Turn On The Light

1 All right. Is this the... [A brother says, "This is your microphone."--Ed.] This is the main one? Thank you, sir. ["This is the live microphone."] Yes, sir. All right. I see they was getting a little rebound back there, and so... Morning, friends. Can you hear me all right back there? [Congregation says, "Yes."] That stopped it. Thank you.

2I am certainly a privileged person, this morning, to come here at this platform, after such noble testimonies has been given; to try to--to place just a little more with what they have said, to bring blessings to us as we've enjoyed this morning. Now, I noticed some of them were very...

3[The amplification system rebounds a sound. A brother says, "I think we're going to have to put it, this, in the middle, Brother Branham."--Ed.] All right, sir. Is that better?

4 With some of the men here, how they have spoke, and most every one... Well, everyone up here had a real bright, brilliant testimony. How I appreciate that, that fine testimony for the Lord!

Now we're going to approach the Word.

5And I, this week, I have purposed in my heart not to keep people these two and three hours, setting, listening to me. I tell you why I--I do that, friends. I'm uneducated, and I only can speak by inspiration. Now, a man that's got an education, when he is inspired, too; but he can explain what he's talking about, by his education, draw out words that will let the people know what he's talking about. Without an education, I have to take symbols of nature and express through the inspiration that I have. And that makes it pretty hard, sometimes, for the people to really to understand. We find that I was very disturbed about it until I found in the Bible that God did the same manner, same ways.

6 We notice, like John the Baptist, when we don't have any record of his education, and then, when he--when he come out of the wilderness, he begin to speak to the--the... his congregation, church of that day. And we notice how he expressed it. He said, "You generation of snakes." See, that's what he was used to, nature and the wilderness; other words, something that's slippery and slimy, and deceiving. Now, some other man might have been able to have brought down some word that would have said "impostors" or some word he could have used to express that. But John used the word "snake." I think everybody understood what he talked about.

7So then he said, "Don't begin to think to say within yourselves, that, 'we belong to this and we belong to that,' cause I tell you, God is able of these rocks here," see, see, not some other great some. "God is able of these stones." He expressed it in nature.

8And, also, "The ax is laid to the root of the tree." Some good educated brother, with that same inspiration, might have said, "He will annihilate." He said, "The ax is at the root of the tree." That annihilates it, anyhow, see, so he--he knew that it was. He just had those expressions, for perhaps he never had any schooling.

Let us bow our heads just a moment.

9I have requests here for prayer. Which, that is my ministry, praying for the sick. I've got some requests in here, some very outstanding requests. And I know there is many in here. And if there is some, this morning, that would like to be remembered? Well, if you'll just raise up your hands to God, say, "I..." Now just hold your requests while we pray.

10 Our Heavenly Father, we are now approaching Thy Holiness, through the Name of Thy Holy Child, the Lord Jesus, to ask this petition, of each of the people that's wrote out their requests, that I have it here in my hand. Especially this brother's young, beautiful daughter that's been torn up in that accident. I pray for that child, Lord. And I pray for all the other requests. And the ones that's secretly to us now, only to the one that raised their hand; but Thou art the infinite God, and You know every motive and all of our requests. We pray that You'll answer. Because You've promised it, we believe it.

11And we ask now that You'll take these few words that we shall read, and inspire them to us, Lord, as we wait upon Thee. May the Holy Spirit draw nigh unto each one, and reveal to us the interpretation of the Word. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

12 [About the microphone, a brother says, "Brother Branham, could we make a test and see if it would work?"--Ed.] Yes, sir, brother, just help yourself. That's all right. While I'm turning now, I have a...

13Used to be I could remember my Scriptures and things, without having a--a note, but since I've passed twenty-five, that don't work so good. I have to remember it by writing it out. Now we're going...

14Is that better? Can you hear that better? No. In the back, they're shaking their heads, Maybe... [A brother says, "You have to stand right in front of it."--Ed.] Have to stand... ["Right in front."] Right. And how would this be like this, can you hear that? How about that, that better? Fine. That's good.

15 Now I wish to call your attention to--to Isaiah 42:1-7, and also to Matthew 4:15-16.

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, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall he not break,... smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment unto the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

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 bread unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand,... will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

To open... blind eyes, to bring out... prisoners from the prisons, and them that sit in darkness out of... prison house.

16 And now in Saint Matthew 4, beginning with the 12th verse, we read this.

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

... leaving Nazareth, he come and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, of the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them that sat in the regions of the shadows of death light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus began to preach,... say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

17The Lord bless His Word! Now my subject this morning is: Turn On The Light. And just as quick as I can, so you can be out for this next appointment now, which will be in about forty-five minutes.

18 You know, Mr. Mc Anally, I think he is present. I seen his truck outside. Sometime ago, we were setting, one of my first trips here to Arizona, to go hunting. We were setting out here near the superstitious mountain. I had heard of it for a long time, and heard many of the legends that had been told about the Superstition. I remember looking for it, the first time; it was before day, and a great ghosty shadow hung at the east of me, which was known as the Superstition. I had heard about the Indians, how they wouldn't go near it, how they were afraid, how the Spanish had mistreated them in the early days when they was hunting gold. They claimed that evil spirits lived in it. All this stirred my curiosity. But I only had a flashlight, to see the Superstition, first.

19And then I watched until, after a while, the majesty of the sun begin to move upon the darkness. And when it did, it separated the darkness from the light, and pressed the darkness back. Finally, she raised to her highness, up over the top of the mountain, and it showed Superstition just what it was. It lit up and showed what it was. And all the spooks and fears that I had of the Superstition, when the sun was shining in its power upon it, all fled away.

20 The sun is the king of all lights on this earth, in the natural lights. No matter how much artificial light that we can have, and how many great electric rays we can produce; when that sun rises, all the rest of them dim out.

21That's the same thing it is with the Word of God. When the Word of God rises, all superstitions, denominational fanaticisms and things, spread away, and it shows it just exactly what it is. God, in the beginning, said, "Let there be light." The Light only comes, the true Light, the king Light, comes by the Word of God. God separated the light from the darkness, in the beginning. And the Word of God, made manifest, always separates the Light from the darkness.

