The Great Commission

It is indeed a privilege for me to be back here into this great arena again this afternoon in Edmonton to have this time of fellowship with my fine Canadian friends, and the people throughout all the provinces. We're expecting that God's going to give us the exceedingly abundantly above all that we could do or think.

It's been some time since I've been here before in this arena. And much water's went down the river since then, as we express it down in the States, but God remains the same. He never changes. He's the same God here this afternoon that was here when we was here before.

I've had the grand privilege of preaching the gospel around the world since then, seeing in the second million people come to Christ in our meetings. And it's well over a million now. And we're come today to greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus.

It's very strange that I am here at this time. Two or three times before this, I have been announced to be here, but something turned up that I.... One time, especially, that I got snowbound, and I couldn't get over the mountains for several days. And I couldn't get out of the mountains. It just had me snowed in. I was at Roundup, Montana, and they had a terrific snowstorm.

And I went in; it was just as nice as it is outside now. And the next morning when I come out, I could just see a part of the top of my little Chevrolet truck that I was in. And there we was snowed in for several days, and we couldn't get here. That I apologize for, for maybe I should have come about two or three days earlier. But my meetings are so set that I just have to run from one place to another.

Then I was.... This winter, I was supposed to have come again. And it so happened that they got the arrange ... [Blank spot on tape.] Right.... The vice-president of the Christian ... [Blank spot on tape.]

He was going over this year to make a world tour. He asked me if I'd go along, and I felt constrained that I should not do it. And I told him I didn't think I could. However, I said, “If it's so that I can, then I will do it; but first I would have Mr. Tommy Hicks, or somebody to go, or Mr. Oral Roberts, or someone who could take the place.”

And that he tried and fixed it up, and it come time for me to go. Well, I found out they'd advertised for me to be over in Germany. Twenty-five hundred ministers in Germany alone was cooperating with the meeting. We had an exit for the prayer room. It seated forty thousand for the prayer room.

And then the Holy Spirit forbid me to go. And He sent me to Edmonton. Why? I don't know. I just come this way. It seems like I feel that it's better to go in the will of the Lord than.... They that are led by the Spirit of God.... “There's no condemnation,” I mean to say (Romans 8:1), “to them that are in Christ, that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.” We try to do that. I try and all my ministry, to try to do.... Many times I fail, but I try to walk just as God would have me and do just as He would tell me to do.

My ministry hasn't growed any, I suppose; or the crowds and so forth, about like it was when I was here before. But He gets sweeter to me as the days go by. I was a boy when I was here before; middle-aged man now.

Is there any here this afternoon that was in the meeting the last time I was here? Let's see your hands. Just look at the hands. Isn't that wonderful? And this little group of people this afternoon, that many still living. I'm indeed grateful to God for sparing your life that we could meet together again this side of heaven.

Now, we do not come to you.... I want you to remember that we do not come to you as a denomination. And we come as your brother. I come here for one purpose: to have fellowship with all my friends. I come to pray for God's children, the doctor's patients, my friends, not to heal anyone; to pray for people.

And I believe that God in His mercy will grant to us a great need. And we will be believing. I appreciate every minister that is cooperating in the services. We had to make a quick notice; not advertised it much, because the Lord spoke, and it's time to go, after these years, ten years waiting for the time to return.

I believe if we'll all get together, pray together, stand together, God will bless us together. Don't you think so? I believe He will, if we will put forth an effort now. Now, the revival, just the minister can't bring it. It takes all of us together. Alone I could.... And your sick people here, I could pray ... doubt whether I could pray a prayer of sick for everybody. But you all helping me, and we all together can pray a prayer of sick ... pray a prayer for the sick for everybody here. Don't you believe that? Everybody in Edmonton. We sure can.

But I need you, and we all need God. So, we need each other and we need God. So, let's just pray, and fast, and call on God, and break down our little differences of denominations now; they'll be Presbyterian, and Methodist, and Pentecostal, and Nazarenes, and different ones. But we don't draw that barrier. We're all one in Christ.

That's been my stand, and I suppose it's been one of the reasons that my meetings hasn't flared out like some, because I've kept it little, so I could go where God sent me. I held a revival a few months ago in a building that held thirty people, if it was jammed in. But the Lord sent me there.

Now, if I had a great radio program, worldwide, I had a great television program nationwide, or something ... great books, and so forth, and printing presses, I couldn't go to a little place like that, because I just simply couldn't afford to do it. I'd have to be places where they'd have great crowds and beg for money and so forth to get these programs going.

But that's not my make-up. It wasn't when I was here before. I haven't changed a bit. No, sir. Preaching the same gospel, believing the same Lord Jesus. And I'm still against begging and pulling for money. We did not come for that.

Mr. Sothmann here, my good friend, Brother Sothmann, is acting manager of the meeting or just to get the people together and as soon as the expenses are taken up, that's all of it. That's it. We never come for money. We come to help you and to have fellowship. We want to be a blessing to you, and we know that you'll be a blessing to us.

And now, in the.... They're going to have, after today, a little book concession here. In this book concession, little stand, there'll be some books that's ... they have them. We don't say we sell them. They cost us. I have to buy them at forty cents less than what we usually ask the people if they want ... pay for them.

And if someone is poor and doesn't have the money, they don't have to pay for it. We give it to them. And we have some records and so forth that the boys here, my associates, Mr. Mercer and Mr. Goad.... They are here with those after today, the sermons and so forth, if you want one of them as a token of the meeting, they are sold and the boys.... They don't sell them if you haven't got the money to pay for them now. We just put them on the basis: there they are.

