do jamy.”
245Ó, je potrebný Kristus, Večný Život, aby priniesol Slovo Života do potvrdenia, aby sa stalo telom. Ó, Bože! Je potrebné Slovo ... je potrebný Duch Svätý, aby Slovo Božie fungovalo.
246Keď Ježiš povedal, “Choďte do celého sveta, kážte evanjelium každému stvoreniu.” No, pozrite, Marek 16, Jeho posledné poverenie. “Do celého sveta, do celého sveta,” ešte sa tam nedostalo, vidíte. “Do celého sveta a kážte evanjelium každému stvoreniu. Ten kto uverí,” po celom svete, “a pokrstí sa, bude spasený; ten, kto neuverí bude zatratený. A uverivších budú nasledovať tieto znamenia.”
“Budú si podávať ruky s kazateľom ...”? Nie. “Budú dobrými členmi zboru”? Nie
“V mojom mene budú vyháňať démonov, budú hovoriť novými jazykmi, hadov budú brať, keby vypili niečo smrtonosné, neuškodí im; keď budú klásť ruky na chorých, budú uzdravení.” Ó!
247Ako ďaleko? “Každému stvoreniu.” Pokade? “Do celého sveta.” až kým On nepríde. “Tieto znamenia budú ...” “Ten, kto verí vo mňa, skutky, ktoré ja činím, on tiež bude činiť. Ešte i väčšie ako tie bude činiť, lebo ja idem ku svojmu Otcovi.”
248Ó, ako môžeme odísť od Toho, to je viac, ako môžem povedať! Teraz sme vo väčšej temnosti než ako boli oni. Ešte niekoľko veršov tu, potom už chcem zakončiť, tak rýchlo ako to bude možné ... Sme vo väčšej temnosti, než ako boli oni. Viem, že vás tu unavujem, za tú hodinu a pol. [Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Nie!” – pozn.prekl.] Ale, pozrite sa, táto páska ide tam ďalej. Rozumiete?
249Oni sú vo väčšej temnosti než my. Podal som také ohlásenie, že. Prečo? Tie cirkvi, v tejto oslnivej žiare, to je také zvodiace, to sa javí, ako by to bola Pravda. No, či Ježiš nepovedal? Prečítajme Matúša 24. Vidíte? Matúš 24, Ježiš povedal, že “v posledných dňoch tie dva duchy si budú tak blízko, že by to zviedlo aj vyvolených, keby to bolo možné.” Bude vyvolená skupina, ktorá vyjde a utvorí Cirkev, v tých posledných dňoch. A tieto organizácie, s tým, čo nazývajú svojou pravdou, budú tak blízko ku tej skutočnej veci, že by to zviedlo aj Vyvolených, aj letničných.
250No, viete letničného nevezmete a nezvediete ho metodistickou alebo baptistickou náukou. Nebudete mu to hovoriť. On vie niečo lepšie. A tiež nezvediete baptistu luteránskou náukou. Rozumiete?
A ani posolstvo neprijmete, aby ste uvideli teraz posolstvo v tomto Slove, to sa nedá cez nejakú letničnú náuku, cez falošné “Otec, Syn, Duch Svätý,” a všetky takéto veci, cez to, čo majú tam v tých vyznaniach, tam v tých organizáciách. Nie, určite nie. Nikdy ich nezvediete, pretože vyvolení nebudú zvedení.
251Čo to je? Čo to je? Zvádzanie. Tieto oslnivé žiare, čo robia? Vedú cirkev na koncilové vyvraždenie, cez ich oslnivú žiaru. To bude posledné vyvraždenie, keď sa ona a Rím dajú dokopy. Keď sformujú ten obraz šelmy, to je posledné zabíjanie. A tieto falošné svetlá, ktoré teraz máte, pozrite sa čo to robí, to vedie ľudí. To je cap.
252Cap stále vedie ovce na zabitie. Videli ste to na jatkách. Ten cap bude bežať popredku a vedie ovce, on potom odskočí a ovce tam nechá vojsť. To je to čo on robí. On to stále robí.
To boli capy, ktoré viedli Ježiša, Baránka, na zabitie. Rímske capy! Je to tak.
Dnes sú to denominačné capy, ktoré vedú nevinné ovce na zabitie. Zapisujú ich, ich mená tam to tých kníh a je s nimi koniec. To je znamenie šelmy. Hovorím v mene Pánovom. Držal som to dlhý čas. Je to tak. Je to presne tak. Čo je šelma? Čo je šelma? To je Rímska hierarchia, prvá organizácia. Čo je jej znamenie? To isté, presne, presne to isté čo je tamto. Zabíjanie, do oslepujúcej žiary!
253Ale zoči voči prítomnej temnosti, stále vidíme cez to svietiť svetlo Božie. Akí sme za to vďační!
254Dobre počúvajte. Uvideli sme Svetlo, jeho Slovo, ktoré zasľúbil na tento deň, dokázané a potvrdené. To je Pravda, Svetlo tejto hodiny. Ó! Som tak rád. Všetko je v poriadku. Všetko.
255Tu nedávno jeden kazateľ hovoril, že bol na Floride a mal auto, myslím že to bol Chevrolet a pokazilo sa mu. Nemohol ho opraviť. A išiel do servisu a nejaký mechanik sa pustil do opravy a robil čo len mohol a nevedel to opraviť. Skúšal urobiť toto a to nefungovalo. A potom skúšal niečo iné, ani to nefungovalo. Zapojil generátor, zapojil toto, prepojil káble, vymenil kontakty, nemohol to opraviť aby to fungovalo. Proste to nevedel dať do chodu.
Nakoniec tam prišiel nejaký pekne oblečený muž. Povedal, “Môžem ti niečo poradiť?”
256Ten mechanik mal dosť zmyslu pre humor aby povedal, “Samozrejme.”
Povedal mu, “Zober to a prepoj toto a toto a to spoj a skús.” A on to zobral a prepojil s tým a spojil a motor sa rozbehol.
257Ten mechanik sa otočil a povedal, “Hej, kto ste?” To bol inžinier, hlavný inžinier General Motors. On skonštruoval tú vec. On bol ten, ktorý to naprojektoval.
258A dnes, keď hovoríme o Metodistoch, Baptistoch a Presbyteriánoch. Ten hlavný Mechanik je tu, Projektant svojho Slova, Muž ktorý stvoril nebo a zem a naprojektoval svoju cirkev! Či On vie viacej ohľadne toho čo treba na Vytrhnutie alebo Metodistická, či Baptistická cirkev vie viac čo je potrebné? On je Projektant. On vie čo je treba. On je dobre oblečený v moci svojho vzkriesenia. Haleluja! On sa prechádza medzi nami dnes, v moci svojho vzkriesenia.
On vie, čo je potrebné aby dal cirkev do poriadku na Vytrhnutie. On ho naplánoval a dal tie časti dokopy tu v Biblii. Amen! Nechajte len cez to pretekať prúd a sledujte ako to funguje. Nech viera, v jeho zasľúbené Slovo na dnes preteká cez to, budete vidieť ako to funguje. Prečo? On to naprojektoval. On naprojektoval svoju cirkev svojím Slovom. To je to, čo On dáva dokopy. Nie skrze organizáciu Metodistov alebo Baptistov alebo Presbyteriánov alebo Letničných, ale svojím Slovom. “Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” Tak veru.
259Dajte preč tie oslnivé žiare, v strede temnosti, v tomto temnom čase, v ktorom teraz žijeme. (Zostalo nám už len okolo päť minút) V strede temnosti, kto vyvedie von tú malú Nevestu? Kto o tom vie? Hlavný konštruktér. Ó áno. Zo všetkého tohoto zamiešania, ktoré spôsobuje tá oslnivá žiara!
Tu, Metodistická žiara takto, Baptistická inak a Presbyteriánska inak a Letničná inak, všetky tie žiare okolo. Oni bežia, zapisujú tu svoje mená, v tejto žiare tu idú aby tam niečo našli. Idú sem ...
260Ako som povedal tomu kňazovi, “Ak ste vy všetci tou originálnou cirkvou a idete za tou náukou tých ľudí, ktorú ustanovili v Nicei, prečo potom nemáte moc, ktorú mali oni tam na začiatku? Prečo nerobíte tie veci, ktoré oni robili, čo Ježiš povedal?”
Povedal, “Ó, nás je teraz viacej. My žijeme v inom čase.”
261Povedal som, “Ale Slovo sa nemení. On povedal, - Tieto znamenia ich budú nasledovať cez všetky veky. Nebo a zem pominú ale moje slová nikdy nepominú. - To je to.”
On povedal, “No, vy hovoríte o Biblii.”
262Povedal som, “Áno, o Slove, ktorým je Kristus.” Je to tak. A tak tu to máte. Vidíte?
263A v tejto žiare, Metodisti ukazujú svoje, Baptisti ukazujú svoje, Presbyteriáni svoje, každý rastie na väčšieho a väčšieho po celý čas.
Biedna malá nevesta, kde Ona je? Beží tu ku Letničným Jednotárom za chvíľu, zapisuje sa tam a hovorí, no ... Poď a presvedč sa čo oni robia. A idú sem a, “Musíš patriť ku nám. Ak nepatríš do našej cirkvi nie si ani v Neveste. Nie si vôbec ničím.” Ide tam ku zjednoteným Letničným a pozri čo oni robia, znovu to tu máš. Ide ku Baptistom, pozri sa čo oni robia. Pozri sa na Presbyteriánov ...
264Čo sa stane s tou biednou maličkou? Vidíte? Ale Ona vystupuje. Netrápte sa. Ona tam bude.
265Jeden človek tu raz hovoril pred niekoľkými rokmi. Bol v Novom Mexiku. Mal som tam zhromaždenia tam blízko Kartsbadských jaskýň. Počuli ste o nich tam, tie veľké ... A zobrali nejakého muža a jeho ženu a skupinku detí, išli výťahom až na samé dno tej priepasti. A keď tam zišli, zhasli všetky svetlá. A keď zhasli všetky svetlá bola tma ako o polnoci.
Raz mi to urobili tu v týchto záhradách a raz v Colorado, keď som tam bol s manželkou. A vypli tie svetlá. Ó, dáte si takto ruku, nič nemôžete vidieť.
A stálo tam malé dievčatko a začalo kričať, “Ó!” Kričala. Bola prestrašená na smrť, bola taká tma. Chúďatko, šmátrala v povetrí, kričala a snažila sa dovolať na otca, mamu, všade. Nemohla to zniesť, bola tam taká tma. Nikdy nevidela takú temnosť.
266A tak je to teraz. Je to tak. Je taká tma, že neviete kde ísť. Idete ku Metodistom, Baptistom, Presbyteriánom, všade je to to isté, jedia tú istú starú, zhnitú mannu, v ktorej sú červíky. Vidíte, to isté, nejaké vyznanie, “Vstúp a pripoj sa ku tomuto a ku tam tomu,” staré vyznanie a všetko také. Nevidíte v tom Krista. Rozumiete? Ó, vidíte samo-spravodlivých ľudí, ...?... Mnohí z nich tam teraz sú fajní ľudia, v tých denomináciách. Ja hovorím o tom systéme, nie o tých ľuďoch tam. Ale, vidíte, to je to čím sa sýtia. Povedzte im to! A tu je čerstvý pokrm!
267A toto dievčatko tam stálo, kričala ako len vládala, až hystericky; podobne je to s tou malou nevestou. Ale viete čo? Jej malý brat zakričal a povedal jej, “Malá sestrička, neboj sa.” Pretože on stál rovno tam pri tom inžinierovi. Povedal, “Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo.”
Neboj sa, malá Sestra, je tu Muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť Svetlo. On môže oživiť toto Slovo. My nevieme ako On prichádza. Nevieme ako, kedy prichádza. Ja o tom nič neviem. Ale On je tu a On môže rozsvietiť tieto Svetlá. Ako sa z toho dostaneme? Ja neviem. Ale On je tu a On je ten, ktorý môže rozsvietiť tie Svetlá. Tak veru. On je Ten. On je Svetlo. On sa len dáva poznávať, tak rozsvecuje to Svetlo. Presne tak.
Je potrebný Kristus, aby rozsvietil svoje Svetlá, potom sa všetká temnosť rozpŕchne. On oddeľuje. On vyťahuje von svoju Nevestu. “Ja vezmem ľudí z pohanou pre moje meno, to bude mať moje meno.” Čo je jeho meno? Dobre. Nie Metodista, Baptista, Presbyterián, Lutherán. To je Ježiš Kristus. Je to tak.
268On je Svetlo, Pravda; Svetlo a v Ňom nieto žiadna temnosť. A On rozháňa temnosť, keď prichádza, pretože On je Slovo. Slovo je Svetlo. Je to tak. Pretože On povedal, “Buď svetlo,” to bolo Slovo, ktoré sa stalo svetlom. Keď On hovorí toto, to je svetlo na ten vek, zakaždým.
On je tu, nie v žiare; ale ľudia žijú v žiare. Ale On je potvrdené Slovo. On je absolútne Svetlom v čase temnosti. Tak veru. Všetky tieto falošné žiare a také veci, to všetko zvädne. Tak veru. On je tu. Nebojte sa. Rozsvieťte Svetlá, Jeho zasľúbené Slovo. Ono žije. Ono robí ...
“Ten kto verí vo mňa, skutky, ktoré ja robím, vy tiež robíte.” Potom, to je Slovo. “Ako mňa poslal Otec, tak ja posielam vás.” Otec, ktorý poslal Jeho, išiel v ňom. Ten Ježiš, ktorý posiela teba, ide v tebe. A potom, skutky ktoré On činil, On robí tie isté veci, pretože (prečo?) Slovo sa stalo telom, v ľudskom tele, manifestuje sa ako svetlo na tento deň. Tu to máme. Tu to je. To len ukazuje cestu do Svetla, vo Svetle. Múdry človek, ktorý nie je oslepený vyznaniami a denomináciami bude chodiť v tom svetle. Ó!
269Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlá, dobre. Čo On robí? Tým, že potvrdzuje svoje Slovo na tento deň. Ježiš, Syn Boží, ktorý zasľúbil Slovo na tento deň je práve tu s nami.
Neľakajte sa. Nevenujte žiadnu pozornosť tomu čo oni robia; ak to robíte budete chodiť v temnosti.
Buďte múdri. “Tí, ktorí múdre konajú,” povedal Daniel, “v tých posledných dňoch, vykonajú hrdinské činy pre svojho Boha.” Vidíte? Vidíte? Oni budú chodiť vo Svetle, ako je On vo Svetle.
270Netrápte sa. Môže byť tma, môže sa zdať, že nás prinútia, každého jedného. Všetko toto, vidíte ich vyhlásenie, ktoré vychádza, “Všetky tieto malé zbory a také musia teraz vojsť. Musíte vojsť,” lebo inak vás zavrú. Oni to idú urobiť.
271Teraz chceme do toho skutočne tvrdo udrieť, dnes večer, keď budem hovoriť o tomto čase.
272No, oni, “My to zavrieme.” Musíte byť jedným z nich alebo nie. Buď ste v tom alebo nemôžete nič robiť, nemôžete ani kupovať alebo predávať. To je to. Neodvážite sa modliť za chorého. Ak budete pristihnutí, že posluhujete niekomu chorému alebo niekomu, nejakou duchovnou vecou, ste vydaní federálnemu súdu, na popravu. Je to presne tak. Vidíte? Viete to. Je to tak. To je v ich listinách. Tak veru. Tak, nemôžete to robiť, musíte patriť do toho kultu.
Brat, dovoľ, že ti niečo poviem. Radšej sa uisti hneď teraz, či máš Krista vo svojom srdci, pretože prichádza čas, keď to budeš skutočne potrebovať. Potom si vonku. Pamätajte, keď je daná tá pečať, ona je nadobro tam. Vidíte? Tak, nerobte to. Neverte tým nezmyslom. Vojdite rovno do Krista hneď teraz, do Slova. Tak veru.
273Dajte za pravdu Slovu a ukazujte, že ono je svetlom na túto hodinu. Tak vieme, že On je Svetlo, pretože On je Svetlo, ktoré sa manifestuje v tele.
Ako to vieme? On bol Božím Slovom, ktoré sa stalo telom. Vidíte? Božie Slovo sa samé ukazovalo, potvrdzovalo sa, keď Mesiáš prichádza čo On bude robiť.
274Tá žena pri studni povedala, “Keď Mesiáš príde, On bude robiť tieto veci. Ty musíš byť prorok, a to je Slovo, keď nám predpovedáš tieto veci.”
275On povedal, “Ja som On.” Vidíte? To stačilo. To svetlo zasvietilo na zasľúbené Slovo. Tu je svetlo.
276Ona hneď bežala do mesta a povedala, “Poďte sa pozrieť na človeka, ktorý mi povedal všetko čo som urobila. Či to nie je Mesiáš?” To bolo to. Vidíte? Bez ohľadu na to, čo povedali iní, ona vedela, že to je Mesiáš.
277Pamätajte, v každom veku, v čase tmy, Boh má stále svoje Slovo, aby oddelil Svetlo od tmy.
On ho mal vo dňoch Luthera, keď katolícka cirkev mala všetko; On poslal Luthera ako svietiace Svetlo a Luther oddelil Pravdu od temnosti.
A keď sa Luteráni odvrátili, poslal Johna Wesleya a on oddelil Svetlo od temnosti.
A vo dňoch letničných, keď Wesley všetko ... Metodisti všetko zbabrali a Baptisti a Presbyteriáni, On poslal posolstvo letničných, aby oddelil Svetlo od temnosti.
Letniční tak isto odišli znovu rovno naspäť do temnosti, do svojej organizácii, prijali vyznania a všetko také.
Teraz prišla hodina pre toto Slovo aby sa potvrdilo. On posiela Svetlo, Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo, ako to urobil na začiatku; posiela Slovo a Ono sa potvrdzuje. Je Svetlo a On stále oddeľuje. Tak isto teraz, ako tie Večné malé Svetlá na začiatku.
278Dívam sa na deti, už päť minút preťahujem. Ale dovoľte mi povedať toto.
Je prítomný muž! Nevystrašte sa, bez ohľadu na to čo hovoria. Videl som to prísť do miesta, z ktorého som nevedel, kde sa to ďalej pohlo, ale On je stále prítomný. Nikdy nezlyhávajúca Prítomnosť, On tam stále je. On môže rozsvietiť svetlo. Tak veru. On len čaká, díva sa čo budete robiť. On môže zapnúť ten vypínač kedykoľvek chce. Tak veru.
279Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlá. “Tí ktorí sedeli v krajinách tieňa smrti,” niektorí pod rakovinou, niektorí pod smrťou denominácie, niektorí pod vyznaniami smrti, niektorí pod tradičnou smrťou a pod všetkými druhmi smrti, “uzreli veľké Svetlo.” Ten Muž, ktorý vtedy rozsvietil Svetlo, je ten istý, ktorý povedal na počiatku, “Buď svetlo.” Ten istý Boh, “včera, dnes a naveky,” On je dnes prítomný, práve teraz tu. Nenechajte sa vystrašiť. On môže rozsvietiť Svetlá.
Keď príde to prenasledovanie, nevystrašte sa. Je Svetlo, je povedané, že On vezme svoj ľud. Ona nepôjde cez súženie. Ona nepôjde. On povedal, že Ona nepôjde. Ona bude zobraná preč. “Ako to urobia, brat Branham? Zdá sa, že je strašne temno!” Bez ohľadu ako sa zatemňuje, nemôžete vidieť svoju ruku pred sebou, len pamätajte, je tu Muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo. On vytrhne cirkev.
Vy hovoríte, “No dobre, ja som práve ...”
280Áno, Sadrach, Mézach a Abednago išli rovno do ohnivej pece ale bol tam Muž, ktorý mohol zapnúť ventiláciu. Tak veru. Ten ženúci sa silný vietor, ktorý prišiel dole v deň letníc, On to znovu zapol a odvial od nich všetok vánok, všetok oheň. Bol tam Muž, bol nazvaný “štvrtý Muž.”
281Dnes je tu Muž. On je ten jediný! Haleluja! On má v ruke vypínač na svetlo. “Tým, ktorí sedeli v krajinách tieňa smrti sa rozsvietilo veľké svetlo.” Neodmietaj ho. Prijmi ho, v mene Pánovom. Keď skloníme na chvíľu svoje hlavy.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Poďte, svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta;
potom nebeské zvony budú zvoniť,
Ježiš, svetlo ...
Čím je? Tým potvrdeným Slovom je Ježiš dnes. On je to Slovo.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Poďte, svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Ježiš, svetlo ...
282So sklonenými hlavami. Rád by som vedel koľkí tu by radi chodili v tomto Svetle, pod vedením Ducha Svätého, v tom potvrdenom Slove na dnes? Aby videli Slovo, ktoré Boh zasľúbil na dnes, videli ho zamanifestované!
Či to nie je to, čo On bol na počiatku? On bol Slovo. Syn sa narodil; On bol Slovo. On bol Mesiáš; On bol potvrdeným Slovom. Tak potom to Slovo, Boh povedal za-... koniec od začiatku.
283Je Slovo na tento deň a On je tu a potvrdzuje to Slovo.
V strede zamiešania, temnosti a oslňujúcich žiar, ktoré sa veľmi podobajú na Svetlo ale nie sú ním. Ono nepotvrdzuje, že by to ním bolo, vyznanie.
284Ježiš povedal, “Ak ja vyháňam démonov prstom Božím, čím ich vy vyháňate:” Oni ich nevyháňali. Vidíte? “Ale, ak ja vyháňam diabla prstom Božím, potom sa priblížilo ku vám Kráľovstvo Božie.”
Ó, zamyslime sa nad tým, keď dvíhame ruky. Teraz pomaly, a rozmýšľajte, potichu.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, toto je také nádherné svetlo
A ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy …
Urobte svoje vyznanie. Verte teraz Bohu.
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
285Zatiaľ čo ďalej hrajú, chcem sa opýtať. Každý vek bol rovnaký. Vo dňoch Noeho, tí, ktorí odmietli to Svetlo, čo urobili? Odišli do Božieho súdu. Čo sa stalo faraónovi vo dňoch toho Svetla z toho horiaceho kríka, ktoré bolo v Mojžišovi? Odišiel do mora smrti. Čo sa stalo Dátanovi, ktorý začal a potom odmietol to Svetlo? Odišiel do trhliny v zemi; zem ho pohltila. Čo sa dialo vo všetkých vekoch, tým ktorí zanedbali chodiť v tom Svetle, vo Svetle na ten deň?
To je Ježiš po celý čas. To bol Ježiš vo dňoch tých ľudí. To je Ježiš dnes, lebo On je Slovo a Slovo robí Svetlo. To je Svetlo na daný deň.
Rozmýšľajte teraz o tom, pozorne, keď sa úprimne pýtame, chodíte vo Svetle? Kým to znovu hmkáme. [Brat Branham a zhromaždenie začínajú hmkať, Ježiš, Svetlo sveta. – pozn.prekl.]
… v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Povstaňme teraz na svoje nohy.
286Modlím sa Nebeský Otče, daj aby toto posolstvo vsiaklo hlboko do sŕdc ľudí, ktorí sú tu prítomní a ktorí budú počúvať túto pásku. A nech to Svetlo vystúpi na Slovo, na Semeno a zrodí každé predurčené Semeno, ktoré bolo zasadené tu v týchto rôznych žiarach a organizáciách. Nech by mohli vidieť ako Nikodém, aj keď by museli prísť v noci, nech prídu do Svetla. Udeľ to Otče.
287Nech vystúpi tá veľká vec, táto Skala, ktorá je odseknutá z hory, bez ľudskej ruky. Ona rozdrtí tieto pohanské kráľovstvá do zemi, všetky tieto kráľovstvá, duchovné kráľovstvá a prirodzené kráľovstvá. A tá Skala prikryje celú zem; to bude očistená záležitosť. Tí, ktorých tá Skala rozdrví budú rozdrvení na prach; tí, ktorí padnú na tú Skalu, budú mať pevný základ.
288Ó, Kriste, daj mi, ako tvojmu sluhovi, zomrieť na tejto Skale. Tejto Skale tvojho Slova. Pane Bože, daj mi stáť, ako stál Dávid a tí dávni bojovníci, ktorí stáli za Dávidom, daj mi stáť za týmto Slovom dnes, keď vidím, že denominácie ho odmietli. Ono dnes leží tu niekde v malom útočišti. Ó Bože, ja ... Udeľ nám, že budeme mať silu a odvahu a Ducha Svätého, aby sme obstáli lebo je čím ďalej, tým väčšia tma.
Ale daj nám tiež pamätať, že Ty si prítomný a môžeš rozsvietiť Svetlo. V ktorejkoľvek hodine, kedy chceš, Ty môžeš rozsvietiť Svetlo, Otče. Tak sa modlíme ...
289Ako si povedal, “Vy ste svetlom sveta.” Daj, Pane, aby naše svetlá, ktorí sme v tvojej službe, svietili tak jasno na iných, že uvidia svetlo evanjelia, keď ním žijeme, Pane, deň za dňom, zobrazujúc im život Ježiša Krista, ako keď On bol na zemi; plní pokory a sladkosti, a predsa Slovo žilo priamo cez Neho. Udeľ to Pane.
Lebo, hľadíme na teba, na toho veľkého s vypínačom v ruke. Ty držíš svet vo svojej ruke. Ty držíš všetky veci vo svojej ruke a udržiavaš svet svojím Slovom.
Ó, Otče, daj nám prijať to Slovo; či dáš, prosím, Pane? Nech je to svedectvom a túžbou každého srdca tu.
290Otče, keď spievame tieto piesne ... Keď Dávid spieval tie piesne, oni sa stali proroctvom. To bolo proroctvo a Ty si ich uznal, tie proroctvá. Keď to spievame, Pane, nech je to v našich srdciach tiež, keď spievame, “Budeme chodiť vo Svetle.” Nech sa tak stane, Pane.
Toto je nádherné Svetlo. To je Slovo. To je Kristus, ktorý žije medzi nami. Nie to čo On bol; ale to čo je a my vieme, že to čo bol, len odzrkadľovalo to, čo On je. A modlíme sa Otče, aby ľudia porozumeli a chodili v tomto nádhernom Svetle. Prosíme o to v mene Ježiša.
291A zatiaľ čo stojíme ešte chvíľu, chcem aby sme všetci zaspievali.
292Sú tu Presbyteriáni, Metodisti, Katolíci. Toto je miešané obecenstvo, čo sa týka denominácií.
293Pamätajte teraz, aby ste to vedeli, že nehovorím nič proti ľuďom v tých oslepujúcich žiarach. Ale dokázal som to, na základe Biblii, že to sú oslepujúce svetlá. Keby neboli, Kristus by s nimi robil tak, ako zasľúbil. Rozumiete? Ale oni To odmietli. Vidíte? A keď tam prídete, čo nachádzate? Nejaké “Pripoj sa do cirkvi, prijmi vyznanie.” A čo z toho vychádza? Prichádzate na koniec cesty a zisťujete, že to bolo falošné, fatamorgána.
Kristus je Slovo. On je Svetlo. Ži teraz, zatiaľ čo môžeš žiť. Žiješ pre niečo.
294Pre čo žijete? Aby ste mohli zomrieť. Každí jeden z vás, pre čo pracujete? Aby ste jedli. Pre čo jete? Aby ste žili. Pre čo žijete? Aby ste zomreli.
Tak prečo nie žiť, aby ste žili? Prečo nie žiť, aby ste žili? Potom, jedine ako môžete žiť je prijať Slovo. Pretože, “Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe,” na tom čo tu urobíme v pote čela, “ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” A teraz Slovo z úst Božích je potvrdené rovno tu pred nami, skrze Ducha Svätého. Žite ním, či budete?
295A teraz chcem, keď budeme toto znovu spievať, stojme len na svojom mieste, načiahnime sa, podajme si ruky a povedzme, “Brat, choďme vo Svetle,” zatiaľ čo spievame Choď vo svetle. Či budeš? Modlite sa jeden za druhého, keď ste sa spolu chytili za ruky, keď to spolu spievame; so zavretými očami, pokiaľ možno.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Kto to je?
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta.
A teraz zodvihnime ruky.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ó Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Poďte, všetci svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Čo to je?
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta;
Potom nebeské zvony budú zvoniť,
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta.
Všetci. Spievajme to teraz.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš Svetlo sveta.
296A teraz so sklonenými hlavami. Pamätajte, keď bol Izrael na svojej ceste, jedli novú mannu každý deň, chodili vo Svetle Ohnivého Stĺpa. Ten Ohnivý Stĺp bol Ježiš Kristus. Biblia povedala, že bol. A dnes je On s nami; máme To. Vieme, že On je s nami, ten istý Ohnivý Stĺp, ktorý robí tie isté veci, ktoré robil, keď On bol tu na zemi, aby vyplnil svoje Slovo.
297Keď pôjdeme odtiaľto, pamätajme, zachovajte túto pieseň vo svojich srdciach, keď pôjdeme do svojich domov, keď kolesá budú hmkať pieseň. Prv ako ješ svoju večeru; skloníš hlavu a poďakuješ Bohu za to, že posiela svetlo aby priviedlo potravu na zem, pre tvoje fyzické telo. Potom poďakuj Bohu za to, že posiela duchovné Svetlo, Svoje Slovo, aby ti mohol dať potravu pre dušu. “Lebo človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe, ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.”
298Spievajte si stále tú pieseň pre seba, vo vašich domoch, medzi svojimi ľuďmi a stretneme sa tu okolo pol siedmej, dnes večer, pre modlitebné lístky a tak ďalej. Uvidíme sa potom. Až dovtedy, skloňme hlavy.
299Poprosím pastora, brata Nevilleho aby sem prišiel a rozpustil nás slovami modlitby.
1 Thank you brother. (Let her sing.) Let us bow our heads now. Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee this morning for Thy goodness and mercy, for giving us the privilege of assembling here together again, a day this side of the great Eternity, to worship the lovely One, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You because that He come to the earth to--to redeem us from a--a life of sin, and to give us this great heritage that we have through His righteousness. And as we, this morning, are here as His ambassadors, to--to break this Bread of Life to this waiting congregation, may the Holy Spirit inspire every Word and place it into the hearts of the people, just as we have need. We ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Be seated.
2 I certainly deem this, and a great privilege, again this morning, to be standing here with you. Sorry that we don't have no more room than what we do, to take care of the people. Our tabernacle isn't quite large enough. And we are very grateful to be here, through this holidays, from--from down at our home in... at Tucson. And weather was kind of rough, but we was happy to be here and to have the meeting.
Now, I want to announce that tonight there will be a healing service tonight, or a prayer for the sick. And I told Billy just now. He said, "Well, what will you do?"
3I said, "Well, maybe you better give out some cards tonight, about six-thirty, so that where the people won't..."
And, see, it's so jammed in here, we can know just how to bring them, one by one, so you can be called by the number of your card, and so there won't be any congestion. We can just call them, one by one, let them go through the line as we pray for them.
4 So, you, if you are sick, or have loved ones are sick, and want to bring them in, come about six-thirty, something like that, seven o'clock, and get a prayer card. He'll be at the door, or however he gives them out, as you come in.
5And, then, this will probably be about the last time I get to be back, for some time, 'cause I got a very heavy schedule now. Down, and still in the United States until this spring, late. So, we, we'll maybe get back again a little later on this summer.
If the Lord willing, I'd like to, if we get the--the place over here if it's air-conditioned. I was going to ask Billy. I would like to speak on those Seven Trumpets, have a ser-... a meeting here for the Seven Trumpets, if--if the Lord willing. For, that, the--the Seven Church Ages, and the Seven Seals, and now the Seven Trumpets. And could get some time like in June where peoples has their vacation, give them time so they could get in.
6 And I'm glad to see Brother Shepherd here this morning, from the hospital. I was out to see him the other day. And Sister Shepherd, I didn't get to call you yesterday. That dream that you sent me was very, very fine. You seen, as it was, Christ in a--on a... in--in the skies, upon this white horse, but yet being bound, you see. But, yet, before it faded away, all your family got to see it. That, the dream interpretation, is that your family has seen His move of this last days before it passed away, what It was. So, it's, that was very spiritual, and a very good blessing to you, you family. That family come up out of some great tribulation, to come to where they are today.
7 And now we have something, a little on the sad side, this morning. Since I met here... One of our precious friends, and--and comers to this tabernacle, the Coats family; which, we all love them. They come down from the east, and, or from Chicago, around. And Sister Billie Habib, and--and her sister, Armstrong, and all the girls. They... I think they were formerly Nazarene, and has come to the Lord, and they're very precious friends of ours.
And Brother and Sister Coats, their father and mother, was on the road home the other day, from over in the West, and someone slid on the road and--and killed Sister Coats, instantly. And--and while they called me over, in--in Tucson, and I heard about it, I was setting right there then with a box of candy that she had just made for me, setting on the--on the table. And you don't know how it made me feel. But I--I think that, thank the Lord this morning, she didn't have to suffer. She was getting aged, and she didn't have to suffer. And she went Home to be with God.
8 I was just thinking, and talking to her two girls, just now, in the room in there. Brother Coats is here this morning; he got some broken ribs. And I called him in the hospital and where he was hospitalized, over in Missouri, and his ribs broke and things, but he certainly had a real courage, a real Christian; knowing that his little queen is not dead, she is alive forevermore, with Christ, and there'll be a uniting time.
9Job said, one time, "Oh, that Thou would hide me in the grave, and keep me in the secret place, until Thy wrath be past."
10 Did you ever notice God, in nature, does the same thing? Like the sap that's in the trees up here, holding on the leaves; and 'fore wintertime comes, the wrath that's poured out upon the earth... See, at one time the earth didn't have winter. And in the Millennium there'll never be no more winters, you see. So it's the wrath upon the earth. Then when that happened... See, before the wrath comes, God in His mercy sends that sap right down into the... underneath the ground, into the roots of that tree, and keeps it there until the wrath of the winter be passed, then raises it back up again, see, in the springtime.
"Oh, that Thou would hide me in the grave, and keep me in the secret place, until Thy wrath be past." That's what He's done for our sister. That's what He does for all Christian.
11 Brother Coats, God bless you. I'm so happy to know that, that the Seal of God holds in the hour of trouble. I know what he going through with, 'cause I went through with something similar, years ago. But I'm... One by one we have to cross over this great river; and, I, and it'll be my time, one of these days; and your time, one of these days. But as David said, "I'll fear no evil; for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."
12Now in commemoration of Sister Coats, our precious sister who has gone on to God. I... As a little commemoration to her, this morning, I want the congregation to stand just for a moment.
Let us bow our heads and think of one who once, a few days ago, walked in--in this tabernacle, in and out among us, shook our hands, a lovely Christian, is now in that place that the Lord let me see not long ago, a young woman again, waiting for her oncoming family.
13 Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the memories of Sister Coats. What a precious, dear sister! And now time comes that when we live out our span in life, that's been lotted to us, we must cross the river. We thank Thee because that she did not have to suffer. There must not been anything against her here, that she had to suffer for. She just went straight into the arms of God, just in a moment.
14Her husband, her children, are here this morning, Lord, right back to their post of duty. How we thank Thee for that gallant faith! "The Faith of our fathers living still, instead of dungeon, flame, and sword." We thank Thee for all these things.
15Rest her precious soul, Lord. She was our sister. Grief, teardrops fall in our heart, for her absence, but joy springs up from the teardrops, let us know with assurance of Thy Word that she lives on in an immortal life than can never die. And there never be a accident where she is at now, only waiting for those who come afterwards to join with her.
16Bless Brother Coats, and bless them girls and her family, Lord, and those loved ones, and all who love her. And someday, Father, we trust to meet her up there in that great Beyond, where there is no sickness, sorrow, or death. Until that time, keep us all healthy and well, serving You, and looking forward for that day. In Jesus Christ's Name we ask it. Amen.
17May the great Holy Spirit that deals with us here at the tabernacle, in revealing His Word, may He rest her gallant soul in peace till we meet her.
18 Now it is warm in here this morning, because it's bodies, you know, so much being the heat of the human body.
19Now, we would like to make announcement now. Sometimes our services here, being long, of a--of a morning, the reason it is... It's really not right to hold a service that long, because, hour, an hour and a half, or sometimes two hours. But what I'm doing, I'm taping back here, see, and this tape goes all over the world. And that's what I... we gather in, so long, of a morning, is--is because that I come here to make these tapes. That's to...?... they're... See, you can see in the room there, the--the tapes that's being--being made now, and they go out everywhere across the world.
20 Now, soon, the Lord willing, this coming, just as soon as I leave here... I'll be leaving, the Lord willing, tomorrow morning, sometime, back to Arizona, because I've got a meeting coming up. And then it's just all the way across the South. And you southern people from down in Georgia, and Mississippi, and Texas, and Alabama, we're coming right down in there, all the way into Florida, right away.
21Going from here to Phoenix, then to California, and right back to Dallas, and--and perhaps drop down into San Antonio, I think it is, and back over in Alabama, and Florida, and through there. So we'll be seeing you people down in there, the Lord willing, right away.
22 And then you keep praying for us, and we'll let you know when, if we... the Lord puts upon our heart now to hold a--a few days here, this coming summer.
23I had a group of meetings scheduled. And many of you in New York know when the vision come, that said that those meetings in the Scandinavian country... You remember them scheduled in there? And then, while I was in New York, the vision came, that every one of those meetings would cancel, for some reason. And I remember I told some of you here, when we was in New York. That's just exactly what happened, 'cause they all wanted the same day and couldn't get that building.
So, then, that might leave a little spot there in June. It might been the will of the Lord, I was thinking, maybe to come back for those Trumpets right here, before it's too late. See? So we know that everything works just right. So that was on my heart, so it might be what He wants us to do.
24 Now I see you're changing seats with each other, and--and out in the halls, and so forth. We wish we just had place to set down.
And now when we have those Trumpets, that's... we want to get the high school gymnasium. I think it seats fifty-five hundred, and then we'd have a chance, too, everybody to have a seat, and set down and listen quietly while we're--while we're preaching.
25Or, this, the Trumpets, they're very, very fine. I looking at it the other day. See, on the Sixth Seal, all Seven Trumpets sounds right there on that Sixth Seal, see, just before the Seventh Seal opens the Coming of Christ.
26 And, tonight, I have a very important Message that I want to speak just before the--the--the healing service. And if you're here, and are going to stay over, well, we'll try, if it possible to start just a little bit early, 'cause there'll be a prayer line. I won't preach too long, but there is something that I've wanted to say to the church, for some time, and kind of post you on the--the--the--the... how things are running at this time, and just where we're standing, and the best of my knowledge through the Scripture.
27Now, I want you to turn this morning with me, if you want to mark down or keep record of where we are reading from, the Book of Isaiah. And I wish to read from Isaiah, the 42nd chapter of Isaiah.
28 We are very happy this morning, also, to have Brother Dauch sitting with us here. While you're turning... You know, they thought he wasn't going to live, here in Shreveport the other day. And he's certainly got faith. Yes, sir, he climbs right out of it; the Lord blesses him...?... See, Brother Dauch is ninety-one years old, and had a complete heart failure; and heart attack, on top of it. And the very doctor said that they didn't see there's any way for him to live. Brother Dauch is living, and the doctor is dead. See? Cause, he... See, Brother Dauch sits here.
29And then, a--a man ninety-one years old, with heart failure and heart attack. And there, when I was going up there, I saw him come walking down a street; I saw him in the church. And I went and told him, under a oxygen tent, "In the Name of the Lord, I shake your hand in the... I'll see you in church again, and shake your hand on the street."
The very next service, here he was, sitting right back here in the church. And I went over to Louisville, where we eat at the Blue Boar over there, to eat, and just as I got of my car, started up the street, here come Brother Dauch walking down the street. There it was, just perfectly. And how the Lord has blessed him!
30 Now we're going to talk on healing, tonight, and things, and got some real outstanding things to tell you for tonight.
31But now, so that I can get the tapes now, then get ready to turn them on, I want to start reading from Isaiah the 42nd chapter, and the 1st to the 7th verse. And Matthew the 4th chapter, beginning, I believe, 15 and the 16th verse.
32Now, in--in the 42nd chapter of--of Isaiah, we're going to read.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, or lift up, or cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has... have set judgment in the earth: and the islands shall wait for his laws.
Thus saith... the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and the spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and I will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
To open the blinded eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
33 Now in the Matthew's Gospel, the 4th chapter, I wish to read the fulfillment of that prophecy given by Isaiah. In the 4th chapter of Matthew, I--I will begin to read. If possible, let's begin at the 12th verse instead of the 15th.
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
... leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
Behold, the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentile;
The people... sat in darkness saw great light; and to them that sat in the regions of the shadows of death light is sprung up.
And from that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
34 May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word! And now, odd little text that I heard someone speaking, said this, but I want to take this for a text: There Is A Man Here That Can Turn On The Light. And now we're going to speak on the subject of light.
35This follows the three subjects that we have just been speaking on.
One of them, at Tucson, or at Phoenix, on why Jesus came by the way of Bethlehem. That, He must be, because He is Bethlehem. Bethlehem! B-e-t-h is "house"; e-l, "God"; e-h-e-m is "bread," bread. "House of God's Bread." And each Christian that's born in Christ is born in Bethlehem, God's house of bread.
36 Then, in there, a typing of David, which was a fugitive at the time of his excommunicating from his people. He was turned out. And Bethlehem was besieged, and the Philistines was garrisoned around Bethlehem. And David, a fugitive, a type of the church today, of Christ. See, Christ is a fugitive to His Own church today. They have. A fugitive is something that's refused. And David had been refused, yet he was anointed to be king; but the prophet had anointed him.
37And during this time, being a--a fugitive from his people, he had picked up many gallant Gentiles. One of them killed eight hundred man, one day, with a spear, or sword. And another one jumped into a pit and killed a lion, on a snowy day. And--and they was gathering lentil, which is beans or peas, or something, and--and the all of them run away, and he stood and killed man till his arm got tired. They also killed those giant brothers of Goliath.
Gallant man, holding to David, because they knowed he was coming in power. They knowed, no matter what anyone said. God had the anointing on David, and they knowed it. They were Gentiles. No matter how much they turned him out, they yet knowed that he was coming to power. And one day there...
38 What a type it is today, of--of Christ, a fugitive! You say, "Christ, a fugitive?" According to the Bible, that we... God has gallantly taken us through those Seven Church Ages. This Laodicean church, Christ was a fugitive outside of His church, rejected, trying to get back in again. See? He is a fugitive, to His Own church. And the reason He is a fugitive, is because He is the Word, and they won't let the Word in. They've accepted creeds, instead.
39And we find out, then, that in this great struggle, those gallant man around--around David, Gentiles.
40 If you notice how Bethlehem was formed. Don't want to get on that subject, but how Bethlehem... Actually, Rahab, the harlot, her son was the one who founded Bethlehem. It was a wheat center, and a lot of fine water there. And he founded the little city. And it was the smallest of all the cities, 'cause the prophet said, "Out... Bethlehem of Judaea, aren't thou the least amongst all the princes of the cities of Jerusalem... or Judaea? But out of thee shall come the Governor that'll rule My people." Out of the little one.
41David, when he was selected up there. The great, fine brothers, when the prophet Samuel went up, to anoint, all of them was standing there. Great, gallant man, looked like would be, look, fine-looking kings. But the very rejected one was the one, David, that had the oil poured out upon him. The rejected city was the one that Christ...
It's the rejected that Christ picks up, see, the ones that's rejected.
42 Then we find, after he come Obed. And after he come Boaz. And there come another Gentile in, which he come in by Ruth. And out of there come Jesse. And out of Jesse come David. And a little hillside stable out there brought forth the King of kings, Jesus Christ, the Son of David, his spiritual Son.
43Now then, he was, David himself being born in this city, he had to come to this little spot. And it was called Bethlehem, which means, "the--the house of God's bread." And He is the House of God's Bread.
44David, laying there on the hill that day, and he looked down and seen the Philistines garrisoned around like that, must got hot and thirsty. He said, "Oh, if I could just have a drink from that well, once more!" Why, the least of his thoughts was a command to his, them who loved him.
45 So is it today, the least of Jesus' thoughts, or how about His Word, should be a command to we Gentiles who love Him. For we know He's coming into power, no matter how much He's rejected. Heavens and earth will pass away, but This will still reign just the same when all heavens and earth is gone. And we know He's coming into power, 'cause nothing will keep it from happening. [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.] This is Christ, the revelation of Him, and this is going to happen just the way the Word says it is, 'cause He is the Word. And the least of His commands there, no matter how little it is, if it's "to be rebaptized," or whatever it is, we'll do it, anyhow. It's His command.
46 And the least of David's thought was a command to those Gentiles, for, they, a type of the Gentile Church today. Gallant man! See, those man who stood by David were Gentiles, but, gallant man. They were fearless. They didn't even know what fear was.
47One man took a sword and killed eight hundred man, and them all around him. What a man that was! One of them, a...
One other man. There was an Egyptian warrior run up, with a long spear. He only had a stick in his hand. He took the stick and knocked the spear out of his hand; took the spear and killed him, hisself. See?
48One of those giants had fourteen-inch fingers, like that. Now, fourteen inches, your finger is just as long as your hand, closed; open that up, that would be twenty-eight-inch hand. And with a spear! And jumped right in there and killed him. See? Why? He was a gallant man, a Gentile looking upon anointed one that he knowed was coming into power.
49 Did you notice, them being so gallant to David? When David finally come in power, he made them ruler over cities. Didn't Jesus promise the same thing? The same thing, make them ruler.
50Then, in there, when David's desire was to have a fresh drink. He probably had some old, warm stagnated water up there, he was drinking. But he happened to think of that fresh water down there at Bethlehem, the house of God's bread. And he said, "If I only had a drink from that well!" And those man pulled their sword and fought fifteen miles of Philistines, not because he asked them to, but because they knowed he wanted it. And they cut them Philistines, all the way to the well. While two of them fought, the other one got a--his bucket of water; and fought their way back, all the way back, and handed it to David. Talk about gallant!
51David, that godly man, said, "God forbid that I would drink it from these friends that put their life in jeopardy." And he made a drink offering; poured it out upon the ground, to the Lord. "Give it to the Lord. He is the One worthy of that, not me." They put...
52The very type of Christ Himself, with His Own Eternal Life within Him; the smitten Rock, poured His Life upon the ground, as a sin offering for us, that this Word could live.
53 Oh, Gentiles, as I have said, who will pull that sword with me? He wants a fresh drink, this morning, not this old stagnated church creeds and things we're fooling around with. He want genuine faith in His Word, who will believe every Word of It. Let's go to the well and bring back a drink, a refreshment; a worship that's built upon not creeds and denomination. But a genuine Spirit worship, with Christ among us, living His Life the way He wants to, among us, that--that's not with creeds and different things. Let's just--just have Him that way.
54 Now, the next was how God dealt with the people through a dream, in the days of--of Joseph. Did you notice? A dream is secondarily. It's a secondarily way of God working. Some people can have dreams, don't mean nothing. You can eat too much and have nightmares. And dream is a secondarily way. See? But why would God protect His Own Son through a secondarily way? He appeared to Joseph. The welfare of His Own Child, He sent in a secondarily way. Did you ever think of it? Cause, there was no prophet in the land. He had to work through dreams. And it wasn't a dream that had to be interpreted. The Angel of the Lord said, "Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost."
55 It was a unusual thing for that to happen. Joseph being a just man, he... It was unusual. God is unusual. And the unusual is hard to understand. That's why it's so hard to understand Truth today; It's so unusual. A woman to have a baby without knowing a man, that was very unusual.
But if you're honest and sincere, God can appear to you yet in a dream. It goes to show that anything that you have, whether it's your mind, whether you can whistle, sing, testify, or whatever you can do, if your whole being is committed to God, God can use it if you'll just let Him do it.
56 Then, the following night up here, Brother Neville preached on the subject of "escaping," how the--the man escaped. And I thought it was kind of remarkable.
And this morning the Holy Spirit seems to have me to deal upon the subject of the light, the very next. Go right on, in the beginning, how Christ's life started at the manger, we're walking right back through it again in our text. And he didn't know it; I didn't know it; and here it is right at the same thing. See, right on, the next thing is where He enters His ministry. And tonight we got something that'll blend right with that, to go right on, tonight, the Lord willing.
57 Now, great Light! "The Gentiles who sat in the regions of the shadows of death, great Light sprang up among them. In Zabulon, and Nephthalim, in the... by the way of Galilee of the Gentiles, great Light, they saw a great Light."
58Now light, the first time light, we find it in the Bible, is found in Genesis 1:3. It was, God's spoken Word made the light. God said, "Let there be light," Genesis 1:3, and there was light.
59Now remember, then, light comes by the spoken Word of God. And light is the vindication, or the subject that He has spoke, is light. When the light flies, shows that. God said, "Let there be light." There was no light, and He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. That's a proof. The light is a vindication of His spoken Word. Same thing today, a vindication of His spoken Word.
60 Now when you see His Word being vindicated, or, other words, made known, proved, that is a--the Light of His spoken Word. And, without light, nothing can live without light. There is no life upon the earth today that but what has to come by the--the light of the sun, in a botany life, and so forth. And there is no Eternal Life outside of the Son of God. See? He is the Light.
61Now we find out, I believe, as we study now, and this light... "The earth was without form."
62Now, some people argue today in our schools, and so forth, about the world being so many million years old, and trying to condemn the Bible and say It's wrong. They just don't, never read the Bible. That's all. Because, the Bible don't tell us how old the world is. The Bible said, "In the beginning God created heavens and earth." Period! When, how, that's, we don't know it. Now, that's the first. And, that's a period, that's the end of that sentence.