22People can rise up with this, that, or the other; isms can rise, communism, facism, and all other isms can rise; superstitions, cults, whatever it might be, might rise. But when that king Light of the Bible raises up, all superstitions and things... But, you see, we know it's there, but until It's a vindicated, proves Its Light; then we have no right to argue against That, because It shuts all other light out. Jesus said, "Let every man's word be a lie, and Mine be the Truth." His Word is superior over all man's words, over all, anything. His Word is Light.

23 And we know that in the beginning it must have been foggy and dismal and dark, as the world was turning, and when God knowed that He had a need of light. Now, His seed was already in the earth, because He had planted it there. Now He needed light to bring forth that seed, to make that seed live, because the seed was already there.

24Just like it is in each age, God has foretold us what would take place in each age. The only thing He needs is the manifestation of the Light of God upon that Scripture, to make it live for that age. Just...?... And it will do it as long as the Light can get to the Word. If the Word is germitized, It'll make it live if it's a promise for that day.

25You might plant wheat at one time, or grain at another time. Some come slower than anothers, because it depends on the season.

26God's Word comes in season, the law and the grace, and so forth, as we've went on down through the ages. And, each time, it's lit up by the manifestation of the Light spreading forth the--the Life that's in the Seed.

27 By the Word of God, the sun shines today, because the very sun that we're enjoying is God's Word made manifest. This very sunlight that we see outside is nothing but God's Word, when He said, "Let there be light."

28And what if He had said, "Let there be light," and there was no light? Then it wasn't God spoke. When God says, "Let there be," there will be. And so we find out that the sun that we now are enjoying is the manifestation of God's Word spoken in Genesis.

29And we realize that God's Light of the day is His Son. The one was s-u-n; this One is S-o-n. S-o-n is the Bible. He was... "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Hebrews 13:8, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." It's the Word of God, always. It was Christ in Noah. It was Christ in Moses. It was Christ in David that looked up, as a rejected king, upon the city; where, eight hundred years later, Christ set there weeping over a city, being a rejected King, just like David was. It's always the Spirit of Christ. And the full manifestation of God's Word was made known through Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God.

30 No life can come outside of light. Light produces; light produces life. There can be no life--life outside of light, natural or spiritual. There must be.

31And only Light can come by the Word of God. God's Word is the Light when It's manifested. It's just a Seed laying here, as God planted all the seeds.

32Our bodies was on the earth before the... well, well, before there was any light here, any life here, or anything; the calcium, potash, petroleum, and cosmic light, whatever, it was here--was here when God created the earth. It only taken His spoken Word to bring it into existence, just like it did botany life, or tree life, what, or whatever life there is to be.

33 Nothing can live, natural or spiritual, without His Light, and His Word is Light and Life.

34But when He sends His Light and makes It known to the people, and then It is rejected, then what about that? That's what we want to talk about this morning, is: rejecting this Light, by them It's sent to, rejects it just like it was then. "Behold My Servant, Whom I have delighted in." He's the Light to the Gentiles. He's the Light to the world. He was the Light of the world, but He was rejected. That's the sad part.

35And it meets that condition every time that God manifests His Light, the world itself rejects that Light. Why? It's written right in the Bible. Each age, God has lotted so much of His Word for each age, and He always sends somebody to manifest that Word.

36 Jesus had been prophesied for four thousand years, that He would come, Messiah. And when He come, He manifested every promise of Messiah. But yet the people of the world, the churches, and so forth, knowed nothing about Him, so, 'cause they had done got in some other thing that kept them away from knowing This. Now what if a--a man just...

37We'll take the natural part. What if a man, that is born here to walk in the light of that sun, what God has created for him, and, the first thing you know, he shuts his eyes, runs into the basement, closes the door, pulls down the shade, and just refuses to recognize the sun is a shining? He denies its privileges. He denies its warming rays, its life-giving resource. He denies the light that it spreads so he can see where he is going, where he come from. He denies that. What would you say to a man that pulled down the shades, or run into the basement and closed all the light off, everywhere, and just simply refused to recognize the sun was shining? There is something mentally wrong with that person. Anyone knows that. A natural mind will tell you there is something wrong with that person, that he is, he's--he's... Something has happened to him. He has lost his reasons.

38Well, so is it in the hours that we live, when a man will cover himself up with some kind of a--of a excuse, to actually recognize the Gospel Light as It's shining forth as It is today. When a man deliberately turns away from It, goes into something and pulls down the curtain, say, "I don't believe It," there is something wrong with that person. There is just no way of getting around it. There is something wrong. Something has happened to him. And we find out that there is so, so much of that today.

39 Now, Jesus was all the inspired prophets' testimonies. And all their prophecy was brought to Light in His age, that had been prophesied for His age. He lit up every candle of Word that was in the Bible, that was prophesied of Him. "A virgin shall conceive." She did. All right. "His Name shall be called Counsellor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father." He was. "And the eyes of the blind shall see." They did. Everything that was prophesied of Him, happened when He come on earth.

40And why the people could not see that, that was... It seems strange to us now, because we are looking back through a rear-view mirror. But did you ever know, if you keep looking back that way, you'll wreck? Let's look what's ahead for us.

41 That's what they were doing. The reason that they did that, because they were living in a glare of another light. They were living in the glare of the light of another day.

42And that's what I believe is the matter with the world today, friends, is because we are trying to live in a glare of a light that shined in another day. A glare is a false light.

43Just like a mirage on the road. We go down the road and see a mirage. It's a false conception of the sun. And when you get there, it hasn't produced a thing but something false. Because, you cannot walk in the glare of the sun, because it's a mirage, always showing you something there is nothing to.

44And when people try to tell you that Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever, they're leading you into a mirage. That's all. And when you get into church and join church, some cold creed or something like that, there is nothing there, no more than what you had in the world.