But, of course, they cost us, and if you want to help us, all right. That'll be up to you. And these.... They'll just be for cost, just about. I think the boys said their tapes....

I was at a meeting here some time ago and they wanted nine dollars for a tape. Then I went to another meeting, just recently in Chicago. They had a recorder there. They wanted seven dollars. I thought that sounded a little strange.

And the boys here buy the tapes and sell them and so forth, the messages and put them on every thing else. It's about.... What is it, Leo? Three fifty. So, that would be a third of what one meeting was, then about half of what the other one was. And still we get by with it. So, you see, we're not here for nothing but to have fellowship, and to love you, and to share the blessings of God among one another.

I want to explain. That's what.... We thought we'd get together this afternoon, some of the details of the meeting. Then we'll speak to you just in a few moments, so we can get back to start the services of the prayer line.

Usually in my meetings, it's prayer for the sick. If I get off an airplane, it's prayer for sick, or somewhere; it's always praying for the sick. And I love to do it. I just love it.

Now, I do not take the place of a doctor. God gave us doctors, and that we're thankful for. But I am to try to work with the doctor. If the doctor is giving you all the medicine he knows how to give, and you can't get well or you're past his medical knowledge, then I feel that we have a right to go to God and ask God to help us. He's the great Physician who promised He would do it.

Now, I hope I wouldn't stretch anything or say anything wrong from the platform here or anywhere else. But I have seen thousands times thousands of people that the doctors had give up, are healthy, normal people today, because prayer changes things. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick.”

I have seen prayer perform miracles. Yes, in this last days, in this modern age that we're living in, I have seen more miracles that Jesus Christ did in my meetings, than I have read of in His entire book. Jesus Christ done more miracles in my meeting than I read of in His book from Genesis to Revelations, and of the same type. He's still the same. He just doesn't change.

Now, we're living in a modern, scientific age and a know-it-all age, where everything's proved by science. If you'll just go back in the Bible, you'll find out that's just exactly the kind of age they had before the antediluvian destruction. All of you know that.

And the lineage of Cain's children become scientists. The lineage of Seth's children was spiritual. Those two different classes of people exist today: scientists and spiritual-minded people. They should be working together. But it's very contrary.

We find out in the field today, that there's so many things that's said. We find out the medical doctor will say about the surgeon, “You don't need that man to cut you to pieces. You don't need an operation. He's nothing but a saw-bone.”

Well, then the surgeon will come around, say, “You don't need the medical doctor's sugar pills. You need a operation.” There you are. We find the chiropractic will say about the osteopathic, “You don't need a rub on your back; you need an adjustment of the bones.” And the osteopath will say about the chiropractor, “You don't want your neck broke. Your muscles are just tight.” And all of them will say, “The preacher's a quack.”

Brother, when you see such motives as that.... It seems to me, that I would be justified in saying this: it's selfish motive. Now, we know the surgeon helps; we know the medicine helps; we know chiropractic, osteopathic, we know all that helps. And after all, it takes God to do the healing, regardless of what comes or goes. God's the only One that can heal.

There never was a drop of medicine that ever healed a man, or a mentally balanced man ever said it did. If he did, I can just show you in a minute how foolish it is, see. There's only one healer; that's God.

Now, Mayo's in the States, is our greatest one, them and John Hopkins is our greatest clinics that we have. They don't claim to heal. They said, “We don't claim to heal. We claim to assist nature. There's one healer, that's God.”

I want to just ask you something. Psalms 103:3, the Lord said, “I'm the Lord who heals all thy diseases.” How many ever read that in the Bible? Now, to me, that's either the truth or it is a error. And if that's a error, the rest of it might be error. The Bible is God's eternal Word.

And solemnly, the believer must rest his faith upon God's Word. And faith cannot find its resting place upon the shifting sands of man's theology. It's got to take its every stand on the unmovable Rock of God's eternal Word. God said so; that settles it. If He's God, He has to keep His Word. If He doesn't keep His Word, then He isn't God or this isn't His Word.

Now, that's the only basis that we can find for real faith. It has to rest on God's Word. Then we know that there's miracles performed by surgeons, by medicine, by chiropractic. There's miracles performed. But not through the surgeon, but through God.

Want to ask you something. For instance, what if I was cranking a car out here and I broke my arm? And I run into the doctor and I said, “Healer, heal my arm.”

He'd say to me, “Mister, you need mental healing.” That's right. Because he could not heal my arm. Well, now, if he's the healer ... his medicine is the healer, it'd heal my arm. What does the doctor do? He sets my arm and God heals it. Now, a doctor can move an obstruction like a bad tooth, or appendix, or a tumor, or something like that, but he cannot build cells. Neither does medicine build cells. God alone is the Creator, and cells is a creation.

Can you understand (See) that God is the only One who can heal for He is the only One who can create? The devil cannot heal. If anybody says that, or thinks that, get that out of your mind right now. The devil never performed one healing, or he never will perform one healing. Certainly.

I just seen a whole Lutheran college converted on account of that. He took a stand, and told me that I.... Why, said, “That's theology that's saying the devil can't heal....” And said, “We know a witch that heals.” And I just sat right down and wrote him a letter. He had me come there, and the whole college received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (See?), a whole college. Brother Aegery. That's at Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Bethany College.

Now, when truth.... The Word is the truth, and if I preach or anything goes on in this meeting, it's not just out of God's Bible, then you call my attention to it. I don't want it. I don't want any more than what's in this Bible, and I don't want nothing less than what's in this Bible. I don't want some fantastics or isms. I want just exactly what God said, no more or no less. That's where my faith rests, on what He said. And I believe that it's the Word of God, and He tells the truth.

Now, the doctor moves an obstruction. All right, then God develops cells and heals it. As I've said many times, “Any medicine that would heal a knife cut in my hand, would heal a knife cut in my coat, if the medicine heals knife cuts.” But there's no medicine that'll heal a knife cut.

You say, “Well, now, it wasn't made for your coat, Mr. Branham. It was made for your hand.” Then, if I cut my hand, fall dead, and they embalm my body with the fluid that makes me look natural for fifty years, and they sew it up, give me penicillin, and sulfa drug, and all the fine medicines that we got (to which we're thankful of ... for), in fifty years from the day, that cut will look just exactly like it was when it was cut.

Then, if medicine heals, why don't it heal? It can't, because the life is gone. So, life develops cells, and life is God, see. He is life. So, medicine does not heal. Doctors don't claim to heal; they claim to assist nature.

I was saying that in a meeting one time, and a lady wrote a note and put it on my platform ... or, on the pulpit. And the night before ... night afterwards, rather, preceding, she said, “Well, then Mr. Branham, I pray you tell me what about penicillin then when they give you a penicillin for a bad cold?”

Well, I said, “My dear sister, penicillin does not heal. No medicine heals. God heals.” I said, “Penicillin on this basis: if your house was full of rats, and they were eating holes in the pantry, and all around the walls, and everything and you put out some rat poison and killed all the rats, that doesn't take care of the hole in the house.”

That's what penicillin is, it kills the rats that's in your body, but God has to build up the tissues that the rats has tore down. He's the Creator alone, see. So, no matter which way you take it, God is the healer. He heals the soul; He heals the body. First, is the soul.

Now, divine healing and salvation for the soul is not on the same basis. Jesus died that He might save us. When we're saved, we're saved eternally. But when we're healed, physically, we'll get sick again. But the soul is the immortal part, and Jesus said, “He that heareth My words, believeth on Him that sent Me, hath (that's present tense), everlasting life and shall never come to the judgment, but is passed from death unto life.” That settles it.

Then when we are borned again, we're a new creature. And that soul is a part of God. The eternal life there comes from the Greek word, Zoe, which means “God's own life.” That makes us sons and daughters of God. We can no more perish than God can perish, because you're a part of Him.

But when you're sick in your physical body, until this body has been redeemed, it's subject to sickness again. Exactly right. Now.... But it's got to die. It's got to perish. So did the soul have to perish, the thoughts. The soul is the nature of the spirit. And those thoughts and so forth in you had to perish before the new man could be borned into you to make you a new creature in Christ.

Now, in the prayer lines, which will be formed, the prayer lines will be.... I don't know just what we'll do each night. We're going to try tonight by the grace of God to have prayer lines.

Now, tonight the prayer cards will be given out at ... from six o'clock on till seven. I think the services start along that time. Those obtaining prayer cards must come and receive the prayer card theirself, so they can get the instructions. There'll be a speaker in the afternoon meeting, giving instructions on healing of the body and so forth. Each night, altar calls are made. Bring your sinner friends.

This meeture ... this meeting (pardon me) does not feature divine healing; it features Jesus Christ. And divine healing is only a bait. You never show the fish the hook, you show him the worm. He takes the bait and gets the hook.

Christ used about eighty percent of His ministry on divine healing and drawed His crowds together and showed His ... declared His Messiahship and then called them to repentance. We're trying to run the gospel in the same manner that it was then, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's our theme.

Now, the prayer cards will be given out each night. We tried since we was here before, sending the prayer cards ahead to the ministers. The first minister that got his congregation in, that settled it for the rest of them. Nobody else got theirs in in these little, short meetings. Because we don't take too many at the prayer line, haven't been until lately. And the Lord has revealed to us how we can still run a prayer line and get hundreds through the prayer line, so they can be prayed for.

Now, we found out that that caused ill feelings amongst the ministers. Then I had someone to come along and would give out the prayer cards, and come to find out that they give them all out in one day. And then if someone come in the second day, he didn't have a chance. 'Cause there was enough prayer cards to give out the first day to take care of the entire meeting. Well then, that wouldn't work.

Then I come to find out I had somebody giving out prayer cards that they offered him ... somebody offered him five hundred dollars to put his wife in the front row, so he'd be sure to get in there. Well, I had to watch that. That's just where the magazines and newspapers are waiting for: that one thing to criticize.

So, I got my son to come with me. I've got two trusted boys here, Mr. Mercer and Mr. Goad. And I know that they would never do a thing like that.

And usually when Billy's along, my son, he gives out the prayer cards, unless he gets in a rush or has to do something, then Gene or Leo, one gives out the prayer cards. Therefore, it isn't the ministers, so that they could have some back-wash after he leaves, say, “Well, you went and give so-and-so a prayer card, you didn't give me one,” see. There you are.

So, we do it with my own son, and usually they don't ... they pick on him—not like it would be if it would be a local minister. So, those are giving out every day, so that every person, no matter if you come the first day, second day, third day, whatever meeting. Everybody has the chance to get a prayer card. How many thinks that's absolutely up-and-up and on right? Everybody. See, that gives everybody a chance to get a prayer card to be in the line.

Now, the meetings is not based on whether I lay hands on you or whether I pray for you. The meeting is solemnly based this: upon your faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I do not believe there's a man on the face of the earth that has any power in him to heal the sick. I don't believe there never was a man who ever put foot on the ground of this earth that ever had power to heal the sick, even to Jesus Christ. That's right. For He plainly said, “It's not Me that doeth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works.” How many knows that's the Bible?

And then for a man down here to say he had power to heal the sick, he doesn't know the Scripture. The.... Divine healing is based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. It's a finished work.

Salvation is the same way. You wasn't healed a year ago, two years ago ... (I mean) or, saved. You wasn't saved last week, forty years ago. You were saved nineteen hundred years ago when Jesus died at Calvary. But you accepted your pardon so many years ago, or so many nights ago, or so forth. The same way: “He was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes, we were healed.” It's a past tense.

And every redemptive blessing that Jesus died for at Calvary is yours by faith, that's in the atonement. “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, with His stripes you were healed.” Them redemptive blessings has been the church's since the atonement was made, and will be till He comes again.

Now, anything you want to know about the meeting or anything, you speak to Mr. Sothmann here, any of the ministers, or so forth, or anyone else. Speak to some of the ushers, or the boys, and they can bring it to Mr. Sothmann. He brings it to me. And we'll pray over the matter and see what the Lord says. We'd be glad to help you for anything we can.

Now, just before we open the Word for about twenty minutes' talk on the Word, just a few testimonies, and then we're going to start tonight and have the prayer line. And then each night (And we're going to see if God will permit it.), we're going to pray for every person that comes in this building that wants to be prayed for. Everything....

But now, remember, all remember this one thing. It's not whether I pray for you. It isn't what.... Now, it won't only be I praying for you, it'll be the rest of this congregation praying for you.

And notice this, it'll be your faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ. And that's the theme for every night: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He isn't the same, then we're in darkness.

Now, I've been a missionary, you know, around the world. I've stood in the heathen lands. I've stood where I was entertained one day by seventeen different religions, and every one of them denied Christianity. Watch our mighty Christ walk to the front with it. Oh, how wonderful! We're not deceived; we're living in the glory of the real, true religion and the only salvation there is: Christianity and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us pray just a moment.

Blessed Father, we are so privileged today that we can come into Thy presence, the great, august presence of God. And to know that we have the privilege of calling Him our Father, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, He who made all nature and made man ruler over such. And in the fall, he lost his dominion through Adam. But in Christ he was restored back.

We see our blessed Saviour, that second Adam, who stopped the winds and the waves, was so anointed with the Holy Spirit until great miracles and signs proceeded from Him. That the apostles said on the day of Pentecost, speaking to the religious world, “Ye men of Israel....” How He condemned them, because that they should have known this to be the Messiah. “For Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God, among you by signs and wonders, which He did in the midst of you all, which yourselves are witnesses.

Oh, blessed Saviour, we pray that You'll send Him to us, that great One that we look to come some day in a corporal body to receive His waiting church. And He has promised in His Word that wherever two or three were gathered in His name, that He would be in the midst of them.

And God, we look forward today to this. And we pray that You will grant it. Give this city, and this province, and this great dominion of Canada an old-fashioned revival, which they have prayed for for so many years.

The schools has sent out men with honest hearts, and tried, but, oh, God, the best of us are failures. We need Thee, O God. Thou art the only One who can grant this revival, and we pray that You will do it. Save the lost; bring home to the church and to fellowship that backslider. Grant the healing of Thy sick children's bodies.

And if we find favor, Lord, may even miracles be performed. Not to say that we were here which caused it, but that God might declare His Messiahship in Christ again to this age. Grant it, Lord. Forgive us of our sins. May every heart be melted together with one fellowship, every barrier broke down. Grant it, Lord.

Then when the services shall finish, if it's Thy good pleasure that we shall go through these eight days in humility, we'll bow our hearts before Thee and thank Thee, most precious God, for what You do for us. We ask it in Jesus' name, Thy beloved Child. Amen.

Just by the reading of the Scripture, which I think that no meeting is complete without this reading of the Word. And now, we will try to be finished just in a few moments, to give you ample time to have your dinner. I believe you call it “dinner” here. I just can't go it that way. I always think I'm getting cheated. Down in the South, we have breakfast, dinner, and supper. And if I have to call supper, “dinner,” what happened to my dinner? I couldn't catch up that way, and I'm too old to try to learn anything new now about it.

So.... And after all, it wasn't the Lord's dinner; it's the Lord's supper. That's just a little in behalf of the South, now. Over in the book of Saint Mark, the 16th chapter, I shall read the great commission.

After he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and the hardness of their heart, because they believed not them that ... seen him after he was risen.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongue;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So ... after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

This great age that we live, it seemed to have somehow gotten away from this. But I have read to you out of God's eternal Word. And He said, “Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never pass away ... or, fail.”

Then if it is God's eternal Word, this is part of it. And the portion that I have read to you this afternoon, is the last words that ever fell from the lips of our beloved Saviour. It was the final word to His church universal.

After He'd given them instructions on many things, now He gave them the last and great commission. And if you notice in speaking, He said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” Many times, we kind of bring that down to one sign. But it isn't in the singular. It's in the plural. “These signs shall follow them that believe.”

And to the best of my knowledge, ever since that commission was given, through every age, they've had portions of these signs following.

Now, the Bible is an Oriental book. It is not a western book. But we are a western people, western ideas, western civilization. And the Bible becomes a new book when you take it in the light of the Oriental customs. They've never changed. They are just the same.

Now, when the Holy Spirit was given a few days (forty days) after this commission.... For they were commanded by the Lord not to preach or do anything until first they were endued with power from on high. I think that that's much to blame today for our confusion. Is because we haven't waited for the commission of God. We have went to school and learned theology. That's all well. But theology alone won't produce what Christ said it would produce. Even the teaching of the Word—and rightly set in order —will not produce these signs.

So, no matter if you farmers, if you had ever such good wheat, until that wheat has fell into the ground, and there perished to itself, it'll never spring forth a new life. And so is it with the believer. No matter how well he's instructed, until he can perish in his intellectuals, he will never be borned again.

I was talking some time ago to the great, famous evangelist, Billy Graham. Our paths has crossed many times in the world-wide ministry. In Zurich, Switzerland, he closed on Saturday afternoon; I begin on Sunday morning. And in Louisville, Kentucky, I heard him at a breakfast say, “This is the standard.”

And how I admire Billy Graham. He's got many of his own kind and his own church against him, because he's took a stand on the Word. But I admire a man that'll stand for his convictions of God's Word.

And he said, “This is the standard. When Paul went into a city and got two converts, he returned the following year and had thirty from them two.” Said, “I'll go into the city and have what they call twenty thousand converts, and when I come back the following year, I can't find twenty.” Something taken place.

Oh, how I wanted to say something. But, of course, I did not. But I wanted to say, “Mr. Graham, you are so right. But here's what it is: They only have the intellectual conceptions of Christ, and Christ cannot function in the intellectuals. It's got to go beyond intellectual. It's got to come to the heart. And the heart is a different mental faculty.

Long ago the old scientist used to say, “There is no reasoning in the Word of God, so-called. Because God said in His Word, 'As a man thinketh in his heart....'” And He said, “There is no mental faculties in the heart to think with. So, He meant 'in the mind.'” But if God would have said that, He'd said, “As a man thinketh in his mind.” But God doesn't mince any words. He said, “Heart.” And He meant, “Heart.”

And then two years ago in Chicago, Mr. Mattsson-Boze, which is a personal, bosom friend of mine. His little girl brought a newspaper and said, “Brother Branham, as you was speaking the last time here about the heart. There, medical science had found in the human heart, science had found a little compartment. Animal doesn't have it, just a human. And they said it was the occupant of the soul.” So then, God's Word is right. Man has a thinking in his heart.

And as he thinks with his mind, he reasons. And the Bible said, “We must cast down reasoning.” So, if you're believing Christ in the reason realm, how can you ever take His Word when you got to cast that aside and let that Word that you have caught with your mind, come down into your heart to a living faith. There's the faith.

“Buy of Me, gold tried in the fire,” said the writer of the Revelation—God speaking through him—“the gold that's been tried and put to the test.” There you are.

So, we have to cast away reasonings. Then if we believe God, we must be borned again; and when a man's borned again, his nature becomes of his Parent. God has no reasoning powers. He just speaks, and it's so. And we become His children.

No wonder people can't believe in Supernatural. They have no powers to believe with. They try to reason it out. You'll never get it. You just believe it. God said so; that settles it.

So Jesus said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” Now, we've been told that that was just for the apostles alone. Well, if it was, then why did He say, “Go into all the world and to every creature.” These signs was to be preached to every creature in all the world. The gospel has never reached all the world or every creature.

As I say with a shamed face as a minister, Christian religion is in about fourth place. Better than two-thirds of the entire world never heard the name of Jesus Christ. Two-thirds of the earth ... the world today never heard that blessed name.

Jesus said, “Into all the world, these signs shall follow.”

Someone says now, “That meant to all the world then. And they did evangelize the world then.”

Well, if that's so, then Jesus told something wrong in Matthew 24, “When this gospel's been preached to all the world, then the end shall be.”

No, just might as well admit that we've laid down on the job. We've went forth and organized churches, built seminaries, educated people, had schools, hospitals; that's all fine, nothing against it. But that's not what Jesus said; He said, “Preach the gospel.”

And the gospel come not in word only, but through power and manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The Bible said they went forth preaching everywhere, the Lord working with them, with signs following. In their age, they done exactly what Jesus said.

What about us in this age? What are we trying to do? Now, notice, the prophet said, “There would be a day come, that it would neither be dark nor light. But it would be a dismal day.” But he said, “In the evening time it shall be light.”

Before the week's over, if the Lord willing, I have in my heart (I've never tried it.) to preach on a sermon, “When the East and the West Meets.”

So, geographically, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Civilization has traveled with the sun. The oldest civilizations are the east, the newer is of the west.

Well, we are at the west coast. East and west has met. Now, we've had two thousand years that's been nothing but a drowsy, dismal day. Now, anyone knows that, no matter how foggy it is, the only light that we have to light the earth is the sun. But there's been so much fog and heavy, that the sun cannot shine through the fog.

And that's the kind of a day we've went through. Through the early age, through Luther, Wesley, on down, we've went through that type of age: enough light till we can know that the Bible was true; we accepted Jesus as Saviour; we made great denominations and organizations and built fine churches and schools. That's fine. But remember, we've fallen short of the first light that shined in Jerusalem.

But it's come evening time. That was the light to the eastern people, and the sun is setting in the west. The day's far spent. And the evening light has begin to shine, the same Jesus that raised on the scene in the early days, and sent the Holy Spirit upon the first apostles, and is rising today with healing in His wings to His people.

And we're living in the evening light. Don't become like the Pharisee, or the Sadducee, or the religionists of that day, but walk in the light while there's light to walk in.

At this time, I'd like to give just a little personal testimony to this wonderful group of people. I'm sure you would like to know just a little personal testimony of what our blessed Lord has been doing. Then we will close.

I will speak just a moment being that I was on this subject. When we got into South Africa where I had, by the grace of God, I believe the greatest altar call that God ever permitted me to make, there were several of us in the party and a real good Canadian brother, Brother Ern Baxter, which many of you know. And Brother Baxter was along, and we went into Johannesburg. He was there just before I got there.

And the Lord did perform such in that night, until the next morning the medical association of all South Africa invited me out for breakfast, and said, “Brother Branham, you've done more good for us now than the missionaries that's come in here the last fifty years.”

All the hospitals were open. The newspapers flashed one and two pages completely and the Lord blessed. One man sitting in our audience this afternoon is a witness to this: a South African evangelist, Brother Thoms, sitting to my right.

And it was in that meeting that Brother Thoms was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he moved out into a field of evangelism to the colored man, as we know it, there as the native, and has done marvelous work, saving of thousands of souls. And he's over here now to visit with us on a little trip.

It had come to the place where that one day Mr. Jackson, another friend of mine, was coming down. And the advertisement had been put out in Africa, and there was a little cub lion there on the floor at the little restaurant where he was putting up for the day for some lunch.

And there, this little cubby playing, the man said, “What do you have?”

He said, “Fill up my tank with petrol.” And then he said, “I want some cookies and tea.” As the African people are very English habits of their tea. Lot of that still in Canada. I drank so much tea till I thought, if you'd stick me with a pin, I'd bleed tea, just tea every few minutes.

And then when he was having a tea, said, “Are you on your road where?”

He said, “To Johannesburg.”

Said, “Do you have business there?”

Said, “No, I'm going to see the meeting that Mr. Branham is coming from America. They're going to hold a great service and pray for the sick.”

He said, “If I hadn't have already put your petrol in that tank, I would not even service your car—a man that would degrade the rights to go to such a fanatic as that.” Two days later, he passed by, and the man run out and grabbed him in his arms. And he said, “Oh, please tell me, did you shake hands with the evangelist? Have you seen these great things take place?”

What is it? It's the power of the resurrected Jesus. It changed Africa overnight. And I will never forget the closing meetings at Durban, where it's hard to estimate crowds. Some said, “A hundred and twenty-five thousand.” Some said, “Two hundred thousand.” You can never tell. And that doesn't matter.

But when many had been challenged, many interpreters where you'd have to speak, and then you could have a drink of water before they got through the interpreters. The Zulu, the Songhai, Kozas, and Basuto, many of those tribes had gathered in; fenced off, because they have tribal wars too.

Sidney Smith, the mayor of Durban, which is the (I suppose could be classed as the Miami of the United States.) ... a great summer resort, beautiful place. Their architecture there is far beyond anything we have in the states.

And in there.... While we were going out, Mr. Smith take me, he said, “Mr. Branham, there has never in the history of Africa, ever seen such gatherings and such interest.”

And I said, “It's because of the Lord Jesus.”

And on the road out, I met men—black men, what we know as the colored people. And they were very primitive, some of them naked. And to tell you how primitive they are, a lady gave birth to a baby, sitting right twenty feet from me, and just picked up the baby, and spanked it a little, and went to nursing her baby, and never paid a bit attention. There was no hospitals with pink covers and walls, and four or five specialists standing around.

I wonder if all of our science hasn't weakened us a lot beside the other harms. Then I noticed, I said, “That man has got a tag on his neck.”

He said, “Well, he is a Christian.”

“Oh.”

He said, “The missionaries has tagged him.” Said, “He's a Christian.”

“Well,” I said, “How is it he's packing an idol?”

And he said, “I can speak Songhai; you just ask him.”

So we drove up on the side of the street. I'd never appeared before them yet. They didn't know us. So I drove up, and I said.... Said, “Call him anything.”

And I said, “Thomas, are you a Christian?”

“Oh, yes, sure,” he answered in his native language. He was a Christian.

I said, “Why do you have the idol?”

“Oh,” he said, “That was God, too.” If Amoyah.... I believe that's the right name, Brother Thoms. Amoyah, means “an unseen force, the wind.” “If that happens to fail the unseen God, this one wouldn't.” And he could get things from this idol that he couldn't get from Amoyah, because he got healing from his idol. I'll answer that after a bit.

And the missionary told him.... And 'course in reading to him the Bible, what Jesus did, those days were past. So he come to find out, that's the weakness of our missionary.

And so he carried the idol. And he said, “A idol had power.” He said his father packed the idol. And one day a lion got after his father, and he set the little idol down and built up a little fire, and said a prayer the witch doctor told him, and the lion run away.

I told him that I was a hunter, and I hunted lions. And the prayer never run the lion away. The fire run the lion away, 'cause an animal's afraid of fire. Oh, well, he'd pack it anyhow. Now, do you call that conversion? No.

And after the meeting that day.... There was no way of giving out prayer cards. Billy, my boy, went down and give out prayer cards. He come home and showed me, he had no neck tie, no pockets, or nothing. So, he said, “Daddy, it would be easier to go into a lions' den. For those people grabbing for those cards, they tore my clothes off.” Said, “I had to get away.” So I said.... We could not give out prayer cards, so I said, “I want some missionaries of each tribe and each people here to go out and bring two people out of each tribe.”

So, I spoke to them the Bible of Jesus being the resurrected Christ. There sat Mohammedans, thousands. And they're the hardest to change; they're from the old Medo-Persians, who alter not or change not.

So, when they brought them to the platform, the first one to my memory was a Mohammedan woman—the red dot between her eyes, a middle-aged woman. And I said, “You are a Mohammedan.”

She said, “Yes.” Through her interpreter.

And I said, “Well, why do you come to me as a Christian to help you? Why don't you go to your priest?” She said she believed that I could help her. I said, “I can't help you. But if you believe Jesus Christ, He will help you.” She finally caught onto it. And I said, “If the Lord Jesus has raised from the dead and will do the same thing here that He did when He was here on earth, will you believe Him?” Yes, she would. “Will you accept Him as your Saviour?” She put up her hand, she would.

And the Holy Spirit came down and told her who she was, what she had done, where she had been, and she started weeping and accepted Christ as personal Saviour.

The next was a little black boy out of the Zulu tribe. The Zulus are great, strong people. This little boy had just eaten his dinner. Maybe some of you little children would like me to tell you what he has for dinner. All right, they take a porcupine quill and pick the throat, jugular vein of a cow. And they let water ... or, the blood run into what they call a cup. It's a ... it's a little sack of leather. And then when it gets about half full, they pinch the vein and then milk some milk down in there, and take a stick and churn it. Oh, it makes a delicious lollipop. Aren't you glad you live in Canada? All right. But that's....

And his little belly was just as bloody as it could be from the blood of the animal, that had went over his little stomach. And he was so cross-eyed, the little fellow had to hold his head sideways to see. And when he'd turn his little head, I said, “Now, anyone can see the little one cross-eyed. Now, if I could help the little boy and wouldn't do it, I'd be a hypocrite.” But I said, “I can't help him. But if the Holy Spirit, who knows the child, will reveal what's caused this, then what will you believe?” That was.... The Mohammedan was first; this was the native. And the Zulus was sitting up there by the thousands.

And the Holy Spirit said this: “The little baby has been born among Christian people. And its father and mother is tall and thin.” Which is very contrary to Zulus. They're heavy. [Blank spot on tape.]

And I said, “For in the hut where the little baby was born, I see a picture of Christ hanging on the wall.” And the father and mother about a hundred and fifty yards away raised up, that that was true. And there was the people, just the description. I said, of course, I couldn't heal him, but I could pray. And when I looked back, the little black fellow was just a laughing, and his little eyes was just as straight as mine.

A doctor at the platform run forward and wanted to question me. Mr. Baxter and Mr. Bosworth was getting him from the platform. And ... so I understood that there was fuss. He said, “I want to speak to the man just a moment. What happened to that baby?” Nothing, of course, that I did.

So, finally, I turned around, I said, “What do you want, doctor?” He wanted to know how I knowed he was doctor. So he said, “I want to ask you, Mr. Branham, what did you do to that baby?”

I said, “Nothing. I wasn't in twenty feet of him.”

He said, “Mr. Branham, did you hypnotize that child?”

I said, “Do you mean to tell me that they've give you license to practice medicine and know no more about hypnotism than that?” If hypnotism will straighten a child's eyes, you'd better start practicing hypnotism.“

He said, “I put the child on the platform. I stood here and looked at him; something happened.”

I said, “Jesus Christ healed him.”

He said, “Mr. Branham....”

And the great lilies.... You Canadian people.... My wife was just remarking what pretty flower garden, and how your pretty flowers.... But oh, you should go to Africa. Some of those calla lilies, both yellow and white, measure eighteen inches across. The prettiest things you ever seen grow wild, right out in the jungle. And they had great big bouquets of those sitting on the platform.

This little fellow said, “Mr. Branham, I know that there is a life in that lily. And it could not live unless that life was in it, and I believe that life is God.” He said, “but is He tangible enough to make a cross-eyed boy receive his sight normal?”

I said, “You just have to take my word for it. There's the boy was cross-eyed five minutes ago. Here you've got him in your hand, and he can see. Jesus Christ who is omnipresent is here, and has give the boy his sight.”

And they started taking him from the platform, he run to. Said, “Then I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.” And when leaving at Johannesburg a few days later, this doctor run out on the ramp where thousands of people had gathered to say goodbye, and he run out on the ramp and grabbed me around the waist and begin crying and said, “I'm called to the mission field to be a medical missionary.” And begin to speaking with unknown tongues, out on that ramp.

And I said, “Wonderful.” Now, I don't.... I can go into that a little later about that. However, that day when the Lord Jesus challenged, and a great mighty miracle taken place on the platform, to a boy that was there, mental deficiency, crippled up. And the Holy Spirit said, “Now, his brother, he's thinking of him, and he's here in the crowd somewhere; he was hurt, either riding a dog or a goat; it was yellow. And he fell and hurt his knee, and he's crippled, walks on crutches. But ”Thus saith the Lord,“ the boy's healed.”

Way down maybe two city blocks, I heard a scream, and here come the boy with the clubs over his head, perfectly normal and well. Then when I looked, I saw a shadow; it was a vision that the man was going to be healed. And I said, “How many in this audience will receive Christ as personal Saviour if this young man is healed—everywhere, of all the tribes?” And I prayed and asked our dear blessed Lord. And that man raised to his feet, perfectly normal and well, even mentally well.

And as the tears run down his cheeks upon his black body, I had the privilege of seeing thirty thousand raw heathens come to Jesus Christ at one time. Thirty thousand would be ten times bigger than Pentecost. “The things that I do shall you also. Greater than this shall you do, for I go unto My Father.”

I say unto you this afternoon, my dear beloved believer and fellow citizen of the kingdom of God, the great commission is just as much in force today, as it was the days when it fell from the lips of Jesus Christ.

If He doesn't do the same thing in this meeting that He did in the days gone by, then I'm a false prophet. But If He does, and you fail to receive Him, you are a sinner. The word sinner means “unbeliever.” “Go ye and disbelieve no more, or worse things will come upon you.” There's only one crossing line between a sinner and a saint; that's faith. “He that believeth not, is condemned already,” said Jesus Christ.

So, the great commission.... What's made our places in the condition it's in today, is because we have not carried out the great commission of the resurrected Jesus, of His power and His love to His church.

Now, I have nothing against any church or any denomination, for I call a Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglo-Sax—ever what he is—Pentecostal.... I don't belong to any church. I am not Pentecostal. I am not Presbyterian. Yet I am a Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, Pentecostal Baptist. I belong to all of them. I am your brother, and I'm here to be a service and a blessing to you, and I know that you'll be a service and a blessing to me. May God see to this, that the meeting will have a great unction, that'll make every church through the provinces prosper by this meeting and God get glory. Shall we bow our heads just a moment.

Blessed, heavenly Father, in Thy presence we feel our need. As we read the sacred writings of this Book, and we feel our great need of a living Christ in the day of skeptics. And Thou hast foreseen this and knowed it, for You said the day would come when they'd be heady, high-minded, love pleasure more than God, and have a form of godliness, but would deny the power thereof.

Thou has also said, “I will not leave you comfortless. I will pray the Father, and He will send you another Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit. A little while and the world will see Me no more, yet ye shall Me for I (personal pronoun), I will be with you, even in you to the end of the age.”

We most humbly accept that and believe it to be a real truth of God. And Lord, seeing that the day is far spent and the evening lights are shining.... O Lord, let us now hasten quickly; let us redeem the time; let us be up and doing to make every effort that we can to see that every soul is saved, that's been ordained of God to be saved.

As we stand here feeling as fishermen, as Thou hast said, “The kingdom of God is likened unto a man that took a net and went to the sea, cast it in and drew all kinds.”.... As we want to fish on this corner, when we throw the gospel net, may it catch every fish, Lord, for the kingdom. Grant it, Lord. Let us have favor in Thy sight. And we know we will receive it, because Jesus has told us, “Ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it.” And we believe it and wait for Your blessings as humble children. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

(Do you have a word, or shall I dismiss the audience?) You know, there's a lovely old song. If the pianist will come just a moment, or maybe, if not, we could just sing it without the music. Sometimes, I like to sing without the.... I can't sing, but I love to try it. The Bible said, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” And maybe that's all I do, but I get a lot of joy out of doing it.

I would like to introduce Brother Robert Thoms at this time. Many of you might want to shake his hand, from South Africa. Would you stand up, Brother Thoms, from all the way from South Africa to be with us in the meeting? The Lord bless you, my brother. Dr. Lee Vayle is sitting by him there. One of my coworkers and friends, Dr. Lee Vayle, would you stand up? He's the pastor of the First Baptist church in Lima, Ohio, where the Baptists and so forth give us a great auditorium, and we had a great meeting where many great signs and wonders were done. Glad to see you, brethren. And sorry I don't know the gentleman between you there, but it must be some friend. Is it Brother Wilson, is it? All right, Brother Wilson, I guess you're well known here, and the Lord bless you, Brother Wilson. All right.

Now, until we meet now at six o'clock, either Billy or this boy here.... My little boy has growed up since I was here before. And I got another little boy, Joseph. Many of you remember me prophesying a little Joseph would come. Years passed before he come.

And one of the sweetest little things happened a few nights ago. I was at the Christian Businessmen's convention in Chicago, and Brother Thoms had just come over on a ship. And the people of Africa had made him a coat of many colors, and Brother Thoms had brought it. I'm sending his picture back. And Brother Thoms, I find out that that little coat has five different colors, and five is the number of redemption: J-E-S-U-S, F-A-I-T-H, and so forth. Well, that's very fine.

Until we meet now, let us try to sing this song, one verse. How many knows, “Take the Name of Jesus With You.”? Oh, that's wonderful. Shall we stand now just for a moment. Now, I've got myself in trouble. How am I going to start it?

....... name of Jesus with you,

Child of sorrow and of woe;

It will joy and comfort give you,

Take it everywhere you go.

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of Heaven.

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy....

How many Methodists is here? Raise your hands. Come on, Methodists, put up your hands now. That's good, all right. Baptists, you put up your hands. All right, that's fine. Presbyterian, put up your hand. All right, good. Nazarene, put up your hand. Oh, that's fine. All right. See, we're all made up of different one. Now, here's what I.... How many Christians is here, put up your hands. Good.

Now, I used to ranch a little, herd cattle. And up on the Arapaho Forest in Colorado where we used to run the cattle in the early spring for the grazing, I used to sit there with my leg wrapped around the saddle horn and watch the cattle go through. The ranger counted the cattle.

Now, there was some went through there.... Our brand was a tripod. The next man was a turkey trot. The next man was a diamond tee, the lazy “R,” and different cattle went through with different brands. The ranger never questioned that. As they went through, he counted them.

But the main thing was that every cow that passed through that gate had to be a registered Hereford. That's the way it's going to be in heaven. All you Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, you might have brands, but you have to be a borned-again Christian. We all go in on that. Isn't that right? Yes, sir.

Now, while we sing,

At the name of Jesus bowing,

Falling prostrate at His feet,

King of kings of the heaven and crown Him,

When our journey is complete.

Let's turn right around and shake hands with each other while we're doing that. And, Brother Vayle, won't you come here to dismiss the audience if you will. All right, all right.

At the name of Jesus bowing,

(Turn right around now and

shake hands with everybody here.

That ... just.... Somebody at

your [unclear words]. That's right.)

O King of kings in heaven we'll crown Him,

When our journey is complete.

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven;

........... and joy of heaven.

Now, get on the phone; call somebody; do something. Get the people out, so we can get the sinners in, get them saved to the Lord Jesus. Bring the sick out so God can heal. We're expecting the exceedingly abundantly. Now, while we bow our heads, while I ask Dr. Lee Vayle from Lima, Ohio, to dismiss the audience.