A Greater Than Solomon Is Here

It's really nice to be back here in the pulpit tonight in the service of the Lord. A special greeting to my brethren up here in the . . . behind me in the pulpit. And I'm so happy to be here. I wonder, where is my friend, Chris Berg? I can't place him or see him. Where's he at? Oh, there you are, Chris. Keep off of my grizzly bear! [Brother Branham laughs.] Oh, what a great time Chris and I had the last time up here. I've been looking every night for him.

And I made a mistake, I believe. I said I was out and eat dinner with the Bentrude family out here, and I find out it isn't Bentrude. I think it was Bentrude's daughter, married someone else. I forget . . . Niestead. Well, Brother and Sister Niestead, if you're here, I'm sorry, but I think you were the Bentrude to begin with. I think that's right. I'm not sure, but I think that's right. So I was halfway right. But, anyhow, I said they was killing me with kindness, and that's just about the way it went. So we are very grateful.

And I understood today through the brother from Dawson Creek (I call him Brother Eddie) that my old friend, Brother Durney, is still living, and that. . . . I believe another missionary from up there brought me word that Della was healed when she put that handkerchief on her breast with the tumor. I'm so happy for that. And I hear that Mr. Durney being sick . . . and I want to visit him as soon as I get to Dawson Creek, and go talk to him about salvation of the Lord; because he promised me when I left that he would pray and would ask God to help him.

A very fine old man, that's just lived his life in the bushes and never taken the second thought of God, I guess; but now, maybe, while he's on his bed I can really talk to him now. So, sometimes God has to lay us on our back to make us look up, you know. He has a way of doing things. But he wrote me a letter about his daughter, and told me about her, and said she was the only daughter he had that didn't smoke, and things, and he was so glad for her. And then another brother missionary from up there come and told me about the wonderful thing that the Lord Jesus had did for them. And I'm trusting that God will continue to be with them.

Now this little get together, and time of fellowship. . . . I didn't know there was this many preachers in the country. Honest, I didn't know that. That's fine. Well, I'm glad to see you got good spiritual leaders here, and they'll teach you the way of the Lord. And I am here just in answer to prayer, and running over the ground that they have laid. If there's any credit to be given, give it to the men who came in here and established the work. And they've prayed, and have believed that God would do these things in the last days, and has taught you that they would happen, and here they are happening now right before our eyes.

Now we want you to remember that prayer is the most mighty force that there is in the world—is prayer. Prayer even changes the mind of God. How many know that? God told a prophet one day, “Go up and tell a king, Hezekiah,” said, “go tell him to set his house in order, because he's going to die.”

And then when prophet Isaiah (Could you just imagine the embarrassment of that prophet?), when he went up along the side, and the poor people outside the gates, “O great prophet, what is the word of the Lord for our noble king?”

“Thus saith the Lord, he's going to die.”

There stood the soldiers at the gate, “O great prophet, what is the word of the Lord from our king?

“Thus saith the Lord, he's going to die.”

Hezekiah asked his condition. “Going to die, you're not coming off of this bed.”

And he knowed that was the word of the Lord, so he turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly. Said, “Lord, I beseech Thee to consider me. I've walked before You with a perfect heart.” That's a great testimony. “I've walked before You with a perfect heart.” He wanted fifteen more years of life.

Looks like that if God wanted to grant it to him—he was the greatest man in the kingdom—looks like He would just have said, “All right, Hezekiah, I'm going to let you live for fifteen more years.” But you see, God has a system, the way to do things. Instead of that, God went down into the little brush arbor out into the bush somewhere where Isaiah the prophet was, and said, “Go back and tell him that I heard him. I'm going to grant it to him.” Now, see, prayer changed things. See, prayer changed things.

Well, the embarrassment of that prophet coming back, “Why are you returning, prophet of the Lord?”

“Thus saith the Lord, he's going to live.”

The soldiers, “What about it?”

“Thus saith the Lord, he's going to live.” See what did it? Just from death unto life, prayer changed it. Changed the situation from death to life. It'll do the same thing for you. It'll do the same thing for me. It's our attitude towards God.

And now remember that if you've asked anything and do not believe in your heart that it's going to happen, it won't happen, no matter how many times you ask. But when you do believe, there's nothing to keep it from happening. It's got to take place. It just has to.

I'm fifty two years old and I've been in the ministry for . . . this is about thirty one years. And I have knowed of these visions happening ever since. . . . I was yet no more than two years old when the first vision. . . . I believe that gifts and callings are without repentance. I believe they are gifts that are give to us by God's own mind.

Now there's nine spiritual gifts that goes in every local body. We believe that—I Corinthians 12. But there is five gifts that's ordained of God for the church, the body gifts. What is the first? Apostles, and that is not . . . really, in our day it's a missionary, because apostle and a missionary is the very same word. A missionary means “one sent.” Apostle means “one sent.” Apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. See, five gifts. Now, a man cannot be an apostle because he wants to be. God sets those in the church. And he cannot be a prophet because he wants to be.

Now, there's gifts of prophesy in the church, but there's a lot of difference between gifts of prophecy and a prophet, see. A gift of prophecy has to stand before three judges and be judged before it could even be given to the church, whether it's right. It could be on this woman tonight, and never come again the rest of her life. Might be on this woman the next night, and that man the next night. See, it's local gifts in the body. But prophecy is a office—a prophet—that's from birth, see. Comes from birth.

Jeremiah was a prophet. God said, “Before you was even formed in your mother's womb I knowed you and sanctified you, and ordained you a prophet to the nations.” John the Baptist, 712 years before he was born, Isaiah saw him: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.”—a prophet of the Lord. Jesus Christ was the Son of God from the garden of Eden, the woman's seed that was to bruise the serpent's head.

Old Congressman Upshaw said, “You can't be nothing that you hain't.” A congressman of the United States, running for president. He knowed better, but he just used my language, my way of expressing it. But that is true. You can just be . . . and that's what's the matter with us today, friend. All the whole world seems to be that way. If we would just be what God makes us to be, then you're. . . . The trumpet will not give an uncertain sound then. It'll give a certain sound, and all the world will know it, you see, when it's sounded right.

And so, a minister cannot be a minister because his papa and mother wants him to be a minister. He has to be called of God to be a minister. There would have been nothing do my heart any better than to know that my son Billy Paul would have been a minister. But to send him to school and make a minister out of him, I'd rather he'd been a spittoon cleaner than to have been that—something that he's not. See, excuse that rude expression. I shouldn't have said that, see. Doesn't sound nice here, but you know what I mean. I'd rather he would have been something else.

But God has used Billy. He's been a right-hand man to me, my son. Because when we first started giving prayer cards out, we come to find that. . . . Had one man in there first was a minister. We had an awful time about prayer cards. The first, we would send them to everywhere we was going to have a meeting. All the sponsoring pastors would get a hundred cards for their congregation. The first pastor got his group in, that about settled it. The rest didn't get there. So then we started . . . said, “Well, we'll go down the first day we come and give out all the prayer cards and. . . .” Now, that's not for little church meetings; that's for the big auditoriums. And so, well, the first day we'd have to give out couple . . . three hundred prayer cards; and didn't do anybody any good to come in late, because he sure didn't get in the prayer line because we couldn't take it all up. Four, five, or six a night just done all we could do.

And then the next we had, we had a minister to give out the prayer cards. Well, come to find out when he got into the city, in his own organization, he had to show a little favor to them or they'd excommunicate him, or cause hard feelings.

And then I put just an ordinary man in, and found him trying to sell prayer cards. Man said, “If you'll guarantee my wife will be in the front row, I'll give you five hundred dollars.” And somebody overheard it, and got it in before it happened. So then that stopped that. Then I taken my brother. I knowed he wouldn't sell a prayer card.

That's what the world'll be looking for, you know, something like that. But anyone that knows the meetings, money has been the last thing in our meetings. I've tried to hold a good clean name. I never took an offering in my life. I've been preaching thirty-one years. Never took an offering in my life, and never asked for one. Never intend to. That's not . . . we don't come for money. We come to see what good we can do. Try to pitch in with these brothers here to help pull the load along. That's what it's for.

These gifts could make me a multimillionaire in a few day's time. You know what it is. Yeah, I guess you read in the paper where that multimillionaire in California sent me $1,500,000 in one offering. The F.B.I. agents brought it to us. Well, I tell you, I said, “I even refuse to look at it. I don't take money.” I couldn't have no money, such things as that. Oh, mercy. Me? I ain't got . . . I haven't got the mental powers to take care of that much money. So then, what if it would? I'd have to worry with it, see. Let them worry with it. If I need it, the Lord will say, “Give him so much,” you see. So then, that's all right.

I was talking to Oral Roberts, the great gallant soul, Brother Roberts. That man has to have around ten thousand dollars a day. Whew! Well, God knowed what He was doing when He didn't put that responsibility on me. I sure couldn't do that. Ten thousand dollars a day. That would run me wild to have to get ten thousand a day. And the other. . . . Well, now, what if I had to have thousand a day, and the Lord called me to come up here to Grande Prairie, what would I do about it? See? I don't have any radio programs, don't have nothing to sell, and I don't have to have ten cents a day, see.

Only thing I have to do is just keep myself free from all things, so I can go wherever He tells me. If it's down to a. . . . I held a revival of two nights in a place that held thirty people. I know it was miserable. It was about ten below zero and just standing out there freezing, with little sick babies and things. But the Lord told me to go, so I just went. And then if He wants me to go to Africa to preach to a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, He puts it on somebody's heart to send me a check to go over, so I just go on over. So, see, my Father owns all of it, and I don't have to worry about it. Just . . . I like to be like that where I can just go wherever He tells me to go, see.

My, Chris, we couldn't go bear hunting if I had to have ten thousand dollars every day. I just couldn't do it. But I'm glad just to be free so I can come to my brethren—the little brother, got a little bitty church, or wherever the Lord leads—just go where He leads. That's the way I like to be—free, see. Nothing to bind me or hold me, and ready to go anywhere, anytime, whatever He says do. And I've found it a great life. Very fine.

And I can say this sincerely from this pulpit (which may be the last message I ever bring to the human race, see). I'm fifty-two the other day, and I have never in my life ever sincerely asked God for anything, but what He gave it to me, or told me why He couldn't do it. That's right. Many times I've asked for things He's refused me, but He'd tell me why. It's always . . . his way is best. And I find out if He'd've give it to me, it would've ruined me, you see. So I just go along, say, “Lord, whatever You want me to have, here I am.” So He always takes care of me.

But watch in the meetings. Whenever you hear . . . when the discernment is on, He's telling you, you're doing that yourself. You don't know it, but it's your own spirit, like the woman touching his garment. But when He speaks back, that's what you're pulling, yourself, from God. See, God wasn't using his gift. All of us know that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Now, we know that Christ Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in Him. But to us, we have the Spirit by measure, given to each one to profit withal.

Now, but say, for instance, if I went out here to the ocean and took a spoonful of water out of the ocean, you'd never miss it, see. But I could take that spoonful of water to the laboratory and it's got the same chemicals in it that the entire ocean's got. It's just not as much of it. Well, then, when we think of the Spirit of Christ that we have in us, see, it's just a spoonful to what was in Him, see. He had all of it in Him. All that God was, He poured into Christ; all that Christ was, He poured into the church.

How many Pentecostals is here? Let's see your hands, Pentecostal people. All right. Do you know what God did on the day of Pentecost? The Bible said they were gathered and praying in the upper room, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, we know that God was that pillar of fire that led the children of Israel through the wilderness. What was God doing then? He was separating . . . them tongues of fire was the separating, that big pillar of fire, and dividing Himself among his people.

Then, brethren, what more we could do! Brother, my, together we'll stand; divided we'll fall. So what the great . . . if the great church of God, if the devil can get into them and make them say, “I'm this, and because you belong to this we just can't associate together,” he won't have to shoot a shot—we're fighting one another, see. But when that wall is broke down, and we are not divided, all one brethren are we, see. All one Spirit in Christ, God dividing Himself among us together, that together we might be the great ransomed church of the living God. Then you're going to see something happen then.

Now, noticing, when He speaks to you, if He speaks back, “It's thus saith the Lord, certain certain things will happen,” now, you put that down. You might not be able to see a scratch difference right then. May be some time that you will not see it. God makes a promise, but He keeps his promise. I like to refer to this. Did you know that some people just think that because it doesn't happen instantly, that that's all, that God didn't hear you? That's a mistake. If you believe it, it happened. But if you didn't believe it, why, it don't make any difference, it wouldn't happen anyhow. But if you believe it, it's a finished product right then, when you believe it.

Now, there's so many things I could refer to. One time there was a couple of little women. I like to refer to that, because it always stuck with me. It was on the platform, there was a little lady came up on the platform and . . . a little housewife, little mother. And the Holy Spirit said to her, “You are So-and-so, you're a certain-certain woman.”

“Yes, yes.”

“And you suffer with a stomach trouble which is. . . . You was at a doctor a few days ago, and he told you you had a gastric ulcer.”

“Yes, that is so.”

“Your husband works at a certain certain. . . .”

“Yes, that is so,” all this.

Then she started off, and then the Spirit spoke, “Thus saith the Lord, 'You're healed.' ”

Oh, my, that has to happen. That just has to happen.

Then she went home. And she said, “Well, I'm healed. Husband, before I get there I want you to buy me a hamburger.” Like to killed her. Couple days later she was still. . . . She'd get so sick when she'd eat.

And her husband finally said, “You're bringing a reproach upon the cause.” Said, “You shouldn't testify that.”

Two weeks passed. She was still trying to eat. Just as sick as . . . when she'd take it. Her husband went to the doctor, told him. Said, “It'll kill her.”

But she said, “Look. That man did not know me, and if a Spirit was standing there, or with him, that could tell him who I was and what my trouble was, I believe it was the Spirit of God.” And she said, “Live or die, he spoke 'Thus saith the Lord.' ” Said, “I believe it. That's right. I believe it.”

Couple of mornings after that, which had been somewhat . . . four weeks after she'd been prayed for. . . . See, that didn't mean she wasn't healed. She was healed right then. Abraham was given a promise that he'd receive a son, and twenty-five years later before he got it, but he was strong in faith, giving praise to God. That's what real Pentecostals ought to be, Abraham's seed.

So one morning, she said. . . . Well, I was then about three hundred miles away from the place, in another revival meeting, and she come to the place to testify. She said, “My husband went to work that morning.” She said, “Oh, my stomach was burning.” And she said, “After awhile, I was washing my dishes, and I was weeping.” She said, just thinking, “O God, how great You are. How great! You make the sun to shine. You do all these great things.” And said, “How great Thou art, O God.”—like that, just praising his name

as she stood there. Said a real funny feeling went over her. Said she thought, “Wonder what that was?”

Now, you don't have to feel nothing. Jesus never did say, “Did you feel it?” He said, “Did you believe it?” You believe it.

But then she felt something go over her. She said, “Well, I don't know what that was.” Said, “Strange feeling. I feel so good.” She just went ahead. Said, “Maybe I was just praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit blessed me.” She went on washing dishes.

She got real hungry. So (I guess all mamas are like this), the kiddies had left some oats in the plate. So she got real hungry. And that was the thing that would just burn her up, was oats. So she just taken a spoonful or two of oats and ate. So after she'd swallowed them, she thought, “Well, it can't burn no worse.” But in a few moments, it wasn't burning. So she got her a couple more spoonfuls—didn't bother her. And she got her a piece of toast—that didn't bother her. So she just went and fried her two eggs, and got her some toast, and a cup of coffee, and had a gastronomical jubilee. She just sat down and ate a good breakfast. She waited about an hour and a half, two hours. She just felt fine—getting hungry again.

So, she felt so good, she run down to the neighbor. And her neighbor had been farther down the prayer line (the night before) and there'd been a great big growth on her neck. And the same thing happened. Told her all about it, said, “Thus saith the Lord, 'That growth shall disappear.' ” And so she wanted to run tell her neighbor a few doors down the street what happened. And said when she got there she thought they was having a funeral service or something, all the screaming and going on she ever heard. She jerked open the door, and here was the woman, standing with a sheet in her hand. And she said, “What's the matter, dear?”

She said, “You know what? I got up late this morning,” and she said, “I can't find that thing anywhere. It's left my throat. I shook every sheet and everything, and I can't find it nowhere.”

And here they both was, giving testimony.

What was it? When God had pronounced it. . . . That angel had passed through the neighborhood confirming the word that He'd spoke in the name of the Lord, see. “Though it tarries, yet will it speak.” Is that right, brethren? It must speak. So always keep that in mind.

Oh, you're so nice I can't even hardly get a text. I got something on my mind I want to say. I'll just . . . you'll bear with me just a few minutes extra, won't you? So, we hope to get into the prayer line after a bit.

So, when we went to Africa just recently. . . . To show you . . . now, I do thank God for schools, for churches, and for all that He has done. I'm so grateful to God. But yet, did you know that wasn't the commission? The general commission was, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Now in order to preach the gospel, the gospel came not in word only, but through the power and the manifestations of the Holy Ghost. Now, if you follow it on down, I'm quoting Mark 16: “These signs shall follow them that believe.” Just teaching the Word will not do that. It must be the Holy Spirit manifesting the Word, see. But what did we do? We went along and made schools, and organizations, and churches, and hospitals—which is very nice. We cannot say one thing against them. But that wasn't the idea.

Now, when I went to Africa, I remember it. . . . Now, my Baptist brethren here, please don't. . . . I love you. You're my brothers, see. But I was a Missionary Baptist minister for years, and when I'd tell them about these things, it scared me to death. They said it was of the devil, and, oh, I didn't want nothing to do with the devil, because I loved the Lord Jesus. And never knew nothing about it till He appeared to me and told me what it was. Now when I come back and told Dr. Davis, general overseer, and I said, “Dr. Davis, I met that one who talks to me, and it was a man. And he told me these things. He told me I was to preach all around the world, and these things would take place.”

And he said, “With a seventh grade education, I suppose, Billy, you're going to preach to kings and monarchs?”

I said, “That's what He said, brother.”

He said, “Billy, what did you eat that night for supper?”

I said, “Well, then, Dr. Davis, if that's it, I just might as well give you my fellowship card right now,” I said, “because to me it was God. I don't know what it was to you, see.” And of course you've heard it in the Voice of Healing, he's preaching divine healing himself now.

So, however, when the angel said that. . . . And when I went into Africa, and found. . . . In Africa, what did I find? I'm not degrading nothing. I'm very thankful for everything that the Lord has did. All of you remember that—everything the Lord has done, I'm thankful. But I'm trying to say we're living in another day, above that now, see. We're getting up to where God wants to do greater things than what He has done.

He wants to bless his church. He wants us to come together, and not argue about “I'm the Assemblies of God,” or “I'm the Church of God.” What difference does it make? We're Christ's. That's it, see. We are Christ's. Not . . . we mustn't think that. And one of us riding one-humped camels, two-humped camels, and three-humped camels. What difference does it make? Jacob dug one well and the Philistines run him away from it, and they called it “Malice.” He dug another well and the Philistines run him away from it and he called it “Strife.” He dug another well. So he said, “There's room for us all.” So I think that's the way to do it. Those on all different kinds of camels, we can ride right on up and get a drink. There's room at the fountain for all of us.

So when I got there, I thought I would find, maybe, the missionaries . . . David Livingstons on every corner. But what did I find, but. . . . My, missionaries was different than what I thought it was. They had the compound out there where the colored man that could not keep tribal paint on anymore. . . .

They could come here and teach us morals, them people could, in Africa. Sure, they could. For instance, in one tribe, there in the Bazutus, if the. . . . (There's Songhai, Bazutu, Koza, oh, my, so many different tribes.) But if a young lady (they never know how old they are), but if a young lady is not . . . some man has taken her. . . . They have polygamy. But if some man hasn't taken her for a wife at a certain size, she has to take her tribal paint off and leave the tribe, because there's something wrong. If she is . . . before she is married, or taken for wife, she's examined for her virgincy. If she be found guilty, she has to tell the man that's done it. They're both killed together. Be a lot of deaths around the United States anyhow, if they'd search them out like that. But there's no night life among them. No, sir. They're clean, moral, as they can be.

And, then, they came in by the tens of thousands to the meeting when we gathered at Durban. Billy was with me. I said, “Son, go down and give out some prayer cards this afternoon.”

And then when he come back in a few moments (he and the mayor of the city, Sidney Smith), said he didn't have pockets in his coat. He said, “Give out prayer cards? You go down there and try it once!” He said, “You can't do that, Daddy.”

So I said, “Well, okay.”

So, Mr. Smith, Sidney Smith, the mayor of Durban, he taken me out. Said, “Brother Branham, of all the history of Africa, there's nothing like this ever been seen.” And he said, “That Durban race track is so full of people till they're all the way across the track on the other side. Thousands times thousands, over a hundred thousand, just laying there.” Said, “They're coming from strange . . . from all parts of the country.” And they brought their loved ones, for weeks at a time. Bring them through the jungles, to where they had to. . . . The lion would get after them and they'd have to shinny them up the tree. (Excuse that expression. That's . . . I know you all have better English than I do . . . we do down there.) And so. . . .

I got a little Georgian over here, I want him to talk for you one of these days. You talk about having the gift of interpretation. You Yankees up here will really have to have it to hear these Georgia people talk. They come up to a filling station, asked for a motel, and they wanted to know if they wanted . . . said they wanted some old tires. Georgia. So, however. . . .

And we went out, started out to this great place where we were going. And as we got out there, going out, we seen these natives in the city. Blanket natives, now, and they had a little tag around their neck. And I said to Sidney Smith, I said, “Mayor, what is those tags?”

He said, “Oh, they're Christians.”

I said, “Well, what are they packing an idol for?”

He said, “Ask them.” He said, “That man,” said, “he's a Songhai. I can speak his language. Drive up, call him anything you want to.” So we drove up beside of him, and I called him Thomas, because I thought that'd be a good name for him—supposed to be a Christian, packing an idol.

And I said, “Thomas.”

“Yes.”

“Are you a Christian?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” he's a Christian.

I said, “What are you packing the idol for?”

Oh, his father packed it, see. That was a good reason. One day the lion got after his father, so he set the little idol down and built a fire, and said a prayer the witch doctor told him. The lion run away. So it was God.

“Oh,” I said, “I'm a yahkta.” Yahkta means “hunter.” Leo means “lion.” “Leo yahkta,” I said, “the fire scared the lion away, not the witch doctor's prayer.”

“Oh, well, if amoya [amoya means ”the wind,“ unseen force like God, that you don't see, you know, like the Holy Spirit], if he failed, this one wouldn't.” So he just packed it for safety first. That's the strength of Christianity.

Sidney Smith said, “See?” Said, “You see why it's hard to get in here as a missionary?”

I said, “Yes, sir.” We went on to the meeting.

So that afternoon, way across the track. . . . I had taken. . . . I had to have fifteen different interpreters, see. You'd speak one word, then. . . . Say, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the earth to save sinners.” Well, I'd go get a drink of water, and sit down, talk to somebody . . . come through all them interpreters. You have to write down what you said to know where to come back. So I'd give them a simple little message of the Bible, what Jesus was.

And I said, “Each of you missionaries go get three people out of some tribes out there and bring them up.” There was about ten thousand Mohammedans there too, which were Indians. Now, not our American Indians, but the Indian from India. So I said. . . . They're very, very hard. I seen one missionary there said, “Oh, Brother Branham, I've been here twenty years. I've got one precious jewel.” See, the Mohammedans came from the old race of the Medo-Persians and they do not change or alter their laws, you know.

So once a Mohammedan, brother, you don't change them, see.

So, as it went on. . . . So then they called the. . . . I said, “Get three out of each one of the tribes and bring them.” So they got down there, and finally brought them around. And the first one on the platform happened to be a Mohammedan woman with a red dot between her eyes. And she was a thoroughbred Mohammedan.

And I said, “Do you understand English?”

She said, “Yes, sir.”

And I said, “Well, are you a Mohammedan?”

She said, “I am.” (I think you pronounce that, “You're a Mohammedan.”) But she said, “I am.”

And I said, “Then, why did you come to me as a Christian? Why did you not go to your priest?”

She said, “I believe that you can help me.”

“Oh,” I said, “as a Mohammedan you should not believe that. You should believe that if Mohammed is . . . if the prophet Mohammed is God's servant. . . .” They believe in God, see. They're children of Abraham, but not of the promise. We understand that, see. So they ring that big bong of a morning, and say, “There's one true and living God, and Mohammed is his prophet.”

We say, “There's one true and living God, and Jesus is his Son,” see. Now, that's the difference.

And the Mohammedans say, “Far be it from God having a son, the Spirit having a son.” And so they. . . .

I said, “Well, why didn't you go to your priest?”

She said, “I believe you could help me.”

“Well,” I said, “did you ever read the New Testament?”

She said, “I have.”

“Have you considered Christianity?”

She said, “I have considered it.”

I said, “Why did you choose Mohammedan?”

She said, “Well, because that I think that. . . . The Mohammedan religion made no promises; but the Bible of Christianity made promises, through Jesus the prophet, that his disciples would do the same thing He did.” And said, “Mohammed made no such promise. Therefore . . . they both promised life after death and I've seen not one of the prophet Jesus, his disciples, doing what He did. Therefore I am a Mohammedan.” That's a very good, sensible answer, see.

And I said, “Well, Jesus gives a lot of joy.”

She said. . . . Now, Mohammed can produce just as much psychology as Christian religion can. Just as much emotion—they can shout just as loud, they can scream just as loud, they can go through just as much as we do, see. That's right. So if you don't know what you're talking about, you better stay away from them, see. Just leave it alone.

“Well,” I said, “then you've read the New Testament. Jesus—as you called Him, the prophet—I call Him the Son of God.” I said, “Truly He was a prophet. The Old Testament characters are to believe on their prophets, and He was the King-prophet, the God-prophet. And they were looking for Him. That's just what I brought in my message.”

She said, “Correctly, sir. Therefore I asked to be the one to come up.”

I said, “How many of you Mohammedans out there know this woman?” Many of them. I said, “Now, if Jesus, the Son of God, has anointed me with his Spirit, and I can tell you then, just like He would if He was standing here. . . .” I said, “For healing you, He's already done it. All the attributes of his salvation that He purchased for us at Calvary is already over. The only thing He could do would be prove that He was Messiah. That's right. Promised his disciples to do the same.”

Said, “I understand.”

And the Holy Spirit came. I told her who she was by the Holy Spirit. I said, “Now, your husband is a short, heavy-set man wearing a moustache. He was at a doctor the other day with you. And he give you a female examination. He told you you had a cyst on the ovary. That's the truth.” I said, “What about it now?”

She said, “I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour.” That afternoon nearly ten thousand Mohammedans did the same thing. See, not theology, but to see the power of God.

The next come was a white Afrikaans woman. Told her that she had a lump in her breast, but to prepare for death. I'd seen her funeral service. They'd taken her from the ground dead. That same night a woman had been dead about four hours (a friend to the mayor) was raised back to life again. A young woman, dying . . . see, if I could heal, I'd have healed her. I said, “I can only say what I see.”

The next was a little cross-eyed boy come in the line. Little Zulu. Any of you brothers missionaries? The Zulu, you know what the Zulus are. Great big, heavy-set, average about three hundred pounds. They throw their assegais, you know; the little Songhai has to maneuver his. A big Zulu. Then, they had eaten this diet, you know—that blood and ever what . . . they jell it together. And his little eyes was as crossed as they could be.

And in Africa, they. . . . You sisters like lilies? Oh, I think they're beautiful. They have some of them sixteen inches across. Great big calla lilies up on the platform, some yellow. They're just wild in the jungle. So then, when this little boy come up on the platform, I said, “Now, anyone can see that his eyes are crossed.”

Was you in Africa at that time, brother? Was you there? No, India. Oh, yeah. Well, maybe I'll get a chance to speak of India. Was you there when I was in India? That's where I had my greatest gathering, at Bombay. Five hundred thousand at one time. So then, there's where I seen. . . . Well, I can't go into that, but there was a . . . He's done so much, I tell you, it's wonderful.

And then, this little boy standing there, and I said, “Anyone is close enough can see the child is cross-eyed.” I said, “I could not straighten his eyes.” I said, “I have nothing to straighten his eyes with. But,” I said, “maybe the Holy Spirit might be to reveal to me something that caused it, and then maybe it would cause the little lad to have faith to believe in Christ.” And I said to him, “Look at me.”

And the interpreter (Zulu interpreter) said, “Look at me.” And the little fellow looked up.

I said, “He was born that way.” I said, “Now, his mother and father are thin people, strange for Zulus.” I said, “But he come out of a Christian home, because in their little hut there's a picture of Christ on the right hand side of the wall as you go in.” And about a hundred yards back, the father and mother raised up their hand, saying that was right. When I looked back at the child, his eyes was as straight as mine. I said, “Of course anyone . . . see something's happened—his eyes, already straight. Pass on by, son.” And they passed him by.

And just then I heard a fuss. How many ever knowed Brother Bosworth? Old Brother Bosworth used to be one of my. . . . F. F. Bosworth. He was standing there, and I heard him carrying on something over there, some kind of a fuss. And it was a British doctor, and he was going on. He said, “I want to talk to him!”

Brother Bosworth said, “You can't do that now, sir,” said, “you'd just cause a riot.” You had to space them off. They was having tribal wars, too, you know. And so, said, “You cannot do that now.” Said, “When our brother is under that anointing he prays for the sick.” He said, “Just believe.”

Said, “I want to speak to him.”

I turned around. I said, “What's the matter, doctor?”

He said, “How did you know I was a doctor?”

I said, “Well, what do you want?”

He said, “I want to ask you, Mr. Branham, what did you do to that boy?”

I said, “Nothing.”

He said, “I put him on the platform.”

“Well,” I said, “that's very nice.”

He said, “His eyes is straight now. Here he stands.” He had his hand on his head. Said, “I put him on the platform there, his eyes was crossed. I've got my hands on him here, and his eyes is straight.” Said, “Now, Mr. Branham, I can understand your telepathy [that's speaking to the people, and telling them about their desires, and what they've done]”; but said, “I want to ask you something. Did you hypnotize that child?”

I said, “Did the medics of the British Medical Association give you license to practice medicine, and know no more about hypnotism than that? If hypnotism will straighten a child's eyes, don't you think you doctors should start practicing hypnotism?”

He said, “Mr. Branham, I want you to know that I've been raised to believe in God.”

I said, “That's very fine, doctor.” And then some more came up. I said, “Just a minute. Let him alone.”

And he said, “Well,” said, “I know that God is in that lily. It couldn't grow . . . it's got life that we cannot find. We cannot find the germ of life. We know that God is in the lily or it could not live.” But said, “Tell me, is that God that you're speaking of so tangible that He could take that baby's crossed eyes and make them come straight? and you ten feet away from him.”

“Well,” I said, “Doctor, is his eyes straight?”

Said, “Yes, sir.”

“Well,” I said, “did I touch him?”

“No, sir.” He said, “Then that makes God somewhere between here and there, doesn't it?”

I said, “Just everywhere.” And so then somebody started to pull him away.

He said, “Just a moment.” There was a big web mike because they had, oh, maybe five hundred yards, still people, you know, out like that, the big mike. He walked up to that mike. He said, “Then I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour.”

I want to tell you something. When I was leaving Durban about two weeks after that, there was about twenty, thirty thousand people there, waving good-bye and everything, you know. “Come back, come back.” It made the head . . . two and three pages of paper every day—in the meetings, what our Lord did. And there, in that, you what he did? He run out on the ramp, jumped over from the guards, and run out there and throwed his arms around me, like that, and hugged me, and started speaking in tongues. And he said, “Brother Branham, I'm a Christian. I'm returning into the fields to be a missionary,” that British doctor.

And that finished that day. The next was a boy that was so deformed. . . . (Excuse me, my sisters, if I make the wrong mistake . . . make a mistake, rather, saying something that I should not say.) But they do not wear clothes, you see. They're just as naked as they come into the earth. And when the boy come up on the platform, young fellow, he walked on his hands, like this. And he was all bent over, and such a horrible condition, and they had a chain around his neck.

And I said, “Look at that poor mortal. If anyone could help that boy and would not do it, why, he would be a hypocrite.” I said, “If I had anything at all I could heal the poor fellow with, I'd certainly do it. But I cannot do it. You know that. But,” I said, “maybe the Holy Spirit could reveal to me something that might cause him to have faith that God would heal him.” And so I turned to look, and when I was looking at him, the vision. . . . I can't explain that. You can't explain God. There's no need of trying. If you did, it would (pardon me) it would not be by faith anymore.

So the boy was there. He looked to be, oh, I'd judge him to be somewhere in his twenties—twenty-two, twenty-five, somewhere like that. And I said, “Now I've got his attention.” And now, remember, he was walking on his feet, the back parts sticking way up like this, and swayed in the back like a horse—you know, swayback horse—and walking on his hands, like that. And he was thinking I wanted him to do a tribal dance. The people that leaves the tribes, they come in, and they clown for the tourists by doing tribal dances. He was going “Uh, ba, ba, ba, ba.”

And I said, “If I can just get his attention a moment, catch his spirit.” And I said, “Oh, what he's thinking of now, he's really not thinking of himself.” I said, “This boy became that way when he was just a child.” And just then his father and mother raised up, way down here. That was true, see. I said, “He's also from a Christian, a professed Christian, home.” That was right.

I said, “But what he's thinking of is his brother. Now,” I said, “his brother was either riding on a yellow goat or a yellow dog, and he fell and hurt his leg. He's walked on two sticks now for the past three or four years.” And as I looked back I seen his brother going, running, leaping, like that, and I said. . . . Watched it, and I said, “But, thus saith the Lord, his brother is healed.” And went ahead, like this. And way down, oh, almost two city blocks, I heard a great scream. And they had about, I guess, three hundred soldiers—militia, you know—to kind of keep order. And here his brother come with these sticks over his head, jumping just as hard as he could.

Well, it taken about twenty minutes to get them quietened again, you see, to get them quietened. I looked back again to him, and I said, “Now, I cannot do nothing but pray for the boy.” And I seen like a blue shadow above him, and I looked, and in the vision here he stood, up on his feet. Oh, brother! All the devils out of hell couldn't stop it then.

If He would tell me that George Washington was going to rise from the presidential graveyard, I'd invite the world to come watch it done. Right. I've seen thousands times thousands of visions, and I'll take anybody to record, never one of them failed. It can't fail, it's God. How can God fail?

So I knowed the boy was going to be healed, and I thought, “Here's my chance, right now.” I said, “How many here will receive Christ as their Saviour if this boy will be made well?” Just as far as I could see, those black hands—Songhai, Bazutus, everywhere, like that, Indians—everywhere. And I said, “Stand up on your feet, son. Jesus Christ makes you well.” Of course the interpreter told him that, but the boy wasn't even mentally right. So he just kept going, “Uh, ba, ba, bla, bla,” and trying to do a dance. He thought we was bringing him up there to clown, you see, to dance. So I walked over and took ahold of the chain that they had on him, where they'd led him. I said, “Stand up on your feet, Jesus Christ makes you well.” And the boy stood up.

And when he did, the tears dropped off on his black belly. He stood there, and looked around like that, for the first time in his life. That crowd just went into a frantic. There he was. Not only was he healed, straightened up, but in his right mind, see.

I said, “How many of you will receive Jesus Christ now as personal Saviour, one who loves you?” And I said, “Stand to your feet.” Thirty thousand blanket natives stood at one time.

You Canadians know Ern Baxter, don't you? Brother Ern Baxter? He was standing right there at the platform. And Brother Baxter said, “Brother Branham, I believe they meant a physical healing.”

I said, “Let me run it through the. . . .”

And old Brother Bosworth just weeping. He said, “Brother Branham,” he said, “the Holy Spirit's just taking my life from me.”

And I said, “I did not mean physical healing. I meant to receive Christ as Saviour. You that's packing idols, if you understand, break your idols on the ground.” And like a dust storm, the way them idols broke. Thirty thousand raw blanket natives come to Christ in one altar call. Just think. That's . . . let's see. Thirty, ten, twenty, thirty . . . well, that would be about ten times the size of Pentecost. That's right. About ten times the size of Pentecost.

And the next morning the mayor called me, over to my hotel room. He said, “Brother Branham, go to your window, the side that faces the lake, right away.”

Brother Bosworth had been there. Said, “Brother Branham, I estimate. . . .”

And I said, “Now you that wants to be prayed for, just believe the Christ that I'm talking about.” And I offered one congregational prayer. Now there'd only been about three people on the platform. Offered one congregational prayer, and there was a estimated of 25,000 outstanding miracles took place at once. See, they're not indocumated: “We are Methodist.” “We are Baptist.” “We are Presbyterian.” “We are Oneness, Twoness, Threeness,” and you know, all that stuff. They know nothing about it. They're just looking for a God that had something that could answer back, see.

Then you know what? I went to the window, and coming down that street (if I shall live to be a hundred and could be in my mind, I shall never forget that) there come seven big British vans (I don't know that you know what they are or not—about as long as from here back to that wall.) loaded full of crutches, boards, wheelchairs, instruments, that they had been packed out of the jungles for hundreds of miles, and weeks coming, like that. There they was in them, the seven van loads, piled up to the top. And behind that come Zulus, Bazutus, Songhai, Kozas, and all those, behind it—that was in those things the day before—coming down the street, singing in their own native tongues, “Only believe, all things are possible.” Oh, what an hour!

You Canadian women don't do this, but I'm going to say this for what is in America. The American women get so every year they take off a few more clothes. Just get down to . . . first short dresses, now to little bitty things that looks like men's clothes, and things to wear. It's a disgrace. It's a shame. It's a. . . . A woman said to me, she said, “Brother Branham, I don't wear shorts.” She said, “I wear slacks.”

I said, “That's worse. The Bible said it's an abomination for a woman to put on a garment that pertains to a man.” That's right. And I said, “You should never do that.”

Said, “Well, they don't . . . when you go to the store you can't buy nothing else than them sexy like clothes.”

I said, “Some day you'll answer at the judgment bar for committing adultery. You might be as pure as a lily to your husband. You might be as pure as a lily to your boyfriend. But the Bible said, Jesus said, 'Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart.' ” And I said, “If you put yourself out there and dress like that, and the sinner looks at you and lusts after you, who's guilty, you or the sinner? And he's going to answer for that, and who did he commit the adultery with? You. Who's guilty? You, for presenting yourself like that.” And I said, “You'll be guilty of committing adultery when that sinner has to answer for committing adultery. Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her.' Who's guilty? You. That's right.”

This lady said, wrote me a letter, she said, “Mr. Branham, they don't make clothes like you're talking about. This is the only kind.”

I said, “But they still have goods and they sell sewing machines, so there's no excuse about it,” see. That's right.

Listen. I want to say this. Just remember this, if they ever start wearing shorts in Canada and things, you see. If they ever do, you just remember this. There was blanket native women, young and old, not knowing which is right and left hand, standing there, nothing but a clout of beads on. Just as naked over their body as they could be, not knowing they were naked. But the very minute that they accepted Jesus Christ as personal Saviour, they folded their arms to walk out from the presence of men.

Then tell me why, that if these people who call themselves Pentecostal or Christians or Methodist or Baptist, how is it each year you claim to have the same Christ, and the same Holy Spirit, and trying to expose yourself more every year? Why would that Holy Spirit make a woman cover herself up, to get out of the presence of men, and when you see them the next day they've got some kind of clothes on? Why would it make some put on clothes, and others take them off? God doesn't work like that. There's something wrong somewhere, brethren. Oh, my. Let's get away from our social ideas and get back to the gospel. Amen. Back to the truth, back to the Word. No wonder we can't have a church. How could God ever build a church upon a foundation like that? Let's go back to the truth, brother, sister.

I'm so sorry. I ought to call the prayer line right now. But let's talk. Are you in a hurry? Let's bow our heads just a moment. Forgive me, folks, for taking that much time. I just get . . . I told you I come up here to rest. I'm kind of nervous and I come up to rest, and . . . excuse me.

Most holy God, right into thy holy presence and before the throne of mercy we come presenting ourselves now. We are a unworthy people, Lord. Thou art God, full of mercy, full of goodness. Be Thou near us to forgive us.

When my heart thinks of Africa, of India, O God, how it bleeds. How could I spend tens of thousands of dollars for foolishness, and poor little kiddies laying there dying, with swelled up bellies, with nothing to eat. O God, help us to understand. How could we ride around in a fleet of Cadillacs, new ones every year, and all these things, and our brothers over yonder are preaching the gospel with no shoes on? They'll stand in the day of judgement thus. What can we do? Us here arguing whether we should go to this church or that one. O America, America, how oft would He have hovered you?

Thank You, Father, for the true Spirit of God, for this time of fellowship around the testimonies, and with the brethren, and this grand little place called Grande Prairie. How we thank You for these fine Scandinavian, German, Indians, and so forth, that's separated themselves from the things of the world, and has consecrated their lives to Thee to be thy loving children; not caring what the world shall say but believing that You're the Christ, the Son of God, trying to live examples before the people that all men might see Christ in them.

We thank You for it, Father, as we open the Word. No man can open it, Lord, only. . . . Any man that's physical enough to pull back the pages could do that, but we read in the Bible that there was one sitting upon the throne . . . [blank spot on tape].

. . . life to our hungry hearts. We thirst for Thee, O God. As the hart panteth for the waterbrook, our soul thirsts after Thee, O God. Tear us down, our selfishness. Take the world out of us, Lord, and make us sweet, humble, meek, God-fearing Christians. Our spirit's all broke up, so . . . it is written, “He that goeth forth sowing in tears, will doubtless return again, rejoicing, bringing with him precious sheaves.” That's our desire, Lord.

Bless Grande Prairie, Lord. Bless its ministers, bless its people. God, I pray that You'll make them angels of mercy, angels of light. Grant it, Lord, for we're living in the closing scenes now. Soon You shall come and we'll see Him. All troubles will be over then. Until then, Father, keep us anointed with thy love and thy Spirit, giving us the bread of life that we might serve others. It's this purpose we ask in our hearts, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Over in the book of St. Matthew's gospel, the twelfth chapter and the forty-second verse, just for a little context. I'm ashamed to keep you here this long, but I know I've only got one more night. And I just wish we had a long time. I've never gotten to preach to you yet. I usually just get on a little testimonies because, then I don't get off on. . . . Preaching, you're anointed this way; discernment is this way, see. And you shake yourself, one from the other. So just to talk to you a little while, I want to read a little portion of Scripture here, because my words will fail; God's words will not fail.

And the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

I'd like to use that for a context: “A Greater Than Solomon is Here.” When you go home you might read the previous chapter and this chapter.

Jesus had been rebuking these Pharisees of his days because they had failed to recognize He was their Messiah. They had been satisfied. And the people of that day, it was a whole lot like today, that the people were looking to the church for salvation. Now, I make this statement: if you are a Catholic and you're looking to the church for salvation, you are lost; if you are a Baptist and you're looking to the church for salvation, you are lost; if you are a Pentecostal and you're looking to the church for salvation, you are lost. But if you are Catholic, Pentecostal, or Baptist, or whatever you may be, and you're looking to Jesus Christ for salvation, you're saved. For by faith are we saved, see.

Now today the people has got it to a place till they are looking to the church for salvation. The church doesn't bring salvation. Salvation is of Christ, see. The church doesn't have salvation; Christ has salvation. Now, I would like to say this—that they looked to the church for salvation, and what did they get? Creeds and organizations and so forth, and that's the same thing today. So they were satisfied to believe that that was God's perfect will, for them to have . . . and those creeds and so forth, and to do those things.

So now, we find out that during that time Jesus came on, a perfect answer to their prophecy that He was to come. Now, all of us admit that Jesus did not come contrary to the Scriptures. He come exactly with the Scriptures, but contrary to the way that the priests had told the people that He would come. Now the prophets had talked about. . . . For instance, Isaiah said, “All the mountains skip like little rams, and the leaves clap their hands; and the high places is made low and the low places made high,” at the coming of John the Baptist.

Why, I expect the people thought that God would just open up the corridors, and send down the golden stairs, and a great mighty prophet, dressed in the priest's clothes, would walk down and say, “I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness. I have just come from the corridors of heaven to greet Caiaphas here, and a great job he has done,” and to the different priests, and what job they had did. That's the way they was expecting it.

But what did it happen? An old fuzzy-faced-looking woodsman come out of the wilderness with not a. . . . He went in the wilderness at the age of nine—Zachariah's son, born a odd birth. Come out of the wilderness, standing on there rebuking those priests, and saying, “You generation of snakes in the grass, who warned you to flee from the wrath that's to come?” Whew! What a different man, see. What was he? Standing in mud up to his ankles. Dressed in fine clothes? A piece of sheepskin wrapped around him, with a camelskin belt on. But, oh, my, how he shook the regions! He had the gospel. It was altogether different.

And they said, “This is a wild man—drowning people with water. Yeah, he's a. . . . My, what a guy that is!”

Then when Jesus came—a black name behind him as an illegitimate child, being born out of holy wedlock, an outcast, and so forth—and here He comes forth, discerning the hearts of the people and telling them their thoughts and perceiving their thoughts; and doing exactly what God said He would do and the prophets said He would do. Then they said, “This man is a devil.”

See, they said. . . . They had to answer to their congregation. They were standing there. It was beyond a doubt that he was doing it, so they had to make something another. So they just said. . . . Instead of studying it out in the Scriptures as Jesus said to study the Scriptures (“Search the Scriptures. They are they which testify of me,” He said.), instead of doing that, they answered to their congregation, “He is Beelzebub, the chief of the devils.” Now anyone knows that a fortune-teller is a devil. That's all. It's a devil spirit. But, see, they were calling the Spirit of God a devil spirit. That's the reason Jesus told them that was blasphemy of the Holy Ghost and should never be forgiven, see.

Now, and so He'd done these signs, and they was . . . He was rebuking them because they had not believed it. They wanted to . . . they could not believe. And yet the Jews were commanded to seek for that kind of a sign. Now don't the Bible say the Jews seek signs, the Greeks wisdom? Paul said, “and we preach Christ crucified,” see. The Jews would seek signs, because they were commanded to do so. That's the reason they were doing it, so they would not miss their Messiah, see, because He was to be a sign to the church, to the people. And He had done exactly what He was supposed to do, and yet they did not believe Him because of their traditions. So Jesus was rebuking them for their unbelief. They should have believed it, but they did not.

And we find out that in all generations—everywhere, in all generations—where God appears, supernatural signs come. There never has been a revival. . . . Take Luther, Wesley, whoever it might be. Divine healing and great signs and wonders accompanied every revival, for God is supernatural, and where the supernatural is, supernatural will be done. And the reason it's supernatural, because supernatural spirit gets a hold of the people and performs supernatural things, see. God is a creator, and if He is in our heart, why, the Spirit will always say “Amen” to his Word.

Now in the Old Testament they had two ways of knowing whether a man was right. First they had a law. There's the ten commandments. But if a prophet prophesied and then . . . a dreamer dreamed a dream, they had another way of finding out. No matter how good it sounded, see, they had a way of supernatural. God always vindicated Himself. Don't forget this! God vindicates Himself by supernatural, all ages.

Then here come a man that was a prophet, and he'd prophesy, and it sounded just so real with his theology. It sounded so real that it was perfect. But you see in this day they'd been four hundred years without a prophet. So they said . . . they got a bunch of man-made theology. I don't say this to disregard, but, brethren, that's what we got into again, see—just man-made conception of what church ought to be, what Christ ought to be. Not to be different now—if I said that just to be different, then God have mercy on my soul. I ought to be down here at the altar. But I've got to tell the truth, see.

Now, watch. And the minister brethren know this, that if a prophet prophesied, or a dreamer dreamed a dream, no matter how good it sounded they taken him first to the (what's called) Urim Thummim. Now that was a breastplate that Aaron wore—twelve stones of the twelve tribes, that hung on a post in the building. They taken this prophesier or this dreamer down there, and he prophesied or told his dream before the Urim Thummim. And if the supernatural lights begin to flash—God, moving against this twelve stones, made a conglomeration of lights like a rainbow—that was God saying, “It's true.” But if it did not do it, then they did not believe it. No matter how well it sounded, it was wrong.

Now, when that priesthood was done away with, the Aaronic priesthood, then that Urim Thummim was taken away. But in this priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, we also have a Urim Thummim. No matter how well a minister can tell you that the days of miracles is past, that there is no such a thing as speaking in tongues in this day, there is no such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that won't flash on God's Urim Thummim. And the Urim Thummim of this day is the Bible.

If the Bible says it's so, how can you say it was just for the apostles? Peter said on the day of Pentecost, “Repent, every one of you, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

I can clearly show you where God gave the church power to heal the sick. Now, somebody show me where He said, “Now, I'll take it back.” Show me that, where it's at. It isn't there.

The power's in the church but the church has forgot it. They don't practice it. They don't put it into practice. So you see it's become again a theology, a man-made theology. And when it does, it doesn't compare with God's Bible. God's Bible still remains the same. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. The works that I do shall you also. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world,” see. Oh, it's. . . . “He that believeth on me, though he were dead yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die. Believeth thou this?” He said.

Martha said, “Yea, Lord: I believe that You're the Son of God that would come into the world.”

Said, “Where have you buried him?”

Something had to happen when real faith is brought up with the Word of God. Therefore, brethren, the Word of God is right every time.

But those priests had wound it around and made traditions. “We are Pharisees. We wash the pots this way.”

“We're Sadducees. We wash them this way.” Oh, my! What is it? Taking one from. . . . It's like today: “I'm a Methodist this week, a Baptist this week.” You know what? It's just like taking a corpse from one morgue to another. That's just exactly about the truth. If you're a-joining churches, why don't you forget about it and get your name written in the Lamb's book of life in heaven? There's where it will never be changed. That's right, written by the name and the blood of Jesus Christ in heaven. There you won't have to change it from church to church. Your name. . . .

There's only one church, one Christian church, and there's only one way into it. Not handshaking, not sprinkling, not some form of baptism of water; but by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, and become members of the body of Christ.

Now, but you see they've took their traditions and made the commandments of God of none effect.

Jesus was trying to tell them, “I've come just exactly the way the prophet said I would come, and you would believe it not.”

And just a word behind here—they said, “We would seek a sign from thee. We would seek a sign.” Oh, every generation God has had gifts in his church.

Now, we notice (before we get to our text) He referred back to Jonah. And a lot of people has always thought of Jonah as being a man that missed the will of God. I don't believe that any man walking in the will of God can miss the will of God. I don't believe that any man walking in the Spirit can miss the will of God. He might think he did, but God makes it all work together right. He brings everything out right.

Some of you ministers have thought, “Oh, my, why did I come to this place? What happened over here? Why did I leave this? But I felt led to do it.” I talked to a little minister today—brother here on the platform—leaving the church and going to the Indians, where he just has to go here and there, wherever he can. Leaving a fine church. Said he felt led to do it.

I said, “Son, stay with your leading.”

It don't matter if you have to lay on your stomach and drink branch water and eat soda crackers, and you had to swap chicken three times a day—stay in the will of God. That's right. No matter what the price is, stay with it. God called it.

Now, we find that that be true. Now, notice another thing.

Then we find that he referred to Jonah. He said, “As it was in the days of Jonah. . . . An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. There'll be one given them.” As it was in the days of Jonas. . . . Now, Jonah, we know, we think, that God sent him over to Nineveh but he got on the road and went to Tarshish. We think the prophet backslid. He didn't backslide.

I was reading something on him here not long ago. It sounded very good to me, and here's the way it went. Jonah got on the boat, and he went down. . . . And people thought that he was out of the will of God, but he was in the will of God. We know a storm came up, and they tied his hands behind him and his feet, and throwed him out into the water. And God had a big whale to come up, or a big fish, and swallow him.

And anyone knows that when a fish eats, it usually goes down into the water and then rests its swimmers, its floats, swimmers, on the bottom of the water. Feed your little goldfish and watch what happens. It gets its little belly full, he'll go right down, put his little swimmers against the bottom, and rest awhile, see. He's got his tummy full, so he just goes down to rest. Well, when this whale got his tummy full of preacher, he goes right down to the bottom to rest.

I always felt sorry for Jonah. You know, Jonah, if there's anybody that's got a reason to talk about symptoms. . . . So many of us say, “Well, I was prayed for, but I'm still sick.” What has that got to do with it? You were asked to believe; not to feel, but believe. And you say, “Well, I was prayed for—I had a bad hand—two nights ago. No difference, I guess I missed it.” Well, you missed it at the beginning, see. If you would have believed it at the beginning, you'd've never paid any attention to that, see.

Talk about symptoms, Jonah had symptoms. Look here, now—he was down in the belly of the whale, hands tied behind him, feet tied behind him, in a stormy sea, probably forty fathoms deep in the sea, in the belly of the whale, the vomit of the whale all around him. He looked this way, it was whale's belly; that way, it was whale's belly; everywhere he looked was whale's belly. There's nobody here that bad off tonight, I'm sure. Oh, whale's belly everywhere he looked.

But you know what he said? He refused to see it. He said, “They are lying vanities; but once more will I look to your holy temple, Lord.” Oh, my!

Jonah knew that when that temple was dedicated, that Solomon prayed, and said, “God, if thy people be in trouble anywhere and will look to this holy temple and pray, then hear from heaven.” And Jonah had confidence that that man had faith in God, and God heard Solomon's prayer. And God kept that man alive three days and nights in the belly of that whale, and delivered him over to the right place. Whether He put a oxygen tank in there, I don't know what He done, but He kept him alive.

And if Jonah, under those circumstances, in that condition, could look to a temple that was made by man and prayed over by a man, how much more ought we tonight, under these conditions, look away from a temple but to the throne where God sits there, and Jesus on his right hand with his own bloody garments making intercession for our profession, sitting as a high priest upon a throne. Symptoms doesn't mean anything to us then. God said so and that's all. Jesus is sitting there tonight to make your confession right before God. He's a high priest to make intercessions upon our confession. You've got to believe it, and confess it that it's so and then Jesus can go to work on it for you.

Oh, yes. God kept him alive three days and nights. And we find him there. And we was told that all the Ninevites had turned away from God and went to worshiping animals, which is a heathen trait, and they was. . . . Most all around Nineveh, it was on the seashore, so the occupation was fishing. And the god of the sea was the whale. He was the largest specie in the ocean, and that was the god of the ocean. One day about forenoon, when they were all out there fishing, the thousands of them fishing, all at once up come the big whale god. Run up to the shore and licked his tongue out, and the prophet walked right out of his mouth. Sure they repented. Certainly. The god of the sea delivered the prophet right up. God knows how to do things. So, He had to put him in the whale's belly, don't you see?

So Jonah didn't misbehave . . . God. He didn't mis . . . he minded God. God did that to show that He was God. Let him walk out of a whale's mouth right out on the shore, and that was the god delivering the prophet. Sure they would hear him. I can him see him going through the street, and that bald head shining, saying “Repent, or in forty days this city will be destroyed.” Why, they put sackcloth on their animals. They repented. Yes, sir.

Oh, Jesus referred back, and said, “An evil and a. . . .” I'm going . . . listen to this. Said, “An evil and an adulterous generation seeks after signs.” Seeks after signs—everybody's got to have a sign. This one's got. . . . “A evil and an adulterous generation.” I'll tell you one thing—if you'll listen close, you'll find out he was talking about this generation. A wicked, evil, and an adulterous . . . like Sodom.

I was in Los Angeles a few weeks ago in a great revival there for the Assemblies of God, on the Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach. Picked up a paper, and homosexual has increased 40%—men with the natural use of life perverted. Look, nations are crumbling. Sin has took over. What do they do to the. . . ? What have they done all along to the church of God? Laughed at them and called them holy rollers and Pentecostal fanatics. They've got it coming to them. The nations has got it coming.

All these nations has to give way, for there's coming a kingdom. Hallelujah! (Going to call me a holy roller anyhow, so you might as well get used to it right now.) Yes, I believe in it. There's coming a kingdom and a king. Oh, my!

We notice Jesus said, “A wicked and an adulterous generation will seek after a sign, and they'll get it.” They'll get the sign, that wicked and adulterous generation. “For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and nights, so must the Son of man be. . . .”

What kind of a sign would this wicked, adulterous generation get? The sign of the resurrection. Amen. That's what we find now. Christ alive among us, the sign of the resurrection. Amen. The Christ of Galilee doing the same things, the same works with his people, living amongst mortals, performing the signs of a living God among them. That wicked and adulterous generation we're living in has got the sign of Jonas, the resurrection—the resurrection power that can lift the sinner from the life of sin. Can take sinful women—unbelieving, ungodly, demon possessed—make believers out of them. Take men as low and stooped in morals, make gentlemen out of them. As it was in that day, a wicked and adulterous generation would receive a sign, and it would be the sign of the resurrection.

Remember in last night's message, or yesterday afternoon, that we are living in the last days, in the sign of Abraham's seed getting the same last sign. I ask any man or woman to tell me one sign promised in the Bible outside of this last sign. Show what it was, how Abraham. . . . Brought through justification, Luther's age; sanctification, Wesley's age; Holy Spirit, Pentecostal age, confirm-ing, placing the gifts in his church; and then appear, with his back turned, and discern the thoughts that Sarah, in the back and behind him like that. . . . And the next thing was a fire to the unbelievers, and the transfiguration of Abraham's body and them to receive the promised Son. Search the Scriptures and show me.

We're at the end time, church! We're at the end of the road. Scoffers, ungodly (excuse me, I'm not wanting to yell at you), but scoffers, end-time signs that we're living in now. Perverted hearts, perverted minds, contrary to God. “Heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, and despisers of those that are good.” You say that's communists. That's confessed Christians. The Bible said, the very next verse, “Having a form of godliness but denying the power of God, from such turn away.” That's scriptural. He brought them into that sign.

Then the next, we find out, He referred then to Solomon's time. Every generation God has had gifts, down through the ages. Now, notice in the days of Solomon. All you Bible readers know that was the golden age to Israel. God sent them a gift. They believed it. The days of Solomon there was no war. They was all afraid, because the people were with one heart, one accord. God gave Solomon a gift of discernment, and it was so powerful till every person in Israel, all of them, believed it. They built the temple. There was no wars, and the nations sent them in gifts and things. I'll say this: because they believed in their . . . popularity was strung all over the world, the mightiest nation there was in the world.

I'll say tonight that Canada, United States, our hopes is not built on somewhere we could go into a bomb shelter to hide from the atomic bombs. How could you ever dig out of reach of it? Why, the ones that we know about will blast a hole in the earth a hundred and fifty feet deep for a hundred miles square. That's the ones we know about. What about the ones we don't know about? Why, if you dig five thousand feet you'd . . . well, of course, you'd be into lava. But if you went fifteen hundred feet, why, the concussion of that would break every bone in your body. There's no way to dig around it. The hour has come.

But we do have a bomb shelter. It's not made out of steel; it's made out of feathers. “Under his wings we will abide.” When the bomb falls, we'll be in glory. But you notice this hour has arrived to us.

Now, what if all of the . . . Canada, all of the United States, all of us here together, would believe on the gift that God has given us, the Holy Ghost? Why, you wouldn't have to worry about Russia. Why, the nations would fear. God would put a fear upon them. He did it when they went into Palestine. Remember what Rahab the harlot told the spies? “Fear . . . we have no life left in us, because we heard what God did for you.” God can do the same thing, but what are we trying to do? Make our own achievement. Why not take God's way of doing it?

What would happen in Canada tonight if every man and woman that professed to be Christians would come together and pray and accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit? The nations would be so scared of Canada! Only a little bitty handful of people here, the great big dominion as you are; but you'd have the nations on their knees. Certainly, you would. Because, we just don't accept it, that's all.

In the days of Solomon they all accepted.

Could you imagine everybody coming through Palestine said, “Oh, have you ever attended church yet?”

“Oh, well, of course, I worship another. . . .”

“No matter what you worship.”

“Oh, I've heard of your. . . .”

“Come over. Come over and see the great gift that God's give us. Oh, we've got a . . . our God is a living God. Our God's given us a great gift. Why, it's upon one of our brothers. We made him king. And you should come see this gift. Oh, it's perfect. It's a discernment. And people come to him, see it. Why. . . .”

Them days they didn't have television (thank the Lord), and so . . . or things like we have today. And the only way they know is bring in news from lip to ear and through the caravans as they pass the country. And everywhere people coming through, in the commerce and trade, and so forth, they'd go away, say, “You should go up in Israel. Oh, you should see what their God has did. He's put his Spirit upon a man, and that man has wisdom, discernment. It's so powerful that nothing can stand before him.”

What a great thing that was. Oh, the people would wonder. All nations feared. They sent thousands of sheep and oxen, everything, to make peace with them. “We don't want that people angry with us, because you know it's written it's better that a millstone hanged at your neck, you know, and drown. . . .”

So finally the word got way down into Sheba. That's across the Sahara desert, down in the south. “The queen of the south,” Jesus referred to it. And then He said that when this little queen. . . . Everybody coming through, and passed through these great caravans of camels and things, they'd all say, “Well, how are things going up in this nation?”

Everybody, “Well, fair.”

“But you ought to go to Israel! Oh, it's the most magnificent thing you ever seen! Their God has put his Spirit upon one of the brothers, and them people are in one accord [There you are!]. Every Israelite believes in him.” Oh, if we'd just get ourself in one accord, put our hearts. . . . Not because we're Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, but put our hearts upon the gift, the Holy Spirit. One accord—Methodists believe it, Baptists believe it, Pentecostals believe it, Presbyterians believe it, Catholics believe in it. Oh, my, wouldn't it be a. . . . Oh, that'd be in the Millennium!

Sure, one accord. “Everybody believes it. You should just see them. Oh, my, how that their God pours out his wisdom upon that man! You never seen anything like it. There's nothing can stand before him. And he's just a man, but it's God's Spirit upon him.”

Well, how does faith come? By Spirit. The little queen'd say, “Is that right?” Yes, faith.

Then the next caravan come through. “Wait a minute. Have you been to Israel?”

“Yes.”

“Is it. . . ?”

“Oh, it's certainly true. You never seen such in your life. I stood in the meeting there one day and I seen that man discern the people till . . . it just had to be something supernatural.”

“Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst for righteousness.” See, “faith cometh by hearing, hearing the Word of God.” Now, she begin to thirst to go see for herself.

Now remember, she had a lot to confront. First thing, she was a pagan. Now she'd have to go down to her church and get permission to leave. Let's take . . . let's go with her a while, what do you say?

She goes down. She says, “Holy reverend father, I've heard that there's a great supernatural power up in Israel. They're having a revival. And they tell me that their God has put his Spirit upon a man, and he does works that a man cannot do. It has to be their God doing it.”

I can hear him say, “Hmm, uh-huh [the bishop, you know]. My daughter, do you realize that your grandmother belonged to this church? Your great-grandmother belonged to this church, her great-grandmother belonged to this church. You are a member here. And you're a dignified person. You are a queen. Don't you never associate yourself with that bunch of holy rollers [you know] people [excuse me], that bunch up there, because they're just a little. . . .”

“Oh, but, sir, they tell me that the Spirit of their God is upon a man, see, and he does works like God does, like their God.”

“Listen, my dear queen. I am your father bishop, and if there was such a thing as that, it would happen in our congregation.”

You know them spirits don't die. They just keep living on, see. “It would happen with us if there was such a thing, but being it's not in our denomination, why, of course, there's nothing to it. It's just emotion. It's probably telepathy. Oh, we have heard of such things as that but it's rumors. Don't pay any attention to it.”

That didn't satisfy her. She said, “But, sir, look, they tell me that it is a living God.”

“Dear, look at the gods that we have here.”

“Yes, that's right. All the books and gods, but I never seen nothing move in them. Grandma didn't see nothing move in them, and her grandma didn't see nothing move in them. They're nothing but a bunch of words. They're nothing but a bunch of idols. But they tell me that is a living God, who lives in human beings [amen]. I want to see something real [bless her little heart]. I want to see something that's got some life to it; not a dead idol, not a dead formal theology.”

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heavens and earth; I believe in the Holy Roman Catholic church. . . .” And say that's the Apostle's Creed? Show me what the Apostle's Creed's like in the Bible. Not a word of it in the Bible. That's right. It's man made theory. I don't mean to be mean now; I just want to tell you what's truth. But before you can make a board stick, you have to drive it in, and clinch the nail, and we got to clinch this, see. Whoever heard such a thing as Apostle's Creed? No, it's nonsense. All those creeds, they don't get you nowhere. You've said it for years and you're still wandering about in sin and groping in darkness, having a form of godliness. And when the Holy Spirit performs something, you call it a devil. You're sealing yourself away from God all the time. That's right. Listen, brother and sister, don't you be like that. Wake up! We're at the end-time.

“Oh,” said, “now, dear if there was any miracles to be done, our church would have it here.” That didn't satisfy her. “Now, remember you are a queen. You belong to the Rebekahs [Or some other society. You are a member of the Kiwanis, or. . . .]. You cannot associate yourself with such low trash as that bunch up there, you see.”

You have that thrown in your face. A member of what? I'd rather be a member of the body of my God and to have all your societies throwed into a trash can. Right. Stand for Christ. “On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.” Anything contrary to that Word, let it. . . .

“Let every man's word be a lie,” said God, “and mine be the truth.” That's right. Sure. Let every man's word be a lie.

Well, her little heart was still hungering. You know, if you're hungering, God'll make a way for you. Some of them say, “Don't go over to that. That's Pentecostal.” What difference does it make? God speaks to your heart, go anyhow. No one has to ask the bishop whether you can go or not. God's speaking to you. Who's going to judge, the bishop or God, see?

Now the first thing you know, she said, “Well, I'll go anyhow.”

“Well, we'll take your name off the book.”

“Well, just take it off. That's right. I'm going. I'm going, because something inside of me hungers! [Oh, when the deep calleth to the deep, the noise of thy waterspouts. . . .] I'm going anyhow.”

“Well, will you bring disgrace upon your mother's religion?”

“Mother's or not mother's, there's something in my heart telling me to go find out for myself. I'm not going to stand out here and criticize it with you. I'm going to find out for myself. [God bless her little heart. That's the way.] I'm going to buy every Hebrew scroll of every prophet that ever spoke. I'm going to see what their God was like. And if their God is real, and put Himself—what He was to those prophets—upon that man, I'll say, 'He's God.' ” Amen. That's the way to do it. Search the Scriptures, see if they're right or not. Amen. (I'm not amenning myself, but amen means “so be it.”) I believe it with all my heart.

Here, now, she had a lot to confront. I can see her get her little camels together, her bunch of little maids together, a bunch of eunuchs. And now she said, “You know what? I'm going up there, and I'm going to find out. And if it's true, I'm going to support it.” So she loaded her camels with gold and frankincense and silver, rich stuff. Now she said, “If I get up there, and if it's so, I'm going to support it. If it isn't so, I can bring my money back.”

That would be a good thing for Pentecostal people to learn. Supporting programs on tele . . . on these here radio that'd stand around and laugh and call you a holy roller afterwards. That's right. Support your pastor, support your church, support the cause that stands for the right things. That's right. She said, “If it's not right, I'll bring my money back. If it is right, I owe something to it.” That's the way we should feel. If this be God, not only our money—our money's little—but we owe Him our hearts, our time, our talents, and everything that we have, we owe it to God. If it's right, let's go into it with everything we got. If it isn't right, go find what is right, then get into it.

Jesus said, “If I cast out devils, you can do it a better way, come do it. You can do it better, then come do it a better way,” He said. “But if I cast out devils by the finger of God, know the kingdom of God's come nigh unto you. Now,” He said, “if you've got a better way than the Scriptures says, let's see you produce it.” That's right.

I said that at a big college the other night, when the dean and all them was sitting there. He didn't know. Now, like that man sitting there thinking that, didn't know that I was catching it right on the platform. Sure. He sat back there thinking, “Oh, he sure has got . . . certainly is a psychologist. He certainly is.”

I said, “Then if I am a psychologist, Dean, I ask you to come here to the platform and carry this service on. I have no Ph.D. and know nothing about psychology. If you got a better way of doing it, then come here.” Dean of the school. I said, “There's a doctor of psychology. Come up here and perform it. Come on. You're doctors of psychology. But if you can't do it, then keep still about it.” Right. That's right. “If you can't do it, can't produce it, shut up! Let God alone.” Right. Oh, it was a mighty quiet bunch.

So we find the little queen, she got everything ready to go. And she loaded up her camels. Now, remember, she had a lot to confront. Remember, in them days the sons of Ishmael was in the desert, and they were robbers. Oh, what an easy prey for that bunch of fleet riders, to ride right in on that bunch of little guards and chop them down, and that few little women there, and cut them to pieces, and . . . crossing that Sahara desert and then what would they do? Take all that wealth to themselves.

But, you know, if you're thirsting for God, if you're hungering, there's no fear in your faith. You know, when you're hungering for God, there isn't ten million devils can keep you away from Him. You believe God, there isn't a devil can hold you. You don't think about the circumstances. You've got one objective, that's go to God, regardless of who says anything about it. Oh, it could have been easy for them; but, you see, if you are hungering and thirsting, you shall be filled. God will see that you get there. She never thought nothing about that.

How long the journey was? Measure how far it is from Palestine, where the temple was built, all the way down to where the queen's palace was in Sheba, across the Sahara desert. And she didn't go across there in a air-conditioned Cadillac. She went across on a camel. It takes ninety days, three months, on the back of a camel. Some people won't come across the street to hear it. Automobiles, and airplanes, and everything—no wonder Jesus said, “She'll rise in the day of judgment and condemn this generation. She came from the utmost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but a greater than Solomon is here,” He said. Certainly. And a greater than Solomon is here tonight—the Holy Spirit, the very God of Solomon. A greater than Solomon is here.

What did she do? After crossing the desert. . . . She began to travel by night, because the direct rays of that sun will beat the hide right off of you. And here she come through . . . those camels, riding on there, reading those scrolls, what Jehovah was. Amen. On her way the devil said, “You better go back.”

“I'm determined to find it.” Oh, brother, blessed are they. . . . Here he come. “Now we see that, Jehovah does this. He appeared in the prophets, He did this, this is his way. The prophets foretold things. Here's a man with that same spirit of discernment. And if that works, I'll find out. I'll go see, and I'll see if it's right.” Finally she arrived at the gate.

Now, she was different from the women of 1961, see. That version of them, they come in, sit down a few minutes, “If he says one thing contrary to our priest, we'll stomp out.” That shows you was raised poorly. That's right. That's right. Shows what kind of home you came out of, see. No. She come to stay till she was satisfied whether it was right or wrong. She'd search it with the Scriptures and try it out and see if it was right. She come to stay till she was convinced over and over.

She put up her little tent and unpacked the camels, and scooted her money back to other places, and set the guards around. And the next morning I can imagine her fixing her hair all up, you know, and getting her hands clean, and her face, and putting on her best garments, and she goes over to church. She sits down. And all the bands, the trumpets sounded, and the music played, just before the church started. And after a while, out come pastor Solomon, walked out to the pulpit, began to speak.

And when the first person come up, she said, “Now, I'll see. I know just exactly what Jehovah is, their God. I'm going to see if He works like that. He knows the thoughts of the heart. He knows the secrets of the mind. So we'll see. I know that man's a man. I see him standing there. He's got clothes on, he's just a man, like any other man. So I'll just see if that is God in that man.” So the first thing, a person come across the platform to Pastor Solomon, and he told them, the secrets made known. Then her little heart began to jump.

Next thing, the next day, more was said. The next day, more was said. Day after day, and finally her prayer card was called, and so (maybe not like that) anyhow, you know. . . . But she got into the prayer line. She said, “Now, I'll see what he says when he gets to me.”

So after a while she walks up on the platform to where he was. “How do you do?” And the Bible said that there was no question in her heart but what was made known to Solomon. Amen. Brother, it worked on her then.

What did she do? She turned to the congregation. “I am the queen of the South. I've heard about this great gift that your God give to this man. And I know he's just a man. I shook his hand, I looked at him. He's a man. But there's a Spirit on him, for he didn't know me, but God has revealed to him what's in my heart.” She said, “His God can be my God. The things that I heard about Him is wonderful. They were all true, and more than I heard.”

For why? It worked on her, see. It was her own experience. “More than this. It's greater than I heard about.” And she said, “Even blessed is the men that's with him all the time to see this thing working. Blessed are the men.” She'd never worship no other god but that God. Why? She was hungering and thirsting. Her heart had been satisfied.

Jesus said she'll stand in the day of judgment and condemn this generation of Jews and Gentiles, for she came from the utmost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Oh, we've had about 2,500 years of teaching and experience since then, but a greater than Solomon is here—the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ in spirit form, living in his church, and bringing to pass the same thing that He did when He was here on earth, showing his resurrection to the adulterous generation.

What was the matter with her? Why did she say it? Listen, friends, in closing, this way. She had seen something real. And any honest hearted person that's mentally balanced, and honest and sincere, wants to see something real. That's what the world's looking for today. It's not a bunch of theology, not of some man that can. . . . Jesus never did say, “Well, if I do not the teaching of my Father. . . .” He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, then don't believe me. But if I do the works of my Father, then believe the works. If you can't believe me as a man, believe the works that I do of my Father.”

She seen something real. She seen something. Not a bunch of creeds wrote out, but she seen something real. That's what people wants to see today, honest-hearted—something that's real.

In closing, I say this. Everybody knows that. . . . I don't say I'm a hunter; I just like to hunt. My mother's mother came from the Cherokee reservation. My conversion, since I. . . . The first money I ever earned was twenty-five cents. I bought a steel trap, started trapping. I've been in business ever since. So, I just love to get alone in the woods. I see God in the woods. Go up into the mountains, climb up on top of the mountain and watch the sunrise, and stand there and scream before God.

Here some time ago, over in Colorado. . . . I'm a guide in Colorado, worked on ranches. One day the rancher and I had went elk hunting. We'd done got all the dudes in and out, so we went elk hunting. We went away on back where the tenderfoot (as you call them), cheechakos couldn't go. So we went way up high. And he went over in another range. I wouldn't see him for about a week. I tied up my saddle horse. Had been kind of. . . . That day had been a . . . dry season. The elk hadn't been run down yet. And I'd went way up high to the timberline. It'll come a rain, and it'll freeze, and then come a snow, and then it'll come rain, and then the sun will shine. You know how it is, the fall of the year.

I was walking along through there, my eyes closed, saying, “Glory to God. You're so great, Father. Oh, You're so great. Way up here alone, where there's no gasoline or cigarettes. O God, no wonder you can live up here.” I was just going along praising God. First thing you know there come a little storm across the mountains. I got in behind a tree. There was a blow-down there. It was almost to timberline. I got down, got down behind this tree, and sat down there a little bit, and the storms blowed real hard. I had my head down like this, saying, “God, You are wonderful. You're the God of the mountain, You're the God of the valley. You're God when we're poor, You're God when we're rich. You're God when we're sick, You're God when we're happy. You're a God when I'm hunting, You're a God when I'm crying. You're God in God. And I just. . . .” After a while the storm let up. I looked around, and I thought, “Well, praise the Lord. Storm's over. I guess I'll go hunting for my elk now.”

I started to move out. And all at once I looked across toward the west, towards Canada, this way. The big sun had come across into this province here, and was peeking its great eye through the crevices in the rock. I looked around. I thought, “Oh, yes, Jehovah.” I looked back over here, and there was a rainbow, because the evergreens had froze over, you know, and the sun was shining against them, caused a rainbow to form across the valley. And I thought, “There He is. He's up here. He's to look upon as jasper and sardine stones, Revelations 1, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He that was, which is, and shall come, the root and offspring of David, the morning star, the lily of the valley.” Oh, my, there He was, in the rainbow. I thought, “O God, how great Thou art.” I thought, “Oh, how wonderful!”

About that time, I heard an old elk bugle. Chris, you know what I mean. Heard that, “Whee-hoo,” like that, and I thought, “Oh, my. He got lost in the storm. He was bugling for the rest of them.” I thought, “There it is. The deep, the wild, calling.” An old gray wolf got to howling on the hills, his mate answering down at the bottom. Then, brother, I tell you, the real part came out of me. I stood there and cried like a baby. I said, “O God, how wonderful! There You are in the rainbow, there You are in the calling of the elk, there You are in the call of the wolf. You're God everywhere. Oh, how wonderful!” I said, “Praise be to God!”

And around and around and around the tree I went, shouting top of my voice (might as well tell you the truth), hollering, “Glory to God! Hallelujah!” I didn't care. Anybody shouts to let anybody else hear him shout, they're a hypocrite. Was nobody in forty miles of me. I was just jumping up and down, running around the tree, hollering, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise God!” I could see God everywhere. He was real. My, I run around and around. If somebody come in the woods, they'd have thought somebody was out of the insane institution up there. I'd go around. I didn't care. I was having a good time, blowing off some of the steam. I was having a wonderful time. “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

I stopped, and I said, “O God, why should I ever go down out of this mountain. My! Let me live and die up here, bury me up here. Take me home. I'll set my gun here, let my son Joseph find it some day. Let him hunt with it. Lord, take me up now. Let me go.” Oh, just having a wonderful time. I had always thought sometime I'd come up missing in the woods. “Let me go, Lord, walk out. Take me. Like Elijah did—send the horses along.” I was, oh, just having such a wonderful time there.

All at once I stopped, and when I did, a little old. . . . I don't know whether you got them here or not. Yes, Chris, I believe you trapped them, them little old pine squirrels. He's a blue coat policemen of the woods. Noisiest thing you ever heard in your life, and not big enough to do anything. Jumped up on a stump and said, “Chatter, chatter, chatter. Chatter, chatter, chatter. Chatter, chatter, chatter.”

I said, “Now wait a minute, little feller.” I said, “What you so excited about? You didn't like that? Now watch this.” And around and around the tree I went again. I said, “How did you like that?” I said, “You like that?” I said, “You know what I'm doing? I'm worshiping our Creator. You ought to do the same thing. Don't fuss at me.” And I went ahead, and said, “Oh, if you only knew Him the way I know Him! He's the one that gives you pine cones, see. Shame on you! Don't bother me when I'm worshiping. Shut up!” And around and around the tree I went again.

About that time I noticed the little fella wasn't noticing me. His little eyes bugged out on his cheek. He had it cocked down in the bush, like that. I thought, “What's the matter?” Directly, a great big eagle had been forced down in the storm come up. I thought, “Oh, that's what he's all excited about, that eagle.” The wind had blown him under there. I thought, “Well, now, God, why would You break me up from running around and around this tree here.” I believe God makes everything happen right. I said, “Why would You break me up from running around and around this tree here to let me see that little old pine squirrel with that eagle? What about the eagle? Old vulture,” I said. “What's he . . . sitting there anyhow?”

I looked at him. I thought, “Well, God, could You be in that eagle?” I looked at him, and I thought, “Yes, You are, because he's not scared.” That's one thing, he wasn't afraid. I said to him. . . . And God don't want a coward. If you're ashamed to testify, don't go to the altar, you're ashamed to say, “By his stripes I'm healed,” you're ashamed to say, “Yes, I received the Holy Ghost.” Hallelujah! God wants to put a backbone, not a wishbone, in you, wants to make you somebody, give you a testimony.

As Buddy Robinson said, “Give me a testimony like a saw log, put plenty of knowledge in the gable end of my soul, let me fight the devil as long as I got a tooth, then gum him till I die.” And that was his testimony. Old Uncle Buddy, you know. And so . . . he meant that too. So then, eighty-five years old, run sixty thousand miles a year in a little Chevrolet car, still preaching the gospel. He wrote a book, sold a million copies. Didn't know the difference between a noun and a pronoun. Said, “I didn't know. I just wrote the thing [unclear words].” But he was a great man of God.

Now notice this eagle. I thought, “Why are you not scared? You know what? I could take my rifle and shoot you.” Of course he knowed I admired him too much to do that. He looked at me, and I thought, “Well, he's not scared of me, because he knowed. . . .” I watched him. He kept feeling them wings, you know, see if them feathers wasn't running [unclear words]. I thought, “Sure, that's the reason he's not afraid. He's got a God given gift—wings. He's got confidence in that God-given gift. He knowed he could be in that timber before I could get my hand on that gun. He had confidence.

If an eagle can have confidence in his wings as a God-given gift, how much more ought we to have confidence in a God-given gift of the Holy Spirit, could carry us away. Watched his feathers as they moved. I thought, “Brother, I love you too much to shoot you, see.” I watched him.

After awhile I noticed he wasn't bothered about me. He was watching that little old pine squirrel going, “Chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter.” He had enough of it after awhile. He just made one big bounce, maybe flopped his wings about twice, and went plumb beyond that timber. And when he did, that's when I seen what God was doing. That big fellow never flopped anymore. He just knowed how to spread his wings, and every time the wind would come in, he'd ride up on it. After a while he kept going up, up, up (not moving a feather), up, up, up, till he become just a little spot.

There I was, standing there with my hands up to heaven, saying, “Oh, glory to God. That's it. It's not flop, flop, I'm a Pentecostal today. Flop, flop, I'm a Baptist tomorrow. Flop, flop, I'll go to Oral Roberts' meeting. Flop, flop, I'll go to Brother Branham's meeting. Flop, flop, I'll go to Tommy Hicks.” No! It's knowing how to set your wings, your wings of faith in the power of God. Every time the glory wave comes in, ride up on it.

He left that little old earth-bound chipmunk sitting there, saying, “Chatter, chatter, chatter, days of miracles is past, no such a thing as divine healing, no such thing as the Holy Ghost.” He got tired of listening at it, so he just set his wings and moved away. Oh, my, that's it, friends. Just set your wings in faith.

In the north woods I used to hunt with a boy about half Indian. His name is Bert Caul. He was one of the finest hunters I've ever hunted with. You never had to worry about Bert. Anywhere in the woods, you didn't have to worry about him. He'd come in, let him alone. And we used to love to hunt together. But he was the meanest man I ever seen. He had eyes like a lizard. And he used to laugh at me being a preacher. And he was a fine fellow, but he was just mean. And he used to love to shoot fawns just to make me feel bad. Now, remember, it's all right to shoot a fawn. That's all right, but not just to be mean—just to shoot it and let it lay there, and laugh about it. That's wrong. That's murder.

And so he used to say, “Aw, preacher, you're like the rest of them—chicken-hearted. You'd be a good hunter if it wasn't you was so chicken-hearted.”

I said, “Bert.”

He said, “Oh, I thought you was a hunter.”

I said, “I am a hunter, but not a killer, see. There's a lot of difference in that word.”

He said, “Aw, get next to yourself, Billy. Get next to yourself. Now, you wouldn't shoot a fawn?”

I said, “I've shot a many fawn.” I said, “God . . . Abraham killed a calf and fed it to God, and He eat it. That's right. So there's no harm killing a fawn if the law says you can have it. It's all right, but don't do it just to be mean, just to show off.” So he did that just to show off.

So one day I was up there, and he said, “Well, Billy, you're a little late coming up this time.” And he had a little whistle he'd made, and he took that little whistle and he'd blow it, and it sounded like a little baby fawn (that's a little baby deer), calling for its mammy.

And I thought, “Bert, you wouldn't do that.”

He said, “Aw, go on, Billy.”

So, we always took a thermos jug full of hot chocolate, because it warms you up, you happen to get turned around or something. (I'm sorry to be late, but I'll close right now.) Said, “I'm. . . .” We started out, and those white tail deer. . . . Oh, my, you talk about Houdini being an escape artist—he was an amateur. You ought to see them after it's shot at once. Oh, they can get away like. . . . You just see where they were. And so, then, they were so fast. And hunting season had been in two weeks. And, why, we walked all morning, didn't even see a track. Along about noon time we usually sat down, eat our lunch.

So it was about noon. We come into a little clearing, about three or four times the size of this church here, like that. And so Bert sat down. And we hadn't seen a track nor nothing. And we usually separate along about noon, and he goes one way and I go another and get back in some time that night to our spike camp, where our horses and things were.

So, then when Bert sat down, he went to reach in back like this, in his bosom. I thought he was going to get his thermos, you know, to get his chocolate. So when . . . he started to pull something out and it was that little whistle. And I said, “Bert, you wouldn't blow that.”

He said, “Aw, preacher, get next to yourself,” looked up to me with them lizard eyes, you know. Took this little whistle, and he blowed it. It sounded like a little fawn crying.

Well, to my surprise, right across that place a big mother doe (that's the mother deer) stood up. She was hid, you see, under the brush. She stood up. That's irregular. Not . . . in this country it might not be, but that country it is. Very irregular for a doe to raise up, or any deer, that time of day, about eleven o'clock.

She raised up. She looked around. What was the matter? She was a mother, a baby was in trouble. She looked around. I can just see those great big ears and them brown eyes looking around.

And old Bert looked up to me with them lizard eyes. I said, “Bert, you wouldn't do that.” So he blowed it again, and the mother deer walked right out of the brush into the open. Now she wasn't putting nothing on. She was a mother. That was something born in her, a mother. Her baby was in trouble. She was looking for it. She looked around, walked out in the opening. I seen him. . . . We never carried shell in the chamber, when we're hunting together like that. So he had a 30.06. He pulled it back real easy and throwed that shell up there, 180 grain mushroom. He was a dead shot. My! Seen him raise up like this and lay that cross hair across that loyal heart of that mother.

I thought, “Oh, my. How can you do it, Bert? How can you do it? How can you be so cruel? In a moment that poor deer, that loyal heart in that mother, she won't have any heart. You'll blow it plumb through her, see. How can you do it? And her looking for her baby, you deceiving her like that.”

She walked out. And when the bolt went down on the model .70, when it went down like that, the deer spooked. Looked around, and she saw the hunter. Would she jump? No, sir.

She knowed she was facing death, but her baby was in trouble. She kept moving on, slowly, looking for that baby, them big ears up, looking, that nose up. She seen the hunter, and she knowed it was death just in a moment, but that didn't make any difference to her. Her baby was in trouble. She wasn't putting on nothing, like a lot of church members do. There was something real. She was born a mother. She looked around.

I said, “I can't look at it.” I turned my back. I thought, “O God, don't let him do it. Don't let him do it, Lord. There's deers in this woods. Don't let him kill that poor precious mother. Don't let him do that. She's got a fawn somewhere or she wouldn't be acting like that. She thinks it's lost. It's crying for her. Don't let him do it, Lord.” I waited a minute, just listening any time to hear that gun go off. And I knowed if it went off, she'd sure be a dead deer. And she wasn't standing thirty yards from him, right in the clearing.

I just kept waiting, but the gun never went off. I waited, waited, the gun still didn't go off. I thought, “What's the matter?” and I turned around. Them steel nerves in that half Indian . . . was going like this, shaking like that, and he turned around, and tears running down his cheeks. He throwed the rifle on the ground. He grabbed me around the legs. He said . . . [Blank spot on tape.]

With your eyes closed, praying, how many in here would like to be the type of Christian that that deer was a mother? Would like to have the love of Christ so in your heart that you could display Christ? Not something put on, but a real . . . a birth that makes you a Christian, like a birth made that deer a mother. If you'd like to have that kind of an experience, will you raise up your hand? God bless you. God bless you, everywhere.

Our heavenly Father, this simple little story, and yet people know that they need You, Lord. They need to be a Christian. They want to be. We all want to have something real that we can say to the world that Thou art Christ, the Son of God. Grant it, Lord, tonight. May that experience come to every one of us. In this little building, maybe 150 people, more than half of them raised up their hands that they wanted that kind of an experience. Lord, it shows that they lack that kind of an experience. May Christ tonight in his loyal holiness show this audience that He loves them, and can give them that experience of being a real born Christian. Not nothing put on, but a real experience. Grant it, Father. Through the name of Jesus, the Son of God, I ask it. While we have our heads continually bowed, is there someone here tonight, or how many, rather, that would like to accept Jesus as your Saviour, and say, “Brother Branham, like the queen of the south, I want Christ. Like the mother deer, I want to be a real Christian. I've never become a Christian. I've never taken Him as my Saviour. But tonight I want to do it.” Would you just stand up to your feet a minute, say, “I want to be remembered in prayer.”

Jesus said, “He that will confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father and the holy angels.”

Would you just stand at this time, say, “I've never stood for Him before”? God bless you. God bless you. That's good. Stand, some others now . . . God bless you. Someone else? Just stand to your feet. God bless you.