63 "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth." It might have been a hundred million, or billion, or whatever it was. And how He done it, that's up to Him to know, see, not to me.
But the world, well, "The earth was without form, and void; and the water was upon the--the earth. And God," said, "moved upon the water." And said, "Let there be light."
64Now, I believe that the sun, and so forth, was already in existence, I believe, the moon. As it goes on, Genesis 3, to explain it... But I believe, what was here, that the world, we was going to use it, and therefore... And it moved in; there was fog and mist all over the earth, making it dark. And God said, "Let there be light," and the darkness faded away, and there was a cloudless sky.
65 And I believe that's God's way of doing things. He... in the Bible, the next verse says, the 4th verse says. "And He separated the light from the darkness. And the light He called 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night.'" And God's Word always separates Light from darkness. See? It's the Word that does the separating, see, Light from darkness.
66God ever does the same thing, when He gets ready to use anything. Like He got ready to use this old star, or whatever it was, this world, He had to separate the light from the darkness. When He gets ready to leave, to use a--a group of people, He has to separate the Light from the darkness. When He gets ready to use an individual, He separates the Light from the darkness. See?
67Light comes by God. And the... Remember, the light come by His spoken Word. The Word of God said, "Let there be light," when there was no light, and He sent the light to separate the darkness from the light.
68This Word of command cleared the sky so the sun could shine in. And His Word today is what clears back all of the atmospheres of unbelief.
69 I was talking, had--had, I think, eleven interviews just before I got to the pulpit this morning, in there. So bad...
70The other day a little friend of mine, Jim Poole, his little boy, they had thought he had a heart attack, rushed him to hospital. It was an asthmatic condition, had throwed the little fellow... He couldn't... His little heart jumping, and breathing, and--and he screaming and couldn't get his breath, and the little fellow looked like he was dying, when they got him here. And I was fixing to go to the hospital; they brought him here. And took a hold of his little hand; I said, "What's done it, measles has struck the kid. And, the measles, the fever has struck the little fellow. You watch him. In a couple days I want to see him again. He'll be full of measles." And here he is full of measles, you see. See?
71 Now, what? God separates darkness from light, or light from darkness. And He separates death from Life, and He does it by His Word. His Word is what always brings this forth.
72Now, light! Well, now, the seed was already upon the earth. I believe God had planted the seed. And just as long as the sun could get to that seed, it begin to grow. And that's the reason it only taken days to bring forth these things, because the seed was already in the earth. All it needed was light.
73And that's the way God has today. His Seed is already here, His Word. The only thing It needs is Light on It. And He is that Light, for He is the Word. The Word and the Light is the same thing. The Life in there is the Light of the Word, see, is the Life. The germ of life lays within the grain, and the grain... the life is what breaks forth and brings forth the life out of the grain. That's the way that Christ, in the Word, makes the Word do what It's supposed to do. Just like the life in the grain of wheat, or whatever it is; it makes the wheat do what it's supposed to do, because it is the life that's in it. All life!
74 So, Life is only by the Word of God made manifest. Life comes only by the Word of God made manifest. As long as it is just in the Book, like this, it still can be questioned. But when it's made manifest, then you see the product of what It spoke of, being manifested, then that is Light on the--on the Word. See? That's what brings... The Word said so, and, then, when it comes to pass, that is Life in Light, Light bringing Life. Light brings Life.
75Plant the wheat out here, it'll... and put it in the basement, cover it all over, and it'll--it'll never bring forth anything, because it can't. There's no light there. But as soon as light strikes it, then it'll bring forth life if it's a germitized seed.
That's the same thing it is in the Word. See, the Word is God, and when the Life strikes It, it brings It... Light strikes It, it brings the Word to life again. Every age has always been that. Oh, how we appreciate these great things, how that the Word being vindicated is the Light of the spoken Word. See?
God said, "Let there be light."
76 Now, what if He just said it and no light come? Then we don't know whether it's true or not. We don't know whether He is all right. We don't know whether He is God or not, because He just said, "Let there be," and there wasn't. See?
So then when God speaks and we see it is, then that's the Light that shines forth, the Truth of the Word. See? There is Light and Life.
77All natural life comes by His spoken Word. And the sun is His spoken Word. He said He created a great light in the heavens, for the day, and a lesser light for the night. See? And all natural life has to come by God's spoken Word. A flower cannot grow without the light of God's spoken Word shine upon it, for the sun is, the s-u-n, is the spoken Word of God, when He said, "Let there be light." See? It's God's spoken life. And no matter how much people try to--to say this, that, or the other, it still remains the same. You have to have that sun, so life, natural, can only come by the spoken Word of God.
78 And spiritual Life, Eternal Life, can only come by God's spoken Word of Life. Life was the S-o-n this time. In Him is Light, and in Him is no darkness; and He is God's spoken Light. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] God's spoken Word, for, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And It's forever God. See?
And it takes the Light of God to strike the Word, to make It live. Here is what He spoke [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.], now let the Light shine! Amen! Let the Light shine, and the Light will bring every Word to Its right position, in its season. Amen! Oh! You see, when it comes time!
79Sometimes that grain lays in the earth, dormant, all through the--the winter, like seed, winter wheat sowed in the ground. But when that sun gets just right, oh, it's got to live. See? And it can't live without the sun.
And God has made promises for every age and every day. And when the Light gets right, and shines upon that, it'll produce just exactly what the Word said, because He is the Light and the Life.
80 God's Word comes only by the Bible. God's Bible is the--the printed form of the Son of God, because the Bible said that It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's God revealing Himself through Christ, and Christ is the Word. And it takes the Light of God to shine upon that Word, to vindicate It, to prove that God still speaks Life, Eternal Life. He speaks natural light, brings the life. Life only comes by the Light, the Word made manifest, or made flesh. When all the promises become, in the Bible, become manifest, is when Jesus Christ, the Word, was made flesh among us. God always works through man. Man is God's subject.
81Now, if it gets a little warm in here for you, you can pull the windows down, or whatever you wish to, cut the furnace down. Maybe the janitor would cut the furnace down a little. I see many are warm. And it's warm standing here, too, so--so remember that. I'm glad it's warm instead of cold, 'cause I--I like warm. I... Warm always bring light, life, takes fire.
82 Notice now, "made flesh." When the Word becomes flesh, It becomes manifested. Like, take the Word and put It in the right position and the right kind of ground, It'll bring forth. The--the seed will bring forth its kind. And the Word, brought into the right kind of a heart, it'll manifest Itself. It'll bring forth the light. It'll break forth upon it. All right.
83Nothing natural, nothing natural or spiritual, can live without God's Light. Life can only come then by Light. Nothing natural or nothing spiritual can live without God's Light. Think of that. All right. But when He sends us the Light, see, and does all these things, and then we reject It; now that's the pitiful part, is when Light is rejected when it's sent to us.
84 Now could you imagine some man today saying, "I just refuse to say there is such a thing as a sun. I don't believe there is a sun"? And he runs down into the basement, and--and shuts all the doors, and sets back in the darkness, and said, "There is no such a thing as sun. There is no such a thing as light." You would know, right away, there was something mentally wrong with that person. See? There is something wrong, when he runs back into a dark basement and refuses to accept the benefit of God-given light. There is something wrong with him. He don't want its warm rays. He doesn't want its health-giving substance. He doesn't want its light, to walk in. He would rather sit in darkness. It shows, mentally, something wrong, natural, with the man.
85 And I say this with all love and respect. So is there something spiritually wrong with a man that'll run back into his denominations of creed and refuse to see Bible Light when it's shining right before him. There is something wrong with him. See, goes back into his creeds and forms, and shuts the door and says, "There is no such a thing as That. The days of miracles is past. There is no such a thing as Divine healing, there none of these things. That was for an apostle." The man is spiritually crazy. See? There is something wrong with him. He--he--he has pulled down the curtains and rejected the Holy Spirit that can come upon him. If he can...
"If ye abide in Me, and My Words in you, then, the Light shining upon this Word, ask what you will." See? See?
86 There is something wrong, that he would reject the God-given sources that God has give to us to live by, His Word. "The just shall live by faith."
"And man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word," not part of the Word, "every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." And when a man will just refuse That, there is something wrong with that person; something wrong with his experience, that he claims to love God and then refuses God. There is something gone wrong with the person. We know that, without a shadow of doubt. He rejects It, runs into this place, and says, "Now I just... I don't want to know nothing about It. Don't tell me nothing about these Things. I, I don't believe nothing about It. You, don't matter what you say!"
87 A fellow said, not long ago. I was telling you about. He said, "I don't care if you would bring fifty cancers, and bring fifty doctors to testify of them, I don't believe. I don't care if you would raise up the dead, right before me, I wouldn't believe it." See, there is something wrong with that person. There--there--there is. And--and, yet, the man was a minister, see, see, supposed to be a minister.
But just because that organization doesn't believe in--in the powers of God, don't believe that (the Word) It meant just what It said, the man runs into this basement, old musty, dirty, filthy basement of a organization, and refuses the warmth and Life-giving rays of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, which is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Then there is something wrong with that person. See?
He would rather live in that must, darkness, and so forth, than to live in the Light of the God and of the Bible that said, that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The works that I do shall you do also. Even greater than this shall you do, for I go to My Father." There is something wrong with that person. Without a question, at all, there is something wrong.
88 And to you man that's listening to this, across the world, wherever you may be. There is something wrong with your experience, when you say that you love God and refuse His Word. There is something. You refuse the very... No wonder the things can't, the church is in its condition, and things cannot be done as God promised, is because you won't even receive the Word or walk in the Light. The Bible said, "Let us walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, then the Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." Sin is "unbelief."
89Then if we are walking in the God-given Light of the hour, then God takes that Word that's given for the hour and vindicates It.
Just like He did in Genesis 1:3, said, "Let there be light," and light come forth. His Word went forth, and light followed It, and cleared away the mist. And the darkness went to one corner, and the light shined on the other side.
90That's the way God does today. He sends His Word for this hour, and the Holy Spirit comes and makes that Word live. And the darkness goes on to their creeds and denominations, but Light shines because it's the Word of God being vindicated that His Word is true. Now, there is nothing fictitious about that, that's just exactly Scriptural. All right.
91 Now, we find that the--the wise man, the wise man of the Old, followed the God-given substance. They followed the Word of God, to the Light, because it was the Word that brought Life. Now you say, "How did they follow?" Well, they were, kinda, magis, we understand.
92And then we find out that Balaam, the prophet, back in Numbers 24:17, Balaam was kind of a magi himself. He was a prophet, truly, and he prophesied here and said a Star would rise out of Jacob.
And when these wise men saw that the Word of God said a Star would rise out of Jacob, they followed that little God-given token to the source of Eternal Light.
So will wise man today, who is not blinded by creeds, will follow the God-given, spoken Word till they see the fullness of the Power of God blooming forth in this hour. They, they see it, and they know that it's here in the Scripture. God promised it for this day.
93 No matter how many observatories, how many other things, told the wise man, "Why, you're out of your mind!" Two years they was in travel. They passed by many nations, and they would say, "Where you going?"
94"Oh, we have seen His Star in the East, and we come to worship Him."
And when they lined up in Jerusalem, the denominational headquarters, they didn't have the answer. They went up-and-down the streets, crying, "Where is He, born King of the Jews?" They knowed nothing about it.
So, they called on the Word, to find out. They had followed, knowed that Star was leading them to the Eternal Light. "Guide us to Thy perfect Light." And the Word is what guides you to the Light, and the Light is what makes the Word vindicated. Notice, they were wise man.
95 And wise man today, not wi-... "The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God." All your scientists, and you people who are depending on some great scholarship, or something another, telling you how to split a atom; it can't give you Life. There is nothing can give you Life but the spoken Word of God. It's the only where that Life can come, is through His spoken Word.
96And that's all right, to know how to split a atom. I wish they'd a-never found it out. But if they... They have to do it, because this world is hanging today... It had to happen, to burst these big holes in the earth, to let that lava come forth and rejuvenate this world again, to make a new earth; where the righteous will walk out upon the dust of the wicked, where sin will be forgotten. Everything has a way of renewing itself. And man, who was given to live on this earth, by his own wisdom, taking the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life, he'll destroy the earth that God give him to live on. But those who are still on the Tree of Life, shall come to a new heavens and a new earth, where there is no sickness or death. Light! Light, Lord, send us Light.
97 It was the Angels of God that showed light upon the hill, to guide the shepherds to the Eternal Light. See, it only comes by Light. Life can only come by Light. The shepherds, wanting to know. You know, when a king is born, they have singing, great carrying on, when the king is born. Now, He was so secretly born, and born in a stable, in a--a manger where the cattle and horses was eating, but yet He was a King. And the--the Angels came down and sang the hymns to the shepherds, in the Light.
The Angels, themselves, were lights that showed with the Word of God. They had the Word of God, and told them, "Today, in the city of David, in Bethlehem, is born Christ the Saviour." The Angels had the Word, and the Word came by Light, to guide. And they followed the Word of the Angels, to Eternal Light. They found the Baby there, wrapped in swaddling cloth, as They had said. For, you see, Life only comes by Light.
98 Notice, He was the Word made Light, or became Light. The Word in that generation, He was the Word Light of that generation, because the prophets of old had spoke of Him, and here He come and vindicated He was the Light of God's spoken Word. See? All the prophets had--had said, had been fulfilled in Him, see, the prophets back here with the Word.
Like God was at the beginning, when He said, "Let there be light," and light came.
Now the prophet said, "A virgin shall conceive, bring forth a Son. They shall call His Name Immanuel, for It'll be God with us." Now, they had spoke it, the Word had went out; but He was the Light. What was He? The fulfillment. Hallelujah! He was the fulfillment of that Word. He was the manifestation of that Word.
99So is it today, God's Word has been fulfilled at the hour! That's the Light. It's God manifesting Himself. He was the Light of the world.
100 And when the prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a--a Son is given, or a Child is given; and His Name shall be called 'Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,'" there it was. What was He? The Light that fulfilled that Word, amen, the Light that fulfilled that Word.
101In Matthew, in Saint Matthew the 28th chapter, we find. And when Jesus raised from the dead, He also was the Light of the spoken Word of David, which said, "I'll not leave His soul in hell; neither will I suffer My Holy One to see corruption." Death was in darkness. But He broke open the seals of death, and walked into it, and come back out again. He was the Light, the vindicated Word, that the dead can live after they are dead. He was.
102 On the Day of Pentecost, that was the Light that showed when the Holy Ghost had come.
Isaiah said, in the 28th chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah said that, with, "Precept must be upon precept; line must be upon line; here a little, and there a little." "Hold fast to that what's good." "For with stammering lips and with other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the rest, this is the Sabbath that I'll give to... And all this they would not hear; walked away, wagged their heads."
And when on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost fell upon those people, and they acted like drunk men and women, staggering under the impact of the Holy Spirit. And they walked away and wagged their heads, and said, "This people is drunk, full of new wine," and so forth. It absolutely was the Light, the Word that had been prophesied, made manifest.
103 So is it in every age, the Word made manifest, come to Life, is the Light of that age, there the Word made manifest. Just like it was in Genesis 1, when God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. When God said there will be a Son; and there was a Son.
104When God said, in Joel 2:28, "It shall come to pass in the last days, I'll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; upon My handmaids and maidservant will I pour out of My Spirit; your young men shall see visions; your old men shall see dreams." And all these things that He promised, when It, Holy Ghost fell, was the Light upon that Word. When the Word was made manifest, then It become Light.
He is the Light. He is the Light that we should follow. He is the only Light. The Angels found Light, and followed it to Him.
105 Now, in all ages, God has set forth so much of His Word for each age. God always sends somebody that that Word can get into and show the Light of It. That, every age, it does the same thing, always does that.
106He was the fulfillment, as I said, of all of the Divine, holy powers of the prophets. They were minor gods. When the Word of the Lord came to a man, Jesus said, Himself, that he was a god. You know that. He said, "If your law said, and your fathers back there, called them, who the Word of God came to, called them 'gods,' how can you condemn Me, saying, when I said, 'I'm the Son of that God'?" See?
When, the very God Himself, Who spoke the Word through the prophets, He was the manifestation of that spoken Word. And if the prophet was called a god, because he was the manifestation of another prophet's Word, how can you condemn Him when He was the same thing? He was the Son of God, as He shall be called the Son of God.
107He was the long-promised Messiah that the world had waited on. He was the Messiah's promise made manifest.
108 Look at Him when He stood there. He said, "If I do not the works of My Father, then condemn Me." See? "But if you can't believe Me, believe the works that I do. They testify Who I am. They tell you Who I am."
You see, that blind, darkened hour that they live in, they couldn't see It. They just couldn't understand. "How could He be That? How can he be any Son of God, when he was born right down here in Bethlehem?" If they only knowed, the Word said It would come that way. "Why, His father, Joseph, is a carpenter. His mother, why, it's actually believed amongst our brethren that He was born illegitimately." See? But yet the Word of God said that.
109He said, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are the very Ones that testify Who I am. They are the Ones that testify of Me, this Holy Scriptures." Then what was He? God's Light. No wonder He said, "I am the Light of the world."
110Not only did He say, "I am the Light," but He said, "Ye are the Light." If His Word is in you, bearing record of Itself, then you are Light of the world. Notice, we find out, Light of each age made manifest just the same.
111 Then I want to ask the question, as... 'fore our time gets away. Why, why then were they... did they turn it down? How could they do it, when the... Their very Bible, that they was reading, was being made manifest before them. Now study real hard now.
112Now remember, I'm talking to many people at this time, you see. Not just four or five hundred here, but I'm--I'm talking to many thousands.
113Stop just a minute. Stop your tape recorder and ask the question. Why would religious man, good man... Why would Joseph question? See? Why would Jo-...? Because he never searched the Scripture.
Why did the priests question? One reason they didn't; they knew it. Nicodemus well expressed it. He said, "Rabbi, we know You're a teacher from God. No man could do what You do except God be with him. We're aware of that." But what was it? Their traditions kept them from doing it.
114 Then why were they, did they reject the Messiah? Is be... Why did they reject that Light? Here is the Word that they knowed was coming to pass, but when the Word was made manifest to show that the Word of God had been fulfilled, compare that with today. See? When there, written in the Word, that would take place, then why did those man reject it; teachers? Because they were living in a glare of another light. That's it. They was living in a glare.
That's the thing they're doing today. They're living...
The reason they turned it down is because they're living in a glare of another light. See? Now, they was living in a glare of what Moses said, they claimed. They was living in a glare of what (another age) had passed by.
And that's the very reason today that this Message, that, "Jesus Christ still is the same," is turned down, because the people are living in glares of other ages. The same reason, they'll turn It down. Now we notice.
115 And Webster says, that, "A glare is kind of a false light. A glare is a false light; same thing that glares."
Like--like a mirage on the road. You go down the road, many of you driving cars, and look down ahead of you. When you see that sun on the ground, it reflects a light, and like a mirage, look like there's water all over the road. But, when you get there, there is nothing there. It's only a false, mirage, the glare of a true light.
That's what the devil is doing today, is showing people a mirage, a Council of Churches, a group of denominations, which will turn out to be false. Because, it's because there is a real Light shining. That real Light wasn't shining, a mirage couldn't be there. Real Light shines. And that's... They're living in a glare of another age, another thing, for it's hit and passed on.
Now, a glare, this mirage is false. It's a glare of the sun.
116 And that's the way, they did the same thing, a false glare of the true Light.
117Now, it proved to be that He was the true Light. He was the Light. Why did they know that He was the Light? How could you know He was the Light? Because the Word that was promised was made manifest through Him, so He was the Light of that spoken Word. Amen! Oh, that would almost make me, a pentecostal Baptist, shout. Notice, think of it!
118A glare, see, living in a glare! But when the true Word is living, that's the Light, what God said.
Now, what if God said, in the beginning, "Let there be light," huh, well, and there was something else appeared, see, just a mirage? See, it wouldn't a-been, though, what God said. No, it wouldn't a-been. What if God said, "Let there be light," and more fog came? See, it wouldn't a-been light. But, the reason light come, it was His Word manifested.
And today, when God has said such things will take place at this time, and you see it doing it, (what is it?) it's the Light on God's Word. It's Word being made Light, manifesting Itself.
119 Now, they said, "Who do You say we are? Why," he said, "You try to... We know that You're crazy. Why, You're a Samaritan; You haven't got Your right mind. Well, You'll try to... Who can tell... We know You was born in sin. We don't know where You come from. We have no record of Your identification in our groups. Why, You're crazy. You got a devil." See? Said, "Why, You're out of Your mind." But He was actually the genuine, true Light of God, shining.
And the glare had put out, their eyes out. "We have Moses as our guide!"
120He said, "If you would have believed Moses, you'd a-knowed Me."
121And if you would believe Jesus and the Bible, you would know this hour that you're living in. They say, "Well, we are Christians. We..." If you were, you would know the acts of Christ for this day. See, you would know it.
122Jesus said, "All those prophets spoke of Me. And if you believe those prophets, why, you would know Me. My works identify. Because, what they said I'd do, I do it. And who can condemn Me now of unbelief?"
123 And still they didn't see it. Why? Their eyes were put out, with a glare; see, the glare of something else that they had taken what the true spoken Word was. Now think of it. Think of it. They claimed that they believed that Word. But their traditions had turned their faces from the true Word, to a glare, therefore they couldn't see the real thing.
So is it today. So has it been in every age. See, the--the true Word shines, but they have been so traditionalized, that, they can't see that Word. They're looking at a glare, and they're blind. A glare will blind you. There is a arc off of it. It'll blind you. And, it'll, when...
124Jesus said, "You are blind, leading the blind." They should have been able to see it, to see Who He was. But they didn't, because they was living in that glare.
125 Now, a glare, as I said, is a false light, a mirage, a false conception of the true Light. False conception; it's something that--that's supposed to look like It, but it isn't That.
126Now the only way they could tell the difference, because the very things that Jesus did proved Who He was, that He was the Light. They thought they was in the Light. But now if you just stop a minute and consider who is in the Light, then.
127Now, today! If such a rashel mistake was made by the churchmen of that day, such a rashel thing was did, brethren, don't you think that it's time that we stopped and considered what is Light? Let us not make such a rashel mistake. But you're doing it. You've already done it, see, and knew it not, same as they was then. Now stop just a minute and find out what the Word says for today.
128 If they'd a stopped and thought, "Here He is fulfilling, to the letter, exactly what the Word said He would do."
And He challenged them, as I'm challenging you! See? See? I'm challenging you to look in the Word, search the Scriptures, see if this isn't the hour. See? "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They that testify of Me." They are They that testify of this work today. The works itself testifies that it's being done, and the Scripture says it'll be done, so it's the Light of the hour. God's Word said so.
129 Your traditions and things is exactly what the Bible said, like those who wagged their heads and walked away. "All the tables become full of vomit," the Bible said. And that's where they were. They wouldn't believe it. They wagged their heads. And, gentlemen, do you realize? And, brethren, do you realize this, that, when you are rejecting the very thing that God is vindicating before you, that you're doing the same thing they did, going back to your traditional vomit?
130"As a dog goes to its vomit." If it made him sick the first time, it'll make him sick the second time. If the Catholic church, being organized and made the first organization, brought sickness to the church; so will Lutheran, Methodist, and all the rest of them, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostals. "A dog goes back to its vomit, and a sow goes back to her wallow." See? We're getting to that in a few minutes, the Lord willing.
131 Glare, walking in a glare, see, a mirage, a false conception of true Light. He proved that He was the Light.
Because, He, being in the... way in the minority, oh, my, millions against Him! There was not one sixth of the people, one ninetieth of the people, on the earth, ever knowed He was here. Not, I guess, one--one hundredth of the Jews, or hardly one fiftieth of them, or fortieth of them, I'll say, maybe less than that, of His Own country, ever knowed He was there. And them that did know He was there, considered Him a false something, because the denomination had told them that's what He was. See?
But yet He was the true Light that had been spoke since Genesis, in the beginning, and asked them to search the Scriptures and find out if He wasn't living just in that time; if He, the works that He did, didn't fulfill exactly what was promised of that time. Amen. Oh!
132What a serious thing it is, brother! We're living in a tremendous time.
133 He proved to be the right. He was the very Light that they claimed they were worshiping. They claimed to be worshiping that Light.
And so is it today. They claim they are worshiping That. Pentecostals claim it. They claim they are, and so blind they can't see it. Why? They organize, and, but a glare in their face. See? A tradition is what some people set together, and said, "We'll go and make this and this, and this and that." Now we're going to come to why that has to happen, the Lord willing.
134 Notice, His works was the living Word Itself. What He did was the living Word Itself, showing He was that Light that had been promised since the beginning of the world. He was that Light. His Light on the promised Word of the age made It live to exactly what the promise said It would do, but they had It so turned around until they couldn't see It. See? But He was the Light of that age.
135He was the Light that they claimed to be worshiping. They thought that they were worshiping the very God of creation. They was living in and worshiping a glare, and Jesus said, "You worship Me in vain, teaching for Doctrine their traditions of man, and not the Word." He is the Word, and He was the Word made manifest. They ought to have knowed it.
136 I hope that can break through, everywhere it's heard, see, that it is the Word made manifest. "Oh," say, "oh, we have the Word." Why, the Word, everybody pack a Bible, that wants to. But, when the Word is vindicated, made manifest!
Why, say, "Well, we believe!"
137Yes, sir, they believed, all the way along. So does Satan. Those Pharisees, who could condemn them, not believing? But they didn't believe the Word for the hour. They were worshiping the glare of something else.
It's the same thing they're doing today. See? They're keeping up Luther's predict-... traditions, or--or Wesley's traditions, and the rest of them, the Pentecostal tradition. But what of the hour?
The Pharisees was keeping up their traditions. But behind their traditions was the true Word of God coming to shine forth, and, when It did, It blinded their eyes. They couldn't see It because they was watching something else.
So is it today! May God let that soak in, till it really hits home to the people that should believe it. It's later than you think.
138 My son, Billy Paul, he talks in his sleep, but he doesn't have dreams very often. He had one the other night that shook him up. Said he dreamed he was in a church, and--and they... I hadn't come in yet.
Said, when I come in, fire was flying out of the eyes, and I said, "The time is here. It's over."
And everybody begin screaming, "I can't! My children!"
139And even my wife said, "I can't get Sarah to ask the blessing at the table, and so forth." And I said...
He said, "I've got to go get Loyce and--and the baby."
140I said, "Loyce can't come now. The baby is too young to know. Billy, the hour is here. We must go." I said, "It's midnight now. Before daylight, Jesus will be here. If it isn't, then I'm a false witness of Christ."
And somebody spoke up, said, "No man knows the minute or hour."
141"I never said minute or hour. I said, 'Sometime between now and daylight.'" And I said, "Let's--let's go."...?... I said, "But we're at the time. Let's go."
And we got in the car, and started, and we started up the mountain. And when we did, it was looked like the light was coming in the skies, but dark upon the earth. He said I pulled off the side of the road, and held my hands over like this, fire still flying from my eyes. And he said I said, "Lord, I have did this at Your command. I have did this just because that You told me to do it this a way. I have did these things according to what You've told me."
And I motioned to a big granite mountain; and a--a Light, without hands, cut a Stone out of the mountain, weighing hundreds of tons, and here It come. I said, "Turn your heads; don't look. It'll all be over just in a few minutes." Said, then a great holy hush come everywhere, as this Stone come towards the place.
142 It may be later than we think. There, see, that's exactly Scriptural, you see, "the Stone, without hands, cut out of mountain."
And so one of these days it's going to be that way, when you're going to scream for something. I said to them, "You've already had that time. God has constantly warned you, time after time. Yeah." I said, "Even if it's my own kid, or whoever it is, the hour is here. I can only say what He's told me to say, and it'll be there," and it was.
And--and then, all of a sudden [Brother Branham claps his hands together once--Ed.], here He come, "the Stone cut out of the mountain, without hands." Daniel saw that, you know, back many years ago. Billy knowed nothing about that, but it was a--it was a dream sent to him from the Lord.
143Now, see, they claim to be worshiping that very God that they were making fun of. And the same thing has reversed again today, by the same reason, living in a glare instead of the Light. Great Lights has a shine. All right.
144 Look what darkness we're in today! Look what's going on today! Look at murder, rape, strife! Why, it's come to pass. I believe it was Billy Graham said, in his last meeting, "In ten years from now, every citizen of California will have to pack a gun to protect themself. You can't put enough law enforcement." The people has just gone insane; shooting, murder, and rapes, everything, see. It's just gone wild, see, upon the streets. See, it's a--it's a day we're living in, a Sodomite day. See?
But there is a Light shining! If they'd only look, if they'd only see, look into the Word and see what's supposed to be in this hour, they would know what's trying to be done.
145Now, they claim they're worshiping that Light, so did they claim they was worshiping that Light, but they were worshiping in the glare of another light instead of the real. See? He was the Light.
146 Creeds and traditions, in their blinded condition, had turned them from the true Light of the promised Word. The Word that God had vindicated, by Jesus, the Light of the world, came and made that Word live right exactly through His time, exactly to the days. "He'll be cut off in the midst of the seventy weeks, that's right, which is the three and a half years of His prophecy. The Messiah would come, the Prince, and would prophesy, and three and a half days of this, then He would be cut off from the living, and make atonement." And that's exactly. He preached three and a half years. And their...
147And the very Psalm that David said, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The 22nd Psalm, "All My bones, they stare at Me. They wag their heads. They pass by Me." Eight hundred and fifty years, beforehand, when David sung that song in the Spirit, and it was considered prophecy, and given. They was singing them songs in the temple when the same Sacrifice was hanging on the cross, with His hands, and pierced. "And they pierced My hands and My feet." See? See there? Then, why? They were living in a glare. They didn't see the Light.
148 Could you imagine a sensible person doing that? No more than I can imagine a sensible person running down in the basement and get in the must, and pulling his doors together, and say, "I refuse to see there is light." It's insanity.
And his spiritual has slipped, somewhere, when a man sees that the Bible has promised this, and see it living right out before him and made manifest, and then continually stay in those creeds and things out there that reject It. It's a spiritual delinquency. That's exactly right.
149Here He was now. "He was--He was the Light of the world, and the world knew... He came to His Own; His Own knew Him not. He came into the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." See? "But as many as did know Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God, to them that believed on Him."
150 Remember, we cannot live by yesterday's light. Yesterday's light is gone. It isn't no more. It, yesterday's light, is only a memory. Yesterday's sunlight is only a memory, or, it's history. We cannot live in yesterday's light, no more. And the same, though it's the same sun, the same sun, but each day it brings forth its strength a little stronger, to ripen the grain for the harvest. See?
151The sun comes today, gets a little stronger. Each day now it'll get a little stronger, a little stronger, and till finally the wheat, that's laying there, it'll--it'll go taking life. After a while, the--the life will come up, then a little stronger, a little stronger. March, April, May, June, July, she is in the harvest then, you see. The same sun shining today, in--in January or December, that's up there bathing that snow and melting it down on that grain, bringing it water; it's the same sun, but that wheat could not live in that same sunlight in June. See, it can't do it. See, the sun comes a little stronger each day, and the grain should be a little more matured to receive the sunlight.
152That's what's the matter today. The grain that was sowed in the early fathers, back there in--in Luther and Wesley and them, it dwarfed; it can't take the Son. The Son kills it. It refused to grow. See? It cut it, it took itself from the stalk, like, and come over here and made itself an own little thing. It become a husk, then, and no Life in it. The grain should be maturing and getting stronger, as the Son becomes stronger each day.
153 Now let's watch a minute. We'll watch the church ages. There is seven church ages. And as those church ages, each one, watch how He spoke to them what would do, how the grain would mature and come down to this last hour here, this last hour that we're living in. So the churches must do the same thing, see, the churches.
154Now look, Luther sowed a grain, and Luther was a grain and he sowed it. All right. So was Wesley; and, also, so was Pentecostal; so was the Baptists, the Nazarenes. But, you see, now Luther would not go back and live in the light of the first denomination, Catholic. No, sir; he was another light. That was God ripening something. Now a little minority come out of that, that Lutheran revival.
155Then come along the Wesley revival, and then, in that, why, they couldn't go back and do the Lutherans. See?
And then along come the Pentecostals. And then the Pentecostals organized and done the same thing, taken the husk. Notice.
156 But the grain goes right on. Now we're in another age. Why won't they receive It? Why won't they see that the grain is matured? Here is the promised Word for this day. [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.] Why don't they see It? Because they're living in Lutheran glare, Wesleyan glare, Baptist glare, Pentecostal glare. They're living in the glare of another light. That's the reason they can't receive the Light of the total Word being a vindicated as God promised. Them Seven Seals, where the whole mystery was revealed, would come back and tell why these mysteries was done like that; and, yet, when that comes in, they walk farther away from It than ever. They're without excuse.
157God has done it through Spirit, through revelations. He's--He's proved it perfectly, by scientific and everything else, that it's the Truth, that it's the Truth. And still they want to live in a Pentecostal glare, "I am the Assemblies! I am the Oneness! I am the Church of God! I am this!" See, living in a glare of a age forty, fifty years ago. Living in a Lutheran glare. Living in a Wesley, a Baptist, a Presbyterian, or some Nazarene, glare of another church age that went on and organized and done the same thing, and refuse and reject the Light when It's actually shining.
158 And you're living in a mirage. I say that reverently, see, but you're; not to hurt you, but to wake you up. You're living in a mirage.
What if Jesus, said "Why, you're blind, and you're leading the blind"? They couldn't... He tried to tell them; and didn't do it. Said, "Let them alone. If the blind leads the blind, they'll all fall in the ditch." That's the hour I've come to! If they're going to stagger, I can't help it. Done all I can do. I've done exactly.
I've done this at Your command, Lord. You're a witness.
Since 1933, down on the river, when that Light there you see, shined down, It's been right here in the tabernacle and witnessed to you, all these years. And everything It said has come to pass. And continually they go on. "Let the blind lead the blind." I'll just wait for that hour; He'll arrive, one of these days.
159 Notice, living in a glare of Luther, living in a glare of Wesley, living in them glares back there, that's the reason they can't see true Light. If they would stop for a few minutes, and just pick up the Bible and read It, they would see that the... this is Light promised for the hour.
160Now we're going to take some of these things in a minute. He promised, according to Malachi 4, these things would happen. He promised, all through the Scriptures, they would happen. See?
161Notice Israel also, our type, in the journey. Look, eating manna, which was their Light, Life, that give them strength, Life. Is that right? [The congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Israel could not eat manna that was yesterday had fell on them. It was contaminated. It was rotten. It was no good for them. They would die, over it. The manna that kept them alive yesterday would kill them today. The Bible said it got germs in it, contaminated. And the manna, they had to get new manna every day. Amen.
And what is it? The people that live on manna of Luther, Wesley, and them back in there, you are eating contaminated stuff that's killing you, spiritually. It's killing you, dead in your traditions.
162 Yesterday's, Luther's manna, would not work for Methodist. Methodist manna would not work for Pentecost. Pentecostal manna will not work for today. See what I mean? Every day it come, day by day, fresh, and so has It through the church ages.
Luther's manna was the message of justification. Wesley's message was the manifestation of sanctification. Pentecostal was the restoration of the gifts. But this is introducing the Headstone, the last day, the Bride Tree, which is contrary to all of it, and yet It's the same Light for the matured.
Like the same sun, shine today, will be ripening the grain for the harvest in July. See what I mean? But the light today won't do any good back there in July. It's stronger. The wheat is more advanced; it's ready to take it. Amen. Certainly is. They couldn't take it now; it can then. The season wasn't right, then; it is now.
163You can't go against God's nature. He's got a law, and, to contrary that law, kills your plant. You've got to go according to God's spoken laws, and His laws is His Word. Any law is a word spoken. And a word is a thought manifested. See? Now we--we know that that's true.
164A vision is what? The Word of God, or something foretold, or a forecast of a event. And a vision that the prophets had, and Jesus had, Paul had, and all of them, and tell of this day, was a forecast of what would happen. And here we see the forecast being made manifest, and people don't even recognize it. See what I mean? Now, yesterday's manna...
165 Look here. Did you ever notice, the sun, s-u-n, has traveled, East to the West, as it's went each time. Did you notice that? And, notice, the church ages did the same thing. What? The sun, s-o... s-u-n, started in the East. And civilization has traveled with the sun, God's spoken light for them to live in. They've come on, following the sun, see where it was going.
166Life itself, when you are born, is like a sun. You go on, right on to the setting of the sun, from your birth to the setting of the sun.
167Man has traveled westward, always. The oldest civilization we have is China, in the eastern countries. Jerusalem... And, notice, she keeps traveling westward as it goes, and as it goes on and on, to the West.
168 So has the church age traveled the same way, by the S-o-n of God. Look, Paul, the early church, started in the East; it went from there, jumped across the--the--the--the sea, over into Germany. It's made three pulls. Look here. From Asia, down in--in Palestine, it jumped across the ocean to Germany; that was Luther. And it jumped from Luther, across the English Channel, over into England; by Wesley. And from Wesley, she's jumped to the West Coast, to the United States. And this, if you go any further, it's coming back East again. This is the evening time.
169Look how the church ages has fought. Luther... Paul, first, back in the early age; then come down to Iren-... to Irenaeus, and so forth; on down into France; from there, over into Germany; over into England; constantly going West.
And now we can't go no farther. This is the last age. And what does the Bible say about this last age? See, geographically, chronologists, and almost any way you want to take it. Scripturally, first; Scripture, of course, first. Evidence, historically, any way you want to take it, we're at the end, the last church age.
170 And, watch, as it went forward it grew stronger and stronger. And so has the real, little minority of the Church growed from justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, and now to the coming Capstone, shaping itself up. No more organizations after this. There won't be no more. See, can't be, see, we're on the West.
171Just to show you, through all types and everything else. And look at those three jumps, three pulls. We'll get into that tonight, see, see, how we're at the end time. It's just...
172The s-u-n has traveled like S-o-n; S-o-n like s-u-n. The church has come the same thing, from the Seven Church Ages, and so forth. Civilization has moved right on to the West, and the Church has moved right on to the West. And now if we go any further than what we are now, we come back East again. You leave the West Coast, you go right back into China, Japan, right back in again. Seven thousand miles across, you go right back to the East again. So, East and West has met, that's all of it. We're at the end. There is nothing left.
173 And the same thing has happened, today, that happened back there. The same thing has met at the West that was met at the East. The people living in a glare of another light that was absolutely trying to show forth the Light was to come, and reject It, because they got the glare instead of the Light. Oh! "And there was great Light in the land of the Gentiles; Zabulon, Nephthalim; of Galilee,... in Galilee, land of the Gentiles."
174This is the seventh church age. Remember, and each time that that sun begin to shine in the East, is the same sun that shines in the West. And the same Spirit that's been all down through the ages, like that, is the same Son today. Only, what is it? Just like ripening, the season. The sun that's now, will be the same sun that ripens the grain this fall, this autumn, see, but (what is it?) it's this sun plus what it will be. And today, in this last age, is what they were, plus This.
And yet they want to live back there, as a dwarf, go down into a musty, old internom-... old nominational basement and creed, and pull their blinds down, say, "I just refuse to see It. It's all nonsense." And when the very Bible, that they claim to believe, is being identified by the same Holy Spirit bringing Light in the last days!
175 Did you notice? And watch real close there in Malachi, how he lotted that, "The Faith of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers." See, the same Spirit where It raised back yonder, where It raises here again, the same thing. See, just vice versa, exactly, setting right back again. Cause, why? East and West has met. Just exactly right under our face, and yet they don't see it. Why? No wonder Jesus said, "Just let them alone, then. They're blind, lead the blind, they'll all fall in the ditch."
176The light of other ages only reflected this Light. See? The sun today only reflects, is the reflection of the sun that will be this July or August, if God... for the harvest. And the Son, of Luther, Martin Luther, and Wesley, and Sankey, Finney, Knox, Calvin, Moody, all them others, them great man back in there that had those light; and John Smith of the Baptist church, and Alexander Campbell, the Campbellite church, and the so-called Disciples of Christ, Christian Church, and whatevermore names they got for them. All them man back there, in their ages, was only reflecting what It will be here at the end.
177 And then here, the children, immediately after them founders, what do they do? They didn't stay on the stalk. They pulled away from It and made themself a little husk thing out here. Which, you get away from the real source of Life, you have no Life. You take a husk off the thing, and plant it out here in the ground, it'll lay down and rot. And so are you, trying to eat rotten manna from back in them days.
The harvest is ripe! Jesus has a table spread, where the saints of God are fed on ripened Food of the day, by the Gospel Light that vindicates and proves that He is here today. Amen. The saints eat the Bread.
178Just think. The old husk of yesterday, see, don't plant it back there. It's rotten. It cannot, it cannot stay with it. No, sir. It will not do no good. It won't grow. It's off of the Life; and the Word is the Life. That's right. The husk drops off, the little old beard falls away, and things like that. It just denominates itself and drops off. It refuses to go on with the Life.
But the Light vindicates It. Oh, my! Yes, sir.
179 Yesterday's, oh, my, how we ought to see that! See, that, the rotten things of yesterday, don't eat them today. See? It's got worms in it. You know these little wiggletails that I call them? I don't know. I--I don't know much about germ life, but I know we always called them wiggletails. It gets in anything when it gets a little rotten. See? I don't want it then. If you're satisfied with it, go ahead, but not me. But remember...
You say, "Then why was it good yesterday?"
180If you only knew that the very little hull that was on the wheat at the beginning, if it's abides in the grain, it makes the grain further. That's the very thing that makes the wheat flower, is what was yesterday; but if it separates itself from the grain, and it don't mature, then it goes away. See? But if it goes through the process, of life-giving process, as it dies out it just blends into something else and makes the grain. If it isn't, where does it come from? Amen. You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
181 Like the Queen of England, once, she went to a great paper company, and she said she would like to see through the paper mills. So they showed her the paper mills, many years ago before they went to making it into pulp and stuff, so they find... making papers out of it. So they, well, after a while, she come into a room that it was nothing but a big old pile of dirty rags, and she said, "Where did this come from? What's this? Oh," she said.
The--the--the president of the plant said, "This is--is what we'll make the paper out of, these dirty rags."
She said, "That, make paper?"
"Yes." So she couldn't hardly believe it.
182So after she was gone, the man took the same dirty pile of rags, and run them through a certain process, and brought them out a clean, pure paper, you know, had been went through a process and made real... And put her profile in it, and sent it to her, reflecting herself in this what she called "dirty rags."
183 Now that's what it is. The dead things of yesterday, the message of Luther, the message of Wesley, the message of Pentecost, if it can only go through the process of God's Holy Spirit and the Word of a vindication, it'll bring forth the reflection of the Jesus Christ, the King. Amen. But if you leave it lay, it's dirty rags. See?
184It's got to be molded into something else. Luther has got to be molded into Wesley, and Wesley has got to be molded into Pentecost, and Pentecost has got to be molded into Christ. It goes through a process. So has the Gospel gone through a process. It's processing. Luther's age, of justification, we believe that; Wesley's, of sanctification, we believe that; the Pentecostal's, of the restoration of the gifts, for the Holy Ghost, we believe that, certainly. But, mold it all together, what do you come out with? Jesus, right, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Oh! It'll come out with Jesus.
185 When a man in a foundry is making a bell, he's got a certain tone he has to put in it. When he is setting his mold and pouring his iron, he puts in so much brass, so much steel, so much copper. Why? He knows just exactly how much to put in, to make, give it the right tone.
And that's what Jesus has done by His Bride. He had to put so much Luther, so much Methodist, and so much Presbyterian, so much Pentecost, in it. But what does He come out with? His Own reflection.
What is it? Just like pyramid Message, you see, it's heaping right up, this, come into the minority, with the Headstone. The ministry of Jesus Christ, on earth, has to be the same as the ministry He had, or He can't come to it. Just like the head, to the feet. The head... Feet is not the head, but the head packs the feet, or makes the feet, tells it where to go. You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Beautifully, it's the Light of the hour.
186Wesley was a great Light. Like He said to John the Baptist, "He was a great Light for his hour." Sure, he was.
187 No. Yes, sir, the clean rags... Or, the dirty rags of yesterday, if you remain that way, it's got... it'll just become dirty rags all the time. It served it's purpose, as clothing, but now it's become paper.
Justification served its time, in justification under Luther, then it had to become sanctification through Wesley. And sanctification served its time, till it become the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the baptism of the Holy Ghost served its time; until the Holy Spirit (which, there's only one God) blends into the Church, and the Church into Christ, and it makes Jesus Christ reflected on the earth, what He promised here in the Bible. Might not believe it; I can't make you do that. I'm only responsible for the Word. See? That's right.
188 So you see it? Do you see that? If you do, it'll be like the--the man one time went to... during, went over to Wales, during the time of the Welsh revival. A bunch of man went from the United States. So they goes down, and they said they wanted to find out what building they was holding this Welsh revival in. Many of you remember the Welsh revival, great revival broke out amongst the--the Welsh people in Wales. So these man, these great big ministers, and so forth, went from the United States, they doctors of divinity. They wanted to go over and see what great thing they had done, you know.
So they was walking down the street, and they said... met a little old policeman standing on the corner, whirling his club around, you know, and whistling a--a hymn, like that. They said, "Well, he is just whistling a hymn. We might go up, and see him, see what he's going to do. Why, ask him a question."
So they went up to him, and said, "Sir, where is the Welsh revival at?"
189He tipped off his hat; he said, "Sirs, the Welsh revival is held in here," in his heart. Oh, that's it, he was the Welsh revival.
O God, if we can only--only understand that we are the reflection of Jesus Christ, His Word made manifest. You are the reflection of His Word. See?
"Where is the Welsh revival held? What building is it in?"
He said, "Sir, it's in my heart." He was the Welsh revival. That's right.
190And today the Church ought to be Jesus Christ in action upon the earth. "Because I live, you live also; and My Life will be in you. The works that I do, you'll do also." See? The Church has got to get to that place, too. And He promised it would do it, and it will. It's got to come that way. So, you see, that's what takes place. We, we got to be that way.
He is the Light.
191 So was Noah the Light in his day. He was the Light. Noah was that Light. He was the Light to what? To make God's Word, "I will destroy man upon the earth, that I've created. Build an ark, and all desires to come into it will be saved."
Noah walked out there, said, "There is one way, and that's the ark."
192They said, "The old crazy fanatic." He was the Word made manifest. Noah was the Light of the hour, sure was. His day, his age, he sprung forth the Light.
193Moses was the Light of his hour. "I'll surely visit you," God said to Abraham. "And I'll come down, and I'll take out My people, with a strong hand, and I'll show My power in Egypt."
And when Moses up there met that burning bush up there, and found out the I AM was in that bush, Moses went down there, and he was the Light. Amen. No wonder he could take some dust, and blow it up and say, "Let there come fleas upon the earth." He had the Word of God. What happened? The dust begin to blow, and the fleas begin to come into existence. Hallelujah! Why? He was a manifestation of the Light of God's Word, "I'll plague Egypt." He was a prophet. What he said come to pass. He was the Light of that day. He was God's Light.
194 Pharaoh might have had everything he wanted to have, and the rest of them, all the priest had what they wanted, but Moses was the Light. Why? He was showing forth God's Word, manifested. God promised, "I'll bring them out, under a strong hand, and I'll get Myself glory." That's what He was doing.
That's the reason Moses proved that he could create. Not because he wanted to create; because God told him to. "And with that, 'Go to the congregation, say, "Tomorrow..."' The Lord God had just spoke to me, 'Take a handful of dust and throw it up in a sky, like this, and call for it.' There is none here, but it'll be there." Amen!
Oh, I hope you're not asleep. Oh! [Brother Branham claps his hands together once--Ed.] Manifestation!
195He said, "I am sent. God did say to our fathers, surely He would visit us down here and take us out. I've come to prove to you the hour is at hand. Get rid of what you got. Let's go!" Yes.
196Some of them said, "Well, I believe..."Dathan said, "I don't think there's any hurry. We shouldn't be all excited about this." And looked like it failed, four or five times. But, just the same, it moved on.
197They thought. They come out and said, "We'll stone this Moses! Get him away from us! We don't want him in our--our group here."
Moses just moved right on, anyhow, because he was the Life, he was the Light of the hour. What he had, what was it? God manifesting His promised Word through Moses, and Moses was the Light.
198 Elijah was the Light. "Go out there and set on that hill! I've commanded the ravens to feed you." Amen! Yes, sir.
199He come back down with THUS SAITH THE LORD. "Not even dew will fall from Heaven till I call for it." Amen! "Sun might shine, you might call for all the clouds, and do anything you want to, but not even dew will come till I call for it." What was he? The Light! Hallelujah! He was the Light. The Light! He was the Word of God made manifest.
200They thought he was crazy, setting up there. He had porters feeding him; and them starving to death. They wanted to live in their traditions;. go ahead. Not Moses, or not Elijah, he was living right in the Light. Setting up there by the brook, Cherith, and just having a good time; having meals, and somebody to take care of him, and everything. They thought he was crazy, but he was--he was the Light.
201 They say, "Hey, what become of that old holy-roller we had around here? Well, you know what? Somebody was hunting the other day, and said they seen him setting up there by the way, way up on top of that mountain there. I bet that old feller is about dried up, by this time." Oh, no. He was the Light. He was the Light. He was the Light of God, in his day.
202John, when he came to the earth, and went out in the wilderness to get his education from God, not the seminary. He had to introduce the Messiah. So when he come forth, Jesus said, "He was a bright and shining Light." Hallelujah! Why? He was the Word manifested.
