Jehovah-Jireh #1

Let us just remain standing a moment while we bow our heads for a word of prayer. As we bow our heads, I wonder tonight how many would like to be remembered in pray, have something on your heart you want God to do for you, just raise up your hands. The Lord grant these requests now as we bow our heads and our hearts before Him.

Our heavenly Father, we are approaching Thy throne of grace again, in the name of Jesus Christ, the great Son of God. We thank Thee for the opportunity to come with the assurance that You will hear and answer what we ask for. We pray, Father, that You will forgive our sins, that is, our unbelief. And, Father, we pray that You will give us faith, abundance of faith tonight. And you know what was behind every hand there, down in the heart. They needed something, Lord. They raised their hand reverently, expecting something from You. And I pray, heavenly Father, whatever it was, that it will be granted to the people.

We thank You for the visitation last evening. We pray that You will return to us tonight with the abundance of power and grace, and will grant to us the desires of our heart, for, truly our desire is to do Your will and to see Your will be done. And we know what Your will is concerning the sick, that You was striped across Your back for our healing, “By His stripes we were healed.” And, Father, we pray that Your great will will be done tonight, to give us faith to believe that, in abundance, that every sick person might be healed, and every person that's lost might remember that He was wounded for our transgressions. Grant it, Lord.

May they know that as long as there is a bloody sacrifice there for them, their sins cannot be seen by God. But if they should die without publicly confessing that and accepting it, and being borned again, there would be no way at all for them to ever enter into the kingdom. And may this be the night that every person from under the blood may quickly slip beneath the blood tonight, in the name of the Lord Jesus. And we'll give Thee the praise. Amen.

Very great privilege to be here tonight and to speak again. And last evening we had such a wonderful time, visitation of the Lord. But I kept you too late. I can never make it on time, somehow.

Kind of almost got a little too much sun today. I was.... My little son, Joseph, been after me to go swimming. So the place where we're staying has a little pool, kind of fenced in back there, and he said, “Come, watch me, Dad. I can swim.”

I said, “All right.”

I went down there this morning, took my Bible, and some ... to write some notes. And while I was studying, here he come with his little bathing trunks on, he said, “Watch me, Daddy, I can dive!” Well, if I ever seen a frog jump in the water! And he got up, and the water spurting out of his nose and mouth, he said, “How did I do?”

I said, “You're doing fine.”

And I just got to thinking of one time I said the same thing to my dad. A little old pond, before we got to go to the river, there was a pond, and us kiddies had to almost keep the green scum back off of it, and water wasn't over about six inches deep. And I kept telling my dad, “I can swim.”

So one Sunday afternoon he walked out there. And they had a little soapbox sitting there. And I got back in the bushes and stripped my clothes, what there was to strip; just pull one nail, you know. And how many ever seen one like that? Just a pair of overalls on, with no suspenders; just have a fodder twine across, for a gallus, and then just a nail. Just pull the nail and, that's all you have to do, jump right in. And so I got up on this box and held my nose, you know, and flashed off into that, and mud flew about that high. My dad sitting out there, watching me. I said, “How am I doing?”

Said, “Get out of there and go get you a bath!” I was thinking how long that's been!

And, you know, time just gets away from us, doesn't it? We just don't have time, look like, anymore, to do things. And time is not waiting for no one. So we must work while we can, because the hour is coming when this generation will go, and there'll be another generation coming, if there is another generation. Truthfully, I say it with all my heart, (I don't know when He's coming; none of us does), but, truly, I don't believe there will be another generation. I believe Christ will come in this generation. I don't know what time, now, it may be tonight or it may be ten years from now, or twenty, but I believe He'll be in this generation. I'm believing that. If He doesn't, I want to live just like He was, anyhow, 'cause I know that it may be my last day, or your last day.

And then, remember, if we go before He comes, we will be up and in His presence, or, raise before the others are changed. “The trumpet of the Lord shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and be caught up together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.” Look at the order of the resurrection. See, God knows that we long to see our loved ones. And if we got there to meet Him first, we'd be looking around to see if mother or dad and the rest of them was there. But see how, the Holy Spirit in His wisdom? We meet one another first, and then when we get there and sing “Amazing Grace,” that's when there's going to be a time of worship. You think I act funny now, watch me up there! It's going to be a wonderful time for me and all of us when we get there.

