Sirs, We Would See Jesus

The Lord bless you. Good evening. It's a privilege to be here tonight in Dawson Creek again. Some nine years ago I had the grand opportunity before. I was up here on a little vacation and preached across the street here somewhere. I'm all turned around, the city's grown so since I was here last. There was a Brother Hunter, I held the service for him. Then decided that if the Lord would give me another vacation, why, I was coming this way again. So I wanted to do honor to our Lord, and have some fellowship with the brothers and sisters of like precious faith. So it's been granted me that I could stop for three nights with this nice little place here called Dawson Creek.

I am so happy that I can report that we stopped three nights at your neighboring city, Grand Prairie, and our Lord did bless us greatly there, and we're so thankful for that. And we believe that He'll just do the same thing here, because He's just the same God up here as He is down there. And He's just God everywhere.

So now I thought tonight. . . . Usually when I'm in the States, among people who I know, you know, and have had several services, usually I take a certain text and speak for awhile. And then in the big campaigns, why, the manager usually does the speaking, and I just come from my room in prayer; and enter in and speak for about five, ten, minutes, and then call the prayer line. But thinking tonight and . . . we could just speak to each other for awhile and we'd get acquainted more. And then I think it would be better if we just knew each other better.

And we know that we're Christians and fellow citizens of the kingdom of heaven. And then that we're that way, and maybe have never met before in life, well, it's nice if we get a little more acquainted. I thought in doing so it might be a great time for me to get acquainted with you by kind of introducing the meetings. (I believe the microphone has went off somewhere. I'm not sure, but I heard my voice stop echoing up there. Now I've come back again.) So, I thought I would kind of give you a little outlay of the meetings.

Usually when we're going into a city or some nation. . . . The Lord has permitted me to go to practically every nation in the world, holding meetings. And we're so grateful to Him for this opportunity. With the lack of education, and so forth, that it would take to make up to be a minister, He has granted to me by his grace another way to speak to his people: that is, by introducing to them a scripture of Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, the great resurrected Lord Jesus.

And in this, by seeing visions, which has been something that I have had the privilege of seeing from God since a baby. . . . No doubt but many of you here has read the books, so forth, of the testimony of my life, and perhaps has been in some of the services.

But visions does not heal anyone. No one can heal each other. And the main part of my services is based, of course, upon salvation. Divine healing is a minor, and no one can ever major with a minor. But about 86% of our Lord's ministry was divine healing. He did that in order to catch the eyes of the people.

As a precious friend of mine, one of my first managers, and was with me till he got too old to go. . . . I think one of his churches is here in the city, called the Christian Missionary Alliance—Dr. F. F. Bosworth. He used to say to me, he said, “Brother Branham, divine healing is the bait that you put on the hook. You never show the fish the hook; you show him the bait. He grabs the bait and gets the hook.” So that's the way, kind of, like divine healing is used. The Lord does something to show that He is present; and when the people's eyes are caught to see the presence of the very God who made them, and will judge them at the judgment, they're willing then to come on to his line. So I am grateful for the opportunity.

In doing this, many times the audiences are large, and we give them a prayer card to hold a number. Then we call those numbers to the platform and pray with them. Now I have never healed anybody in all my life, but I have seen the Lord heal tens of thousands—documented statements from doctors and great hospitals like Mayo's. And I've seen Him in my short ministry of twenty-eight years for Him, with documented statements, raise up four dead people to this day, that had done passed beyond the curtain of time, and was raised—which we have the statements from the doctors that pronounced them dead and back to life.

And many times they were seen in visions, like the one in Norway . . . or, I believe Finland, a few years ago. It was seen by a vision three or four years before it happened. I had everyone to put it in their Bibles across the nations and so forth. And when it did come to pass, they seen then that it was right.

I do truly believe that gifts and callings are without repentance. I believe that they are gifts that come from God. And I believe that every local church should have nine spiritual gifts operating in it, according to I Corinthians, the twelfth chapter.

Now we're . . . in my way of teaching I do not belong to any organization. I once belonged and was ordained in the Missionary Baptist Church, and then I gave that up. Not because there was any-thing wrong with the church, but because that I could stand between the people, in the breach, and be a brother to all people;

and what little influence that I had, could give from the Lord, it would not go to one certain organization—would be for all churches and all peoples. And that was my choice of doing that.

It's a grand privilege tonight to be in this church. This organization here that owns this church—which I understand is the United Church—I do not believe I have ever been privileged to speak from a United Church pulpit before, and I deem this a great privilege. Trust that God will bless this trustee board who let us have this beautiful building for the worship of God. May the Lord bless those brethren, bless the pastor. May it grow to be a mighty, mighty church, more so than it is now, if that would be possible—and every church that's represented here. We only represent one thing: that's Christ. And I think He's the main object of our worship and our dedication.

Some people go one way, some go another.

Like one time I walked into a building. There was a Methodist minister, Reverend Arnie Clagg. I was a Baptist minister at the time. Mr. Bohannon was sitting there, Charlie Bohannon, which was a past master Mason. He was the superintendent of the company I was working for. Father Halpen, a Irish priest, came in. And he said, “Now, what shall we all do now? We're all sitting together.”

And the old priest made a remark that's always stuck with me real well. He took a piece of paper and drawed a little block and wrote Los Angeles. He said . . . then he drew several lines going down towards Los Angeles. He said, “Now, here's Billy [that was me].” Said, “He goes down on what we say the Pennsylvania Line.” Said, “Here's Brother Clagg, and he goes down on what they call the Southern Line; and different ones, lines going.” Said, “They all lead to Los Angeles. Just stay on your train.” So I thought in a time like that, it was a pretty good remark for an Irish priest. And so, that's a whole lot of truth to that, though.

Is . . . the main thing is not what you believe, but Who you believe. That's it.

And we believe tonight that Jesus Christ is the Son of God that was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pilate, crucified, rose the third day, and ascended up in heaven and sits at the right hand of the majesty of God tonight, there ever living to make intercessions upon our confession. Therefore He cannot intercede for us until we first confess that He has did the work. It's a finished work.

Now I might make this statement: that all healing, all salvation, is what God has achieved for us through Christ. It's already a finished work. Now bear that in mind as you are prayed for, or tell your friends—that there's nothing that we can do to improve it, nothing we can do to further it. The only thing we can do is teach it, see, that it's already been achieved.

God Himself did that for us at Calvary, and there 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 a past tense. Now it's up to you and I to appropriate faith in ourselves to accept what Christ has did for us. And the moment we accept it and confess that He has done it, then He's sitting at the right hand of God to make intercessions upon our confession.

Now the word confess there is the same word that . . . ministers here would know it. Profess it says, but profess and confess is the same word. To profess it was done, confess it, comes from the same Greek word. And we know that we must confess that He has done it. And He cannot do it until we confess it; and then He's a high priest to make intercession upon what we confess that He has done for us. That makes a faith in a finished work that Christ did for us at Calvary. Just that simple. Now that's the unadulterated gospel.

Now today when you speak of divine healing it's rather a touchy thing among many of the churches, which in America. . . . Many of you Presbyterians know there's a great research on, and papers out across the nation, and so forth, that we must return back the Presbyterian church to the early apostolic teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking with other tongues, having healing services, and so forth in the meetings. Many of the great churches in the States are trying to turn back to that program.

The great Billy Graham in his statement recently in a sermon said, “We cannot ignore the Pentecostal Church any longer,” said, “because it is one of the great growing churches.” Which, the Pentecostal Church is outgrowing all churches put together, the Pentecostal organization. Our Sunday Visitor, the Catholic paper, last year stated that the Catholic Church universally announced one million converts last year; but the Pentecostal church registered 1,500,000 converts last year in itself. So it outdoes all the churches because of its evangelistic association around the world. And, of course, that is ministers who are well known. And how many of the others that we know nothing of. . . ?