Isaiah said so. That's it. That's right. "He'd send forth a voice in the wilderness, crying, saying, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, and make straight His gate, make straight the way.' He would cry, one... voice of one crying in the wilderness." Here he come forth. What was he? "The voice of one crying in the wilderness."
What was he? Manifestation of the Word, Light. Same God that spoke in Genesis; that spoke this, and here come the Light. As He said, "Let there be light, for the sun," the sun come in existence; say He said there'd be "a voice of one crying in the wilderness," here it come forth. It was the Light of the hour.
203 He also said, in the last days! Amen! It's the Light of the hour, crying in the wilderness of Babylon, "Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins. Touch not her unclean thing! Get away from it! Flee from the wrath that is to come!"
204John said the same thing. "The axe is laid to the root of the tree." Didn't have an education, didn't talk like even a preacher. He talked about serpents, and sticks, and trees, and axes, and things, what he was used to, in the wilderness. He wasn't raised up in some of this great, big, fine stuff they have today, like they had in that day. He come out with his own language. He didn't stand and say, "Ah-man," and make all these fancy bows. He come right out, out on the wilderness, raw and rough. Said, "Don't you begin to think that, 'I belong to this and I belong to that.' God is able of these stones to rise children to Abraham."
205 Don't you think because you're Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, that you have any hold on God. God is able to take bootleggers and harlots out of the street, make sons of God out of them. Somebody is going to hear It, and somebody is going to believe It.
206He said, also, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree. And every tree that don't believe, is hewed down and cast into the fire." So that was his message. He was the Light of the day.
207Jesus said, "He was a bright and shining Light, and you for a little while desired to walk into it."
208And what did John say, the prophet? "He is standing among you right now. I'm not worthy to loose His shoes. And as soon as He comes on the scene, I'm going off." Oh, my! For, He was the Light.
There is no two or three Lights, no four or five different organizations. There was one Light. There is not Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian. Christ is the Light, and the Light is the Life. And the Word manifested is the Light of the hour.
209 "Let there be light, and there was light." Yes, sir. "Let there be Light," and there is Light! He spoke there would be Light in this day, and there is Light. He is coming. I believe it. Look to the promises of this age. Oh, my!
210Every Light that's ever shined, these church ages, we see how they... It--it's been a pitiful sight to see, rejecting. Revelation 3, I have got wrote down here, Revelation 3, and I know what--what I was referring to then.
211Look to the promise of this hour, what we're living in; a rejected Light. What did they? They rejected It back there. Why? They was living in a glare. What are they doing today? Same thing.
212Well, are--are you a Christian? "I'm a Lutheran. I'm a Baptist. I'm Presbyterian."
That don't mean one thing. Just might say you was a "hog, pig," or anything else you want to call yourself. See? That, that's about how much it means. Now no--no disregards to you, but if you're taking it to its fundamental part, that's right.
I asked the question, "A Christian?" That's Christ in you. And if Christ is in you, then the Word is in you. And then if the Word is in you, when the Light is shining, how you going to walk out of It? See, that's the question. That's what's in now, the Light. The evening Light's a-shining. The Bride Tree is blooming.
213 Oh, remember, they pruned that old Tree. "And what the cankerworm left, the palm--palmworm eat; and what the palmworm left, the caterpillar eaten." What the Methodist left, the Baptist eat; and what the Baptist left, the Pentecostal eaten. He said, "This Tree was," Joel there, "was cut all down to a stump," but he wanted to know if it would live again. Oh, yeah! He reserved that tree. He reserved that Tree, yes, sir, for it was His Bride.
And He said, "I will restore, saith the Lord." What is it? "I'll bring it forth, all that the Lutheran eat, and the Wesleyan eat, and all them. And I will restore it, 'cause it's all still in the root of the Tree." See?
It's laying yonder in the ground. Just like the sap that went down, as I said about the sister, it's laying there. And the trumpet of God shall sound, someday, and them elected Lutheran, Methodists, Baptists, that had nothing to do with any organization...
214 Luther never organized nothing. Moody never organized nothing. It was that group of Rickey's, after him, is what done the organization, took the husk. John Smith organized nothing. None of the rest of them organized; it was the Light of the hour. Luther, Wesley, or none of the rest of them; it was that group afterwards, come by, that made the organization.
215The Holy Ghost never organized nothing in pentecost. Pentecost is an experience, not a denomination. It never organized nothing. Oh, no. But the man who claim to be pentecost, organized it. That's the husk yonder, dying. Instead of pressing it into the paper, and make the full image of Jesus Christ come forth; no, they pulled themselves out, so they're nothing to do into It. Just let them alone.
216 But we find out now, this Light, this Tree, Christ, rejected again by the church. Why? For the same cause they did it at first, the old false glares of lights of other days. And "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8 says He is. He's the same today as He was then, because He does the same thing that He did. The same Word, that Christ.
217Listen, I want to just take you now, and let this be personal. I don't know, I'm a little decided whether to turn that off now or not, see, for that tape. I'll just let it stay there. See? [Congregation rejoices--Ed.]
218I want to ask you something. Look, watch this. See, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Watch. His works, that He did, manifest itself. Now listen close. When He stood there, in John 14:12, He said, "The works that I do shall you do also. Greater than this shall you do, for I go unto My Father." Now, He said it. "Heavens and earth will pass away, but that Word will never fail." Now if we're at the last end of the age, where is them "greater works" going to come? See? See? We're here. We haven't got...
219 Listen, if the Roman calendar is right, we got -six... we got thirty-six years left. Every two thousand years, the world meets her end. First two thousand years, destroyed by water; second two thousand years, Christ come. This is 1964 coming up; thirty-six years. Now, the Egyptian astronomy calendar says we're seventeen years out, "it's seventeen years advanced from that," that would leave nineteen years left.
Jesus said, "The work will be cut short, for the Elected sake, or there'd be no flesh saved." Where are we at?
220 "The works that I do shall you also. Same kind, but greater, shall you do." Now watch. Listen close. Get on your... I pray that God will open your heart and your mind, to understanding, so that you'll understand without saying it's too much here. Notice. He said one day...
Let's see some of the "great" work He done. Let's just stop for just a couple things. Let's think.
One time, He said, "You feed them something to eat."
They said, "We have nothing."
Said, "What have you got? Bring Me what you've got."
And they said, "We have five barley loaves and two fishes."
He said "Bring them to Me."
221And He took the original five barley loaves and begin to break the loaves. And, from the original, He made bread. It fed five thousand. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Then He said, and He got a fish, "Hand Me the fish." It was a fish, to begin with. And He took off, that fish, another fish and another fish, and fed five thousand. Is that right? ["Amen."]
But in the last days He had nothing. He just spoke, and said, "Say it'll be there," and it was there, without anything in it. He never had a squirrel; there was none there. He just said, "Let there be," and there was. See? Oh, His Word is infallible, and It has to be fulfilled.
222I could tell you things that would shake you. See? It's there when He says it's there. Let Him say it. See, just exactly.
223 See, the East, the West here has come back and met the East. It was Moses, even picked up sand, and said, "Let there be fleas," and so forth like that, "upon the earth." But in this last day He doesn't take anything; see, just the Word. "Let it be," and it is. What is said, that's the way it'll be.
I want to testify of some of those things tonight, see, see, of what's happened, that you can see He is still God. His Words cannot...
"These works that I do shall you also, and greater than this shall you do. I took a fish to make a fish; you don't even have to have a fish." See? He is still God, is still the same Son. The same Son of God that took a fish off of a fish, it's the same Son of God today. "These works that I do shall you also. Even greater than this will you do." It'll be magnified, "Greater than this shall you do." And people refuse to see it. Huh! "Greater works!"
224 A false light. You know, I was just thinking of something. I was referring a lot about England, but I was thinking about a false light. Here not long ago, you all remember that greatest robbery that--that England ever had, that was done. It was a seven-million-dollar holdup. I don't think there's ever been anything in the world to compare with it. A great holdup, recently, of seven million dollars, even Scotland Yards can't get it figured out.
You know how they done it? By a false light. They put a light on the railroad track, caution, on down till it come to a red light, and stopped them. And there the robbery taken place, just at the right place. A false light gave the greatest robbery that the nations has ever knowed. It robbed the nations. Of the greatest hold-up, greatest robbery, it was done by a false light.
225 And the greatest robbery the church of God has ever had is a false light, a glare, their denomination. It's robbed them from the power of the Holy Ghost. It's took from the church the very Life-line. It's robbed them of the Word, when they accepted a creed instead of the Word. It's robbed them.
Oh, they claim to have the Word. The Word lives Itself out for the age; It makes Itself known. They claim they had the Word, too, back there in the days of Jesus. But It said, "They saw a great Light," and they rejected It. They saw It, but rejected It.
226Oh, false light, yes, it's cost the church the greatest robbery it ever had. Cold denominational creeds, brother, won't ripen a vindicated Word, a grain. The Bible said, Jesus said, "The Word of God is a--a Seed that a sower sowed." See? And cold creeds won't ripen that Word. No, no!
Cold blizzardy days won't ripen the wheat. No, indeedy! It takes the warmth of the sunlight, because it was God's spoken Word to do such a thing with.
And it'll take the Word spoken of God, today, to show the saints of God that Jesus Christ lives. Just the same as He was yesterday, He is today. Creeds and denominations will never do it. They're cold and indifference, and the grain will rot right in the ground. It can't come forth under that.
227 That's the reason, today, we have what we do. Like our precious Brother Billy Graham, the great revivalist. I think God is using the man. But look what he does; goes out there amongst them Baptists and Presbyterian. What you do? Get a bunch of church joiners.
228See where the Southern Baptists is crowing down there because they had the most, denominations, their denomination growed more than any other Protestants? The Catholics took them all, nearly, last year. You see it in the paper? It sure did. Don't worry, it's going to take them all, 'cause it takes Baptists and all, right together. And they're all the one, and don't know it.
The council of church, Council of Churches, puts them all just the same thing. Denomination put... Why, why will you want to stay over here or over here? As long as you're rejecting This, what difference does it make? Aren't you using the same denominational tags, just the same as you are at one place? One, the beast; and the other one, the mark. So, there you are, so just doesn't make any difference.
229 It's where he's been. He stomped his seal of approval, and there you take it. And there she all led, right straight to the White House, and to Washington, D.C., and--and the Council of Churches, and there you go. The clergymen taken them right on back, exactly what the Bible said they would do. [Brother Branham knocks six times on the pulpit--Ed.]
My, wish that clock didn't go so fast! [Congregation says, "Take your time."--Ed.]
230Now, just think now where we're at. Look at the promises for the day, rejected again. How the churches has done in this last day, the denomination glare!
231Living in the false glare is the reason that It won't ripe. That's the reason that, this Word, you don't see the miracles.
232 A priest interviewed me, not long ago, and he said, "Mister Branham," he said, "how'd you baptize?" A--a certain girl that come out of this church; and had backslid and married a Catholic boy, and went into the Catholic church. And he was going to take her into the church.
233I said, "I baptized her in Christian baptism."
He said, "The bishop wants to know."
I said, "All right, there it is."
Said, "Do you swear to this?"
234I said, "I don't swear at all." And he said... "Yeah," said, "if he can't take my word for it, well, that's all right. Cause, I don't swear. The Bible said, 'Don't swear by heavens; it's God's throne; the earth is His footstool. Let your yes be "yes," and no, "no."'" I said, "He'll have to take my word for it."
Said, "Well, you--you said 'Christian baptism,' what do you mean, by--by 'immersing'?"
235I said, "That's the only way Christian baptism is performed." I said, "I baptized her in the Ohio river; took her under the water, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and brought her up. I baptized her in the 'Name of the Lord Jesus Christ,' which is the only Christian baptism there is."
Said, "Yes, sir." He put it down like that. And he said, "Strange!" Said, "You know, the Catholic church used to baptize that way."
I said, "When?"
And he said. Went ahead, and the discussion went on for a while. And he said, "Well, we are the original Catholic."
236 Knowing, there laid right there the--the books, you know, and the history on it, I said, "That's true, but," I said, "why don't you do it today?"
He said, "We have power to remit sins." Said, "Jesus, didn't He tell His disciples, 'Whosoever's sins you remitted, to them they're remitted; and whosoever's sins you retain, to them they're retained'?"
I said, "Yes, sir. He did."
He said, "Then don't that give the church the authority? Peter was the head of the church."
237I said, "If the church will remit sins the way Peter did it." I said, "Now, when they ask, 'What must we do to be saved?' He said, 'Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.'" I said, "You do that, and I'll go with you."
"Oh," he said, "you're trying to plead a Bible."
I said, "That's the Word."
He said, "God is in His church."
I said, "God is in His Word. 'Every man, other men's words, is a lie; His is the Truth.'" See?
238 So there's no way he could see. But there--there they go, right on in darkness. And the Protestants, by the thousands, falling into it. Here they are, right down to adopting their creeds and things, going right on within. The Word coming right out, proving it, Jesus Christ manifesting Himself, "same yesterday, today, and forever." In that creed glare, they move right on out into darkness. Just like they did in Noah's time, just like they did in all times, they do it again today, right out in darkness! Why? They reject the Light because the creed has blinded them.
239Oh, what a darkened hour that we are in now! Uh-huh! Yeah, they reject Christ's true Eternal Light, and that's what does it.
240 Cold denominations can never bring Life to the Word of God, because it brings life to their denomination. We've got more professed Christians right now... Looky here, if the Christian...
I asked this priest this. "If the... I'll go with you, that the catholic Church was, at the beginning, at Pentecost," not at Nicaea, Rome. The Church never did begin at Nicaea, Rome. It begin at Pentecost. See? At Jerusalem is where the Church begin. But I said...
241 Here, I'll admit that these people, them slaves and things, that got the Holy Ghost, they's masters seen their powers and things, what they were doing; raising the dead, speaking in tongues, casting out devils, foretelling things. And prophets among them, and so forth, come out with sheepskins around them; eating herbs, coming to that Nicaea Council, and so forth, and how great man! And there they come out of there, and come up there to that Nicaea Council, standing for that Word.
But, that bloody fifteen days, they accepted "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" as a creed, instead of the Bible doctrine, "in the Name of Jesus Christ." Through that come all the Protestant churches, born right into it, the same thing, all these other things. The false conception of the Holy Ghost; they took, take the communion, drink the wine, "That is the holy eucharist, which means, 'Holy Ghost.'" The priest gives it to you.
242 Now, the Bible don't read, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, here come a priest up the road, collar turned around, said, 'Lick out your tongue and take the holy eucharist.'" No, It didn't say, "All you people run up here and give me the righthand of fellowship, you Baptists, Methodists, and Baptists, I'll put your name. Bring a letter from somewhere."
243He said, "They were all in one place, in one accord. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the room where they were setting. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there..." Out into the street they went, staggering like drunk man, Mary and all the rest of them, under the impact of the Holy Ghost.
Why, the people said, laughed at them, and said, "These man are full of new wine." What was they? Blinded by a creed.
244 That little two-by-four preacher stood up there, named Peter, and he said, "You man of Judaea and you that dwell... you man of Jerusalem, that dwell in Judaea, let this be known to you, and hearken to my words. These are not drunk. But let me tell you what the Scripture said it'll be. This is the Light. This is the Word being manifested." Amen.
Same thing happens today, and they do like they did then, walked away and shake their heads. Said, "Let them alone; blind leads the blind, they all fall in the ditch."
245 Oh, it takes Christ, Eternal Life, to bring the Word of Life to the vindication, made flesh. Oh, my, goodness! Takes the Word... takes the Holy Ghost to operate the Word of God.
246When Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." Now look, Mark 16, His last commission. "All the world, all the world," it never has got there yet, see. "All the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth," in all the world, "and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe."
"They'll shake hands with the preach-..."? No. "They'll be good church member"? No.
"In My Name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; or, drink deadly things, it won't harm them; if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Oh, my!
247How far? "Every creature." How much? "All the world," till He comes again. "These signs shall..." "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also. Even greater then this will he do, for I go to My Father."
248 Oh, how we can walk away from That is more than I can say! We are in more darkness now than they were. Now just got a couple more verses here, then I want to get to the end as quick as poss-... We're in more darkness than they was.
I know I wear you out here, for about an hour and a half. [Congregation says, "No!"--Ed.] But, see, this tape is a-going on in there. See? See?
249They are in more darkness than we are. I made the statement, that. Why? The churches, in this glare, is so deceiving, it looks like it's the Truth. Now, didn't Jesus say? Let's see Matthew 24, see. Matthew 24, Jesus said that, "In the last days, the two spirits will be so close till it would deceive the very Elected if it was possible." There would be an elected group come out to make the Church, in the last days. And these organizations, with what they call their Truth, would be so close like the real Thing, that it would deceive the very Elected, even Pentecostals.
250 Now, you know you ain't going to take a Pentecostal and deceive him with some Methodist or Baptist doctrine. You ain't going to tell him that. He knows better. And you ain't going to deceive some Baptist with a Lutheran doctrine, either. See?
And neither are you going to receive the Message, to see the Message now in this Word, by some Pentecostal doctrine, a false "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," and all this stuff like that, and back there in them creeds that they have in that organization setup. No, indeedy. You'll never deceive them, because the Elected won't be deceived.
251What is it? What is it? Deceiving. These glares, what they doing? They are leading the church to the council slaughter, by their glare. That will be the final slaughter, when her and Rome connects together. When they form that image of the beast, that's the final slaughter. And these glares that you got now, look what it's doing, leading the people. It's a goat.
252 A goat always leads the sheep to the slaughter. You've seen that in slaughter pens. That goat will run right up there and lead the sheep, then he'll jump out and let the sheep go on in. That's what he does. He always does.
It was the goats that led Jesus, the Lamb, to the slaughter. The Roman goats! That's right.
It's the--it's the denominational goats today that's leading the innocent sheep to the slaughter. Put their self, their names on them books yonder, and they are finished. That is the mark of the beast. In the Name of the Lord, I speak. Held that for a long time. That's true. That's exactly. What is the beast? What is the beast? It's the Roman hierarchy, the first organization. What is the mark of it? The same thing, exactly, the same thing exactly as that was. The slaughter, to the glare!
253But in the face of the present darkness, we still have seen the Light of God shine through. How thankful we are for that!
254Listen close. We have seen the Light, His Word that He promised for this day, proven and vindicated. It's the Truth, the Light of the hour. Oh, my! I'm so glad. There is nothing wrong. There is nothing.
255 Here not long ago a minister was saying that he was down in Florida, and he had him a--a car, I believe it was a Chevrolet, and the thing went out on him. He couldn't get it fixed. And he went into the garage, and a little old mechanic was going under it and over it, and pecking around; he couldn't get it fixed. And he--he would try this, and it wouldn't work. And he'd try something else; it wouldn't work. He'd put on a generator, put on this, and put in plugs, put in points; he couldn't make the thing work. He just couldn't make it work.
Finally, a nice-dressed man stepped up. He said, "May I give you some advice?"
256The little mechanic had sense enough to say, "Yes, sir."
He said, "You take this, and times this and this, and," he said, "put that together once and try it." And he took this times that, and put it together, and there she went.
257The little mechanic turned around, and said, "Say, who are you?" He was the engineer, General Motors' chief engineer. He made the thing. He was the one designed it.
258 And, today, when we're talking about Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian. The Chief Mechanic is here; the Designer of His Word, the Man Who created the heavens and earth, and designed His Church! Does He know more about what it takes for the Rapture, or does the Methodist or Baptist church know more about what it takes? He is the Designer. He knows what it takes. He is well dressed in the Power of His resurrection. Hallelujah! He is walking among us, today, in the Power of His resurrection.
He knows what it takes to put a Church in Rapture order. He designed It, and put the parts together here in the Bible. Amen! Just let the Current flow through It, now watch It operate. Let faith, in His promised Word of today, flow through, you'll see how It operates. Why? He designed the thing. He designed His Church by the Word. That's what He puts together. Not by Methodist, or Baptist, or Presbyterian, or Pentecostal organization; but by His Word. "Man shall live not by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Yes, sir.
259 Get out of them glares, in the midst of darkness, this dark time that we're living in now. (Just got about five minutes more left.) In the midst of darkness, who is going to bring the little Bride out? Who knows about It? The Chief Designer. Oh, yeah. From all this confusion of glare!
Here, the Methodist glaring one way, the Baptist another, and the Presbyterian another, and the Pentecostals another, all this glares around. They run, put their name over here, in this glare here; come to find out, something there. And come over here; and something there. Come over here...
260Like I said to that priest, "If you all are the original church, and you went after the doctrine of these men set together at Nicaea, why is it you haven't got the power that they had back there in the beginning then? See? Why don't you do the things that they did, which Jesus said?"
Said, "Oh, we are more people now. We, we live in a different age."
261I said, "But the Word doesn't change. He said, 'These signs shall follow them to all the ages. Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never.' That's it."
He said, "Well, you're talking about a Bible."
262I said, "Yes, the Word, which is Christ." That's right. And so there you are. See?
263 And in this glare, the Methodist showing theirs, the Baptist showing theirs, the Presbyterian theirs, each one growing bigger and bigger, all the time.
The poor little Bride, where is She at? She run over here at the Pentecostal Oneness, a while; She put Her name on there, and She say, well... Come to find out, look what they do. And they come over here, and, "You got to belong to us. If you don't belong to our church, you're not even in the Bride. You're not even nothing." Go over here at the Assemblies, and look what they got; there you are again. Go down to the Baptists, look what they got. Look at the Presb-...
264What's going to happen to the poor little Thing? See? But She is coming forth. Don't you worry. She is going to be there.
265 A fellow was saying, here about a couple years ago. He was down in New Mexico. I held a meeting there close to Carlsbad Caverns. You've heard of them down there, the great... And they took a man and his wife, and a bunch of children, went on this elevator, went all the way down to the very bottom of the pit. And when they got down there, they turned all the lights off. And when they turned all the lights off, it was midnight dark.
I had them to do that over here in these gardens here, and at one time at over in Colorado there, wife and I, back there, was in there. And they turned them lights on. My, you put your hand like this, you couldn't see nothing.
And there was a little girl standing there, and she begin screaming, "Oh!" Screaming. She, she was scared to death, it was so dark. The poor little thing was grabbing everywhere, and trying to scream and holler for her papa, mama, everywhere. She just couldn't stand it, it was so dark. She never seen such darkness.
266 And that's about the way it is now. That's right. It's so dark you don't know where to go. You go to the Methodist, go to the Baptist, go to the Presbyterian, it's all the same thing, see, eating that old dead, rotten manna with wiggletails in it. See, same thing, some creed, "Come in and join this, and the other that," old creed and everything. You don't see Christ in it. See? Oh, you see self-righteous people,...?... Many are fine people in there now, in them denominations. I'm saying the system, not the people in there. But, you see, that's what they're eating on. Tell them about it!
And Here is fresh Food!
267 And this little girl standing there, she was screaming, top of her voice, about to go into hysterics; about like the little Bride is. But you know what? Her little brother cried out, said, "Little sister, don't fear." Cause, he was standing right by the engineer. Said, "There is a man here who can turn on the lights."
Don't fear, little Sister, there is a Man here Who can turn on the Light. He can make this Word live. We don't know how He's coming. We don't how, when He's coming. I don't know nothing about that. But He is here, and He can turn on the Lights. How we going to get out of it? I don't know. But He's here, and He's the One that can turn on the Lights. Yes, sir. He is the One. He is the Light. He just makes Hisself known, that's how He turns on the Light. Exactly right.
It takes Christ, to flash away on His Lights, then all the darkness scatters. He separates. He is pulling His little Bride out. "I'll take a people out of the Gentiles, for My Name's sake, that'll have My Name." What is His Name? All right. Not Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran. It's Jesus Christ. That's right.
268 He is the Light, the Truth; the Light, and there is no darkness in Him. And He scatters the darkness when He comes in, because He is the Word. The Word is the Light. That's right. Because, He spoke and said, "Let there be light," that was the Word that become light. When He speaks This, it's the Light of that age, each time.
Now He is here, in--in not in a glare; but people are living in a glare. But He is the vindicated Word. He is absolutely the--the Light in the time of darkness. Yes, Sir. All these false glares and things will fade away. Yes, Sir. He is here. Don't fear. Turn on the Lights, His promised Word. It lives. It makes...
"He that believeth in Me, the works that I do, ye do also." Then, it is the Word. "As the Father sent Me, so send I you." The Father that sent Him, come in Him. The Jesus that sends you, comes in you. And the works that He did then, He does the same thing, because (why?) the Word is made flesh, in human flesh, manifests Itself as the Light of the day. There we are. There it is. It just is showing the way to Light, in the Light. Wise man, who are not blinded by creeds and denomination, will walk in that Light. Oh, my!
269 There is a Man here that can turn on the Lights, all right. What does He do? By vindicating His Word for this day. Jesus, the Son of God, Who promised the Word for this day, is right here with us.
Don't get scared. Don't pay any attention to what they're doing; you do, you'll walk in darkness.
Be wise. "They that do wise," Daniel said, "in these last days, will do exploits for their God." See? See? They'll walk in the Light, as He is in the Light.
270Don't worry. It may be dark, look like they're going to force us, every one. All these, you see their proclamation going out, "All these little churches and things are got to come in now. You've got to come in," or they're going to close you up. They're going to make it.
271Now we want to hit that real hard, tonight, when I get to this time, see.
272 Now, they, "We're going to close up." You have to be one of them, or not. You're--you're either into that, or you can't do nothing, can't even buy or sell. That's it. You're daresn't to pray for the sick. If you are caught ministering to any sick or any person with any spiritual thing in there, you are subject to a federal law, to be executed. That's exactly right. See? You know that. That's right. It's in their papers. Yes, sir. So, you cannot do it, you have to belong to the cult.
Brother, let me tell you something. You better get Christ sure in your heart right now, 'cause there is a time coming where you're really going to need It. You're out then. Remember, when that seal is put on, she is there for good. See? So, don't you do it. Don't you believe that stuff. You get right into Christ right now, the Word. Yes, sir.
273Vindicates the Word, and shows that It is the Light of the hour. That's how we know He is the Light, because He is the Light manifesting Itself in flesh.
How do we know? He was God's Word made flesh. See, God's Word was showing Itself, vindicating Hisself, when the Messiah cometh, what He'll do.
274 The woman said, at the well, "When the Messiah cometh, He'll do these things. You must be the Prophet, which is the Word, foretelling us these things."
275He said, "I am He." See? That was enough. The Light shined on the promised Word. There is the Light.
276Right into the city she went, said, "Come, see a Man Who told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?" That was it. See? No matter what the others said, she knew that was the Messiah.
277Remember, in every age, in time of darkness, God has always had His Word to divide the Light from the dark.
He had It in the days of Luther, when the Catholic church had everything; He sent Luther as a shining Light, and Luther divided Truth from darkness.
And when the Lutherans got twisted up, He made a John Wesley, and he divided Light from darkness.
And in the days of pentecost, when the Wesleyan got all... and the Methodist got all gummed up, and the Baptist, and Presbyterian, He sent the pentecostal message to separate Light from darkness.
The Pentecost went right back out into the darkness again, like that, in their organization, took their creeds and things.
Now the hour has come for this Word to be vindicated. He sends the Light, the Word made manifest, like He did in the beginning; sends the Word, and It proves Itself. There is Light, and He always separates. The same is now, as Eternal little Lights in the beginning.
278 Looking children, as I say, I'm five minutes past time now. But let me say this one thing.
There is a Man present! Don't get scared, no matter what they say. I've seen it come to the spot to where I didn't know where to move next, but He is always present. The never-failing Presence, He is always there. He can turn on the Light. Yes, sir. He is just waiting, see what you're going to do. He can flip the switch any time He wants to. Yes, sir.
279There is a Man here that can turn on the Lights. "Those who set in the regions of the shadow of death," some of them under cancer, some of them under the death of denomination, some of them under creeds death, some of them under traditional death, and all them kinds of death, "and they have seen a great Light." The Man that flashed the Lights then, is the same One Who said, in the beginning, "Let there be light." That same God, "yesterday, today, and forever," He is present today, right here now. Don't get scared. He can turn on the Lights.
When the persecution comes, don't get scared. There is a Light, said He would catch His people away. She'll not go through the tribulation. She'll never do it. He said She wouldn't. She'll be caught away. "How they going to do it, Brother Branham? Looks awful dark!" No matter how dark it gets, you can't see your hand before you, just remember, there is a Man here that can turn on the Light. He'll Rapture that Church.
You say, "Well, I'm right..."
280 Yeah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, was right up to the fiery furnace, but there's a Man there Who could turn on the air. Yes, Sir. That rushing mighty Wind that come down on the Day of Pentecost, He turned It on again and fanned all the breeze away from them, all the fire. There was a Man there; He's called "the fourth Man."
281There is One here today. He's the only One! Hallelujah! He's got the Light switch in His hand. "Those who sat in the regions of the shadow of death, great Light sprung up." Don't reject It. Receive It, in the Name of the Lord. While we bow our heads just a moment.
We'll walk in the Light, beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
We'll walk in the Light, it's such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
Come, ye saints of Light, proclaim,
Jesus, the Light of the world;
Then the bells of Heaven will ring,
Jesus, the Light...
What is? The vindicated Word is Jesus today. He is the Word.
We'll walk in this Light, it's such a beautiful light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Oh, shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of...
282 With your heads bowed. I wonder how many here would like to walk in this Light, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the vindicated Word of today? See the Word that God promised today, see It manifested!
Wasn't that what He was in the beginning? He was the Word. The Son was born; He was the Word. He was the Messiah; He was the vindicated Word. So then the Word, God spoke the be-... the end from the beginning.
283Now there is a Word for this day, and He's here vindicating that Word.
In the midst of confusion, darkness and glares, it looks a whole lot like It, but it isn't It. It don't prove to be It; the creed.
284 Jesus said, "If I cast out devils by the finger of God, who do you cast them out by?" They didn't cast them out. See? "But, no, if I cast out a devil by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."
Oh, let's think of it, as we raise our hands. Slowly now, and think, real quiet.
We'll walk in this Light, this is such a beautiful Light,
And it comes where the dewdrops of...
Make your confession. Believe God now.
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
We'll walk in this Light, it's such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
285 While they continue playing, I want to ask. Every age has been the same. In the days of Noah, those who rejected the Light, what did they do? Walked out into God's judgment. What happened to Pharaoh in the days of the Light of the burning bush, that was in Moses? Walked into the sea of death. What happened to Dathan who started and then rejected the Light? Walked into the crack of the earth; it swallowed him up. What happened in all ages, to those who failed to walk in the Light, the Light of the day?
It's Jesus all the time. It was Jesus in the days of them man. It's Jesus today, for He is the Word, and the Word makes the Light. It's the Light of the day.
Think of it now, real quietly, while we're with sincerity, ask, are you walking in the Light? While we hum it through again. [Brother Branham and congregation begins humming, Jesus, The Light Of The World--Ed.]
... beautiful Light,
Comes where the dewdrop of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
O Jesus, the Light of the world.
Let's stand up now, to our feet.
286 I pray the Heavenly Father to let this Message soak deep into the hearts of the people who are present, and those who will hear It by tape. And may the Light come forth upon the Word, the Seed, and bring forth every predestinated Seed that's been planted out here in these different glares and organizations. May they see like Nicodemus, even if they have to "come by night," come to the Light. Grant it, Father.
287May there come forth this great issue, of this Rock that's cut out of the mountain, without hands. It'll crush these Gentile kingdoms to the ground, all these kingdoms, spiritual kingdoms and natural kingdoms. And the Rock will cover the whole earth; it'll be a purified affair. Those who that Rock crush will be ground into powder; those who fall upon that Rock shall have a solid foundation.
288 O Christ, let me, as Your servant, die off on this Rock, this Rock of Thy Word. Lord God, let me stand, as David, and them warriors of old who stood for David, let me stand for this Word today while I see It's rejected by the denominations. It's laying up here in a little retreat somewhere. O God, I... Grant that we'll have strength and courage, and the Holy Spirit, to stand, for the hours are getting darker and darker.
But let us always remember that You are present to turn on the Light. At any hour that You wish to, You can turn the Light, Father. So we pray...
289As You said, "Ye are the Light of the world." Grant, Lord, that our Lights, who are of Your service, will shine so bright to the others, that they'll see the Light of the Gospel as we live it, Lord, day by day, reflecting to them the Life of Jesus Christ as He was on earth; full of humility and sweetness, yet with the Word being lived right through Him. Grant it, Lord.
For, we're looking to You, the great One with the switch in the hand. You hold the world in Your hand. You hold all things in Your hand, and uphold the world by Your Word.
O Father, let us receive the Word; will You, please, Lord? Let that be the testimony and the desire of every heart in here.
290Father, as we sing these hymns... As David sung the hymns, they become prophecy. They were prophecy, and You recognized them, prophecy. As we sing it, Lord, let it be in our hearts, too, as we sing, "We'll walk in this Light." Let it be, Lord.
This is a beautiful Light. It's the Word. It's Christ living among us. Not what He was; what He is, and, we know what He was only reflected what He is. And we pray, Father, that the people will understand and walk in this beautiful Light. We ask in Jesus' Name.
291 And while we remain standing just a moment, I want us to all sing.
292Now in here there is Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic. This is a mixed-up audience, when it comes to denominational.
293Now remember, let it be known, that I'm speaking nothing against the people in these glares. But I've proved it, to the Bible, that they are glares. If it wasn't, Christ would be doing like He promised to do, with them. See? But they refuse That. See? And when you get there, what do you find? A "join the church, recite a creed." And what does it come out? Come to the end of the road, you find out it was a false, mirage.
Christ is the Word. He is the Light. Live now, while you can live. You live for something.
294 What are you living for? So you can die. Every one of you, what are you working for? To eat. What are you eating for? To live. What are you living for? To die.
So why not live to live? Why not live to live? Then, the only way you can live is accept the Word. Cause, "Man shall not live by bread alone," what we make out here with the sweat of our brow, "but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God." Now the Word of the mouth of God is being vindicated right here before us, by the Holy Spirit. Live by It, won't you?
295 Now I want, while we sing this again, let's just each one just stand in our place, reach over and take hold of somebody's hands, and say, "Brother, let's walk in this Light," while we sing Walk In The Light. Will you? Pray for each other as you put your hands together, while we sing it together; with closing our eyes, as far as possible.
We'll walk in the Light, such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night, (Who is It?)
Jesus, the Light of the world.
Now let's raise our hands.
We'll walk in the Light, it's a beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
O Jesus, the Light of the world.
Come, all ye saints of Light, proclaim, (What is it?)
Jesus, the Light of the world;
Then the bells of Heaven will ring,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
All, let's sing it out now.
We'll walk in the Light, and it's a beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
296 With our heads bowed now. Remember when Israel was in their journey, eating new manna every day, they walked in the Light of a Pillar of Fire. That Pillar of Fire was Jesus Christ. The Bible says It was. And today He is with us; we have It. We know He is with us, the same Pillar of Fire, doing the same things that He did when He was here on earth, to fulfill His Word.
297As we go from here, let's remember, keep that song in our hearts as we go to our homes, as the wheels hum a song. Before you eat your dinner, bow your head and thank God for sending forth light to bring food upon the earth, for your physical body. Then thank God for sending spiritual Light, His Word, that He might give Food to the soul. "For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
298Just keep singing this hymn to yourselves, in your home, among your people, and meet us back here about six-thirty, tonight, for the prayer cards and so forth. We'll see you then. Until then, bow your heads.
299I'm going to ask Brother Neville if he'll walk up here now, the pastor, and dismiss us in a word of prayer.
1 Skloňme teraz svoje hlavy. Náš Nebeský Otče. Ďakujeme ti dnes ráno za tvoju dobrotu a milosť, že nám dávaš privilégium znovu sa tu dnes spolu zhromaždiť, v dni po tejto strane tej veľkej večnosti, aby sme uctili toho milovaného, Pána Ježiša Krista. Ďakujeme ti, že On prišiel na zem aby nás vykúpil z hriešneho života a dal nám toto veľké dedičstvo, ktoré máme skrze Jeho spravodlivosť. A keď sme tu, dnes ráno, ako jeho veľvyslanci, aby sme lámali tento Chlieb Života pre toto očakávajúce zhromaždenie, nech Duch Svätý inšpiruje každé slovo a umiestni ho do sŕdc ľudí, práve tak ako to potrebujeme. Prosíme toto v Ježišovom mene. Amen. Sadnite si.
2 Skutočne považujeme toto znovu za veľké privilégium dnes ráno, že som tu s vami. Je mi ľúto, že nemáme viacej miesta aby sme sa postarali o ľudí; naša modlitebňa nie je dostatočne veľká. A sme veľmi vďační, že sme tu cez tieto sviatky, z nášho domu v Tucsone. Počasie bolo dosť drsné, ale sme radi, že sme tu a že máme zhromaždenie.
Chcem oznámiť, že dnes večer budeme mať službu s uzdravovaním alebo sa budeme modliť za chorých. Povedal som to Billimu práve teraz ... On povedal, “No, čo budeš robiť?”
3 Povedal som, “No, možno radšej rozdaj nejaké karty dnes večer okolo 6:30, aby ľudia nemuseli ... A vidíte, je to tu tak napchané, a takto ich vieme priviesť jedného za druhým, tak môžete byť zavolaní podľa čísla vašej karty a tak nebude žiadny nával. Môžeme ich volať jedného za druhým a necháme ich prechádzať zaradom, keď sa budeme za nich modliť.
4 Tak vy ... Ak ste chorí alebo máte svojich drahých, ktorí sú chorí a chcete ich sem priviesť, príďte okolo 6:30, nejako tak, o 7:00 a zoberte si modlitebnú kartu; On bude pri dverách, alebo akokoľvek ich bude rozdávať, keď budete prichádzať.
5 A potom, toto bude pravdepodobne posledný krát čo sa sem dostanem na nejaký čas, pretože mám teraz veľmi nabitý program. Budem stále v Spojených Štátoch až do pozdného jara. Tak možno, že sa sem znovu naspäť dostaneme trochu neskoršie v lete. Ak Pán dá, rád by som, ak dostaneme tu to miesto, keby tam bola klimatizácia. Pýtal som sa Billyho. Rád by som hovoril o tých siedmich trúbach, mal zhromaždenie tu na tému Sedem Trúb, ak bude vôľa Pánova. Lebo je Sedem Cirkevných vekov a Sedem Pečatí a teraz Sedem Trúb. A mohli by sme mať nejaký čas napríklad v júny, keď ľudia majú dovolenku, dať im čas aby mohli prísť.
6 A som rád, že tu dnes ráno vidím brata Shepherda, z nemocnice. Bol som ho tam jedného dňa pozrieť. A sestra Shepherdová, nevyšlo mi aby som ti včera zavolal. Ten sen, ktorý si mi poslala bol veľmi, veľmi dobrý. Videla si, ako to bolo, Kristus na oblakoch na tom bielom koni, ale ešte bol uviazaný. Vidíš? Ale predsa, prv ako sa to stratilo, celá tvoja rodina to uvidela. Výklad toho snu je, že tvoja rodina uvidela Jeho pohyb v týchto posledných dňoch prv ako to pominulo, čo to je. Tak to bolo veľmi duchovné a veľmi dobré požehnanie pre tvoju rodinu. Tá rodina vyšla z nejakého veľkého súženia aby prišli tam kde sú dnes.
7 A teraz, máme niečo, trochu na tej smutnej strane, dnes ráno. Odvtedy čo som tu stretol ... Jeden z našich drahých priateľov, ktorí prichádzali do tohoto zboru, z rodiny Coat, ktorých všetci milujeme. Oni prichádzajú z východu. Alebo z okolia Chicaga. A sestra Billie Habib a jej sestra, Armstrong a všetky tie dievčence. Oni ... Myslím, že predtým boli Nazaréni a prišli ku Pánovi a sú naši veľmi drahí priatelia. A brat a sestra Couts, ich otec a matka boli na ceste domov nedávno, odtiaľ zo západu a niekto dostal šmyk a zabil na mieste sestru Coats. A keď mi telefonovali do Tucsonu a dopočul som sa to, sedel som tam práve s krabicou cukrovín, ktoré mi práve ona upiekla, sedel som pri stole. Neviete ako som sa pri tom cítil. Ale myslím, že - ďakujem Pánovi dnes ráno, že nemusela trpieť. Pribúdali jej roky a nemusela trpieť. Odišla domov aby bola s Bohom.
8 Práve som uvažoval a rozprával sa s jej dvomi dievčencami, práve teraz, tam v tej miestnosti. Brat Coats je tu dnes ráno; má zlomené nejaké rebrá. Zazvonil som mu do nemocnice, tam kde bol hospitalizovaný, tam v Missouri, so zlomenými rebrami ale on má opravdu skutočnú odvahu, skutočný kresťan, vie, že jeho malá kráľovná nie je mŕtva; je živá naveky, s Kristom. Vidíte? A príde čas zjednotenia.
9 Jób raz povedal, “Ó, aby si ma ukryl v hrobe a strážil ma na tajnom mieste, až kým neprejde tvoj hnev.”
10 Všimli ste si niekedy, že Boh robí v prírode to isté? Ako miazga, ktorá je tu hore v stromoch, drží listy a prv ako nastane zima, hnev, ktorý je vyliaty na zem ... Vidíte, voľakedy na zemi nebola zima. A v miléniu nebudú viacej zimy. Vidíte? Tak to je hnev na zemi. Potom keď sa to stalo ... Vidíte, prv ako prichádza hnev, Boh vo svojej milosti posiela tú miazgu rovno dole do - pod zem do koreňov stromu a drží ju tam až kým neprejde ten hnev zimy, potom to povstáva znovu naspäť v čase jara. “Ó, aby si ma ukryl v hrobe a zachoval ma na skrytom mieste, až kým neprejde tvoj hnev.” To On urobil pre našu sestru; to robí pre všetkých kresťanov.
11 Brat Coats, nech ťa Boh žehná. Som tak rád, že viem, že Pečať Božia drží v hodine ťažkostí. Viem cez čo on prechádza, pretože pred rokmi som prechádzal cez niečo podobné. Ale som ... Jeden za druhým musíme prejsť cez túto veľkú rieku a ja - v jednom z týchto dní príde môj čas; a tvoj čas, v jednom z týchto dní. Ale ako povedal Dávid, “Nebudem sa báť zlého, lebo Ty si so mnou. Tvoj prút a tvoja palica ma potešujú.”
12 A teraz, na pamiatku sestry Coats, našej drahej sestry, ktorá odišla ku Bohu, ... Ako malú spomienku na ňu dnes ráno, chcem aby zhromaždenie na chvíľu povstalo. Skloňme svoje hlavy a pomyslime na niekoho, kto raz pred pár dňami chodil v tejto modlitebni, vchádzal a vychádzal medzi nami, podával nám ruku, milá kresťanka a teraz je na tom mieste, ktoré mi Pán dal pred nedávnom vidieť, znovu ako mladá žena, čaká na svoju ďalšiu rodinu.
13 Náš Nebeský Otče, ďakujeme ti na spomienky s našou sestrou Coats. Aká vzácna, drahá sestra. A teraz, prichádza čas, keď dožijeme náš čas v živote, ktorý nám bol vymeraný, potom my musíme prekročiť tú rieku. Ďakujeme ti, že ona nemusela trpieť. Nemuselo byť nič tu proti nej, kvôli čomu by musela trpieť. Odišla rovno do náručia Božieho, v jednej chvíli.
14 Jej muž, jej deti sú tu dnes ráno, Pane, rovno znovu na svojom mieste. Ako ti ďakujeme za tú statočnú vieru! “Viera našich otcov stále žije, napriek žalára, ohňa a meča.” Ďakujeme ti za všetky tieto veci.
15 Daj odpočinúť jej drahej duši, Pane. Ona bola naša sestra. V srdci máme smútok, roníme slzy, lebo tu nie je ale z tých vyronených sĺz vytryskuje radosť, ktorá nám dáva s istotou vedieť, čo hovorí tvoje Slovo, že žije v nesmrteľnom živote, že nikdy nemôže zomrieť. A tam, kde je teraz nebude nikdy nijaká nehoda, len očakáva na tých, ktorý prídu neskoršie aby sa pridali ku nej.
16 Požehnaj brata Coats a požehnaj ich dievčence v jej rodine, Pane, a tých milovaných a všetkých, ktorí ju milujú. A jedného dňa, Otče, veríme, že ju stretneme tam hore na druhej strane, kde nie je choroba, žiaľ ani smrť. Až do toho času, zachovávaj nás všetkých v zdraví a v poriadku, aby sme ti slúžili a tešili sa na ten deň. Prosíme to v mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
17 Nech ten veľký Duch Svätý, ktorý tu účinkuje s nami v tejto modlitebni a zjavuje nám svoje Slovo, nech dá odpočinutie jej statočnej duši v pokoji až sa znovu stretneme.
18 No, dnes ráno je tu teplo, pretože telo, viete, je tu toľko ľudí a každé telo vydáva teplo.
19No, chceli by sme teraz oznámiť. Niekedy tu naše zhromaždenia sú ráno dlhé, to preto, to skutočne nie je dobre mať zhromaždenia tak dlho, pretože - hodina, hodina a pol, niekedy dve hodiny. Ale čo robím, nahrávam tu pásky. Rozumiete? A tieto pásky idú do celého sveta. A to je to, čo - zhromažďujeme sa tu ráno tak dlho, to preto, že sem prichádzam nahrať tieto pásky. To je na to ... Oni sú ... Vidíte, môžete vidieť tam v tej miestnosti - nahrávajú tam tie pásky a oni idú všade, po celom svete.
20No, zanedlho, ak Pán dá, toto nadchádzajúce, len čo odídem odtiaľto ... Odídem zajtra ráno, ak Pán dá, naspäť do Arizony, pretože mám tam zhromaždenie. A potom cez celý juh. A vy južania tam z Georgii a Mississipi a z Texasu a z Alabami, prídeme rovno tam, celou cestou až na Floridu.
21Odtiaľto pôjdem do Phoenixu, potom do Californii a naspäť do Dallasu a možno skočím do San Antonio, myslím, že tam a naspäť do Alabamy a na Floridu a z tade. Tak vás tam zanedlho uvidíme, ak Pán dá.
22A potom, modlite sa stále za nás a my vám dáme vedieť kedy, ak nám ... Pán dá na srdce aby sme tu cez leto mali zhromaždenia na niekoľko dní.
23Mal som naplánovaných niekoľko sérií zhromaždení. Mnohí z vás v New Yorku viete, keď prišlo to videnie, kde bolo povedané, že tie zhromaždenia v Škandinávskych krajinách ... Pamätáte sa, oni ich tam naplánovali? A potom, kým som bol v New Yorku prišlo to videnie, že každé to zhromaždenie bude zrušené z určitého dôvodu. A pamätám sa, niektorým z vás som to povedal, keď sme boli v New Yorku. To je presne to čo sa stalo, pretože oni to chceli všetci v ten istý deň a nemohli dostať tú budovu. Tak potom, to nám môže nechať malý priestor v júny. To mohla byť vôľa Pánova, myslel som si, možno, aby som prišiel naspäť kvôli týmto Trúbam rovno sem, prv ako bude príliš neskoro. Vidíte? Tak vieme, že všetko ide v úplnom poriadku. Tak som to mal na srdci, tak to môže byť to, čo On chce aby sme urobili.
24Vidím, že sa navzájom delíte s miestom na sedenie, tam v hale a všade. A teraz, keď budeme mať tie Trúby, to je - chceme prenajať telocvičňu na strednej škole; myslím, že je tam na sedenie 5500 miest; a potom by sme mali šancu, že by každý mal miesto a sedel, a v pokoji počúval, keď budeme kázať.
25Tie Trúby, to je veľmi, veľmi dobré. Nedávno som sa na to díval. Viete, na tú Šiestu Pečať, všetkých Sedem Trúb zneje rovno tam v tej Šiestej Pečati (Vidíte?), tesne pred tým, ako Siedma Pečať otvára príchod Kristov.
26A dnes večer mám veľmi dôležité posolstvo, ktoré chcem hovoriť pred službou s uzdravovaním. A ak ste tu a chcete zostať na ňom, no, budeme sa snažiť, ak to bude možné, aby sme začali trochu skorej, pretože sa potom budeme modliť za chorých. Nechcem kázať príliš dlho, ale je niečo čo už nejaký čas chcem povedať cirkvi a tak nejako vás postaviť do ... ako všetko prebieha v tomto čase a kde práve stojíme, podľa môjho najlepšieho poznania z Písma.
27No, chcem aby ste teraz ráno prešli so mnou, ak si to chcete poznačiť alebo zapisovať, to čo budeme čítať z knihy Izaiáša a chcem čítať zo 42. kapitoly Izaiáša.
28Sme veľmi radi, že dnes ráno tu máme tiež brata Daucha, ktorý tu s nami sedí. Kým si to otvárate ... Viete, oni tu v Shreveporte si vtedy mysleli, že nebude žiť. On mal skutočne vieru. Tak veru. On sa z toho dostal; Pán ho žehná. Keď vidím brata Daucha, 91 ročného a mal úplné zlyhanie srdca a ešte ku tomu srdcovú porážku. A práve ten doktor, ktorý povedal, že nevidí pre neho nijakú šancu aby žil, brat Dauch žije a ten doktor je mŕtvy. Vidíte? Pretože, on ... Vidíte? Brat Dauch tu sedí.
29A potom muž 91 ročný so zlyhaním srdca a infarktom ... A vtedy, keď som tam išiel, videl som ho ako prichádza po ulici; Videl som ho v zbore. A išiel som tam a povedal som mu, keď bol pod kyslíkovým prístrojom, “V mene Pánovom, podáme si ruky na ... Uvidím ťa znovu v zbore a na ulici si podáme ruky.” Hneď na ďalšom zhromaždení bol tu, znovu sedí v zbore. A išiel som do Louisville, kde jedávame v Blue Boar, najesť sa a len čo som vystúpil z auta, vykročil som po ulici a tu ide po ulici brat Dauch. Stalo sa to úplne presne tak. A ako ho Pán požehnal.
30No, o uzdraveniach a takých veciach budeme hovoriť dnes večer a máme skutočne mimoriadne veci, ktoré chceme dnes večer povedať.
31Ale teraz, aby som mohol teraz nahrať tie pásky, pripravte sa a zapnite ich. Chcem začať čítať z Izaiáša 42. kapitolu od prvého do siedmeho verša a Matúš 4. kapitolu, začneme, myslím, 15. a 16. verš.
32No, budeme čítať 42. kapitolu Izaiáša.
Hľa, môj služobník, ktorého podopriem, môj vyvolený, v ktorom má záľubu moja duša! Dám svojho Ducha na neho, vynášať bude národom súd.
Nebude kričať ani nepovýši ani nedá počuť na ulici svojho hlasu.
Nalomenej trstiny nedolomí a tlejúceho knotu nevyhasí; súd bude vynášať podľa pravdy.
Nebude tlieť ani sa nenalomí, dokiaľ nepostaví na zemi súd, a na jeho vyučujúci zákon budú očakávať ostrovy.
Takto hovorí silný Boh Hospodin, ktorý stvoril nebesia a roztiahol ich, ktorý rozprestrel zemi to, čo vychádza z nej, ktorý dáva dych ľudu, ktorý je na nej, a ducha tým, ktorí chodia po nej.
Ja Hospodin som ťa povolal v spravodlivosti a pojal som ťa za tvoju ruku, budem ťa ostríhať a dám ťa za zmluvu ľudu a za svetlo národom.
Aby si otvoril slepé oči a viedol väzňa z väzenia, zo žalára tých, ktorí sedia vo tme.
33A teraz, v evanjeliu Matúša v 4. kapitole chcem čítať vyplnenie tohoto proroctva, ktoré Izaiáš prorokoval. V 4. kapitole Matúša - začnem čítať. Ak je to možné začnime od 12. verša namiesto od 15.
A keď počul Ježiš, že je Ján vydaný, odišiel do Galilee
a opustiac Nazaret prišiel a býval v Kafarnaume, ktoré leží pri mori, v krajoch Zabulona a Neftalima,
aby sa naplnilo to čo bolo povedané skrze proroka Izaiáša, ktorý povedal:
Zem Zabulona a zem Naftalima, na ceste k moru, za Jordánom, Galilea pohanov,
ľud, ktorý sedel vo tme, uzrel veliké svetlo, a sediacim v krajine a v tôni smrti vzišlo svetlo.
Odvtedy začal Ježiš hlásať a hovoriť: Čiňte pokánie! Lebo sa priblížilo nebeské kráľovstvo.
Nech Pán pridá požehnanie do čítania Jeho Slova.
34 A teraz, zvláštny text, niekto toto povedal, počul som to hovoriť, ale ja to chcem zobrať ako text: “Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo.”
35Teraz budeme hovoriť na tému svetla. Toto nadväzuje na tie tri témy, na ktoré som práve hovoril. Na jednu z nich v Tucsone, či vo Pheonixe, o tom prečo Ježiš prišiel cez Betlehem. On musel, pretože On je Betlehem. Betlehem, B-e-t “dom”; e-l, “Boh”; e-h-e-m je “chlieb, chlieb: Dom Božieho Chleba.” A každý kresťan, ktorý sa narodil v Kristovi sa narodil v Betleheme, v Božom dome chleba.
36A potom tam som ukazoval na príklade Dávida, ktorý bol utečencom, pretože vtedy bol vyhnaný od svojich ľudí, bol daný nabok a Betlehem bol obliehaný, Filištíni obsadili Betlehem. A Dávid, utečenec, to je príklad cirkvi dnes, Krista. Vidíte, Kristus je dnes utečencom zo svojej vlastnej cirkvi. Oni majú ... Utečenec je niekto, kto je odmietnutý. A Dávid bol odmietnutý a pritom bol pomazaný na kráľa, prorok ho pomazal.
37A v tomto čase, keď bol utečencom od svojich ľudí, nazbieral veľa statočných pohanov. Jeden z nich zabil osemsto mužov, za jeden deň s kopijou, či s mečom. A iný skočil do jamy a zabil leva v deň snehu. A zbierali šošovicu, to je fazuľa alebo hrach alebo niečo také a všetci utiekli, a on tam stál a zabil tých ľudí až mu zmeravela ruka. Oni tiež zabili tých obrov, Goliášových bratov. Statoční ľudia, držali sa Dávida, pretože vedeli, že príde k moci. Oni to vedeli bez ohľadu, čo ktokoľvek hovoril, Boh pomazal Dávida a oni to vedeli. To boli pohania. Bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi ho odstrčili nabok, oni predsa vedeli, že on príde k moci. A jedného dňa ...
38Čo je to za príklad na dnes, na Krista, utečenca. Poviete, “Kristus a utečencom?” Podľa Biblie, sme ... Boh nás statočne previedol cez tých sedem cirkevných vekov. V tejto Laodicejskej cirkvi, Kristus je utečencom, vyhnaný zo svojej cirkvi, odmietnutý, snaží sa znovu dostať naspäť. Vidíte? Je utečencom zo svojej vlastnej cirkvi. A utečencom je preto, že je Slovom a oni nechcú dovoliť Slovu vojsť; namiesto neho prijali vyznania.
39A potom sme zistili, že v tomto veľkom úsilí týchto statočných mužov okolo Dávida, pohanov ...
40Ak si všimnete ako sa formoval Betlehem. Nechcem prejsť na tú tému. Ale ako sa Betlehem ... V skutočnosti Rachab, tá smilnica, to bol jej syn, ktorý založil Betlehem. To bolo pšeničné centrum a bolo tam veľa dobrej vody. A on založil to malé mesto. Ono bolo najmenšie zo všetkých miest, pretože prorok povedal, “Betlehem Judský, či nie si najmenší medzi všetkými kniežatami miest Jeruzalemských - či Judských, ale z teba vyjde Panovník, ktorý bude vládnuť nad mojím ľudom.” Z toho malého.
41Dávid, keď bol tam vybraný, tí veľkí fajní bratia, keď ho tam išiel prorok Samuel pomazať, oni všetci sa tam postavili. Veľkí chrabrí mužovia, zdalo sa, že budú, že by im to pristalo, byť kráľom. Ale práve ten odmietnutý ním bol, Dávid, na neho bol vyliaty olej. To odmietnuté mesto bolo to, kde sa Kristus ... To čo Kristus zbiera, je odmietnuté (Vidíte?), tých, ktorí sú odmietnutí.
42Potom nachádzame, že po ňom prichádza Obéd a po ňom prichádza Boaz, a potom do toho vchádza ďalšia pohanka, Ruth, cez ktorú on prichádza. A z tade prichádza Jesse a z Jesseho prichádza Dávid. A z malej maštali na úpätí kopca, z tade prišiel Kráľ kráľov, Ježiš Kristus, Syn Dávidov, jeho duchovný Syn.
43No potom, on, Dávid sa narodil v tom meste, musel prísť do tohoto malého mestečka. A to sa nazývalo “Betlehem” čo znamená “dom Božieho Chleba.” A On je ten Dom Božieho Chleba.
44A Dávid, keď tam vtedy ležal na kopci a díval sa dole a videl posádku Filištínov, takto okolo neho, muselo mu byť teplo a bol smädný. Povedal, “Ó, keby som sa len mohol ešte raz napiť z tej studni.” No, jeho najmenšie myšlienky boli rozkazom pre jeho - pre tých, ktorí ho milovali.
45Tak je to dnes, tie najmenšie Ježišove myšlienky - alebo jeho Slovo - to má byť rozkaz pre nás pohanov, ktorí Ho milujeme. Lebo vieme, že On prichádza do moci, bez ohľadu ako veľmi je odmietnutý. Nebo i zem pominú ale toto bude stále vládnuť, presne tak isto, aj keď celé nebesia i zem pominú. A vieme, že On prichádza do moci, pretože nič tomu nemôže zabrániť. [Brat Branham klepe po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] Toto je Kristus, jeho zjavenie a toto sa stane presne tak ako Slovo hovorí, pretože On je Slovo. A tie najmenšie jeho prikázania v ňom, bez ohľadu aké sú malé ... Ak sa jedná byť znovu pokrstený alebo čokoľvek to je, každopádne to urobíme. To je jeho rozkaz.
46A najmenšia z Dávidových myšlienok bola rozkazom pre tých pohanov, lebo oni znázorňujú dnešnú cirkev z pohanov, sta- toční muži. Vidíte? Tí muži, ktorí stáli pri Dávidovi boli pohania, ale statoční muži. Nebojácni. Oni ani nevedeli čo je to strach.
47Jeden zobral meč a zabil osemsto mužov, všetkých okolo seba. Čo za chlapa to bol. Jeden z nich, iný ... Nejaký Egyptský bojovník tam vybehol s dlhou kopijou; a tento mal v ruke len palicu. Zobral tú palicu a vyrazil mu z ruky tú kopiju, zobral ju a zabil ho. Vidíte?
48Jeden z tých obrov mal prsty dlhé štrnásť cólov, takéto. No, štrnásť cólov ... Vaše prsty sú také dlhé, ako keď zavriete ruku. Otvorte ju; to by bola ruka na dvadsať osem cólov. A s kopijou ... A on skočil rovno tam a zabil ho. Vidíte? Prečo? Bol to statočný muž, pohan, ktorý hľadel na toho pomazaného, o ktorom vedel, že prichádza do moci.
49Všimli ste si, oni boli takí statoční pre Dávida, že keď Dávid nakoniec prišiel ku moci, urobil ich vládcami nad mestami. Či Ježiš nezasľúbil to isté? To isté, urobí ich vládcami.
50Potom v tom, keď Dávid mal túžbu mať čerstvú vodu ... On tam hore mal možno nejakú starú, teplú stojacu vodu, ktorú pil. Ale stalo sa, že začal rozmýšľať o tej čerstvej vode, tam dole v Betleheme, “v Dome Božieho Chleba.” A povedal, “Keby som sa len mohol napiť z tej studni.” A tí muži vytiahli svoje meče a prebili sa štrnásť míľ cez Filištínov, nie preto, že ich o to požiadal, ale preto, že vedeli, že to chce. A prerúbali sa cez tých Filištínov, až ku tej studni. Kým dvaja z nich bojovali, ten ďalší zobral vedro s vodou a prebojovali si cestu naspäť, celú cestu a dali ju Dávidovi. To hovorí o statočnosti.
51Dávid, ten bohabojný muž, povedal, “Bože uchovaj aby som to pil od týchto priateľov, ktorí vystavili svoj život nebezpečenstvu.” A priniesol liatu obeť, vylial to na zem pre Pána: “Dám to Pánovi, On jediný je toho hodný, nie ja.” Oni nasadili ...
52To presne znázorňuje Samého Krista so svojím Večným Životom, ktorý mal v sebe, ako udretú Skalu, vylial svoj život na zem, ako obeť za hriech pre nás aby toto Slovo mohlo žiť.
53Ó, pohania, ako som povedal, kto vytiahne ten meč so mnou? On chce dnes ráno čerstvú vodu, nie tieto staré hnijúce cirkevné vyznania a také veci, s ktorými robíme hlúposti; On chce skutočnú vieru v jeho Slovo, kto bude veriť každému Slovu z toho. Poďme ku studni a prinesme piť, občerstvenie, uctievanie, ktoré nestojí na vyznaniach a denominácii, ale skutočné uctievanie v Duchu, s Kristom medzi nami, ktorý žije svoj Život tak, ako On chce medzi nami, nie s vyznaniami a rôznymi takými vecami. Majme Ho takým spôsobom.
54No, to ďalšie bolo to, ako Boh jednal s tými ľuďmi skrze sny vo dňoch Jozefa. Všimli ste si? Sen je druhoradý. To je druhoradý spôsob Božieho konania. Niektorí ľudia môžu mať sny, ktoré nič neznamenajú. Môžete sa príliš veľa najesť a mať nočné mory. A sen je druhoradý spôsob. Rozumiete? No, prečo by Boh chránil svojo vlastného Syna druhoradým spôsobom? On sa zjavil Jozefovi. Zabezpečenie svojho vlastného dieťaťa poslal druhoradým spôsobom. Zamysleli ste sa niekedy nad tým? Pretože v kraji nebol žiadny prorok. On musel konať cez sny. A to nebol sen, ktorý musel byť vyložený. Anjel Pánov povedal, “Jozef, neboj sa zobrať si Máriu svoju ženu, pretože to, čo sa v nej počalo je z Ducha Svätého.”
55To bolo neobyčajné aby sa to stalo. Jozef bol spravodlivý človek, on ... To bolo neobyčajné. Boh je neobyčajný. A to neobyčajné sa dá ťažko porozumieť. Preto je tak ťažko dnes porozumieť Pravdu; ona je tak neobyčajná. Žena má mať dieťa, bez toho aby poznala muža, to bolo veľmi neobyčajné. Ale ak si čestný a úprimný, Boh sa ti môže zjaviť dokonca vo sne. To ti ide ukázať, že všetko čo máš, či je to tvoja myseľ, či dokážeš pískať, spievať, svedčiť alebo čokoľvek dokážeš robiť, ak celá tvoja bytosť je odovzdaná Bohu, Boh to môže použiť, ak mu len dovolíš aby to urobil.
56Potom, za tým, ten večer tu brat Neville kázal na tému “útek”, ako ľudia utiekli. A myslím, že to bolo dosť pozoruhodné a zdá sa, že dnes ráno Duch Svätý chce aby som hovoril na tému svetla, hneď to ďalšie. Ide rovno ďalej, na začiatok, ako Kristov život začal v jasliach. Vraciame sa ku tomu a znovu cez to prechádzame v našom texte. A on to nevedel; Ja som to nevedel; a tu je to znovu pri tom istom. Vidíte? Rovno ďalej, to ďalšie je tam, keď On vchádza do svojej služby. A dnes máme niečo, čo sa bude prelínať rovno s tým, aby sme išli ďalej, dnes večer, keď Pán dá.
57No, veľké Svetlo! “Pohania, ktorí boli v oblastiach tieňa smrti, zjavilo sa medzi nimi veľké Svetlo. A Zabulon, Naftali na ceste - Galileja pohanov, veľké Svetlo, uvideli veľké Svetlo.”
58No, svetlo, prvý krát, keď svetlo - vidíme to v Biblii, je to v Genesis 1:3. To bol Boh, ktorý vypovedal Slovo a stvoril svetlo. Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” Genesis 1:3, a bolo svetlo.
59No, pamätajte, potom svetlo prichádza skrze vypovedané Slovo Božie. A svetlo je potvrdenie, alebo predmet, že to, čo On povedal je svetlo. Keď svetlo letí, ukazuje to. Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo.” Nebolo žiadne svetlo a On povedal, “Buď svetlo.” a bolo svetlo. To je dôkaz; svetlo je potvrdenie jeho Vypovedaného Slova; to isté je dnes, potvrdenie jeho vypovedaného Slova.
60No, keď vidíte, že jeho Slovo sa potvrdilo, alebo inými slovami, dalo sa poznať, dokázalo sa, to je Svetlo jeho vypovedaného Slova. A bez svetla, nič nemôže žiť bez svetla. Dnes nieto život na zemi, ktorý - jedine ten, ktorý prišiel skrze svetlo slnka, v botanickom živote a tak ďalej. A nieto Večný Život pomimo Syna Božieho. Vidíte? On je Svetlo.
61Nachádzame, myslím, keď teraz študujeme ... A toto svetlo ... Zem bola neladná.
62No, niektorí ľudia argumentujú dnes vo svojich školách a tak ďalej, že svet je starý veľa miliónov rokov a snažia sa odsúdiť Bibliu a hovoria, že je zlá. Oni vôbec nečítajú Bibliu. To je to. Pretože Biblia nám nehovorí, aký je svet starý. Biblia povedala, “Na počiatku stvoril Boh nebesia a zem.” Bodka! Kedy, ako, to je - nevieme. No, to je prvé. A, tam je bodka, to je koniec vety.
63“Na počiatku stvoril Boh nebesia a zem.” To mohlo byť stovky miliónov alebo biliónov rokov, alebo koľkokoľvek to bolo. A ako to urobil, to je na Ňom aby to vedel (Vidíte?) Nie na mne. Ale svet bol ... Zem bola neladná a pustá a vody boli na zemi; a Boh povedal - vznášal sa nad vodami a riekol, “Buď svetlo.”
64No, verím, že slnko a tak ďalej, mesiac, to už existovalo, verím. Ako to prebieha, Genesis 3, aby to vysvetliť ... Ale verím, to čo tu bolo, že svet, použijeme to; a preto ... A to preniklo; po celej zemi bola hmla a hmlisto, to tvorilo tmu. A Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a tma sa stratila a bola bezmračná obloha.
65A verím, že to je spôsob ako Boh robí veci; On ... V Biblii ten ďalší verš hovorí - 4. verš hovorí, “A oddelil svetlo od tmy; a svetlo nazval dňom a tmu nazval nocou.” A Božie Slovo stále oddeľuje svetlo od tmy. Vidíte? To je Slovo, ktoré oddeľuje svetlo od tmy.
66Boh stále robí to isté. Keď sa pripravuje použiť čokoľvek, ako sa pripravoval použiť túto starú hviezdu alebo čokoľvek to bolo, tento svet, On musel oddeliť svetlo od tmy. Keď sa pripravuje zanechať, či vlastne použiť skupinu ľudí, musí oddeliť svetlo od tmy. Keď sa pripravuje použiť nejakého jednotlivca, oddeľuje svetlo od tmy. Vidíte?
67Svetlo prichádza od Boha, a ... Pamätajte, svetlo prichádza skrze jeho vypovedané Slovo. Slovo Božie povedalo, “Buď svetlo,” keď nebolo žiadne svetlo. A On poslal svetlo aby oddelilo temnosť od svetla.
68Tento slovný rozkaz vyčistil oblohu, že slnko mohlo zasvietiť na zem. A dnes jeho Slovo čistí každú atmosféru nevery.
69Hovoril som ... Mal som, myslím, jedenásť osobných rozhovorov dnes ráno tesne predtým, ako som prišiel sem za kazateľňu. Tak zle ...
70Jedného dňa, jeden môj priateľ, Jim Pool, jeho malý chlapec, mysleli si, že má srdcový záchvat, bežali s ním do nemocnice. A to bol astmatický stav, ktorý vrhol toho chlapca ... Nemohol ... Srdce mu pumpovalo a dychčal, a kričal a nemohol nabrať dych a zdalo sa, že ten chlapec zomiera, keď ho sem priviezli. A ja som už chcel ísť do nemocnice; priviezli ho sem. A chytil som jeho malú rúčku, povedal som, “To dieťa dostalo osýpky, to má z toho. Ten malý dostal osýpky, horúčku. Pozorujte ho; za pár dní ho chcem znovu vidieť. Bude celý osypaný.” A tu je celý v osýpkach. Vidíte. Vidíte?
71No, čo? Boh oddeľuje tmu od svetla - alebo svetlo od tmy. A oddeľuje smrť od života; a robí to svojím Slovom. Jeho Slovo toto stále spôsobuje.
72No, svetlo ... Semeno bolo už na zemi. Verím, že Boh zasadil to semeno a akonáhle sa slnko mohlo dostať ku tomu semenu, ono začalo rásť. A preto boli potrebné len dni aby to vyrástlo, pretože to semeno bolo už v zemi. Všetko čo potrebovalo, bolo svetlo.
73A to je spôsob, ktorý Boh má dnes. Jeho semeno je už tu, Jeho Slovo. Tá jediná vec, ktorú ono potrebuje je, aby naň svietilo Svetlo; a On je tým Svetlom, lebo On je Slovo. Slovo a Svetlo, to je to isté. Život v ňom je Svetlom Slova (Vidíte?), to je Život. Gén života leží v zrne, a zrno ... ten život je to čo vychádza a prináša život z toho zrna. Takto vlastne Kristus v Slove spôsobuje, že Slovo robí to čo má robiť. Presne ako život v pšeničnom zrne alebo v akomkoľvek; on spôsobuje, že pšenica robí to čo má robiť, pretože to je život, ktorý je v nej. Každý život!
74Tak, život je jedine skrze Slovo Božie, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Život prichádza jedine skrze Slovo Božie, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Pokiaľ je ono len v Knihe, ako toto, stále sa o tom môže pochybovať; ale keď sa zamanifestovalo; potom vidíte ten produkt o ktorom ono hovorilo, že sa zamanifestoval, potom to je Svetlo na - na Slove. Vidíte? Toto privádza ... Slovo tak povedalo a potom, keď sa to deje, to je Život vo Svetle, Svetlo prinášajúce Život. Svetlo prináša Život.
75Zasaďte tu pšenicu, ona bude ... a dajte ju do pivnice, celé to zakryte a ona nikdy nič nezrodí, pretože nemôže. Nie je tam žiadne svetlo. Ale akonáhle na ňu zasvieti svetlo, potom zrodí život, ak je v tom semene zárodok.
Tak isto je to so Slovom. Vidíte? Slovo je Boh a keď naň zasvieti Svetlo, to privádza Slovo znovu do života. V každom veku to stále tak bolo. Ó, ako si ceníme tieto veľké veci, keď je Slovo potvrdené, to je Svetlo toho vypovedaného Slova. Vidíte? Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo.”
76No, čo keby to len povedal a neprišlo by žiadne svetlo? Potom nevieme, či je to pravda alebo nie. Nevieme, či je v poriadku. Nevieme, či On je Boh alebo nie, pretože On len povedal, “Nech sa stane,” a nestalo sa. Rozumiete? Tak potom, keď Boh hovorí a vidíme, že sa to deje, potom to je Svetlo, ktoré svieti, Pravda Slova. Vidíte? Tam je Svetlo a Život.
77Celý prirodzený život pochádza z jeho vypovedaného Slova. A slnko je jeho vypovedané Slovo. On povedal, že stvoril veľké svetlo na nebesiach pre deň a menšie svetlo pre noc. Vidíte? A všetok prirodzený život musel prísť cez Božie vypovedané Slovo. Kvet nemôže rásť bez svetla Božieho vypovedaného Slova, ktoré naň svieti, lebo slnko je, [v angličtine je slnko: “sun“, pričom výslovnosť je rovnaká ako pri “son“, čo znamená syn. – pozn.prekl.] s-l-n-k-o je vypovedané Slovo Božie, keď On povedal, “Buď svetlo.” Vidíte? To je Boží vypovedaný život a bez ohľadu ako veľmi sa ľudia snažia povedať toto, to, či tamto, stále to zostáva tak isto. Musíte mať to slnko a tak život, prirodzený, môže prísť len cez vypovedané Slovo Božie.
78A duchovný život, Večný Život, môže prísť jedine cez Božie vypovedané Slovo Života. Teraz tým životom je S-y-n. V ňom je Svetlo a v ňom nieto žiadnej tmy; a On je Božím vypovedaným Svetlom. Je to tak? Božím vypovedaným Slovom; lebo, “Na počiatku bolo Slovo a to Slovo bolo u Boha a to Slovo bol Boh.” A to je naveky Boh. Vidíte? A je potrebné aby Božie Svetlo zasiahlo Slovo a oživilo ho. Tu je to čo On povedal [Brat Branham poklepal po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] a teraz nech Svetlo svieti! Amen! Nech Svetlo svieti. A to Svetlo privedie každé Slovo do jeho správnej pozícii v jeho čase. Amen. Ó! Vidíte, keď príde jeho čas!
79Niekedy to malé zrnko leží v zemi nečinné cez celú zimu, ako semeno zimnej pšenice, zasadené do zeme. Ale keď to slnko zasvieti tak akurát, ó, to musí ožiť. Vidíte? Ono nemôže žiť bez slnka. A Boh dal zasľúbenia na každý vek a každý deň, a keď sa to Svetlo dostane do náležitého stavu a svieti na to, to vyprodukuje presne to čo Slovo povedalo; pretože On je Svetlo a Život.
80Božie Slovo prichádza jedine cez Bibliu. Božia Bibla je - vytlačená forma Syna Božieho, pretože Bibla povedala, že to je zjavenie Ježiša Krista. To je Boh, ktorý sa sám zjavuje cez Krista a Kristus je Slovo. A je potrebné aby Svetlo Božie svietilo na Slovo, aby ho potvrdilo, aby dokázalo, že Boh stále hovorí Život, Večný Život. On hovorí prirodzené svetlo, prináša život. Život prichádza jedine skrze svetlo, cez Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo, alebo ktoré sa stalo telom. Keď sa všetky zasľúbenia stali, v Biblii, keď sa zamanifestovali, to je vtedy, keď Ježiš Kristus, Slovo, sa stal telom medzi nami. Boh stále pracuje cez človeka. Človek je Boží objekt.
81 No, ak vám je teplo, môžete otvoriť okná, alebo čokoľvek chcete, znížiť kúrenie. Možno vrátnik by znížil trochu vykurovanie. Vidím, že mnohým vám je teplo. A tu je tiež teplo, tak pamätajte na to. Som radšej, že je tu teplo než zima, pretože mám rád teplo. Teplo stále prináša svetlo, život, potrebný je oheň.
82Všimnite si teraz, “stalo sa telom,” Keď sa Slovo stáva telom, dochádza do jeho zamanifestovania. Ako napríklad, vezmite Slovo a dajte ho do správnej pozícii a na správnu pôdu, ono zrodí. Semeno zrodí svoj druh. A Slovo, prinesené do správneho srdca, ono sa zamanifestuje. Prinesie svetlo. Zrodí sa z toho. Dobre.
83Nič telesné, nič telesné alebo duchovné nemôže žiť bez Božieho svetla. Život môže potom prísť jedine skrze svetlo. Nič telesné ani nič duchovné nemôže žiť bez Božieho svetla. Zamysli- te sa nad tým. Dobre. Ale keď nám On posiela Svetlo a robí všetky tieto veci, a potom to odmietneme, to je potom poľutovania hodná roľa, keď je svetlo odmietnuté, keď je nám poslané.
84No, mohli by ste si predstaviť dnes nejakého človeka, ktorý by hovoril, “Ja proste odmietam uznať, že je niečo také ako slnko, Neverím, že je slnko”? A bežal by do pivnice a zavrel by všetky dvere a sedel by tam v tme a povedal by, “nieto niečo také ako slnko. Nie je niečo také ako svetlo.” Hneď by ste vedeli, niečo nie je s ním v poriadku. Vidíte? Niečo je zle, keď beží do tmavej pivnice a odmieta uznať úžitok Bohom daného svetla. Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. On nechce jeho teplé lúče. Nechce jeho podstatu, ktorá dáva zdravie. Nechce jeho svetlo, aby v ňom chodil. On bude radšej sedieť v tme. To ukazujem, že s tým človekom je mentálne niečo zle, prirodzene.
85 A hovorím toto so všetkou láskou a s rešpektom. Tak isto je niečo duchovne zlé s tým človekom, ktorý bude bežať naspäť do svojich denominačných vyznaní a odmietne vidieť Biblické svetlo, keď ono svieti rovno pred ním. Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. Vidíte, ide naspäť do svojich vyznaní a foriem a zatvára dvere a hovorí, “Také niečo neexistuje. Dni zázrakov pominuli. Nie je niečo také ako Božské uzdravenie, nič také neexistuje. To bolo pre apoštolov.” Ten človek je duchovne blázon. Vidíte? Niečo s ním nie je v poriadku. Zatiahol záclonu a odmietol Ducha Svätého, ktorý mohol prísť na neho. Ak môže ...
“Ak zostanete vo mne, a moje slová vo vás, potom, Svetlo svieti na toto Slovo, proste si čo chcete.” Vidíte? Vidíte?
86Niečo je zle, že on odmieta Bohom dané zdroje, ktoré nám Boh dal aby sme nimi žili, Jeho Slovo. “Spravodlivý bude žiť vierou.”
“Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe, ale na každom Slove,” nie na časti Slova, “na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” A keď to človek proste odmietne, s tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku; niečo nie je v poriadku s jeho prežitím, on tvrdí, že miluje Boha a potom odmieta Boha. S tým človekom sa stalo niečo zlé. Poznáme to, bez tieňa pochybnosti. On to odmieta, beží na toto miesto a hovorí, “No ja len ... nič o tom nechcem vedieť. Nič mi o tých veciach nehovor. Ja ničomu z toho neverím. Bez ohľadu na to čo hovoríš.”
87Nedávno mi povedal jeden človek. Hovoril som vám o tom. Povedal, “Je mi jedno, či by si tu doviedol päťdesiat prípadov uzdravených z rakoviny a päťdesiat doktorov, ktorí by o tom svedčili, ja neverím. Je mi to jedno aj keby si vzkriesil mŕtveho, rovno predo mnou, neveril by som tomu.” Vidíte? S tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku. Nie je. A pri tom ten človek bol kazateľ, údajne bol.
Ale len pre to, že tá organizácia neverí v moc Božiu, neverí, že Slovo znamená presne to čo ono hovorí, ten človek beží do tej pivnici, starej, plesnivej, špinavej, nečistej pivnici nejakej organizácii, a odmieta teplo a životodarné lúče Ducha Svätého, Ježiša Krista, ktorý je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Potom s tou osobou je niečo zlé. Vidíte?
On bude radšej žiť v tej plesnivej temnosti, a podobne, než aby žil vo Svetle Božom a Biblii, ktorá povedala, že “Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Skutky, ktoré ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť. Ešte väčšie ako tieto budete činiť, lebo ja idem ku svojmu Otcovi.” S tou osobou nie je niečo v poriadku. Bez akejkoľvek pochybnosti, niečo nie je v poriadku.
88A vy, ktorí počúvate toto, po svete, čokoľvek ste. S vaším prežitím nie je niečo v poriadku, keď hovoríte, že milujete Boha a odmietate jeho Slovo. Je niečo. Odmietate samotného ... nie divu, že tie veci sa nemôžu stať, cirkev je v stave, a veci sa nemôžu stať ako ich Boh zasľúbil, pretože vy ani neprijímate Slovo ani nechodíte vo Svetle. Biblia povedala, “Choďme vo svetle, ako je On vo svetle, potom Krv Ježiša Krista, Božieho Syna, očisťuje nás od každého hriechu.” Hriech, to je “nevera.”
89Potom keď chodíme v Bohom danom Svetle na túto hodinu, potom Boh berie to Slovo, ktoré dal na túto hodinu a potvrdzuje ho.
Tak ako to urobil v Genesis 1:3, povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a svetlo sa zjavilo. Jeho Slovo vystúpilo a svetlo ho nasledovalo a odstránilo hmlu. A temnosť odišla do jedného rohu a svetlo svietilo na druhej strane.
90Tak to Boh robí dnes. On posiela svoje Slovo na túto hodinu a Duch Svätý prichádza a oživuje to Slovo. A temnosť odchádza do ich vyznaní a denominácií, ale Svetlo svieti, pretože to je Slovo Božie, ktoré sa potvrdilo, že jeho Slovo je pravda. No, na tom nie je nič falošné, to je presne Písmo. No dobre.
91No, nachádzame, že tí mudrci, tí dávni mudrci nasledovali tú Bohom danú vec. Nasledovali Slovo Božie, do Svetla, pretože to bolo Slovo, ktoré prinieslo Život. Vy poviete teraz, “Ako to nasledovali?” No oni boli takí mágovia, vieme.
92A potom nachádzame, že Balám, ten prorok tam v Numeri 24:17, Balám tiež bol takým mágom. On bol prorok, skutočne a on tu prorokoval a povedal, že hviezda vyjde z Jákoba.
A keď títo mudrci videli, že Slovo Božie povedalo, že hviezda vyjde z Jákoba, oni nasledovali ten malý Bohom daný znak až ku zdroju Večného Života.
Tak múdri ľudia dnes, ktorí nie sú zaslepení vyznaniami, budú nasledovať Bohom dané, vypovedané Slovo, až kým neuvidia plnosť moci Božej, ktorá rozkvitá v tejto hodine. Oni to vidia a vedia, že je to tu v Písme. Boh to zasľúbil na tento deň.
93Bez ohľadu na to koľko observatórií, koľko iných ďalších vecí hovorilo týmto múdrym mužom, “Čo, vy ste stratili rozum!” Oni putovali dva roky. Prešli cez veľa národov a tí sa ich pýtali, “Kde idete?”
94“Ó, videli sme jeho hviezdu na východe a ideme sa Mu pokloniť.”
A keď prišli do Jeruzalema, do denominačnej centrály, nedostali odpoveď. Chodili hore dole po uliciach, volali, “Kde je ten narodený Kráľ Židovský?” A tí nič o tom nevedeli.
Tak išli do Slova, aby to zistili. Nasledovali ju, vedeli, že tá hviezda ich vedie ku Večnému Svetlu. “Veď nás do tvojho dokonalého Svetla.” A Slovo je to čo vás vedie do Svetla a Svetlo je to, čo potvrdzuje Slovo. Všimnite si, to boli múdri mužovia.
95A múdri mužovia dnes, nie ... “Múdrosť tohoto sveta je bláznovstvom pred Bohom. Všetci vaši vedci a vy ľudia ktorí spoliehate na nejakej veľkej vzdelanosti, alebo niečom takom, hovoria vám ako štiepiť atóm; to vám nemôže dať Život. Nie je nič, čo vám môže dať Život okrem vypovedaného Božieho Slova. To je to jediné z čoho môže prísť Život, to je cez Jeho vypovedané Slovo.
96A to je v poriadku, vedieť ako sa štiepi atóm. Prajem si keby na to nikdy neprišli. Ale keď ... Oni to musia urobiť, pretože tento svet dnes visí ... To sa musí stať aby roztrhli tieto veľké diery v zemi a dali vytrysknúť láve aby omladila znovu tento svet, aby vytvorila novú zem; kde spravodliví budú kráčať po popole bezbožných, kde hriech bude zabudnutý. Všetko má svoj spôsob obnovenia. A človek, ktorému bolo dané aby žil na tejto zemi, skrze svoju vlastnú múdrosť, tým že zobral strom poznania namiesto stromu života, on zničí zem, ktorú mu Boh dal aby na nej žil. Ale tí, ktorí sú stále na Strome Života prídu do nového neba a na novú zem, kde už viac nie je choroba ani smrť. Svetlo! Svetlo, Pane, pošli nám Svetlo.
97To boli anjeli Pánovi, ktorí ukázali svetlo na tom kopci, aby viedli pastierov ku Večnému Svetlu. Vidíte, to prichádza len skrze Svetlo. Život môže prísť len skrze svetlo. Tí pastieri, chceli vedieť. Viete, keď sa kráľ narodil, oni spievali, veľké predstavenie, keď sa kráľ narodí. No, On sa tak tajomne narodil, narodil sa v maštali, v jasliach, kde dobytok a kone žrali, ale predsa to bol kráľ. A anjeli prišli dole a spievali pastierom chválospevy, vo Svetle.
Anjeli, oni sami, boli svetlami, ktoré sa ukázali so Slovom Božím. Oni mali Slovo Božie a povedali im, “Dnes v meste Dávidovom, v Betleheme sa narodil Kristus Spasiteľ.” Anjeli mali Slovo, a Slovo prišlo skrze Svetlo, aby ich viedlo. A oni nasledovali slovo anjelov ku večnému Svetlu. Našli tam nemluvňa, zavinuté v plienkach, ako im povedali. Lebo, vidíte, Život prichádza jedine prostredníctvom Svetla.
98Všimnite si, On bol Slovom, ktoré urobilo Svetlo, alebo sa stalo Svetlom. Slovo v tej generácii, On bol Svetlom Slova tej generácii, pretože tí dávni proroci hovorili o Ňom a On tu prišiel a potvrdil, že je Svetlom Božieho vypovedaného Slova. Vidíte? Všetko čo tí proroci povedali sa vyplnilo v Ňom, vidíte, tí proroci tu so Slovom.
Ako Boh na počiatku, keď povedal, “Buď svetlo, “ a prišlo svetlo.
Teraz prorok povedal, “Panna počne a porodí Syna. Nazvú Jeho meno Emanuel, lebo to bude Boh s nami.” No, oni to povedali, Slovo vyšlo; ale On bol Svetlo. Čo On bol? Vyplnenie. Haleluja! On bol vyplnením Slova. On bol manifestáciou Slova.
99Tak je to dnes, Božie Slovo sa vyplnilo v tejto hodine! To je Svetlo. To je Boh, ktorý sa manifestuje. On bol Svetlom sveta.
100A keď proroci, inšpirovaní Duchom Svätým, povedali, “Dieťa sa nám narodilo, Syn nám je daný; a nazvú jeho meno Radca, Knieža Pokoja, Mocný Boh, Otec Večnosti,” tu to je. Čo On je? Svetlo, ktoré vyplnilo Slovo, amen, Svetlo, ktoré vyplnilo to Slovo.
101V Matúšovi, vo svätom Matúšovi vo 28. kapitole nachádzame. A keď Ježiš vstal z mŕtvych, On bol tiež Svetlom hovoreného Slova cez Dávida, ktoré hovorilo, “Nezanechám jeho dušu v pekle; ani nedám môjmu Svätému vidieť porušenie.” Smrť bola v temnosti. Ale On prelomil pečate smrti a vošiel do nej a znovu z nej vyšiel. On bol Svetlom, potvrdeným Slovom, že mŕtvi môžu po smrti žiť. On bol.
102Na deň letníc, to bolo Svetlo, ktoré sa ukázalo, keď prišiel Duch Svätý.
Izaiáš povedal, v 28. kapitole Izaiáša, Izaiáš povedal, že, “Príkaz musí byť na príkaz; úprava na úpravu, trochu tu a trochu tam.” “Drž sa mocne toho čo je dobré.” “Lebo bľabotajúcimi rtami a inými jazykmi budem hovoriť tomuto ľudu. A toto je odpočinutie, toto je Sabat, ktorý dám ... A všetko toto nepočúvali, odchádzali preč, kývali svojimi hlavami.”
A keď v deň Letníc, keď Duch Svätý padol na tých ľudí a oni sa správali ako opilí muži a ženy potácali sa pod účinkovaním Ducha Svätého. A ľudia odchádzali, krútili hlavami a hovorili, “Títo sú opilí, plní nového vína,” a tak ďalej. To bolo presne to Svetlo, Slovo, ktoré bolo prorokované sa zamanifestovalo.
103Tak je to v každom veku, Slovo sa zamanifestovalo, prišlo do Života, to je Svetlo na daný vek, tam sa Slovo zamanifestovalo. Práve tak ako to bolo v Genesis 1, keď Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a bolo svetlo. Keď Boh povedal, že tam bude Syn; a bol tam Syn.
104Keď Boh povedal v Joelovi 2:28, “Stane sa v posledných dňoch, že vylejem svojho Ducha na každé telo; vaši synovia a dcéry budú prorokovať; na mojich služobníkov a na dievky vylejem svojho Ducha; vaši mládenci budú vídať videnia; vaším starcom sa budú snívať sny.” A všetky tieto veci, ktoré On zasľúbil, keď Duch Svätý padol, to bolo Svetlo na tom Slove. Keď sa Slovo zamanifestovalo, vtedy sa to stalo Svetlom.
On je Svetlo. On je Svetlo, ktoré máme nasledovať. On je to jediné Svetlo. Tí anjeli našli Svetlo, nasledovali ho a prišli ku Nemu.
105No, vo všetkých vekoch, Boh dáva toľko a toľko Slova na každý vek. Boh stále posiela niekoho aby Slovo mohlo preniknúť a ukázať jeho Svetlo. V každom veku robí to isté, stále sa to tak deje.
106On bol vyplnením, ako som povedal, všetkých tých Božských, svätých mocí tých prorokov. Oni boli malými bohmi. Keď Slovo Božie prišlo ku nejakému mužovi, sám Ježiš povedal, že to bol boh. Poznáte to. Povedal, “Ak váš zákon povedal a vaši otcovia vtedy, nazvali tých, ku ktorým prišlo Slovo Božie, nazvali ich “bohmi,” ako môžete odsudzovať mňa, keď som povedal, že som Syn Boží?” Vidíte?
Keď sám Boh, ktorý povedal to Slovo cez tých prorokov, On bol manifestáciou toho hovoreného Slova. A ak prorok bol nazvaný bohom, pretože bol manifestáciou Slova iného proroka, ako môžete odsudzovať Jeho, keď On bol tým istým? On bol Syn Boží, bude nazvaný Synom Božím.
107On bol ten dlho zasľúbený Mesiáš, na ktorého svet čakal. On bol tým Mesiášskym zasľúbením, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo.
108Pozrite sa na Neho keď tam stál. On povedal, “Ak nerobím skutky môjho Otca, potom ma odsudzujte.” Vidíte? “Ale ak nemôžete veriť Mne, verte tým skutkom, ktoré činím. Oni svedčia kto som. Oni vám povedia kto som.”
Vidíte, tá slepá, temná hodina v ktorej žijú, nemohli to vidieť. Oni to proste nemohli porozumieť. “Ako by On mohol tým byť? Ako On môže byť nejaký Syn Boží, keď sa narodil rovno tu v Betleheme?” Keby len vedeli, že Slovo povedalo, že to sa tak stane. “Aha, jeho otec, Jozef je tesár. Jeho matka, no, v skutočnosti sa to tak verí medzi našimi bratmi, že sa narodil mimo manželstva.” Vidíte? Ale Slovo to predsa tak povedalo.
109On povedal, “Skúmajte Písma, lebo si myslíte, že v nich máte večný život a oni sú to, ktoré svedčia kto som. Oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o mne, tieto Sväté Písma.” Čo On potom bol? Božie Svetlo. Nie divu, že povedal, “Ja som svetlo sveta.”
110On nepovedal len, “Ja som svetlo,” ale povedal, “Vy ste svetlo.” Ak je vo vás jeho Slovo, nesie svedectvo o sebe, potom ste svetlom sveta. Všimnite si, nachádzame, svetlo každého veku sa zamanifestovalo tak isto.
111Potom sa chcem opýtať, keď ... lebo náš čas beží. Prečo, prečo to potom oni ... prečo to odmietli? Ako to mohli urobiť, keď ... Sama ich Biblia, ktorú čítali, bola pred nimi zamanifestovaná. Dávajte teraz na to dobrý pozor.
112Pamätajte, hovorím teraz ku veľa ľuďom, viete. Nie len tu ku štyristo, päťsto, ale hovorím ku veľa tisícom.
113Zastavte sa na chvíľu. Zastavte svoj magnetofón a položte si otázku. Prečo by nábožní ľudia, dobrí ľudia ... Prečo Jozef pochyboval? Vidíte? Prečo Jo- ...? Pretože neskúmal Písmo.
Prečo kňazi pochybovali? Nemali ani jeden dôvod; oni to vedeli. Nikodém to dobre povedal. Povedal, “Rabi, my vieme, že ty si učiteľ od Boha. Nikto nemôže robiť to čo ty, ak by nebol s ním Boh. My si to uvedomujeme.” Ale čo to bolo? Ich tradície im bránili, aby to prijali.
114Tak prečo odmietli Mesiáša? Lebo ... Prečo odmietli to Svetlo? Tu je Slovo o ktorom vedeli, že sa má vyplniť, ale keď sa to Slovo zamanifestovalo, aby ukázalo, že Slovo Božie sa vyplnilo, porovnajte to s dneškom. Vidíte? Keď je tam napísané v Slove, že sa to stane, prečo to títo ľudia odmietli; tí učitelia? Pretože žili v žiare iného svetla. To je to. Oni žili v žiare. To je to čo robia dnes. Oni žijú ...
Dôvod prečo to odmietli je ten, že žili v žiare iného svetla. Vidíte? No, oni žili v žiare toho, čo povedal Mojžiš, tak to tvrdili. Žili v žiare iného veku, toho, čo už prešlo.
A dnes je to ten istý dôvod, že toto Posolstvo, že “Ježiš Kristus je stále ten istý,” je odmietnuté, pretože ľudia žijú v žiare iných vekov. Ten istý dôvod, prečo to odmietnu. No, vidíme to.
115A Webster hovorí, že “Žiara je určitý druh falošného svetla. Žiara je falošné svetlo; tiež niečo čo žiari.”
Ako fatamorgána na ceste. Idete po ceste, mnohí z vás cestujete autom a dívate sa pred seba. Keď vidíte, že slnko na zemi, svetlo sa tam odráža, ako fatamorgána, zdá sa akoby všade po ceste bola voda. Ale, keď tam prídete, nič tam nie je. To je len klamná fatamorgána, žiara z pravého svetla.
To je to čo diabol dnes robí, ukazuje ľuďom fatamorgánu, Cirkevnú Radu, skupinu denominácií, čo sa ukáže, že je falošné. Pretože je skutočné svetlo, ktoré svieti. Keby to skutočné svetlo nesvietilo, nemohla by tam byť fatamorgána. Skutočné Svetlo svieti. A to je ... Oni žijú v žiare iného veku, inej veci, lebo to zažiarilo a prešlo.
No, žiara, táto fatamorgána je falošná. To je žiara slnka.
116A takto, oni urobili to isté, falošnú žiaru pravého Svetla.
117No, to dokázalo, že On je tým pravým Svetlom. On bol Svetlo. Prečo oni vedeli, že On je Svetlo? Ako vy môžete vedieť, že On je Svetlo? Pretože Slovo, ktoré bolo zasľúbené sa zamanifestovalo cez Neho, tak On bol Svetlom toho hovoreného Slova. Amen! Ó, to robí zo mňa skoro letničného baptistu, že vykrikujem. Všimnite si, zamyslite sa nad tým!
118 Žiara, viete, žiť v žiare! Ale keď pravé Slovo žije, to je Svetlo, to čo Boh povedal.
No, čo keby Boh povedal, na počiatku, “Buď svetlo,” ó, dobre, a ukázalo by sa niečo iné, len nejaká fatamorgána? Rozumiete? To by nebolo to čo Boh povedal. Nie, nebolo by. Čo keby Boh povedal, “Buď svetlo,” a prišla by väčšia hmla? Vidíte? To by nebolo svetlo. Ale svetlo prišlo preto, lebo jeho Slovo sa zamanifestovalo.
A dnes, keď Boh povedal, že také veci sa budú diať v tomto čase a vidíte, že to sa deje, (čo to je?) To je svetlo Božieho Slova. To je Slovo, ktoré sa stalo Svetlom, manifestuje sa.
119No, oni povedali, “Čo Ty hovoríš, že kto sme my?” povedal, “Ty sa snažíš ... vieme že si blázon. Aha, Ty si Samaritán; nemáš zdravý rozum. Ty sa budeš snažiť ... Kto môže povedať ... Vieme, že si sa v hriechu narodil. Neviem odkiaľ si prišiel. Nemáme záznam tvojej identifikácie v našich skupinách. Si blázon. Máš démona.” Vidíte? Povedali, “Stratil si rozum.” Ale On bol v skutočnosti tým originálnym, pravým Svetlom Božím, ktoré svietilo.
A žiara oslepila ich oči. “My máme za vodcu Mojžiša!”
120On povedal, “Keby ste verili Mojžišovi, poznali by ste ma.”
121A keby ste verili Ježišovi a Biblii, poznali by ste túto hodinu, v ktorej žijete. Oni hovoria, “No, my sme kresťania. My ...” Ak ste, budete poznať skutky Krista na tento deň. Rozumiete? Budete to poznať.
122Ježiš povedal, “Všetci tí proroci hovorili o Mne. A ak veríte tým prorokom, tak budete poznať Mňa. Moje skutky ma identifikujú. Pretože, to čo oni povedali Ja robím, Ja to robím. A kto ma môže teraz usvedčiť z nevery?”
123A oni to stále nevideli. Prečo? Ich oči boli oslepené tou žiarou; vidíte, žiarou niečoho iného, čo prijali, než čím bolo skutočné vypovedané Slovo. Zamyslite sa nad tým. Zamyslite sa. Oni tvrdili, že veria tomu Slovu. Ale ich tradície odvrátili ich tváre od pravého Slova na žiaru, a tak nemohli vidieť tú skutočnú vec.
Tak je to dnes. Tak to bolo v každom veku. Vidíte, pravé Slovo svieti ale oni boli tak zahľadení do tradícií, že nemohli vidieť to Slovo. Dívajú sa na žiaru a sú slepí. Žiara vás oslepí. Ona vytvára oblúk. To vás oslepí. A to bude, keď ...
124Ježiš povedal, “Vy ste slepí, vediete slepých.” Oni mali byť schopní vidieť to, vidieť kto On je. Ale nevideli, pretože žili v tej žiare.
125No, žiara, ako som povedal, je falošné svetlo, fatamorgána, falošná predstava pravého Svetla. Falošná predstava; to je niečo čo by malo tak vyzerať, ale to nie je To.
126Jedine ako mohli uvidieť rozdiel, bolo na základe práve tých vecí, ktoré Ježiš činil, oni dokázali kto On bol, že On je Svetlo. Oni si mysleli, že sú vo svetle. Ale ak sa teraz na chvíľu zamyslíte kto bol vlastne vo svetle.
127No, dnes! Ak takú nerozvážnu chybu vykonali cirkevní ľudia v tom čase, takú nerozvážnu vec, ktorú vykonali, bratia, či nemyslíte, že je čas aby sme sa zastavili a rozvážili čo je Svetlo? Nerobme takú nerozvážnu chybu. Ale vy ju robíte. Už ste ju vykonali a neviete o tom, tak isto ako oni vtedy. Zastavte sa teraz na chvíľu a zistite čo hovorí Slovo na dnes.
128Keby sa oni zastavili a zamysleli, “Tu On vyplňuje do písmena presne to čo Slovo povedalo, že bude robiť.”
A On ich vyzval, ako ja vyzývam vás! Rozumiete? Vyzývam vás aby ste sa pozreli do Slova, skúmali Písma, a pozreli sa či to nie je tá hodina. Vidíte? “Skúmajte Písma, lebo si myslíte, že v nich máte večný život a oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o mne.” Oni sú to, ktoré svedčia o tomto skutku dnes. Samé tie skutky svedčia, že to sa stalo a Písmo hovorí, že to sa stane, tak to je Svetlo tejto hodiny. Božie Slovo tak povedalo.
129Vaše tradície a také veci sú presne tým čo Biblia hovorí, ako tí ktorí krútili hlavami a odchádzali preč. “Všetky stoly sa stali plné vývratku,” hovorí Biblia. A oni sa tam dostali. Oni by tomu neverili. Krútili hlavami. A džentlmen, uvedomuješ si to? A brat, uvedomuješ si to, že keď odmietaš tú vec, ktorú Boh pred tebou potvrdzuje, že robíš to isté čo urobili oni, že odchádzaš naspäť do svojich tradičných vývratkov?
130“Ako sa pes navracia ku svojmu vývratku.” Ak mu bolo z toho zle prvý krát, bude mu z toho zle aj po druhýkrát. Ak Katolícka cirkev, ktorá sa zorganizovala a urobila prvú organizáciu, priniesla chorobu do cirkvi, to isté spôsobia Lutheráni, Metodisti a všetci ostatní, Baptisti, Presbyteriáni a Letniční. “Pes ide naspäť ku svojmu vývratku a sviňa sa ide znovu váľať v blate.” Vidíte? Prídeme ku tomu za chvíľu ak Pán dá.
131Žiara, chodia v žiare, vo fatamorgáne, vo falošnej predstave pravého Svetla. On dokázal, že je Svetlom.
Pretože, On, bol v menšine, ó, milióny proti Nemu! Ani jedna šestina ľudí, ani jedna deväťdesiatina ľudí na zemi vôbec nevedela, že On tu bol. Myslím, že možno stotina Židov, alebo sotva jedna päťdesiatina z nich alebo štyridsatina z nich, myslím, možno menej, v jeho vlastnom kraji vedeli, že On tam je. A tí, ktorí vedeli, že tam je Ho pokladali za niečo falošné, pretože denominácia im povedala, že On je taký. Vidíte?
Ale jednako On bol tým pravým Svetlom, o ktorom sa hovorilo od Genesis, na počiatku a bolo im povedané aby skúmali Písma a zistili či On nežije práve v tom čase; či On, tie skutky ktoré činil, nevyplnili presne to, čo bolo zasľúbené na ten čas. Amen. Ó!
132 Aká vážna vec to je, brat! Žijeme v ohromnom čase.
133On dokázal, že má pravdu. On bol tým Svetlom, o ktorom tvrdili, že ho uctievajú. Tvrdili, že uctievajú to Svetlo.
A tak je to dnes. Tvrdia, že to uctievajú. Letniční to tvrdia. Tvrdia, že to robia a sú tak slepí, že to nevidia. Prečo? Organizujú ale sú oslepení žiarou. Vidíte? A niektorých ľudí dáva dokopy tradícia; a hovoria, “Pôjdeme a urobíme toto a toto, a toto a toto.” A teraz prídem ku tomu prečo sa to muselo stať, ak Pán dá.
134Všimnite si, jeho skutky boli vlastne živým Slovom. To čo On robil bolo živým Slovom, a to ukazovalo, že On je tým Svetlom, ktoré bolo zasľúbené od založenia sveta. On bol tým Svetlom. Jeho Svetlo na zasľúbenom Slove toho veku spravilo, že ono žilo presne tak, ako hovorilo zasľúbenie, ale oni to mali tak poprekrúcané, že to nemohli vidieť. Rozumiete? Ale On bol Svetlom na ten vek.
135On bol Svetlo, o ktorom tvrdili, že ho uctievajú. Mysleli si, že uctievajú samého Boha stvoriteľa. Žili a uctievali v žiare, a Ježiš povedal, “Márne ma uctievate, učiac učenie, ktoré je tradíciou ľudí a nie Slovom.” On je Slovo a On bol Slovom, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Oni to mali vedieť.
136Dúfam, že to môže prenikať všade tam kde to počujete, vidíte, to je Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. “Ó,” hovoria, “ó, my máme Slovo.” Aha, Slovo, každý nosí Bibliu, kto chce. Ale, keď je Slovo potvrdené, keď sa zamanifestovalo!
No, hovoria, “Dobre, my veríme!”
137Áno, veria, po celý čas. Satan tiež. Títo Farizejovia, kto ich mohol usvedčiť, že neveria? Ale neverili Slovu na tú hodinu. Uctievali v žiare z niečoho iného.
To je to isté čo robia dnes. Vidíte? Dodržiavajú Lutherove tradície, alebo Wesleyove tradície a tých ostatných, Letničné tradície. Ale čo s touto hodinou?
Farizejovia zachovávali svoje tradície. Ale za ich tradíciami bolo pravé Slovo Božie, ktoré začínalo svietiť a keď zasvietilo, oslepilo ich oči. Nemohli to vidieť pretože dávali pozor na niečo iné.
Tak je to dnes! Nech by Boh spravil aby to vsiaklo, až to skutočne trafí do domu ľudí, ktorí tomu majú veriť. Je neskoršie ako si myslíte.
138Môj syn, Billy Paul, hovorí zo sna, ale nesníva sa mu príliš často. Jednej noci mal sen, ktorý ním otriasol. Povedal, že sa mu snívalo, že bol v zbore a ľudia ... ja som ešte neprišiel.
Povedal, keď som prišiel, že z očí mi šľahal oheň a povedal som, “Nastal čas. Je koniec.”
A každý začal kričať, “Ja nemôžem! Moje deti!”
139A dokonca moja žena povedal, “Nemôžem dostať Sáru aby sa pomodlila pri stole a tak ďalej.” A ja som povedal ...
On povedal, “Musím ísť a zobrať Loyce a dieťa.”
140Povedal som, “Loyce nemôže teraz prísť. Dieťa je príliš malé aby to vedelo. Billy, tá hodina je tu. Musíme ísť.” Povedal som, “Teraz je polnoc. Pred úsvitom tu bude Ježiš. Ak nie, potom som falošný Kristov svedok.”
A niekto prehovoril a riekol, “Nikto nepozná minútu ani hodinu.”
141“Ja som nepovedal minútu ani hodinu. Povedal som, “Niekedy od teraz do úsvitu.” A povedal som, “Ideme.” ...?... Povedal som, “Je náš čas. Ideme.”
A nasadli sme do auta a vyrazili, a začali sme vychádzať na kopec. A keď sme tam išli vyzeralo to akoby na oblohe nastávalo svetlo, ale na zemi bola tma. Povedal, že som zabočil na kraj cesty a držal som takto hore ruky, z očí mi stále šľahal oheň. A povedal, že som riekol, “Pane, urobil som toto na tvoj rozkaz. Urobil som to pretože si mi to Ty povedal, aby som to takto urobil. Urobil som tieto veci podľa toho, čo si mi Ty povedal.”
A pohol som sa ku veľkej žulovej hore; a Svetlo, bez zásahu rúk, odseklo kameň z tej hory, vážiaci stovky ton a tu To prichádza. Povedal som, “Otoč hlavu, nedívaj sa. Za chvíľu sa všetko dokoná.” Povedal, že potom všade nastalo veľké sväté ticho, ako tento Kameň prišiel na to miesto.
142Môže byť neskoršie než si myslíme. Vidíte, to je presne podľa Písma, viete, “ten Kameň, bez pričinenia rúk, odseknutý z hory.”
A tak v jednom z týchto dní to tak bude, keď bude kričať o niečo. Povedal som im, “Vy ste už mali ten čas. Boh vás ustavične varoval, čas za časom. Áno.” Povedal som, “Aj keď sú to moje vlastné deti, alebo ktokoľvek to je, hodina je tu. Ja môžem vravieť len to, čo mi On povedal, a to bude,” a to bolo.
A potom, zrazu [Brat Branham pleskol rukami. – pozn.prekl.] tu On prichádza, “Kameň odseknutý z hory, bez pričinenia rúk.” Daniel to videl, viete, dávno pred mnohými rokmi. Billy nič o tom nevedel, ale to bolo - to bol sen, ktorý mu poslal Pán.
143No, vidíte, oni tvrdia, že uctievajú práve toho Boha, z ktorého si robili žarty. A tá istá vec sa znovu dnes zopakovala, z toho istého dôvodu, žijú v žiare namiesto v Svetle. Veľké svetlá svietia. Dobre.
144Pozrite sa v akej tme sme dnes! Pozrite sa čo sa dnes deje! Pozrite vraždy, znásilnenia, boje! Prečo, to sa stalo. Myslím, že Billy Graham povedal, na jeho poslednom zhromaždení, “Za desať rokov od teraz, každý obyvateľ Kalifornie bude musieť nosiť pištoľ na svoju obranu. Orgány trestného konania nebudú stačiť.” Ľudia sa proste zbláznili; strieľajú vraždia a znásilňujú a všetko možné, vidíte. Svet sa proste zbláznil, vidíte, na uliciach. Vidíte, to je deň v ktorom žijeme, Sodomský deň. Vidíte?
Ale svieti Svetlo! Keby sa len pozreli, keby len videli, pozreli sa do Slova a videli čo má byť v tejto hodine; vedeli by čo sa to snaží vykonať.
145No, oni tvrdia, že uctievajú to Svetlo, tak tvrdili aj oni, že uctievajú to svetlo ale oni sa modlili v žiare iného svetla namiesto toho skutočného. Vidíte? On je Svetlo.
146Vyznania a tradície, v ich slepom stave, ich odvrátili od pravého svetla zasľúbeného Slova. Slovo, ktoré Boh potvrdil, cez Ježiša, Svetlo sveta, prišilo a spravilo, že to Slovo žilo presne v Jeho čase, presne v tých dňoch. “On bude vyťatý uprostred sedemdesiatych týždňov, je to tak, čo je tri a pol roka jeho proroctva. Mesiáš príde, to Knieža, a bude prorokovať a tri a pol dní z tohoto, potom bude vyťatý z pomedzi živých a učiní zmluvu.” A to je presne tak. On kázal tri a pol roka. A ich ...
147A v tom žalme v ktorom Dávid povedal, “Môj Bože, môj Bože, prečo si ma opustil?” V 22. žalme, “Všetky moje kosti, oni hľadia na mňa. Kývajú svojimi hlavami. Prechádzajú okolo mňa.” Osemsto päťdesiat rokov potom, keď Dávid spieval tú pieseň v Duchu a to bolo uvážené proroctvo a dané. Oni spievali tie piesne v chráme, keď práve tá Obeť visela na kríži s prebodnutými rukami. “A prebodli moje ruky a moje nohy.” Vidíte? Vidíte to tam? Potom, prečo? Žili v žiare. Nevideli Svetlo.
148Môžete si predstaviť, že niečo také robí rozumný človek? Ani ja si nedokážem predstaviť, že by rozumný človek bežal dole do pivnice a zavrel by dvere a povedal, “Odmietam vidieť, že existuje svetlo.” To je nenormálne.
A jeho duchovný stav sa niekde pošmykol, keď človek vidí, že Biblia toto zasľúbila a vidí, že to žije rovno pred ním a zamanifestovalo sa to a potom stále zostáva v tých vyznaniach a takých veciach tam, ktoré to odmietajú. To je duchovná kriminalita. Presne tak.
149On tu teraz bol. “On bol Svetlo sveta a svet ho nepoznal ... Prišiel ku svojím vlastným; Jeho vlastní ho nepoznali. Na svete bol a svet povstal skrze neho a svet ho nepoznal.” Vidíte? “Ale všetkým, ktorí Ho poznali, tým dal moc stať sa synmi Božími, tým, ktorí veria v Neho.”
150Pamätajte, nemôžeme žiť zo včerajšieho svetla. Včerajšie svetlo pominulo. Už viac nie je. Ono, včerajšie svetlo, to je len spomienka. Včerajšie slnečné svetlo je len spomienkou alebo históriou. Už viac nemôžeme žiť vo včerajšom svetle. A tak isto, hoci je to to isté slnko, to isté slnko, ale každý deň vydáva svoju silu trochu viac aby dalo dozrieť zrnu na žatvu. Vidíte?
151Slnko dnes prichádza, stáva sa trochu silnejšie. Každý deň teraz sa stane trochu silnejšie, trochu silnejšie až nakoniec tá pšenica, ktorá tam leží, naberie život. Po nejakom čase, ten život sa ukáže, potom je to trochu silnejšie a silnejšie. Marec, apríl, máj, jún, júl, prišla do žatvy, vidíte. To isté slnko, ktoré svieti dnes, v januári alebo v decembri rozpúšťa sneh, zavlažuje zrno, prináša vodu; to je to isté slnko, ale tá pšenica nemôže žiť v tom istom slnečnom svetle v júni. Vidíte, nemôže. Vidíte, slnko sa každý deň stáva trochu silnejšie a to zrno má byť zrelšie aby prijalo to slnečné svetlo.
152To je to, čo sa deje dnes. To zrno, ktoré bolo zasiate vo včasných otcoch, tam v čase Luthera a Wesleya a iných, zakrpatelo; ono nedokáže prijať Syna. Syn (Slnko) ho zabíja. Ono odmieta rásť. Vidíte? Odsekáva to, odstúpilo akoby od stopky a prichádza tu hore, a urobilo zo seba niečo svoje. Stáva sa potom šupkou a nie je v tom žiadny život. Zrno musí dozrievať a silnieť, keď sa slnko každý deň stáva silnejšie.
153Pozorujme to teraz za chvíľu. Pozorujme tie cirkevné veky. Je sedem cirkevných vekov. A ako tieto cirkevné veky, každý jeden, pozorujte ako On ku ním hovoril, čo sa dialo, ako zrno dozrievalo a tu prichádza do svojej poslednej hodiny, do tejto poslednej hodiny v ktorej žijeme. Tak tie cirkvi musia robiť to isté. Vidíte? Tie cirkvi.
154No, pozrite sa. Luther zasial zrno a Luther bol zrno a on ho zasial. Dobre. Tak tiež Wesley; a tiež Letniční; tiež Baptisti, Nazaréni. Ale, vidíte, Luther teraz nepôjde naspäť a nebude žiť vo svetle tej prvej denominácii, vo svetle Katolíkov. Nie, on bol iným svetlom. Boh dával niečomu dozrievať. Malá menšina vyšla z toho, z toho Lutherovho prebudenia.
155Potom prišlo Wesleyove prebudenie, a potom, v tom, aha, nemohli ísť naspäť, aby z nich boli Lutheráni. Vidíte?
A potom ďalej prichádzajú Letniční. A potom sa Letniční zorganizovali a urobili to isté, nabrali formu šupky. Všimnite si.
156Ale zrno ide rovno ďalej. A teraz sme v inom veku. Prečo to nechcú prijať? Prečo nechcú vidieť, že zrno dozrelo? Tu je zasľúbené Slovo na tento deň. [Brat Branham klepe po Biblii. – pozn.prekl.] Prečo to nevidia? Pretože žijú v žiare Luthera, v žiare Wesleya, v žiare Baptistov, v žiare Letničných. Oni žijú v žiare iného svetla. Preto nemôžu prijať Svetlo úplného Slova, ktoré sa potvrdilo, ako to Boh zasľúbil. Tých Sedem Pečatí, kde celé to tajomstvo bolo zjavené, prišlo naspäť a povedalo prečo sa tieto tajomstvá takto stali; a jednako, keď to prichádza, oni odchádzajú preč od toho, ďalej než kedykoľvek. Sú bez výhovorky.
157Boh to urobil skrze Ducha, skrze zjavenia. On to dokonale potvrdil, skrze vedu a všetko ďalšie, že to je Pravda, že to je Pravda. A oni stále chcú žiť v žiare Letničných, “Ja som zo Zhromaždení Božích! Ja som Jednotár! Ja som z Cirkvi Božej! Ja som toto!” Vidíte? Žijú v žiare veku, ktorý bol pred štyridsiatimi, päťdesiatymi rokmi. Žijú v žiare Luthera. Žijú v žiare Wesleya, Baptistov, Prezbyteriánov alebo Nazarénov, v žiare iného cirkevného veku, ktorý odišiel a zorganizoval sa a urobil to isté a odmietol, a zavrhol Svetlo, keď ono skutočne svieti.
158A žijete vo fatamorgáne. Hovorím to vážne, nie aby som vás urazil ale aby som vás zobudil. Žijete vo fatamorgáne.
Čo keď Ježiš povedal, “Vy ste slepí a vediete slepých.” Oni nemohli ... On sa im snažil povedať; nevideli to. Povedal, “Nechajte ich tak. Ak slepý vedie slepého, obaja spadnú do jamy.” To je hodina do ktorej sme prišli! Ak sa budú potkýnať, ja tomu nemôžem pomôcť. Urobil som všetko čo môžem. Urobil som to presne.
Urobil som to na tvoj rozkaz, Pane. Ty si svedkom.
Od 1933, tam dole pri rieke, keď to Svetlo, ktoré ste videli, tam zasvietilo, bolo to rovno tu v modlitebni a svedčilo vám po všetky tie roky. A všetko čo Ono povedalo sa stalo. A oni stále idú ďalej. “Nech slepý vedie slepého.” Ja budem len čakať na tú hodinu; On príde, v jednom z týchto dní.
159Všimnite si, žijú v žiare Luthera, žijú v žiare Wesleya, žijú v žiare z predošlých dní, preto nemôžu vidieť pravé Svetlo. Keby sa na chvíľu zastavili a zobrali Bibliu a čítali ju, videli by, že ... toto je Svetlo zasľúbené na túto hodinu.
160Vezmeme teraz na chvíľu niektoré z týchto vecí. On zasľúbil, podľa Malachiáša 4, že sa stanú tieto veci. On zasľúbil, cez všetky Písma, že to sa stane. Vidíte,
161Všimnite si tiež Izrael, náš vzor, na tej ceste. Pozrite sa, jedli mannu, ktorá bola ich svetlom, životom, dávala im silu, život, je to tak? Izraelci nemohli jesť mannu zo včerajšieho dňa, ktorá im napadala. Ona bola zhnitá. Bola červivá. Nebola pre nich dobrá. Zomreli by z nej. Manna, ktorá ich držala včera pri živote, by ich dnes zabila. Biblia hovorí, že v nej boli baktérie, skazila sa. A mannu, každý deň museli zbierať novú mannu. Amen.
A čo to je? Ľudia ktorí žijú na manne Luthera, Wesleya a inných tam vtedy, jete skazenú vec, ktorá vás zabíja, duchovne. To vás zabíja, ste mŕtvi vo vašich tradíciách.
162Včerajšia, Lutherova manna by nefungovala pre Metodistov. Metodistická manna by nefungovala pre Letničných. Letničná manna nebude fungovať dnes. Vidíte čo chcem povedať? Každý deň prichádza, deň za dňom, čerstvá, a tak to bolo počas cirkevných vekov.
Lutherova manna, to bolo posolstvo ospravedlnenia. Wesleyove posolstvo bolo manifestáciu posvätenia. Letničné, bolo prinavrátenie darov. Ale toto je uvedenie Štítového kameňa, posledný deň, Strom Nevesty, čo je úplne iné ako všetky ostatné a predsa je to to isté Svetlo na dozretie.
Ako to isté slnko, ktoré svieti dnes, bude dávať zrelosť zrnu na žatvu v júli. Rozumiete čo chcem povedať? Ale dnešné svetlo by nič nepomohlo tam vtedy v júli. Ono je silnejšie. Pšenica je viac rozvinutá; je pripravená prijať to. Amen. Samozrejme je. Oni nemohli prijať to, čo je teraz; to môže byť prijaté potom. Vtedy nebol ten správny čas; teraz je.
163Nemôžete ísť proti Božej prírode. On má zákon a postupovať proti tomu zákonu, to zabije vašu rastlinu. Musíte postupovať podľa Božieho vypovedaného zákona a jeho zákonom je jeho Slovo. Každý zákon je vypovedaným slovom. A slovo je zamanifestovanou myšlienkou. Vidíte? Teraz vieme, že to je pravda.
164Videnie je čo? Slovo Božie alebo niečo predpovedané, alebo predzvesť nejakej udalosti. A videnie, ktoré mali proroci a Ježiš, Pavel a všetci ostatní a hovorili o tomto dni, to bolo predzvesťou toho, čo sa stane. A tu vidíme, že tá predzvesť sa zamanifestovala a ľudia to ani nezbadali. Vidíte čo chcem povedať? Včerajšia manna ...
165Pozrite sa sem. Všimli ste si niekedy, slnko putovalo, z východu na západ, zakaždým keď išlo. Všimli ste si to? A, všimnite si, cirkevné veky robili to isté. Čo? Slnko začalo na východe. A civilizácia postupovala so slnkom, s Božím vypovedaným svetlom pre nich, aby v ňom žili. Oni išli, nasledovali slnko, vidíte kde to išlo.
166Život samotný, keď sa narodíte, je ako slnko. Idete stále, rovno až do západu slnka, od vášho narodenia do západu slnka.
167Človek putoval na západ, stále. Najstaršia civilizácia ktorú máme je Čína, vo východných krajoch. Jeruzalem ... A, všimnite si, ona stále putovala smerom na západ, ako išla, ďalej a ďalej, na západ.
168Tak isto sa posúval aj cirkevný vek, skrze Syna Božieho. Pozrite, Pavel, tá včasná cirkev, začala na východe; z tade išla, preskočila cez more do Nemecka. Urobila tri potiahnutia. Pozrite sa sem. Z Ázii, dole v Palestíne, preskočila cez oceán do Nemecka; to bol Luther. A od Luthera to preskočilo cez Anglický kanál do Anglicka; skrze Wesleya. A od Wesleya skočila na západné pobrežie, do Spojených Štátov. A toto, ak pôjdete ešte ďalej, príde to znovu na východ. Toto je čas večera.
169Pozrite sa ako tie cirkevné veky bojovali. Luther ... Pavol, prv, tam v tom včasnom veku; potom to prichádza k Ireneusovi a tak ďalej; do Francúzska; odtiaľ do Nemecka; do Anglicka; stále sa to posúva na západ.
A teraz už nemôžeme ísť ďalej. Toto je posledný vek. A čo hovorí Biblia o tomto poslednom veku? Vidíte, zemepisne, chronologicky, a takmer každým spôsobom ako to chcete vziať. Najprv podľa Písma, podľa Písma, v prvom rade, samozrejme. Dáva to najavo, historicky, akýmkoľvek spôsobom to chcete zobrať, že sme na konci, v poslednom cirkevnom veku.
170A sledujte to, keď to napredovalo, rástlo to a stávalo sa to mocnejšie a mocnejšie. A tak tá skutočná malá menšina cirkvi rástla z ospravedlnenia do posvätenia, do krstu Duchom Svätým a teraz do príchodu Štítového kameňa, formuje sa. Po tomto už nie sú žiadne ďalšie organizácie. Už ich viac nebude. Vidíte, nemôže byť, sme na západe.
171Len aby som vám to ukázal cez všetky tie príklady a to všetko. A pozrite sa na tieto tri skoky, tri potiahnutia. Vojdeme do toho dnes večer, vidíte, ako sme v čase konca. To je len ...
172Slnko putovalo tak ako Syn, Syn ako slnko. Cirkev prišla do toho istého, od Siedmich Cirkevných Vekov a tak ďalej. Civilizácia sa posúvala rovno ďalej na západ a cirkev sa posúvala rovno ďalej na západ. A teraz ak by sme išli ďalej, než ako sme teraz, znovu by sme prišli na východ. Žijeme na západnom pobreží, išli by ste naspäť do Číny, Japonska, znovu rovno naspäť. Prešli by ste sedem tisíc míľ a dostanete sa znovu na východ. Tak, východ a západ sa stretli, to je to všetko. Sme na konci. Nezostalo nič.
173A to isté sa stalo dnes, čo sa stalo tam vtedy. To isté sa odohralo na západe, čo sa odohralo na východe. Ľudia žijú v žiare iného svetla, ktoré sa celkom snažilo ukázať Svetlo, ktoré malo prísť a To odmietajú, pretože majú žiaru namiesto Svetla. Ó! “Veľké svetlo v zemi Pohanov; zem Zabulona, Neftalima; Galilea, ... v Galilei, v zemi Pohanov.”
174Toto je siedmy cirkevný vek. Pamätajte a stále keď slnko začalo svietiť na východe, to je to isté slnko, ktoré svieti na západe. A ten istý Duch, ktorý bol počas všetkých tých vekov, takto, je ten istý Syn dnes. Len, čo to je? Tak ako dozrievanie, sezóna. Slnko, ktoré je teraz, bude to isté slnko, ktoré dá zrelosť zrnu na jeseň, vidíte, ale (čo to je?) To je toto slnko plus to, čo to bude. A dnes, v tomto poslednom veku, to je to, čo oni boli, plus toto.
A jednako oni chcú žiť tam, ako zákrpok, idú naspäť do nejakej plesnivej, starej nominačnej pivnici a ťahajú tam dole svojich slepých, hovoria, “Odmietam to vidieť. To všetko je nezmysel.” Keď sama Biblia, o ktorej tvrdia, že jej veria, identifikovala skrze toho istého Ducha Svätého, že prinesie Svetlo v posledných dňoch!
175Všimli ste ti? Dobre sa pozrite na to tam v Malachiášovi, ako to rozložil, “Vieru otcov deťom a detí otcom.” Vidíte? Ten istý Duch, keď padol tam vtedy, keď to povstáva znovu tu, tá istá vec. Vidíte? Len naopak, presne, znovu to ustanovuje. Pretože, prečo? Východ a západ sa stretli. Rovno pred našimi očami a oni to aj tak nevidia. Prečo? Nie divu, Ježiš povedal, “Nechajte ich tak, potom. Sú slepí a vedú slepých, všetci spadnú do jamy.”
176Svetlo tých iných vekov len odrážalo toto Svetlo. Vidíte? Slnko dnes len odráža, je odrazom slnka, ktoré bude v júli alebo v auguste, ak Boh ... na žatvu. A Syn, z času Luthera, Martina Luthera a Wesleya, a Sankeya. Finneyho. Knoxa, Calvina, Moodyho, a všetkých ostatných, tých veľkých mužov tam vtedy, ktorí mali to svetlo; a John Smith z baptistickej cirkvi a Alexander Cambell, Cambellská cirkev a tí tak zvaní Učeníci Kristovi, Cirkev Kristova a akékoľvek ďalšie mená mali pre nich. Všetci tí mužovia tam vtedy, vo svojom veku, len odzrkadľovali to, čo to bude tu na konci.
177A potom tu, tie deti, hneď po svojich zakladateľoch, čo urobili? Nezostali na steble. Odtiahli sa od toho a urobili si tu malú šupku. To znamená, keď odchádzate prečo od skutočného zdroja života, nemáte žiadny život. Zoberte šupku a zasaďte ju do zeme, ona tam bude ležať a zhnije. A tak je to s vami, snažíte sa jesť zhnitú mannu z tých dávnych dní.
Žatva je zrelá! Ježiš rozprestrel stôl, pri ktorom svätí Boží jedia dozretú Potravu dnešného dňa, skrze Svetlo Evanjelia, ktoré dokazuje a potvrdzuje, že On je dnes tu. Amen. Svätí jedia ten Chlieb.
178Len si predstavte. Tá stará šupka včerajšieho dňa, nesaďte ju tam. To je zhnité. Nemôže, nemôže to s tým zostať. Nie veru. To nič dobré neprinesie. Nebude rásť. Je to bez života; a Slovo je Život. Je to tak. Šupka odpadla, to malé ôstie a také veci, to odpadlo. Stáva sa z toho denominácia a odpadáva to. Odmietajú ísť ďalej so Životom.
Ale Svetlo to potvrdzuje. Ó! Tak veru.
179To čo bolo včera ... ó, ako to potrebujeme vidieť! Rozumiete? Tie zhnité veci, ktoré boli včera, nejedzte ich dnes. Sú v nich červíky. Viete, tie malé krútiace sa chvosty, ako ich ja nazývam. Neviem veľa o zárodku života ale viem, že vždy sme ich nazývali krútiace sa chvosty. Oni sa dostanú do všetkého čo začína trochu hniť. Vidíte? Ja ich potom nechcem. Ak ste s tým spokojní, len si dajte, ale nie ja. Ale pamätajte ...
Hovoríte, “Prečo to potom bolo dobré včera?”
180Keby ste len vedeli, že práve tá stopka, ktorá bola na pšenici od začiatku, ak zostane v zrne, vytvori sa z nej neskoršie zrno. To je práve to čo tvorí kvet pšenici, to čo bolo včera; ale ak sa to oddelí od zrna a nedozrie, potom odchádza preč. Vidíte? Ale ak to prechádza tým procesom, proces, ktorý dáva život, keď to odumiera z jedného, prelína sa do niečoho ďalšieho a tvorí zrno. Ak nie, odkiaľ to pochádza? Amen. Rozumiete?
181Ako Anglická kráľovná, raz, išla do veľkej papierni a povedala, že by rada videla ako sa melie papier. Tak jej ukázali mletie papieru, to bolo pred veľa rokmi prv ako prešli na kašu a takú hmotu, tak vynašli ... robili papier z toho. Tak, po chvíli prišla do miestnosti kde nebolo nič len veľké hromady starých špinavých handier a ona sa opýtala, “Odkiaľ je toto? Čo to je? Och.”
Riaditeľ tej továrni povedal, “Z tohoto vyrobíme papier, z týchto špinavých handier.”
Ona povedala, “Z tohoto vyrobíte papier?”
“Áno.” Ona tomu sotva mohla uveriť.
182Tak potom keď odišla, ten človek zobral tú hromadu špinavých handier a previedol to cez určitý proces a urobil z nich čistý, pravý papier, viete, previedol to cez proces a urobil skutočný ... A dal to toho jej profil a poslal jej to, odrážala sa v tom, čo nazvala, “špinavé handry.”
183To je vlastne to. Tie mŕtve veci zo včerajška; posolstvo Luthera, posolstvo Wesleya, posolstvo Letničných, keby to len mohlo prejsť cez proces Božieho Ducha Svätého a Slova potvrdenia, prinesie to odzrkadlenie Ježiša Krista, Kráľa. Amen. Ale ak to necháte ležať, sú to špinavé handry. Vidíte?
184To musí byť pretvorené do niečoho iného. Luther musí byť pretvorený do Wessleya a Wesley musí byť pretvorený do Letničných a Letniční musia byť pretvorení do Krista. To prechádza cez určitý proces. Tak evanjelium prešlo cez proces. To je proces. Lutherov vek ospravedlnenia, veríme tomu; Wesleyov posvätenia, veríme tomu; Letničný prinavrátenia darov, pre Ducha Svätého, veríme tomu, samozrejme. Ale sformované to všetko spolu, čo z toho dostanete? Ježiša, áno, toho istého včera, dnes i naveky. Ó! Vyjde z toho Ježiš.
185Keď človek v zlievárni odlieva zvon, on ho musí vyrobiť aby mal určitý zvuk. Keď robí tú formu a vlieva tam železo, dáva tam určité množstvo mosadzi, určité množstvo oceli, určité množstvo medi. Prečo? On presne vie koľko toho tam vliať aby to vydalo ten správny tón.
A to je to čo Ježiš urobil pri svojej neveste. On musel vložiť do toho toľko Luthera, toľko Metodistov a toľko Presbyteriánov, toľko Letničných. Ale čo mu z toho vychádza? Jeho vlastné odzrkadlenie.
Čo to je? Tak ako posolstvo pyramídy, viete, to sa hromadí, prichádza do menšiny, so Štítovým kameňom. Služba Ježiša Krista na zemi, musí byť taká istá, ako služba, ktorú mal, inak nemôže do toho prísť. Tak ako hlava, ku nohám. Hlava ... Nohy nie sú hlavou ale hlava nesie nohy alebo hovorí nohám, kde majú ísť. Rozumiete? Nádherné, to je Svetlo na túto hodinu.
186Wesley mal veľké svetlo. Ako On povedal o Jánovi Krstiteľovi, “On bol veľkým svetlom na svoju hodinu.” Skutočne ním bol.
187Tak veru, tie čisté handry ... Vlastne tie špinavé handry zo včerajška, ak takými zostanete, to musí ... To po celý čas zostane špinavými handrami. Poslúžilo to svojmu účelu, ako oblečenie, ale teraz sa z toho stáva papier.
Ospravedlnenie poslúžilo vo svojom čase, v ospravedlnení pri Lutherovi, potom sa z toho muselo stať posvätenie skrze Wesleya. A posvätenie poslúžilo svojmu času, až sa z toho stal krst Duchom Svätým. A krst Duchom Svätým poslúžil svojmu času; až Duch Svätý (a je len jeden Boh) vchádza do cirkvi a cirkev do Krista a to odzrkadľuje Ježiša Krista na zemi, to čo On zasľúbil tu v Biblii. Možno tomu neveríte; ja nemôžem spraviť aby ste tomu verili. Ja som len zodpovedný za Slovo. Vidíte? Je to tak.
188Tak vidíte to? Vidíte to? Ak vidíte, bude to ako - raz jeden človek išiel ... v čase, išiel do Wales, v čase Welchského prebudenia. Skupina ľudí tam išla zo Spojených Štátov. Tak tam išli a povedali, že chcú nájsť budovu, v ktorej majú to Welchské prebudenie. Mnohí si pamätáte to prebudenie vo Welch, veľké prebudenie sa prevalilo medzi ľuďmi vo Welch, vo Wales. Tak títo ľudia, títo dôležití, veľkí kazatelia a takí išli zo Spojených Štátov, tí doktori teológie. Išli tam aby zistili čo za veľké veci tam vykonali, viete.
Tak išli po ulici a povedali ... stretli malého policajta, ktorý tam stál na rohu, krútil si obuškom, viete, a pískal si chválospev, takto. Povedali si, “Aha, on si píska chválospev. Môžeme ísť za ním a zistíme čo bude robiť. Opýtame sa ho.” Tak prišli ku nemu a povedali, “Pane, kde je to Welchské prebudenie?”
189Nadvihol klobúk a povedal im, “Vážení, Welchské prebudenie je tu,” v jeho srdci. Ó, to je to, on bol Welchským prebudením.
Ó Bože, keby sme len porozumeli, že my sme odzrkadlením Ježiša Krista, jeho zamanifestovaného Slova. Ste odzrkadlením jeho Slova. Vidíte?
“Kde je Welchské prebudenie? V akej budove?”
On povedal, “To je v mojom srdci.” On bol Welchským prebudením. To je to.
190A dnes cirkev má byť Ježišom Kristom v akcii na zemi. “Pretože Ja žijem, vy tiež žijete; a môj život bude vo vás. Skutky, ktoré ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť.” Vidíte? Cirkev sa musí dostať tiež na to miesto. A On zasľúbil, že to sa stane, a to bude. To tak musí prísť. Tak, vidíte, to je to čo sa deje. My tak musíme byť.
On je Svetlo.
191Tak Noe bol svetlom vo svojom čase. On bol svetlo. Noe bol tým Svetlom. On bol svetlom aby čo? Aby predniesol Božie Slovo, “Ja zničím človeka na zemi, ktorého som stvoril. Postav archu a všetci ktorí túžia do nej vojsť budú spasení.”
Noe tam vyšiel, povedal, “Je jedna cesta a to je archa.”
192Oni povedali, “Ten starý fanatik.” On bol Slovom, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo. Noe bol svetlom na tú hodinu, skutočne bol. Na svoj deň, na svoj vek, on vydal svetlo.
193Mojžiš bol svetlom na svoju hodinu. “Určite vás navštívim,” povedal Boh Abrahámovi. “A zostúpim a vyvediem svoj ľud mocným ramenom a ukážem v Egypte svoju moc.”
A keď Mojžiš stretol tam ten horiaci krík a zistil, že v tom kríku bol ten JA SOM, Mojžiš tam odišiel a on bol tým Svetlom. Amen. Nie divu, že mohol zobrať prach a vyhodiť ho a povedať, “Nech sa na zemi zjavia blchy.” On mal Slovo Božie. Čo sa stalo? Prach sa začal rozvievať a blchy začali prichádzať do existencie. Haleluja! Prečo? On bol manifestáciou Svetla Božieho Slova, “Raním pliagami Egypt.” On bol prorok. Čo povedal to sa stalo. On bol Svetlom toho dňa. On bol Božím Svetlom.
194Faraón mohol mať všetko čo chcel a tí ostatní, všetci kňazi mali to čo chceli, ale Mojžiš bol tým Svetlom. Prečo? On ukazoval Božie Slovo, manifestoval. Boh zasľúbil, “Ja ich vyvediem mocným ramenom a Ja sa oslávim.” To On tam robil.
Preto Mojžiš dokázal, že môže stvoriť. Nie preto, že to on chcel; pretože mu to Boh povedal. “A s tým, - choď do zhromaždenia, povedz, “Zajtra ...” Pán Boh mi povedal, Zober za hrsť prachu vyhoď ho takto do vzduchu, a zavolaj na ne.” Žiadne tu nie sú, ale tam budú.” Amen!
Ó, dúfam že nespíte. Ó! [Brat Branham pleskol rukami. – pozn.prekl.] Manifestácia!
195On povedal, “Ja som poslaný. Boh povedal našim otcom, že nás tu určite navštívi a vyvedie nás. Prišiel som, aby som vám dokázal, že tá hodina je tu. Zbavte sa toho čo máte. Ideme!” Áno.
196Niektorí z nich povedali, “No, ja myslím ... “ Dátan povedal, “Nemyslím, že sa treba ponáhľať. Nemali by sme byť pri tom takí vzrušení.” A pozrite ako to sklamalo, štyri alebo päť krát. Ale, tak isto, to išlo ďalej.
197Oni si mysleli. Vyšli a povedali, “Ukameňujeme tohoto Mojžiša! Odstráňme ho od nás! Nechceme ho tu vo svojej skupine.”
Mojžiš aj tak išiel rovno ďalej, pretože on bol životom, on bol Svetlom tej hodiny. Čo mal, čo to bolo? Boh manifestoval svoje zasľúbené Slovo cez Mojžiša a Mojžiš bol Svetlom.
198Eliáš bol Svetlom. “Choď tam a posaď sa na tom kopci! Prikázal som krkavcom aby ťa zaopatrovali potravou.” Amen! Tak veru.
199On prišiel naspäť s TAK HOVORÍ PÁN. “Ani len rosa nespadne z neba až kým ju nezavolám.” Amen! Slnko môže svietiť, môžete volať na všetky oblaky a robiť čokoľvek chcete, ale ani len rosa nespadne až kým ju ja nezavolám.” Čo on bol? Svetlo! Haleluja! On bol Svetlo. Svetlo. On bol zamanifestovaným Božím Slovom.
200Oni si mysleli, že je blázon, keď tam sedel. Mal nosičov, ktorí mu donášali jesť; a tam tí hladovali na smrť. Oni chceli žiť vo svojich tradíciách; ísť tak ďalej. Mojžiš nie, či Eliáš nie, on žil rovno vo Svetle. Sedel tam pri potoku Karita a mal proste dobrý čas; mal jedlo a niekoho, kto sa staral o neho a všetko. Oni si mysleli, že je blázon, ale on bol - on bol Svetlom.
201Oni hovorili, “ Hej, čo sa deje s tým starým fanatikom, ktorého sme tu mali? No, viete čo? Niekto bol raz na poľovačke a povedali, že ho videli, že sa usadil tam hore na vrchu na tom kopci. Stavím sa, že ten starý chlap je už teraz vyschnutý.” Ó nie, on bol Svetlom. On bol Svetlom. On bol Svetlom Božím vo svojom dni.
202Ján, keď on prišiel na zem a išiel na púšť, aby získal vzdelanie od Boha, nie zo semináru. On musel predstaviť Mesiáša. Tak keď vystúpil, Ježiš povedal, “On bol jasným, svietiacim Svetlom.” Haleluja! Prečo? On bol zamanifestovaným Slovom.
Izaiáš tak povedal. To je to. Je to tak. “On poslal hlas na púšť, ktorý volal, hovoril, - Pripravte cestu Pánovi a vyrovnajte jeho bránu, vyrovnajte jeho cestu. On volal ... hlas volajúceho na púšti.” On tu prichádza. Čím bol? “Hlasom volajúceho na púšti.”
Čím bol? Manifestáciou Slova, Svetlom. Ten istý Boh, ktorý hovoril v Genesis; ktorý povedal toto, a tu prichádza to Svetlo. A povedal, “Buď svetlo, pre slnko,” slnko začalo existovať; povedal, že bude hlas volajúceho na púšti,” a tu to prichádza. To bolo Svetlo na tú hodinu.
203On tiež povedal, v posledných dňoch! Amen! To je Svetlo tejto hodiny, volajúc na púšťach Babylonu, “Vyjdite z nej, ľudu môj, aby ste neboli účastní jej hriechov. Nedotýkajte sa jej nečistej veci! Choďte preč od toho! Utečte pred hnevom, ktorý prichádza!”
204Ján povedal to isté. “Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu.” Nemal vzdelanie, nehovoril ani ako kazateľ. Hovoril o hadoch, a paliciach, a stromoch, a sekerách a takých veciach, na čo bol zvyknutý na púšti. Nebol vychovaný v nejakých týchto ohromných, veľkých, výborných veciach, ktoré dnes majú, ako ich vtedy mali. On vystúpil so svojím vlastným jazykom. On sa tam nepostavil a nehovoril, “Ah-man,” a nerobil všetky tie smiešne úklony. On hneď vystúpil, z púšte, surový a drsný. Povedal, “Nezačínajte si myslieť, že “Patrím do tohoto a patrím do toho.” Boh je schopný z týchto kameňov vzbudiť deti Abrahámove.”
205Nemyslite si, že preto, že ste Metodisti, Baptisti, Presbyteriáni, že máte nejaké oprávnenie na Boha. Boh je schopný zobrať priekupníkov a smilnice z ulice a urobiť z nich synov Božích. Niekto to bude počuť a niekto tomu bude veriť.
206On tiež povedal, “Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu. A každý strom, ktorý neverí je zoťatý a hodený do ohňa.” Tak to bolo jeho posolstvo. On bol svetlom na ten deň.
207Ježiš povedal, “On bol jasným a svietiacim svetlom, a vy ste chceli na chvíľu chodiť v ňom.”
208A čo povedal Ján, ten prorok? On práve teraz stojí medzi vami. Ja nie som hodný rozviazať jeho sandále. A len čo On vystúpi na scénu, ja odchádzam.” Ó! Lebo On bol tým Svetlom.
Nie sú dve alebo tri Svetlá, nie štyri alebo päť rôznych organizácií. Bolo jedno Svetlo. To nie sú Metodisti, Baptisti, Lutheráni, Presbiteriáni. Kristus je tým Svetlom a to Svetlo je Život. A zamanifestované Slovo je tým Svetlom na danú hodinu.
209Buď svetlo a bolo svetlo.” Tak veru. “Buď svetlo,” a je Svetlo! On povedal, že bude Svetlo v tomto dni, a je Svetlo. On prichádza. Verím tomu. Pozrite sa na zasľúbenia tohoto veku. Ó!
210Každé svetlo, ktoré kedy svietilo, tieto cirkevné veky, vidíme ako oni ... Je to žalostný pohľad, vidieť ako to odmietajú. Zjavenie 3, zapísal som si to tu, Zjavenie 3, a viem čo som potom hovoril.
211Pozrite sa na zasľúbenie na túto hodinu, v ktorej žijeme; odmietnuté Svetlo. Čo tam urobili? Oni to vtedy odmietli. Prečo? Žili v žiare. Čo robia teraz? To isté.
212No, si kresťan? “Ja som Luterán. Ja som Baptista. Ja som Presbyterián.”
To nič neznamená. Práve tak by si mohol povedať, že si “prasa, sviňa” alebo akokoľvek sa chceš nazvať. Rozumiete? To len aby som ukázal, že to vôbec nič neznamená. Nie aby som vás znevažoval, ale ak to beriete do základu, je to tak.
Opýtam sa, “si kresťan?” To je Kristus v tebe. A ak je v tebe Kristus, potom je v tebe Slovo. A potom, ak je v tebe Slovo, keď to Svetlo svieti, ako z Toho odídeš? Vidíte? To je otázka. To je teraz vo vnútri, Svetlo. To večerné Svetlo svieti. Strom Nevesty kvitne.
213Ó, pamätajte, oni okresali ten starý strom. “A čo zanechal chrobák, to zožral červ a čo zanechal červ to zožrala húsenica.” Čo zanechali Metodisti, zjedli Baptisti; a čo zanechali Baptisti, zjedli Letniční. On povedal, “Tento Strom bol,” Joel tam povedal, “bol zoťatý do pňa,” ale chcel vedieť, či znovu ožije. Ó! On si rezervoval ten strom. On si rezervoval ten strom, tak veru, lebo to bola Jeho Nevesta.
A povedal, “Ja prinavrátim, hovorí Pán.” Čo to je? “Ja privediem, všetko čo zjedli Luteráni a čo zjedli Wesleyovci a všetci. Ja to prinavrátim, pretože to je stále v koreňoch toho Stromu.” Vidíte?
To leží tam v zemi. Práve tak ako šťava, ktorá zišla dole, ako som hovoril o tej sestre, to tam leží. A trúba Božia zazneje, jedného dňa a tí vyvolení Luteráni, Metodisti, Baptisti, ktorí nemali nič spoločné so žiadnou organizáciou ...
214Luther nikdy nič nezorganizoval. Moody nikdy nič nezorganizoval. To bola tá skupina Riki (svetských ľudí), po ňom, oni spravili organizáciu, zobrali šupku. John Smith nič nezorganizoval. Nikto z nich nerobil organizáciu; to bolo svetlo na tú hodinu. Luther, Wesley, ani žiadny z nich; to urobila tá skupina po nich, ktorá prišla, oni urobili organizáciu.
215Duch Svätý nikdy nič na letnice nezorganizoval. Letnice, to je prežitie, nie nejaká denominácia. On nikdy nič nezorganizoval. Ó, nie. Ale ľudia, ktorí tvrdia, že sú letniční, to zorganizovali. To je tam šupka, ktorá zomiera. Namiesto toho aby to vytlačili na papier a spravili aby vyšiel z toho plný obraz Ježiša Krista; nie, oni sa vytiahli von, tak nemajú nič do toho. Nechajte ich len tak.
216Ale mi sme teraz zistili, že toto Svetlo, tento Strom, Krista, cirkev znovu odmietla. Prečo? Pre to iste, prečo to urobili prvý krát, pre starú falošnú oslnivú žiaru svetiel z iných dní. A “On je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.” Židom 13:8 hovorí, že je. On je ten istý dnes, ako bol vtedy, pretože robí to isté čo robil. To isté Slovo, ten Kristus.
217Počúvajte, chcem vás teraz zobrať a nech je to osobné. Neviem, som trochu rozhodnutý, či to teraz vypnúť alebo nie, viete, lebo to nahrávame. Nechám nech to tam bude nahraté. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.]
218Chcem sa vás niečo opýtať. Pozrite sa, dávajte pozor na toto. Vidíte, “On je ten istý včera, dnes a naveky.” Dávajte pozor. Jeho skutky, to čo On robil, sa manifestuje. Dobre teraz počúvajte. Keď tam stál, v Jánovi 14:12, povedal, “Skutky, ktoré Ja činím, vy tiež budete činiť. Väčšie ako tie budete činiť, lebo Ja idem ku svojmu otcovi.” No, On to povedal. “Nebo a zem pominú, ale to Slovo nikdy nezlyhá.” No, ak sme v poslednom konci veku, kedy, kde tie “väčšie skutky” prídu? Vidíte? Vidíte? Sme tu. Máme ...
219Počúvajte, ak je Rímsky kalendár správny, máme šesť ... zostalo nám tridsaťšesť rokov. Každých dvetisíc rokov, svet prichádzal ku svojmu koncu. Po prvých dvetisíc rokoch bol zničený vodou; druhých dvetisíc rokov, prišiel Kristus. Teraz prichádza 1964 rok; zostáva tridsaťšesť rokov. No, Egyptský astronomický kalendár hovorí, že sme o sedemnásť rokov ďalej, “o sedemnásť rokov viac od toho,” to by zostalo devätnásť rokov.
Ježiš povedal, “Kvôli vyvoleným to bude skrátené, lebo inak by nebolo spasené žiadne telo.” Kde sme?
220“Skutky, ktoré Ja činím vy tiež budete. Také isté ale väčšie budete činiť.” Dávajte pozor. Dobre počúvajte. Modlím sa aby Boh otvoril vaše srdce a myseľ na zrozumenie, aby ste porozumeli bez toho, aby som nemusel príliš veľa hovoriť. Všimnite si. On jedného dňa povedal ...
Vezmime nejaký veľký skutok, ktorý On dokonal. Zastavme sa pri niektorých veciach. Zamyslime sa. On raz povedal, “Vy dajte tým ľuďom niečo zjesť.”
Oni odpovedali, “My nič nemáme.”
Povedal, “Čo máte? Prineste mi to čo máte.”
A oni povedali, “Máme päť chlebov a dve ryby.”
On povedal, “Prineste mi ich.”
221A On zobral tých originálnych päť bochníkov jačmenných chlebov a začal lámať tie bochníky. A z toho originálneho urobil chlieb, ktorým nasýtil päťtisíc ľudí. Je to tak? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Amen.” – pozn.prekl.] Potom povedal, zobral rybu, “Podajte mi rybu.” To bola od začiatku ryba. A z tej ryby zobral ďalšiu rybu a ďalšiu rybu a nasýtil päť tisíc ľudí. Je to tak? [Amen. – pozn.prekl.]
Ale v posledných dňoch nemal nič. On len povedal a riekol, “Povedz, že tam to bude,” a bolo to tam, bez čohokoľvek. Nemal žiadnu veveričku; žiadna tam nebola. On len povedal, “Nech tam je,” a bola tam. Vidíte? Jeho Slovo je spoľahlivé a musí sa vyplniť.
222Mohol by som vám povedať veci, ktoré by s vami zatriasli. Vidíte? Je to tam, keď On hovorí, že je to tam. Nech to On povie. Presne.
223Vidíte, východ, západ tu prišiel naspäť a stretol sa s východom. To bol Mojžiš, zobral piesok a povedal, “Nech sa zjavia blchy,” a tak podobne ďalej, “na zemi.” Ale v týchto posledných dňoch On nezobral nič; vidíte, len Slovo. “Nech sa stane,” a stalo sa. Čo je povedané, tak to bude.
Chcem hovoriť dnes večer o niektorých týchto veciach, o tom čo sa stalo, aby ste mohli vidieť, že On je stále Boh. Jeho Slovo nemôže ...
“Tieto skutky, ktoré Ja činím, vy tiež budete a väčšie než tie budete činiť. Ja som zobral rybu aby som urobil rybu; vy to ani nemusíte mať aby ste mali rybu.” Vidíte? On je stále Boh, stále je ten istý Syn. Ten istý Syn Boží, ktorý zobral rybu z tej ryby, či nie je tým istým Synom Božím dnes? “Tieto skutky, ktoré Ja robím, vy tiež budete robiť.” To bude zväčšené. “Väčšie ako tieto budete robiť.” A ľudia to odmietajú a nechcú to vidieť. Och! “Väčšie skutky!”
224Falošné svetlo. Viete, len som o niečom rozmýšľal. Veľa som hovoril o Anglicku ale myslel som o falošnom svetle. Tu nedávno, všetci si pamätáte tú najväčšiu lúpež, ktorá sa kedy v Anglicku stala. Bolo ukradnutých sedem miliónov dolárov. Myslím, že nikde na svete nebolo nič s čím by sa to dalo porovnať. Veľká lúpež, nedávno, sedem milión dolárov, ani Scotland Yards nemôže na to prísť.
Viete ako to urobili? Pomocou falošného svetla. Na trať dali svetlo, výstražné, a potom červené a zastavili ich. A tam sa stala tá lúpež, presne na tom pravom mieste. Falošné svetlo umožnilo tú najväčšiu lúpež akú kedy národy poznali. To okradlo národy. Najväčší prepad, najväčšia lúpež bola spáchaná pomocou falošného svetla.
225A tá najväčšia lúpež, ktorú cirkev Božia kedy mala je falošné svetlo, oslnivá žiara, ich denominácia. To ich okradlo o moc Ducha Svätého. To zobralo z cirkvi záchranné lano. To ich okradlo o Slovo, keď prijali vyznanie namiesto Slova. To ich okradlo.
Ó, oni tvrdia, že majú Slovo. Slovo samo žije na daný vek; Ono sa samé dáva poznávať. Oni tiež tvrdili, že majú Slovo, tam vtedy vo dňoch Ježiša. Ale Ono povedalo, “Uvideli veľké Svetlo,” a odmietli Ho. Oni to videli ale to odmietli.
226Ó, falošné svetlo, tak veru, to stálo cirkev tú najväčšiu lúpež, ktorá sa kedy stala. Chladné denominačné vyznania, brat, nedajú dozrieť potvrdenému Slovu, zrnu. Biblia povedala, Ježiš povedal, “Slovo Božie je Semeno, ktoré rozsievač rozsieval.” Vidíte? A chladné vyznania nedajú dozrieť tomu Slovu. Nie, nie!
Chladné dni so snehovou búrkou nedajú dozrieť pšenici. Určite nie! Na to je potrebné slnečné svetlo, pretože ono je Božím vypovedaným Slovom aby sa ním dokonali také veci.
A dnes je potrebné Božie vypovedané Slovo, aby ukázalo svätým Božím, že Ježiš Kristus žije, že je dnes presne taký istý, aký bol včera. Vyznania a denominácie to nikdy neukážu. Oni sú chladné a ľahostajné a zrno hneď tam zhnije v zemi. Pod niečím takým nemôže vyrásť.
227Preto máme dnes to, čo robíme. Ako náš vzácny brat Billy Graham, ten veľký evanjelista. Myslím, že Boh používa toho muža. Ale pozrite sa čo robí; ide tam medzi tých Baptistov a Prezbyteriánov. Čo robíte? Získavate ľudí, ktorí sa pripájajú do cirkvi.
228Vidíte kde sa Južní Baptisti vychvaľujú, pretože majú najviac denominácií, ich denominácia rastie viac než ktorákoľvek protestantská. Katolíci ich minulý rok takmer všetky dostihli. Videli ste to v novinách? Skutočne. Netrápte sa, oni ich všetky dostanú, pretože oni berú Baptistov a všetkých, dokopy. A oni sú všetci jedno a nevedia o tom.
Cirkevná rada, Rada cirkví ich dáva všetkých do jedného. Denominácia kladie ... Prečo, prečo budete chcieť zostať tu alebo tu? Pokiaľ odmietate Toto, aký je v tom rozdiel? Či nepoužívate to isté denominačné označenie, presne to isté ako keď ste na tom jednom mieste. Jedno je šelma a to druhé znamenie. Tak, tu to máte, v tom nie je žiadny rozdiel.
229V tom on je. Vydupal si pečať na schválenie a tam to dostávate. A tam všetkých vedie, rovno do Bieleho Domu a do Washingtonu, D.C., a Cirkevnej Rady a tam idete. Tí duchovní ich vedú rovno naspäť, presne to čo Biblia hovorí, že budú robiť.
Prajem si aby tie hodiny nešli tak rýchlo!
[Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Máš dosť času, pokračuj. – pozn.prekl.]
230No, len sa zamyslite kde sme. Pozrite sa na zasľúbenia na dnes, znovu odmietnuté. Ako to cirkvi urobili v tomto poslednom dni, denominačnou žiarou!
231Žiť vo falošnej žiare je príčinou, že to nedozrieva. Preto toto Slovo ... nevidíte zázraky.
232Mal som nedávno pohovor s jedným kňazom a on povedal, „pán Branham, ako krstíš?” Jedno dievča odišlo z tohoto zboru a odpadla, a vydala sa za katolíka a odišla do katolíckej cirkvi. A on ju išiel prijať do cirkvi.
233Povedal som, “Pokrstil som ju kresťanským krstom.”
On povedal, “Biskup to chce vedieť.”
Povedal som, “Dobre, tak ako som povedal.”
Riekol, “Odprisaháte to?”
234Povedal som, “Ja vôbec neprisahám.” A on povedal ... “Áno.” Povedal som, “ak nemôže prijať moje slovo, no, v poriadku. Pretože ja neprisahám. Biblia hovorí - neprisahajte na nebo, lebo je trónom Božím; zem je Jeho podnožou. Nech vaše áno je áno a nie, nie.” Povedal som, “Bude mu musieť stačiť moje slovo.”
Povedal, “No, povedali ste - Kresťanským krstom - čo tým myslíte, ponorením?
235Povedal som, “To je jediný spôsob ako sa vykonáva kresťanský krst. Pokrstil som ju v rieke Ohio; ponoril som ju pod vodu, v mene Ježiša Krista a vynoril. Pokrstil som ju v mene Pána Ježiša Krista, to je jediný kresťanský krst aký existuje.”
Povedal, “Tak je.” Zapísal si to a povedal, “Zvláštne!” Povedal, “Viete, katolícka cirkev tak voľakedy krstila.”
Povedal som, “Kedy?”
A povedal. Pokračoval, chvíľu sme sa rozprávali a on povedal, “No, my sme originálni Katolíci.”
236Vedel som, tam ležali tie knihy, viete, s históriou. Povedal som, “To je pravda, ale prečo to dnes tak nerobíte?”
On povedal, “My máme moc odpúšťať hriechy.” Povedal, “Či nepovedal Ježiš svojim učeníkom - Ktorým ľuďom hriechy odpustíte, tým budú odpustené a ktorým hriech zadržíte, tým budú zadržané?”
Povedal som, “Áno. On to povedal.”
“Tak či to potom nedáva cirkvi autoritu? Peter bol hlavou cirkvi.”
237Povedal som, “Ak bude cirkev odpúšťať hriech tak, ako to robil Peter.” Povedal som, “Keď sa ľudia opýtali - Čo máme robiť aby sme boli spasení? - On povedal, čiňte pokánie, každý jeden z vás a dajte sa pokrstiť vo meno Ježiša Krista na odpustenie svojich hriechov.” Povedal som, “Robte to tak a pôjdem s vami.”
“Ó,” povedal, “vy sa snažíte hájiť Bibliou.”
Povedal som, “To je Slovo.”
On povedal, “Boh je vo svojej cirkvi.”
Ja som povedal, “Boh je vo svojom Slove. Každého človeka, každé ľudské slová sú klamstvom, Jeho Slovo je Pravda.” Vidíte?
238Tak on to nijako nemôže vidieť. Ale tam idú, rovno do temnosti. A protestanti, tisícami, padajú do toho. Aha, idú do toho a prijímajú ich vyznania a všetko, idú rovno s tým. Vychádza Slovo a potvrdzuje to, Ježiš Kristus sa manifestuje, “ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.” V žiare toho vyznania idú rovno ďalej do temnosti. Presne tak ako to robili v čase Noeho, presne tak ako to robili v tých iných dobách, dnes to znovu tak robia, rovno do temnosti! Prečo? Odmietajú svetlo, pretože ich oslepilo ich vyznanie.
239Ó, čo za temná hodina v ktorej sme! Och! Áno, odmietajú Kristove pravé večné Svetlo a to má taký dôsledok.
240Chladné denominácie nemôžu nikdy priniesť život do Božieho Slova, pretože to prináša život do ich denominácii. Teraz máme viac ľudí, ktorí sa hlásia ku kresťanom ... Pozrite sa, ak Kresťan ...
Opýtal som sa toho kňaza toto, “Ak ... Pôjdem s vami, tam kde bola Katolícka cirkev na začiatku, do Letníc.” Nie do Nicei, Ríma. Cirkev nikdy nezačala v Nicei, v Ríme. Začala v Letniciach. Vidíte? Cirkev začala v Jeruzaleme. Ale, povedal som ...
241Aha, ja uznám, že títo ľudia, tí otroci a takí, ktorí mali Ducha Svätého, ich pánovia videli ich moc a to všetko, čo robili; kriesili mŕtvych, hovorili v jazykoch, vyháňali démonov, predpovedali veci. A boli medzi nimi proroci a tak ďalej, chodili v ovčích kožiach, jedli byliny, prišli na ten Nicejský Koncil a tak ďalej, čo za veľkí ľudia. A prišli tam, prišli na ten Nicejský Koncil, stáli za Slovom.
Ale, za tých krvavých pätnásť dní, tí prijali “Otec, Syn a Duch Svätý” ako vyznanie, namiesto Biblickej náuky, “v mene Ježiša Krista.” Cez to prichádzajú všetky protestantské cirkvi, sú narodení rovno do toho, to je to isté a všetko ďalšie. Prijali falošnú predstavu Ducha Svätého, berú komúniu, pijú víno, “To je svätá eucharistia, čo znamená - Duch Svätý.” Kňaz vám to dáva.
242V Biblii nečítame, “Keď prišiel deň Letníc, tu prichádza kňaz s okrúhlym golierom a hovorí, “vytrčte jazyk a prijmite svätú eucharistiu.” Nie, Biblia tak nehovorí. “Všetci poďte tu dookola a podajte mi pravicu na znak spoločenstva, vy Baptisti, Metodisti a Baptisti, zapíšem vaše meno. Prineste dopis od niekoho.”
243On povedal, “Oni boli všetci na jednom mieste, jednomyseľne. A zrazu prišiel zvuk z neba ako ženúci sa silný vietor a naplnil celú miestnosť kde boli. Všetci boli naplnení Duchom Svätým a začali hovoriť inými jazykmi, ako ich Duch dal vyslovovať. A tam ...” Vyšli na ulicu, potácali sa ako opití, Mária a všetci tí ostatní, pod účinkom Ducha Svätého.
Aha, tí ľudia povedali, smiali sa z ních a povedali, “Títo sú opití novým vínom.” Čo boli? Zaslepení vyznaním.
244Ten malý dvojštvrťový kazateľ sa tam postavil, nazýval sa Peter, a povedal, “Mužovia judskí a vy ktorí bývate ... vy mužovia jeruzalemskí, ktorí bývate v Júdei, nech vám je toto známe, počúvajte na moje slová. Títo nie sú opití. Ale dovoľte, že vám poviem, čo hovorí Písmo, čo sa stane. Toto je svetlo. Toto je zamanifestované Slovo.” Amen.
To isté sa deje dnes a oni sa správajú ako vtedy tamtí, odchádzajú a kývajú hlavami. Povedal, “Nechajte ich tak; slepí vedú slepých, oni všetci spadnú do jamy.”
245Ó, je potrebný Kristus, Večný Život, aby priniesol Slovo Života do potvrdenia, aby sa stalo telom. Ó, Bože! Je potrebné Slovo ... je potrebný Duch Svätý, aby Slovo Božie fungovalo.
246Keď Ježiš povedal, “Choďte do celého sveta, kážte evanjelium každému stvoreniu.” No, pozrite, Marek 16, Jeho posledné poverenie. “Do celého sveta, do celého sveta,” ešte sa tam nedostalo, vidíte. “Do celého sveta a kážte evanjelium každému stvoreniu. Ten kto uverí,” po celom svete, “a pokrstí sa, bude spasený; ten, kto neuverí bude zatratený. A uverivších budú nasledovať tieto znamenia.”
“Budú si podávať ruky s kazateľom ...”? Nie. “Budú dobrými členmi zboru”? Nie
“V mojom mene budú vyháňať démonov, budú hovoriť novými jazykmi, hadov budú brať, keby vypili niečo smrtonosné, neuškodí im; keď budú klásť ruky na chorých, budú uzdravení.” Ó!
247Ako ďaleko? “Každému stvoreniu.” Pokade? “Do celého sveta.” až kým On nepríde. “Tieto znamenia budú ...” “Ten, kto verí vo mňa, skutky, ktoré ja činím, on tiež bude činiť. Ešte i väčšie ako tie bude činiť, lebo ja idem ku svojmu Otcovi.”
248Ó, ako môžeme odísť od Toho, to je viac, ako môžem povedať! Teraz sme vo väčšej temnosti než ako boli oni. Ešte niekoľko veršov tu, potom už chcem zakončiť, tak rýchlo ako to bude možné ... Sme vo väčšej temnosti, než ako boli oni. Viem, že vás tu unavujem, za tú hodinu a pol. [Zhromaždenie hovorí, “Nie!” – pozn.prekl.] Ale, pozrite sa, táto páska ide tam ďalej. Rozumiete?
249Oni sú vo väčšej temnosti než my. Podal som také ohlásenie, že. Prečo? Tie cirkvi, v tejto oslnivej žiare, to je také zvodiace, to sa javí, ako by to bola Pravda. No, či Ježiš nepovedal? Prečítajme Matúša 24. Vidíte? Matúš 24, Ježiš povedal, že “v posledných dňoch tie dva duchy si budú tak blízko, že by to zviedlo aj vyvolených, keby to bolo možné.” Bude vyvolená skupina, ktorá vyjde a utvorí Cirkev, v tých posledných dňoch. A tieto organizácie, s tým, čo nazývajú svojou pravdou, budú tak blízko ku tej skutočnej veci, že by to zviedlo aj Vyvolených, aj letničných.
250No, viete letničného nevezmete a nezvediete ho metodistickou alebo baptistickou náukou. Nebudete mu to hovoriť. On vie niečo lepšie. A tiež nezvediete baptistu luteránskou náukou. Rozumiete?
A ani posolstvo neprijmete, aby ste uvideli teraz posolstvo v tomto Slove, to sa nedá cez nejakú letničnú náuku, cez falošné “Otec, Syn, Duch Svätý,” a všetky takéto veci, cez to, čo majú tam v tých vyznaniach, tam v tých organizáciách. Nie, určite nie. Nikdy ich nezvediete, pretože vyvolení nebudú zvedení.
251Čo to je? Čo to je? Zvádzanie. Tieto oslnivé žiare, čo robia? Vedú cirkev na koncilové vyvraždenie, cez ich oslnivú žiaru. To bude posledné vyvraždenie, keď sa ona a Rím dajú dokopy. Keď sformujú ten obraz šelmy, to je posledné zabíjanie. A tieto falošné svetlá, ktoré teraz máte, pozrite sa čo to robí, to vedie ľudí. To je cap.
252Cap stále vedie ovce na zabitie. Videli ste to na jatkách. Ten cap bude bežať popredku a vedie ovce, on potom odskočí a ovce tam nechá vojsť. To je to čo on robí. On to stále robí.
To boli capy, ktoré viedli Ježiša, Baránka, na zabitie. Rímske capy! Je to tak.
Dnes sú to denominačné capy, ktoré vedú nevinné ovce na zabitie. Zapisujú ich, ich mená tam to tých kníh a je s nimi koniec. To je znamenie šelmy. Hovorím v mene Pánovom. Držal som to dlhý čas. Je to tak. Je to presne tak. Čo je šelma? Čo je šelma? To je Rímska hierarchia, prvá organizácia. Čo je jej znamenie? To isté, presne, presne to isté čo je tamto. Zabíjanie, do oslepujúcej žiary!
253Ale zoči voči prítomnej temnosti, stále vidíme cez to svietiť svetlo Božie. Akí sme za to vďační!
254Dobre počúvajte. Uvideli sme Svetlo, jeho Slovo, ktoré zasľúbil na tento deň, dokázané a potvrdené. To je Pravda, Svetlo tejto hodiny. Ó! Som tak rád. Všetko je v poriadku. Všetko.
255Tu nedávno jeden kazateľ hovoril, že bol na Floride a mal auto, myslím že to bol Chevrolet a pokazilo sa mu. Nemohol ho opraviť. A išiel do servisu a nejaký mechanik sa pustil do opravy a robil čo len mohol a nevedel to opraviť. Skúšal urobiť toto a to nefungovalo. A potom skúšal niečo iné, ani to nefungovalo. Zapojil generátor, zapojil toto, prepojil káble, vymenil kontakty, nemohol to opraviť aby to fungovalo. Proste to nevedel dať do chodu.
Nakoniec tam prišiel nejaký pekne oblečený muž. Povedal, “Môžem ti niečo poradiť?”
256Ten mechanik mal dosť zmyslu pre humor aby povedal, “Samozrejme.”
Povedal mu, “Zober to a prepoj toto a toto a to spoj a skús.” A on to zobral a prepojil s tým a spojil a motor sa rozbehol.
257Ten mechanik sa otočil a povedal, “Hej, kto ste?” To bol inžinier, hlavný inžinier General Motors. On skonštruoval tú vec. On bol ten, ktorý to naprojektoval.
258A dnes, keď hovoríme o Metodistoch, Baptistoch a Presbyteriánoch. Ten hlavný Mechanik je tu, Projektant svojho Slova, Muž ktorý stvoril nebo a zem a naprojektoval svoju cirkev! Či On vie viacej ohľadne toho čo treba na Vytrhnutie alebo Metodistická, či Baptistická cirkev vie viac čo je potrebné? On je Projektant. On vie čo je treba. On je dobre oblečený v moci svojho vzkriesenia. Haleluja! On sa prechádza medzi nami dnes, v moci svojho vzkriesenia.
On vie, čo je potrebné aby dal cirkev do poriadku na Vytrhnutie. On ho naplánoval a dal tie časti dokopy tu v Biblii. Amen! Nechajte len cez to pretekať prúd a sledujte ako to funguje. Nech viera, v jeho zasľúbené Slovo na dnes preteká cez to, budete vidieť ako to funguje. Prečo? On to naprojektoval. On naprojektoval svoju cirkev svojím Slovom. To je to, čo On dáva dokopy. Nie skrze organizáciu Metodistov alebo Baptistov alebo Presbyteriánov alebo Letničných, ale svojím Slovom. “Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” Tak veru.
259Dajte preč tie oslnivé žiare, v strede temnosti, v tomto temnom čase, v ktorom teraz žijeme. (Zostalo nám už len okolo päť minút) V strede temnosti, kto vyvedie von tú malú Nevestu? Kto o tom vie? Hlavný konštruktér. Ó áno. Zo všetkého tohoto zamiešania, ktoré spôsobuje tá oslnivá žiara!
Tu, Metodistická žiara takto, Baptistická inak a Presbyteriánska inak a Letničná inak, všetky tie žiare okolo. Oni bežia, zapisujú tu svoje mená, v tejto žiare tu idú aby tam niečo našli. Idú sem ...
260Ako som povedal tomu kňazovi, “Ak ste vy všetci tou originálnou cirkvou a idete za tou náukou tých ľudí, ktorú ustanovili v Nicei, prečo potom nemáte moc, ktorú mali oni tam na začiatku? Prečo nerobíte tie veci, ktoré oni robili, čo Ježiš povedal?”
Povedal, “Ó, nás je teraz viacej. My žijeme v inom čase.”
261Povedal som, “Ale Slovo sa nemení. On povedal, - Tieto znamenia ich budú nasledovať cez všetky veky. Nebo a zem pominú ale moje slová nikdy nepominú. - To je to.”
On povedal, “No, vy hovoríte o Biblii.”
262Povedal som, “Áno, o Slove, ktorým je Kristus.” Je to tak. A tak tu to máte. Vidíte?
263A v tejto žiare, Metodisti ukazujú svoje, Baptisti ukazujú svoje, Presbyteriáni svoje, každý rastie na väčšieho a väčšieho po celý čas.
Biedna malá nevesta, kde Ona je? Beží tu ku Letničným Jednotárom za chvíľu, zapisuje sa tam a hovorí, no ... Poď a presvedč sa čo oni robia. A idú sem a, “Musíš patriť ku nám. Ak nepatríš do našej cirkvi nie si ani v Neveste. Nie si vôbec ničím.” Ide tam ku zjednoteným Letničným a pozri čo oni robia, znovu to tu máš. Ide ku Baptistom, pozri sa čo oni robia. Pozri sa na Presbyteriánov ...
264Čo sa stane s tou biednou maličkou? Vidíte? Ale Ona vystupuje. Netrápte sa. Ona tam bude.
265Jeden človek tu raz hovoril pred niekoľkými rokmi. Bol v Novom Mexiku. Mal som tam zhromaždenia tam blízko Kartsbadských jaskýň. Počuli ste o nich tam, tie veľké ... A zobrali nejakého muža a jeho ženu a skupinku detí, išli výťahom až na samé dno tej priepasti. A keď tam zišli, zhasli všetky svetlá. A keď zhasli všetky svetlá bola tma ako o polnoci.
Raz mi to urobili tu v týchto záhradách a raz v Colorado, keď som tam bol s manželkou. A vypli tie svetlá. Ó, dáte si takto ruku, nič nemôžete vidieť.
A stálo tam malé dievčatko a začalo kričať, “Ó!” Kričala. Bola prestrašená na smrť, bola taká tma. Chúďatko, šmátrala v povetrí, kričala a snažila sa dovolať na otca, mamu, všade. Nemohla to zniesť, bola tam taká tma. Nikdy nevidela takú temnosť.
266A tak je to teraz. Je to tak. Je taká tma, že neviete kde ísť. Idete ku Metodistom, Baptistom, Presbyteriánom, všade je to to isté, jedia tú istú starú, zhnitú mannu, v ktorej sú červíky. Vidíte, to isté, nejaké vyznanie, “Vstúp a pripoj sa ku tomuto a ku tam tomu,” staré vyznanie a všetko také. Nevidíte v tom Krista. Rozumiete? Ó, vidíte samo-spravodlivých ľudí, ...?... Mnohí z nich tam teraz sú fajní ľudia, v tých denomináciách. Ja hovorím o tom systéme, nie o tých ľuďoch tam. Ale, vidíte, to je to čím sa sýtia. Povedzte im to! A tu je čerstvý pokrm!
267A toto dievčatko tam stálo, kričala ako len vládala, až hystericky; podobne je to s tou malou nevestou. Ale viete čo? Jej malý brat zakričal a povedal jej, “Malá sestrička, neboj sa.” Pretože on stál rovno tam pri tom inžinierovi. Povedal, “Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo.”
Neboj sa, malá Sestra, je tu Muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť Svetlo. On môže oživiť toto Slovo. My nevieme ako On prichádza. Nevieme ako, kedy prichádza. Ja o tom nič neviem. Ale On je tu a On môže rozsvietiť tieto Svetlá. Ako sa z toho dostaneme? Ja neviem. Ale On je tu a On je ten, ktorý môže rozsvietiť tie Svetlá. Tak veru. On je Ten. On je Svetlo. On sa len dáva poznávať, tak rozsvecuje to Svetlo. Presne tak.
Je potrebný Kristus, aby rozsvietil svoje Svetlá, potom sa všetká temnosť rozpŕchne. On oddeľuje. On vyťahuje von svoju Nevestu. “Ja vezmem ľudí z pohanou pre moje meno, to bude mať moje meno.” Čo je jeho meno? Dobre. Nie Metodista, Baptista, Presbyterián, Lutherán. To je Ježiš Kristus. Je to tak.
268On je Svetlo, Pravda; Svetlo a v Ňom nieto žiadna temnosť. A On rozháňa temnosť, keď prichádza, pretože On je Slovo. Slovo je Svetlo. Je to tak. Pretože On povedal, “Buď svetlo,” to bolo Slovo, ktoré sa stalo svetlom. Keď On hovorí toto, to je svetlo na ten vek, zakaždým.
On je tu, nie v žiare; ale ľudia žijú v žiare. Ale On je potvrdené Slovo. On je absolútne Svetlom v čase temnosti. Tak veru. Všetky tieto falošné žiare a také veci, to všetko zvädne. Tak veru. On je tu. Nebojte sa. Rozsvieťte Svetlá, Jeho zasľúbené Slovo. Ono žije. Ono robí ...
“Ten kto verí vo mňa, skutky, ktoré ja robím, vy tiež robíte.” Potom, to je Slovo. “Ako mňa poslal Otec, tak ja posielam vás.” Otec, ktorý poslal Jeho, išiel v ňom. Ten Ježiš, ktorý posiela teba, ide v tebe. A potom, skutky ktoré On činil, On robí tie isté veci, pretože (prečo?) Slovo sa stalo telom, v ľudskom tele, manifestuje sa ako svetlo na tento deň. Tu to máme. Tu to je. To len ukazuje cestu do Svetla, vo Svetle. Múdry človek, ktorý nie je oslepený vyznaniami a denomináciami bude chodiť v tom svetle. Ó!
269Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlá, dobre. Čo On robí? Tým, že potvrdzuje svoje Slovo na tento deň. Ježiš, Syn Boží, ktorý zasľúbil Slovo na tento deň je práve tu s nami.
Neľakajte sa. Nevenujte žiadnu pozornosť tomu čo oni robia; ak to robíte budete chodiť v temnosti.
Buďte múdri. “Tí, ktorí múdre konajú,” povedal Daniel, “v tých posledných dňoch, vykonajú hrdinské činy pre svojho Boha.” Vidíte? Vidíte? Oni budú chodiť vo Svetle, ako je On vo Svetle.
270Netrápte sa. Môže byť tma, môže sa zdať, že nás prinútia, každého jedného. Všetko toto, vidíte ich vyhlásenie, ktoré vychádza, “Všetky tieto malé zbory a také musia teraz vojsť. Musíte vojsť,” lebo inak vás zavrú. Oni to idú urobiť.
271Teraz chceme do toho skutočne tvrdo udrieť, dnes večer, keď budem hovoriť o tomto čase.
272No, oni, “My to zavrieme.” Musíte byť jedným z nich alebo nie. Buď ste v tom alebo nemôžete nič robiť, nemôžete ani kupovať alebo predávať. To je to. Neodvážite sa modliť za chorého. Ak budete pristihnutí, že posluhujete niekomu chorému alebo niekomu, nejakou duchovnou vecou, ste vydaní federálnemu súdu, na popravu. Je to presne tak. Vidíte? Viete to. Je to tak. To je v ich listinách. Tak veru. Tak, nemôžete to robiť, musíte patriť do toho kultu.
Brat, dovoľ, že ti niečo poviem. Radšej sa uisti hneď teraz, či máš Krista vo svojom srdci, pretože prichádza čas, keď to budeš skutočne potrebovať. Potom si vonku. Pamätajte, keď je daná tá pečať, ona je nadobro tam. Vidíte? Tak, nerobte to. Neverte tým nezmyslom. Vojdite rovno do Krista hneď teraz, do Slova. Tak veru.
273Dajte za pravdu Slovu a ukazujte, že ono je svetlom na túto hodinu. Tak vieme, že On je Svetlo, pretože On je Svetlo, ktoré sa manifestuje v tele.
Ako to vieme? On bol Božím Slovom, ktoré sa stalo telom. Vidíte? Božie Slovo sa samé ukazovalo, potvrdzovalo sa, keď Mesiáš prichádza čo On bude robiť.
274Tá žena pri studni povedala, “Keď Mesiáš príde, On bude robiť tieto veci. Ty musíš byť prorok, a to je Slovo, keď nám predpovedáš tieto veci.”
275On povedal, “Ja som On.” Vidíte? To stačilo. To svetlo zasvietilo na zasľúbené Slovo. Tu je svetlo.
276Ona hneď bežala do mesta a povedala, “Poďte sa pozrieť na človeka, ktorý mi povedal všetko čo som urobila. Či to nie je Mesiáš?” To bolo to. Vidíte? Bez ohľadu na to, čo povedali iní, ona vedela, že to je Mesiáš.
277Pamätajte, v každom veku, v čase tmy, Boh má stále svoje Slovo, aby oddelil Svetlo od tmy.
On ho mal vo dňoch Luthera, keď katolícka cirkev mala všetko; On poslal Luthera ako svietiace Svetlo a Luther oddelil Pravdu od temnosti.
A keď sa Luteráni odvrátili, poslal Johna Wesleya a on oddelil Svetlo od temnosti.
A vo dňoch letničných, keď Wesley všetko ... Metodisti všetko zbabrali a Baptisti a Presbyteriáni, On poslal posolstvo letničných, aby oddelil Svetlo od temnosti.
Letniční tak isto odišli znovu rovno naspäť do temnosti, do svojej organizácii, prijali vyznania a všetko také.
Teraz prišla hodina pre toto Slovo aby sa potvrdilo. On posiela Svetlo, Slovo, ktoré sa zamanifestovalo, ako to urobil na začiatku; posiela Slovo a Ono sa potvrdzuje. Je Svetlo a On stále oddeľuje. Tak isto teraz, ako tie Večné malé Svetlá na začiatku.
278Dívam sa na deti, už päť minút preťahujem. Ale dovoľte mi povedať toto.
Je prítomný muž! Nevystrašte sa, bez ohľadu na to čo hovoria. Videl som to prísť do miesta, z ktorého som nevedel, kde sa to ďalej pohlo, ale On je stále prítomný. Nikdy nezlyhávajúca Prítomnosť, On tam stále je. On môže rozsvietiť svetlo. Tak veru. On len čaká, díva sa čo budete robiť. On môže zapnúť ten vypínač kedykoľvek chce. Tak veru.
279Je tu muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlá. “Tí ktorí sedeli v krajinách tieňa smrti,” niektorí pod rakovinou, niektorí pod smrťou denominácie, niektorí pod vyznaniami smrti, niektorí pod tradičnou smrťou a pod všetkými druhmi smrti, “uzreli veľké Svetlo.” Ten Muž, ktorý vtedy rozsvietil Svetlo, je ten istý, ktorý povedal na počiatku, “Buď svetlo.” Ten istý Boh, “včera, dnes a naveky,” On je dnes prítomný, práve teraz tu. Nenechajte sa vystrašiť. On môže rozsvietiť Svetlá.
Keď príde to prenasledovanie, nevystrašte sa. Je Svetlo, je povedané, že On vezme svoj ľud. Ona nepôjde cez súženie. Ona nepôjde. On povedal, že Ona nepôjde. Ona bude zobraná preč. “Ako to urobia, brat Branham? Zdá sa, že je strašne temno!” Bez ohľadu ako sa zatemňuje, nemôžete vidieť svoju ruku pred sebou, len pamätajte, je tu Muž, ktorý môže rozsvietiť svetlo. On vytrhne cirkev.
Vy hovoríte, “No dobre, ja som práve ...”
280Áno, Sadrach, Mézach a Abednago išli rovno do ohnivej pece ale bol tam Muž, ktorý mohol zapnúť ventiláciu. Tak veru. Ten ženúci sa silný vietor, ktorý prišiel dole v deň letníc, On to znovu zapol a odvial od nich všetok vánok, všetok oheň. Bol tam Muž, bol nazvaný “štvrtý Muž.”
281Dnes je tu Muž. On je ten jediný! Haleluja! On má v ruke vypínač na svetlo. “Tým, ktorí sedeli v krajinách tieňa smrti sa rozsvietilo veľké svetlo.” Neodmietaj ho. Prijmi ho, v mene Pánovom. Keď skloníme na chvíľu svoje hlavy.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Poďte, svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta;
potom nebeské zvony budú zvoniť,
Ježiš, svetlo ...
Čím je? Tým potvrdeným Slovom je Ježiš dnes. On je to Slovo.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Poďte, svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Ježiš, svetlo ...
282So sklonenými hlavami. Rád by som vedel koľkí tu by radi chodili v tomto Svetle, pod vedením Ducha Svätého, v tom potvrdenom Slove na dnes? Aby videli Slovo, ktoré Boh zasľúbil na dnes, videli ho zamanifestované!
Či to nie je to, čo On bol na počiatku? On bol Slovo. Syn sa narodil; On bol Slovo. On bol Mesiáš; On bol potvrdeným Slovom. Tak potom to Slovo, Boh povedal za-... koniec od začiatku.
283Je Slovo na tento deň a On je tu a potvrdzuje to Slovo.
V strede zamiešania, temnosti a oslňujúcich žiar, ktoré sa veľmi podobajú na Svetlo ale nie sú ním. Ono nepotvrdzuje, že by to ním bolo, vyznanie.
284Ježiš povedal, “Ak ja vyháňam démonov prstom Božím, čím ich vy vyháňate:” Oni ich nevyháňali. Vidíte? “Ale, ak ja vyháňam diabla prstom Božím, potom sa priblížilo ku vám Kráľovstvo Božie.”
Ó, zamyslime sa nad tým, keď dvíhame ruky. Teraz pomaly, a rozmýšľajte, potichu.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, toto je také nádherné svetlo
A ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy …
Urobte svoje vyznanie. Verte teraz Bohu.
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
285Zatiaľ čo ďalej hrajú, chcem sa opýtať. Každý vek bol rovnaký. Vo dňoch Noeho, tí, ktorí odmietli to Svetlo, čo urobili? Odišli do Božieho súdu. Čo sa stalo faraónovi vo dňoch toho Svetla z toho horiaceho kríka, ktoré bolo v Mojžišovi? Odišiel do mora smrti. Čo sa stalo Dátanovi, ktorý začal a potom odmietol to Svetlo? Odišiel do trhliny v zemi; zem ho pohltila. Čo sa dialo vo všetkých vekoch, tým ktorí zanedbali chodiť v tom Svetle, vo Svetle na ten deň?
To je Ježiš po celý čas. To bol Ježiš vo dňoch tých ľudí. To je Ježiš dnes, lebo On je Slovo a Slovo robí Svetlo. To je Svetlo na daný deň.
Rozmýšľajte teraz o tom, pozorne, keď sa úprimne pýtame, chodíte vo Svetle? Kým to znovu hmkáme. [Brat Branham a zhromaždenie začínajú hmkať, Ježiš, Svetlo sveta. – pozn.prekl.]
… v nádhernom svetle
Ono prichádza tam kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
Svieti všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš svetlo sveta.
Povstaňme teraz na svoje nohy.
286Modlím sa Nebeský Otče, daj aby toto posolstvo vsiaklo hlboko do sŕdc ľudí, ktorí sú tu prítomní a ktorí budú počúvať túto pásku. A nech to Svetlo vystúpi na Slovo, na Semeno a zrodí každé predurčené Semeno, ktoré bolo zasadené tu v týchto rôznych žiarach a organizáciách. Nech by mohli vidieť ako Nikodém, aj keď by museli prísť v noci, nech prídu do Svetla. Udeľ to Otče.
287Nech vystúpi tá veľká vec, táto Skala, ktorá je odseknutá z hory, bez ľudskej ruky. Ona rozdrtí tieto pohanské kráľovstvá do zemi, všetky tieto kráľovstvá, duchovné kráľovstvá a prirodzené kráľovstvá. A tá Skala prikryje celú zem; to bude očistená záležitosť. Tí, ktorých tá Skala rozdrví budú rozdrvení na prach; tí, ktorí padnú na tú Skalu, budú mať pevný základ.
288Ó, Kriste, daj mi, ako tvojmu sluhovi, zomrieť na tejto Skale. Tejto Skale tvojho Slova. Pane Bože, daj mi stáť, ako stál Dávid a tí dávni bojovníci, ktorí stáli za Dávidom, daj mi stáť za týmto Slovom dnes, keď vidím, že denominácie ho odmietli. Ono dnes leží tu niekde v malom útočišti. Ó Bože, ja ... Udeľ nám, že budeme mať silu a odvahu a Ducha Svätého, aby sme obstáli lebo je čím ďalej, tým väčšia tma.
Ale daj nám tiež pamätať, že Ty si prítomný a môžeš rozsvietiť Svetlo. V ktorejkoľvek hodine, kedy chceš, Ty môžeš rozsvietiť Svetlo, Otče. Tak sa modlíme ...
289Ako si povedal, “Vy ste svetlom sveta.” Daj, Pane, aby naše svetlá, ktorí sme v tvojej službe, svietili tak jasno na iných, že uvidia svetlo evanjelia, keď ním žijeme, Pane, deň za dňom, zobrazujúc im život Ježiša Krista, ako keď On bol na zemi; plní pokory a sladkosti, a predsa Slovo žilo priamo cez Neho. Udeľ to Pane.
Lebo, hľadíme na teba, na toho veľkého s vypínačom v ruke. Ty držíš svet vo svojej ruke. Ty držíš všetky veci vo svojej ruke a udržiavaš svet svojím Slovom.
Ó, Otče, daj nám prijať to Slovo; či dáš, prosím, Pane? Nech je to svedectvom a túžbou každého srdca tu.
290Otče, keď spievame tieto piesne ... Keď Dávid spieval tie piesne, oni sa stali proroctvom. To bolo proroctvo a Ty si ich uznal, tie proroctvá. Keď to spievame, Pane, nech je to v našich srdciach tiež, keď spievame, “Budeme chodiť vo Svetle.” Nech sa tak stane, Pane.
Toto je nádherné Svetlo. To je Slovo. To je Kristus, ktorý žije medzi nami. Nie to čo On bol; ale to čo je a my vieme, že to čo bol, len odzrkadľovalo to, čo On je. A modlíme sa Otče, aby ľudia porozumeli a chodili v tomto nádhernom Svetle. Prosíme o to v mene Ježiša.
291A zatiaľ čo stojíme ešte chvíľu, chcem aby sme všetci zaspievali.
292Sú tu Presbyteriáni, Metodisti, Katolíci. Toto je miešané obecenstvo, čo sa týka denominácií.
293Pamätajte teraz, aby ste to vedeli, že nehovorím nič proti ľuďom v tých oslepujúcich žiarach. Ale dokázal som to, na základe Biblii, že to sú oslepujúce svetlá. Keby neboli, Kristus by s nimi robil tak, ako zasľúbil. Rozumiete? Ale oni To odmietli. Vidíte? A keď tam prídete, čo nachádzate? Nejaké “Pripoj sa do cirkvi, prijmi vyznanie.” A čo z toho vychádza? Prichádzate na koniec cesty a zisťujete, že to bolo falošné, fatamorgána.
Kristus je Slovo. On je Svetlo. Ži teraz, zatiaľ čo môžeš žiť. Žiješ pre niečo.
294Pre čo žijete? Aby ste mohli zomrieť. Každí jeden z vás, pre čo pracujete? Aby ste jedli. Pre čo jete? Aby ste žili. Pre čo žijete? Aby ste zomreli.
Tak prečo nie žiť, aby ste žili? Prečo nie žiť, aby ste žili? Potom, jedine ako môžete žiť je prijať Slovo. Pretože, “Človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe,” na tom čo tu urobíme v pote čela, “ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.” A teraz Slovo z úst Božích je potvrdené rovno tu pred nami, skrze Ducha Svätého. Žite ním, či budete?
295A teraz chcem, keď budeme toto znovu spievať, stojme len na svojom mieste, načiahnime sa, podajme si ruky a povedzme, “Brat, choďme vo Svetle,” zatiaľ čo spievame Choď vo svetle. Či budeš? Modlite sa jeden za druhého, keď ste sa spolu chytili za ruky, keď to spolu spievame; so zavretými očami, pokiaľ možno.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Kto to je?
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta.
A teraz zodvihnime ruky.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ó Ježiš, svetlo sveta.
Poďte, všetci svätí svetla, vyhlasujte,
Čo to je?
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta;
Potom nebeské zvony budú zvoniť,
Ježiš, Svetlo sveta.
Všetci. Spievajme to teraz.
Budeme chodiť vo svetle, v nádhernom svetle,
poďte tam, kde kvapky rosy milosti sú jasné;
svietia všade okolo nás vo dne i v noci,
Ježiš Svetlo sveta.
296A teraz so sklonenými hlavami. Pamätajte, keď bol Izrael na svojej ceste, jedli novú mannu každý deň, chodili vo Svetle Ohnivého Stĺpa. Ten Ohnivý Stĺp bol Ježiš Kristus. Biblia povedala, že bol. A dnes je On s nami; máme To. Vieme, že On je s nami, ten istý Ohnivý Stĺp, ktorý robí tie isté veci, ktoré robil, keď On bol tu na zemi, aby vyplnil svoje Slovo.
297Keď pôjdeme odtiaľto, pamätajme, zachovajte túto pieseň vo svojich srdciach, keď pôjdeme do svojich domov, keď kolesá budú hmkať pieseň. Prv ako ješ svoju večeru; skloníš hlavu a poďakuješ Bohu za to, že posiela svetlo aby priviedlo potravu na zem, pre tvoje fyzické telo. Potom poďakuj Bohu za to, že posiela duchovné Svetlo, Svoje Slovo, aby ti mohol dať potravu pre dušu. “Lebo človek nebude žiť na samom chlebe, ale na každom Slove, ktoré vychádza z úst Božích.”
298Spievajte si stále tú pieseň pre seba, vo vašich domoch, medzi svojimi ľuďmi a stretneme sa tu okolo pol siedmej, dnes večer, pre modlitebné lístky a tak ďalej. Uvidíme sa potom. Až dovtedy, skloňme hlavy.
299Poprosím pastora, brata Nevilleho aby sem prišiel a rozpustil nás slovami modlitby.
1 Thank you brother. (Let her sing.) Let us bow our heads now. Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee this morning for Thy goodness and mercy, for giving us the privilege of assembling here together again, a day this side of the great Eternity, to worship the lovely One, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You because that He come to the earth to--to redeem us from a--a life of sin, and to give us this great heritage that we have through His righteousness. And as we, this morning, are here as His ambassadors, to--to break this Bread of Life to this waiting congregation, may the Holy Spirit inspire every Word and place it into the hearts of the people, just as we have need. We ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Be seated.
2 I certainly deem this, and a great privilege, again this morning, to be standing here with you. Sorry that we don't have no more room than what we do, to take care of the people. Our tabernacle isn't quite large enough. And we are very grateful to be here, through this holidays, from--from down at our home in... at Tucson. And weather was kind of rough, but we was happy to be here and to have the meeting.
Now, I want to announce that tonight there will be a healing service tonight, or a prayer for the sick. And I told Billy just now. He said, "Well, what will you do?"
3I said, "Well, maybe you better give out some cards tonight, about six-thirty, so that where the people won't..."
And, see, it's so jammed in here, we can know just how to bring them, one by one, so you can be called by the number of your card, and so there won't be any congestion. We can just call them, one by one, let them go through the line as we pray for them.
4 So, you, if you are sick, or have loved ones are sick, and want to bring them in, come about six-thirty, something like that, seven o'clock, and get a prayer card. He'll be at the door, or however he gives them out, as you come in.
5And, then, this will probably be about the last time I get to be back, for some time, 'cause I got a very heavy schedule now. Down, and still in the United States until this spring, late. So, we, we'll maybe get back again a little later on this summer.
If the Lord willing, I'd like to, if we get the--the place over here if it's air-conditioned. I was going to ask Billy. I would like to speak on those Seven Trumpets, have a ser-... a meeting here for the Seven Trumpets, if--if the Lord willing. For, that, the--the Seven Church Ages, and the Seven Seals, and now the Seven Trumpets. And could get some time like in June where peoples has their vacation, give them time so they could get in.
6 And I'm glad to see Brother Shepherd here this morning, from the hospital. I was out to see him the other day. And Sister Shepherd, I didn't get to call you yesterday. That dream that you sent me was very, very fine. You seen, as it was, Christ in a--on a... in--in the skies, upon this white horse, but yet being bound, you see. But, yet, before it faded away, all your family got to see it. That, the dream interpretation, is that your family has seen His move of this last days before it passed away, what It was. So, it's, that was very spiritual, and a very good blessing to you, you family. That family come up out of some great tribulation, to come to where they are today.
7 And now we have something, a little on the sad side, this morning. Since I met here... One of our precious friends, and--and comers to this tabernacle, the Coats family; which, we all love them. They come down from the east, and, or from Chicago, around. And Sister Billie Habib, and--and her sister, Armstrong, and all the girls. They... I think they were formerly Nazarene, and has come to the Lord, and they're very precious friends of ours.
And Brother and Sister Coats, their father and mother, was on the road home the other day, from over in the West, and someone slid on the road and--and killed Sister Coats, instantly. And--and while they called me over, in--in Tucson, and I heard about it, I was setting right there then with a box of candy that she had just made for me, setting on the--on the table. And you don't know how it made me feel. But I--I think that, thank the Lord this morning, she didn't have to suffer. She was getting aged, and she didn't have to suffer. And she went Home to be with God.
8 I was just thinking, and talking to her two girls, just now, in the room in there. Brother Coats is here this morning; he got some broken ribs. And I called him in the hospital and where he was hospitalized, over in Missouri, and his ribs broke and things, but he certainly had a real courage, a real Christian; knowing that his little queen is not dead, she is alive forevermore, with Christ, and there'll be a uniting time.
9Job said, one time, "Oh, that Thou would hide me in the grave, and keep me in the secret place, until Thy wrath be past."
10 Did you ever notice God, in nature, does the same thing? Like the sap that's in the trees up here, holding on the leaves; and 'fore wintertime comes, the wrath that's poured out upon the earth... See, at one time the earth didn't have winter. And in the Millennium there'll never be no more winters, you see. So it's the wrath upon the earth. Then when that happened... See, before the wrath comes, God in His mercy sends that sap right down into the... underneath the ground, into the roots of that tree, and keeps it there until the wrath of the winter be passed, then raises it back up again, see, in the springtime.
"Oh, that Thou would hide me in the grave, and keep me in the secret place, until Thy wrath be past." That's what He's done for our sister. That's what He does for all Christian.
11 Brother Coats, God bless you. I'm so happy to know that, that the Seal of God holds in the hour of trouble. I know what he going through with, 'cause I went through with something similar, years ago. But I'm... One by one we have to cross over this great river; and, I, and it'll be my time, one of these days; and your time, one of these days. But as David said, "I'll fear no evil; for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."
12Now in commemoration of Sister Coats, our precious sister who has gone on to God. I... As a little commemoration to her, this morning, I want the congregation to stand just for a moment.
Let us bow our heads and think of one who once, a few days ago, walked in--in this tabernacle, in and out among us, shook our hands, a lovely Christian, is now in that place that the Lord let me see not long ago, a young woman again, waiting for her oncoming family.
13 Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the memories of Sister Coats. What a precious, dear sister! And now time comes that when we live out our span in life, that's been lotted to us, we must cross the river. We thank Thee because that she did not have to suffer. There must not been anything against her here, that she had to suffer for. She just went straight into the arms of God, just in a moment.
14Her husband, her children, are here this morning, Lord, right back to their post of duty. How we thank Thee for that gallant faith! "The Faith of our fathers living still, instead of dungeon, flame, and sword." We thank Thee for all these things.
15Rest her precious soul, Lord. She was our sister. Grief, teardrops fall in our heart, for her absence, but joy springs up from the teardrops, let us know with assurance of Thy Word that she lives on in an immortal life than can never die. And there never be a accident where she is at now, only waiting for those who come afterwards to join with her.
16Bless Brother Coats, and bless them girls and her family, Lord, and those loved ones, and all who love her. And someday, Father, we trust to meet her up there in that great Beyond, where there is no sickness, sorrow, or death. Until that time, keep us all healthy and well, serving You, and looking forward for that day. In Jesus Christ's Name we ask it. Amen.
17May the great Holy Spirit that deals with us here at the tabernacle, in revealing His Word, may He rest her gallant soul in peace till we meet her.
18 Now it is warm in here this morning, because it's bodies, you know, so much being the heat of the human body.
19Now, we would like to make announcement now. Sometimes our services here, being long, of a--of a morning, the reason it is... It's really not right to hold a service that long, because, hour, an hour and a half, or sometimes two hours. But what I'm doing, I'm taping back here, see, and this tape goes all over the world. And that's what I... we gather in, so long, of a morning, is--is because that I come here to make these tapes. That's to...?... they're... See, you can see in the room there, the--the tapes that's being--being made now, and they go out everywhere across the world.
20 Now, soon, the Lord willing, this coming, just as soon as I leave here... I'll be leaving, the Lord willing, tomorrow morning, sometime, back to Arizona, because I've got a meeting coming up. And then it's just all the way across the South. And you southern people from down in Georgia, and Mississippi, and Texas, and Alabama, we're coming right down in there, all the way into Florida, right away.
21Going from here to Phoenix, then to California, and right back to Dallas, and--and perhaps drop down into San Antonio, I think it is, and back over in Alabama, and Florida, and through there. So we'll be seeing you people down in there, the Lord willing, right away.
22 And then you keep praying for us, and we'll let you know when, if we... the Lord puts upon our heart now to hold a--a few days here, this coming summer.
23I had a group of meetings scheduled. And many of you in New York know when the vision come, that said that those meetings in the Scandinavian country... You remember them scheduled in there? And then, while I was in New York, the vision came, that every one of those meetings would cancel, for some reason. And I remember I told some of you here, when we was in New York. That's just exactly what happened, 'cause they all wanted the same day and couldn't get that building.
So, then, that might leave a little spot there in June. It might been the will of the Lord, I was thinking, maybe to come back for those Trumpets right here, before it's too late. See? So we know that everything works just right. So that was on my heart, so it might be what He wants us to do.
24 Now I see you're changing seats with each other, and--and out in the halls, and so forth. We wish we just had place to set down.
And now when we have those Trumpets, that's... we want to get the high school gymnasium. I think it seats fifty-five hundred, and then we'd have a chance, too, everybody to have a seat, and set down and listen quietly while we're--while we're preaching.
25Or, this, the Trumpets, they're very, very fine. I looking at it the other day. See, on the Sixth Seal, all Seven Trumpets sounds right there on that Sixth Seal, see, just before the Seventh Seal opens the Coming of Christ.
26 And, tonight, I have a very important Message that I want to speak just before the--the--the healing service. And if you're here, and are going to stay over, well, we'll try, if it possible to start just a little bit early, 'cause there'll be a prayer line. I won't preach too long, but there is something that I've wanted to say to the church, for some time, and kind of post you on the--the--the--the... how things are running at this time, and just where we're standing, and the best of my knowledge through the Scripture.
27Now, I want you to turn this morning with me, if you want to mark down or keep record of where we are reading from, the Book of Isaiah. And I wish to read from Isaiah, the 42nd chapter of Isaiah.
28 We are very happy this morning, also, to have Brother Dauch sitting with us here. While you're turning... You know, they thought he wasn't going to live, here in Shreveport the other day. And he's certainly got faith. Yes, sir, he climbs right out of it; the Lord blesses him...?... See, Brother Dauch is ninety-one years old, and had a complete heart failure; and heart attack, on top of it. And the very doctor said that they didn't see there's any way for him to live. Brother Dauch is living, and the doctor is dead. See? Cause, he... See, Brother Dauch sits here.
29And then, a--a man ninety-one years old, with heart failure and heart attack. And there, when I was going up there, I saw him come walking down a street; I saw him in the church. And I went and told him, under a oxygen tent, "In the Name of the Lord, I shake your hand in the... I'll see you in church again, and shake your hand on the street."
The very next service, here he was, sitting right back here in the church. And I went over to Louisville, where we eat at the Blue Boar over there, to eat, and just as I got of my car, started up the street, here come Brother Dauch walking down the street. There it was, just perfectly. And how the Lord has blessed him!
30 Now we're going to talk on healing, tonight, and things, and got some real outstanding things to tell you for tonight.
31But now, so that I can get the tapes now, then get ready to turn them on, I want to start reading from Isaiah the 42nd chapter, and the 1st to the 7th verse. And Matthew the 4th chapter, beginning, I believe, 15 and the 16th verse.
32Now, in--in the 42nd chapter of--of Isaiah, we're going to read.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, or lift up, or cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has... have set judgment in the earth: and the islands shall wait for his laws.
Thus saith... the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and the spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and I will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
To open the blinded eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
33 Now in the Matthew's Gospel, the 4th chapter, I wish to read the fulfillment of that prophecy given by Isaiah. In the 4th chapter of Matthew, I--I will begin to read. If possible, let's begin at the 12th verse instead of the 15th.
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
... leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
Behold, the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentile;
The people... sat in darkness saw great light; and to them that sat in the regions of the shadows of death light is sprung up.
And from that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
34 May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word! And now, odd little text that I heard someone speaking, said this, but I want to take this for a text: There Is A Man Here That Can Turn On The Light. And now we're going to speak on the subject of light.
35This follows the three subjects that we have just been speaking on.
One of them, at Tucson, or at Phoenix, on why Jesus came by the way of Bethlehem. That, He must be, because He is Bethlehem. Bethlehem! B-e-t-h is "house"; e-l, "God"; e-h-e-m is "bread," bread. "House of God's Bread." And each Christian that's born in Christ is born in Bethlehem, God's house of bread.
36 Then, in there, a typing of David, which was a fugitive at the time of his excommunicating from his people. He was turned out. And Bethlehem was besieged, and the Philistines was garrisoned around Bethlehem. And David, a fugitive, a type of the church today, of Christ. See, Christ is a fugitive to His Own church today. They have. A fugitive is something that's refused. And David had been refused, yet he was anointed to be king; but the prophet had anointed him.
37And during this time, being a--a fugitive from his people, he had picked up many gallant Gentiles. One of them killed eight hundred man, one day, with a spear, or sword. And another one jumped into a pit and killed a lion, on a snowy day. And--and they was gathering lentil, which is beans or peas, or something, and--and the all of them run away, and he stood and killed man till his arm got tired. They also killed those giant brothers of Goliath.
Gallant man, holding to David, because they knowed he was coming in power. They knowed, no matter what anyone said. God had the anointing on David, and they knowed it. They were Gentiles. No matter how much they turned him out, they yet knowed that he was coming to power. And one day there...
38 What a type it is today, of--of Christ, a fugitive! You say, "Christ, a fugitive?" According to the Bible, that we... God has gallantly taken us through those Seven Church Ages. This Laodicean church, Christ was a fugitive outside of His church, rejected, trying to get back in again. See? He is a fugitive, to His Own church. And the reason He is a fugitive, is because He is the Word, and they won't let the Word in. They've accepted creeds, instead.
39And we find out, then, that in this great struggle, those gallant man around--around David, Gentiles.
40 If you notice how Bethlehem was formed. Don't want to get on that subject, but how Bethlehem... Actually, Rahab, the harlot, her son was the one who founded Bethlehem. It was a wheat center, and a lot of fine water there. And he founded the little city. And it was the smallest of all the cities, 'cause the prophet said, "Out... Bethlehem of Judaea, aren't thou the least amongst all the princes of the cities of Jerusalem... or Judaea? But out of thee shall come the Governor that'll rule My people." Out of the little one.
41David, when he was selected up there. The great, fine brothers, when the prophet Samuel went up, to anoint, all of them was standing there. Great, gallant man, looked like would be, look, fine-looking kings. But the very rejected one was the one, David, that had the oil poured out upon him. The rejected city was the one that Christ...
It's the rejected that Christ picks up, see, the ones that's rejected.
42 Then we find, after he come Obed. And after he come Boaz. And there come another Gentile in, which he come in by Ruth. And out of there come Jesse. And out of Jesse come David. And a little hillside stable out there brought forth the King of kings, Jesus Christ, the Son of David, his spiritual Son.
43Now then, he was, David himself being born in this city, he had to come to this little spot. And it was called Bethlehem, which means, "the--the house of God's bread." And He is the House of God's Bread.
44David, laying there on the hill that day, and he looked down and seen the Philistines garrisoned around like that, must got hot and thirsty. He said, "Oh, if I could just have a drink from that well, once more!" Why, the least of his thoughts was a command to his, them who loved him.
45 So is it today, the least of Jesus' thoughts, or how about His Word, should be a command to we Gentiles who love Him. For we know He's coming into power, no matter how much He's rejected. Heavens and earth will pass away, but This will still reign just the same when all heavens and earth is gone. And we know He's coming into power, 'cause nothing will keep it from happening. [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.] This is Christ, the revelation of Him, and this is going to happen just the way the Word says it is, 'cause He is the Word. And the least of His commands there, no matter how little it is, if it's "to be rebaptized," or whatever it is, we'll do it, anyhow. It's His command.
46 And the least of David's thought was a command to those Gentiles, for, they, a type of the Gentile Church today. Gallant man! See, those man who stood by David were Gentiles, but, gallant man. They were fearless. They didn't even know what fear was.
47One man took a sword and killed eight hundred man, and them all around him. What a man that was! One of them, a...
One other man. There was an Egyptian warrior run up, with a long spear. He only had a stick in his hand. He took the stick and knocked the spear out of his hand; took the spear and killed him, hisself. See?
48One of those giants had fourteen-inch fingers, like that. Now, fourteen inches, your finger is just as long as your hand, closed; open that up, that would be twenty-eight-inch hand. And with a spear! And jumped right in there and killed him. See? Why? He was a gallant man, a Gentile looking upon anointed one that he knowed was coming into power.
49 Did you notice, them being so gallant to David? When David finally come in power, he made them ruler over cities. Didn't Jesus promise the same thing? The same thing, make them ruler.
50Then, in there, when David's desire was to have a fresh drink. He probably had some old, warm stagnated water up there, he was drinking. But he happened to think of that fresh water down there at Bethlehem, the house of God's bread. And he said, "If I only had a drink from that well!" And those man pulled their sword and fought fifteen miles of Philistines, not because he asked them to, but because they knowed he wanted it. And they cut them Philistines, all the way to the well. While two of them fought, the other one got a--his bucket of water; and fought their way back, all the way back, and handed it to David. Talk about gallant!
51David, that godly man, said, "God forbid that I would drink it from these friends that put their life in jeopardy." And he made a drink offering; poured it out upon the ground, to the Lord. "Give it to the Lord. He is the One worthy of that, not me." They put...
52The very type of Christ Himself, with His Own Eternal Life within Him; the smitten Rock, poured His Life upon the ground, as a sin offering for us, that this Word could live.
53 Oh, Gentiles, as I have said, who will pull that sword with me? He wants a fresh drink, this morning, not this old stagnated church creeds and things we're fooling around with. He want genuine faith in His Word, who will believe every Word of It. Let's go to the well and bring back a drink, a refreshment; a worship that's built upon not creeds and denomination. But a genuine Spirit worship, with Christ among us, living His Life the way He wants to, among us, that--that's not with creeds and different things. Let's just--just have Him that way.
54 Now, the next was how God dealt with the people through a dream, in the days of--of Joseph. Did you notice? A dream is secondarily. It's a secondarily way of God working. Some people can have dreams, don't mean nothing. You can eat too much and have nightmares. And dream is a secondarily way. See? But why would God protect His Own Son through a secondarily way? He appeared to Joseph. The welfare of His Own Child, He sent in a secondarily way. Did you ever think of it? Cause, there was no prophet in the land. He had to work through dreams. And it wasn't a dream that had to be interpreted. The Angel of the Lord said, "Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost."
55 It was a unusual thing for that to happen. Joseph being a just man, he... It was unusual. God is unusual. And the unusual is hard to understand. That's why it's so hard to understand Truth today; It's so unusual. A woman to have a baby without knowing a man, that was very unusual.
But if you're honest and sincere, God can appear to you yet in a dream. It goes to show that anything that you have, whether it's your mind, whether you can whistle, sing, testify, or whatever you can do, if your whole being is committed to God, God can use it if you'll just let Him do it.
56 Then, the following night up here, Brother Neville preached on the subject of "escaping," how the--the man escaped. And I thought it was kind of remarkable.
And this morning the Holy Spirit seems to have me to deal upon the subject of the light, the very next. Go right on, in the beginning, how Christ's life started at the manger, we're walking right back through it again in our text. And he didn't know it; I didn't know it; and here it is right at the same thing. See, right on, the next thing is where He enters His ministry. And tonight we got something that'll blend right with that, to go right on, tonight, the Lord willing.
57 Now, great Light! "The Gentiles who sat in the regions of the shadows of death, great Light sprang up among them. In Zabulon, and Nephthalim, in the... by the way of Galilee of the Gentiles, great Light, they saw a great Light."
58Now light, the first time light, we find it in the Bible, is found in Genesis 1:3. It was, God's spoken Word made the light. God said, "Let there be light," Genesis 1:3, and there was light.
59Now remember, then, light comes by the spoken Word of God. And light is the vindication, or the subject that He has spoke, is light. When the light flies, shows that. God said, "Let there be light." There was no light, and He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. That's a proof. The light is a vindication of His spoken Word. Same thing today, a vindication of His spoken Word.
60 Now when you see His Word being vindicated, or, other words, made known, proved, that is a--the Light of His spoken Word. And, without light, nothing can live without light. There is no life upon the earth today that but what has to come by the--the light of the sun, in a botany life, and so forth. And there is no Eternal Life outside of the Son of God. See? He is the Light.
61Now we find out, I believe, as we study now, and this light... "The earth was without form."
62Now, some people argue today in our schools, and so forth, about the world being so many million years old, and trying to condemn the Bible and say It's wrong. They just don't, never read the Bible. That's all. Because, the Bible don't tell us how old the world is. The Bible said, "In the beginning God created heavens and earth." Period! When, how, that's, we don't know it. Now, that's the first. And, that's a period, that's the end of that sentence.
63 "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth." It might have been a hundred million, or billion, or whatever it was. And how He done it, that's up to Him to know, see, not to me.
But the world, well, "The earth was without form, and void; and the water was upon the--the earth. And God," said, "moved upon the water." And said, "Let there be light."
64Now, I believe that the sun, and so forth, was already in existence, I believe, the moon. As it goes on, Genesis 3, to explain it... But I believe, what was here, that the world, we was going to use it, and therefore... And it moved in; there was fog and mist all over the earth, making it dark. And God said, "Let there be light," and the darkness faded away, and there was a cloudless sky.
65 And I believe that's God's way of doing things. He... in the Bible, the next verse says, the 4th verse says. "And He separated the light from the darkness. And the light He called 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night.'" And God's Word always separates Light from darkness. See? It's the Word that does the separating, see, Light from darkness.
66God ever does the same thing, when He gets ready to use anything. Like He got ready to use this old star, or whatever it was, this world, He had to separate the light from the darkness. When He gets ready to leave, to use a--a group of people, He has to separate the Light from the darkness. When He gets ready to use an individual, He separates the Light from the darkness. See?
67Light comes by God. And the... Remember, the light come by His spoken Word. The Word of God said, "Let there be light," when there was no light, and He sent the light to separate the darkness from the light.
68This Word of command cleared the sky so the sun could shine in. And His Word today is what clears back all of the atmospheres of unbelief.
69 I was talking, had--had, I think, eleven interviews just before I got to the pulpit this morning, in there. So bad...
70The other day a little friend of mine, Jim Poole, his little boy, they had thought he had a heart attack, rushed him to hospital. It was an asthmatic condition, had throwed the little fellow... He couldn't... His little heart jumping, and breathing, and--and he screaming and couldn't get his breath, and the little fellow looked like he was dying, when they got him here. And I was fixing to go to the hospital; they brought him here. And took a hold of his little hand; I said, "What's done it, measles has struck the kid. And, the measles, the fever has struck the little fellow. You watch him. In a couple days I want to see him again. He'll be full of measles." And here he is full of measles, you see. See?
71 Now, what? God separates darkness from light, or light from darkness. And He separates death from Life, and He does it by His Word. His Word is what always brings this forth.
72Now, light! Well, now, the seed was already upon the earth. I believe God had planted the seed. And just as long as the sun could get to that seed, it begin to grow. And that's the reason it only taken days to bring forth these things, because the seed was already in the earth. All it needed was light.
73And that's the way God has today. His Seed is already here, His Word. The only thing It needs is Light on It. And He is that Light, for He is the Word. The Word and the Light is the same thing. The Life in there is the Light of the Word, see, is the Life. The germ of life lays within the grain, and the grain... the life is what breaks forth and brings forth the life out of the grain. That's the way that Christ, in the Word, makes the Word do what It's supposed to do. Just like the life in the grain of wheat, or whatever it is; it makes the wheat do what it's supposed to do, because it is the life that's in it. All life!
74 So, Life is only by the Word of God made manifest. Life comes only by the Word of God made manifest. As long as it is just in the Book, like this, it still can be questioned. But when it's made manifest, then you see the product of what It spoke of, being manifested, then that is Light on the--on the Word. See? That's what brings... The Word said so, and, then, when it comes to pass, that is Life in Light, Light bringing Life. Light brings Life.
75Plant the wheat out here, it'll... and put it in the basement, cover it all over, and it'll--it'll never bring forth anything, because it can't. There's no light there. But as soon as light strikes it, then it'll bring forth life if it's a germitized seed.
That's the same thing it is in the Word. See, the Word is God, and when the Life strikes It, it brings It... Light strikes It, it brings the Word to life again. Every age has always been that. Oh, how we appreciate these great things, how that the Word being vindicated is the Light of the spoken Word. See?
God said, "Let there be light."
76 Now, what if He just said it and no light come? Then we don't know whether it's true or not. We don't know whether He is all right. We don't know whether He is God or not, because He just said, "Let there be," and there wasn't. See?
So then when God speaks and we see it is, then that's the Light that shines forth, the Truth of the Word. See? There is Light and Life.
77All natural life comes by His spoken Word. And the sun is His spoken Word. He said He created a great light in the heavens, for the day, and a lesser light for the night. See? And all natural life has to come by God's spoken Word. A flower cannot grow without the light of God's spoken Word shine upon it, for the sun is, the s-u-n, is the spoken Word of God, when He said, "Let there be light." See? It's God's spoken life. And no matter how much people try to--to say this, that, or the other, it still remains the same. You have to have that sun, so life, natural, can only come by the spoken Word of God.
78 And spiritual Life, Eternal Life, can only come by God's spoken Word of Life. Life was the S-o-n this time. In Him is Light, and in Him is no darkness; and He is God's spoken Light. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] God's spoken Word, for, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And It's forever God. See?
And it takes the Light of God to strike the Word, to make It live. Here is what He spoke [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.], now let the Light shine! Amen! Let the Light shine, and the Light will bring every Word to Its right position, in its season. Amen! Oh! You see, when it comes time!
79Sometimes that grain lays in the earth, dormant, all through the--the winter, like seed, winter wheat sowed in the ground. But when that sun gets just right, oh, it's got to live. See? And it can't live without the sun.
And God has made promises for every age and every day. And when the Light gets right, and shines upon that, it'll produce just exactly what the Word said, because He is the Light and the Life.
80 God's Word comes only by the Bible. God's Bible is the--the printed form of the Son of God, because the Bible said that It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's God revealing Himself through Christ, and Christ is the Word. And it takes the Light of God to shine upon that Word, to vindicate It, to prove that God still speaks Life, Eternal Life. He speaks natural light, brings the life. Life only comes by the Light, the Word made manifest, or made flesh. When all the promises become, in the Bible, become manifest, is when Jesus Christ, the Word, was made flesh among us. God always works through man. Man is God's subject.
81Now, if it gets a little warm in here for you, you can pull the windows down, or whatever you wish to, cut the furnace down. Maybe the janitor would cut the furnace down a little. I see many are warm. And it's warm standing here, too, so--so remember that. I'm glad it's warm instead of cold, 'cause I--I like warm. I... Warm always bring light, life, takes fire.
82 Notice now, "made flesh." When the Word becomes flesh, It becomes manifested. Like, take the Word and put It in the right position and the right kind of ground, It'll bring forth. The--the seed will bring forth its kind. And the Word, brought into the right kind of a heart, it'll manifest Itself. It'll bring forth the light. It'll break forth upon it. All right.
83Nothing natural, nothing natural or spiritual, can live without God's Light. Life can only come then by Light. Nothing natural or nothing spiritual can live without God's Light. Think of that. All right. But when He sends us the Light, see, and does all these things, and then we reject It; now that's the pitiful part, is when Light is rejected when it's sent to us.
84 Now could you imagine some man today saying, "I just refuse to say there is such a thing as a sun. I don't believe there is a sun"? And he runs down into the basement, and--and shuts all the doors, and sets back in the darkness, and said, "There is no such a thing as sun. There is no such a thing as light." You would know, right away, there was something mentally wrong with that person. See? There is something wrong, when he runs back into a dark basement and refuses to accept the benefit of God-given light. There is something wrong with him. He don't want its warm rays. He doesn't want its health-giving substance. He doesn't want its light, to walk in. He would rather sit in darkness. It shows, mentally, something wrong, natural, with the man.
85 And I say this with all love and respect. So is there something spiritually wrong with a man that'll run back into his denominations of creed and refuse to see Bible Light when it's shining right before him. There is something wrong with him. See, goes back into his creeds and forms, and shuts the door and says, "There is no such a thing as That. The days of miracles is past. There is no such a thing as Divine healing, there none of these things. That was for an apostle." The man is spiritually crazy. See? There is something wrong with him. He--he--he has pulled down the curtains and rejected the Holy Spirit that can come upon him. If he can...
"If ye abide in Me, and My Words in you, then, the Light shining upon this Word, ask what you will." See? See?
86 There is something wrong, that he would reject the God-given sources that God has give to us to live by, His Word. "The just shall live by faith."
"And man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word," not part of the Word, "every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." And when a man will just refuse That, there is something wrong with that person; something wrong with his experience, that he claims to love God and then refuses God. There is something gone wrong with the person. We know that, without a shadow of doubt. He rejects It, runs into this place, and says, "Now I just... I don't want to know nothing about It. Don't tell me nothing about these Things. I, I don't believe nothing about It. You, don't matter what you say!"
87 A fellow said, not long ago. I was telling you about. He said, "I don't care if you would bring fifty cancers, and bring fifty doctors to testify of them, I don't believe. I don't care if you would raise up the dead, right before me, I wouldn't believe it." See, there is something wrong with that person. There--there--there is. And--and, yet, the man was a minister, see, see, supposed to be a minister.
But just because that organization doesn't believe in--in the powers of God, don't believe that (the Word) It meant just what It said, the man runs into this basement, old musty, dirty, filthy basement of a organization, and refuses the warmth and Life-giving rays of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, which is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Then there is something wrong with that person. See?
He would rather live in that must, darkness, and so forth, than to live in the Light of the God and of the Bible that said, that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The works that I do shall you do also. Even greater than this shall you do, for I go to My Father." There is something wrong with that person. Without a question, at all, there is something wrong.
88 And to you man that's listening to this, across the world, wherever you may be. There is something wrong with your experience, when you say that you love God and refuse His Word. There is something. You refuse the very... No wonder the things can't, the church is in its condition, and things cannot be done as God promised, is because you won't even receive the Word or walk in the Light. The Bible said, "Let us walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, then the Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." Sin is "unbelief."
89Then if we are walking in the God-given Light of the hour, then God takes that Word that's given for the hour and vindicates It.
Just like He did in Genesis 1:3, said, "Let there be light," and light come forth. His Word went forth, and light followed It, and cleared away the mist. And the darkness went to one corner, and the light shined on the other side.
90That's the way God does today. He sends His Word for this hour, and the Holy Spirit comes and makes that Word live. And the darkness goes on to their creeds and denominations, but Light shines because it's the Word of God being vindicated that His Word is true. Now, there is nothing fictitious about that, that's just exactly Scriptural. All right.
91 Now, we find that the--the wise man, the wise man of the Old, followed the God-given substance. They followed the Word of God, to the Light, because it was the Word that brought Life. Now you say, "How did they follow?" Well, they were, kinda, magis, we understand.
92And then we find out that Balaam, the prophet, back in Numbers 24:17, Balaam was kind of a magi himself. He was a prophet, truly, and he prophesied here and said a Star would rise out of Jacob.
And when these wise men saw that the Word of God said a Star would rise out of Jacob, they followed that little God-given token to the source of Eternal Light.
So will wise man today, who is not blinded by creeds, will follow the God-given, spoken Word till they see the fullness of the Power of God blooming forth in this hour. They, they see it, and they know that it's here in the Scripture. God promised it for this day.
93 No matter how many observatories, how many other things, told the wise man, "Why, you're out of your mind!" Two years they was in travel. They passed by many nations, and they would say, "Where you going?"
94"Oh, we have seen His Star in the East, and we come to worship Him."
And when they lined up in Jerusalem, the denominational headquarters, they didn't have the answer. They went up-and-down the streets, crying, "Where is He, born King of the Jews?" They knowed nothing about it.
So, they called on the Word, to find out. They had followed, knowed that Star was leading them to the Eternal Light. "Guide us to Thy perfect Light." And the Word is what guides you to the Light, and the Light is what makes the Word vindicated. Notice, they were wise man.
95 And wise man today, not wi-... "The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God." All your scientists, and you people who are depending on some great scholarship, or something another, telling you how to split a atom; it can't give you Life. There is nothing can give you Life but the spoken Word of God. It's the only where that Life can come, is through His spoken Word.
96And that's all right, to know how to split a atom. I wish they'd a-never found it out. But if they... They have to do it, because this world is hanging today... It had to happen, to burst these big holes in the earth, to let that lava come forth and rejuvenate this world again, to make a new earth; where the righteous will walk out upon the dust of the wicked, where sin will be forgotten. Everything has a way of renewing itself. And man, who was given to live on this earth, by his own wisdom, taking the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life, he'll destroy the earth that God give him to live on. But those who are still on the Tree of Life, shall come to a new heavens and a new earth, where there is no sickness or death. Light! Light, Lord, send us Light.
97 It was the Angels of God that showed light upon the hill, to guide the shepherds to the Eternal Light. See, it only comes by Light. Life can only come by Light. The shepherds, wanting to know. You know, when a king is born, they have singing, great carrying on, when the king is born. Now, He was so secretly born, and born in a stable, in a--a manger where the cattle and horses was eating, but yet He was a King. And the--the Angels came down and sang the hymns to the shepherds, in the Light.
The Angels, themselves, were lights that showed with the Word of God. They had the Word of God, and told them, "Today, in the city of David, in Bethlehem, is born Christ the Saviour." The Angels had the Word, and the Word came by Light, to guide. And they followed the Word of the Angels, to Eternal Light. They found the Baby there, wrapped in swaddling cloth, as They had said. For, you see, Life only comes by Light.
98 Notice, He was the Word made Light, or became Light. The Word in that generation, He was the Word Light of that generation, because the prophets of old had spoke of Him, and here He come and vindicated He was the Light of God's spoken Word. See? All the prophets had--had said, had been fulfilled in Him, see, the prophets back here with the Word.
Like God was at the beginning, when He said, "Let there be light," and light came.
Now the prophet said, "A virgin shall conceive, bring forth a Son. They shall call His Name Immanuel, for It'll be God with us." Now, they had spoke it, the Word had went out; but He was the Light. What was He? The fulfillment. Hallelujah! He was the fulfillment of that Word. He was the manifestation of that Word.
99So is it today, God's Word has been fulfilled at the hour! That's the Light. It's God manifesting Himself. He was the Light of the world.
100 And when the prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a--a Son is given, or a Child is given; and His Name shall be called 'Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,'" there it was. What was He? The Light that fulfilled that Word, amen, the Light that fulfilled that Word.
101In Matthew, in Saint Matthew the 28th chapter, we find. And when Jesus raised from the dead, He also was the Light of the spoken Word of David, which said, "I'll not leave His soul in hell; neither will I suffer My Holy One to see corruption." Death was in darkness. But He broke open the seals of death, and walked into it, and come back out again. He was the Light, the vindicated Word, that the dead can live after they are dead. He was.
102 On the Day of Pentecost, that was the Light that showed when the Holy Ghost had come.
Isaiah said, in the 28th chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah said that, with, "Precept must be upon precept; line must be upon line; here a little, and there a little." "Hold fast to that what's good." "For with stammering lips and with other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the rest, this is the Sabbath that I'll give to... And all this they would not hear; walked away, wagged their heads."
And when on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost fell upon those people, and they acted like drunk men and women, staggering under the impact of the Holy Spirit. And they walked away and wagged their heads, and said, "This people is drunk, full of new wine," and so forth. It absolutely was the Light, the Word that had been prophesied, made manifest.
103 So is it in every age, the Word made manifest, come to Life, is the Light of that age, there the Word made manifest. Just like it was in Genesis 1, when God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. When God said there will be a Son; and there was a Son.
104When God said, in Joel 2:28, "It shall come to pass in the last days, I'll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; upon My handmaids and maidservant will I pour out of My Spirit; your young men shall see visions; your old men shall see dreams." And all these things that He promised, when It, Holy Ghost fell, was the Light upon that Word. When the Word was made manifest, then It become Light.
He is the Light. He is the Light that we should follow. He is the only Light. The Angels found Light, and followed it to Him.
105 Now, in all ages, God has set forth so much of His Word for each age. God always sends somebody that that Word can get into and show the Light of It. That, every age, it does the same thing, always does that.
106He was the fulfillment, as I said, of all of the Divine, holy powers of the prophets. They were minor gods. When the Word of the Lord came to a man, Jesus said, Himself, that he was a god. You know that. He said, "If your law said, and your fathers back there, called them, who the Word of God came to, called them 'gods,' how can you condemn Me, saying, when I said, 'I'm the Son of that God'?" See?
When, the very God Himself, Who spoke the Word through the prophets, He was the manifestation of that spoken Word. And if the prophet was called a god, because he was the manifestation of another prophet's Word, how can you condemn Him when He was the same thing? He was the Son of God, as He shall be called the Son of God.
107He was the long-promised Messiah that the world had waited on. He was the Messiah's promise made manifest.
108 Look at Him when He stood there. He said, "If I do not the works of My Father, then condemn Me." See? "But if you can't believe Me, believe the works that I do. They testify Who I am. They tell you Who I am."
You see, that blind, darkened hour that they live in, they couldn't see It. They just couldn't understand. "How could He be That? How can he be any Son of God, when he was born right down here in Bethlehem?" If they only knowed, the Word said It would come that way. "Why, His father, Joseph, is a carpenter. His mother, why, it's actually believed amongst our brethren that He was born illegitimately." See? But yet the Word of God said that.
109He said, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are the very Ones that testify Who I am. They are the Ones that testify of Me, this Holy Scriptures." Then what was He? God's Light. No wonder He said, "I am the Light of the world."
110Not only did He say, "I am the Light," but He said, "Ye are the Light." If His Word is in you, bearing record of Itself, then you are Light of the world. Notice, we find out, Light of each age made manifest just the same.
111 Then I want to ask the question, as... 'fore our time gets away. Why, why then were they... did they turn it down? How could they do it, when the... Their very Bible, that they was reading, was being made manifest before them. Now study real hard now.
112Now remember, I'm talking to many people at this time, you see. Not just four or five hundred here, but I'm--I'm talking to many thousands.
113Stop just a minute. Stop your tape recorder and ask the question. Why would religious man, good man... Why would Joseph question? See? Why would Jo-...? Because he never searched the Scripture.
Why did the priests question? One reason they didn't; they knew it. Nicodemus well expressed it. He said, "Rabbi, we know You're a teacher from God. No man could do what You do except God be with him. We're aware of that." But what was it? Their traditions kept them from doing it.
114 Then why were they, did they reject the Messiah? Is be... Why did they reject that Light? Here is the Word that they knowed was coming to pass, but when the Word was made manifest to show that the Word of God had been fulfilled, compare that with today. See? When there, written in the Word, that would take place, then why did those man reject it; teachers? Because they were living in a glare of another light. That's it. They was living in a glare.
That's the thing they're doing today. They're living...
The reason they turned it down is because they're living in a glare of another light. See? Now, they was living in a glare of what Moses said, they claimed. They was living in a glare of what (another age) had passed by.
And that's the very reason today that this Message, that, "Jesus Christ still is the same," is turned down, because the people are living in glares of other ages. The same reason, they'll turn It down. Now we notice.
115 And Webster says, that, "A glare is kind of a false light. A glare is a false light; same thing that glares."
Like--like a mirage on the road. You go down the road, many of you driving cars, and look down ahead of you. When you see that sun on the ground, it reflects a light, and like a mirage, look like there's water all over the road. But, when you get there, there is nothing there. It's only a false, mirage, the glare of a true light.
That's what the devil is doing today, is showing people a mirage, a Council of Churches, a group of denominations, which will turn out to be false. Because, it's because there is a real Light shining. That real Light wasn't shining, a mirage couldn't be there. Real Light shines. And that's... They're living in a glare of another age, another thing, for it's hit and passed on.
Now, a glare, this mirage is false. It's a glare of the sun.
116 And that's the way, they did the same thing, a false glare of the true Light.
117Now, it proved to be that He was the true Light. He was the Light. Why did they know that He was the Light? How could you know He was the Light? Because the Word that was promised was made manifest through Him, so He was the Light of that spoken Word. Amen! Oh, that would almost make me, a pentecostal Baptist, shout. Notice, think of it!
118A glare, see, living in a glare! But when the true Word is living, that's the Light, what God said.
Now, what if God said, in the beginning, "Let there be light," huh, well, and there was something else appeared, see, just a mirage? See, it wouldn't a-been, though, what God said. No, it wouldn't a-been. What if God said, "Let there be light," and more fog came? See, it wouldn't a-been light. But, the reason light come, it was His Word manifested.
And today, when God has said such things will take place at this time, and you see it doing it, (what is it?) it's the Light on God's Word. It's Word being made Light, manifesting Itself.
119 Now, they said, "Who do You say we are? Why," he said, "You try to... We know that You're crazy. Why, You're a Samaritan; You haven't got Your right mind. Well, You'll try to... Who can tell... We know You was born in sin. We don't know where You come from. We have no record of Your identification in our groups. Why, You're crazy. You got a devil." See? Said, "Why, You're out of Your mind." But He was actually the genuine, true Light of God, shining.
And the glare had put out, their eyes out. "We have Moses as our guide!"
120He said, "If you would have believed Moses, you'd a-knowed Me."
121And if you would believe Jesus and the Bible, you would know this hour that you're living in. They say, "Well, we are Christians. We..." If you were, you would know the acts of Christ for this day. See, you would know it.
122Jesus said, "All those prophets spoke of Me. And if you believe those prophets, why, you would know Me. My works identify. Because, what they said I'd do, I do it. And who can condemn Me now of unbelief?"
123 And still they didn't see it. Why? Their eyes were put out, with a glare; see, the glare of something else that they had taken what the true spoken Word was. Now think of it. Think of it. They claimed that they believed that Word. But their traditions had turned their faces from the true Word, to a glare, therefore they couldn't see the real thing.
So is it today. So has it been in every age. See, the--the true Word shines, but they have been so traditionalized, that, they can't see that Word. They're looking at a glare, and they're blind. A glare will blind you. There is a arc off of it. It'll blind you. And, it'll, when...
124Jesus said, "You are blind, leading the blind." They should have been able to see it, to see Who He was. But they didn't, because they was living in that glare.
125 Now, a glare, as I said, is a false light, a mirage, a false conception of the true Light. False conception; it's something that--that's supposed to look like It, but it isn't That.
126Now the only way they could tell the difference, because the very things that Jesus did proved Who He was, that He was the Light. They thought they was in the Light. But now if you just stop a minute and consider who is in the Light, then.
127Now, today! If such a rashel mistake was made by the churchmen of that day, such a rashel thing was did, brethren, don't you think that it's time that we stopped and considered what is Light? Let us not make such a rashel mistake. But you're doing it. You've already done it, see, and knew it not, same as they was then. Now stop just a minute and find out what the Word says for today.
128 If they'd a stopped and thought, "Here He is fulfilling, to the letter, exactly what the Word said He would do."
And He challenged them, as I'm challenging you! See? See? I'm challenging you to look in the Word, search the Scriptures, see if this isn't the hour. See? "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They that testify of Me." They are They that testify of this work today. The works itself testifies that it's being done, and the Scripture says it'll be done, so it's the Light of the hour. God's Word said so.
129 Your traditions and things is exactly what the Bible said, like those who wagged their heads and walked away. "All the tables become full of vomit," the Bible said. And that's where they were. They wouldn't believe it. They wagged their heads. And, gentlemen, do you realize? And, brethren, do you realize this, that, when you are rejecting the very thing that God is vindicating before you, that you're doing the same thing they did, going back to your traditional vomit?
130"As a dog goes to its vomit." If it made him sick the first time, it'll make him sick the second time. If the Catholic church, being organized and made the first organization, brought sickness to the church; so will Lutheran, Methodist, and all the rest of them, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostals. "A dog goes back to its vomit, and a sow goes back to her wallow." See? We're getting to that in a few minutes, the Lord willing.
131 Glare, walking in a glare, see, a mirage, a false conception of true Light. He proved that He was the Light.
Because, He, being in the... way in the minority, oh, my, millions against Him! There was not one sixth of the people, one ninetieth of the people, on the earth, ever knowed He was here. Not, I guess, one--one hundredth of the Jews, or hardly one fiftieth of them, or fortieth of them, I'll say, maybe less than that, of His Own country, ever knowed He was there. And them that did know He was there, considered Him a false something, because the denomination had told them that's what He was. See?
But yet He was the true Light that had been spoke since Genesis, in the beginning, and asked them to search the Scriptures and find out if He wasn't living just in that time; if He, the works that He did, didn't fulfill exactly what was promised of that time. Amen. Oh!
132What a serious thing it is, brother! We're living in a tremendous time.
133 He proved to be the right. He was the very Light that they claimed they were worshiping. They claimed to be worshiping that Light.
And so is it today. They claim they are worshiping That. Pentecostals claim it. They claim they are, and so blind they can't see it. Why? They organize, and, but a glare in their face. See? A tradition is what some people set together, and said, "We'll go and make this and this, and this and that." Now we're going to come to why that has to happen, the Lord willing.
134 Notice, His works was the living Word Itself. What He did was the living Word Itself, showing He was that Light that had been promised since the beginning of the world. He was that Light. His Light on the promised Word of the age made It live to exactly what the promise said It would do, but they had It so turned around until they couldn't see It. See? But He was the Light of that age.
135He was the Light that they claimed to be worshiping. They thought that they were worshiping the very God of creation. They was living in and worshiping a glare, and Jesus said, "You worship Me in vain, teaching for Doctrine their traditions of man, and not the Word." He is the Word, and He was the Word made manifest. They ought to have knowed it.
136 I hope that can break through, everywhere it's heard, see, that it is the Word made manifest. "Oh," say, "oh, we have the Word." Why, the Word, everybody pack a Bible, that wants to. But, when the Word is vindicated, made manifest!
Why, say, "Well, we believe!"
137Yes, sir, they believed, all the way along. So does Satan. Those Pharisees, who could condemn them, not believing? But they didn't believe the Word for the hour. They were worshiping the glare of something else.
It's the same thing they're doing today. See? They're keeping up Luther's predict-... traditions, or--or Wesley's traditions, and the rest of them, the Pentecostal tradition. But what of the hour?
The Pharisees was keeping up their traditions. But behind their traditions was the true Word of God coming to shine forth, and, when It did, It blinded their eyes. They couldn't see It because they was watching something else.
So is it today! May God let that soak in, till it really hits home to the people that should believe it. It's later than you think.
138 My son, Billy Paul, he talks in his sleep, but he doesn't have dreams very often. He had one the other night that shook him up. Said he dreamed he was in a church, and--and they... I hadn't come in yet.
Said, when I come in, fire was flying out of the eyes, and I said, "The time is here. It's over."
And everybody begin screaming, "I can't! My children!"
139And even my wife said, "I can't get Sarah to ask the blessing at the table, and so forth." And I said...
He said, "I've got to go get Loyce and--and the baby."
140I said, "Loyce can't come now. The baby is too young to know. Billy, the hour is here. We must go." I said, "It's midnight now. Before daylight, Jesus will be here. If it isn't, then I'm a false witness of Christ."
And somebody spoke up, said, "No man knows the minute or hour."
141"I never said minute or hour. I said, 'Sometime between now and daylight.'" And I said, "Let's--let's go."...?... I said, "But we're at the time. Let's go."
And we got in the car, and started, and we started up the mountain. And when we did, it was looked like the light was coming in the skies, but dark upon the earth. He said I pulled off the side of the road, and held my hands over like this, fire still flying from my eyes. And he said I said, "Lord, I have did this at Your command. I have did this just because that You told me to do it this a way. I have did these things according to what You've told me."
And I motioned to a big granite mountain; and a--a Light, without hands, cut a Stone out of the mountain, weighing hundreds of tons, and here It come. I said, "Turn your heads; don't look. It'll all be over just in a few minutes." Said, then a great holy hush come everywhere, as this Stone come towards the place.
142 It may be later than we think. There, see, that's exactly Scriptural, you see, "the Stone, without hands, cut out of mountain."
And so one of these days it's going to be that way, when you're going to scream for something. I said to them, "You've already had that time. God has constantly warned you, time after time. Yeah." I said, "Even if it's my own kid, or whoever it is, the hour is here. I can only say what He's told me to say, and it'll be there," and it was.
And--and then, all of a sudden [Brother Branham claps his hands together once--Ed.], here He come, "the Stone cut out of the mountain, without hands." Daniel saw that, you know, back many years ago. Billy knowed nothing about that, but it was a--it was a dream sent to him from the Lord.
143Now, see, they claim to be worshiping that very God that they were making fun of. And the same thing has reversed again today, by the same reason, living in a glare instead of the Light. Great Lights has a shine. All right.
144 Look what darkness we're in today! Look what's going on today! Look at murder, rape, strife! Why, it's come to pass. I believe it was Billy Graham said, in his last meeting, "In ten years from now, every citizen of California will have to pack a gun to protect themself. You can't put enough law enforcement." The people has just gone insane; shooting, murder, and rapes, everything, see. It's just gone wild, see, upon the streets. See, it's a--it's a day we're living in, a Sodomite day. See?
But there is a Light shining! If they'd only look, if they'd only see, look into the Word and see what's supposed to be in this hour, they would know what's trying to be done.
145Now, they claim they're worshiping that Light, so did they claim they was worshiping that Light, but they were worshiping in the glare of another light instead of the real. See? He was the Light.
146 Creeds and traditions, in their blinded condition, had turned them from the true Light of the promised Word. The Word that God had vindicated, by Jesus, the Light of the world, came and made that Word live right exactly through His time, exactly to the days. "He'll be cut off in the midst of the seventy weeks, that's right, which is the three and a half years of His prophecy. The Messiah would come, the Prince, and would prophesy, and three and a half days of this, then He would be cut off from the living, and make atonement." And that's exactly. He preached three and a half years. And their...
147And the very Psalm that David said, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The 22nd Psalm, "All My bones, they stare at Me. They wag their heads. They pass by Me." Eight hundred and fifty years, beforehand, when David sung that song in the Spirit, and it was considered prophecy, and given. They was singing them songs in the temple when the same Sacrifice was hanging on the cross, with His hands, and pierced. "And they pierced My hands and My feet." See? See there? Then, why? They were living in a glare. They didn't see the Light.
148 Could you imagine a sensible person doing that? No more than I can imagine a sensible person running down in the basement and get in the must, and pulling his doors together, and say, "I refuse to see there is light." It's insanity.
And his spiritual has slipped, somewhere, when a man sees that the Bible has promised this, and see it living right out before him and made manifest, and then continually stay in those creeds and things out there that reject It. It's a spiritual delinquency. That's exactly right.
149Here He was now. "He was--He was the Light of the world, and the world knew... He came to His Own; His Own knew Him not. He came into the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." See? "But as many as did know Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God, to them that believed on Him."
150 Remember, we cannot live by yesterday's light. Yesterday's light is gone. It isn't no more. It, yesterday's light, is only a memory. Yesterday's sunlight is only a memory, or, it's history. We cannot live in yesterday's light, no more. And the same, though it's the same sun, the same sun, but each day it brings forth its strength a little stronger, to ripen the grain for the harvest. See?
151The sun comes today, gets a little stronger. Each day now it'll get a little stronger, a little stronger, and till finally the wheat, that's laying there, it'll--it'll go taking life. After a while, the--the life will come up, then a little stronger, a little stronger. March, April, May, June, July, she is in the harvest then, you see. The same sun shining today, in--in January or December, that's up there bathing that snow and melting it down on that grain, bringing it water; it's the same sun, but that wheat could not live in that same sunlight in June. See, it can't do it. See, the sun comes a little stronger each day, and the grain should be a little more matured to receive the sunlight.
152That's what's the matter today. The grain that was sowed in the early fathers, back there in--in Luther and Wesley and them, it dwarfed; it can't take the Son. The Son kills it. It refused to grow. See? It cut it, it took itself from the stalk, like, and come over here and made itself an own little thing. It become a husk, then, and no Life in it. The grain should be maturing and getting stronger, as the Son becomes stronger each day.
153 Now let's watch a minute. We'll watch the church ages. There is seven church ages. And as those church ages, each one, watch how He spoke to them what would do, how the grain would mature and come down to this last hour here, this last hour that we're living in. So the churches must do the same thing, see, the churches.
154Now look, Luther sowed a grain, and Luther was a grain and he sowed it. All right. So was Wesley; and, also, so was Pentecostal; so was the Baptists, the Nazarenes. But, you see, now Luther would not go back and live in the light of the first denomination, Catholic. No, sir; he was another light. That was God ripening something. Now a little minority come out of that, that Lutheran revival.
155Then come along the Wesley revival, and then, in that, why, they couldn't go back and do the Lutherans. See?
And then along come the Pentecostals. And then the Pentecostals organized and done the same thing, taken the husk. Notice.
156 But the grain goes right on. Now we're in another age. Why won't they receive It? Why won't they see that the grain is matured? Here is the promised Word for this day. [Brother Branham pats his Bible--Ed.] Why don't they see It? Because they're living in Lutheran glare, Wesleyan glare, Baptist glare, Pentecostal glare. They're living in the glare of another light. That's the reason they can't receive the Light of the total Word being a vindicated as God promised. Them Seven Seals, where the whole mystery was revealed, would come back and tell why these mysteries was done like that; and, yet, when that comes in, they walk farther away from It than ever. They're without excuse.
157God has done it through Spirit, through revelations. He's--He's proved it perfectly, by scientific and everything else, that it's the Truth, that it's the Truth. And still they want to live in a Pentecostal glare, "I am the Assemblies! I am the Oneness! I am the Church of God! I am this!" See, living in a glare of a age forty, fifty years ago. Living in a Lutheran glare. Living in a Wesley, a Baptist, a Presbyterian, or some Nazarene, glare of another church age that went on and organized and done the same thing, and refuse and reject the Light when It's actually shining.
158 And you're living in a mirage. I say that reverently, see, but you're; not to hurt you, but to wake you up. You're living in a mirage.
What if Jesus, said "Why, you're blind, and you're leading the blind"? They couldn't... He tried to tell them; and didn't do it. Said, "Let them alone. If the blind leads the blind, they'll all fall in the ditch." That's the hour I've come to! If they're going to stagger, I can't help it. Done all I can do. I've done exactly.
I've done this at Your command, Lord. You're a witness.
Since 1933, down on the river, when that Light there you see, shined down, It's been right here in the tabernacle and witnessed to you, all these years. And everything It said has come to pass. And continually they go on. "Let the blind lead the blind." I'll just wait for that hour; He'll arrive, one of these days.
159 Notice, living in a glare of Luther, living in a glare of Wesley, living in them glares back there, that's the reason they can't see true Light. If they would stop for a few minutes, and just pick up the Bible and read It, they would see that the... this is Light promised for the hour.
160Now we're going to take some of these things in a minute. He promised, according to Malachi 4, these things would happen. He promised, all through the Scriptures, they would happen. See?
161Notice Israel also, our type, in the journey. Look, eating manna, which was their Light, Life, that give them strength, Life. Is that right? [The congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Israel could not eat manna that was yesterday had fell on them. It was contaminated. It was rotten. It was no good for them. They would die, over it. The manna that kept them alive yesterday would kill them today. The Bible said it got germs in it, contaminated. And the manna, they had to get new manna every day. Amen.
And what is it? The people that live on manna of Luther, Wesley, and them back in there, you are eating contaminated stuff that's killing you, spiritually. It's killing you, dead in your traditions.
162 Yesterday's, Luther's manna, would not work for Methodist. Methodist manna would not work for Pentecost. Pentecostal manna will not work for today. See what I mean? Every day it come, day by day, fresh, and so has It through the church ages.
Luther's manna was the message of justification. Wesley's message was the manifestation of sanctification. Pentecostal was the restoration of the gifts. But this is introducing the Headstone, the last day, the Bride Tree, which is contrary to all of it, and yet It's the same Light for the matured.
Like the same sun, shine today, will be ripening the grain for the harvest in July. See what I mean? But the light today won't do any good back there in July. It's stronger. The wheat is more advanced; it's ready to take it. Amen. Certainly is. They couldn't take it now; it can then. The season wasn't right, then; it is now.
163You can't go against God's nature. He's got a law, and, to contrary that law, kills your plant. You've got to go according to God's spoken laws, and His laws is His Word. Any law is a word spoken. And a word is a thought manifested. See? Now we--we know that that's true.
164A vision is what? The Word of God, or something foretold, or a forecast of a event. And a vision that the prophets had, and Jesus had, Paul had, and all of them, and tell of this day, was a forecast of what would happen. And here we see the forecast being made manifest, and people don't even recognize it. See what I mean? Now, yesterday's manna...
165 Look here. Did you ever notice, the sun, s-u-n, has traveled, East to the West, as it's went each time. Did you notice that? And, notice, the church ages did the same thing. What? The sun, s-o... s-u-n, started in the East. And civilization has traveled with the sun, God's spoken light for them to live in. They've come on, following the sun, see where it was going.
166Life itself, when you are born, is like a sun. You go on, right on to the setting of the sun, from your birth to the setting of the sun.
167Man has traveled westward, always. The oldest civilization we have is China, in the eastern countries. Jerusalem... And, notice, she keeps traveling westward as it goes, and as it goes on and on, to the West.
168 So has the church age traveled the same way, by the S-o-n of God. Look, Paul, the early church, started in the East; it went from there, jumped across the--the--the--the sea, over into Germany. It's made three pulls. Look here. From Asia, down in--in Palestine, it jumped across the ocean to Germany; that was Luther. And it jumped from Luther, across the English Channel, over into England; by Wesley. And from Wesley, she's jumped to the West Coast, to the United States. And this, if you go any further, it's coming back East again. This is the evening time.
169Look how the church ages has fought. Luther... Paul, first, back in the early age; then come down to Iren-... to Irenaeus, and so forth; on down into France; from there, over into Germany; over into England; constantly going West.
And now we can't go no farther. This is the last age. And what does the Bible say about this last age? See, geographically, chronologists, and almost any way you want to take it. Scripturally, first; Scripture, of course, first. Evidence, historically, any way you want to take it, we're at the end, the last church age.
170 And, watch, as it went forward it grew stronger and stronger. And so has the real, little minority of the Church growed from justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, and now to the coming Capstone, shaping itself up. No more organizations after this. There won't be no more. See, can't be, see, we're on the West.
171Just to show you, through all types and everything else. And look at those three jumps, three pulls. We'll get into that tonight, see, see, how we're at the end time. It's just...
172The s-u-n has traveled like S-o-n; S-o-n like s-u-n. The church has come the same thing, from the Seven Church Ages, and so forth. Civilization has moved right on to the West, and the Church has moved right on to the West. And now if we go any further than what we are now, we come back East again. You leave the West Coast, you go right back into China, Japan, right back in again. Seven thousand miles across, you go right back to the East again. So, East and West has met, that's all of it. We're at the end. There is nothing left.
173 And the same thing has happened, today, that happened back there. The same thing has met at the West that was met at the East. The people living in a glare of another light that was absolutely trying to show forth the Light was to come, and reject It, because they got the glare instead of the Light. Oh! "And there was great Light in the land of the Gentiles; Zabulon, Nephthalim; of Galilee,... in Galilee, land of the Gentiles."
174This is the seventh church age. Remember, and each time that that sun begin to shine in the East, is the same sun that shines in the West. And the same Spirit that's been all down through the ages, like that, is the same Son today. Only, what is it? Just like ripening, the season. The sun that's now, will be the same sun that ripens the grain this fall, this autumn, see, but (what is it?) it's this sun plus what it will be. And today, in this last age, is what they were, plus This.
And yet they want to live back there, as a dwarf, go down into a musty, old internom-... old nominational basement and creed, and pull their blinds down, say, "I just refuse to see It. It's all nonsense." And when the very Bible, that they claim to believe, is being identified by the same Holy Spirit bringing Light in the last days!
175 Did you notice? And watch real close there in Malachi, how he lotted that, "The Faith of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers." See, the same Spirit where It raised back yonder, where It raises here again, the same thing. See, just vice versa, exactly, setting right back again. Cause, why? East and West has met. Just exactly right under our face, and yet they don't see it. Why? No wonder Jesus said, "Just let them alone, then. They're blind, lead the blind, they'll all fall in the ditch."
176The light of other ages only reflected this Light. See? The sun today only reflects, is the reflection of the sun that will be this July or August, if God... for the harvest. And the Son, of Luther, Martin Luther, and Wesley, and Sankey, Finney, Knox, Calvin, Moody, all them others, them great man back in there that had those light; and John Smith of the Baptist church, and Alexander Campbell, the Campbellite church, and the so-called Disciples of Christ, Christian Church, and whatevermore names they got for them. All them man back there, in their ages, was only reflecting what It will be here at the end.
177 And then here, the children, immediately after them founders, what do they do? They didn't stay on the stalk. They pulled away from It and made themself a little husk thing out here. Which, you get away from the real source of Life, you have no Life. You take a husk off the thing, and plant it out here in the ground, it'll lay down and rot. And so are you, trying to eat rotten manna from back in them days.
The harvest is ripe! Jesus has a table spread, where the saints of God are fed on ripened Food of the day, by the Gospel Light that vindicates and proves that He is here today. Amen. The saints eat the Bread.
178Just think. The old husk of yesterday, see, don't plant it back there. It's rotten. It cannot, it cannot stay with it. No, sir. It will not do no good. It won't grow. It's off of the Life; and the Word is the Life. That's right. The husk drops off, the little old beard falls away, and things like that. It just denominates itself and drops off. It refuses to go on with the Life.
But the Light vindicates It. Oh, my! Yes, sir.
179 Yesterday's, oh, my, how we ought to see that! See, that, the rotten things of yesterday, don't eat them today. See? It's got worms in it. You know these little wiggletails that I call them? I don't know. I--I don't know much about germ life, but I know we always called them wiggletails. It gets in anything when it gets a little rotten. See? I don't want it then. If you're satisfied with it, go ahead, but not me. But remember...
You say, "Then why was it good yesterday?"
180If you only knew that the very little hull that was on the wheat at the beginning, if it's abides in the grain, it makes the grain further. That's the very thing that makes the wheat flower, is what was yesterday; but if it separates itself from the grain, and it don't mature, then it goes away. See? But if it goes through the process, of life-giving process, as it dies out it just blends into something else and makes the grain. If it isn't, where does it come from? Amen. You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
181 Like the Queen of England, once, she went to a great paper company, and she said she would like to see through the paper mills. So they showed her the paper mills, many years ago before they went to making it into pulp and stuff, so they find... making papers out of it. So they, well, after a while, she come into a room that it was nothing but a big old pile of dirty rags, and she said, "Where did this come from? What's this? Oh," she said.
The--the--the president of the plant said, "This is--is what we'll make the paper out of, these dirty rags."
She said, "That, make paper?"
"Yes." So she couldn't hardly believe it.
182So after she was gone, the man took the same dirty pile of rags, and run them through a certain process, and brought them out a clean, pure paper, you know, had been went through a process and made real... And put her profile in it, and sent it to her, reflecting herself in this what she called "dirty rags."
183 Now that's what it is. The dead things of yesterday, the message of Luther, the message of Wesley, the message of Pentecost, if it can only go through the process of God's Holy Spirit and the Word of a vindication, it'll bring forth the reflection of the Jesus Christ, the King. Amen. But if you leave it lay, it's dirty rags. See?
184It's got to be molded into something else. Luther has got to be molded into Wesley, and Wesley has got to be molded into Pentecost, and Pentecost has got to be molded into Christ. It goes through a process. So has the Gospel gone through a process. It's processing. Luther's age, of justification, we believe that; Wesley's, of sanctification, we believe that; the Pentecostal's, of the restoration of the gifts, for the Holy Ghost, we believe that, certainly. But, mold it all together, what do you come out with? Jesus, right, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Oh! It'll come out with Jesus.
185 When a man in a foundry is making a bell, he's got a certain tone he has to put in it. When he is setting his mold and pouring his iron, he puts in so much brass, so much steel, so much copper. Why? He knows just exactly how much to put in, to make, give it the right tone.
And that's what Jesus has done by His Bride. He had to put so much Luther, so much Methodist, and so much Presbyterian, so much Pentecost, in it. But what does He come out with? His Own reflection.
What is it? Just like pyramid Message, you see, it's heaping right up, this, come into the minority, with the Headstone. The ministry of Jesus Christ, on earth, has to be the same as the ministry He had, or He can't come to it. Just like the head, to the feet. The head... Feet is not the head, but the head packs the feet, or makes the feet, tells it where to go. You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Beautifully, it's the Light of the hour.
186Wesley was a great Light. Like He said to John the Baptist, "He was a great Light for his hour." Sure, he was.
187 No. Yes, sir, the clean rags... Or, the dirty rags of yesterday, if you remain that way, it's got... it'll just become dirty rags all the time. It served it's purpose, as clothing, but now it's become paper.
Justification served its time, in justification under Luther, then it had to become sanctification through Wesley. And sanctification served its time, till it become the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the baptism of the Holy Ghost served its time; until the Holy Spirit (which, there's only one God) blends into the Church, and the Church into Christ, and it makes Jesus Christ reflected on the earth, what He promised here in the Bible. Might not believe it; I can't make you do that. I'm only responsible for the Word. See? That's right.
188 So you see it? Do you see that? If you do, it'll be like the--the man one time went to... during, went over to Wales, during the time of the Welsh revival. A bunch of man went from the United States. So they goes down, and they said they wanted to find out what building they was holding this Welsh revival in. Many of you remember the Welsh revival, great revival broke out amongst the--the Welsh people in Wales. So these man, these great big ministers, and so forth, went from the United States, they doctors of divinity. They wanted to go over and see what great thing they had done, you know.
So they was walking down the street, and they said... met a little old policeman standing on the corner, whirling his club around, you know, and whistling a--a hymn, like that. They said, "Well, he is just whistling a hymn. We might go up, and see him, see what he's going to do. Why, ask him a question."
So they went up to him, and said, "Sir, where is the Welsh revival at?"
189He tipped off his hat; he said, "Sirs, the Welsh revival is held in here," in his heart. Oh, that's it, he was the Welsh revival.
O God, if we can only--only understand that we are the reflection of Jesus Christ, His Word made manifest. You are the reflection of His Word. See?
"Where is the Welsh revival held? What building is it in?"
He said, "Sir, it's in my heart." He was the Welsh revival. That's right.
190And today the Church ought to be Jesus Christ in action upon the earth. "Because I live, you live also; and My Life will be in you. The works that I do, you'll do also." See? The Church has got to get to that place, too. And He promised it would do it, and it will. It's got to come that way. So, you see, that's what takes place. We, we got to be that way.
He is the Light.
191 So was Noah the Light in his day. He was the Light. Noah was that Light. He was the Light to what? To make God's Word, "I will destroy man upon the earth, that I've created. Build an ark, and all desires to come into it will be saved."
Noah walked out there, said, "There is one way, and that's the ark."
192They said, "The old crazy fanatic." He was the Word made manifest. Noah was the Light of the hour, sure was. His day, his age, he sprung forth the Light.
193Moses was the Light of his hour. "I'll surely visit you," God said to Abraham. "And I'll come down, and I'll take out My people, with a strong hand, and I'll show My power in Egypt."
And when Moses up there met that burning bush up there, and found out the I AM was in that bush, Moses went down there, and he was the Light. Amen. No wonder he could take some dust, and blow it up and say, "Let there come fleas upon the earth." He had the Word of God. What happened? The dust begin to blow, and the fleas begin to come into existence. Hallelujah! Why? He was a manifestation of the Light of God's Word, "I'll plague Egypt." He was a prophet. What he said come to pass. He was the Light of that day. He was God's Light.
194 Pharaoh might have had everything he wanted to have, and the rest of them, all the priest had what they wanted, but Moses was the Light. Why? He was showing forth God's Word, manifested. God promised, "I'll bring them out, under a strong hand, and I'll get Myself glory." That's what He was doing.
That's the reason Moses proved that he could create. Not because he wanted to create; because God told him to. "And with that, 'Go to the congregation, say, "Tomorrow..."' The Lord God had just spoke to me, 'Take a handful of dust and throw it up in a sky, like this, and call for it.' There is none here, but it'll be there." Amen!
Oh, I hope you're not asleep. Oh! [Brother Branham claps his hands together once--Ed.] Manifestation!
195He said, "I am sent. God did say to our fathers, surely He would visit us down here and take us out. I've come to prove to you the hour is at hand. Get rid of what you got. Let's go!" Yes.
196Some of them said, "Well, I believe..."Dathan said, "I don't think there's any hurry. We shouldn't be all excited about this." And looked like it failed, four or five times. But, just the same, it moved on.
197They thought. They come out and said, "We'll stone this Moses! Get him away from us! We don't want him in our--our group here."
Moses just moved right on, anyhow, because he was the Life, he was the Light of the hour. What he had, what was it? God manifesting His promised Word through Moses, and Moses was the Light.
198 Elijah was the Light. "Go out there and set on that hill! I've commanded the ravens to feed you." Amen! Yes, sir.
199He come back down with THUS SAITH THE LORD. "Not even dew will fall from Heaven till I call for it." Amen! "Sun might shine, you might call for all the clouds, and do anything you want to, but not even dew will come till I call for it." What was he? The Light! Hallelujah! He was the Light. The Light! He was the Word of God made manifest.
200They thought he was crazy, setting up there. He had porters feeding him; and them starving to death. They wanted to live in their traditions;. go ahead. Not Moses, or not Elijah, he was living right in the Light. Setting up there by the brook, Cherith, and just having a good time; having meals, and somebody to take care of him, and everything. They thought he was crazy, but he was--he was the Light.
201 They say, "Hey, what become of that old holy-roller we had around here? Well, you know what? Somebody was hunting the other day, and said they seen him setting up there by the way, way up on top of that mountain there. I bet that old feller is about dried up, by this time." Oh, no. He was the Light. He was the Light. He was the Light of God, in his day.
202John, when he came to the earth, and went out in the wilderness to get his education from God, not the seminary. He had to introduce the Messiah. So when he come forth, Jesus said, "He was a bright and shining Light." Hallelujah! Why? He was the Word manifested.
Isaiah said so. That's it. That's right. "He'd send forth a voice in the wilderness, crying, saying, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, and make straight His gate, make straight the way.' He would cry, one... voice of one crying in the wilderness." Here he come forth. What was he? "The voice of one crying in the wilderness."
What was he? Manifestation of the Word, Light. Same God that spoke in Genesis; that spoke this, and here come the Light. As He said, "Let there be light, for the sun," the sun come in existence; say He said there'd be "a voice of one crying in the wilderness," here it come forth. It was the Light of the hour.
203 He also said, in the last days! Amen! It's the Light of the hour, crying in the wilderness of Babylon, "Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins. Touch not her unclean thing! Get away from it! Flee from the wrath that is to come!"
204John said the same thing. "The axe is laid to the root of the tree." Didn't have an education, didn't talk like even a preacher. He talked about serpents, and sticks, and trees, and axes, and things, what he was used to, in the wilderness. He wasn't raised up in some of this great, big, fine stuff they have today, like they had in that day. He come out with his own language. He didn't stand and say, "Ah-man," and make all these fancy bows. He come right out, out on the wilderness, raw and rough. Said, "Don't you begin to think that, 'I belong to this and I belong to that.' God is able of these stones to rise children to Abraham."
205 Don't you think because you're Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, that you have any hold on God. God is able to take bootleggers and harlots out of the street, make sons of God out of them. Somebody is going to hear It, and somebody is going to believe It.
206He said, also, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree. And every tree that don't believe, is hewed down and cast into the fire." So that was his message. He was the Light of the day.
207Jesus said, "He was a bright and shining Light, and you for a little while desired to walk into it."
208And what did John say, the prophet? "He is standing among you right now. I'm not worthy to loose His shoes. And as soon as He comes on the scene, I'm going off." Oh, my! For, He was the Light.
There is no two or three Lights, no four or five different organizations. There was one Light. There is not Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian. Christ is the Light, and the Light is the Life. And the Word manifested is the Light of the hour.
209 "Let there be light, and there was light." Yes, sir. "Let there be Light," and there is Light! He spoke there would be Light in this day, and there is Light. He is coming. I believe it. Look to the promises of this age. Oh, my!
210Every Light that's ever shined, these church ages, we see how they... It--it's been a pitiful sight to see, rejecting. Revelation 3, I have got wrote down here, Revelation 3, and I know what--what I was referring to then.
211Look to the promise of this hour, what we're living in; a rejected Light. What did they? They rejected It back there. Why? They was living in a glare. What are they doing today? Same thing.
212Well, are--are you a Christian? "I'm a Lutheran. I'm a Baptist. I'm Presbyterian."
That don't mean one thing. Just might say you was a "hog, pig," or anything else you want to call yourself. See? That, that's about how much it means. Now no--no disregards to you, but if you're taking it to its fundamental part, that's right.
I asked the question, "A Christian?" That's Christ in you. And if Christ is in you, then the Word is in you. And then if the Word is in you, when the Light is shining, how you going to walk out of It? See, that's the question. That's what's in now, the Light. The evening Light's a-shining. The Bride Tree is blooming.
213 Oh, remember, they pruned that old Tree. "And what the cankerworm left, the palm--palmworm eat; and what the palmworm left, the caterpillar eaten." What the Methodist left, the Baptist eat; and what the Baptist left, the Pentecostal eaten. He said, "This Tree was," Joel there, "was cut all down to a stump," but he wanted to know if it would live again. Oh, yeah! He reserved that tree. He reserved that Tree, yes, sir, for it was His Bride.
And He said, "I will restore, saith the Lord." What is it? "I'll bring it forth, all that the Lutheran eat, and the Wesleyan eat, and all them. And I will restore it, 'cause it's all still in the root of the Tree." See?
It's laying yonder in the ground. Just like the sap that went down, as I said about the sister, it's laying there. And the trumpet of God shall sound, someday, and them elected Lutheran, Methodists, Baptists, that had nothing to do with any organization...
214 Luther never organized nothing. Moody never organized nothing. It was that group of Rickey's, after him, is what done the organization, took the husk. John Smith organized nothing. None of the rest of them organized; it was the Light of the hour. Luther, Wesley, or none of the rest of them; it was that group afterwards, come by, that made the organization.
215The Holy Ghost never organized nothing in pentecost. Pentecost is an experience, not a denomination. It never organized nothing. Oh, no. But the man who claim to be pentecost, organized it. That's the husk yonder, dying. Instead of pressing it into the paper, and make the full image of Jesus Christ come forth; no, they pulled themselves out, so they're nothing to do into It. Just let them alone.
216 But we find out now, this Light, this Tree, Christ, rejected again by the church. Why? For the same cause they did it at first, the old false glares of lights of other days. And "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8 says He is. He's the same today as He was then, because He does the same thing that He did. The same Word, that Christ.
217Listen, I want to just take you now, and let this be personal. I don't know, I'm a little decided whether to turn that off now or not, see, for that tape. I'll just let it stay there. See? [Congregation rejoices--Ed.]
218I want to ask you something. Look, watch this. See, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Watch. His works, that He did, manifest itself. Now listen close. When He stood there, in John 14:12, He said, "The works that I do shall you do also. Greater than this shall you do, for I go unto My Father." Now, He said it. "Heavens and earth will pass away, but that Word will never fail." Now if we're at the last end of the age, where is them "greater works" going to come? See? See? We're here. We haven't got...
219 Listen, if the Roman calendar is right, we got -six... we got thirty-six years left. Every two thousand years, the world meets her end. First two thousand years, destroyed by water; second two thousand years, Christ come. This is 1964 coming up; thirty-six years. Now, the Egyptian astronomy calendar says we're seventeen years out, "it's seventeen years advanced from that," that would leave nineteen years left.
Jesus said, "The work will be cut short, for the Elected sake, or there'd be no flesh saved." Where are we at?
220 "The works that I do shall you also. Same kind, but greater, shall you do." Now watch. Listen close. Get on your... I pray that God will open your heart and your mind, to understanding, so that you'll understand without saying it's too much here. Notice. He said one day...
Let's see some of the "great" work He done. Let's just stop for just a couple things. Let's think.
One time, He said, "You feed them something to eat."
They said, "We have nothing."
Said, "What have you got? Bring Me what you've got."
And they said, "We have five barley loaves and two fishes."
He said "Bring them to Me."
221And He took the original five barley loaves and begin to break the loaves. And, from the original, He made bread. It fed five thousand. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Then He said, and He got a fish, "Hand Me the fish." It was a fish, to begin with. And He took off, that fish, another fish and another fish, and fed five thousand. Is that right? ["Amen."]
But in the last days He had nothing. He just spoke, and said, "Say it'll be there," and it was there, without anything in it. He never had a squirrel; there was none there. He just said, "Let there be," and there was. See? Oh, His Word is infallible, and It has to be fulfilled.
222I could tell you things that would shake you. See? It's there when He says it's there. Let Him say it. See, just exactly.
223 See, the East, the West here has come back and met the East. It was Moses, even picked up sand, and said, "Let there be fleas," and so forth like that, "upon the earth." But in this last day He doesn't take anything; see, just the Word. "Let it be," and it is. What is said, that's the way it'll be.
I want to testify of some of those things tonight, see, see, of what's happened, that you can see He is still God. His Words cannot...
"These works that I do shall you also, and greater than this shall you do. I took a fish to make a fish; you don't even have to have a fish." See? He is still God, is still the same Son. The same Son of God that took a fish off of a fish, it's the same Son of God today. "These works that I do shall you also. Even greater than this will you do." It'll be magnified, "Greater than this shall you do." And people refuse to see it. Huh! "Greater works!"
224 A false light. You know, I was just thinking of something. I was referring a lot about England, but I was thinking about a false light. Here not long ago, you all remember that greatest robbery that--that England ever had, that was done. It was a seven-million-dollar holdup. I don't think there's ever been anything in the world to compare with it. A great holdup, recently, of seven million dollars, even Scotland Yards can't get it figured out.
You know how they done it? By a false light. They put a light on the railroad track, caution, on down till it come to a red light, and stopped them. And there the robbery taken place, just at the right place. A false light gave the greatest robbery that the nations has ever knowed. It robbed the nations. Of the greatest hold-up, greatest robbery, it was done by a false light.
225 And the greatest robbery the church of God has ever had is a false light, a glare, their denomination. It's robbed them from the power of the Holy Ghost. It's took from the church the very Life-line. It's robbed them of the Word, when they accepted a creed instead of the Word. It's robbed them.
Oh, they claim to have the Word. The Word lives Itself out for the age; It makes Itself known. They claim they had the Word, too, back there in the days of Jesus. But It said, "They saw a great Light," and they rejected It. They saw It, but rejected It.
226Oh, false light, yes, it's cost the church the greatest robbery it ever had. Cold denominational creeds, brother, won't ripen a vindicated Word, a grain. The Bible said, Jesus said, "The Word of God is a--a Seed that a sower sowed." See? And cold creeds won't ripen that Word. No, no!
Cold blizzardy days won't ripen the wheat. No, indeedy! It takes the warmth of the sunlight, because it was God's spoken Word to do such a thing with.
And it'll take the Word spoken of God, today, to show the saints of God that Jesus Christ lives. Just the same as He was yesterday, He is today. Creeds and denominations will never do it. They're cold and indifference, and the grain will rot right in the ground. It can't come forth under that.
227 That's the reason, today, we have what we do. Like our precious Brother Billy Graham, the great revivalist. I think God is using the man. But look what he does; goes out there amongst them Baptists and Presbyterian. What you do? Get a bunch of church joiners.
228See where the Southern Baptists is crowing down there because they had the most, denominations, their denomination growed more than any other Protestants? The Catholics took them all, nearly, last year. You see it in the paper? It sure did. Don't worry, it's going to take them all, 'cause it takes Baptists and all, right together. And they're all the one, and don't know it.
The council of church, Council of Churches, puts them all just the same thing. Denomination put... Why, why will you want to stay over here or over here? As long as you're rejecting This, what difference does it make? Aren't you using the same denominational tags, just the same as you are at one place? One, the beast; and the other one, the mark. So, there you are, so just doesn't make any difference.
229 It's where he's been. He stomped his seal of approval, and there you take it. And there she all led, right straight to the White House, and to Washington, D.C., and--and the Council of Churches, and there you go. The clergymen taken them right on back, exactly what the Bible said they would do. [Brother Branham knocks six times on the pulpit--Ed.]
My, wish that clock didn't go so fast! [Congregation says, "Take your time."--Ed.]
230Now, just think now where we're at. Look at the promises for the day, rejected again. How the churches has done in this last day, the denomination glare!
231Living in the false glare is the reason that It won't ripe. That's the reason that, this Word, you don't see the miracles.
232 A priest interviewed me, not long ago, and he said, "Mister Branham," he said, "how'd you baptize?" A--a certain girl that come out of this church; and had backslid and married a Catholic boy, and went into the Catholic church. And he was going to take her into the church.
233I said, "I baptized her in Christian baptism."
He said, "The bishop wants to know."
I said, "All right, there it is."
Said, "Do you swear to this?"
234I said, "I don't swear at all." And he said... "Yeah," said, "if he can't take my word for it, well, that's all right. Cause, I don't swear. The Bible said, 'Don't swear by heavens; it's God's throne; the earth is His footstool. Let your yes be "yes," and no, "no."'" I said, "He'll have to take my word for it."
Said, "Well, you--you said 'Christian baptism,' what do you mean, by--by 'immersing'?"
235I said, "That's the only way Christian baptism is performed." I said, "I baptized her in the Ohio river; took her under the water, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and brought her up. I baptized her in the 'Name of the Lord Jesus Christ,' which is the only Christian baptism there is."
Said, "Yes, sir." He put it down like that. And he said, "Strange!" Said, "You know, the Catholic church used to baptize that way."
I said, "When?"
And he said. Went ahead, and the discussion went on for a while. And he said, "Well, we are the original Catholic."
236 Knowing, there laid right there the--the books, you know, and the history on it, I said, "That's true, but," I said, "why don't you do it today?"
He said, "We have power to remit sins." Said, "Jesus, didn't He tell His disciples, 'Whosoever's sins you remitted, to them they're remitted; and whosoever's sins you retain, to them they're retained'?"
I said, "Yes, sir. He did."
He said, "Then don't that give the church the authority? Peter was the head of the church."
237I said, "If the church will remit sins the way Peter did it." I said, "Now, when they ask, 'What must we do to be saved?' He said, 'Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.'" I said, "You do that, and I'll go with you."
"Oh," he said, "you're trying to plead a Bible."
I said, "That's the Word."
He said, "God is in His church."
I said, "God is in His Word. 'Every man, other men's words, is a lie; His is the Truth.'" See?
238 So there's no way he could see. But there--there they go, right on in darkness. And the Protestants, by the thousands, falling into it. Here they are, right down to adopting their creeds and things, going right on within. The Word coming right out, proving it, Jesus Christ manifesting Himself, "same yesterday, today, and forever." In that creed glare, they move right on out into darkness. Just like they did in Noah's time, just like they did in all times, they do it again today, right out in darkness! Why? They reject the Light because the creed has blinded them.
239Oh, what a darkened hour that we are in now! Uh-huh! Yeah, they reject Christ's true Eternal Light, and that's what does it.
240 Cold denominations can never bring Life to the Word of God, because it brings life to their denomination. We've got more professed Christians right now... Looky here, if the Christian...
I asked this priest this. "If the... I'll go with you, that the catholic Church was, at the beginning, at Pentecost," not at Nicaea, Rome. The Church never did begin at Nicaea, Rome. It begin at Pentecost. See? At Jerusalem is where the Church begin. But I said...
241 Here, I'll admit that these people, them slaves and things, that got the Holy Ghost, they's masters seen their powers and things, what they were doing; raising the dead, speaking in tongues, casting out devils, foretelling things. And prophets among them, and so forth, come out with sheepskins around them; eating herbs, coming to that Nicaea Council, and so forth, and how great man! And there they come out of there, and come up there to that Nicaea Council, standing for that Word.
But, that bloody fifteen days, they accepted "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" as a creed, instead of the Bible doctrine, "in the Name of Jesus Christ." Through that come all the Protestant churches, born right into it, the same thing, all these other things. The false conception of the Holy Ghost; they took, take the communion, drink the wine, "That is the holy eucharist, which means, 'Holy Ghost.'" The priest gives it to you.
242 Now, the Bible don't read, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, here come a priest up the road, collar turned around, said, 'Lick out your tongue and take the holy eucharist.'" No, It didn't say, "All you people run up here and give me the righthand of fellowship, you Baptists, Methodists, and Baptists, I'll put your name. Bring a letter from somewhere."
243He said, "They were all in one place, in one accord. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the room where they were setting. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there..." Out into the street they went, staggering like drunk man, Mary and all the rest of them, under the impact of the Holy Ghost.
Why, the people said, laughed at them, and said, "These man are full of new wine." What was they? Blinded by a creed.
244 That little two-by-four preacher stood up there, named Peter, and he said, "You man of Judaea and you that dwell... you man of Jerusalem, that dwell in Judaea, let this be known to you, and hearken to my words. These are not drunk. But let me tell you what the Scripture said it'll be. This is the Light. This is the Word being manifested." Amen.
Same thing happens today, and they do like they did then, walked away and shake their heads. Said, "Let them alone; blind leads the blind, they all fall in the ditch."
245 Oh, it takes Christ, Eternal Life, to bring the Word of Life to the vindication, made flesh. Oh, my, goodness! Takes the Word... takes the Holy Ghost to operate the Word of God.
246When Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." Now look, Mark 16, His last commission. "All the world, all the world," it never has got there yet, see. "All the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth," in all the world, "and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe."
"They'll shake hands with the preach-..."? No. "They'll be good church member"? No.
"In My Name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; or, drink deadly things, it won't harm them; if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Oh, my!
247How far? "Every creature." How much? "All the world," till He comes again. "These signs shall..." "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also. Even greater then this will he do, for I go to My Father."
248 Oh, how we can walk away from That is more than I can say! We are in more darkness now than they were. Now just got a couple more verses here, then I want to get to the end as quick as poss-... We're in more darkness than they was.
I know I wear you out here, for about an hour and a half. [Congregation says, "No!"--Ed.] But, see, this tape is a-going on in there. See? See?
249They are in more darkness than we are. I made the statement, that. Why? The churches, in this glare, is so deceiving, it looks like it's the Truth. Now, didn't Jesus say? Let's see Matthew 24, see. Matthew 24, Jesus said that, "In the last days, the two spirits will be so close till it would deceive the very Elected if it was possible." There would be an elected group come out to make the Church, in the last days. And these organizations, with what they call their Truth, would be so close like the real Thing, that it would deceive the very Elected, even Pentecostals.
250 Now, you know you ain't going to take a Pentecostal and deceive him with some Methodist or Baptist doctrine. You ain't going to tell him that. He knows better. And you ain't going to deceive some Baptist with a Lutheran doctrine, either. See?
And neither are you going to receive the Message, to see the Message now in this Word, by some Pentecostal doctrine, a false "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," and all this stuff like that, and back there in them creeds that they have in that organization setup. No, indeedy. You'll never deceive them, because the Elected won't be deceived.
251What is it? What is it? Deceiving. These glares, what they doing? They are leading the church to the council slaughter, by their glare. That will be the final slaughter, when her and Rome connects together. When they form that image of the beast, that's the final slaughter. And these glares that you got now, look what it's doing, leading the people. It's a goat.
252 A goat always leads the sheep to the slaughter. You've seen that in slaughter pens. That goat will run right up there and lead the sheep, then he'll jump out and let the sheep go on in. That's what he does. He always does.
It was the goats that led Jesus, the Lamb, to the slaughter. The Roman goats! That's right.
It's the--it's the denominational goats today that's leading the innocent sheep to the slaughter. Put their self, their names on them books yonder, and they are finished. That is the mark of the beast. In the Name of the Lord, I speak. Held that for a long time. That's true. That's exactly. What is the beast? What is the beast? It's the Roman hierarchy, the first organization. What is the mark of it? The same thing, exactly, the same thing exactly as that was. The slaughter, to the glare!
253But in the face of the present darkness, we still have seen the Light of God shine through. How thankful we are for that!
254Listen close. We have seen the Light, His Word that He promised for this day, proven and vindicated. It's the Truth, the Light of the hour. Oh, my! I'm so glad. There is nothing wrong. There is nothing.
255 Here not long ago a minister was saying that he was down in Florida, and he had him a--a car, I believe it was a Chevrolet, and the thing went out on him. He couldn't get it fixed. And he went into the garage, and a little old mechanic was going under it and over it, and pecking around; he couldn't get it fixed. And he--he would try this, and it wouldn't work. And he'd try something else; it wouldn't work. He'd put on a generator, put on this, and put in plugs, put in points; he couldn't make the thing work. He just couldn't make it work.
Finally, a nice-dressed man stepped up. He said, "May I give you some advice?"
256The little mechanic had sense enough to say, "Yes, sir."
He said, "You take this, and times this and this, and," he said, "put that together once and try it." And he took this times that, and put it together, and there she went.
257The little mechanic turned around, and said, "Say, who are you?" He was the engineer, General Motors' chief engineer. He made the thing. He was the one designed it.
258 And, today, when we're talking about Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian. The Chief Mechanic is here; the Designer of His Word, the Man Who created the heavens and earth, and designed His Church! Does He know more about what it takes for the Rapture, or does the Methodist or Baptist church know more about what it takes? He is the Designer. He knows what it takes. He is well dressed in the Power of His resurrection. Hallelujah! He is walking among us, today, in the Power of His resurrection.
He knows what it takes to put a Church in Rapture order. He designed It, and put the parts together here in the Bible. Amen! Just let the Current flow through It, now watch It operate. Let faith, in His promised Word of today, flow through, you'll see how It operates. Why? He designed the thing. He designed His Church by the Word. That's what He puts together. Not by Methodist, or Baptist, or Presbyterian, or Pentecostal organization; but by His Word. "Man shall live not by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Yes, sir.
259 Get out of them glares, in the midst of darkness, this dark time that we're living in now. (Just got about five minutes more left.) In the midst of darkness, who is going to bring the little Bride out? Who knows about It? The Chief Designer. Oh, yeah. From all this confusion of glare!
Here, the Methodist glaring one way, the Baptist another, and the Presbyterian another, and the Pentecostals another, all this glares around. They run, put their name over here, in this glare here; come to find out, something there. And come over here; and something there. Come over here...
260Like I said to that priest, "If you all are the original church, and you went after the doctrine of these men set together at Nicaea, why is it you haven't got the power that they had back there in the beginning then? See? Why don't you do the things that they did, which Jesus said?"
Said, "Oh, we are more people now. We, we live in a different age."
261I said, "But the Word doesn't change. He said, 'These signs shall follow them to all the ages. Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never.' That's it."
He said, "Well, you're talking about a Bible."
262I said, "Yes, the Word, which is Christ." That's right. And so there you are. See?
263 And in this glare, the Methodist showing theirs, the Baptist showing theirs, the Presbyterian theirs, each one growing bigger and bigger, all the time.
The poor little Bride, where is She at? She run over here at the Pentecostal Oneness, a while; She put Her name on there, and She say, well... Come to find out, look what they do. And they come over here, and, "You got to belong to us. If you don't belong to our church, you're not even in the Bride. You're not even nothing." Go over here at the Assemblies, and look what they got; there you are again. Go down to the Baptists, look what they got. Look at the Presb-...
264What's going to happen to the poor little Thing? See? But She is coming forth. Don't you worry. She is going to be there.
265 A fellow was saying, here about a couple years ago. He was down in New Mexico. I held a meeting there close to Carlsbad Caverns. You've heard of them down there, the great... And they took a man and his wife, and a bunch of children, went on this elevator, went all the way down to the very bottom of the pit. And when they got down there, they turned all the lights off. And when they turned all the lights off, it was midnight dark.
I had them to do that over here in these gardens here, and at one time at over in Colorado there, wife and I, back there, was in there. And they turned them lights on. My, you put your hand like this, you couldn't see nothing.
And there was a little girl standing there, and she begin screaming, "Oh!" Screaming. She, she was scared to death, it was so dark. The poor little thing was grabbing everywhere, and trying to scream and holler for her papa, mama, everywhere. She just couldn't stand it, it was so dark. She never seen such darkness.
266 And that's about the way it is now. That's right. It's so dark you don't know where to go. You go to the Methodist, go to the Baptist, go to the Presbyterian, it's all the same thing, see, eating that old dead, rotten manna with wiggletails in it. See, same thing, some creed, "Come in and join this, and the other that," old creed and everything. You don't see Christ in it. See? Oh, you see self-righteous people,...?... Many are fine people in there now, in them denominations. I'm saying the system, not the people in there. But, you see, that's what they're eating on. Tell them about it!
And Here is fresh Food!
267 And this little girl standing there, she was screaming, top of her voice, about to go into hysterics; about like the little Bride is. But you know what? Her little brother cried out, said, "Little sister, don't fear." Cause, he was standing right by the engineer. Said, "There is a man here who can turn on the lights."
Don't fear, little Sister, there is a Man here Who can turn on the Light. He can make this Word live. We don't know how He's coming. We don't how, when He's coming. I don't know nothing about that. But He is here, and He can turn on the Lights. How we going to get out of it? I don't know. But He's here, and He's the One that can turn on the Lights. Yes, sir. He is the One. He is the Light. He just makes Hisself known, that's how He turns on the Light. Exactly right.
It takes Christ, to flash away on His Lights, then all the darkness scatters. He separates. He is pulling His little Bride out. "I'll take a people out of the Gentiles, for My Name's sake, that'll have My Name." What is His Name? All right. Not Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran. It's Jesus Christ. That's right.
268 He is the Light, the Truth; the Light, and there is no darkness in Him. And He scatters the darkness when He comes in, because He is the Word. The Word is the Light. That's right. Because, He spoke and said, "Let there be light," that was the Word that become light. When He speaks This, it's the Light of that age, each time.
Now He is here, in--in not in a glare; but people are living in a glare. But He is the vindicated Word. He is absolutely the--the Light in the time of darkness. Yes, Sir. All these false glares and things will fade away. Yes, Sir. He is here. Don't fear. Turn on the Lights, His promised Word. It lives. It makes...
"He that believeth in Me, the works that I do, ye do also." Then, it is the Word. "As the Father sent Me, so send I you." The Father that sent Him, come in Him. The Jesus that sends you, comes in you. And the works that He did then, He does the same thing, because (why?) the Word is made flesh, in human flesh, manifests Itself as the Light of the day. There we are. There it is. It just is showing the way to Light, in the Light. Wise man, who are not blinded by creeds and denomination, will walk in that Light. Oh, my!
269 There is a Man here that can turn on the Lights, all right. What does He do? By vindicating His Word for this day. Jesus, the Son of God, Who promised the Word for this day, is right here with us.
Don't get scared. Don't pay any attention to what they're doing; you do, you'll walk in darkness.
Be wise. "They that do wise," Daniel said, "in these last days, will do exploits for their God." See? See? They'll walk in the Light, as He is in the Light.
270Don't worry. It may be dark, look like they're going to force us, every one. All these, you see their proclamation going out, "All these little churches and things are got to come in now. You've got to come in," or they're going to close you up. They're going to make it.
271Now we want to hit that real hard, tonight, when I get to this time, see.
272 Now, they, "We're going to close up." You have to be one of them, or not. You're--you're either into that, or you can't do nothing, can't even buy or sell. That's it. You're daresn't to pray for the sick. If you are caught ministering to any sick or any person with any spiritual thing in there, you are subject to a federal law, to be executed. That's exactly right. See? You know that. That's right. It's in their papers. Yes, sir. So, you cannot do it, you have to belong to the cult.
Brother, let me tell you something. You better get Christ sure in your heart right now, 'cause there is a time coming where you're really going to need It. You're out then. Remember, when that seal is put on, she is there for good. See? So, don't you do it. Don't you believe that stuff. You get right into Christ right now, the Word. Yes, sir.
273Vindicates the Word, and shows that It is the Light of the hour. That's how we know He is the Light, because He is the Light manifesting Itself in flesh.
How do we know? He was God's Word made flesh. See, God's Word was showing Itself, vindicating Hisself, when the Messiah cometh, what He'll do.
274 The woman said, at the well, "When the Messiah cometh, He'll do these things. You must be the Prophet, which is the Word, foretelling us these things."
275He said, "I am He." See? That was enough. The Light shined on the promised Word. There is the Light.
276Right into the city she went, said, "Come, see a Man Who told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?" That was it. See? No matter what the others said, she knew that was the Messiah.
277Remember, in every age, in time of darkness, God has always had His Word to divide the Light from the dark.
He had It in the days of Luther, when the Catholic church had everything; He sent Luther as a shining Light, and Luther divided Truth from darkness.
And when the Lutherans got twisted up, He made a John Wesley, and he divided Light from darkness.
And in the days of pentecost, when the Wesleyan got all... and the Methodist got all gummed up, and the Baptist, and Presbyterian, He sent the pentecostal message to separate Light from darkness.
The Pentecost went right back out into the darkness again, like that, in their organization, took their creeds and things.
Now the hour has come for this Word to be vindicated. He sends the Light, the Word made manifest, like He did in the beginning; sends the Word, and It proves Itself. There is Light, and He always separates. The same is now, as Eternal little Lights in the beginning.
278 Looking children, as I say, I'm five minutes past time now. But let me say this one thing.
There is a Man present! Don't get scared, no matter what they say. I've seen it come to the spot to where I didn't know where to move next, but He is always present. The never-failing Presence, He is always there. He can turn on the Light. Yes, sir. He is just waiting, see what you're going to do. He can flip the switch any time He wants to. Yes, sir.
279There is a Man here that can turn on the Lights. "Those who set in the regions of the shadow of death," some of them under cancer, some of them under the death of denomination, some of them under creeds death, some of them under traditional death, and all them kinds of death, "and they have seen a great Light." The Man that flashed the Lights then, is the same One Who said, in the beginning, "Let there be light." That same God, "yesterday, today, and forever," He is present today, right here now. Don't get scared. He can turn on the Lights.
When the persecution comes, don't get scared. There is a Light, said He would catch His people away. She'll not go through the tribulation. She'll never do it. He said She wouldn't. She'll be caught away. "How they going to do it, Brother Branham? Looks awful dark!" No matter how dark it gets, you can't see your hand before you, just remember, there is a Man here that can turn on the Light. He'll Rapture that Church.
You say, "Well, I'm right..."
280 Yeah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, was right up to the fiery furnace, but there's a Man there Who could turn on the air. Yes, Sir. That rushing mighty Wind that come down on the Day of Pentecost, He turned It on again and fanned all the breeze away from them, all the fire. There was a Man there; He's called "the fourth Man."
281There is One here today. He's the only One! Hallelujah! He's got the Light switch in His hand. "Those who sat in the regions of the shadow of death, great Light sprung up." Don't reject It. Receive It, in the Name of the Lord. While we bow our heads just a moment.
We'll walk in the Light, beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
We'll walk in the Light, it's such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
Come, ye saints of Light, proclaim,
Jesus, the Light of the world;
Then the bells of Heaven will ring,
Jesus, the Light...
What is? The vindicated Word is Jesus today. He is the Word.
We'll walk in this Light, it's such a beautiful light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Oh, shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of...
282 With your heads bowed. I wonder how many here would like to walk in this Light, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the vindicated Word of today? See the Word that God promised today, see It manifested!
Wasn't that what He was in the beginning? He was the Word. The Son was born; He was the Word. He was the Messiah; He was the vindicated Word. So then the Word, God spoke the be-... the end from the beginning.
283Now there is a Word for this day, and He's here vindicating that Word.
In the midst of confusion, darkness and glares, it looks a whole lot like It, but it isn't It. It don't prove to be It; the creed.
284 Jesus said, "If I cast out devils by the finger of God, who do you cast them out by?" They didn't cast them out. See? "But, no, if I cast out a devil by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."
Oh, let's think of it, as we raise our hands. Slowly now, and think, real quiet.
We'll walk in this Light, this is such a beautiful Light,
And it comes where the dewdrops of...
Make your confession. Believe God now.
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
We'll walk in this Light, it's such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
285 While they continue playing, I want to ask. Every age has been the same. In the days of Noah, those who rejected the Light, what did they do? Walked out into God's judgment. What happened to Pharaoh in the days of the Light of the burning bush, that was in Moses? Walked into the sea of death. What happened to Dathan who started and then rejected the Light? Walked into the crack of the earth; it swallowed him up. What happened in all ages, to those who failed to walk in the Light, the Light of the day?
It's Jesus all the time. It was Jesus in the days of them man. It's Jesus today, for He is the Word, and the Word makes the Light. It's the Light of the day.
Think of it now, real quietly, while we're with sincerity, ask, are you walking in the Light? While we hum it through again. [Brother Branham and congregation begins humming, Jesus, The Light Of The World--Ed.]
... beautiful Light,
Comes where the dewdrop of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
O Jesus, the Light of the world.
Let's stand up now, to our feet.
286 I pray the Heavenly Father to let this Message soak deep into the hearts of the people who are present, and those who will hear It by tape. And may the Light come forth upon the Word, the Seed, and bring forth every predestinated Seed that's been planted out here in these different glares and organizations. May they see like Nicodemus, even if they have to "come by night," come to the Light. Grant it, Father.
287May there come forth this great issue, of this Rock that's cut out of the mountain, without hands. It'll crush these Gentile kingdoms to the ground, all these kingdoms, spiritual kingdoms and natural kingdoms. And the Rock will cover the whole earth; it'll be a purified affair. Those who that Rock crush will be ground into powder; those who fall upon that Rock shall have a solid foundation.
288 O Christ, let me, as Your servant, die off on this Rock, this Rock of Thy Word. Lord God, let me stand, as David, and them warriors of old who stood for David, let me stand for this Word today while I see It's rejected by the denominations. It's laying up here in a little retreat somewhere. O God, I... Grant that we'll have strength and courage, and the Holy Spirit, to stand, for the hours are getting darker and darker.
But let us always remember that You are present to turn on the Light. At any hour that You wish to, You can turn the Light, Father. So we pray...
289As You said, "Ye are the Light of the world." Grant, Lord, that our Lights, who are of Your service, will shine so bright to the others, that they'll see the Light of the Gospel as we live it, Lord, day by day, reflecting to them the Life of Jesus Christ as He was on earth; full of humility and sweetness, yet with the Word being lived right through Him. Grant it, Lord.
For, we're looking to You, the great One with the switch in the hand. You hold the world in Your hand. You hold all things in Your hand, and uphold the world by Your Word.
O Father, let us receive the Word; will You, please, Lord? Let that be the testimony and the desire of every heart in here.
290Father, as we sing these hymns... As David sung the hymns, they become prophecy. They were prophecy, and You recognized them, prophecy. As we sing it, Lord, let it be in our hearts, too, as we sing, "We'll walk in this Light." Let it be, Lord.
This is a beautiful Light. It's the Word. It's Christ living among us. Not what He was; what He is, and, we know what He was only reflected what He is. And we pray, Father, that the people will understand and walk in this beautiful Light. We ask in Jesus' Name.
291 And while we remain standing just a moment, I want us to all sing.
292Now in here there is Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic. This is a mixed-up audience, when it comes to denominational.
293Now remember, let it be known, that I'm speaking nothing against the people in these glares. But I've proved it, to the Bible, that they are glares. If it wasn't, Christ would be doing like He promised to do, with them. See? But they refuse That. See? And when you get there, what do you find? A "join the church, recite a creed." And what does it come out? Come to the end of the road, you find out it was a false, mirage.
Christ is the Word. He is the Light. Live now, while you can live. You live for something.
294 What are you living for? So you can die. Every one of you, what are you working for? To eat. What are you eating for? To live. What are you living for? To die.
So why not live to live? Why not live to live? Then, the only way you can live is accept the Word. Cause, "Man shall not live by bread alone," what we make out here with the sweat of our brow, "but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God." Now the Word of the mouth of God is being vindicated right here before us, by the Holy Spirit. Live by It, won't you?
295 Now I want, while we sing this again, let's just each one just stand in our place, reach over and take hold of somebody's hands, and say, "Brother, let's walk in this Light," while we sing Walk In The Light. Will you? Pray for each other as you put your hands together, while we sing it together; with closing our eyes, as far as possible.
We'll walk in the Light, such a beautiful Light,
It comes where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night, (Who is It?)
Jesus, the Light of the world.
Now let's raise our hands.
We'll walk in the Light, it's a beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
O Jesus, the Light of the world.
Come, all ye saints of Light, proclaim, (What is it?)
Jesus, the Light of the world;
Then the bells of Heaven will ring,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
All, let's sing it out now.
We'll walk in the Light, and it's a beautiful Light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright;
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus, the Light of the world.
296 With our heads bowed now. Remember when Israel was in their journey, eating new manna every day, they walked in the Light of a Pillar of Fire. That Pillar of Fire was Jesus Christ. The Bible says It was. And today He is with us; we have It. We know He is with us, the same Pillar of Fire, doing the same things that He did when He was here on earth, to fulfill His Word.
297As we go from here, let's remember, keep that song in our hearts as we go to our homes, as the wheels hum a song. Before you eat your dinner, bow your head and thank God for sending forth light to bring food upon the earth, for your physical body. Then thank God for sending spiritual Light, His Word, that He might give Food to the soul. "For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
298Just keep singing this hymn to yourselves, in your home, among your people, and meet us back here about six-thirty, tonight, for the prayer cards and so forth. We'll see you then. Until then, bow your heads.
299I'm going to ask Brother Neville if he'll walk up here now, the pastor, and dismiss us in a word of prayer.