45 Let me tell you. Don't refuse the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which brings the warming rays of the Holy Ghost upon you, makes you a new creature in Christ Jesus. Don't try to walk in some glare of another age. Now, that glare might have been all right in the other age, it might, been all right for them.

46It proved so in the day of our Lord Jesus. He was the Scriptural Light of that day. He was the Light. He wasn't the Light until He come on the earth to vindicate the promised Word. You know, He said there, "John was a bright and shining light, and you loved to walk in his light for a season."

47Certainly, because John had been prophesied by Isaiah, seven hundred and twelve years before his birth, that, "A voice of one would be crying in the wilderness." And then also Malachi, the last of the prophets, four hundred years before his coming, in the 3rd chapter of Mal-... of Malachi, he said, "Behold, I send My messenger before My face, to prepare the way."

48Here was John on earth, making that written Word live. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, and he alway... also was preparing the way before the Messiah. And Jesus said, "You loved to walk in his light, because he was that light, bright and shining light."

49And John, he said, "Now I must decrease, my light must go out, because (why?) I have served my time that's prophesied of me. Hear ye Him! He is the One. Follow Him." It living in that day, it proved this.

50 Now, the Jews thought that they were worshiping in the true Light. They thought they were worshiping, this same God that they were turning down. The very One that they thought that they were worshiping, they were crucifying. They were making fun of the very God, and making Him a laughingstock of the people, the very God that they thought they were worshiping.

51May I say this with reverence and respect, but to bring Light, because, as our brother said a while ago, we're living later than you think we are. One of these days something is going to happen, it's going to be too late. The people will take on the mark of the beast, not even knowing what they're doing. "Blind lead the blind, they all fall in the ditch," Jesus said. And we're living later than we think. Many honest people follow that, not even knowing what they're doing.

52But the hour is at hand now when the Light is shining, the Gospel Light, in Its power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, manifesting Himself that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He lotted that for this day. The things that He promised for this day must happen in this day. If the church won't accept It, God is able of these stones to rise children unto Abraham. He'll get His Message over, because He's always done it. He always will do it.

53 People thinking that they're walking in the Light, the traditions of the fathers, and, the first thing you know, they're walking in a glare of a light, not the same Light, rejected the very Light that they claim to be worshiping.

54His works thoroughly vindicated Who He was. Jesus said, Himself, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They that testify of Me. Who can condemn Me of sin?" He said, "Who can prove that I have said anything, or any claim that I have made, that the Heavenly Father hasn't vindicated that through Me?" Has proved to you that He was the Light of the hour, because it was all prophesied that this Messiah should be this way, and here it bloomed to Life, but their traditions had separated them from the real Light of the Word.

55 Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and whatever might be, they had got the world so gaumed up, like they did in all ages, that they could not see the real Light. It put their eyes out. They was used to walking in the glare, "Next day it'll be this, and tomorrow it'll be this. We'll join this, and it'll be that. We'll join that." We find it's a false mirage.

56Jesus Christ is just as real today, to a human heart, as He ever was. His power and His living Presence is just as real today as it ever was. "Lo, a little while, and the world won't see Me no more. Kosmos, 'the order of the world,' won't see Me no more. Yet, ye shall see Me; for I'll be with you, even in you, to the end of the world. The works that I do shall you do also, even greater than this shall you do, 'cause I go to My Father."

57That great promise is today. The world is as blind as they can be, but there is a "ye that shall see Me," and that's what we're trying to get today. What the full Gospel, mean, is to express Jesus Christ in the power of His resurrection, and all the fulness of His promises; that the Holy Ghost manifest these things and make them right, that God has promised, and He will do it. Yes, sir.

58 He had been thoroughly a vindicated by the--the Word and by the works that He was doing, but none of them wanted to believe it. Proved His Light was the Word! The Word said it, "Search the Scriptures."

59But their traditions that they were living in, a glare of another age! They said, "We believe Moses; Moses who we believe. We don't know whence You've come from. Where'd You get Your education? What can You prove that You're This?"

60His works testified Who He was, if they'd have only read the Bible. They was reading It, but they couldn't see It. "My works identify Me."

61 A man is knowed by his credentials, the credentials of the Word of God, if he is sent by the Word of God and with the Word of God. Same in every age! It's always been.

62We can't live by yesterday's light. Yesterday's light is history. We know nothing about it. You can't get warm today by the sun that shines yesterday. That's what's the matter with the churches today. That's what's the matter with the people, they're trying to live by what happened yesterday. You can't warm by a painted fire. Certainly not, it has no heat in it. Yesterday's sun has no heat in it.

63 The sunlight is sent to the earth, in the natural, to ripen the grain for the advancing harvest. Each day brings forth a new sun. The sun that's shining today, bringing the wheat up, in Canada; that same sun, well, if it hadn't... didn't have no more sun than that, this coming July or August, it could never ripen the grain. It's got to be stronger and more powerful, each day it grows and matures, to bring the grain on.

64Now if the grain, itself, if it begins to mature, the grain comes on, if it stays right with the grain, it only builds the grain. Each day, the husk around it, the--the part calcium and whatever goes in it, builds right into the grain, as the sun gets stronger.

65 But you take the sun that shines in August, and put it on the wheat today, it would kill it. Certainly, you can't do that. It must come in its season. So must God's wheat and grain ripen just in the season, the season It's in. But how could a sun... Well, a wheat would die, the fruits would die, by the sun that lives today, that shines today, rather. Its oncoming harvest is ripening. The grain should mature with the light.

66But the thing is, today, the church grain don't want to mature. It wants to stay like it was back in Moody's time, Sankey, Finney, Knox, Calvin. They were alright, they were the light of the hour.

67But this is another hour. This is another day. This is the advancement of the Gospel; It's coming to its maturity. So we can't live in what Luther said, Wesley said, or some of the rest of them. We're living in the Light that's predicted for this day. We're in the Seventh Church Age, not the third or fourth church age. The grain should be able to receive It. If it doesn't, it falls off and It means nothing to it. The grain is matured with the Light if it goes ahead with the Light.