Now, but Pentecost is not an organization. Pentecost is an experience that goes to any believer. Pentecostal cannot be organized. Pentecost is an experience. It goes to the Anglican Church and to the United Church, and to the Methodist, and the Baptist, and the Presbyterians. Whosoever will may come. It's a restoration back to the apostolic message, which the Catholic church itself started one time.

The Catholic church, the early Catholic church was a Pentecostal church. And then, of course, it made its organization in the third hundred years after the. . . . At the Nicaea Council it formed in what they call the organization of the great universal Christian church and from there then came Martin Luther and John Wesley and oh, on . . . so forth on down, till we're nine hundred and something different organizations now.

But the background of all Christianity is Pentecost. And if that was God's idea of the church first—God is infallible and cannot change—it's his idea of the church today.

And that's an experience that any man can have that belongs to any of those organizations. He can have the same experience in the organization that he's in. The main thing is just receive the experience.

Now, further, we would like to say that each night the boys come down (and my son mainly), and they give the people a prayer card. He takes the prayer cards and stands before you, and mixes them all up, and gives anybody a prayer card that wants one. Now try to be here tomorrow night not later that seven-thirty, so we won't interrupt the services. That night, then, we come. . . . We have no way where we're going to call. We don't know where it might be. We might start from 1 to 15, 20, or maybe start from 20 backwards; or start from 50 and come this way, that way. Just jingle them up together, so people won't rally and say, “Now if I haven't got 95 to 100, I don't want it,” see. But you don't know where it's going to be called from. We wait till we get there.

And then that just gets the Spirit started moving in the building. Then out in the audiences the people start believing God, and the Holy Spirit goes right on into the audience and picks . . . gets them right out of the audience there, wherever they are. So the Holy Spirit is not bound to a prayer card, or so forth, and the prayer card is only a number to keep it from being. . . .

Like I'd say tonight probably two hundred people in here. I don't know very much on estimations of crowds, but I'd say eventually maybe a hundred fifty or two hundred people. Well, then, if that be so, I'd say in this little group there'd probably be fifty people wanted to be prayed for. Let's just ask. How many people in here have a sickness that you'd like God to heal? Raise up your hands, all, everywhere. See? Over half of them. Now who's going to be the first one up at the platform? There's where you have to have cards, or some way to do it.

Now tomorrow morning I understand at nine o'clock at the Windsor Hotel there is to be a breakfast. I guess you've already announced that, have you, brother? That's fine. And I'm to speak, is that right? At the breakfast. Be happy for you to come. I think it's a open breakfast for all the people. We'd be glad for you to come. And then tomorrow evening again at 7:30.

Now shall we bow our heads just a moment as we speak to the author of the Book we're going to read.

Gracious and mighty God, who before there was even an atom in the air, or a molecule in an atom, You were God. And in this great being called God there was attributes. There was an attribute to be father, an attribute to be God, an attribute to be a healer, an attribute to be a saviour. And there was nothing to save, or nothing to worship You, so You were just the great source of all intelligence.

And You created angels; then You became a God. And then from there You created man, and so forth. Man fell, and the great attribute of God displays itself tonight as a saviour. When You created man You become a father. And now man's got sickness upon him from the fall, therefore the great attribute of God which is to be a healer, is now displaying itself upon the earth, as Christ the healer.

How grateful we are for these attributes that has been displayed in our own lives, that we know that we have passed from death unto life; because something has happened in us that has brought us from the things of the world to the association as sons and daughters with a living, almighty God. Our hearts are made quivery with joy because of this experience. We are happy, Father, in trying to associate ourselves with others, that others might enjoy these great redemptive blessings that has been given to us through the suffering of our Lord: salvation of souls, the Holy Spirit to work amongst the people, and to see healings and miracles performed and the hand of the living God moving among us. We are so grateful for this.

Father, I pray that You'll bless our brothers and sisters around in Dawson Creek and its regions around about. May there not be a sick or afflicted person among us when the services end.

Bless your ministers, Lord. May the impact of our gathering together start an old-fashioned revival throughout the province, and great signs and wonders may accompany this revival.

We believe that we're living in the end time, Father. As we're in the end of this day, the twenty-four hour day, we believe as the sun is setting across the western horizon that also the sun of civilization is setting; and the end of time is at hand, and the Son of righteousness is ready to rise with healing in his wings. Grant, O Lord, that this may be vital things to the people, that they might grasp these little truths and hold onto them; and remember that some day that each of us will have to stand in your august presence and give an account for every thought that goes through our minds. So give me and my peoples and your children upon the earth clean, holy, faithful thoughts, that we might not disassociate ourself from thy Word, knowing that thy Word is truth.

And You are the infinite, infallible, omnipresent, omniscient God, and omnipotent.

Then, Father, you know all things, and You're omnipresent to do for us that which would be exceedingly abundantly above all that we could do or think, and we're believing that You'll grant it to us.

And, O Father God, do something here tonight among the people that'll cause such alarm in this little city. Grant it, Father, that the Christians' hearts will be stirred. And by the time it comes Sunday may every church be packed to its capacity—sinners repenting, great healing services going on everywhere—that throughout the country it might be known that there is a revival of the living God in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Father God, as for myself, I lay myself on the altar. Use it, Lord, in any way You see fit. We all do that, and ask for your blessings as we further wait on your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Just by way of context I would like to read from St. John 12:20 and 21, take a little familiar scripture, just to talk. Not to preach, because I just want to speak to you in a way that . . . just lay this out so that you will see, and let's draw the conception. I believe the Bible said, “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord,” in Isaiah, the eighteenth chapter. “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord.” And I think that's what we should do—reason. So just in the way of . . . I get a context, I want to read this verse:

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

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

And then in Hebrews 13:8 we read these verses here:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, . . . today, and forever.

Now there's quite a question. And, now, to rightly divide this and give it a sane interpretation, the best of my knowledge, is this: that we all know that as Christian believers that some day we are bound to stand in the presence of God. We know that. We must stand in his presence, for we're creatures of his creation.

And as Christians we believe that this Bible is the infallible Word of God. I am . . . if I cannot accept it, every word, then I cannot have faith. You cannot have faith in something that you are in doubt about, because you must have faith in something that you believe in.

So if the Word is contradictory, or it was meant for another age or another people, and the writings in it, some scriptures are true and others are not true—as people would make us believe, or try to —then to me it's not even . . . it's the most confusing thing. I wouldn't even have it in my house, because I do not let literature of the world come into my house; and if this book is a contradictory of itself, or it promises something that it will not back up, then I . . . it isn't the Word of God.

Now, remember, God is infinite, and He's almighty, and He is omnipresent because He's omniscient.

And now notice, then this Word is the truth. And if it is the truth, it's God's Word; and no man is any better than his word. We're always wanting to sign contracts with one another, but to me it always seemed if. . . . I'd sign a contract with a man that I haven't got very much confidence in, but if I've got confidence in the man, we sign no contract. Our word is what stands. Your word is your bond. And if I cannot tell you the truth, then my word is no good. And if God has told us something that is not truth, then this is not the Word of God, or He could not be God. How can He be the infinite God, and then tell something that's wrong? And so I believe that this is the Word of God.

And if . . . the right mental attitude towards any of those divine promises in there will bring it to pass.

Now I say that there may be promises in there that I could not bring to pass, such as Enoch walked with God for five hundred years, and took an afternoon stroll and went home with Him without dying. I wish I had that kind of faith, but I would not want to stand in somebody else's way who had that kind of a faith. So we must believe it's the Word of God.

Now watch this. Those Greeks well expressed the desire of every person who ever heard about Jesus Christ, for they said in their . . . what they wanted was, “Sirs, we would see Jesus.” They did not desire to hear Him teach. They did not ask for any of those miracles, to see them. They did not say, “Let me see Jesus' miracles. Let me hear Him teach awhile.” They said, “Sirs, we would see Jesus.”

Now, they were enthused because they had heard of Him. Now faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word. Now, “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.” So they come to see the Word made flesh. Christ was God's Word made flesh.