Now let's read some out of the blessed old Bible here tonight. Let's turn over to Romans, the 4th chapter, and read just a portion out of the book of Romans. I want to read two places tonight, out of Genesis and out of the book of Romans. Now in the book of Romans, 4th chapter, 17th verse.

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him who he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was written, So shall thy seed be.

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither ... the deadness of Sarah's womb:

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness.

Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Who was delivered for our offense, and was raised again for our justification.

Oh, how I love that! That's one of my favorite Scripture readings of the Bible, because it's so positive what God was, what He promised and swore that He would do. And now I chose this subject because that I think that on any meeting, to see the faith that we saw exercised here last night, that not a feeble person among us but what was healed. What the power of God came and what He did! Then I thought, if we could build around something positive, making an achievement to a goal, then how wonderful it would be when we could hit that great night or hour of climax.

And we must remember that nothing can be done without faith, and it first has to be confessed. For He is the author of faith, we know that, and that nothing can be done without faith. And without faith it's impossible to please God.

And now He is the high priest of our confession. Now the King James here, in the book of Hebrews, puts it “profession.” To profess and confess is the same thing, profess and confess. Confess means “to say the same thing”: “By His stripes I am healed,” see, “Now by His life I am saved.” And now then, first, we've got to confess it; and He sits as a mediator, and the only mediator between God and man, and He sits there to make intercessions upon what we confess that He has done. What a sound, solid thing that is!

And now I want to read another scripture, found over in the book of Genesis, the 22nd chapter, and let's begin reading here about the 7th verse.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him up on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, and seest thou ... withhold not thy only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, ... and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by the horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of the place, Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

What I want to take the subject there, if it would be called a subject, “Jehovah-jireh.” The word means “the Lord will provide for Himself a sacrifice.” If He doesn't have one, He can provide one. I'm so grateful for that. Now this great subject! And now reading there, that “Abraham staggered not at the promise through unbelief; but was strong, giving praise to God.”

Now, Abraham was the one that God made the covenant and promise to; and Abraham, not him only, but his seed after him, “Abraham and his seed.” And now remember this now. If we are dead in Christ, we are Abraham's seed if we are borned again. Now, let's be real careful about this now as we study this lesson. And now if you'll listen closely, I'm sure the Holy Spirit will reveal to you and you'll catch a hold .... And then it will light this city and everything around you, if we just take our time and catch the idea, what the Holy Spirit is trying to get to us. Now, Abraham, called, that was give the promise, to Abraham and his seed.

Now there's so much today, friends, that's called Christianity, that's not Christianity.

Now, I just hate to say this. But I would rather stand here and be real popular among the people, and everybody patting you on your back, and everything like that. But then I've got to meet that group at the judgment, to give an account for it. So I just have to be honest.

Now we can look upon congregations, and upon the world today, upon what's called Christianity, and find out it's a million miles from Christianity. And it's predicted in the Bible to be that way. Now many accept Christ in the way of saying, “Well, I believe Him.” Why, the devil believes the same thing, see. And many of them tries to accept it upon emotion, say, “Well, I spoke with tongues. I danced in the Spirit.” I've seen witch doctors do the same thing, and devil dancers in Africa; sure, speak in tongues, and drink blood out of a human skull, and call on the devil. My mother is an Indian, half Indian, and her people. I've seen them take pencil and lay it down like that, and watch a pencil run and write in unknown tongues, them stand there and interpret it, calling on the devil. Sure.

See, you can't go by emotions. See, your life that you live testifies what you are, see. No matter what kind of a sensation, you cannot base Christianity on any sensation.

It's a life! Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them.” Not by their profession, not by what they say. And Jesus also said, “You draw nigh unto Me with your lips, but your heart is far from me.” That's their profession. See, your life tells what. And if a man says that he believes God, and denies one word of this Bible, or changes it in any way, why it's got to be wrong.