68 So should the church bring forth the bread of each age, that Jesus commanded, that, "Man shall live by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

69The Bread that we need is in the Bible. It is the complete revelation of God's plan. It's the complete revelation of Jesus Christ. We add nothing to It, or take anything from it; whosoever does, his name will be taken out of the Book of Life. We don't need any creeds to add to This. It's written just the way It's supposed to be. We don't add nothing to It, take nothing from It, preach It just the way It is, and God is, will manifest It. Every promise that He promised, He will manifest it just the same. We're not supposed to take from It or add to It. Just leave It the way It is.

70 But, you see, today, we find the people like it was somewhat in that day there, trying to live back in a glare. The church should ripen as the wheat ripens, "that man shall live by not by bread alone, but by every Word of God, the Bread of Life." Not just part of the Words; every Word of God, every age! Just don't stay and eat beans and potatoes all the time. There is other things goes with it, as we go on into the full course of God's great Dinner that's set before His people, the power of the Holy Ghost, the--the rejoicing of It, of the power and the Spirit that has been given. "The works that I do shall you do also. Because I live, you live also." The promises that Jesus made to His church, and yet today we find people trying to go way back into some other age that's gone by.

71 Luther's age, it was a great age. He saw the faulty of the Catholic church, saw the communion. That, that young priest, he saw that that was wrong, "it wasn't the literal body of Christ," it was a piece of bread that--that they had blessed. And he saw that, "the wine wasn't the literal Blood," but it represented the Blood. So he protested the thing because the hour of that time was there. And no matter how many priests they had, and whatever more they had, God got a hold of a man that could make the light shine. Amen. He accepted, "Justification by faith," and he made the light of the Lutheran age shine. After that come along, that lived its time out.

72 There come another time that the church should get away from its sins, and be sanctified. Along come John Wesley, a little Anglican man from over in England there, that belonged to the Anglican church, but he saw the light on the Gospel. It was the hour for that Philadelphian Age to come forth. And when he did, he preached the second works of grace, a sanctification by the Blood of Jesus Christ. There was nothing could stand in its light. He was considered a fanatic just like Luther was, but he protested all the rest of them was, and shined forth the light, because it was the light of the hour. God found a man, John Wesley, who could turn on the light.

He found on... and also a Luther, that turned on the light for that age.

73Then along come the Pentecostal brethren. They come back in their age, of the restoration of the gifts, restore back the gifts, of speaking in tongues, the gifts of healing, and things to the church. Now, they did just exactly what the Scripture said they would do, and, when they did, they manifested it. That's exactly right.

74 But did you realize we've moved on from that? We are in the Bride time, the selecting time, the time that (the Bride) they said we would have. "All the caterpillar left," said Joel 2:28, "all the caterpillar left, the--the palmerworm eaten; and all the palmerworm left, the locust eaten."

75Each one of those organizations, if you've read the Seven Seals of the Bible, each one of those reformers went forth and preached the Word, but left something off. Then what did they do after the reformers over, and the light begin to dim out? Instead of walking on into further Light, they organized it. And when they organized it, "We believe this Light. This is the Light! This is It." What did they do? Wesley come right on and moved away from them.

76 What did Wesley do? He organized after him, and his--his brother, John and--and Charles, and along come Asbury and those, and, after their days, they organized what was called the Methodist church. What did they do? They rejected further Light. They just said, "This is the Light. This is It."

77Then come along the Pentecostals and showed them up, that God still sends down the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He still brings down His power of healing, which they've denied. What did they do? Walked right away from them, because it was another light.

78 What is it now? We've passed around sixty years, the Pentecostals has organized, "We are this, we are that," and God has walked right away from it; out in yonder, and bringing forth a Bride, an Elect, out of that group. Which, there'll never be another church age. The Philadelphian Church Age was Wesley. And the Laodicea Church Age is the Pentecostal organization, which all goes right straight into the mark of the beast. That's the Bible, as this brother was saying a few moments ago. That is true. Right. They're, all them organizations, because they refused to walk in further Light. They organize themselves, and saying, "We believe this." When God does something, check it with the Scripture.

79 The Pharisees said, "We have It." The Sadducees said, "We have It." But God had It! God has turned on the key and showed the Light. It was rejected like It's always been.

80The Catholic church rejected Luther. Wesley rejected Luther. And so also the Pentecostal rejected Wesley.

81And the Holy Spirit today is rejecting the Pentecostals. You're getting just as formal and cold as the rest of them. Everybody can see that. I love you. You're the closest thing there is to the Bible, I know of, that's why I'm with you. But, listen, open your eyes and see the day that we're living in! It's time for the key to turn again, and a Light to come on, to take out a Tree. The Bible said, in Malachi 4, "He would send forth and restore again the original Faith that was with the people." He promised it. He has always done it. He sent His Word, and the prophets came because the Word came to the prophets, and they had the Word and made It live.

82 The organizations and systems of the time turned them down, every age, so will they do it today. God is just as able today to rise a man now as He was then. He never did raise an organizations. Ask any historian, look through the history; when an organization organized, it died there and never raised again. God speaks to individuals. Right.

83And God promised to do it again in the last days, and that He'll do. What God has promised, that He will do, to turn on a Light that can a vindicate the promised Scriptures of today. Jesus said, "As it was in the days of--of Lot, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." You show, you see what they're doing. Look at Jehovah, what He has done, our Father has set everything in position.

84There is Lot down there in the world, down there in Sodom, with all the sin, lukewarm. There is a messenger down there preaching to him, too.

85 There is Abraham's group, the Elected, pulled out, the one with the promise, waiting truly for the Son. Lot was looking for a son, also, but not in the form that Abraham was looking for him. What happened? Just before it happened, God come down and manifested Himself in flesh, and declared that He was the Word, for, "The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, and a Discerner of the thoughts that's in the heart." Jesus said, "So shall it be again, at the coming of the Son of man." These promises are Divine, they were spoke by the lips of Jesus Christ. Both heavens and earth will fail, but They never will fail. God is still able of the stones to rise children unto Abraham. Oh, yes!

