Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever

It's very nice to be here again this afternoon, after having such a wonderful time this morning and fellowshipping around the Word of the Lord. We are happy for our visit back again with you fine people here in the prairie.

And this morning we were speaking on the subject of achievement and God's provided way. And I was telling the ones that was in the class this morning that men are trying to achieve something for themselves, always something that they can say “I did this” or “I did that.” And we was talking of the subject of how wonderful it would be, how the news would flash all over the world in a few moments, if people could find a way to control the rain, to put it on the crops or take it off the crops. Or how that if they could find a medicine somewhere would cause an old man to return young, and a woman back young, and live forever, why, they would send news everywhere. They're trying to achieve that, but it's already been achieved. Christ has did this for us, and He is God's achievement for us and, we must believe Him.

Now these services are not to be. . . . Sometimes they're called divine healing services. Now I do not believe that there is any man who can heal people. I believe that healing is done by faith in Christ, like salvation. There's no one could forgive our sins. They're already forgiven. Christ saved the world from sin when He died at Calvary. It'll never do you any good except you receive it as your own personal benefit. And that's the way it is by healing. All that God could do for the sick and the afflicted, He did it when He died at Calvary. And now He purchased that for us. That was his achievement. Now . . . but to receive it we have to accept it as our own personal property.

Salvation. I might ask today, “How many of you people were saved ten years ago?” Many hands would go up. “How many was saved last year?” Hands would go up. But you see you was not saved ten years ago, or last year. You were saved nineteen hundred years ago. You accepted it ten years ago, or whenever you did. Now it's already a finished work. The Bible said, “He was wounded for our transgressions, with his stripes we were healed,” see. It's a past tense, something that has been done.

So simple, and yet divine healing is one of the great masterpieces of the Bible, the masterpieces of God that was given to the Christian church. That's been long forgotten, long ago, but it's something that belongs to us. It's something that's your personal property.

And now to say that it isn't so, they've come too late for that, for I've taken about seven trips around the world and I've seen it in every nation. Tens of thousands of blind, deaf, dumb, afflicted, cancers, tumors, leprosy; and even been dead and doctors' statements written up, been dead for hours and raised back to life again. So now, those just can't be just statements. We wouldn't accept it like that. The doctor has to say so. See, it has to be an authentic statement before we can publish it.

And there's tens of thousands that's never been published, because I'm not very much on publishing things, unless it's just among ourselves. Jesus said in one place, “Don't tell anybody about it. Just go ahead, and give glory to God.” So I think today we put too much emphasis on publications and something that's show off. But Christ is not a show off. He's the Son of God, humble. How can men believe unless they were ordained to believe? There were many people in his day who did not believe it, but He came to those who did believe it.

Some time ago a man said to me. . . . Was reading an article, and said . . . about a little baby down in Mexico who had died in the meeting . . . or, died that morning about nine o'clock, and this was eleven that night. And the doctor signed the statement that he pronounced the baby dead at nine o'clock that morning. At eleven o'clock that night it was alive. I prayed for it there after seeing a vision, and prayed and laid hands on the little baby before about . . . oh, fifty or seventy-five thousand people. And the little baby began kicking and screaming, and come to life and is alive today, so far as I know. The doctor signed a statement by it.

And so that's about five times that I've seen such done. And so the man said to me, “I am going to look this up to see if that's right.”

I said, “I'll save you the trouble. Here's the doctor's statement.”

He said, “If you could raise up . . . if you go and pray for thousands and they'd raise up from the dead, and the cancers,” said, “I still do not believe it.”

I said, “Certainly not. It isn't for unbelievers. It's just for those who believe.” That's right. He can only deal with those who believe.

And there's only one unbelief. Let's keep that in our mind. There's only one sin. Now drinking, gambling, committing adultery, using profanity, that isn't sin. That's the attributes of unbelief. Jesus said, “He that believeth not is condemned already.”

In the days of our Lord He found many men who lived holy lives—clean, respectable gentlemen. And they were scholars, masterpieces of scholarship. And yet He said to them, “You are of your father the devil,” because they did not believe Him. The message, they did not believe. That made them unbelievers. He could not help them. In his own country there was many He could not help because of unbelief. So, He could not save you in unbelief, neither can He heal you in unbelief. It's just as simple as “just believe it.

Now before you can believe anything you have to have some kind of a conception of what you are believing, and why. I do not believe that God heals people just to show his power to heal. I believe He heals people to show that He fulfills his Word and keeps his promises. When He came on earth the first time He said that He did this that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. All God's Word must be fulfilled. All of it.

When Jesus died at Calvary, we know his soul went to hell, his body went to the grave, his Spirit went to God. At Calvary He said, “Into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” And his Spirit went to God the Father, into his hands. The Bible said his soul, He went to hell and preached to the ones that was in prison that repented not in the long-suffering of the days of Noah. His body, we know, they put away in a grave and sealed it with a rock. Great stone was rolled up and sealed.

Then Jesus Hisself, his spirit . . . which, each of you are. . . . That was the Spirit of God in Him, but behind a bar, like this—the Word of God waiting to be fulfilled. He could not rise until the third day because David had said, “I'll not leave his soul in hell, neither will I suffer my holy one to see corruption.” We all know that corruption sets in the human body in seventy-two hours. Now, He knew sometime within that seventy-two hours that He must raise up from the dead, for He said to them, “Destroy this body, I'll raise it up again in three days [see]. Destroy this temple, I'll rise it up . . . raise it up in three days.”

Now, see, to hold and to fulfill the Word of God, He was behind the Word of God with a promise until them complete three days was fulfilled. After the third day the wall was taken down. On that morning, when the time was fulfilled, his Spirit, descending from God, came down to the grave, raised up his body, broke the seals of death, hell, and the grave, and rose up alive forevermore.

Now He is alive today, soul, body, and Spirit. He is alive. That's the theme of our conventions always, is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Now on the basis of this . . . and I would not want anyone to say, “Brother Branham, a divine healer,” because I do not believe there's such. I do believe that Christ is the healer, and I believe that He has healed us. “With his stripes we were healed.” And many times. . . .

There's no doubt we have a mixture here this little church this afternoon, probably of all different denominations. Some or many different denominations, I should've said. Many of them perhaps have been taught against divine healing. And many times men who teaches against it, not knowing what they are doing, yet they draw the wrong conception because it's been misrepresented. Sometimes the truth can be misrepresented and just . . . the truth ruined. But divine healing is correct. It's God's Word, so therefore we must base our faith upon his Word, see. Now there's. . . . And then, it's something that has been done, something that Christ has already did for us.

Now remember, we believe this: that God's Word must be fulfilled; that God is infinite Himself. He's infallible, He is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and infinite. If He isn't, then He isn't God. And if He is that, then He knowed the end from the beginning. Before there was a world He knew we'd be assembled here this afternoon, if He's infinite. He knowed what you're thinking about in your heart, before the world ever started. He knew what you'd be thinking about at this moment. He knowed every gnat would be on the earth, and every time it would bat its eye. That's what infinite means.

And if He isn't infinite, then He isn't God, see. So we must remember that we're not dealing with something in time and space like we are—finite. We're dealing with something that's infinite. And if this is the Word of God, then it's just as infinite as God is infinite, see. There you are. You must have faith in the Word. That's the only way it'll work.

And God's Word is a seed. And you farmers here, you know if you put a seed in the ground and take care of it right, if it's in the right kind of ground, it'll produce what the seed is. And God's Word is a seed, and if you put it in the right kind of ground of faith, and treat it right, it'll produce just what it is. If it's for healing, it'll produce healing; salvation, salvation; joy, joy. And every promise in the Bible is true.

And just remember—you can take me to record for this—that the right mental attitude towards any divine promise of God will bring it to pass. If you can take the right attitude towards that promise. . . .

Now the Bible said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Then if the Word was God, then it is still God.

Now no man is better than his word. If you can't take my word, then I could never be a friend to you. And if I couldn't take your word, I could not trust you. But when we can take one another at our word, believing it. . . . Now that's the way you do God.

And no man's better than his word. If you make a promise you should always keep it, or tell the reason why you can't. Let them know, because a man's word is his bond. And God's Word is his bond. If God doesn't keep his Word, then it isn't the Word of God. But if He does keep his Word, then He's God in his Word. God is still in his Word. And when his Word comes in you, then your word becomes his Word. That's what brings it to pass, whatever you've asked. Just as simple as that.

God is a creator. God created everything. All good things come from God. And wrong things, evil things, is the right thing perverted.

Now Satan cannot create. Therefore Satan cannot heal. And there's not a medicine in the world that can heal you. No doctor will tell you that he has a medicine that'll heal you. And I might say this: we're not against doctors. We're thankful for doctors and for their medicines. But we're living in the day when we've got the best doctors we ever had, the best medicine we ever had, the best hospitals we ever had—and more sickness than we ever had, because we got more unbelief than we ever had. That's just the story of it.

I've been interviewed by Johns Hopkins, Mayo Brothers. You know how a ministry like this goes about. Jimmy Mayo and them, they said, “We do not profess to be healers, Brother Branham. We profess to assist nature. There's one healer—that is God.” Said, “We can remove a tooth, but who will heal the place where it come out of? We can remove an appendix, but who heals? Something has to create.”

Here. If I cut my hand this afternoon, and. . . . We haven't got a medicine in all medical science to heal that knife cut in my hand. Not a one. “Why,” you say, “yes, we have, Brother Branham.”

Pray tell me what it is. Many people die with knife cuts. Tell me what the healing is. “Well,” you'd say, “oh, they put penicillin in it.”

Penicillin doesn't heal. Just keeps cleaning while God heals.

“Well,” you'd say, “well. . . .” Any medicine would heal a knife cut in my hand would heal a knife cut in my coat. It would heal a knife cut on this desk. “Well,” you'd say, “Brother Branham, medicine wasn't made for your coat or your desk. It was made for your body.”

Well, perhaps then I could cut my hand this afternoon and fall down dead. And you'd take me down here to the morgue, the undertaker's establishment, and there they would embalm my body with a fluid would make me look natural for fifty years. You'd give me a shot of penicillin every day. Let the best doctors come from England, Germany, wherever they may, and doctor me for fifty years. That knife cut will be just exactly like it was cut the very first day.

Now, if medicine's made to heal the human body, why does it not heal it, see? Then medicine was not made to heal the human body, or nothing.

Now, you say, “Well, Brother Branham, the life's gone out of your body.” Now we're on the line. Now which is the healer then, medicine or life? And you tell me what life is, I'll show you what God is, see, because God is life, see. Medicine does not develop cells.

If I broke my arm out here working on my car, and I ran down here to the doctor—which'd be the logical thing to do—and say (now, but this would not be logical) I'd say, “Doctor,” say, “heal my arm right quick, sir. I got to finish my car this afternoon.”

He'd look at me and say “What did you say, Mr. Branham?”

“Heal my arm, sir. You're a healer, aren't you? Heal my arm so that I might fix my car.”

Why, he'd say, “You need mental healing.” And that would be true, see.

He could not heal my arm; but he could set it where God could heal it. He could not produce calcium and life to knit that bone together. Therefore the doctor with his understanding sets a bone in place; but God does the healing, see.

Psalms 103:3 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all of thine iniquity; who healeth all of thy diseases.” So the Word of God can never fail. God is the healer. We must always bear that in mind. God is the healer.

And now unto us in this hour, just before the approaching of our Lord Jesus. . . . As I said this morning, my purpose here was on a little vacation. Some of the brethren's going to take me up here to go fishing after the services is over, and go hunting. I've been on the field six months now without rest. I'm worn out, tired. And perhaps now right away I'll be leaving for overseas again.

And now coming through here, after I visited you once, I thought it would not be nice to pass through this fine bunch of people here and not try to honor our Lord, and to enjoy your fellowship, and to do what we could to put our things together to look at our Lord Jesus again in our midst. So that's why I'm here for these three nights, or three days, is to fellowship with you around Christ, and with my brethren here, around the things of Christ. And now it could be a great thing happen here if we'll just put our mind on God's Word and God's promise. Have faith.

You men here that's married, why did you marry your wife? You had confidence and faith that she'd make a real wife, mother, so forth. Women, back to your husbands, the same way. Sweethearts are thinking of marriage. You're studying the man you'll marry, or the girl you'll marry. You must have faith in them or you'd better not marry them. Well, that's the same way it is about Christ.

We are here studying, and we must have faith in what we're coming for, because, remember, all redemptive blessings has already been purchased. Can we believe that with all of our heart? That all the redemptive blessings was purchased? God achieved that for us through Calvary with Jesus Christ. Jesus said to the Father, “It is finished.” What is finished? “The whole plan of salvation, everything is finished, all the promises that I made.” The deposit is put before God, that all sins are forgiven. And we're back from the slave market, and all has been redeemed. “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed.” It's all finished.

Now I want to approach the Word for a few moments. And before we do that, let's approach the author of the Word, as we bow our heads for prayer.

Most gracious and glorious holy Father, the almighty God who brought again the Lord Jesus from the dead, raised Him up and has presented Him to us, a live being, the Son of God, and for nineteen hundred years has walked with his people on the earth. . . . We are so glad today, in this great tragic time, when we are told that they have found, from the researches, missiles that will blow the earth to pieces—and most every nation has them—knowing that that exactly fits the Word of God for this last day. Then we see those things, and nations—sinful nations, ungodly nations—has those weapons. Most any time there could be an explosion. Or in the radar could be caught missiles coming from a certain nation. Then they'll all turn their missiles loose. The world could not survive it.

Then we know that could happen before morning. But before this comes to pass we are told that Jesus will come to receive his people, for He said, “As it was in the days of Noah. . . .” Just before the destruction of the world, Noah went in the ark before the rain fell.

And “as it was in the days of Lot. . . .” The angel said, “Hasten, come quickly. Come out of here, for I can do nothing till thou has come hence.” And Lot went out of Sodom, and then the fire fell. And Sodom was completely destroyed, and today lays in the bottom of the Dead Sea.

And Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.” And then if we can see (and science says that it is three minutes until midnight) that the world cannot survive these hours that we're facing, and we know it could happen at any time, then how close is the coming of our Lord?

O God, these three services coming up, we pray that You'll shake this little prairie like it's never been shaken before. Grant that every church will have a revival here through the prairie; many of these precious people, these Scandinavians and what more, out through these prairies here, will be brought to Christ; that when Jesus does appear that the graves will open and we shall come out and go in to meet Him and be with Him forever. What more have we in earth to look for but his coming?

Now, Father, commit ourselves to Thee this afternoon. And this audience, bless us together, and may the fellowship be great along the Word of God. And when the service is closed and we stand to say the benediction, and we go to our different homes—some out on the prairie, and some down into the city, and different places, and back to the motels and hotels—may we say like those who came from Emmaus on that resurrection morning when You walked with them all day and they didn't know You. . . . You expounded the Word of God to them and still they didn't know You. Many times these precious farmers and loved ones has just seen death at the door. Maybe they didn't recognize it was You that did it, spared their life.

But they said that came from Emmaus, “Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us along the way?” May we say the same. May the glorious, resurrected Jesus come among us this afternoon and show us that He is still alive, and loves us, and meets wherever two or three are gathered together. We ask it in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

Now I would like to read a scripture found in the book of St. John 12:20:

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:

The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sirs, we would see Jesus.

Then I'd like to take my text from Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Now, remember, I am quoting God's holy Word. And I believe that those Greeks that day fitted their question with our desire today. They'd heard about Jesus, and no one can ever hear about Him unless you'd love to see Him. If I could say this afternoon, “How many in this building would love to see Jesus?” I suppose every hand would go up. Let's see—how many would like to see Jesus? Well, that's wonderful. Thank you.

I believe that everybody that ever hears of Him longs to see Him, because He's different from anyone else. There never was a man like Him, and never will be one. There was something different from the philosophers of the Greek scholars of that day. There was something different from the church and the tradition of the Jews.

Jesus, as far as we know, had no earthly education. The Apostle Peter, none of the great Bible theolo. . . or, disciples, had education, except the Apostle Paul. And he told us that he had to forget all he ever knowed in order to know Jesus. And then he said, again, “I never come to you with enticing words of men, that your faith would be built in [in other words] intellectual conceptions of men, but I come to you in the power and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, that your faith would be in God.”

We find the Apostle Peter had not enough education to sign his own name, yet Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom. James and . . . or, Peter and John passing through the gate called Beautiful, they perceived that they were ignorant and unlearned people, but they took heed to them, knowing they had been with Jesus. So that's the thing we look for today, is to be and to associate with Jesus. And if you ever associate with Him, you'll never be the same again. That's true. You can never be the same person after once associating with Jesus.

Now we talk about this great person of Christ, which was God in flesh. We speak of him being such a great person that no one on earth never was like Him or never could be. But then we wonder what happened to this person. Where is He? What become of Him?

Now many times we try, through unbelief, to explain that his days is gone, but that will not satisfy the scriptures that said He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And then if your desire today is the same desire that these Greeks' were—“Sirs, we would see Jesus”—and they were granted that privilege. . . . They got to see Him. Then if we desire to see Jesus, and if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then why can't we be granted that desire?

I believe we can, because He promised, “A little while and the world will see me no more. . . .” Now the world there, as the brethren, the scholars, know, that the world there is from the Greek word of cosmos which means “the world order.” “The world will see me no more, yet ye [the church] shall see me, for I [I is a personal pronoun] I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the consummation.” See, all the way. Then that makes Him the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Then He has to be not one that just looks like it, one that would be something like it, but He has to be the same. The same in attitude, the same in power, the same in everything but a physical body. That sits at the right hand of God. His Spirit is here in us to manifest Himself, and to take our own lives and make it just exactly what his was. That's what He promised. “The Holy Ghost, when He is come, He will testify of me, and show you things to come.” Now we know that is true.

Then if I would say to you Methodist brethren this afternoon, “Do you believe that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever?” you would say, “Most surely, Brother Branham,” that He is the same.

I'd say to you Baptist brethren, or you Pentecostal, or to the Presbyterian, or the Anglican, Nazarenes, or Pilgrim Holiness, or whatever denomination we belong to, “Do you believe that?”

“Sure, most certainly He is. We believe that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

“Then, is He is the healer? What does He do today? Do you see Him in your church just like He was in the days gone by?” Now there's the question, see. You accept it from an intellectual standpoint, conception, but is He in reality the same? That's the main thing.

Now the Bible said He is the same. You say, “Up to a certain standpoint.” Now, it doesn't say to a certain place. It said He is the same, the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know that sounds very strange, maybe, to some of you, but I'm only quoting the scripture. I'm not responsible for writing it. I never wrote it, but the Holy Spirit wrote it and He's responsible for it. Only thing I know, it says that, and I must believe that. If I'm a Christian I must believe every word of God is the truth. There must be no exceptions at all.

Now, I may not have faith enough to make all these words live again, but I'd never stand in the path of somebody who did have faith to do it. If I can't walk like Enoch and not die, and just take an afternoon walk and go home to God without dying, if I haven't that much faith I'd never. . . . I'd be thankful to God for somebody who did have that much faith to do it. I would never say it could not be done, because it's God's Word.

Now, if He is the same then, and we desire to see Him, then we must see the same Jesus that they saw, if He remains the same. Now that sounds logical, doesn't it? Now let's find out what. . . . Now if I'd say, “You Methodist brethren believe that? Baptist, and as I've quoted?”

“Yes.” Well, now, the only way. . . . You say, “He's in our church.”

“He's in our church.”

“Well,” I say, “That's true. I believe that, but let's find out. . . .” The only way to be correctly about it, to make the Word true or not—which, it is true—is to go back and find out what He was. And if we can find out what He was, then we'll find out what He is, then what He always will be. Is that right? Does that sound plain enough? See, what He was, He is. Well, now, if we would go in today to find Jesus, what type of a person would we go to? And what kind of a spirit would He be, if we went into our churches to find Him?

Let's go searching through each one to find out what we can find. Would we find a man with his collar turned around, and a turban on his head, or something like our great so-called holy men are today? Not Jesus. He dressed just like ordinary men. He went in and out among men, just dressed like men were. We would not look for some intellectual scholar. We have no record of Him ever attending one day in school. Well, what would we look for then? We would look for a Messiah, anointed one.

Now, over. . . . Now I've read from St. John 12. Now as we go along we'll take through the scripture, day . . . or, meeting after meeting, to show these things right. Now we started in St. John. Let's just go back to the first of St. John. If you don't read it right here, you can at home, marking down the quotations. And let's go back now and find out what Jesus was. And if we can find out what He was, and He will prove Hisself to be the same today, would it make you happy? Would you all be very happy at that, if it would make Him the same today?

Now we have. . . . I've stood in the foreign fields with a Koran in one hand—of the Mohammedan religion, which is one of the greatest in the world—and with the book of Buddha, and a Bible in each . . . in this hand, and say, “Somebody's got to be wrong. There's too much difference. Somebody's got to be right, if there is a God. Now let's prove and see which one is right.”

Don't never be afraid to bring the Word of God to a showdown. He'll always be there. And so just have faith and believe Him. Don't try to add something or take something from it. Just believe it the way it's written and say, “It's that way.” Then believe that without a shadow of doubt and God's obligated, if you truly believe it. Not make belief, now. He won't bluff. Satan's not a bluff. He is a bluff, but if he can bluff you, he'll do it. But when you come with genuine faith, he knows whether you're bluffing or not.

When the disciples were given power to heal the sick, ten days later we find them defeated on an epileptic case. And I'd imagine Peter saying, “Wait, I'll show you how I done it down at Capernaum.”

And the other one saying, “I'll show you how I did it.”

And none of them could make this demon leave the child. But when Jesus came, and the father went to see Jesus, and he said, “I've brought him to your disciples and they could do nothing for him, and I've brought him to you,” He said, “I can if you believe, for all things are possible to them that believe.” And the child went into the hardest fit it ever had, because that devil knew that he'd met faith on a different level than what the apostles had. He'd met a perfect faith.

That's what we must have—perfect faith to make the perfect Word of God perform perfectly. That's it. We must believe it without a shadow of doubt.

Now let's go back down to Galilee, take a little mental trip now for about twenty minutes. Let's go to Galilee and find out what Jesus was. We know his birth and his immaculate conception and how that He was born. And John went into the wilderness, age about nine years old, and praying and fasting before God. And thirty years old he came out preaching a coming Messiah. And one day an ordinary little man walked down on the bank, but there was a sign above him which was a Messiahic sign, and John recognized it. And he said, “I knew that it was Him, for I seen the sign that told me in the wilderness that . . . who He would be.

Jesus baptized of John, then we find that forty days He was tempted of the devil in the wilderness. Then after He came out of his temptation we find Him immediately entering upon his public ministry. Now that's what we're here this afternoon, entering his public ministry. And the sick began to be healed when He prayed for them, and it caused a great stir among the churches. “Who is this man? They had no answer in their creeds, and they could not deny that notable things were being done.

So there was an old fisherman by the name of Andrew, and he had a brother named Simon. And Andrew tried to get Simon to go to the meeting, and finally Simon agreed one day to go. And when Simon came up into the presence of the Lord Jesus (now watch close), when he came to the Lord Jesus, He did not ask him if he had his bachelor of art degree yet, or He did not ask him what organization he belonged to. He just merely walked up—like you have, like I have. And as soon as Jesus' eyes caught him, He said, “Your name is Simon and you are the son of Jonas.”

Simon was taken off of his feet, because his father Jonas was a Pharisee, a great man. And if you have read the history he told his son that some day the Messiah would come. And they were all looking for a Messiah. Do you know they thought John was the Messiah? Because the real true church was looking for a Messiah. And remember, He only comes to those who are looking for Him. He only saves those who believe that He can save them. He only heals those who believe that He heals them. And Simon, looking for a Messiah . . .

had been promised for four thousand years, since in Eden.

The prophets had spoke of them. They lived by the law of Moses, and Moses (and if you'd like to refer to it, Deuteronomy 18:15 22), his words in quotation to Israel, he said, “The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet liken unto me; it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hear this Prophet will be cut off from amongst the people.”

Now all Israel that was taught in the Word (now don't forget this, class), they knew that the Messiah was to be a prophet. Now, Israel was to hear their prophets. The Bible said—God speaking to Israel—“If there be one among you who is spiritual or a prophet, I, the Lord God, will make myself known to him in visions, speak to him through dreams; and if what this prophet says comes to pass, then hear that prophet. But if it doesn't come to pass, don't fear that prophet, because I'm not with him. But if what he says comes to pass, then you be careful. I've sent that prophet.”

John, then, they knew that he was a prophet because he had told them what was coming, and introducing a Messiah. Now this Messiah was to have a sign, and that sign was a God-prophet. He was not only a prophet, but He was a God-prophet. He was the God of the prophets, but his Messiahic sign was to do the sign of a prophet.

So they said, “Let us see you do the sign of a prophet. We'll believe you,” when they put the rag over his face.

But here He was to the elected, to somebody who would believe. Simon He had never saw in his life, or, seen, and He laid his eyes on him. He said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is. . . .” No, I beg your pardon. He said, “Your name is Simon, the son of Jonas. From henceforth thou shall be called Peter.” I imagine that deflated that Pharisee when he seen that man that never looked at him, or never seen him in his life, tell him who he was, what his name was, what his father was. Now that was the sign of the Messiah. That was Jesus yesterday. That's how He made Hisself known to the people as being the Messiah.

Now there was one standing there by the name of Philip (I'm still in the first chapter of St. John), one named Philip—a good man, just man. He saw this take place. And there's something about it, when you see Jesus come on to the scene you just can't hold your peace. You've got to tell everybody about it—that is, if you love Him. So Philip, oh, he was so elated, until he said, “I must go tell Nathanael, my friend.”

Now many of you brethren here might have been in Palestine. If you'll mark the place where Jesus was at that time to where Nathanael was, it's about fifteen miles around the mountain. And Philip took off around the mountain and he found Nathanael. And let's drama it here just a minute, little drama.

I can imagine him walk up to the door, and knock at the door. And Mrs. Nathanael came to the door and he said, “Where is Nathanael?”

“Oh, he's strolling in his orchard.”

“I must see him at once.” Back out into the orchard he goes. There he finds Nathanael on his knees under the tree praying. Maybe, “O God [something like this perhaps], we have long waited for that coming Messiah. We believe that You will send Him some day. We believe that, Lord. I'll be looking for Him when He comes. Amen.”

Now Philip being a Christian gentleman, he would not interrupt prayer. Of course not. He stood reverent until Nathanael got through praying. Then he raises up Nathanael, and begins to brush off his garment, and quickly. . . . He never said, “How's the crops getting along?” or. . . . The message was urgent. He must get it to him right quick.

That's what it is today, brethren. The message . . . we haven't got time for fifteen years of schooling. The message is urgent. The world's at the end. The time is at hand. These very things that you'll see through this meeting proves that the next move is the coming of the Lord, the translation of the church. Scriptural. I'm not saying that to make fear. I'm saying that as a warning to be ready. We don't know what minute He may come.

Now, see what taken place. He said, “Come see who we have found, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Philip spoke these words to Nathanael.

And Nathanael was a staunch orthodox, you know, so . . . very starchy, I suppose. He said, “Now [something like this], wait a minute. Could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

And perhaps they might have said this: “Now, if there was to be something like that coming, well, of course it would come through us Pharisees.”

Or the Sadducees said, “It would come through our church.”

And if it was coming, well, of course, the corridors of heaven would open and the Messiah would walk right down upon the . . . above the temple, and He'd say, “Caiaphas, the honorable high priest, here I am.”

But you see, God doesn't do things that way. He never did do it, and He never will. He comes and takes the dumb things of the world and makes something out of it, and proves Himself to fulfill his Word. Now search the Scriptures and find out if that isn't true.

He takes something that's insignificant. When He called his apostles, what did He take? Fishermen, uneducated people. Why didn't He take the cultured? Why didn't He take the priests? They had ministers of that day that would far exceed anything that we've ever had. They had to come out of lineage of Levites to be priests. Their great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers was priests. And why didn't He go to that type? But, see, He taken something was nothing, to prove that He is God, that He can make something out of nothing.

And as quick or as soon as you and I can realize that we are nothing, that's how quick God can go to work with us. When we get our intellectual conceptions out of it, and just say, “God, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief.” That's it. If the Word says so, then it's true. God's behind his Word, and He's in his Word, and He is the Word.

Now we notice that this staunch orthodox looked at him and said maybe something like this: “Now, Philip, I've knowed you to be a good man. We've went to church together for years, but I believe you've went off on the deep end. There must be something wrong with you. You've had some kind of an illusion. You mean to tell me that a man from Galilee would be the Messiah? Is that the man that I heard that had that illegitimate birth, that baby many years ago they talked about? Black name to start with, and here you come telling me that this turns out to be the Messiah. Ohhh, Philip, get next to yourself. Could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

I think he gave him an answer that would stop all of us. He gave him the right answer. He said, “Come and see.” That's it. Don't stay home and criticize. Bring your Bible and see if it's right. That's good doctrine for us. Come, see.

“Search out the Scriptures,” Jesus said, “for they are they which testify of me.”

Now, “Come, see.”

I can imagine as they started along the way back to get over, the next day—is fifteen miles. Probably taken them two days' journey coming back. I can imagine along the road. Let's break in on their conversation. (I'll not be unscriptural, now.)

So then along their conversation I can hear Philip say, maybe, “Nathanael, you could not believe that. Sir, my brother, you are a theologian. You are a man of authority in the Scripture. What readest thou of Messiah? What will Messiah be when He comes? What type of man shall we look for?”

“Oh,” said Nathanael, “He will be a prophet, because the Bible said He will be a prophet. Our sacred Scriptures says He'll be a prophet.”

“Well, do you remember that old fisherman that you bought the fish from that day named Simon, and he did not have enough education to sign his own name?”

“Yes, I remember that well.”

“He came up before this Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus of Nazareth told him who he was, and not only that but told him who that godly old father of his was. And it wouldn't surprise me but if He didn't tell you who you are.”

Well, I can imagine Nathanael saying, “If that be so. . . . I don't know, I've never been there, but if that be so, that will be Messiah because that's what He's supposed to do—He's a prophet. And we haven't had a prophet,” he said, “for four hundred years, since we had a prophet. And we've been looking for this Messiah, which is next in line.” (We haven't had one for two thousand years.) “Now, but we're looking for one. Now,” he said, “this Messiah, if He be the Messiah then I'll see Him do the sign.”

Then they walked up into the congregation. I suppose maybe he was in the prayer line, or maybe he was standing out in the audience. I do not know. But, however, as soon as Jesus turned and caught his eye, He said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”

Now, for instance, a critic might be present. They'd say, “Well, sure, he was dressed like it.” Oh, no. The Easterners all dress alike. They have a long robe and underneath garment, and a turban, and wear beards. So He couldn't've told him. . . . He could have been a Greek or anything else.

He said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”

I can imagine the starch going out of him right quick, and he said, “Rabbi [which means teacher], when did you ever know me? This is the first time that we've ever met. And how did you know that I was an Israelite, a man with no guile?”

Listen! He said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you.” What eyes!

What did this staunch believer who knowed the Scriptures say? “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God. You're the King of Israel.”

Jesus said, “Because I told you that, you believe? You shall see greater things now.”

Now that was Jesus yesterday, how He made Himself known to the people as Messiah. If Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, that's the way He would be today, if He is the same. Is that true? Have to be. Now, there's many other quotations we could make, but I know we don't have but about forty-five more minutes. Now catch it on through the Scripture. But I'd like to go to about. . .

Let's say this. There is three races of people on earth. I know you say, “I'm this, that, or the other,” but there's only three races. We all sprang from the sons of Noah. Scripture is right—Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Now that turned out to be, in his day, Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. Now we find out that there was a race of people called the Samaritan, which was half Jew and Gentile, and they were looking for a Messiah. They wanted to see Messiah.

Now, remember, there was those standing there who saw Jesus do that. You know what they said? They were great preachers, great teachers, orthodox in their belief. But they said, “This man is Beelzebub. He's a fortune-teller.”

What did Jesus say to them? They didn't say it out loud, but He perceived their thoughts. We all know that's Scripture. He perceived their thoughts, and He turned to them, and He said, “I'll forgive you for that”—for those evil thoughts, calling the works of God an evil spirit doing it, a Beelzebub, a fortune-teller. Today they'd call it something like that, or telepathy, but an evil name to the works of God.

He said, “But some day the Holy Ghost will come to do the same thing. [Now here's where it puts us]. One word against it will never be forgiven in this world, neither in the world that is to come.” That's how sacred it is. One word against it will never be forgiven in this world, nor in the world that is to come. So you see if He is doing this, what position it puts us in. It seals us on one side or the other. The separating time has come, the investigating judgments.

Now we find many other places. We'll take the next chapter. Well, first, let's go . . . now there's a Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. Now not one time did He ever do that sign before a Gentile. You cannot find it in the Scriptures. Gentiles was we Anglo-Saxons. Gentiles, we weren't looking for any Messiah to come. We had clubs on our backs and worshipped idols, see. Heathens, Romans, and so forth.

Now, but He comes to those who are looking for Him. He did it in that day. If He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, He'll do it again today. He comes for those who are looking for Him, those who are longing, like those Greeks were. “We would see Jesus.”

Now, He was on his road down to Jericho, which was down below the mountain, where Jerusalem is on the mountain. But He said He had need to go by Samaria, now, up to the city of Sychar. Now we notice that Samaria sets up the road this way—go up this way, and then go down to Jericho—way out of his way. But He went up to this certain Samaritan city of Samaria. And He sat down and sent his disciples away to get some food.

And while they were gone there was a woman of . . . well, ill-fame. We would call her in America, here, that she was a woman of ill-fame. How many knows what was wrong with her? She'd broke her marriage vows. She had five husbands and maybe, let's say, she was a beautiful woman. And everyone was away. And if you was ever there, the well still stands. It's a little panorama something like this.

And Jesus, He was only thirty years old, or not quite thirty-three, but yet He must have looked older. When He was talking, in St. John 6, to the Jews when they was having the feast, and they were drinking this water representing the water from the rock smitten in the wilderness, He said, “I am that rock that was in the wilderness.”

Oh, that stirred up their righteous indignation, and they said, “You mean to tell me that you saw Abraham and you're a man not over fifty years old?”

He looked fifty, but He was only thirty. His work probably did it to Him, maybe greying a bit or something. Well, what did He say to them? “Before Abraham was, I AM.” He was Abraham's God, but there He was, just dressed in clothes like an ordinary man.

So the man might've looked a little aged.

But He was a Jew, and there was segregation, like we're having a fuss about down in Louisiana and Georgia (I got some Georgia friends sitting here) about the segregation—colored and white, and so forth. That was Jew and Samaritan. And so Jesus seeing the woman come up and. . . . Well, perhaps if you was ever in the Orient . . . their customs never change. Correctly, she couldn't've come out with the decent women. See, they have to come out . . . the virgins come out early and get their water.

I've seen them take a pot of it (hold five gallons), set it on their head, and put one on each hip, and go along like that—talking just as ladies can do, you know—and never spill a drop of water. It's amazing to watch how perfect and straight they walk with that, just talking to one another, you know, and never move that great big pot of water on their head. Two big handles on it where they windle it down into the well to get the water.

And this young woman comes out there, she, perhaps, carrying the pot on her hip, as the custom, with the hook under her arm. And she was thinking, maybe, about what she'd done the night before. She couldn't associate with the good women. So she started to let the pot down into the well, and she heard a voice saying, “Bring me a drink, woman. Bring me a drink.”

And she turned, and sitting over by the vines against the wall sat a middle-aged Jew. Quickly she said, “It is not customary for a Jew to ask a Samaritan woman any favors.” Oh, the segregation was bitter. “We have no dealings, one with another. And you a Jew, and me a Samaritan woman, how would you ask me for a drink of water?”

Listen at the reply. “Woman, if you knew who you were talking to [Oh, my, that's what it is today!], if you only knew who you were talking to, you'd ask me for a drink. I'd bring you water . . . give you water you do not come here to draw.”

“Oh,” she said, “the well is deep and you have nothing to draw with.”

And the conversation went on. What was Jesus doing? Now here you'll have to take my word. I hope you will. He was contacting her spirit. He knowed there was something wrong. The Father had sent Him up there, so He knowed this woman was coming; because He said in St. John 5:19, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in himself, but what he sees the Father doing,” see. Now, the Father must have sent Him up there, and He seen that was the woman, so He had to contact her spirit, to talk to her till He found out where her trouble was. He said. . . .

She said, “You worship at Jerusalem. In this mountain we worship.” The conversation went on for quite a while. Finally Jesus caught her trouble. Now, listen! Excuse me, I'm not trying to yell at you. I've been preaching outside, and so forth, and I make a lot of noise, I think. Said, “You have nothing to draw with, so how could you get the water?”

Said, “Well, now, if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask me for a drink. I'd give you waters you don't come here to draw.” And the conversation went on. He said, “Go get your husband and come here.”

Oh, I can see her eyes brighten up. She said, “I have no husband.” What a shock that must have been.

He said, “Thou hast said well. You've had five husbands, and the one you're living with now is not your husband, so you said it well.”

Listen to this prostitute, ill-famed woman. She knowed more about God than half the preachers in the United States. She never said, “You are Beelzebub, a devil.” She said, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. [Now, listen.] We know, we Samaritans, we know that Christ is coming, who's called. . . . The Messiah is coming, who is called the Christ, the anointed one; and when He comes this'll be the sign that He'll show. He'll tell us these things. You are a prophet, but we are looking for a Messiah. And when this Messiah comes, He will tell us these things. This'll be his sign.”

Oh, church! Can you see it! That's the Messiah. That's the sign of Messiah. “We know that when He comes He'll show us these things.”

She never said, “You're Beelzebub. You must be a fortune-teller.”

Now that's what the preachers called Him, the big-up clergy in that day, the priests. They said, “That guy's a telepathist. He is a psychic, mentally. He's a fortune-teller.”

Jesus said, “I forgive you, but some day the Holy Ghost is coming to do that. You speak one word against it, it'll never be forgiven you.” And that day has arrived. Now . . . talking to another generation.

Notice, she said humbly, “Sir, thou must be a prophet. We know, we Samaritans, we're looking for a Messiah to come, and when this Messiah comes He'll show us the sign that He's the super prophet,” see. “We know when He comes we'll know that He's a prophet, because He'll do these signs.”

Listen at Him. “I am he who speaks with you.” There never was a man before and never one after could say that. “I am he that speaks with you.”

And upon that, she dropped her water pot and ran into the city and said, “Come see a man (Now, listen, class, you Bible readers.), come see a man that told me the things that I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?” And they went out and bid Him to come into the city, and the Bible said that the men of that city, the people, believed on Him because of the testimony of the woman.

Could that be deceiving? No, sir. That's the Scriptures, isn't it? Well, if that was Jesus yesterday, it's Jesus today.

Now, look. We are all aware now that that was the closing of the day for the Jews. They rejected their Messiah. We know that. Now, they were looking for a Messiah, and when the Messiah came, He was rejected. And when He done the sign of the Messiah, He was called an unclean spirit.

Never did He do it to the other race—Gentile—because He was crucified, rose again, and Peter preached the message to Cornelius's house, and so forth. Now, never did Jesus do it. But remember, it was promised—and God cannot break his Word—that it would happen to the Gentiles in the end-time.

The prophet said, “There will be a day that cannot be called day or night but in the evening time it shall be light.”

Now, we've had a day. How does the sun rise? In the east. The same sun crosses the horizontal and sets in the west. Not another sun; the same sun. And when it rose in the East it shined on the eastern people, the Samaritans and the Jews. And when He was there He produced his sign to show that He was Messiah.

Now we've had two thousand years of a dismal day, something like outdoors, or a little darker. We've had great revivals, walking in what dismal light we have. We've had day when we could make great organizations, build great churches, great schools, seminaries. That's all all right, but it's evening time now. The sun is setting.

Civilization has travelled with the sun. The oldest civilizations are the East. China's the oldest civilization. And civilization has travelled with the sun. Where are we now? On the West Coast. If we go one bit farther we're back east again. We're in the evening time. It shall be light in the evening time. What is it? The same sun.

Now God is an infinite God. He's infinite. We know that. And if He, after all those years of intellectual teaching. . . . And He's come to the Jew and Samaritan before the end of their time and showed them the sign of the Messiah. He would not be the same God if He let us Gentiles go in on intellectual conception. He must absolutely do the same thing, and He promised He'd do it to the Gentile church.

Now for the benefit of my clergy brethren, that they might have a conception, understanding, a little clearer perhaps, maybe, Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the son of man.”

Now let's just watch a moment. And please, if I say something here against a church, or something, your certain denomination, I'm not meaning it in that light. I'm just trying to make a point.

Watch Abraham. He was the father of the nation-to-be through his royal seed, which was Christ. Now, it could not happen, the full promise, to the Jews, because through Isaac the promise is all to the Jewish race; but in this last days He has promised it to Abraham and his seed, which, Christ was his seed. The church is this side. Now, not only to Abraham, but his seed. The Lord willing, if I get some extra hour or two, I'd like to speak to you . . . Abraham and his seed after him.

Notice how He brought Abraham through those junctions of justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Spirit, just the same thing He done here, exactly. Placed him as a son, and just before Sodom was destroyed.

Now keep in mind, there's three classes of people, always, like Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. That's believer, make-believer and unbeliever. So we find that. And every meeting produces it. Every crowd produces it. We just have it. Now look at that day. Abraham did not go down in Sodom, but Lot went down in Sodom. He was still a believer, like the ordinary church, the ritualistic believer. Yet he was a believer. He was down in Sodom because he thought he could make some extra money or be a little more popular. I think he become the mayor of the city or something down there. And his wife belonged to all the clubs, and so forth, down there and it was hard for her to leave.

But just before that taken place. . . .

Now look, there was. . . . Abraham was the elected, and we all know that Christ is coming for an elected church, that the rapture is the remnant. We know that. The elected church. The others go through the judgment; but the elected goes first in the rapture because they cannot go into the judgment.

Jesus said, “He that believeth on me has everlasting life. He that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me has eternal life and shall never come to the judgment but has passed from death unto life. [St. John 5:24].” We are in Christ, already judged. God judged us for our faith in his Son, Christ Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit we're baptized into that body and become part of Christ. Elected church.

Abraham represented the elected church, just the same as the elected church of his seed after him in this day. Do you follow it? Abraham—not only Abraham, but his seed after him. And he was the father of nations, which here we are here today. I'm Irish, and some maybe Indian, and some Norwegian, and some others, see. We're all sitting here, but God has made of one blood all nations. We're all one in Christ. For by one Spirit we're all baptized into one body. Right. That's the elected church.

Now, there is a church that does not believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, out there in Sodom. They still do the things they do in Sodom—bingo, bunco, soup suppers, all kinds of things, dress like the world, act like the world—still call themselves church members. See, that's the Sodom church. Now just before the end come. . . .

Now, remember, the word “church” means called out, as separated, segregated from unbelief, believing every word of God. And look what Abraham . . . Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, no matter how long it took. Oh, when Sarah was sixty-five years old and Abraham was seventy-five, he was sterile, she was unfertile. And yet God told him he was going to have a baby by that woman, and he believed it and made arrangements for it. And twenty-five years later he still believed the same thing, yet with no evidence. It was getting farther away all the time. But the Bible said. . . .

Instead, you might be prayed for, say, “I don't see no difference in me,” then you go on back. See, that's not Abraham's seed. When Abraham's seed catches that promise, there's nothing going to move it. It's going to stay right there, no matter.

I can hear Abraham saying . . . come in and say, “Sarah.”

“Yes, darling.”

“I just met God out there.”

“Oh?”

“He said we're going to have a baby.”

Could you imagine an old man seventy-five years old, an old woman sixty-five, going down to the doctor and making arrangements for the baby? The doctor'd say, “Old fellow, poor old guy, he's off.” Well, that's the way everybody that's spiritual, everybody that loves God, they're considered a little bit off, you know. “Why, the old fellow, let him alone, he's harmless.”

Well, God told Abraham, “Separate yourself from such. Come out, get away from that unbelief.”

(Excuse me, sisters, I have to make a point here.) But maybe after the first month, or so many days, I can hear Abraham say, “What about. . . ?” See, now remember, she was about twenty years past menopause. Said, “How you feeling, darling?”

“No different.”

“Bless God, we're going to have it anyhow. Get the booties made, and all the little blankets and so forth. Going to have it anyhow.”

“How do you know?”

“God said so. That settles it. God said so.”

Well, a year passed.

“How about it, darling?”

“No different.”

“Glory to God, it'll be a greater miracle now than it was in the first place. Going to have it anyhow.”

Twenty-five years passed. Now here she's a little grandma, see, and Abraham old and stricken in age. Now, “Dear, how're you feeling now?”

“No different, darling.”

“Glory to God, we'll have it anyhow.”

“How do you know?”

“God said so.”

Now the seed of Abraham takes the same stand—“God said so.”

Then you say, “Well, I was prayed for but I don't believe I'm any different.”

That ain't the seed of Abraham. No, no. The seed of Abraham believes it. I don't care what. . . . Fifty doctors could stand and say you're going to die.

“No, go on, doctor.”

“How do you know?”

“God said so. That settles it.”

Now, notice, he was waiting. Years had passed. The beauty had faded, and she was old and he was old. And one day Abraham, still keeping separated, representing the seed of Abraham today, separated from the world, called out, set aside. . . . That's Christians, real believing Christians—set aside, called out.

Now Abraham sitting up there on the hill, things wasn't going too good. He wasn't rich. Cattle was starving.

Lot was doing fine. He was down in Sodom. Mayor of the city and, oh, his wife belonged to all the clubs, and his daughters belonged to all the societies, and I imagine they was just like Sodomites. So there they was, down there in Sodom.

So then one day while Abraham was sitting in the shade of the oak, where his tent was pitched, he seen three men come walking. There's just something about a Christian, when you see Christ, you can recognize it. He looked at those men and he run out to meet them. Now, he didn't do like a heathen, say, “My lords.”

He said, “My Lord, come by. Sit Yourself under the tree and rest. And I'll fetch a little water and I'll wash your feet. Refresh Yourself. I'll get a morsel of bread for You to eat.” Wanted to entertain them because down in his heart he believed there was something about that. He was watching for it, you see. So they sat down.

And I can see him go back to the tent till he met his . . . the main tent. He said, “Sarah, sift some flour.” In other words, knead the bread, you know. And how many ever know what kneading bread was? I remember my momma used to have a big old sifter, and had a big old bin. We put the meal in there. And she had a wedge. She'd scrape that wedge right over top of that sifter, you know, and shake the meal through to make cornbread.

And so, went and said, “Knead some meal, or flour.” And said, “Make some cakes upon the hearth.”

And he run out amongst the herd and found a little calf and dressed it, give it to the men, or killed it and give it to the servant to dress. And he went back out and stood before them. He brought the meat out and set it down. Now, remember, they eat the meat and drank milk and eat the bread.

Notice. And who did he feed that to? God. That was God. Abraham called Him “Elohim.” You brethren know that. Elohim is the self-existing One, like He began in Genesis 1. Elohim. Elohim, the great I AM, in human flesh—eating meat, drinking milk, eating cornbread, and sitting under a shade tree, with dust on his clothes, just an ordinary man. But Abraham knew that was more than a man.

Two of them got up and went down to Sodom. They went down there to preach, down to Sodom. Oh, if you're spiritual you'll probably catch it. Did you notice? Them two that went down there, they did not do any miracles—only blind their eyes from the door. And preaching the gospel blinds the unbelievers' eyes. But there was two men went down there to preach, to bring Lot out of Sodom.

Look at today. Isn't it strange in this last days that. . . . All down through the age, through Abraham's seed age, the junction of the church, we've had Moody, Sankey, Finney, Knox, Calvin, Spurgeon, Wesley, so forth. But never . . . and we had a Billy Sunday, but never did we ever have, before, a Billy Graham.

Notice, the angel had changed Abram's name to Abraham, spelled A-b-r-a-h-a-m, giving him part of his name. Abraham, Elohim—because he was to be father of nations also. And never has the intellectual church, down through the age, ever received a messenger that's been internationally known before, with a name ending h-a-m. See where it's at? Modern Billy Graham down in Sodom: “Come out of it!” That's what Billy Graham's screaming. “Get out of it, the end's at hand!” G-r-a-h-a-m. Never in the history of the church, but this is it. Watch our Lord refer to it.

Then there was one angel stand up, stayed back with Abraham. Watch what kind of miracle he give that elected church. He had his back turned to the tent. Why didn't he call him Abram? He said, “Abraham, where is thy wife. . . ?” Not S-a-r-a-i, but S-a-r-a-h. “Where is thy wife, Sarah?”

And he said, “She's in the tent behind you.” The Bible said that the tent was behind the angel, or the messenger—a messenger sitting there eating flesh, drinking milk. Said, “She's in the tent behind you.”

He said, “Abraham, I [personal pronoun], I am going to visit you according to the time of life, as I've promised you.”

(Now I'm talking to a mixed audience. You young ladies excuse me if this is an offense, but it's to make a point.) Now the Bible said they were both well stricken in age. As husband and wife it had ceased for years. See, they was a hundred years old. Maybe twenty years they had not been as husband and wife. And Sarah, in her heart, laughed within herself, saying, “Me, an old woman, a hundred years old, could have pleasure with my lord [her husband] again? Why, it couldn't be. Those things hasn't been with us for years and years and years. How could it be?” And she laughed within herself.

And the angel said, “Why did Sarah laugh? saying that these things could not surely be.”

What did our Lord say? “As it was in the days of Sodom so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.” What? The evening lights promised to the Gentiles. The same God that manifested Himself there in a human body and disappeared in a moment, that same God would manifest Himself in a people—human flesh in the form of the Holy Ghost—a believing people, in the last days at the evening light. Jesus said so. What? To the Gentiles, the seed of Abraham, which was many nations.

They had the angel to perform the sign to the church denomination—G-r-a-h-a-m. He is doing his sign. That's right. And now the angel of God into the church elected, the angel coming from heaven, the Holy Spirit, a messenger to prove that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He did then He does now.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; ye are the branches.” And if the life that's in the branch puts forth a branch, it'll bring the same life that's in the vine. And “The works that I do shall you do also. More than this shall you do, for I go unto the Father.” The church intellectual has their messenger. The church supernatural has its messenger, the Holy Spirit, performing and doing the very same signs that Jesus did when He was here on earth. Then what is the light of today? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

“Sirs, we would see Jesus.” Then, what He was yesterday, He will be today. What did He do it? To the Jews and Samaritans, not to the Gentiles. But promised in the evening time, to the seed of Abraham, it would be the same thing.

Now I could speak for another hour, or so much, on it; but one word from Him will be more than ten million I or any other minister could say. Now we know that's truth. That's the Scrip-ture. That's the promise. But now, will He do it? That's the question. Will He do it? And where are we? We're in the evening time. We're living under the evening lights.

Remember, the same sun that rises in the east is the same sun that shines in the west. And the same s-u-n that rises there is the same s-u-n that goes down here; and the same S-o-n that showed light on that is the same S-o-n in the last day. To the Samaritans and to the Jews who were looking for Him, and now to the Gentiles as we're looking for Him in the evening time. God be merciful to you.

I know you got to hurry home, have your suppers and get back to church again. Remember, search the Scriptures. Bring your papers and take down the scriptures that I quote. If they're not right you're solemnly obligated to come to me and show. . . . I don't want to be wrong. But I'm not wrong as long as the Scripture says it's so and God confirms it. A man can say anything he wants to—that's a man. But when God speaks, dare anybody to doubt it? It's eternal separation from his presence forever.

Now, what could we do if we can realize and find out that Jesus is still alive? Why, we today, we go to a service, we act like we're going to a funeral service instead of. . . . We're going to pay honor to the dead, instead of worship and hail a conqueror. Christ conquered death, He conquered hell, He conquered the grave, He conquered sin, conquered sickness! We're hailing a conqueror—not someone died thousands of years ago that lived a good life, but a Christ that raised again and is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I may be a little emotional but if you felt the way I did, you'd be emotional too, 'cause I feel pretty religious right at this time because I know that He lives and the Scriptures are true. Because He lives you can live also.

“Sirs, we would see Jesus.” Then, Lord Jesus, come into our midst, get into our flesh, get into my minister brothers, into me, into you out there, and just come. Let us surrender ourselves to You, and then You perform and show that You're a living Christ, a Spirit of God that lives among us, that performs and keeps your Word, and confirms what is promised. Let us pray now, with our heads bowed.

Lord God, creator of heavens and earth, the author of everlasting life, and the giver of every good and perfect gift. . . . And that most perfect gift, Lord, that we can think of was the gift that You gave us, the Son of God; and that He is alive today, forevermore, and He's been with the church down through this dismal time. And now as we see in this day that the light is shining in the evening time on the western people, proving that You keep your Word to the letter. . . . And I pray, God, that every man and woman here today may receive it, believe on Him. Those who do not know Him as their Saviour, may they receive Him just now, and say, “Lord, help Thou my unbelief.”

May those who have not yet been filled with the Spirit for service, may they say, “Yes,” that one eternal “yes” to the great Holy Spirit.

And I have read from your Word today, Lord. May be uneducated and not sufficient—never sufficient—to produce or to introduce the Scriptures, but what I lack may the Holy Spirit make up in confirmation. Grant it, Lord. May it be so simple till the little children will see it, all will believe.

Grant that every person here that's sick might see and take notice and say, “Jesus, our Lord, is alive, and I believe on Him for my healing.”

And their doctors will no doubt tell them right away, “There is such an improvement in you.” Then down in their hearts they will know that Jesus has entered to take over the case and they shall be well. Grant it, Lord.

Bless these ministers that is sitting back here on this platform. And no doubt they make up many different churches. And bless the pastor of this church, bless its deacons, its trustees. Bless all the laity everywhere. And throughout this valley and this prairie, send a revival in every church. Send a revival to the Anglicans, and to the Presbyterians, and to the Pentecostals, and to all, Lord, that there might be a great visitation of God's Holy Spirit here in Grand Prairie; that news would scatter throughout the provinces and across the nations and dominions that Jesus still lives.

We long to see Him, Lord. And as our brother has well stated it this morning when he said coming up he'd gone . . . following sign posts, looking at the sign, which way to come to Grand Prairie. It wasn't the sign that brought him here; it was the sign that pointed him to here. So may they realize today, as I've quoted the Scriptures, “We would see Jesus.” May every person here be able to see You, Lord, in the power of your resurrection, living among us.

And when we leave this afternoon, as I've quoted before, may we go home like those from Emmaus. They walked with You all day. You talked to them, expounded the Scriptures, but they didn't recognize it was You. Then that evening when You made as You would go on by, and they constrained You that You should come in and abide with them. . . . O God, may the disciples today, like Cleopas, constrain You to come and abide with us, Lord. And when You got in their little place of the little inn, and You shut the doors, and then You did something like You did before You were crucified—and their eyes were opened, for they knew that no one did it just like that.

Father, we are ministers and clergymen and messengers of the covenant, but we can't do it that way, Lord. We can't do the things that You did, but You can come and fulfill your Word that the works that You did we would do also.

Then come, Lord Jesus, and do the things like You did it before You were crucified, that this Christian, God-fearing people might have the assurance that our Lord is not dead, but He has arisen again. And may . . . like Cleopas and his friend, go from house to house saying, “Indeed, the Lord has risen.” Light footed and light hearted—not to argue their religion, but to say, “The Lord is risen.” Grant it, Father.

We commit ourselves, our bodies, our spirits, and all that's in us we commit to You now, waiting to hear just one word from You. And it'll be sufficient, Father.

If You'll just prove that You're living here among them, then they will believe You, Lord. These honest-hearted prairie people, they'll believe You. Then they'll go home. They won't have to say, “Brother Branham did such and such,” because they know I could not; but they'll say, “My Lord is alive, and I love Him, and I'll worship Him and I'll attend his church. I'll do my duty as a Christian. I'll testify. I'll believe Him all the days of my life.” That's the purpose that we ask it. In Jesus' name, amen.

Do you love Him? All you Methodists love Him? Baptists, Presbyterian, Pentecostals, all love Him? Let's sing just one little verse. I like to worship Him after chopping into the Word and so forth. Let's just worship Him in a song with that good old hymn of the church, “I Love Him.” How many knows it? “I love Him, because. . . .” Let's sing it. And don't notice who's sitting by you. Don't try to have. . . . Anything I do not like is an overtrained voice, holding their voice until their face is blue. They're not singing; they're just hollering. But I do love good old-fashioned, heartfelt singing, where you might not be able to carry a tune in a bucket, but yet you're singing from your heart. Now, you say, “Well, I'm not a singer.” That doesn't matter. Make a joyful noise, then, to the Lord. The Scripture says so.

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me,

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Now while we sing it again, shake hands, all you different denominations and different. . . . Shake hands with one another. Say, “God bless you, glad to be here in the worship.” What am I trying to do? Get the Spirit of God moving among you.

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me,

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Now you know what we ought to do? Paul said, “If I worship, I'll worship in the spirit. If I sing, I'll sing in the spirit.” So let's do them both together, as we slip up our hands and close our eyes. Real softly and sweetly in the Spirit,

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me,

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Now let's bow our heads and hum it.

Now the piano play it, while we, in our hearts, worship. O Jesus, Son of God, rose of Sharon, lily of the valley, morning star. We are in the minority, Lord, when it comes to numbers of the world, but as the Scripture says, we have Jesus. We do not try to compete with the world in their momentous psychological exercises. We do not try to out-glitter them with ball games and intellectual entertainments. We cannot meet them, Father. You said, “The children of the night are wiser than the children of the day,” so we know that, Father. But we have Jesus. They don't have it. And if that person be here today who doesn't have Jesus and know that they have passed from death unto life, may this be the hour that they will receive Him now as their Saviour, be filled with his Spirit, for we ask it in his name, and for his glory, we pray. Amen.

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me,

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Don't you just love that? Oh, what fellowship! Oh, what joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. I have perfect peace with my Lord so near, just leaning on his everlasting arms.

Now you're so nice, such a fine congregation, I know God will do something for you. Now I just asked my son. . . . Usually we give out cards every day. The card does not make you any assurance of anything. It's just merely to hold the card so we. . . . I'll show you in this little congregation. How many here wants to be prayed for, whether you got a card or not? Raise up your hand. Just all over the cong. . . . Now who's going to be first? There you are, see. You have to have some way to keep them in line. Now what letter? A. A 1 to 50. All right. A number l to number 50 is where we start to pray for the sick [break in tape].

I do not know the boy. I've never seen him. I'll turn my back to him, as I talked to you about that thing this afternoon. Sir, I do not know you. If we are strangers to one another, raise up your hand. And I never seen you in my life, no more than you've walked up here. I've got my back to you, but to let the people, the congregation, see. If He will do it, then He is keeping his promise. As He come in flesh then and manifested Himself to Abraham, He comes into his flesh that He has redeemed, and manifests Himself to Abraham's seed. Do you understand that? Now the God of heaven knows I know not the man.

Now I take every. . . . Here He is. He's here now. I take every spirit in here under my control in the name of Jesus Christ. That pillar of fire that you see in the picture, He isn't two foot from where I'm standing now.

Now let the man which is behind me just pray. Say, “Lord. . .” or whatever's wrong. He might be sick, he might have financial troubles. I don't know. Whatever it is, let the Holy Spirit prove the Word of God right here before you. God of heaven, it's in your arms, in your hands. I'm just your servant. And let it be known that You're God and I'm telling your message true and clean. I've honored You, Lord, and I honor the Word that I have preached. I commit myself to You in the name of Jesus Christ, that these people might know that You are God and I'm your servant.

The man standing behind me is not praying for himself. He's praying for somebody else, and that's a child. The child isn't here. The child is suffering with a rupture. If you'll believe with all your heart, the rupture shall leave the child. Is that right? If it is raise up your hand. Then go and believe and receive what you've asked for.

I want to talk to you, a woman. Jesus met a woman at the well one time. This is our first time meeting, I suppose in life. We do not know each other. You're a lot younger than I, and we were probably born miles apart, years apart, and here's our first time meeting. Now, Jesus met a woman one time. I am not He; neither are you she; but that his Word might be fulfilled, just . . . let the people see that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Somebody in the audience . . . something happened in the audience. I have to just follow it. I see the light. And it's a vision, it just moves out.

I do not know you, as I have said. And Jesus met a woman in a little panoramic like this, and He spoke to her a few minutes to find the secret of her heart, and He told her what her trouble was. And she said quickly, “Sir, I perceive that You're a prophet. We know when Messiah cometh He'll tell us these things.”

Jesus said, “I am He that speaks.”

And she ran into the city and said, “Come see a man who's told me what was wrong,” what . . . the things that she did. Said, “Isn't that the very Messiah?”

Now lady, this afternoon, me not knowing you, or you not knowing me, is that right? Then if the Holy Spirit remains the same that was in Jesus . . . is in us, because God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He was the Son of God, and we're adopted sons and daughters of God. And if He will tell me something that you have done, something that you planned on doing, something that you're here for, a sickness, or somebody you want to be prayed for, or something, would it make you believe and have faith? Would the rest of the audience believe? Do you know the woman anybody?

Now, don't be frightened. You're a Christian, because I feel your vibration of your spirit, see. You're a Christian, see. You have nothing to worry about. Just be humble, believe. One thing you're suffering with is a nervous condition. You're extremely nervous. That is right. You have a lady's trouble, a female trouble, dropped glands. That's true.

Now, I didn't guess that. I was trying to find where that come from. I did not guess that. That's no guess; that's truth. Is that truth, lady? Raise your hand.

You see, I don't even know what I said. The only way I know is catch the tape. That's anointing. You're in another world, another dimension. Yes, here she comes. I see her. It's a nervous condition. She suffers with it especially late of an evening when she's real tired. She gets real weary then. And, yes, I see the examination shows she had a lady's trouble. That's right. She . . . also, she has a gall bladder condition, and she has heart trouble, a nervous heart. Those things are true, aren't they? Right.

Somebody else you're wanting to be healed, too, isn't there? It's your husband, sitting right out here. Do you believe God can tell me what's wrong with him? If I will, do you think he would accept it as his healing? You would? Then the asthmatic condition will leave him if you believe. Go believe now. Don't doubt. Jesus Christ will make you well. God bless you.

Do you believe with all your heart now? Just have faith. Don't doubt.

How do you do? Way back there in the back, sitting back there, is a lady suffering with gall stones. It left you then, lady, so you can go and be well. Jesus Christ makes you well.

I don't know you. We are strangers to one another. If God will explain to me what your trouble is, will you believe me to be his servant? And believe that He lives? I want to say this thing to you. You're aware that something's going on, a real sweet, humble feeling. If that's right, raise up your hand so the audience can see it. Now I'm looking right at this light. If you brethren here will see, look between there. See that kind of an emerald-colored light moving? Now here the woman moves away from me.

Yes, she's got a growth, and the growth is on the left side of the breast, under the left breast. That's “thus saith the Lord.” Believe with all your heart, you can be healed. Do you have faith? Do you believe with all your heart? Don't doubt now. Just have faith. Say, “I do believe.”

Having headaches, aren't you? Do you have a prayer card? You don't need it no more. I don't know you. If that's right, raise up your hand. What did you touch? I ask you, what did she touch? She's twenty feet from me, or thirty. She never touched me, but she touched that high priest that can be touched by the feeling of her infirmities. That's the reason she can be healed—because she believes. I challenge you to believe it. Watch what happens.

This the lady that. . . ? How do you do, lady? We are strangers to each other, too, I suppose. God knows us both. Is that right? Do you believe that God knows both of us? Do you speak Norwegian? Come here. Anybody speak German? Where's that German brother? Do you speak German?

We are strangers to each other (no, you say it for her). I do not know you. All right. Just a moment. Now watch, from the vision. . . . (Can you say, “visions”?) If . . . I see visions. (Tell her her trouble, if she believes. . . . If I . . . she wants. . . . Do you speak German? All right. Just a moment, see what the vision is. Now you'll have to catch it. Real quick, 'cause it leaves me. Now you just say what I say. Of course, you say it in German.)

If God will reveal to me what you're here for, will you believe me to be his servant? If so, raise up your hand. You suffer . . . (Catching it, now, wait till I catch it again. Catching . . . didn't come, because I have to say it just as I see it. I was right on, but the vision left me just a moment.) She's got stomach trouble from a nervous condition. A nervous condition causes the stomach trouble. How would I know that when I can't even speak their own language? God reveals it to me.

There's something on your heart. You want somebody else prayed for. It's your husband. It's in his ears. He isn't here, but if you'll believe. . . . Now she's understanding English. Now you can go and receive it in Jesus' name, and get what you ask for.

Now, what about that? See, when the divine interpretation come, she fell into the channel. It would come . . . I thought maybe it would do it, so you might see that God could make you understand any kind of language you want to. And while I was in the vision, not knowing what I was speaking, she understood it in English then, see. There it was. Oh, isn't He real? That is our Lord Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Just put your hand on mine. You believe with all your heart? Then the diabetes will leave you and you can go home and be well. Have faith in God. When you were standing there speaking for me. . . . You've been crippling around with arthritis. You couldn't hardly get up at morning. I've a hard time . . . that's what made me, between the visions. . . . You had so much faith you was pulling from that woman all the time. That arthritis you've been having, forget it. Go on. You're going to be all right and be well. God makes you well.

Well, the back. . . . All right, now you can go home and be well. Jesus Christ makes you well.

Now didn't you feel real good when I said that? Because you had the same thing and you were healed the same time. Let's say “Praise be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus.”

And the same thing again—a back condition. Praise the Lord. Go believe with all your heart.

Now you suffer with a nervous condition. Everybody's trying to tell you, “Get next to yourself,” but you can't. There's something scares you and worries you. I'm not reading your mind, but you couldn't hide your life now if you had to, you see. But you've been trying to find a place where you could start, say, “Tonight, here, I'll start from here.” Is that right? You're on the place right now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The nervousness will leave you. Go and be well in the name of Jesus Christ.

You're facing an operation from a tumor. Do you believe that God can heal the tumor? Take it off your shoulder and make you well? On your left shoulder. Go and believe and it'll leave you. Let's say, “Praise the Lord.”

Arthritis. Do you believe with all your heart He'll make you well and heal you? Go, having faith in God, and God will grant it to you.

Now when you come up here a few moments ago and I had to call you, you were a little weary. I didn't want you to be weary, because a person with heart trouble should never be weary; but you don't have it no more now. Jesus makes you well, so just go on your road.

Do you believe it out there with all your heart? What about the lady sitting here with varicose veins, looking at me. Do you believe that God will make you well, lady? Do you accept it? Raise up your hand if that's right. Believe it. Have faith in God. The lady sitting back there with trouble with her legs, do you believe God will heal the limb, make you well? If you believe it, just accept it and say, “Thanks be to God,”—you can have it.

I challenge every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ to believe that that's God showing the sign that He's still Messiah. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it? Raise up your hands. Now, I'm going to quote you his Word. Here's what He said. Now He's present. I cannot do those things.

I'm getting weak. I just can barely see you now, see, because it's just fading out. If one of those. . . .

A woman touched his garment and what taken place? What do you think it would do . . . Him the Son of God, and me a sinner saved by grace? Daniel saw one vision, was troubled at his head for many days. Is that right, brethren? It gets you to a spot where . . . and I'm weak, anyhow, from six months of going.

Now, He's here. The Christ of God is here. Is there one here that hasn't been a believer till this time would want to raise their hands and say, “Brother Branham, pray for me. I now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart and accept Him as my Saviour.”? God bless you, back there, lady. Would there be another? God bless you. God bless you, sir. God bless you back there. Down through the middle aisle? I'm now in the presence of a risen Christ who I'll stand before at the day of judgment. Remember, you will stand before the very Spirit that's here now at the day of judgment, to give an account for what you done this afternoon. Will you receive Him? Will you receive Him? Anybody in this left aisle down here? Just raise up your hand, say, “I've been a church member. I have never really been born again. I don't know what it means to be a full consecrated Christian. But now I consecrate my life to Him. I want to be a Christian, while his presence is here, and know. . . .” You say, “How do I know?” That's who's talking to you right now in your heart.