Now, if He was then . . . permitted these people to see Christ, and we tonight would desire to see Him, then why could we not see Him just as well as they did? Now how many in here would like to say, “I would love to see Jesus”? Let's see your hands. Just all over the audience, no matter whether you're a Christian, sinner, or not, “I would like to see Jesus.”

Well, if that is our desire, and that's the same desire those Greeks had that came up to the feast. . . . It was the feast of Pentecost. And when they came up, their desire . . . they'd heard of Him but they wanted to see Him. So they got their desire by requesting it through a servant of Christ. Then if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then could we not get our desire the same as they could? If He is the same, should not we be able to see Him just the same as they did? If it isn't, then there's something wrong with his Word, for He said here that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Well, then, if we were going to look for Him tonight. . . .

And let me quote one more promise which. . . . I will not try to take too much of your time, because I know you're farming and got to sow your seeds, and so forth. And I don't want to take that, but we got some seeds here that grows a different kind of a life. So let's take and lay these seeds in our hearts, for they are eternal life to all that will accept it and believe it.

Now, Jesus said, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst.” Now, then, that has to bring Him in our presence now. Then if He is here, the invisible Christ, then why can we not see Him, like those Greeks wanted to see Him? for He is the same in every way except the cardinal body . . . corporal body, rather. He's the same Christ.

Well, how would we know that He was here? How would we understand that He was here? Now, He made these kind of promises: “A little while and the world seeth me no more, yet ye shall see me, for I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world.” Now, He promised to be in his church, working with them. “And the works that I do shall you do also. More than this shall you do for I go unto my Father.” That's St. John, fourteenth chapter, I think, the eighth verse—that we can do more than He could.

The King James puts “greater,” but the original translation is “more,” because there's nothing any greater. He healed the sick, raised the dead, stopped nature. But where He was in one man (God was, then), now He's in his church universal. So He can do more through the church than He could just in one person.

Now what type of a person would we look . . . if we were looking in Dawson tonight to find Jesus? You'd like to see Him, so what type of a person would we look for? Would we look for some strange dressed person, some man dressed in religious clothes such as robes, or collars around, or some other religious. . . ? No, for Jesus wore common clothes. Would we look for someone that looked different from someone else? No. He was a man, looked just like any man does. He went in and out. Men, no one, knew no more than what He was just an ordinary man.

And that's where the Jews could not understand Him being . . . making Himself God, and yet being a man; for they knowed his mother, and his brothers, his sisters, and they wondered where all this great wisdom He had, where it come from. He was not acquainted with any school. He . . . as his being an educator, we have no record of Him spending one day in any school nowhere. And we have just record of. . . . Even the apostles, all of them were more or less illiterate, unlearned people. The one that pleased Christ to give the keys to the kingdom could not even sign his own name.

I'm not trying to support ignorance. I'm only trying to tell you that we cannot educate people to see God. God is not known by education or science or. . . . He's only knowed by faith. The only way you can find Him is by believing Him. That's the program He laid down so that the uneducated and educated together could enjoy the fellowship of his presence upon the basis of faith in his Word.

So what type of person would we look for, if we would not look for that type of person? We find such today. I do not say it critically, but I say it to be . . . truthfully, that we find our churches today dressed in the finest buildings, we find our ministry in the finest of robes, and our choirs and our . . . with the finest of singing. We find our ministers with Ph.D., LL., all kinds of degrees.

But where is that Jesus?

Dr. Morris Reedhead, the president of the great Sudan Missions, the greatest in the world, came to me recently. And in the room he said, “Brother Branham, I have enough degrees, with honorary degrees, to plaster your wall.” He said, “But where is Christ in any of it? Has the teachers been wrong?”

I said, “I would not wish to say that, sir.” I said, “As a person with a grammar school education, I could not say that those great, fine teachers has been wrong; but they have told you truth. But Christ doesn't go by degrees that you get here through theology. Christ is by faith. He's not a myth. He is a person. The Holy Spirit is not a thought; it is a person. ”When He, the Holy Ghost, is come. . . .“ And ”He“ is a personal pronoun, so it's absolutely . . . it's a person of Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit living in you.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; ye are the branches.” Now the vine does not bear fruit. The branches bears fruit, so therefore He has to use you and I—our eyes, our lips, our hearing, our speech, all, that's Him speaking through us. “I am the vine; ye are the branches.”

So it would be the association of Christ in his people, if we could see Him acting today like He did then. For it's a promise to his church, “If ye abide in me and my Word in you, ask what ye will.” Oh, so many thousands of promises to be quoted here, but it's Christ in his church.

What we have did among all of us (I suppose I'm in a mixed audience, as usual), but what we have did, we have associated Christ with an intellectual conception of some historical God. If He's a historical God, what good will He do us today? if He isn't the same God for this generation as He was at the apostolic age. What good would the God of Moses do if He wasn't the same God today? What good would a healing God do that healed the sick back in his day and if He isn't the same today?

If I'd question healing, I'd certainly question salvation, because they're both earnest of our salvation, of our completing. We just have the earnest now of our complete redemption. And you can see a shadow of a man with a carcinoma cancer turn back to a new man again and made whole and strong, that's a sign that we'll have a glorified body some day, because only a living God could do such a miracle. When I can see a woman on the street that's so low, stooped in morals. . . . Or a man out of a barroom—smoking, and drinking, and cursing, and carrying on—and a few days' time he's a sainted, godly person, making restitution for all his wrongs, that shows that something's happened to that man, see.

It speaks of another land.

We are citizens not of Canada, neither are we citizens of the United States. Our citizenship is of above. We are citizens of the kingdom of God.

When I go into Germany, I watch the way they do. They have their own ideas. I can come down from one of the greatest meetings, where we was having a average of ten thousand souls saved each night—fifty thousand saved in five nights. And then coming down the street, here was the saints with great big schooners of beer, drinking just as fast as they could drink, praising the Lord as hard as they could, see. Well, that's their custom in Germany, see. They don't pay any attention to it, and so forth. You find different traits in different nations. We find it in Canada. We find it in the United States.

But then when a Christian becomes a Christian, he is no more a citizen of this world; for we plainly know that we're Abraham's seed, and he confessed that he was a pilgrim and a stranger. He was a citizen of another world, looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. So we . . . our citizenship is of above, and above is holiness, and purity, and power, and revelation. Therefore we are citizens of the kingdom of God.

And as citizens of the kingdom, let's look for our king.

What does He look like? Where would we find Him? The only sensible way that I could say to you, my friend, tonight, is to go back in the Scripture and find out what He was yesterday. Then what He is yesterday, He will be the same today, and will be forever, because He's the infinite, infallible, unchangeable God.

And now let's go back. Let's lay aside. . . . I'll lay aside my Baptist tradition, you lay aside your Methodist, and the Pentecostal traditions. Let's go right back into the Scripture and find out what He was. Now that ought to be logical, sensible. And then we'll find out whether we can see Him or not, whether He will visit with us tonight; and I'm sure we'd be most happy if He would.

Notice. Let's go back. We read out of St. John, the twelfth chapter. Let's go back to the first chapter of St. John and begin. We find out immediately after his birth . . . that his public ministry started, the first thing we find Him doing was praying for the sick. And He was associated with divine healing to begin with—praying for the sick. Great miracles accompanied his prayers, for the Father was answering the prayers of his Son.

Then we know that there was a people in that day that was looking for a Messiah. Let's not lose this point now. They were looking for a Messiah, anointed one, a Christ that had been promised by the Old Testament. Prophets, all the way from Genesis down, had been promised a oncoming Messiah. Every generation looked for that coming Messiah.

But the strange thing, when He arrived they were so stooped in other things till they failed to recognize Him to be the Messiah. They was so organized, so tight amongst them, disassociating themselves from one another, Pharisees and Sadducees, and so forth—just as it is today. So the very sign that that Messiah was supposed to show that He was the God-sent Messiah, they failed to see it because of their relationship with their . . . or their association with their denomination. May I say this with reverence and brotherly love: it's about the same today.

Now when John the Baptist came on the scene—a miracle ministry came on the scene, of a phenomena . . . preaching like something on the order of Billy Graham, that we'd say today—when that great ministry came, the people was amazed and many of them thought in their heart that this was the Messiah. But he told them he was not the Messiah; he was only a forerunner, that He would come after him. Then when Jesus came and John recognized Him by a sign that. . . . In the wilderness God the Father had showed John that he would not be deceived in seeing the true Messiah because He would have a sign that followed Him.

Now we must remember that the Messiah, according to the Old Testament teaching, according to Genesis . . . or Deuteronomy 18:35, He was to be a prophet.

Moses, the great prophet of the Old Testament who set the Jewish religion in order, said that “the Lord your God shall raise up a prophet liken unto me. It'll come to pass that whosoever shall not hear this prophet will be cut off from among the people.” And on and on it reads of Him. All the Old Testament teachings pointed to a Messiah that was coming.

And all the Old Testament characters represented this Messiah, until it was fulfilled in a man. David, crying over Jerusalem after he'd been refused, rejected king; eight hundred years from there the Son of David sat on the same mountain, a rejected king by his own people, and wept over Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem. . . .”

Joseph, a born son, among other brothers, that was a peculiar birth, and he was borned to be a seer. He dreamed dreams and seen visions, and so forth, and he was hated by his brethren (to typify the very day we're living in now). And there his brethren was great men—the patriarchs—

but finally killed him, just as they did Christ. Throwed into a ditch, sold for almost thirty pieces of silver, taken up. And in his imprisonment one was lost and the other one saved by the . . . butcher and . . . the baker and the butler. And so in Jesus' imprisonment on the cross—one lost, and one saved.

And then after, he was exalted to the highest position in the kingdom, the right hand to Pharaoh; which, Jesus was exalted to the highest position in heaven, the right hand of God. And when Joseph went forth, the trumpet sounded. “Everyone bow your knee. Joseph is coming.” Same thing: when the trumpet sounds, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We see it all types. Look at Elijah, and on down through, it was all typing, on to John.

And then the Messiah appeared according to them men back there who was anointed with his Spirit, and He was the full God in Messiahship. He was the anointed God, a prophet. And when He come to do those signs among the people, some of them were so stooped in their church belief until they failed to see Him.

Now let's rehearse his life. Let's find Him in the first chapter of St. John. One of the first things we see Him do. . . . There was a man named Andrew had believed on Him, persuading his brother Simon to come see this man. Simon—which later became Peter, and was given the keys to the kingdom, the head bishop of the church—a fisherman. Ignorant, the Bible said, unlearned (the book of Acts, the third chapter). He was both ignorant and unlearned, and John also.

And then when we find him walking up into the presence of this man who was supposingly to be the Messiah, let's watch what he found.

What if he would've found a man that was just a great theologian? They had plenty of them in that day, see. They had plenty of them. What did he find? Not a great theologian; but he found a little humble sort of a fellow. And as soon as he walked into his presence, He looked him in the face and said, “Your name is Simon, and your father's name is Jonas.” And immediately this well trained man in spiritual things recognized that that was the Messiah. Hundreds of years since they'd had a prophet, and they knowed the next in line was the Messiah. Now hold that in mind. Immediately this man recognized that to be the Messiah, and he fell at his feet.

There was one standing there by the name of Philip who seen this being performed, and in seeing it take place he remembered of a good friend. There's something about it, when you see truly Christ, you must tell your friends. Any man feels that way about his friends. So he goes around the mountain fifteen miles, and he comes to the place to where a friend that was a great Bible studier . . . and his name was Nathanael. And he found him under a tree out in the fig orchard, praying. And when Philip came upon him, he said to him, after his prayer, “Come see who we have found [Now remember, not Doctor, Ph.D., not a man with a great theologian.]. We have found the Messiah, which is called the Christ.”

Said, “Well, who is He?”

Said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Oh, now that really struck that man, because he'd become a little associated with the church because he was orthodox. And he said, “Now, could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?” In other words, “Could a poor little city like that, a poor class of people that's degenerated and evil spoken of, known throughout all of our fair country as an evil place—they're ignorant, they're murderers, and outlaws, and so forth—could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Now I wish everyone would take this attitude, the same thing that Philip told Nathanael. He said, “Come and see.” There you are. Don't stay home and criticize. Come and see for yourself.

Along the road, I wish I could've heard them talking. No doubt but what they were speaking about what the Messiah was to be. Well, now, Nathanael was a learned man. “Well,” he said, no doubt, “Certainly I know what the sign of Messiah will be, because He'll be a prophet.”

Maybe their conversation went something like this. “You remember the old fisherman down there by the name of Simon?”

“Yes, I remember him.”

“Well, you remember he could not even sign his name to a receipt for your fish?”

“Oh, surely, I know he and his father too.”

“He walked up in front of this man now that comes from Nazareth, this Galilean prophet, and immediately, as soon as he got into his presence, He told him his name was Simon, and his father's name was Jonas. It wouldn't surprise me but what He would tell you who you are.” Well, it'd be hard for Philip to believe that.

But now remember, friends, what am I saying? What am I trying to get to you? That was how the public knowed that that was the sign of Jesus, the Messiah.

Now I'd lay a challenge to that. There's no one can dispute that. That's the truth. It was a sign that was to be with the Messiah. Well, as soon as Philip came up into his presence, bringing Nathanael, Jesus turned and looked at him and said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”

That just deflated this church member. He hardly knew . . . he said, “Rabbi [which means teacher], whence did thou know me? You have never seen me. This is our first time meeting. How would you know that such things was . . . about me?”

He said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you.” All the way around that mountain—what eyes, see. “I saw you.”

Listen to this quotation. Then what happened? Nathanael fell on the ground, no doubt, and looked up at Him, and said, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel, that great anointed One; for I know that the Scriptures told us that that would be the sign of Messiah. You are truly the one that we have looked for.”

Well, if that was Him yesterday making Hisself known to his people, well, He's the same today. The Scripture says He is.

Oh, of course, now, there was those standing there who did not believe that. And they were staunch believ. . . staunch orthodox. They studied with their backs turned, with their robes, and all their great turbans on, and so forth, with all their religious banner and dogma that they could have; standing there with great titles to their names, and things like that; and their congregation present, knowing that they'd have to answer to their congregation for that. They could not dispute it—there it was. The phenomena was done. Something had to be quoted.

What did they say? They said, “This man is Beelzebub, the chief of the devils, a fortune-teller. He's reading their minds.”

Now, when . . . they didn't say it out loud. They thought it in their heart, the Bible said. And Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, turned and said, “I'll forgive you for that, but some day the Holy Spirit's coming, and when He comes He'll do the same thing; and to speak a word against it will never be forgiven in this world, neither in the world that is to come.”

So you see where we stand then in this day,

after the death of Jesus Christ. “And to tramp the blood of the covenant wherewith we were sanctified with, and call it an unclean thing, and do despite to the works of grace, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin”—Hebrews, the sixth chapter. So you see where we're at. We're doing despite to the very works of grace that's called us to sanctification, see, speaking a word against it.

Now what was He come to? He came to his own. Who was his own? Hebrews, Jews. Now there was two classes . . . there's always three classes (not classes—I wouldn't say it), races of people on the earth. We all spring from the sons of Noah—Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Now that was Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan.

Now to these ministers who are sitting behind me here, and perhaps some sitting in front of me, we all know that Peter was given the keys to the kingdom (that I might straighten this out for you, by the grace of God). Peter was given the keys to the kingdom.

Now on the day of Pentecost he was the one who opened the kingdom to the Jews. We admit that.

And when Philip went down and preached to the Samaritans and baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ, only the Holy Spirit had not come upon them yet; and yet Philip had the Holy Spirit. So they sent up to get Peter, and he and John came down and laid hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Is that right? All right.

Then we find out that he was on the house top one day having a vision, and Cornelius had had a vision, which was a Gentile. And he sent him up to Cornelius' house, and there he opened the gospel to the Gentiles. There's your three people—Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. No more was the apostle used—the keys to open to the kingdom—because it was for everybody then.

Now we notice when He came there was the Gentiles—we, the Anglo Saxon—were not looking for a Messiah. We were heathens, Romans, and so forth, worshipping idols. But there were two classes of people, or two races, looking for Him. That was Jew and Samaritan, and a Samaritan was half Jew and Gentile.

Now listen close now so you will not miss it. Now those . . . He only comes to those who are looking for Him. Let me repeat that. In the audience tonight, if you are here as a critic, if you are here as an unbeliever, He'll never touch you; only rebuke you. But He comes to those who are looking for Him, who are believers. Nowhere in the Scriptures did He ever come any other way but to the believer. That's where He promised to assemble. To do his healing He took a blind man away from the unbelievers, outside the city, to heal his eyes. He only comes to believers.

So the Gentiles in that day was not looking for no Messiah, but Samaritans and Jews were. And when He came to the Jews He displayed his sign as Messiah, and the true believers recognized it to be the Messiah. The unbeliever rejected it and was cursed by it.

Now we find out then in St. John, the fourth chapter, He goes up now to Samaria, to a city of Sychar. And when He gets up there, He sends his disciples away to buy food. And while they're away buying food, a woman came out, a woman of ill fame, and she had many husbands. And she came out to get water, and Jesus said, “Woman, bring me a drink.”

And she said, “The well is deep, and besides we have segregation here. You Jews shouldn't ask we Samaritans such things. It's not customary for a Jewish man to ask a Samaritan woman.”

He said, “But if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask me for a drink.” The conversation. . . . What was He doing? Catching her spirit. Finally He found what her trouble was, and He said, “Go get your husband and come hither.”

She said, “I have no husband.”

Said, “Thou has said well, for you've had five husbands, and the one that you're living with now is not your husband. And in that you've said well.”

Watch that woman. This is a rebuke to the peoples of this day. That woman will rise in the judgment and condemn these generations. That ill famed prostitute raised up and said, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. We know, we're taught, that the Messiah which is called the Christ, the anointed One, when He comes He'll do these signs. But who are You?”

Jesus said, “I am he that speaks with you.”

Upon that she left her waterpot and ran into the city and said to the men of the city, “Come see a man who told me what I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?”

Now, Canadian brethren and sisters, let's not be children. Let's look at the Bible. If that was the sign of Messiah yesterday to both Jew and Samaritan, would it not be the same sign of Messiah to Gentiles? Now, later on, never was those works done before Gentiles in them days. But let me finish, to get to the Gentiles.

Now we know that we've had two thousand years without a record anywhere at all of that phenomena after Pentecost. We've had great breaks of churches, a great Martin Luther, a great John Wesley. And I've been to their places, and stood in Wesley's pulpit. I think of that now, up on a side, where he preached to fifteen hundred each morning. And by his grave, and mother, Susanna, and all around the different parts of the world, and the great men and so forth. But, friends, we have never—since the days of the apostles and the dying out of that early apostolic move down to about the middle of the church, the third century after the death of Christ—have we ever had this move coming.

Now the church came out of . . . that was the going out from the apostolic church. And it was borned through several hundred years—about ten hundred years there or more—of just Dark Ages, it's called. Then on this side came out in the first reformation, which was Martin Luther. Then come John Wesley, and then the Pentecostal move. In this age here that we're living in is the gathering of the church age.

Now notice. If God is the infallible God, if He is the great Jehovah, He cannot treat one child one way, and the other child another way. And what He did to them, He must do to us, or they got something that we did not get. So if He lets the church go in just on common theology, He shortchanged the Gentile church; and when He promised that He would give it more than they had back there. So there's something wrong somewhere if we do not receive it.

But listen, my brother, sister, don't let it go over your head. It always crosses over the top of people's heads and they know nothing about it. They never recognized the prophets in their days till they were dead. Neither did they ever recognize Jesus Christ to be the Son of God until He was dead, buried, and rose again. That's when the church began to realize He was the Son of God. Look at St. Patrick, and many of the saints this side.

Look at Joan of Arc. You Catholic people here, look at Joan of Arc. What did you call her? Your church burnt her to the stake as a witch because she seen visions and prayed for the sick. And then you said she was a witch and burnt her to the stake, and that woman crying for mercy. Oh, something over a hundred years later, you recognized that she was a saint. What did you do for repentance? You dug up them priest's body that had her burnt and throwed it into the sea. But you see, she went right over the top of your heads. God took her and you didn't recognize it.

So is it in every age. He hides it from the eyes of the wise and prudent and will reveal it to babes such as . . . humble and will learn. So let us wake up, my brother, sister.

Let us take the quotation of Jesus just a moment before we call the prayer line. Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.” Let us watch what that means, the days of Sodom. The days of Sodom there was three classes of people: the Sodomite; the lukewarm church member, which was Lot, in the world; and there was Abraham, the elected church, called out—sitting out to himself up on the mountain, taking the way with the Lord's despised few, getting the small things of earth, but he was God's servant.

Now God came down in a form of three angels. Two of them went down in Sodom and preached, and called Lot out of Sodom before the burning of Sodom. Now watch how he referred to that now, to the time of the falling of the fire.

And if we're in our right mind we can see that man in his achievement to capture the world, he's achieved something that's going to destroy the world and himself with it—atomic and hydrogen bombs. And it could happen before daylight. It could happen in a few minutes, the whole world. Might get in these sputniks and just say, “You want to perish or surrender?” What would we do, see? And it's laying in the hands of sinful men.

What if somebody happens to drink too much Vodka some day and turn one of those missiles loose? Every nation's got them ready, just to pull. Why, the world couldn't survive it.

And that's exactly what God prophesied would take place: the heavens and earth would be on fire and burn with fervent heat. Said, “Before that great and terrible day of the Lord shall come, the world will be burnt up with a fire [Malachi 4],” and said, “the righteous shall walk out upon the ashes [the volcanic ashes] of the wicked,” in the millennium. That's right. But before that day come, he said, “I'll send Elijah that'll restore the faith of the people back to the fathers.” [Blank spot on tape.]

What was it a symbol of? Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.”

Now Sarah, his wife, was old. He had been Abram a few days before that, but his name was changed to Abraham by God when God had spoke to him in the vision. But as the angel sat with his back to the tent, he said, “Abraham, where is your wife, Sarah?” S-a-r-a-h. It was S-a-r-a-i, you know. So He said, “Where is your wife, Sarah?”

Said, “She's in the tent behind you.”

He said, “Abraham, I'm not going to keep this from you. But you've trusted me now for twenty-five years and I'm going to visit you according to the time of life.” I want you people as a mixed audience to be sensible, now, as I express this [Blank spot on tape].

. . . turned to the tent, said, “Why did Sarah laugh [saying such-and-such, 'How can these things be?']?”

Now, look. See what Jesus said? Now watch the meaning. Before the day of the Lord shall come (in the day of the coming of the Son of man), God will be in the church doing the same sign to the people, to the elected church, as He did to Abraham before the burning of Sodom. And notice that sign, the very same sign that Jesus did when He was here on earth, promised in the last days.

So, “Sirs, we would see Jesus.” How would you know Him? According to the Scriptures. When He made Hisself known to the Jews, He was the prophet that knowed the secret of their hearts. How many will say that is true?

When He made Hisself known to the race of the Samaritans, He made Himself known as a prophet. And the woman went in and told the men of the city, “Come see a man who told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?”

Now let me take the next verse. And the Bible says that the whole city, all the whole race there, believed on Jesus because of what the woman said, of the woman's word. Think. He did that sign one time and it settled it for all time. They said, “He is the Messiah, because He did the sign of the Messiah.”

Now remember, now, in this last days (notice), not Jesus here on earth in a physical body, but the Spirit of Jesus in human flesh, being the branch to the vine, would do the same thing in human flesh. When the church would assemble together He would make Hisself known through them. So if He would come into this church tonight and perform that same thing, could we not raise up our hands and thank God, as those Greeks did? We have seen Jesus. That's what He was; that's what He is, if He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Is that true? How many would like to see Him? Let us bow our heads.