You say, “It doesn't make any difference about these little things.” It certainly does.

One little word is what taken us in all this trouble; not disbelieve it, but just misplace it. Eve just had Satan to just give her a reason. Down at Brother Williams, I just got through going through that down in Santa Maria. That's the thing that brought us from the Garden of Eden, and caused every sick child. As, I prayed for a little spastic baby laying there, a few moments ago, coming in. What caused that? Because Eve never disbelieved it, but she just took a reason, that it would be reasonable this would be all right. And it caused every death, every sickness, every sorrow, every heartache. And how are we going to get back in? If it caused six thousand years of this, how are we going back with anything less than every perfect word the way it's written?

The devil won the battle over the human race by reasoning with the human race. Just reason, “Why, it stands to reason this would be? It stands to reason.” If the reasoning is contrary to the Word, then the reason is wrong! The Word is right, just the way it's written! Don't put any private interpretation. Just say it the way it's written, and believe it like that, see. God has took care of it. It's just exactly the way it's supposed to be, so let's just believe it that way.

Now, it's the Word, every Word! Every.... The Holy Spirit in a man; every sentence of the Bible, the Holy Spirit in you will punctuate with “amen,” because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. And if He's in you, how can He say, “Well, that was for another age, that was for this, or that was for that?” How can He say that and be the Holy Spirit in you? Can't do it. He has to say “amen” to it!

Now, as I said the other day, the first thing God gave His people, to fortify them, was the Word. And He's never changed. He can't change. Now, creeds won't work, denominations won't work, education won't work, none of these things, every one of them has totally failed and will fail. There's only one thing that will work, that is the Word.

And the only one way we can come by the Word, is by the blood. Only place that anybody ever worshiped God, had to come under the blood. There's no other preparation at all. You can't come under the name of Methodist, you can't come under the name of Pentecost, you can't come under the name of Catholic. There's dozens of Catholic churches, different from one another, the Orthodox, and Greek, and Roman, and they're as broke up as bad as the Protestants. The Protestants, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, oh, every, they're all different kinds. And there they are, see. But there's one ground for fellowship, that's under the blood! And the blood is the life, and it'll always agree with the Word, always with the Word.

Now, we know the life is in the male sex, it's in the blood, the hemoglobin. Through there the hen can lay an egg, but if she hasn't been with the male bird, it'll never hatch. Certainly, it's not fertile. That's the way as I made many rude statements, saying a female bird can lay a nest full of eggs, and she can be as loyal to them as she wants to be, she can hover them with her wings, and turn them every few minutes so they'll be sure to hatch. And she'll get so hungry, and fast, while she's on the nest, to be loyal to those eggs, until she gets so poor she can't fly off the nest. If she wasn't with the male bird, and those eggs fertile, they'll lay right in the nest and rot if she wasn't with the mate. That's exactly.

And that's about the way our churches has got, just took in a bunch under cold formal profession, some mystic dance or some sensation. And what do they do? Disbelieve the Word, till we got just a nest full of rotten eggs. It's time to clean the nest and start over again. Until they come in contact with the male, Christ Jesus, and get borned again of the Word. Then they got to hatch, because it's life.

Sometime ago I was eating dinner with an old Methodist preacher, and I heard the Agricultural Hour on from Louisville, the 4-H Club was talking, that “They had a machine that could put out a grain of corn just like they growed in the field.” Said, “It would make the same kind of corn flakes, same kind of corn bread, it was just the same corn. Cut it like that, put it under the light, take it to the laboratory; its heart is in the right place, and everything, and the same amount of moisture, calcium, potash, whatever that's in the corn is laying just exactly.” Said, “If you ever took a handful out of the sack that was growed in the field, and the sack that the machine makes, or made, and mix them up, you could never tell the difference with your natural eye, or cutting it apart, or any science could ever find the difference. The only way you could tell the difference was bury them.” That tells it.

A man might look like a Christian, he might act like a Christian, he might impersonate a Christian. But unless he's got the germ of life in there, he cannot rise again; got to have that life germ in there, have eternal life.

And any person that's studied Greek, knows that that “eternal” comes from the word “zoe,” which means “God's own life,” that become a part of Him; as you are a part of your father. You become a part of God. And God's own life is divided and put in you, and it can't die, because it's eternal. Anything that begin, ends; but He never did begin, so He cannot end. He's eternal, and you're eternal with Him. Can no more die than He can die, because you become a part of Him. You're born of Him. Amen. Just keep talking about that, and I'll never get to this lesson.

Oh, I'm so glad to be a Christian! I wouldn't trade places with nobody in the world, not presidents, kings. If they'd give me the whole world, so I could live a million years; after that I would die, after the million years. But now, a million years, why, it won't be nothing now, we just keep on living, no death. So it's great to be a Christian!

Talking of Abraham! Let's go back. Now we are Abraham's seed if we are in Christ. And then if you are Abraham's seed, you have the same faith that Abraham had, 'cause it was his faith that we're talking about. Especially in the church now, it's the royal seed of Abraham. There was two seeds of Abraham. One of them was the natural, Isaac; the other one was Christ, the promise. So through Isaac, Israel was blessed; through Christ, he become the father of nations, see. So the royal seed, how much greater that would be than the natural seed of Abraham. So if you are in Christ, you have a super seed, a super to what Abraham was, because you come by the royal seed, Christ. If you are dead in Christ, then are ye Abraham's children, and you have Abraham's seed and Abraham's faith. And Abraham's faith was in God's Word regardless of what took place. He called those things which were not as though they were, because God said so. What a promise!

Now let's go back a little piece and base our thoughts. Let's go back, before we get to Jehovah-jireh, to Abraham. Let's go back, fall back a little bit in the Scripture. Let's go back to the 12th chapter. We read here in the 22nd chapter. Let's go back to the 12th chapter, the covenant made to Abraham. Now, the covenant, there had been three ... two covenants.

Now, God is perfected in threes. We know the numerals of God. Perfection in three; worship in seven; and twelves; and forty is temptation; fifty, is the jubilee; and so forth, God in His numeral. Now, God is perfected in three; like Father, Son, Holy Ghost; justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost; and so forth.

Now, there had been two covenants. One of them was the Adam covenant. God made a covenant with a man, “If you will, I will.” And he broke it. Then God made a covenant with Noah; that was the Noah covenant, and it was broke.

Now He's making the Abrahamic covenant. And the Abrahamic covenant, according to Genesis the 12th chapter, it was given unconditionally. Therefore it's eternal, because it's unconditional. Not “If you will, I will.” He said, “I have! I've already done it.” Not, “I will do it.” “I have done it!” Now that, oh, that bases faith. See, not.... God is determined to save man. He make a covenant, “If you will, I will,” he'd break it. Another one, “You will, I will,” he broke it. Man can't keep his covenant, so God saves man by His grace, under a covenant that's unconditional, unconditional covenant. Oh, my! Never ending, that was all of it; three, perfect. Noah, Abraham, and I mean ... Adam, Noah, and Abraham. Now, that's the reason we are Abraham's children, that covenant cannot end, never end, because it is unconditionally. It isn't because you do something; it's because God did something! Not because you chose God; God chose you! Do you believe that?

People say, “Oh, Brother Branham, I sought God and sought God!” You did not! I hate to tell you that, but you didn't. God sought you. It was God seeking you.

Jesus said, “You haven't chose Me; I chose you. No man can come to Me except My Father draws him, and all the Father has given Me will come to Me.” Yeah, see, it wasn't.... No man can glory in anything. It's God! Oh, how marvelous to see the real grace of God, how it's...!

And how people has took the message of grace and made a disgrace out of it! Like my precious church and you precious Baptist people, when you mess up grace like that, you've really got it in a mess.

Someone said to me not long ago, said, “Brother Branham, now you know you was a good Baptist.”

I said, “I still feel that, but I've just raised up a little higher.”

He said, “Well, now look,” said, “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. How much more could Abraham do but believe?” And he said, “When we believe God, we receive the Holy Spirit.”

I said, “How different from St. Paul! St. Paul said, in Acts 19, 'Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?' Not when you believed; 'since you have believed!' ”

He said, “Well, