The Second Coming Of The Lord

Our Heavenly Father, as we come to Thee tonight in that lovely name of the Lord Jesus, we are so happy as we approach these holy days, knowing that this represents the greatest time on earth. It's when that all-sufficient sacrifice was made that poor lost sinners might be made free. And have this great hope that we have within our bosoms tonight that someday He will come again. And tonight as approaching this pulpit coming through the door, and hearing this old song, “We will have a grand homecoming week the first ten thousand years,” brings back memories of many years ago when we met here in the Tabernacle before the great worldwide revival started. And, Father, God, we just cherish those thoughts. And seemingly good in our soul that we return again tonight to begin another one of those old-fashioned revivals where sinners call out for mercy, and where the backslider makes things right with God again. And the Holy Spirit is the main Person in the meeting, who takes hold and rules, and brings to us the bread of life through the Word. And we pray that He will minister to us night after night in this revival, heal the sick and the needy, sanctify every believer, and get glory out of these efforts that we put forth. For, Father, God, it's only to the honor and glory of His name that we ask it. Amen.

This is to fulfill a promise that I made eleven years ago. A long time getting around to it, but to return back to the Tabernacle for a revival. And, now, we know that our little Tabernacle is insufficient in room for a revival, but we will just jam in here the best we can, for the next few nights, for the glory of God.

I love to have a meeting in the church. Many places, we have them in stadiums, and out in the outdoors, and in the arenas, but there's something different when you have it in the church. There seems to be that it's a sweeter, closer fellowship when you're in the church. Out in those arenas, worldly places, we are grateful for the privilege of being.... [Blank spot on tape.] ... an oppression, like a demon power, that you have to break through before the revival ever starts. And then when you come into the church, it's a place where God dwells, it's coming to His house to have a meeting.

And now, we're glad tonight to see many of the old faces that I saw years ago in the ending up of my ministry here at the Tabernacle. See Brother Graham in, Brother Curtis, and Sister Angie, and Sister Gertie here, and Brother Cox and Sister Cox, and, oh, my, so many of you, Sister Spencer and Brother Spencer, and all of you in here. We're so happy. Mama, and Mrs. Slaughter, and brother over here, just great groups of you, still. How many is in here from the time we started back ... I mean, when I left in the revival to go out? Let's see your hands. All over the church tonight, just look at the hands. That's very fine.

Now, we know that revivals only come by the Holy Spirit. He's the One who brings revival. And we can't do it ourself; we can only make that effort, and God has to bless that effort, and we trust that He will.

I was telling my wife on the road down.... I never even got a chance to eat supper tonight. It's awfully busy. It was two o'clock yesterday afternoon before I ever got my shirt on, from the time I got up yesterday morning. That's what the telephone part is. It's right at two o'clock when I had an emergency for Dr. Sam Adair in Louisville. And then so many other calls, and the veterans. One's from the hospital, said, “Well, we've waited time after time, and if hell's any worse when we get there than what this misery has been, waiting.” And just a scream and a cry from everywhere, hundreds of ministers.

And, I tell you, we're living in one of the greatest days that this world has ever known, one of the greatest times. And I'm so glad to see a hunger in the hearts of the people for more of God.

Now, I have taken upon my heart, praying that it is in the will of God.... And, by the way, there's some people standing back there. I wonder.... We got a seat here, a little bench; I wonder if some way we couldn't fix that little bench. Some of the ladies, or something, standing back there, that we could maybe.... Here, wonder if some of them here or something, just walk up and get on the bench up here, up here in front. Maybe.... Brother Ben, we're glad to see you in. The last time I seen you I was in San Fernando Valley, California, a few weeks ago. And here's places up here if you care to come up, you folks in the back that's standing. And now if you want to come up, why, come right ahead up. Here's a seat extra up on the platform here, and some extra places here, and they'll be taken on the altar. We want you to be just as comfortable as you can.

And I told my wife that I'd promised myself that, by the help of God, I don't aim to hold the services long; want to speak thirty minutes, the Lord willing. And that'll be a miracle in itself, because I just can't get started too quick, but I've just got to try, because of.... And then the coming time tomorrow night....

Tonight, my subject is: The Second Coming Of The Lord.

And tomorrow night is communion night, and I want to speak of communion from the Old Testament standpoint. Tomorrow night is the official communion night, for it is the night that our Lord was betrayed. And it's the official communion night. And after the services tomorrow night, the regular preaching service, then we will have communion. And everybody is invited to come with us and partake of this glorious article was left of our Lord Jesus to us.

And then the next night, the Lord willing, being the night of the crucifixion, I wish to take, from a different standpoint maybe from what you'll be hearing on the radio, The Crucifixion.

And then on Saturday night, The Entombment.

Sunday morning at six o'clock, a sunrise service. At ten o'clock, a baptismal service, and it's them to be baptized. And then an Easter morning message.

And Sunday night, the Lord willing, we're expecting a short message on The Evidence Of The Resurrection, and a healing service—the regular healing services like we have in the meetings (out in the regular meetings), on this coming Sunday night. And if you've never seen it, and your friends has never seen the visible evidence of the resurrected Jesus, I hope that He will do as He has in the past years in the meetings: appear right here and do the same things that He did when He was here on earth. And we're looking forward to that time, the coming ... that coming.

That's right, move right up and make yourself just as comfortable as possible. And I wonder if maybe tomorrow night we might be able to pick up some chairs somewhere. Maybe down at the funeral parlor or somewhere that we could get some extra, maybe to get around on the sides. We want everybody as comfortable as possibly can be.

How many loves the Lord with all that is within you? Now let's just set our affections towards Christ and just look now. We're not here for doctrines; we are here to worship the Lord. And we're just here to invite everybody of every creed, color, kind, it just doesn't matter here. We're just coming in to worship the Lord, and there'll be a half an hour of old-fashioned singing and before the services begin. And, now, tomorrow night I'm going to try to start just like tonight: exactly, if possible, at eight o'clock. And let out just as quick as we can so we can come back the next night.

And, now, everybody, welcome. And, our visitors, you're more than welcome to come in to fellowship. And as soon as the service is over, you people of the church here that comes here, see that you shake everybody's hand that you possibly can. Just let down the bars now, and just have a wonderful time. And you don't know what our Lord might do; this is an Easter time and we're just anticipating great things.

Now, in the blessed Word, I wish to read just a verse ... or, a line or two, out of St. Luke's Gospel, and the fifteenth chapter, the eighth verse:

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she shall lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she has found it?

And when she has found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

Now, that may seem like a very odd Scripture for the second coming of Christ, but it's speaking of the second coming of Christ. And this great subject that we have here before us now is one of the most vital subjects in the entire Holy Writ. There's nothing so important as the coming of the Lord Jesus. For, if He does not come, we have been found false witnesses, our dead that's in the grave are perished, and there is no hope left for us—if Jesus doesn't come visibly the second time. And in the very ... this light, in the very light of the second coming was so important, that this holy week that we are now approaching, that Jesus, when He was approaching it at the first time in the very shadows of the cross, He spoke very little of His death, burial, and resurrection. He spoke more on His second coming than He did on His death, burial, and resurrection. So, in the light of this, it must be a very important subject.

In the Old Testament, there is many times more Scriptures in the Old Testament pertaining to the second coming of Christ than there was to the first coming of Christ. Everything to the human race, now after the atonement has been made, rests solemnly upon the second coming of the Lord.

Now, we have different religions, and we have different motives and different theologies, but our Christian religion is based solemnly upon death, burial, and resurrection, and the second coming of the Lord. Oh, it's an important question. And as we are now approaching, to my most sincere thoughts, we are living in the very shadows of His second coming. To my way of seeing it by the light of the Scripture, there is not one hope left for the church outside the second coming of the Lord. The world in its wild pandemonic condition has got completely out of control, of every man-made organization in the world. Kings cannot hold their subjects no more, neither can dictators hold their subjects anymore, democracy cannot hold its subjects anymore, and there is no hope left but the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

And it's now one of the most horrible times for the unbeliever and sinner that he has ever witnessed, because the doom time is close at hand. And it's the most blessed time for the believer, for his redemption is at hand. There's two factions in the earth tonight, the believer and unbeliever. The one the Lord is coming to receive, and the one the Lord is coming to condemn. At His coming, will bless one and will curse the other, at His appearing.

And being that this is such a vital thing, I think just before ... at the eve, rather, of our little revival, that we should look solemnly into the Scriptures, and see how close that we are. If I wanted to know what time it was, I would look at my watch. If I wanted to know what day of the week we were living in, or the month of the year, I would look at the calendar. And if I want to know the approaching time of this great event, I look at the Word of God. It tells the time when it is at hand. For the Bible said, “When these things begin to come to pass, lift up your heads, your redemption is drawing nigh.” The time is at hand.

It was such a great thing to John the revelator on the Isle of Patmos, that when he saw the preview of the coming of the Lord, when he saw the curses that rested upon the unbeliever, and the blessings that rests upon the believer, he screamed out, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” It so thrilled his heart after all he had seen, the events before His coming, he screamed, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” And when the whole church age had been passed in his view, and he seen everything in major, the way it would happen, then the scream, “Come, Lord Jesus!” It must be a glorious thing that the coming of the Lord draws near at hand.

Jesus, when His disciples had got to a place that they were looking at the carnal (or, the natural) things of the earth.... Now, here we want to stop just a few minutes. It doesn't have to always be carnal that'll draw us away. Sometimes just the natural things will draw us away. Jesus' servants ... or, His disciples was pointing to Him the city temple, Jerusalem, the great temple where God in His Shekinah Glory had appeared in the holiest of holies. And when they told Him of how goodly the stones was placed in, how the great mastermind of God had ordained that these stones was cut in many places in the world and come together, that, in forty years of its erecting, there wasn't even to a buzz of a saw or the sound of a hammer. It was so masterly put together. And how God had come in over the cherubims and it showed forth His Shekinah glory, and how they had great hope in this great church.

And Jesus told them, “See not all these things.” Yet it was a holy place, it was a good place. It was a house of the dwelling of the Lord. But Jesus said, “Don't see these things. I've got something to tell you that's far greater than this. For there is coming a time,” He said, “that there will not be one stone left upon the other.”

No matter how well we try to take care of our physical being, no matter how hard we work for our organization, how hard we work in the church for our orders of the church, there's coming a time when all those things will vanish and pass away.

Jesus began to tell them that, and they said, “What will be the sign of the coming of the end of the world?”

And Jesus began to speak to them, “The time will come when there will not be stone left upon the other. You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, pestilence, earthquakes in divers places.”

And the other day, over in California, up in Oakland, when it was our privilege to be there in a meeting, and it was the first time that my wife had ever been in an earthquake. I was sitting in the barber shop, and the room shook just a little. And the radio quickly announced, “An earthquake was on.” Said, “They're looking for another one in about eight minutes.”

And I thought, “Oh, what if this is the last one!”

I hurried from the barber shop, met my wife who was waiting on the street, walked into a little drugstore to get some little picture cards to send back to our loved ones. And while we were there, one of the most mysterious, funny feelings that man could ever feel, the whole earth begin to rock. The bottles begin to fall from the shelf, the flues begin to fall off the building, and into the street, overrun, the people screaming and crying as the plaster fell from the walls. And the big buildings with thirty and forty stories, rocked together until the smoke ... or, dust from the mortar went up like great mushrooms. And people begin to scream and run. I said, “That is the finger of Almighty God, saying, 'The handwriting's on the wall.'”

Jesus said, “When you hear of earthquakes in divers places.” The earth split open down the highway for a long ways, about five foot, and went way down hundreds of feet in the earth. One place, the entire highway dropped in. And I thought as that split open, I could just almost see the finger of Almighty God, saying, “And there shall be earthquakes in divers places.”

While the day was going on, eight different earthquakes rocked that city. And beer joints stayed open, and drunks swarmed into the streets. And women walked the streets, half-dressed, and everything as if nothing had ever happened. People are so earthbound today till I don't know what it will take to shake this country. They just seem to be so unconcerned. They don't notice. And one man even made a remark, as I heard him with my own eye, said, “Did you see what I did? I shook my fist. I am the superman.”

And I thought, “Such blasphemy!”

I never thought so much of that as blasphemy as I did right here in our own city, as I was going out the highway last evening to Georgetown. As you cross the sections out here just before you hit the new highway coming forth, there was a great sign sticking up there, and it said, “He is risen, has life.” And the very next sign, them two alone, said, “Where there is Budweiser beer, there is life.”

I thought, “Such blasphemy!” That's all there is to it. And the Bible said that, “Before the second coming of Christ, that men should be blasphemers, walking in their own ungodly lusts, truce-breakers and false accusers.” How the world has become in such a delusion!

In Bombay, India, recently, when Billy (my boy) and I were there in a great meeting where tens of thousands of Hindus gave their life to Christ, there come a great warning. Now, I want you to watch the intelligence of nature. All of a sudden, by some unknown reason, all the little birds in the city begin to leave for the country. And birds, by swarms, left for the country. And they begin to notice all the cattle and the sheep and the ox. In India, their fences is not like ours. They're not wooden fences; they're great rock fences that's built high. And all the cattle begin to get away from the walls and get away from the buildings, and go way out in the middle of the field and begin to mill around out in the middle of the field. Then, all of a sudden, a great earthquake struck and shook down the walls, trees, rocks; missiles flew. And the birds never returned, and the cattle stayed out in the field, and men went right along thinking it was all right. And the next day, another earthquake rocked, and more buildings turned over and the missiles flew. And on the third day, the cattle went back to the walls and the birds returned to the city.

Oh, He who feeds the sparrow, He that brought His little creatures into the ark, still lives and reigns. And they seem to have more intelligence about God than man does, who He created in His image; when, man blasphemes. The little creatures of the earth, God provides for them, and they made their way away from the big walls. They'd've been killed, the birds would have been mashed in the cracks of the rocks as it rocked to and fro.

Signs of His coming! Oh, it's a great day that we're now living in. Earthquakes in divers places, pestilence, all those things that Jesus spoke of is here. To my way of seeing it, I don't see anything left but the coming of the Lord. It's at hand.

Jesus also in His address to His people, He said, “Learn a parable of the fig tree. When it is tender and begins to put forth leaves, you say, 'Summer is nigh.' And when you see these things begin to come to pass, know that the time is at hand.”

Notice what the fig tree was. The fig tree has always been the Jewish nation. He said not only “the fig tree,” but “the other trees.” “When you see the fig tree and all the other trees putting forth their buds.” Now, He spoke not only of the fig tree, but the other trees.

Now, let's just notice when it's putting forth its bud. We have lived in a very peculiar time in the past few years. The Gentile church has had one of the greatest revivals that it's ever had since the days of the apostles; oh, and the Gentile church didn't have the revival then; it was the Jewish church that had the revival. But the Gentile church, in the past ten or twelve years, has had the greatest revival of the history.

We are thinking of the Martin Luther revival, yes, sir. It was great, but that was in Germany alone. We're thinking of the Wesleyan revival; that was in England. It spread forth over here and a few of the British Isles, but never took too much effect. But in this day, this revival that's on, of the supernatural, has absolutely covered from sea to boundless sea, the world over, through great radio and magazine and evangelists who's went out, unsponsored by mankind, and has brought a revival that tens of thousands times thousands of souls has been born into the kingdom of God.

In my own little fragile ministry that the Lord has given me, I have seen well over a million souls come to the kingdom of God. Think of it! When others with these great ministries, who sweep out in radio, and so forth, to the millions. There's revival fires that's burnt on every hill in the world, practically, since about ten years ago, since we got started in the revival. We are at the end time.

Now notice, then, just before that, He prophesied here, and said, “The walls of Jerusalem will be trod down by the Gentiles until the Gentile dispensation would be finished.” The Mohammedans have took it over. We realize that. And I want you to look at the crisis tonight, how Ishmael and Isaac are still at each other's neck, right at Jerusalem where it's predicted they would be. And a few years ago there was hardly any Jews at all in Jerusalem.

Now, Jesus speaking, “When you see the fig tree put forth its bud.” Now, the Jews has been scattered to all the world, great numbers, millions in Germany, and in Italy, and in United States, and all over the world. And God, as He did in the early days (hardened Pharaoh's heart), He hardened Mussolini's heart on the Jews, and the Jews was ousted from Italy. He hardened Hitler's heart, and they were ousted from Germany. He hardened Stalin's heart, and they were ousted from Russia.

And have you been noticing the paper, that we, the United States, are taking sides with the Arabs? Oh, brother, the handwriting's on the wall! God said, “Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, who curses Israel shall be cursed.”

Now, I have a picture at home ... or, I believe it's loaned out at the time, called by the scientists, “Three Minutes Before Midnight.” If the scientific world has said “the clock has went around until it's three minutes before midnight,” and I think they've cut that down now till about one minute before midnight, when they discovered hydrogen or oxygen, atomic, all those great powers that they could harness, could completely cause a total annihilation in five minutes' time. There could, absolutely tonight, not be one living person on the entire North American continent in thirty minutes. And it's laying right in a bunch of infidels' hands who hate us. And, besides that, we've got barges and ships set, all placed around, on both ... through Siberia, over in Hungary, and different places, where our ships are sitting, loaded with the same type of missiles.

Brethren, it's later than you think! Sodom and Gomorrah little knew that night that they were living their last hour. Little did Egypt know that the death angel, that had been predicted to come, would come that night. Little did Pearl Harbor realize that raid that took place. We are weighed in the balance and found wanting! We are near the end time!

What would happen if.... They, right in Moscow, could direct them missiles, guided by the stars and radar, could land that bomb exactly on Fourth Street in Louisville if they wanted to. That's right. And we can stand out there in the sea somewhere, on our ships, and direct one right straight on the capital of Moscow if we want to. What would happen, my brother, if that great missile turning would take place and this country would receive a shake, at the same hour we'd turn loose the same things and shake it to the other side? And we're living on a little, bitty, tiny, thin crust, anyhow, when the earthquakes have eat around and eat around until it's like hollowing out an egg. If she'd make one big burst and this eight-thousand-miles-thick of lava would spurt into the air, it would do exactly what God said would take place.

We are at the end time, we are here. No way to stop it. All the begging.... We might put an Eisenhower in every county, and it will never stop it. Jesus Christ said these times would come, we're here. The fig tree putting forth its bud.

In this picture, way down in Iran, you read the Look magazine, how that they took big planes and went down there and got plane loads of these Jews. Thousands of them, been down there since the carrying away of Babylon, been in there for twenty-five hundred years, and had been left down there. They were plowing with old wooden instruments. They knowed nothing about Jesus ever being on earth. They knowed nothing about anything but their old Jewish traditions—traditions that they had lived by. And when these planes set down, and begin to load these Jews on, to take them back to the homeland....

The prophet prophesied, twenty-eight or thirty hundred years ago, and said, “When they come out of that captivity, God will bring them forth on the wings of eagles.” The prophet saw the plane coming, he saw them sitting down, and picking them up and taking them back to the homeland. He didn't know what to call it. It just looked like an eagle to him, so he said, “They'd be brought back on the wings of eagles.”

And when they got out of the airship, and the young was helping the old, they were interviewed. And they said, “Have you come back to the homelands to die?”

They said, “No. We've come back to see the Messiah!”

Oh, great steamships from around the world, in the last few years, have steamed into Jerusalem with aged Jews, young and old, dressed in their garbs, coming from the east, from the west. And hanging over the capital of Jerusalem is that old six-point star of David, the oldest flag in the world, that hasn't flown for twenty-five hundred years, is declared a nation tonight. Fig tree is putting forth her buds.

Jerusalem is growing, the Lord is restoring,

The signs that the prophets foretold;

The Gentile days numbered, with horrors

encumbered;

Return, oh dispersed, to your own.

For the day of redemption is near,

Men's hearts are failing for fear;

Be filled with God's Spirit, your lamps

trimmed and clear,

Look up! your redemption's drawing near.

It's later than we think. We don't come to church to occupy a pew, we do not come to church to hear a good sermon, or come to church to hear good music. They all got their place, but what we better come to church to do is check up with God, and our soul's salvation, for the day of redemption is near.

Jesus Christ, God's Son, likened this (He said) to a woman. And in our subject tonight, we find this woman, her husband had gone, and she had lost one of the coins out of her tablet. Now, I will try to explain that.

Today, if a woman is married, she should wear a wedding ring as a sign that she's married. That's to keep other men from having anything to do with her. They look and they see she's a married woman.

In those days, they didn't have wedding rings. They had a tablet (they call it “tablet”) they put on their head. It had ten coins, and it went around their head. And that was a sign they were a married woman, and no man was to fool with them, no boys was to flirt with them. They were married.

Each one of those coins.... If we only have time (but I haven't; I'm going to try to keep my word as close as possible), I could tell you what each one of those coins meant. It was placed in there, and each coin meant a certain virtue of that woman. The first, meaning her love to her husband. Second, her pledge of virtue to live clean for him. And the third and fourth and fifth, on to the ninth and tenth.

If you want to look it up, look in Galatians 5. You'll find out that that woman represented the church, and the church is an espoused wife to Christ. And the tablet that the church is supposed to wear is found in Galatians 5, which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience. That is the tablet that's supposed to be worn in the church—brotherly love, kindness, fellowship.

And this woman, when it.... It must have been along about dark that she realized that she had lost one of those coins.

Oh, if there ever was a time that the church ought to take inventory to find out if you've got all the coins on, it should be now. It's getting dark. The very haunts and clouds of destroying civilization is hanging over the earth; sin and debauch on every hand. We're living in a tremendous time, when there is wickedness: people who go to church just for a sham, people who go to church to try to hide from their meanness, people who go to church and profess Christianity and live like the rest of the world: drinking, smoking, gambling; women immorally dressed, wearing clothes that they oughtn't to wear in their own dressing room, out on the streets before public. And brotherly love is a thing that's past, almost. We have not lost one coin, but we've lost practically every one of them.

And it was getting night, and, remember, her husband would return. And if he found her with one of those coins out, it showed she had been marked “a harlot.”

If she had defiled, or defiled herself in any way and it was seen by the people, they brought her before the priest and brought witness that she had been found such, and the priest seen that she was a married woman, took the coin (out of her tablet) that she had been doing wrong by. If she had marred her virtue, they took that out. If she had been flirting, showing that she wasn't true to her husband, they took that one out. Whatever it was, they took it out. And when her husband returned, he found that she had been marked, and he would divorce her immediately and have nothing to do with such a woman. He did not want such a woman.

So, it was getting along towards dark when she realized that she had lost something; time for her husband to come, and it's getting late.

The church better be examining theirself by the Word of God: our purity, our loyalty, our devotion. We've become tattlers, tale-bearers, cigarette smokers, backbiters, painted-up Jezebels. Everything in the calendar that the rest of the world does, the Christian church is associating in those things today till you can't hardly tell the one from the other. It's time we took inventory. It's getting late.

Now, in order ... it was so late till she had to light a candle. And she got a candle. Not only did she get a candle, but she got a broom and she went to house-cleaning.

Oh, brother! If there ever was a need of a time of a lighting of a candle: the sending forth of the Gospel light, the Holy Ghost back into the church.... Not so much for emotion, not for some fantastics, not for some emotional work-up, not for a jump or joy, but for a heart-searching experience when men and women get right with God. Right. We're at the end time.

And she lit a candle to give her light. And, brother, every little candle in here ought to be lit tonight. Not only that, but she got the broom, and the neighbors could see the dust flying. She had a real house-cleaning time, for her husband was about to come. And if he caught her with that one coin out, she was “a harlot.”

Brother, we the church of the living God, in these great hours that we're now living, it behooves us to check up, go before God, light the candle of the Word of the Gospel, and examine ourselves and find out if we're not falling short, and especially when we see all these things coming. We're at the end time, the coming of Christ is at hand. There's not another hope in the world for the church.

And, look, the church is lollying. The church has no conscience no more. You can hardly wake them up. The Bible said they would come in that condition when they'd say, “'Lo, our Lord delays His coming.' And they'll be devouring and biting one another, and so forth, and fighting around.” It's just exactly that hour. Everything's ready. The pages is turned, as it was like that, and it's ready, the coming of the Lord.

The Lutheran church lost her light. The Methodist church lost her light. The Baptist church lost her light. The Pentecostal church lost her light. Every light seems to be gone.

The Pentecostal people, the Holiness people, is acting just exactly like the Methodist. The Methodist is acting like the Baptist. The Baptist is acting like the Lutheran. The Lutheran is acting like the Catholic. And it's all gone back to one great big conglomeration of sin. That's right. We're in the end time, the coming of the Lord.

Now, she had a house-cleaning time. She scrubbed the floors, she swept the walls, she took down the cobwebs, she kept on until she found what she had lost. And, when she did, she called her little sister churches to come now.

I don't care if you're a Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, come, let us rejoice together. When that time comes, when the church finds its brotherly love, when the church finds its holy decency, when the church finds its place in Christ, it'll call to the other members of the body, “Come and rejoice with us.” God wants the church to love Him.

I believe it was Sunday morning when I was speaking on the virtues of woman, how blessed, who could find a sweeter thing than to come home tired when God has give a man a wife. A woman and a man is inseparable; they are one. In the creation, God created them first both together, and they are one heart, soul, mind, and everything. When He made man in the dust of the earth, He separated him from his wife. When He made Eve, He didn't go make a woman (pick up some more dirt), but He took from the side of Adam a rib and made his wife. He said, “She's bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.” They were one in heart, soul, and body.

It's a type of Christ. God didn't take Christ's church from a creed, neither did He take it from a denomination. He taken it from the heart of Christ, the spear in His side, through the blood.

My brother, sister, I don't care how religious you might be, if you're not covered by the blood, you're lost. We will get into that, day after tomorrow night, show how vital it is. But you're lost without the blood.

Now, then when He made that wife, she was a companion. It was something for him to love; it was part of him.

Now, listen close. A man or a woman can never go to heaven except they are born again. I don't mean because you've spoke with tongues, I don't mean because you've shouted, I don't mean because you've danced, I don't mean because you've went to church and been regular, wear buttons for your faithfulness. Those things are all right, but that's not it. There has got to be absolutely a union connection between you and Christ, till you become one. You are one! And if you're not, how....

Could you imagine coming in at nighttime, tired, weary, worn? If you're a farmer, mechanic, preacher, whatever you are, come in, when you go into your little home, you're longing till you can get there. You open the door and a sweet little wife stands there; she greets you. She's all prettied and cleaned up. She walks over and kisses you on the cheek, she says, “Dad, you're tired.” She sits you down in a chair, she sits herself down on your lap, she puts her arms around you and she pats you. It just seems like then that you're not tired; something picks you up. It's something that God gave you for that purpose. It's a part of you, now, if she's a true wife.

But what if those lips have kissed another man that day or some other time? What if you're conscious of that? What if them arms has hugged another man? She is absolutely abomination on your lap. That kiss burns like a Judas' kiss. Those arms, you'd rather they wouldn't be around you. Oh, she may be all prettied up, her hair may be curly, her eyes may be brown, her cheeks may be rosy, her little skirts may be ironed, she may be so pretty, but if that real genuine godly respect and love and confidence isn't there, she'd be better off to stay off your lap. You don't want nothing to do with her; she's an indetriment to you. I don't care how pretty she makes herself, she's still wrong until she is proven to be a real, genuine sweetheart, loving nobody but you, no other kiss from her lips but yours, no other arms must hold her but yours, and you know it. What a feeling, what a consolation!

That is husband and wife, which is type of Christ and His church. And when you go to your church, you may have the best pews in the city, you may have the highest steeple there is in the city, you may have the best pipe organ, you may dress the best, you may sing like a mockingbird, but all of that, if you're kissing and flirting with the world, that kiss on the cheeks of Christ is a Judastarian kiss. He doesn't want nothing to do with you. He looks upon your wedding ... engagement ring and He finds the tablet moved, He finds love has gone. It's a form. He finds loyalty is gone. You've committed fornications with the world. You go to dances and boogie-woogie parties, and watch ol' dirty television programs. You are committing adultery with Christ, on Him, calling Him your husband. The Bible said, “You say, 'I am rich, I have need of nothing.'” But He said, “You don't know that you are naked, miserable, blind, poor, and don't know it.” It's time we lit a candle and swept the house. The coming of the Lord is at hand.

Let's think that over just a few minutes while we bow our heads. Will you? Would you turn to the piano, sister?

What have you been doing, church? What's your condition tonight? When your hand's raised up in your devotion, is there something checked you? If you're flirting with the world, if you're doing things that's wrong, your kiss....

Think of it, men. Mister, I want to ask you something. And this goes for Miss, too, and Mrs ... young lady: What would you think of your boyfriend, if you knew you seen him out kissing and going on with other girls, and you were engaged to him, and he come over and patted you on the hand, and say, “Dear, I love you only.”?

You'd say, “You little hypocrite, get out of my view!”

Think of it, Mister. We're not only engaged, but we are married. The church is married to Christ. We are the wife of Christ, bringing forth children. How would you like to come home of a night, for your devotion to your wife, and she's got a bunch of little children, and you find that day.... And when she comes in, oh, her nails may be painted (that is, if you're of the world). She might look ever so pretty, but you know. Think of it, brother, if that woman's been kissing other men. If those arms that's around you, telling you she loves you, and you know that that's that she's loved others too, her love is not true. Her love is not true. It don't belong to you; it belongs to others also. If there's any man about you, you'd scoot her off your lap. Think of what a feeling that would be. Think of it, lady, if your husband come home. Not only that, but packing diseases of immoral acts.

And, oh, bless your heart, the church is eat up with spiritual venereal, of all kinds of isms and everything else. It's wrong! God, be merciful! Jesus is coming, friends. You ain't going to have time one of the nights, or one of these days. You better check up now.

Let's pray:

How many of you say, “Brother Branham,” with your heads bowed, your hands lifted, “remember me in your prayer, Brother Branham. I come tonight, I didn't come here just to be seen.” God bless you. Just look at the hands. “I didn't come here to be seen, I come to find out something. And I believe that God spoke to my heart while you're preaching, and I realize that I'm wrong. I want to be a real, true Christian. I want to be a real lover, that when I go to my Lord and kneel on my knees, I want Him to embrace me in His arms, say, 'Oh, My lover!'”

You remember Solomon, how he spoke of it? He said, “Come, my love, let us walk through the pomegranates, let us walk through the garden of spices.” How he said her lips looked like rosebuds, and so forth. How he loved his little wife, said, “Come, let us go and take our fill of love.”

When you get down to your altar to pray, is your heart so true and your soul so unadulterated that you say, “Lord God, let us take our love,” and you say, “Yes, my Lover, I love You”? Or, have you been committing fornication? Have you been flirting with the world.

And the hour of the Lord is at hand when all these signs and wonders, with tens of thousands of other things that's taken place, pointing; every marker is pointing. It's getting dark. There's a cooling off in the church. The revival seems to be over. The last bit is about finished. And here we find ourself in adultery. What will He do? He will shove us from His lap, and say, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.”

Now, if there's someone here would like to be remembered again, I might ask at this minute, raise your hands to God, say, “I now surrender and say, by God's grace, from tonight on I will live a true life by God's help.” God bless you. God bless you. You brother, you sister, you young lady, you sir, you brother, you over here, down there, and you young man.

Is there a person here that has never been saved, and say, “Brother Branham, remember me; I've never been born again. I know I'm not.”? Listen, you're not saved until you're born again; you just turned your face towards Something. But when you accept Christ, you're born again. You say, “Brother Branham, I've never accepted it. I know I'm wrong. I now raise my hands, and say, 'You remember me, too.' I've never been saved. I've never even tried to serve Christ, but I want to try it. Pray for me, Brother Branham.” Will you raise your hand someone in here now? Is there one person in here that's never been a Christian, would like to raise your hand, say, “Remember me, brother, in prayer.”? God bless you, son. Someone else say, “Remember me, brother.” God bless you, lady. Someone else, “Remember me, brother; I want to now believe on the Lord Jesus and accept Him as my Saviour.” God bless you, brother. That's good.

Someone criticized me the other day, saying, “Brother Branham, why do you say, 'Raise your hand.'?” Listen, there's no one believes in an altar call any more than I do. I believe in coming to the altar (That's good.), but that doesn't save you. It's your opinion, your decision of Christ. You say, “Well, if I walk up to the altar.” That's good. But, brother, did you realize when you raise your hand, you break every scientific law there is? Your hand, by nature, by gravitation, ought to hang down. If you raise your hand it shows there's a Supernatural being in you that's able to defy the laws of nature, to raise your hand towards your Creator. Something in your heart made a decision. God sees you raising your hands just the same as He sees you at the altar. That's exactly right. If you mean it, God means it too. But look, friend, you can't be halfway; you've got to mean it.

Now let us pray:

Blessed Heavenly Father, tonight at the beginning of this revival, as our time has swept up now, and a little past, I pray Thee to be merciful to these people. And grant, Almighty God, that.... Here tonight at least twenty hands went up in the building, that they needed Christ. O God, it's their souls. The Spirit, the oil, is just about burnt out. There won't be much more. When the last drop's gone from the bucket ... or, the container, there'll be no more oil put in lamps. They realize that they're in the last day. There's not a hope on earth for us outside of Christ. I pray tonight, Lord, that somehow, in the solemnness of this moment, the solemnity, that You will now send the Holy Spirit that made them raise their hands, and save them from a life of sin. Grant it, Father.

And may before this meeting shall end, may there be literally dozens of them, many shouting with the Holy Spirit. May this baptistery, just be just one after the other baptized in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, on Easter morning, rising to newness of life. O eternal blessed Father, I pray that You will bless them. Grant it, Lord. And now, right at this very moment, may their decision be true, may they accept You right where they're sitting. Our altars and around are filled with people, and we pray that You'll let these people this night be Your servants. In Christ's name.

While we have our heads bowed, I want to ask you one solemn question. You that held your hand and you who were praying, I know you didn't raise your hand just to see your hand go up. You raised it because Something told you to. And you say, by an uplifted hand, “Brother Branham, I believe, before God and this company, I believe that something has happened in my heart tonight, that from this night on, I'm going to be a different person.” Would you raise your hand, you who did raise your hand, say, “I believe”? God bless you, lady. God bless you, you, you, you. That's wonderful. Way back in the back, yes, the Lord bless you.

Somebody else raise your hand, say, “I believe right now.”? God bless you, brother. “The Lord tells me....” God bless you, lady back there. God bless you, young lady over here. “The Lord tells me right now that something has happened in my heart, and I believe I'm going to have more joy out of this revival than I ever had in my life.” God bless you. All right, God bless you, lady sitting here. I thought it was just about time for you to raise your hand, too. Is there another, saying, “I do feel different, Brother Branham. I believe I'm going out of this church tonight with a consciousness of the soon approaching of Christ. I'm going out of here to live a different life. I'm going to be a Christian, by the grace of God. I believe that God has called me.”

And if He's called you, you're His. Quit flirting, quit flirting with the world! Come on, live for Him now. Say, “I will repent of all my sin, and now I'm taking Christ as my Saviour.” Would there be another before closing? Is there? God bless you, brother. God bless you. That's good. God bless you. That's good. So happy to see you do that. All right.

Beginning of a night now, it's a little.... We just don't want to put too much squeeze to it; we want to let out early, so you can get back tomorrow night.

Just before we close, is there a sick person would raise your hand, say, “Pray for me, Brother Branham.”? All right, that's five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten hands, eleven, twelve, all right, now thirteen, fourteen, all right, fifteen.

Let us bow now:

Blessed Heavenly Father, You seen those hands. And, oh, they are here for a purpose. Maybe they are Christians, but they need Your great help. And we realize, Lord, that You cried out through David, said, “Forget not all His benefits who forgives all of our iniquity, who heals all of our diseases. I pray that the blood of Christ will rest preciously upon them and they'll be healed, to enjoy this coming meeting. Grant it, Lord. Through Christ's name we ask it. Amen.

Let us stand now, “Take The Name Of Jesus With You”:

Take the name of Jesus with you,

The child.... (Let's turn around,

shake hands with somebody by you.

Turn right around, shake hands.)

It will joy and comfort give you,

Take it everywhere you go.

Precious name (precious name), O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven;

Precious name (precious name), O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven.

Now, let us quietly, as we face this way, sing softly:

At the name of Jesus bowing,

Falling prostrate at His feet,

King of kings in heaven we'll crown Him,

Oh, when our journey is complete.

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven;

Precious name (precious name), O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven.

Now, it's just a little after nine, about seven or eight minutes after nine. Early, you can get home, come back tomorrow night and we will enjoy the blessings of God, enjoy your presence. And now, I noticed about twelve, fourteen hands up for healing tonight. If it goes to getting a lot of sick people in, we will call just a night for a healing service, maybe Saturday night and Sunday too. If we see we can't take them all Sunday, we will take a Saturday night. We will see how it comes out.

Now, I pray that God's blessings will rest deeply upon each of you, and may He be with you and bless you until we can meet tomorrow night again.

Let us bow our heads now just in a moment of prayer, while I ask the pastor to come up here and dismiss in a word of prayer.