Holy and gracious God, this is a great moment. This is a moment when it might mean the difference between life and death to many people. It might be at this moment that there would be someone sitting that would be critical, that might eternally separate themselves from God. There might be one here, Lord, who has been critical, and would become a believer and have eternal life.

There may be those, Lord, here who are sick, and has been going to church, and the faithful pastors has anointed them with oil and prayed over them, and they could not grasp the faith to be healed. May it come to pass, Lord, that they'll see that the very Christ that their pastor has talked about is now moved up a little higher with us, or a little closer to us—little closer—and will make Hisself known among us tonight. Then they can grasp the faith to see, “Yes, Jesus is here. He's in our midst. I believe Him as my healer, as my Saviour.”

And then they can go testifying, making their testimony ring out. And You can be the high priest . . . and you are the high priest of their profession now, when they can truly from their heart believe that You have did the work. We know as far as the work itself, it is already finished, but to appropriate faith to believe it. . . . All things are possible to them that believe.

Now, Lord Jesus, I would be better off out on the creek bank there, resting somewhere, fishing; or maybe sitting down to my home with my little boy here today on his birthday, my little six-year-old Joseph. How I would love to have him on my lap tonight, seeing those big eyes look up at me, and say, “Daddy.”—a joy that Thou has give me of my middle age. I would be better off down there, or anywhere, than to be here in this church trying to deceive the children of God.

God, I pray that somehow that each one here will be able to grasp these few chopped-up words, Father. They might've been scattered. They might've been . . . not be drilled into hearts, as grain usually is drilled, but if they were scattered, may it fall in the ground that you have provided. And the results and the praise will be yours, Father,

as we in this church . . . I, and this church commit ourselves to Thee. Oh, come, Lord Jesus.

We're not many together tonight, but You promised the three, and we're more than that number. And may, when we leave here tonight going to our different homes along the way, may we say like those who came from Emmaus after the resurrection on that first great morning. . . . Botany was all in bloom, and life was in bloom, and He walked with them along the side of the road, Cleopas and his friend. They never recognized who He was. But then at the evening tide—about this time, perhaps—when they were gathered in the inn, He did something just like He did before He was crucified. And they knew that no one else did it that way but Him, and their eyes were opened and they recognized it was their Lord, and He vanished out of their sight. Quickly they ran to the other disciples, and said, “Truly He has risen.” Father, I pray that that'll be our testimony tonight.

Now I've talked about what You was in the days gone by, and these people raised their hands that they wanted to see You. Now be that for us tonight, Lord, to fulfill your Word. It's according to your Word. When You were here on earth, You said You healed because it was to fulfill which the prophets had spoke of You. And then, Father, tonight You promised these things also in this last day, so I pray that You'll fulfill your Word tonight. Grant it, as we commit ourselves to You. In Jesus Christ's name, we ask it. Amen.

Thank you for your kindness of waiting so long for me. And now tomorrow morning we come early to the breakfast. And then I will not keep you very long, but we'll just call . . . I believe. . . . Oh, wait—did you give out prayer cards? All right. He says he give out prayer cards. What was it? A's or C's? C's. Well, all right, from 1 to 100. All right, let's just call a little prayer line in a moment. I'm just trying to see which way He'll tell me . . . where to start from there—start from, whereabouts. And just let it come on my mind.

And, then, we won't bring up too many, but just to . . . this: if Christ will come into our midst and prove that He's here, that He is not dead but He's living, would not that . . . could not we have as much faith as that poor prostitute of Sychar? Could we not say ourselves as Christian believers, “Truly, that is the Messiah, because He promised it. Here's the Word that says so, and here He is right here with us today to perform that.”

Therefore, friends, I want you to know, if I could come out there (and I say this reverently—not jokingly, but reverently) and put a quarter on the street, and push it with my nose right down the main street here; and go down through the city pushing that quarter with my nose, on my hands and knees, to see you get well, I'd start right now, and by a flashlight I'd push it all night to see you get well. Now I really mean that. I've been sick. I know what sickness is. But that wouldn't work. You are already healed by his stripes. Me to lay hands on you, or the ministers lay hands on you, that's all right, but that isn't necessary. The only thing you have to do is to accept what He has already done for you, see.

And now our brethren here has preached it to you soundly and sanely that He is the Christ. And you've believed it and accepted salvation, and you see the results, how happy you were. Well, now, the same thing will be by healing, or salvation either. You must remember the works is already finished.

Now I would just ask, if everyone will be just as reverent now, if our Holy Father will grant the presence of his Spirit, and to perform the same works here before you. How many in here never did see that done in your life? Let's see your hands go up. All the way over the building, never seen it in all your life? You mean there's only two people that never. . . ? How many here was never in one of my meetings? Raise up your hands, never in one of my meetings. Well, where did you see it done at then? There's something wrong somewhere. Surely I believe you're sincere. You. . . . Well, maybe you did, so I'm thankful for that.

But I believe that there's something wrong somewhere, because that didn't register right, so. . . .

Maybe you just didn't understand me. I know that sometimes in here we have Norwegians, Swedish, and whatmore, so they don't . . . maybe do not understand the English very well, so perhaps. . . . But you understood it the second time. So how many love the Lord? I'll say it like that. Now we all do.

All right, sir. Now let's see. Did you say C1 to 100? Let's start from number 1 then, prayer card C, number 1. Have you . . . who has that prayer card? Looks like everyone can walk, so instead of going down there to the crippled, I'll just bring them up here.

Now I'd like to say one thing to you out there. How many knows that the Scripture says that Jesus Christ right now is a high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities? We all agree on that. All right. Now that's the book of Hebrews. He is what? A high priest. Is He the same high priest that He was when He was here on earth? Is He the same? Then how would He act in his priesthood, if He's the same high priest that was yesterday, if He's today? He'd act the same way. Is that right?

How many remembers the story of the woman with the blood issue who came along and touched the border of his garment, saying if she could touch his garment she'd be made well? Do you remember the story?

Now watch this. Then perhaps (let's just say it for a point's sake) she did not have a prayer card. She couldn't get up close to Him, but she said, “I believe if I could touch his garment, I'll be made well.” So she slips along till she touches his garment.

Physically He could not have felt it, because the garment—Palestinian garment—hangs loose with an underneath garment. So then . . . but He stopped, and He said, “Who touched me?”

And the apostle Peter sharply rebuked Him, saying something like this, “Why would You say a thing like that? Everybody's touching You.” (“How do You do? Are You the prophet? Are You the preacher? Are You. . . ? We're sure glad to meet You. Like to have You over here, Reverend,” like that—everybody.) Said, “To say 'Who touched me?' why, it doesn't sound sane,” Peter might've said.

So Jesus said, “But I perceive that virtue has gone from me.” Is that right? Now virtue is strength. In other words, “I have gotten weak,” see.

Now, when that was done, Jesus looked over the audience. Listen close now. Jesus looked over his audience. Maybe like standing here—maybe greater, maybe not as many. But He looked over the audience until He found the woman and told her about her blood issue, and said it had stopped, her faith had saved her. Is that right?

Well, now if He's that same high priest, the same high priest, and you sitting out there that'll not be in this prayer line, could you not touch Him with your faith? Would He not act the same if He's the same high priest? Does that sound logical? Raise up your hands, everybody in the building. See I'm getting you to . . . getting the favor of God, if I can, to let you see that it's truth, see how you're responding to it, see. It would be the same.

Now you out there say, “Brother Branham doesn't know one thing about me. He's a total stranger to me. He doesn't know me, but, Lord, You know what's wrong with me. So if You'll just have him. . . . I want to touch You, Jesus. Can I have my healing tonight?” And then say, “Speak through Brother Branham and let him turn and tell me,” then see if He does it. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Wouldn't that be. . . ? That would make Christianity the same. . . . Many great gods of Buddha, and all the Sikhs and Jains, and so forth, with the different religions, and every one of their founders are dead and in the grave. But we have an empty tomb, Christianity. Our Lord is risen from the dead and He's right with us, living in us, showing Himself by infallible proofs that He is the resurrection and life. He's risen from the dead.

Now the next will have to be God. This is as far as I can go. Anyone knows that. The next will have to be God. Now, you don't. . . . Just stand right there, lady, it'll be all right. Now here stands a lady that's a stranger to me. By the way, I'd like to ask this. How many in here is strangers to me, that you know that I know nothing about you? Raise up your hand. No, just raise in the prayer line, each one of you in the prayer line, if you all are strangers. All right, every one of you, now, I'm a stranger with you.

I have two or three friends here that's up here on a vacation with me: a minister sitting here in the corner from down in Alabama; and I've got Brother Sothmann, he's a Canadian; and Brother Tom sitting back over in this corner here, over. . . . There they are, right over here in the corner. So, I know them.

Now just real reverent, and everybody in prayer now. Now this is a picture something like I was speaking a few moments ago, of St. John the fourth chapter. Our Lord met a woman of Samaria, Samaritan woman, at the well. Are you acquainted with the story? Now He was a man, she a woman, and they were standing perhaps like we are now. The well was kind of a panoramic. And He went to talking to her until He found what her trouble was. (Say, you step up here if you can, if you don't mind, just here, so it won't be so strenuous to you.) So He talked to the woman and said. . . . He was trying to contact her spirit, of course, when He said, “Bring me a drink.” He was contacting her. . . .

Now be real reverent. Don't move around. See, each of you is a spirit. You know that. If you're not, you're dead. So then you're a spirit, and every one of your spirits now comes in contact with the Holy Spirit. See, it's real sensitive, and it's real timid—it'll just leave. So now just be just as reverent and quiet as you can.

Now you realize, you Christians, what I'm up against. Here's a woman that I've never seen in my life, and we're strangers to each other. Now so that you'll know and be sure, look, I hold my hands—I've never seen her in my life. Would you just raise up your hands so they'll see? Just raise your hands, so that people see that we're strangers.

Now what I have taught tonight has been the Scripture, what the promises of God was for this day. Now here's . . . Christianity has to be shown, or it's a fake. The Bible's wrong, or it's right. Christ is risen, or He's not risen. Now it's totally impossible for me to know this woman, anything about her—who she is, where she come from, what she's here for, what's wrong with her. It'd be totally impossible for me to know that. it would have to be revealed by some supernatural power. We will all . . . could say “amen” to that. Well, it's all . . . it just depends on what you think it is. That's up to you.

But now if He would do it, and would tell me something that you're here for, or something that's been in your life, that you know. . . .

Now if I said, “Sister, the Lord Jesus called me to pray for the sick people. Do you believe that?” you'd probably have to say, “Yes, Mr. Branham, I believe that.” I'd say, “All right. I'm going to lay my hands upon you and pray for you.” And I'd lay my hands upon you, and say, “Jesus, dear Jesus, heal this woman and let her be well.”

And you'd say, “I believe that,” go away, I believe you'd get well. Would you believe that, all of you? Sure, we would, see, because I asked. Now that's true. That would be all right.

But now what. . . ?

If we go talking about a resurrected Christ, and a promise of showing Himself among us, see, then, now, that puts something else. Now here He comes here and can tell you what you have been, or what's wrong with you, or what you're desiring, or something like that—something that you know that I do not know, and know me, being a man, would have no way of knowing it—then that shows. . . . If He knows what you have been, He knows what you will be. Is that right, audience? Now just real reverent.

She's a fine person, but I come to you so tired. . . . I've been six months on the field, till I'm just about to. . . . Brother Mercier met me awhile ago and said, “Brother Branham, you look like you was just about to faint and fall over.”

I said, “I am.” See, six months of this, sometimes twenty and thirty visions of a night, till it's just killing me. Remember, one made virtue go out of Him. What do you think it would do to me, a sinner saved by his grace? Only because He said, “more than this shall you do, for I go to the Father,” the Scriptures to be fulfilled.

Now if He will explain to me what you're here for, you'll know whether it's the truth or not. The lady's very conscious of knowing there's something going on, which there is. I'm watching a light that's coming right down over her. And the lady is suffering with a real bad nervousness that she wants to be prayed for. That is right. Nervous. That is right, isn't it?

And then you're just about to face an operation. That is right. That's for a growth. If God will tell me where the growth is, will you believe me to be his prophet? It's in your nose. If that's right, raise up your hand. Now you believe?

Now, there's anointing here somewhere. You're aware that something's going on—real sweet feeling. Is that right? That's the Christ, the Holy Spirit. Now just raise up your hand if that is right. You feel a real sweet feeling. Here it is. Now this anointing, by this, I lay my hands upon my sister in the name of Jesus Christ to condemn all the works of the devil, for her to be made well. God bless you, sister. Go, and God's peace be with you.

Now do you believe that He lives? Certainly He does.

How do you do, lady? You and I being strangers to one another, that is true, first time of meeting, but God knows both of us. If He will reveal to me what's your trouble, will you believe me to be his servant? You will? You're not here for yourself. You're standing here for someone else, a friend suffering with insanity. That's true, isn't it? You believe they're going to get well? God bless you. Go, and may God's peace be with you. What you believed, it'll be just that way—

come to themself.

How do you do? Do you speak English? Are you Indian? Jewish. Very fine. Oh, you should. . . . That's good. Here we are. You speak Hebrew, Yiddish? Here we are again, a Jewess standing here. Then it would be great to see Messiah. You know, as being a Jew, that Messiah was to be the prophet that Moses spoke of, would be raised up. Is that right . . . Jewish. . . ? Then I'm sure you wouldn't make the mistake that the temple priests did in the early days—to reject it. You would believe that it would be Messiah. This is a Biblical scene just at this time, friends: a Jewish woman who's taught to believe that the Messiah would be a prophet.

Now I'm not the Messiah. It's his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, that's what it is—just anointed with his Spirit. He is the vine; I'm just one of his branches.

You are in a pretty bad condition. You're suffering with a tumor. That's right.

Now I keep feeling that coming from over here, saying, “He's guessing that.” I'm not guessing that. Now remember, you can't hide your thoughts now, see. Here, she's a Jew. Just a moment. I don't know what He said was wrong with you. See, it's like I go . . . it's in another dimension, another world. Yes, it's a tumor, and it's a thyroid tumor. That is right, isn't it? And you suffer with a nervousness. That's true. And then you have someone you are praying for. That's a child, and it's real extremely nervous. And its IQ, the learning, is not too well. You're praying for that. That is true.

You're praying for a sister also that suffers tremendously, nervousness. Mrs. Lick—your name—you can return. You have your request now. Jesus, do you believe He's Messiah now? Amen, God bless you.

What about you in the audience? You believe with all your heart? He is Christ, the Son of God. Be real reverent. Do you realize who that Person is among us now? “Sirs, we would see Jesus.” Well, now, you'll not see his corporal body until his second coming. And He'll never come to the earth. On his second coming we'll be caught up in the air to meet Him in the air. We'll meet Him in the air. Is that right, brethren? Meet Him in the air, but his Spirit. . . . You see how the church has come from Martin Luther (justification), Wesley (sanctification), Pentecostal. It's the Holy Spirit, like capping the pyramid. Now He's honing it down.

Remember the pyramid head on the back of the American dollar? The great seal was missing. He is the headstone, the rejected; so it's just making it so close it has to fit right in. It had to be his ministry reproducing itself again in his church for the rapture. Why, we're right here, friends.

You believe your feet and legs is going to get all right? All right, sir, you can have it then. Amen. I'm a stranger to you. I do not know you, but God does know you. If the Lord Jesus will reveal to me what your trouble is, will you believe that He is the Son of God, and I'm just sent as his servant, with all your heart? How many in the audience will believe it. I've never seen this man in my life. We're strangers to one another. Is that right? Just raise your hand so that we'll see that we're total strangers. Now if He will do this. . . . If one time the Samaritan people saw it done and was convinced for good, surely we could be convinced.

This man's had lots of trouble. He's come out of the hospital, a prostate trouble, operation. You're supposed to go back again, and that's for a hemorrhoid condition. That is right. That's “thus saith the Lord.” Heavenly Father, grant that your blessings rest upon this little brother, that he be made well so he can live for your glory. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, little brother. Go believing now, it'll be over for you. Amen. God be with you, brother.

Do you believe now with all your heart? How many believes now with all your heart? How many will accept it now with all your heart, believing?

It's all right. You didn't have to come way up. What if I told you without saying one word to you that your trouble was over? Would you believe it? Will you get well? The back trouble will be all right? And the heart condition and everything, just go on and be well? Go right on back to your seat then and just receive it. Believe with all your heart.

Now what about you? If you didn't. . . . Come up the steps, little lady there. Here, what if I told you you'd be able to eat your meals again, that stomach trouble had left you? Would you believe it? If you would, raise up your hand. Then go eat, Jesus Christ make you well. The kidney trouble, and back trouble, and so forth, it's done left you. You can go home now and be made well. Believe with all your heart.

Look here, sir. Do you believe me to be his prophet? Do you believe that old asthmatic cough is going to leave you and you ain't going to have it no more? You do? You believe it with all your heart? Then go back and believe it, and it'll be just that way. Just have faith. Don't doubt. If you believe God, God will grant it to you if you'll believe it.

What if I just told you, standing there, didn't say one thing; just told you to go to your seat, you'd be well? Would you believe it? Go to your seat and be well. I just wanted to see what the rest of you . . . see if you had that much faith to believe. Would you believe the same thing? Keep going, say, “The Lord bless.”

Now what would you think if I told you. . . ? You say, “I'd rather, Brother Branham, you'd tell me what's wrong, because I'm a little worried.” Wasn't that right? I'm not reading your mind, but you couldn't hide your thoughts at this time. All right, your female trouble, lady's trouble, is going to leave you, so you can go back to your seat. Just go with her, brother, and be well. Jesus Christ make you well.

Do you believe with all your heart? What about out in the audience? Be real reverent. This lady sitting way back here at the end looking at me, out here on the end—trouble with your knees. Do you believe God's going to make you well, lady? Kind of heavy-set lady. I don't know you. Never seen you in my life, but you're having trouble with your knees. If that's right, raise up your hand. What did she touch? Ask what she touched. She touched the high priest, Jesus Christ, that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Do you believe that with all your heart?

This lady sitting right here suffering with arthritis, do you believe that God will make you well, lady? Believe it with all your heart that He'll heal you? Raise up your hand if you believe it. All right. What did you touch? You never touched me. You're twenty feet from me. You touched the high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Believe with all your heart it'll leave you.

Somebody else in here believe? Here, you with your hand up, do you believe back there, that lady? You believe with all your heart? A nervous breakdown will leave you. You have a nervous breakdown. That's right. You also have arthritis. You have complications. Is that right? If we're strangers, wave your hand like that. Who did you touch? You never touched me. You touched the high priest. Now your nervous breakdown's gone. You can go home and be well in the name of Jesus Christ.

How many of you believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has raised from the dead; and the requirement that we ask, “Sirs, we would see Jesus,” we see his Spirit working among his people? Raise up your hand.

Now I'm going to ask you to do something. How many believers are here? All that raised their hands are believers. Now would you do something for me? You lay your hands over on somebody sitting next to you. Will you just put your hand over on them? Look what He's done tonight. Just look what He has done. Now, I want each one of you to bow your head. I'm going to just say a prayer. I want you to say it after me.

Almighty God, creator of heavens and earth, author of everlasting life, giver of all good gifts, I now confess my faith in Thee, my faith in thy Son, Jesus, and in all his words. He commissioned us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. He said, “These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick they shall recover.” I am a believer. I am praying for this person upon whom I have my hands laid. They are praying for me. I'm believing for them. They are believing for me. Together, we believe that we are healed because we are following your commission in Jesus' name. Amen.“

Now keep your heads bowed. Keep your heads bowed. Keep shut in with God. You've made your confession. The very Christ that raised up at the last day, come up on Easter morning, is right here among you. Just remember, thus saith the Lord, “You will never in any . . . no more Gentile church age ever see any sign to succeed this, no greater. This is the last sign to the church.”

Shut in with God now. Believe. Just believe that He is pouring out his goodness of his Spirit into your body, and you're being healed because that believer has their hands laid upon you and you're feeling his blessings. Now while you are believing with all your heart, now I'm going to pray for you, and ever who's got your hand . . . their hands on you is representing my hands. My hands is representing God's hands. Now each one of you just start believing now that you see Him coming right up to your seat and saying, “Child of mine, it's all over.”

Our Heavenly Father, in the sacredness of this moment when decisions must be made whether men will live or die, these Christians have made their confession because of your presence, and that the Scripture telling us that we're at the end-time. And they have their hands laid upon each other, which is your Word commissioning your church. “Heavens and earth will pass away but my Word shall never fail.”

Therefore, Satan, you are a defeated being. You have no legal rights to begin with to torment these people. You're a bluff, and we're calling that bluff. Jesus Christ defeated you in his death and resurrection. His blood paid every price of sin that You coaxed the family of the human race into. And now we are sons and daughters again, and his anointed Spirit is speaking with us this evening, as He did with Adam in the cool of the evening. Therefore you cannot hold these Christians any longer.

I adjure thee by the living God that you depart from these sick people. Come out of them, that they can go from this building tonight free from sickness, with a faith that's so predominating it'll drive you out of their thoughts and realms. In the name of Jesus Christ I commission Satan to leave these people, these diseases—in the form of disease, which is the devil—to depart from these people, through Jesus Christ's name.

While we have our heads bowed, I would like to ask if there is someone present who doesn't know Jesus as your Saviour, and would like to stand to your feet and say, “While I am in his presence I want to confess my sins and say I've been wrong.” You might be a church member but you've been an unbeliever, and you have not believed till now. And now you want to believe on Him, and you want to stand up to testify. Would you raise to your feet and say, “I will accept Jesus as my Saviour.” Would there be one among us that would let this glorious Spirit of the Son of God. . . .

And remember, before the day breaks in the morning you may be right in his presence—very same One that's moving in this building tonight—to give an account for what you'll do with Him. Is that person here that's never accepted Christ and would want to accept Him?

Is that person here that's been a backslider and would want to come back to Christ tonight, while you're in his great presence? Stand to your feet. Is there one here that's a church member and does not know what it means to be born again, to talk face to face with God and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and you would like to receive Him? Would you stand to your feet.

If not, so then how many here will accept your healing, will stand to your feet? God bless you, God bless you. That's right, all around. That's wonderful. That is fine. Accept your healing. Just stand to your feet just a moment, remain standing. Stand to your feet, every one that wants to accept your healing. See, He's looking at you. He's looking right at you. He's here.

Remember, I say this in the name of the Lord, by the commission that was given me by an angel sent from God,

as. . . . You all have seen the light, which the United States has copyrighted in the Washington, D.C., hanging in the religious hall of . . . religious history in Washington, D.C. Is the only supernatural being that was ever photographed in all the world. Hangs in the halls of Germany, where they taken it. Thus saith that Spirit, He's here now to heal and to save whosoever will believe on Him. Remember. The Lord bless you. Thank you for standing.

Now will the rest of the audience stand to your feet, you who are well and . . . would stand to your feet. Thank you for your fine evening and fine cooperation. Would you get on the phone tomorrow, somewhere out through the city, and get the sick and the afflicted, that Jesus might heal them while we're having this little meeting. God ever bless you. Do you love Him? Just raise up your hands like this. Would you give us a chord, sister? “I love Him, I love Him.” How many knows the song? It's one of my favorites. All right, if you will:

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me.

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Let's bow our heads now while we hum it. I love Him. I give you your pastor. Till we meet tomorrow morning.