Law

There'd been a little girl who appeared in the meeting, many of you seen it. It was in We The People, the article was packed. A little blind girl, in many. And so they.... The little girl caught a hold of me and just held on. She was a little girl, wore glasses, very badly blinded. And she could see shadows, but that's about all I think she could see. I beg your pardon, I don't believe she could even see shadows, I hardly think she could. Don't remember the case just now.

But the night before, a little club-footed baby had been in braces for years. And the Holy Spirit spoke and told them how long—four, or five years—it had been that way, and what was going to take place. And then the mother walked over there, and unlaced the baby, here it come walking across the platform just normal.

That's where a man in the wheelchair.... Mrs. Morgan had been the nurse from Mayo's, that had been healed with cancer. She's on the dead list, been dead eight years, they think. But she's still nursing—well, because the Lord Jesus healed her. And she'd been interested in this man.

Well, we can give him a prayer card; but to call him in the prayer line, that we cannot, 'cause ... has to be sovereignly by God to do that. We just give out the cards each day newly. And wherever comes on my mind, I just call some people; and I feel that's what God wants, you see, whatever He chooses. That way it's no one knows just where it will be. The brothers that give out the cards, Billy and sometimes Brother Woods and sometimes ever who helps him. They don't know where it's going to be. And I don't know. Just come, choose from there.

And each night in the meeting the poor fellow didn't get it. And he was.... That was the last night of the meeting. And they'd packed him and laid him. He was trying to wiggle, he was on his back. I seen a vision, the Lord Jesus making him well. So, in the vision I was to go and touch him. I don't know why, it wouldn't.... Just obeying what God said do, that's all.

And so going down to touch him there, there was a man was all bent up with arthritis, the retarded state where his fingers and things become knotty. And passing by, the man soon as he was touched raised up and started jumping up and down out of his wheelchair they had him sitting in. This other old man kind of touched my clothes, or something and went by. Now, you know there's nothing in my coat or clothes to heal. There's nothing about me. It was something where he could rest his faith, you see. Something that he believed in.

And about a week later the man that was healed out of a wheelchair was driving down the road in his car, and he looked over in the field, and there was a man plowing with a tractor. And they recognized each other. The man that was there was the one on the stretcher.

So he jumped out of the car and off of the tractor and run over and grabbed one another, get jumping up and down, praising the Lord. And it was through this healing of this man out of the wheelchair, that I was called to pray for King George of England, which he was a friend to his private secretary that sent for; pray for him. And the king was healed with multiple sclerosis. And he could only, I believe, stand up so long at a time, or something, I don't remember. I've got it in writing at home with his seal on it.

Now, the little blind girl that night, she received her sight. How the blessed Lord Jesus gave ... restored the sight to that little girl was certainly a miraculous thing. And she was so happy about it. And it caused a great stir everywhere. And We The People packed it. The book, it's printed in many languages, one of the greatest.... Well, it's got articles in there of, oh, science and of religion and so forth. And then you people of the Assemblies of God it appeared in your paper also. Several of the healing magazines packed it. To that, all praise be given to our Lord Jesus who did it.

I heard Brother Boze a few moments ago said, “People had come from miles away.” They have. Perhaps I get letters up there of people from their hotels and things, that's come from way up in different parts of the country, saying, “Well, we've drove a long ways, we've come in, we've brought a sick child, we....” Then testimony. Maybe the next day I get another letter, said, “The Lord healed it last night on the road, going home happy.” And so we're grateful for all these things. The Lord be praised.

And now, I notice that there's only one wheelchair left at the building, or cot, there's no more. And the lady they was telling me the other night was healed of something, from Mayo Brothers, that was seen a vision of her and was healed.

And there's a little girl sitting here in a wheelchair. Sister dear, I hope you won't be sitting in that in another hour from now. Jesus Christ have you well and out of there. I wish there was something that I could do about it, like coming down and making you well. Sister dear, I got a little girl at home too, she's only eight years old, but I think, what if that was her sitting in the wheelchair? I'd be happy if Jesus would heal her. I'd be happy if He heals you. I can only say what He tells me to do, you understand. You pray. I believe it's His will to do it; if your faith can just climb up that far, it'll be over.

That's one thing we will never know how that sitting in the building and seeing some ... maybe see one sitting here hideously afflicted, and one sitting here not too sick, but this afflicted one be healed and this other sick sitting. And sometime the afflicted one will sit and the one that's not so bad off be healed.

Here a few night ago, perhaps maybe the person's here in the building tonight. They're from this insti... big school over here. College. They wrote a letter and said, “Brother Branham, we've tried to contact you all over the country for the girl that had gone away and was lost for a year or two,” or something like that. And the FBI give the girl up as dead, or something. She'd left with some kind of a, oh, I guess dope racket or something she'd been in. Went off with some men or something, and that was all that was seen of her. And they thought maybe if they could ask me to pray and the Lord would show me a vision what happened.

And there's many here from different places, you just think of your ownself and think of anywhere you ever seen or heard anybody else talk of, but what every time when He says what's going to be, it's that way. Every time. So, you see it isn't your brother, because I'm just ... I could ... just a man.

But that day I had so many different things to pray for. There was children sick and afflicted and everything. I thought, My. I went in that night and I prayed till about eleven o'clock. I went into my room and went to bed. I woke up the next morning around three-thirty or four, and I thought, Well, wonder what He's got me up at this time for. I got up, turned on the light, read a chapter out of the Bible and waited a little while.

And after awhile I started to lay back down. And I looked up, and I seen a young lady coming walking. She was dressed in a brown velvet-looking suit, I guess you call it. The coat and skirt part separate you know. And so, she was walking like that, kind of red hair, sandy, dark red hair. Attractive looking girl, rather strong. And she was smiling. She was walking back home.

So, I recognized that it would be something the Lord wanted. So, as soon as it come daylight we had our ... my wife, rather, to call a sister who had got the letter; it didn't give no description. And she called, and that was the girl. That was her, the description; red headed, sandy red hair. And was on her road back home. How marvelous the Lord is.

That morning I kept seeing a little baby before me. I called the office and they read down all the lists that they hadn't sent up yet. I thought, Oh God, where is this baby? I looked over again, got the list at home, read over it, no baby. The only thing I had was a baby about five years old, cancer in both eyes, down in Kentucky. But He kept saying, “An infant baby.” I kept looking, wondering where that baby would be. No vision. But I knew it was there, it was an infant baby.

And I happened to remember sitting in my tabernacle about two weeks before there, a little girl whispered in my ear, said, “Pray for my baby sister.” I thought, That's the Reverend Ledford's daughter, a Baptist evangelist. I'm sure that's who it is. And that told me that. Well, I called, found his name in the phone book, and called Reverend Ledford. But he wasn't home.

So I called back to my office and the secretary said, “Well, he married a girl from here in the city by the name of Thompson, I believe it was, or something like.... Jackson. Jackson. So he said.... She give me her father's name, Thomas Jackson. So I called them, and I said, ”I am Brother Branham.“ I said, ”I don't want you to think that I am mentally disturbed but....“

And she said, “Why, Brother Branham?”

And I said, “Well, this morning, for the last two hours, coming from the study,” I said, “it's just constantly an infant baby before me.” And I said, “And as soon as I thought of your little granddaughter that whispered in my ear, the Reverend's child, that her baby sister was sick.” I said, “The Holy Spirit has just warned me that that was the baby.

And she started weeping. And she said, “Brother Branham,” said, “sure I knew you. I come to your church.” Course, I'm not there enough to know who does come. She said, “I understand.” She said, “How wonderful of our Lord.” Said, “The baby has been semiconscious for the last ten days. Nothing can be done for it. The doctors has given it up. It's in the hospital, and they're giving it blood transfusion this morning. The father and mother, the reason they didn't answer, is out there for they are expecting the baby to go at any time.”

And I know how they give a blood transfusion to a baby, it's from the needle in the head here, you see. And it's very.... Looks very painful to the little fellow, but that's where they can catch the vein there. And I said, “But I will wait about an hour until the blood transfusion's over, then I'll go to the hospital.” She started crying, said, “Brother Branham, do you think the baby....” I said, “No doubt at all, the baby will live.” I said, “I just know that.” She said, “Oh Brother Branham, I believe it with all my heart. If you said that, I believe it.”

I said, “Don't say it because I said it, say it because.... It's not a vision, but it's a revelation. I forgot about the baby, but God revealed it back.” So, I said, “I'm going to pray for the baby now and will pray for an hour, then I'll go to the hospital.”

And friends, well, the hospital could give you a record, the father and mother. I went about an hour later, or maybe an hour and a half later, to the hospital. The mother was standing waiting for me. Great big smile on her face. I said, “How do you do?” I said, “Are you Mrs. Ledford, the Reverend D. W. Ledford's wife?”

She said, “I am.” Said, “You're Brother Branham. Don't you remember me?”

I said, “I believe I've seen you, sister.”

She said, “Well, we come up to the church many times.” Said, “Course, since you've been gone, I know.” Said, “My husband's preached in your church.”

And I said, “Well, I'm thankful for that.” And the tears begin a rolling down her cheeks. I thought, Well, something must have happened.

So she said, “Reverend Branham,” said, “my mother called me just about an hour ago.” And said, “She told me what you'd seen and what had happened this morning.” She said, “The baby, I'm here with it, they was expecting it to die at any minute.” And said, “The doctors don't even know what was wrong with it.” Said, “One thing we know, it was a diabetic.” And it's only five months old. And said, “It's a diabetic,” and I forget what all they found, but what was making that semiconscious, they didn't know.

And said, “I talked to my mother. When my mother told me,” said, “in my heart I knew my baby would live.” Said, “When I turned back, it was kicking its heels, and gooing, and laughing.” Said, “Come look at it.” So, she said, “I'm just waiting for the doctor to come to dismiss it.” Doctor Robey of Jeffersonville.

So, I went in there and the little fellow had his bottle up like this just a drinking. He looked over at me and that little toothless mouth, laugh like that, and put his bottle back in his mouth. His mother tried to pull the bottle away. Oh no, he got it again. The doctor come in and examined that baby, said, “Take it home. Nothing wrong with it,” see.

It's better to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. If we Christians would only quieten ourselves, see, not be in such an on rushing. Quieten ourselves. One call from the Lord means more than ten thousand of our own human efforts. Let us believe Him with all of our heart. He's so lovely.

Now, tonight, it's Saturday night, tomorrow morning you get up to go to Sunday School. [Brother says, “Can we get the amplifier a little louder than it is? I wonder, I'm afraid of those that sit behind it's a little hard for them to hear.”] The engineer, ever who's engineering it....

Now, I want you to turn with me tonight to a Scripture to read. And now we trust that God will meet with us in His Word. Do you believe God is in His Word? Always.

Now, usually tomorrow night would be our last night. Usually five nights is what we stay. Three to five nights. But we're going on next week, the Lord willing, right on. So we.... I want to try to not throw it all into one thing. Talk on the Word awhile and it relaxes me a whole lot.

So now, in the book of Hebrews the 10th chapter, we wish to read a portion of the Word. And just take, oh, twenty, or thirty minutes, if God willing, to speak on this. It's not premeditated, it's just whatever the Holy Spirit will lead for this time. Now, I love the reading of the Word for “Faith cometh by hearing. And hearing of the Word of God.” And I love it because I know it's God's Word to us. Paul here writing, we believe it's Paul, to the Hebrews. Reads this:

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers unto perfect. [I want to emphasize that perfect.]

For then would they have not ... ceased to be offered? because ... the worshippers once purged should have ... no more conscience [or, “desire,” is a better translation] of sins.

But in those sacrifices there was a remembrance ... of sin ... made of sin every year.

Now, the 11th verse.

And every priest standing daily ministering ofttimes the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins:

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

From henceforth expecting until his enemies be made his footstool.

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

We would like to think in the terms tonight, of this wonderful letter of the apostle Paul, as we'll believe. (It's not determined yet by scholars just who wrote the book of Hebrews, but believing that it was Saint Paul.) How he was trying to show and he was more or less using.... He was being a typologist here. He was trying to show that the law was a shadow of good things to come. And not the very image, or the very things itself; it was just a shadow.

And many times I've heard people quoting the 23rd psalm and saying, “Yea, though I walk through the dark shadows of the valley of death.” If you'll notice, it isn't “the dark shadows,” it's “the shadow.” “Dark” isn't in it. “The shadow of the valley of death....” Now, it could not be dark and yet have a shadow. For there has to be a certain percent of light before it can be a shadow. If it was perfectly dark, there would be no shadow. So, “Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death.”

Now, there has to be enough light to make a shadow. If it was dark in here, my shadow would not be on this pulpit. But being that there's light, then it makes a shadow, see. So, death is dark in a certain way, but it's only a shadow, see. “The valley of the shadow of death.” So, there has to be a certain amount of light in death to make it a shadow. Aren't you happy that that's so, that there is light in the valley.

Someday we're all coming down that way, friends. Every one of us are on our road there tonight. And each time our heart beats is one time less than it'll ever beat again. It's just got so many beats it's going to make in this journey. It'll make it's last beat one of these days. Then we've got to go down through the shadow of death. So, we're happy that we have been promised that the morning star would meet us there to light up the valley and give us a light to cross the river.

I've got to come that way some time. That's why I want to put all my life for the Lord Jesus—everything that I can do for Him. And I can only serve Him as I serve His people. You can only love Him as you love each other. I can only love Him as I love you, and you love me. And together we love God.

And we become His children in that I serve you, you serve me. And that's we're serving God. Jesus said, “In so much as you have done unto the least of these little ones, you have did it unto me.” So, if we want a blessing, let's be a blessing to someone else, and a blessing will return. Like casting your bread upon the water, it'll return. And that's true. In all walks of life you'll find that. You usually reap just as you sow. So, let's do good. Talk good and be kind. And people talking about us, will say good things and kind things, and good things will come our way, if we will give them out.

Now, Paul speaking here of the valley ... or, the shadow, rather, the law being a shadow of good things to come, could never make the worshipper perfect. Then he goes on to show what the perfection is. Now, it's a strange thing that this is so much thought of people, they say, “Well, I'm weak, my faith is not very much, I'm not a very good Christian.” That's just what the devil wants you to say. You're just talking his language right then, see. You mustn't never say that. Don't never let your testimony be negative; let it be positive all the time. “I am saved. I have God in my heart. I believe Him with all my heart.” Do you believe in Divine healing? “With all of my heart.”

Let your testimony always, your thoughts, everything.... Never permit a negative thought to come in your mind if you can help it. When it starts there, don't entertain it. Well, you say, “I can't help the thoughts from coming.” Well, that'll be like the farmer that said he couldn't stop ... he couldn't stop the birds from flying over his place, but he could sure stop them from roosting. So, that's a good thing, you see. You can't help the thoughts when they come, but don't entertain them; just pass it on. No, sir.

Jesus Christ is my Saviour, all things are mine, by God. And I'm going to keep them. I'm going to testify of them. And God can only bless you as you confess that He has done it for you. See, He's the High Priest of our confession. Is that right? Hebrews 3. He said that He's the High Priest of our confession. He can only do for us as we accept it and believe it and confess it.

Oh how.... Maybe tomorrow afternoon, if God willing, I want to get around to something that's on my mind so strong right now, on how to receive the Lord Jesus. But maybe that'll be better in the Sunday School lesson tomorrow afternoon.

Tonight we want to talk on the law. Now under the Old Testament many think that the law, or the ... that the shedding of the blood began in the law. But the sacrifice for sin was before the law. And as soon as they were brought out of the garden of Eden, Abel offered to God a lamb. Which was in type the Lord Jesus.

Now, Abel went and got his lamb, wrapped a rope ... or, not a rope, perhaps in them days they didn't know what hemp was I guess, to make a rope out of, but maybe say a grape vine, around the little lambs neck and drug it up to the altar, rock, laid it down, beat its little throat with a rock until the blood begin to bathe its little wool and it bleating and dying. Did you ever hear a lamb die? Oh, it's the most pathetic thing you ever heard. And that little lamb dying there was typifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it would seem strange that....

Did you ever notice in the Scripture, Jesus was led away. Did you ever notice why ... wonder why He wasn't born in a house and in a cradle like a little baby is? He was born in a barn, a stable. Lambs are not born in cradles; they're born in stables. He was the Lamb of God. And they led.... Abel led his lamb, and Christ was led away: the Lamb being led to the slaughter.

And as Abel sacrificed, in type, the lamb at the altar and the beating of its neck, it's little blood, as its veins pushing out and the blood spraying over its little body and its white wool becoming bathed red, and it bleating, bleating, bleating, as it got weaker, until it finally stopped quivering and died.

It typified the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, wounded, His locks full of blood dripping over His body, and crying in a language that could only be interpreted by spiritual interpretation, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He died speaking in tongues, Jesus did. He was a Lamb speaking a language like Abel's lamb. He could not understand.... This crucifier of the lamb, Abel, could not understand what his lamb was saying. And neither could the crucifiers understand what the Lamb of God was saying. But by interpretation it was, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” All in types that lasted through the years.

And in the Old Testament, if a man done anything wrong he had to come under the blood to be justified again. “For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” How beautiful, how striking that comes to us today. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. No matter what church you belong to, what denomination, what organization, how good a father or mother you had, it's an individual affair. That every man or woman today in order to be saved, doesn't have to study theology, they don't have to learn any certain kind of prayers. The only thing they have to do is accept the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that's been prepared. Then through the shedding of blood there comes remission of sin, or sins remitted.

Now, in the Old Testament a beautiful picture of the sinner coming to offer for himself a sacrifice, he had to find.... We know all in type how it must be a lamb without a blemish, it must be brought from the.... The sin offering had to be from the first sheep ... the first sheep from the old mother ewe. And it must be without blemish. And it must be brought up and sacrificed, die for the sins of the people.

Notice. Then if the man who done something evil, committed adultery, took the Lord's name in vain, or broke the commandments; he brought the lamb to the priest. And now the first.... The lamb was washed and so forth, typifying water baptism. Then he brought the lamb up and he confessed his sins before the priest—what he had done, the evil that he had did. And then the priest.... The note was made of that and was put on the book.

If that man done that same sin two times in a year, he died without mercy. If he was caught committing adultery and the lamb was offered once, while the sin offering that sprinkled the mercy seat was atoning for him, then he could not offer another lamb for that. Hebrews the 10th chapter said, “He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.” In the 6th chapter said, “Counting the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified with, an unholy thing, and done despite to the works of grace.” They couldn't do it. It must be once for all, until another lamb was killed at the end of the year.

Now, I might ask you this way, want you to consider this. In the 10th chapter of Hebrews, about the 40th verse, somewhere there: I want to ask you, if you ever did think, or hear people speak on, what the unpardonable sin was. I used to be told by my mother that the unpardonable sin was a abortion case. In other words, a woman that would get rid of her babies before they were born. Taking the life of the children before they even had a chance, that that was the unpardonable sin.

But that.... I believed that for years, because I was told that by my mother. She only took it by.... She was not a Christian at the time, and so she just took it for granted that that's what it was, it was doing that. Others said it was committing murder. A man that murdered could not be forgiven for it. After reading the Bible for myself, I find out that taking human life is forgiven.

Now, remember, lady, that's a horrible thing.

Here not long ago a woman come to my house, she said, “Reverend Branham, I'm going crazy.”

I said, “What's the matter?”

She told me of the little babies lives that she had took of her own before they were born, or even matured, time for deliverance. And she said, “Every time I get to myself,” said, “I can hear babies crying in my ears.” And she said, “Every time I sit down to write a letter or something, I can feel little cold hands running through my hair.”

“As you sow, so shall you reap.” Remember that. Live right. Live upright. Confess your wrongs before God, then get out of that way, and walk like men and women, servants of God ought to walk and live.

But still, that is not the unpardonable sin.

Jesus said, when He was here on earth.... They brought to Him one day, a bunch of men, and they said, “He casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.”

And Jesus said, “You can speak a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven you. But whosoever speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven him in this world or the world to come.” Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost. For they were calling.... See, the atonement, the blood cell, as I'll get to after a bit, was not bursted yet, so it could be forgiven then. The Holy Spirit had not pierced itself from this blood cell. But after once coming from there, it's the unpardonable.

Now, Paul picks it up also in Hebrews 10:40, I believe it is, and said, “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for the fiery indignation. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. (No matter who he was) How much more sorer punishment, though worthy (minister, whoever he may be,) that's trod the blood of Jesus Christ under his feet, and counted the covenant wherewith he was sanctified with, an unholy thing, doing despite to the works of grace?”

I'm quoting Scripture. Let's go back to begin now.

For if we sin willfully after ... we have received the knowledge of the truth....

Now, I realize there may be two dozen ministers sitting here tonight, perhaps are, of different phases of faith. I want to ask you this, my dear brethren, “What is sin?” If we can find out what sin is, then we can understand what it is if we do it willfully. Smoking, drinking, committing adultery, living lasciviously, those things are not sin. They are the attributes of sin. You do that because you are a sinner.

I'm not a legalistic, neither am I an Arminian, or a Calvinist. But I believe that each one had a doctrine. But they run off on the deep side of it. They just stayed with that and didn't balance the thing up. There's a highway and a way, and the way is the road. A highway has a post way over here and a post way over there, but in the middle of this highway comes a road. You get over in a.... You can be in a highway and be in a gutter. But get in “the way.”

Isaiah said, “There shall be a highway and a way.” “And” is a conjunction, which brings “the highway” down to “a way.” And here's where you travel, is in “the way.” That's where smooth running is, in “the way.” You remember how they called it “the way,” in the Bible? All that was found in “this way.” It was called, “a way.”

Notice. Now, “He that sins willfully....” Now, sin is bottled to this. There's two elements: one of them is faith, the other one is unbelief. And unbelief is sin. That's the only sin there is, is unbelief. Think of it. Unbelief. Jesus said in Saint John 3, He said: “He that believeth not is condemned already,” see. You don't have a chance. Now, there's no halfway Christians. You're either a believer or not a believer.

Now, that's belief. What is belief? What is faith? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Now, if you believe, you live the life of righteousness. If you do not believe, you could live a halfway life, or hypocrisy—in other words playing the hypocrite—or you can make believe, pretend you are. But if you're really a believer, God has made a way that you'll know you're a believer. Now, Jesus said Himself: “These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out evil spirits; heal the sick,” and so forth.

Now, if this is presented to you.... Now, look. “For it is impossible (see), for those who were once enlightened; made partakers of the Holy Ghost, to fall away again. For if we sin (disbelieve) willfully....” Let it soak. “If we disbelieve willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin.”

If the truth of the Gospel has been presented to you in such a way that you have to see it, and because of popularity, or something else, that you turn your back to it and walk away and don't want to see it, there's where you cross the line. “For he that disbelieves willfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”

Now, to it the believer come, pleading, brought his lamb and laid it down. He confessed his sins. What a beautiful type here. Then the priest cut its throat. And the believer laid his hands on the dying lamb. And when he held it and see the little fellow kicking, his blood spurting, his little head jerking. And the little fellow trying to bleat, and the jugular vein cutting his throat as he bleated, dying, quivering, stiffening out. The sinner looked up to God and said, “That should be me, but I'm offering You this lamb, and it's dying in my stead.” Knowing that he was guilty of transgressing God's laws. Therefore he must die. “For the day you eat thereof, that day you die.”

And when he confessed his sins and an innocent lamb took his place, he realized, with his hands laying on that lamb, feeling it dying in his place, in his conscience he knew that he was guilty and the lamb was innocent, but an innocent substitute took his place. Then if he despised that, or done disgrace to it, before the end of that year, he'd die without mercy.

Now, a beautiful type of the believer today coming, believing, laying his hands upon Christ's head. And there at the altar or in his seat, wherever he meets Christ, laying his hands upon Him at Calvary and realizing that all that agony and suffering belongs to you. And in your soul deep regrets and sorrow come. With your hands upon Him, you're changed. You'll never be the same. It's taken the condemnation away from you. He, under the law, being a shadow, the man went away justified, but still with the same desire.

Let's say he was caught committing adultery, and he offered a lamb. And the lamb died in his stead. He went right back out of the building with the same desire in his heart he come in with. “For the blood of bulls and goats,” says the Scripture, “would not take away sin.” For it was only a type, or a shadow of good things to come, because the life in the blood cell of the dying animal, the substitute, was only the life of an animal.

But in this case.... Here it is. In this case, it was not only the life of human, but it was the life of God. God the perfect One who came into the womb of the virgin in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Creator Himself bottling Himself up in a blood cell. He had no earthly father. Mary was not touched by man. She was a virgin. And God Himself overshadowed her, or, other words, the immaculate conception that God Himself created a blood cell.

And life comes from the male, not from the female. The female is the incubator. But life comes from the male. And if life come from the male, and God was a male in this place, the Holy Spirit, God Himself come down into the womb of a woman and formed around Him a blood cell. Oh my! Believe that, and watch what happens to your blinded eyes. Believe that, and watch what happens to your cancer.

This blood cell that God got in there Himself and created, like He did the first cell. And created Himself a cell. It begin to spring forth life and brought forth the Son, Christ Jesus. And when a Roman spear, by sin and condemnation, pierced His sacred heart at the cross, broke that blood cell to a spray, tearing down the middle wall of partition and bringing the believer into the body of His own Being through the shedding of the blood.

Now, the blood could not be perfect by an animal, but the blood in Christ was perfect. Now, I will never be perfect and you will never be perfect. I will never be perfect in your sight. You will never be perfect in my sight. But let's lay that aside. What about in God's sight? I look at you as a human. I look at you as a brother. But God looks at you through the blood of His Son as a redeemed one. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” And not what you've done—you have nothing to merit it—but it's what Christ did for you. Oh, do you see it?

“For by”.... If these offerings would have continued, why we would have not needed any more sacrifice. “But for the worshipper once purged....” Let that sink way down deep. “The worshipper once purged would have no more conscience,” or desire, “of sin.” If he's really purged. You know what purging anything is. If it has been purged, the believer, once purged, has no more desire of sin. It should've been. So therefore the blood of bulls and goats couldn't do that, for the life that come out of the blood cell from the goats and the sheep and the burning sacrifice, was the life that went to meet Creator as an animal creation.

But the Life that came from the blood cell of the Son of God was none other than God Himself, who had come down and was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The great Jehovah. There it was human ... not human life; it was God's life. The Bible said we are saved by the blood of God. For there's no other male but God and God is a Spirit. It couldn't have been actually sexual. It had to come supernatural. That's why His church today believes in the supernatural.

And a man that's ever confessed his sins standing, laying his hands on the head of the dying Lamb, Christ, and looked to Calvary, can never be the same no more. That's right. “For by one sacrifice....” Hebrews 10:14. “For by one sacrifice He hath perfected forever those that are sanctified,” or cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

See it, sinner, and look at it. You, certainly. Don't try to get better, you can't get any better. Just come the way you are. No matter what you do, you could never merit nothing. The only thing that you can do is to believe on Him that justifies the ungodly. When you do that, you're saved. Oh, what a change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart; and I shall go there to dwell in that city above, since Jesus came into my heart.

What a difference this made. It stoops to the lowest, to the prostitute. It goes to the drunkard, to the gambler, to the millionaire, to the aristocrat, to the church member. “Whosoever will, let him come and drink from the fountain of the water of life freely.”

Watch in God's great plan, Jesus being the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. Before the great thought become a word, God perceived ... pre-thought these things before the foundation of the world. Look in the garden of Eden. God never put us here to die; He put us here to live. He never put us here to have funeral services; He put us here to be happy children, to rejoice forever more. And even though sin marred the picture, the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ cleanses it.

You know what the blood of Christ does to confessed sin? Did you ever take.... You women, could you imagine having a washtub full of bleach and take a little eye dropper full of ink, and you drop this ink down into this wash tub full of bleach. What happens to the ink? The ink becomes bleach. What happened? It doesn't hurt the bleach a bit. It just takes on and becomes bleach. That's what confessed sin does. When it's confessed upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, it changes its color and becomes righteousness. For you're willing to acknowledge it and accept God's provided way for you to be saved. Nothing like it, friends.

No wonder the old Salvation Army used to sing the song, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Not joining church, starting a new thing, or reading once in a while some literature, or something. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. “What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

I think of it tonight. Think of the redeeming song: “Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; it's grace that's brought me safe this far, grace will take me on.”

Back in the garden of Eden: a picture here before you just for a moment. Look at God's little children, Adam and Eve, running around in the garden. Lovely, no sickness, no heartaches, nothing to harm or destroy, never to get old. When Adam woke up that morning, when God taken from his side the rib and made a woman.... I know the Grecian artist and different artists of the world paint the picture of Eve a horrible looking beast. That's wrong. Only common, everyday knowledge will let you know different from that. No one admires anyone that looks like that. Though they might look like that and can't help it, they feel sorry for them.

But I believe that Eve was the most beautiful woman that God ever put on the earth. I can see her sitting there, and her eyes as blue as the stars above ... the skies, sparkle, her long hair hanging down her back. The most perfect looking woman ever was on earth. There she is. God give Adam the best that He could.

Adam took her by the arm, said, “She's flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.” And there standing arm to arm, in the garden of Eden, Almighty God performed the first ceremony that ever married a couple. Then it can be done by some drunken magistrate? It's a holy and sacred thing. That's right. God performed the first one, ceremony.

[Brother speaks in tongues] God's great Holy Spirit, moving in the hearts of the people, bringing that Eve and Adam together again in their perfection. God's holiness, God's perfection. Now, what happened? Sin came in. And as soon as sin came in, what happened? It spoiled God's picture. What a horrible thing it was.

Then I want you to notice: Adam, to show the strain of man, as soon as Adam realized that he had sinned, instead of coming out and confessing it, you know what he done? He run and hid. And that's the way man does today. That's the way individual's do today. They run and hide from God instead of coming, confessing their sins. That's what men ought to do everywhere now, is come and confess their sins instead of trying to hide it. Don't you believe it?

But, what is it? A strain. They still do it. Notice. Then God going through the garden of Eden hollering, “Adam, Adam, where art thou?” What took place? Adam hid. Although he had made himself an apron that he had put on to stand before God, it wouldn't work when he stood before God.

Now, God in order to get Adam back to Himself again so He could talk to him, God went out and got some skins and made aprons. Is that right? Now, if He got skins, something died to get skins. See, it had to be substitutionary. Something had to substitute the guilty man's place. And that was that lamb that He killed out there was Christ Jesus—speaking in a figure. And there He brought the lamb skins, throwed them back into the bushes and Adam and Eve put them on. Here they come out to stand before Father God.

Looky here now. Look at this picture. I want you especially outside of Christ tonight, to look at this. There they are. They're condemned, standing there. God said to Adam, “Why did you do this?”

And as all men trying to pass from one to another, “The woman You give me.”

The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me.”

Hand it from one to the other. Then look what God said. I can see great Jehovah, that whirl of light in the top of them bushes, talking to Adam and Eve, look at this, and He said, because they had did that, said, “Serpent, off comes your legs. Upon your belly you'll go all your life; be hated; dust shall be your meat. Cursed be the ground, Adam. Thorns and thistles will come, and you'll have to till the soil. And by the sweat of your brow you'll make your living. And because I took you out of the dust, dust shalt thou return. And woman, because you took life out of the world, you'll have to bring life in the world. I will multiply your sorrows, and your desire shall be to your husband,” and so forth.

All those things. He could not stand them in His sight no more. Sin. Now, let's look at this pretty little couple. Adam, with his great manly shoulders, his shaggy hair hanging around his neck. Eve, maybe her blond hair hanging down her back. Her eyes blue. Adam there now, his great muscle body was quivering and shaking. What? Something had happened. Now, notice as it rolls down his cheeks here, tears. Mortal now, he has to die. Tears dropping off of his cheeks onto Eve's head, mixing with hers as it runs down across her body. Sin, the horrible thing. God said, “Depart.”

And notice, I can see them as they walk out through the garden of Eden, out of the presence of God. Look at it as they go there, that great strong manly muscles in his legs as he starts moving away. The tears are rolling from his cheeks. Little Eve with her arm around him. Him with his arm around Eve. Crying as they go, walking out away from the presence of God. Every sinner will do the same thing, departing out of His presence.

Then as they started walking in that way, notice, I can just hear them old sheep skins as they're bouncing against Adam's big legs going [Brother Branham claps] as they slap against his legs as he's going, walking away, going out. Departing from God.

Then I can hear God, all the great eternity, which makes Him up, all space, all light. I can see that all come down to four letters: l-o-v-e. That's the only thing, the only hope that we have tonight, is in the love of God. No wonder the poet said, “Oh, love of God, how rich, how pure! How fathomless and strong! It shall forever ... saints and angels songs.” You just can't write out or measure by anything what a love of God really means. It was bought there in the garden of Eden by love. He said, “I will put enmity between her seed and the serpent's seed. He would bruise the serpent's, head and the serpent's head would bruise its heel.

Let's change our picture for a few minutes. Let's take four thousand years later. Let's get in Jerusalem. It's a morning, it's about eight o'clock. I hear a noise outside. We're all talking. What's going on? Oh, a great bunch of carrying on, and some hiss, and some crying, some mocking. Let's go pull the shade back and look out, see what's out there. Why, look, coming down the street. There comes a man. And He's got two malefactors following Him. He's got a cross on His back. “Well, who is that?” I say to my company in the upstairs.

They say, “That's that Jesus of Nazareth, that impostor, that divine healer. That one who troubles our churches and makes trouble with them. Teaches things that the priests don't believe in. That's Him. They're taking Him to Calvary. They're going to crucify Him.

Those big old cobblestones as He went out the gate, that cross bumping up and down on His shoulder. And as they took Him out along, I noticed He had one robe; it was wove throughout without seam, and all over that robe comes little bitty red dots. Is it speckled? Is that its natural color? No, it was white. Why those little speckled dots? Let's watch Him. As He goes on towards Calvary them little dots begin to get bigger, bigger, bigger. And after awhile they all run into one big red splotch. What is it? Blood.

And as He starts up Calvary there, I can hear something going [Brother Branham claps twice]. What is it? The second Adam, the redeemer, the blood of the righteous one, bleeding for the sinner to cover up our sins. And we spit it back to Him. We wag our heads and said, “I'll have my own way about religion. I've got my own religion, I don't have to have that stuff.” Without that you're lost. Without hope, without God, without Christ, in the world dying going to a sinner's grave and a devil's hell, without that.

God made a preparation for you. I can see Him going up the hill packing that cross, His little weak body staggering as He went up the hill. The first thing you know, it was whirling around Him, death was biting at Him hard, and He's moving on with a cross on His back, moving towards Calvary, yonder. What? Because He had to? No, because love drove Him to it.

There, think of it. They said, “He saved Himself, others ... He saved the others; Himself He cannot save.” That was a compliment. He couldn't save others and Himself. Did you ever think of it? He was the Father. Amen. He was Father God as a sacrifice. That's the reason I love that song, brother. When you try to make Him just a prophet.... He was more than a prophet; He was God manifested in flesh.

Why couldn't He.... He said He could get twelve legions of angels. Why didn't He call them? He couldn't. That's the reason His own children was crying for His blood. Could you imagine your own children screaming for your blood? If He condemned them, He condemned His own children. He said, “I won't condemn you before the Father.” He said, “You got one that condemned you and accused you before God, that was Moses, and you believe in him.” He didn't condemn them. He said, “Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they're doing.”

And I can see that sting of death biting around Him like a bee. Stinging at Him here and stinging at Him there. He was dying, a malefactor. He knew no sin, but yet all the sins of the world was upon Him. Every stain of sin, every punishment for sin, every teardrop, every heartache, every disappointment was resting upon His shoulders. And that sting going around. Why was He God? He had to be made flesh in order to take the sting of death.

You know a bee ... you know what a bee is. A bee has got a stinger and that bee can sting. But if that bee ever once anchors that stinger, that's the end of the sting. When he pulls away, he leaves the stinger. And death had a sting into it, and a fear until that time. But when that bee of death stung Jesus Christ, God made flesh, he anchored the sting of death. And the bee has no more sting in it now. Death cannot sting a believer.

No wonder Saint Paul said, “Oh, death, where is your sting? Grave where is your victory? But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Without the shedding of blood there's no remission of sin. The law having a shadow of good things to come.” Every lamb that died under the law was important to the Lamb of God at Calvary. And through the power of the resurrection of Deity itself, raised up His body, for it was not possible that it should be a holder of it.

For David said in the Spirit, “I will not leave my Holy One to see corruption, neither will I leave his soul in hell.” So He rose up on the third day for our justification, promising the promise of the Father, “I will send the Holy Ghost upon you which will abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, who the world cannot receive.”

And tonight the blessed Holy Spirit is in this building tonight in the power of the resurrection of the ante-type of every lamb that died, even from the garden of Eden. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” Christ dying for sinners, dying for sickness. God be blessed forever for His mercy and His goodness.

He's the same God, sister, that can heal you of them varicose veins sitting there. You believe that? Would you accept it? Well then, stand up on your feet and get healed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. God is no respecter of persons.

There sits an old woman sitting there, an old Christian, colored woman looking at me. As you might say, an illiterate colored woman. But the grace of God is with her. She's got a cancer on her right breast, the trouble. That right, lady, sitting right there? You believe that God will heal you of that cancer, that trouble in your breast? Do you believe it with all your heart? Do you think....

There's another one sitting right behind her there that has a nose and mouth trouble. You believe God will make you well of it? The only thing you have to do is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, believe Him with all your heart. You shall have anything that you ask for.

Christ, the lovely One has raised from the dead. He's here tonight. What is this in here that's doing these things? What is it every night that knows the secrets of the heart? Can call the people from the audience? When now its just hanging over here like a milky stream. What is it? It's that life that was in the blood cell that was broke open at Calvary.

..... a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's veins,

When sinners plunge beneath the flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

There may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

[Blank spot on tape.]

... by faith I saw that stream

His flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I'll sing Thy power to save,

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave.

Oh, sinner friend, backslider, lukewarm, that's never been through the blood yet, don't you want to come tonight? There's a fountain open right now for you. Wouldn't you like to come?

If Almighty God can stand here and take a poor ignorant plowboy, hardly know my ABC's, have to practice reading the Bible before I come to the pulpit, but yet with a submissive heart to Him who loves me, He will show His power out there through that same channel and make the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk, and prove His Holy Spirit works in the same form that He did when He was here, 'cause I believe Him and love Him. You believe that He will save you tonight while we bow our heads.

Almighty God, have mercy tonight, Father, upon the needy here. Grant it, Lord, through Jesus' name. Many here are sick and afflicted. We pray that You'll heal them. Lord, there's many here that's lost, oh, spiritually sick. They just jumped around from church to church and from place to place, and trying to find peace, try to overcome. Looks like they just can't do it. Let them catch this Spirit that's here tonight, pulled inside that blood cell with God alone, sealed there. That casing around them by the Holy Spirit. Grant it, Lord.

With our heads bowed, I wonder if there's a sinner man or woman in here that would raise your hand and say, “Brother Branham, pray for me. I want to come in that blood cell with the Lord Jesus.” God bless you, and you, and you, and you. Oh, hands are going everywhere.

Now, over on my right hand side, would somebody over here raise your hand and say, “Remember me.” God bless you. God bless you. Someone lukewarm and indifferent, would you raise your hand, say, “Brother Branham, I've always wanted to live a real true Christian life.” Will you raise your hand, and say, “Pray for me Brother.” Oh, God bless you.

Now with your heads bowed, everyone reverent, if you will. Everyone, if you believe that God's standing here seeing, I'm just your brother, I love you, that's why I'm here tonight. That's what I'm doing here. I'm not trying to get you to join some church; I'm wanting you to come to this what I know is truth. Go to any church you want to, but I want you to really be saved; I want you to come through that spray. And when once locked in there with Jesus Christ, for He has perfected forever them which is come to the blood spray, into the body of Christ. Would you just....

Them that desires prayer now, would you stand to your feet? Those who desire prayer for such, would you just stand unto your feet? Everywhere. Sinners, would you stand up just for a word of prayer? Let everyone keep their heads bowed but those who are standing. Just you stand, say, “By this I say, I want God to be merciful to me a sinner.” Would you stand everywhere? That's right. That's right.

Everyone in prayer now that's not sinners. All Christians, borned again, in prayer. God bless you. See elderly people getting up, gray headed; young people, black shiny hair; little children, young ladies, elderly people, everywhere, accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour. Don't you think the great Holy Spirit's here looking down upon this just now? Don't He know this to be His will?

You that's kind of lukewarm now and don't ... have never been just settled in your life, in your heart about Jesus. You want to really.... You believe that God will hear my prayer for the sick, surely He will hear it for the sinners then. Would you just stand to your feet and say, “By this, Lord Jesus, You know my heart, I want to be born again. I really want to come through the blood of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, tonight and be filled with His Spirit and inside the body of Christ. I'm coming through the blood cell. And Lord, by faith I raise up now to accept it.” Will you do it? Will you stand to your feet right now for this word of prayer? God bless you. Just remain standing, each one of you.

“I'm now accepting You, Lord Jesus.” “Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word of God.” This is the Word of God, the best that I know how to bring it to you in my poor humble way, that “God so loved the world, He gave His Son.” And He gave His Son and He died at Calvary, and the blood was brought from His body to redeem you, a sinner, bringing you back to the fellowship of the father. God bless you.

Is there one more would like to stand with this great massive group that's standing now for prayer? One more, would you do it while we have our.... God bless you, brother. I just feel there's some more. That's right, God bless you. God bless you, sister. God bless you. That's right.

I'm not a fanatic, people. I've tried to prove that to you ... or, God has, surely, that I'm not a fanatic, but I do feel that maybe there's others in here would like to stand up. You say, “Well, I stood before.” Just do it once more, will you? Just stand up this time and say, “Lord, be merciful to me.” God bless you. God bless you. “Father, be merciful now. Will You grant it, Lord?” Just keep standing. Just keep standing. Everywhere that wants to be remembered in prayer now while we're just bringing this part of the service to a close. Stand. All right, while you have your heads bowed.

Our kind Heavenly Father, I pray for divine mercy upon these now who's accepting You as their Saviour. O God, if You can look out in this audience and see people's diseases and who they are. Thou art speaking now to hearts in here. You see these who are standing. See those who should stand. Father, just speak the Word to them, will You? Forgive them of every sin and trespass. May the blood of Thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, cleanse them right now from all unrighteousness. And may they be humbly and lovely saved for Your glory.

Now with our heads bowed, the organ will play, just softly, some song for a moment. [A brother sings]

When I come to the river at ending of day,

When the last winds of sorrow have blown;

There'll be somebody waiting to show me the way,

I won't have to cross Jordan alone.

I won't have to cross Jordan alone,

Jesus died all my sins to atone;

When the darkness I see, He'll be waiting for me,

I won't have to cross Jordan alone.

Now, you that's standing, while the song still moves, would you just come down here at the altar just a moment for a word of prayer. Everyone that's standing, move down here at the altar just a moment, would you please?

[Blank spot on tape] ... over this audience now. I'm watching that Light as it's moving across the people. What's it doing? Sure, it's healing the sick, it's speaking to people's hearts. What He could do just at this time if the church would just only let Him. Some more has come since I started talking. Is there some more? Just a moment for the word of prayer. They want to be born again. They're here to accept the lovely Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah. All right.

Father, we pray now that You'll bless these people, for they're standing reverent here at the altar, confessing all their wrongs and giving thanks to You for forgiving them. Father, You're under obligation to Your Word. You said, “Whosoever will, let him come, let him come.” And, “No man can come except my Father draws him. And all that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. I will give him everlasting life and raise him up at the last day.” Your Word speaks it that way, Father. I know You've given everlasting life and we're grateful to Thee. Now, Father, move upon the audience while our brother sings and the people are praying. In Jesus name.

Be in prayer while brother sings this next verse.