86 We are in our journey, are something like Israel was. Israel, in their journey, had to get new manna every day, for new manna fell. We are supposed not to live in the light of Luther, live in the light of--of Wesley, or live in the light of Pentecost. We're in another age, new Manna.

87What happened if they tried to keep that manna over? It contaminated. It would kill them. That's the reason we got so many spiritual dead, so-called Christians. They're eating a glare of another day. They're eating manna that's already contaminated. Just like the husk upon the wheat, if it doesn't go into the wheat, it goes off of the wheat. And when Light is rejected, there isn't but one thing to do, turned into darkness. Any portion of the night, would refuse to see the Light, goes back into darkness. So does it in the Gospel, in every age it's been proven to be so. We're living in that time.

88 Yesterday's manna is contaminated. I hear people say, "Forty years ago, I did so-and-so." That's right, but what about today? What about the church on fire? We talk about yesterday, what about the church today? What about you as an individual today? For, yesterday's won't do for today. It was alright yesterday.

89Luther's message was the light of the hour, like John's was, but there rose a greater light. So was Luther a great light, and we enjoyed him for a season, but there come another light that shut his off. What it ought to have done was blend with It; and It went on to the perfect loaf of Bread, went on to the perfect Manna of God. But what did they do? They organized. Man has got into it. Instead of God leading it, man and his systems got into it, blinded it off.

90 Oh, this Bride Tree today, it's been pruned. Any branch that doesn't bring forth fruit is pruned. Jesus said so, Saint John 15. What's happened now, we see that they been cut off, pruned off.

91Remember, the very heart of the tree is right in the center of the tree. The fruit will always ripen, the last place a tree will ever bear fruit, is right in the top of it, because it's the freshness that comes from the center of the life that's in the seed.

92 It's a Bride Tree. Jesus was the Bride, He was a Tree. They cut Him down. He was the Tree of Life that was in the garden of Eden. They cut Him down and hung Him on a Roman tree, to make fun of Him. What did He do? God raised Him up the third day, from the dead. And today there is a Bride Tree; It started back there at the beginning, way back at the Day of Pentecost.

93Listen, you people who belong to church! The Church never started at Nicaea, Rome. It started in Jerusalem, on the Day of Pentecost, started the Church. Then what did they do? Just kept organizing; and God keeps cutting off the branches. Then they organized the Lutheran; cut off the branches. Wesley; cut off the branches. Pentecost; cut off the branches. Until it's come...

94But God is going to have a Bride Tree! "All that the cankerworm eat and the caterpillar eat, I will restore," saith the Lord. Malachi 4 tells us we'll be brought back to the original Faith like it was on the Day of Pentecost, "the Faith of the fathers." We believe that it will come. I believe it's time for it now. The limbs are withered and dried up, and they'll be taking them from the Tree, so that the fruit can bear itself right in the top of the Tree. Oh, my!

95 All these lights are alright. The Church today is that light plus what it has received today. It's to finish the harvest. As we find out, that the Tree itself, or... The wheat must mature with the Light, raising itself up from a blade to a grain, and from a grain on. It matures with the Light. Light of other ages only bear record of this age. The light of Luther bore a record of--of the light of Wesley. Wesley bore light of Pentecost. It's the same light, only matured on by the Light. If the people could only see it!

96 Sometime ago, I was reading a little article, where the queen of England, (not this queen) the other queen, she went to see a paper company that had been making such fine paper. And when she was interviewed by the president of the company, he taken her through. She wanted to see how that fine paper was made. He taken her and showed her all the great presses and things. And in those days, they made paper out of rags. We well remember that. So he went into a room and opened the door, and there was nothing but a bunch of rags. The queen, in astonishment, said, "What's these dirty things?"

97The man, that the president of the company, said, "That was clothing, yesterday. See, it has become dirty. We do not throw it away, but it's the paper of tomorrow."

She said, "I don't understand this."

He said, "You'll understand it tomorrow."

98 So when they run these rags through the press, through a certain procession of cleansing, and--and a certain thing it had to go through, a process; when it come out, it was beautiful sheets of paper. The president thought he would show the queen something that she never knew. He put her profile on it, and pressed it into this beautiful paper. When the queen received it, she seen her own profile in what was dirty rags, yesterday, because it went through a certain process.

99Oh, if Luther, Wesley, and all of them, could see that, that yesterday's stuff can only be used as it goes through a process! When the Holy Ghost reveals the Light, from justification to sanctification, to the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and now the last hour of the Coming of Christ; it's got in it the profile, not of the queen, but of the King of Heaven that represents Himself, as the church has become closer into the minority, like the ministry has to be the same kind of a ministry that He had.

100Those who died in Luther's age, down at the bottom of the pyramid, like; not a pyramid teaching, but just for an example.

101 That pyramid is so perfect, if any of you has been there. You can't run a razor blade, hardly. The--they had no mortar in it, as far as we know. The architecture of it was so great! Now, they lost the headstone. They don't know where it's at. Now when that headstone returns, it'll be just like the rest of it, it will blend in with the stone that's left open. If you should put the headstone on it, it'd have to be that way.

102And when Jesus returns, He'll find a Church that's washed, without spot or wrinkle, and it'll be the same ministry He had. It'll bring back the Headstone.

103 Like my hand here, in a shadow. It's a shadow, only it's darker as my hand becomes more... It's a negative here, a positive here. As a negative and positive, it gets denser; darker, darker, darker, and finally it claps together, and negative and positive becomes one.

104That's when Church and Christ unites together, as a Bride, with the same Spirit that was in Him will be upon Her; when that Church comes from justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost, into the last days, and honing her down now for the Coming of the Lord.

105Oh, don't be the rough part on It, Pentecostal brother. Shine up with the Word and believe every bit of It. Don't get out into these ism's and things, as we see going on today. Don't be astonished at that, because the Headstone is coming, crying, "Abba, Father," pretty soon, "My God! My God!" Yes, I believe that with all my heart.

106Do you see it? You know what I mean? It's Christ now taking the rags of yesterday, the Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and so forth, and He is putting it through a process. What kind of a process? A process of the Holy Spirit; what they had, plus; making it till He is pressing His Own image, when the Church and Christ becomes one in union. God, grant it! I trust that you see it. If you do see it...

107 It reminds me of a story, that when the--the great Welsh revival was on. Some great men here in the nation thought they would go over and see the Welsh revival, what would be taking place. And as they went over, to find out, they see what building it was held in. When they got to Wales, they went around, begin to ask about where the building was. They seen a happy little officer standing on the corner, with his little tommy hat on, and was swinging his club around and around like that. And so these men walked up to him, and said, "Sir, could you tell me what building the Welsh revival is held in?"

108He said, "Yes, sir, I'm it! I'm it!" Why? He was shedding forth the joy and the Light of the Welsh--Welsh revival within him.

109 So ought the church of Pentecost today, asking, "Who is Jesus Christ? The same yesterday, today, and forever!" His Light of His Gospel ought to be shining forth with the Word of this age, revealing Jesus Christ to the nation, just like it was then.

110He was so filled with the Welsh revival till he was the Welsh revival.

111We ought to be so filled with Christ till we--we reflect Him in the power of His Word that's lotted to us to this day. Brethren, don't be stooped in things of the world, don't, these cares that take you away. Stay with the Gospel. Watch every Word! Don't go back to what some father said. Let's go right now what Jesus said was to take place in this day. Yes, sir. We are supposed to be the Light of this age, manifesting the Gospel. Luther was his light. Wesley with his light, Pentecost was his light. But, we're farther up the road now, we're coming into the Bride, called out, the Elected. Remember, if you are, you're just like that officer, he had It in him.

112 Remember, this is the seventh church age, the Laodicean Church Age. According to Revelation 3, they reject Christ. Of every church age that was mentioned in the Bible, the Laodicea Age was worst of all of them. It turned Him out, rejected Him, put Him on the outside.

113Did you see the moon black out, the other night, before the pope went over to Rome, from Rome to Jerusalem? Jerusalem, the oldest church; the moon is a type of the church, always reflecting the light of the sun, in the absence of the sun, and it blacked out. I drawed that on a blackboard here, three or four years ago, and showed the churches, in hundreds and thousands of homes across the nation. What was it? A shadow. The first time a pope ever left, to come back here, come in--in the name of Paul, and so forth, went down through those places; had to bless the river, to cross it, and so forth. What does the--the river need blessing?

114 What's the matter with this church age that we're living in today? Can't you see it? God declaring it in the skies, declaring it in His Word, declaring it on the paper, declaring It amongst the people? Can't you open your eyes and see the hour? These are they that testify the Truth. This is the Light of the hour.

115Watch the great ecumenical move, is going into this council up there now, just forming an image of the beast, in Revelation 17, exactly what it said it would do. You Pentecostal people going to sit still for that and go into it? The forcing hour has come.

116Now is the time to rise and trim your lamp, and shine with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Power.

117 I know this is unpopular, when many of my Pentecostal friends set with the pope and things, and say, "A very spiritual feeling." To me, it's--it's wrong. It's against the Bible. Let the Word of God be the Truth. Yes, sir. It's time now. We see these great moves going on in the... Oh, it looks good to the natural eye, sure.

118Caiaphas looked good to what he was revealing to the priests, in that day, all that day. But Jesus was the Light that was making the Word live, but their councils and so forth had blinded their eyes to It. He said, "Let them alone; the blind lead the blind, they'll all fall in the ditch."

119We are back to that time again, brothers and sisters. We're back to that hour again. Notice. Why? Same cause.

120We find that the--these great lights that we've lived in, in the days gone by, they were alright, we have nothing against them. But, this Laodicea Church Age, be careful, remember, it is a Christ-rejected. And that's exactly what it is now.

121 This great council has moved around, to unite all the Protestants together, this ecumenical move. And what is it doing? It's blackening out the very Word, itself, and the Word is Christ. How can they do? When, the Christian Science, and United Brethren, and many of them people in other great organizations, some believe the virgin birth, some don't, some believe this and that. How can you join yourself with unbelief? "How can two walk together unless they be agreed?" Come out from among them and be separated, and take God's Holy Word and stay by It.

122Jesus Christ is obligated to manifest His Word. The thing we need today is a rising of Malachi 4. Another prophet will rise in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and will produce exactly what He promised to do. Then, man blindly will forsake It and walk right into the darkness, as they've always did.

123 Watch now, we find out, the same cause, that today, that they reject, the churches reject the Message, crucify the Word, take the Word out. Now if you don't belong to it, you can't even--you can't even have your church. They'll close it down. You've got to come into it. If you don't do it, you're closed down. Then what about it? Oh, stand for That which is right! Remember, it's crucifixion time again, nearly.

124 False light caused the greatest--the greatest robbery the world ever had, in England, not long ago. The greatest robbery that was ever performed, was done by a false light. Seven-million-dollar robbery was done by a false light that slowed that train down, and Scotland Yards couldn't find the men. They got away with it, so slicky. That was known as the greatest robbery that was ever done by robbers, in the natural. It robbed the world, of its greatest robbery.

125And the greatest robbery that was ever done to the church of Jesus Christ, is done by false light, a glare of some other age, and rejecting the Light that's predicted for this age. Amen. False light, a glare of yesterday! Don't walk in the glare of yesterday. Walk in the warmth of the Son today. Don't pull yourself down into a denominational shade, saying, "The days of miracles has passed."

126 Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe: in My Name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. These signs shall follow them."

127They say, "It's all right for the apostles; not for us." That's a glare.

128Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe, to all the world." Yes, sir.

129Now what's the matter? Walking in a glare, it's caused the greatest robbery, it's taken Christ from the church. See, how can Christ manifest Hisself in a Word that's promised today, by some cold creed of yesterday? It doesn't warm the Seed. No, sir. The church's greatest robbery!

130Warm? And, remember, that cold creed light will not ripen the Seed of today. It denies the Seed. It's the fog that's upon the earth, the denseness. It's time for God to rise and turn on the Light again, make His Word to live. Certainly, Light! That cold creed won't ripen the Grain. It certainly won't.

And, remember, civilization has traveled with the sun.

131 As I told you in the beginning, I have to watch parables, the way nature runs. I haven't the education to do it; I don't want it. I'd rather have what I've got, than all the education in the world. I have Jesus Christ. I see Him live His Word right through, and that's all I need to know.

132And if a man is born of the Spirit of God, he'll search the Scripture to see if It's the answer for today. The answer of the day is Christ. Christ is the Word. When the Word comes to life, it shows the Light that's promised of the day. This dark Laodicean Age, just a few, "As many as I receive, I chasten, I rebuke. Repent," Jesus said, "and return back." Turn to the Word. He is the Word. Come to Him. Yes, sir.

133 Watch the Light. It come from the East, going west. We're at the West Coast. It had three stages, didn't it? It had three stages. It crossed the water, three times. From Paul, and across the Mediterranean, come into Germany, Germany lit up with Luther; crossed the English Channel, over into the United States and now... over into--to England; then, England, It come across the Pacific, to the United States. And she has worked her way down through Luther's message, on down through, until the last part of It is here on the West Coast again.

134 And from the ripening of the grain, from all the way back from Luther, all the way down through the age, it ought to be the fulness of the Gospel now, the Power of God to ripen. The Light that's been shown through justification, sanctification, the pentecostal age, ought to ripen the Bride Tree for the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; that Christ could be manifested in His Church, as one Person, Him and His Wife, Him and His Bride. Amen. This is the hour we're living. This is the Light of the day. Walk in It! "Be saved, all the ends of the earth."

135 Church glare of this day was very deceiving, Jesus said in Matthew 24. He said, "It would deceive the very elected if possible." See, not Luther wouldn't receive... Luther couldn't deceive a Methodist. A Methodist couldn't deceive a Pentecostal. That's right, see, but what about the Bride? That's what puts the Pentecostals eyes out. Yeah. See, you went back to your creed, to your form, organize, and done, a bunch of men telling you what to do.

136 The Bible promises these things. We need men and women that's filled with the Spirit of God.

137If you say you've got the Spirit of God in you, and God makes a certain promise in Here, how can that Holy Ghost punctuate It, say, "Well, it might be all right for another age. We don't believe It that way"? That ain't the Holy Spirit.

138The man that's filled with God, Him and the Word is one. Certainly, it is. It's a product of a union, a union between God and man.

139 How can a woman, that's going to be a husband of a man, contrary, doing the things that he don't want her to do? How can we flirt with the world, and denominations and organizations, and turn down the Light of the hour? How can it be done, brother and sister? With godly love and respect for each one of you, how can we accept these things? How can we hear It? It throws right back in our lap again.

140Don't condemn Lutherans; because, they condemned Catholic. Don't condemn Wesley; 'cause, he condemned Lutheran. See, like that, when you condemn the Thing that's happening today and turn from It; when you see your churches go into this great ecumenical move, and so forth like that, leading you, every one, into the mark of the beast, and you've got it. Many honest-hearted people walk right straight into it.

You say, "They're good people, holy people."

141So was those priests. If I had to take the holiness of Jesus Christ, or the fruits of the Spirit, many of you have went on this... Now, no disregard to it. I believe every Word of it.

142Many will say, "Oh, I spoke in tongues. I got It." That ain't It. No, sir.

Many of them say, "The fruit of the Spirit, that's It." Is It?

143 Let's put Jesus on trial (God, forgive me) for a moment. Let's bring you up, and I'll be the priest. I'll say to you, "This young Fellow, come into the city, called Jesus of Nazareth. Don't you listen to Him. We believe the fruit of the Spirit. Now look at here, your kind old priest. He, his grandfather, great-grandfather, all were priests. He sacrificed, all his young life. He stayed right in the seminary. He watched, he believed, he--he done everything they would have taught him. He knows the Scripture, from A to Z. He even writes It, himself. Writes the Scriptures, himself, the scribes does. And here he is, a grand man! You know he is."

144"What happened when your mother was giving birth to you? Who stood by your bedside? That kind old priest. When mother and dad was going to separate, who put their arms around both and led them back to God? That kind old priest. Yeah."

145 "And here Jehovah requires a lamb for a sacrifice, for sin. The businessmen, they live in cities here and they--they sell their goods, and--and so forth, their products and produce, and whatever they're going to sell. They don't raise lambs. And what did the priests do? Made a little stand up there, for them to sell lambs, so this man could go in, clear his soul with Jehovah."

146"What did this fellow, Jesus of Nazareth, do? What church did He come from? What denomination does He belong to? What fellowship card? We'll kick Him out. We won't have nothing to do with Him, because He condemns every one of us. What did He do? He goes up there and takes that, where men are trying to get their souls saved, the church," as we would call it today, you spiritual- minded people, "He kicked over the table, throwed out the change; took a ropes and platted them together, and run them out; and called that godly old priest of yours, 'the son of the devil,' that kind old man that loaned you that money when you was in trouble."

147"Who is going to stand by you and bury you when you're dead? That kind old priest. He has got the fruit of the Spirit. But does this Jesus of Nazareth have the fruit of the Spirit?"

148 You can't judge by speaking in tongues, neither can you judge by the fruit of the Spirit. But it's a manifestation of the Word of God, brought to Light. It's the Light that does it.

The man that walks in that Light! Jesus Christ was not founding upon speaking in tongues, though He did it. He was not the fruit of the Spirit, though He did. You couldn't judge it. But He believed and punctuated It, and God lived every Word of the promise of that day through Him. That's the Light of the hour. That's the evidence.

149 When a man tells me that the Holy Ghost falling in them will deny the Word of God being so, there is something wrong with it. There is something wrong with our seminaries, and so forth, when they teach man all this here brain-washed theology and stuff of today. Them men would done the same against the Word of God, and lead them right into that ecumenical slaughter down there, why, certainly, it's wrong.

150I speak that in the Name of the Lord! You watch and see if It isn't true, the Light, the Light of the hour!

151Those cold creeds can never bring a harvest. We've got to have a Church that's washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and become one with the Word, be the Church.

152Church glares of this day, Jesus said, are very deceiving, "almost the Elected if it were possible." Just the Elected! "But as it was in the days of Noah, when eight souls were saved, so shall it be in the Coming of the Son of man." Very, very few will be saved at that time.

153 What does it do? It leads right on to the slaughter. We find that in this present darkness that we're living. I'm closing, by saying this. In this present darkness that we're living, these days that we're now living in, when Light is done turned out in the heavens, It's turned out here amongst, before, to show us; showed by the Bible, on the Seven Seals, what was taking place. And here God declares it right in the heaven, comes right down and declares it on earth. And the churches walking right into it!

154Who will save that little Word-keeping Bride then? What's going to happen to Her when She is turned out into the cold, by Herself? She won't be cold, the vindicated Word of the promise this day. Oh, yes. It's like a...

155It's puzzling, I know it is, to people, to see the church just say, "Well, it's just almost the same thing." Jesus said it would be that way. It'd be, till, "It would deceive the very Elected if it was possible." Oh, yes. Yes, sir.

156 Just reminds me of a fellow in Florida, not long ago. He was talking, said he had a Chevrolet car that went out on him in Florida, and said he took it to the garage. And this mechanic was going along there, and he got everything set together, and he couldn't get it to start. He put everything in it, that he could. He renewed all these different things, but, something another, it just wouldn't work. And he couldn't get it started. He just kept trying and trying. The little mechanic was nervous, run around, all over the building, picking up this.

157And the man standing, say, "I'm waiting on my car, sir. I'm late. Can't you get it?"

158He said, "I'm doing all I can do," real nervous and carrying on. And he walked along.

159Directly a well-dressed gentleman walked up and looked at him a few moments, and he said to the mechanic, after he let him butt his head around a little while, he said, "Why don't you just touch this? You're not getting any current."

160So he said, "I never thought of that." So he just turned that other little thing, ever what it was there, and he got the--the current in, the car started.

161He turned around and said, "Who are you?" You know who he was? The chief engineer of the--of the General Motor. He made the thing. He designed it.

162 In this hour, brother, when we wonder what's the matter with our revival, what's the matter? We got the material and everything, we got the mechanics, but where is the Dynamics? That's what we need, to move Jesus Christ in on the scene. What's the matter? I tell you, there is One here today, hallelujah, called the Holy Ghost, that can touch the Dynamics. He is the Dynamics of the mechanics.

163We stand today, us Pentecostals, one of the greatest churches in the nation, thousands times thousands added each year, but where is that Holy Ghost? We've accept it, by speaking in tongues, and we seen how it's acted. Methodist accept it, by shouting. Luther accept it, by faith, and so forth like that. That isn't It.

164It's the Word! It's the Word turned on, the Light turns on the mechanics and they become Dynamics. They are Dynamics, when the Dynamics, when the Dynamic comes to the mechanic. It starts the thing rolling. That's right. Take the Word. If there is one little thing missed up, on It, it won't start. Lay aside every weight, every ism, every creed, that the Dynamics, the Holy Spirit, might flow through the Word and vindicate the Word that's promised of this day; then the great Church of God will rise to her feet like a jet propelled plane, take off to the skies to meet her Master. That's exactly right. Until we do that, it won't work. That's what about. Yes, sir. Who will do it? Who will keep it in this day that we're thinking about? Remember, remember, brother.

165 Now it reminds me of another little story. Not going back to stories, but a friend of mine was standing in Carlsbad, New Mexico, when we was there holding a meeting up at Carlsbad. And there was a bunch of people went down into this cave.

166Oh, I--I never did like that stuff, down there where it's deep, and about a mile in the ground. I, I'm satisfied up here. So, they went down through. I want to go higher, not lower. So I...

167They took this fellow, went down in there. And he was a man friend, and his little girl and little boy went down with them. And--and went way down into a big basement, oh, I guess, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth, went down there. And the man there by the switch, all at once [Brother Branham snaps his finger--Ed.] turned off the switch. And it was so black and dark, till you couldn't even see your hand moving down in front of your face. A little girl, a little thing, was real scared. She begin to scream to the top of her voice, "Oh, it's dark! It's dark! It's dark," hysterically screaming.

168Her little brother happened to be standing. He screamed out in the darkness, he said, "Fear not, little sister, there is a man here who can turn on the light."

169Hallelujah! What's the little Church going to do? Don't worry. There is a Man here today that can turn on the Light, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, yeah. The Lord Jesus Christ!

170 Remember, the blind... the--the rich men in the days of the birth of Jesus, they wasn't put out and blinded from the glare of Jerusalem when they got there, asking about Him. Their theology--theology couldn't explain it. But when they turned aside, they followed It to the Eternal Life Light.

171You businessmen today, don't watch the glares of these organizations, but hold onto the Word. It leads you to the Light. Fear not, little sister, there is a Man here Who can turn on the Lights. There is a Christ here Who can make His Word live just the same as He was then, vindicate Himself that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]

Let us stand.

172 I got fifteen minutes before the time to go to the next meeting. Would you like to raise your hands and say, "God, turn the light on me, this morning. I believe the Word. I believe the mechanics. Put the Dynamics in me, Lord"? Raise your hands and cry out to Him, "Lord, turn the Lights on!" There is a Man here that can turn on the Lights. We are dead, in communism, and eat up with all kinds of cankerworms of organizations, but there is a Man here Who can turn on the Lights. That Man is the Holy Ghost, Himself, Jesus Christ manifested in the Spirit!

173Lord Jesus, touch each one of these hands; not only hands, but run down the arm to the heart, and turn the Light of the Gospel on. In Jesus' Name!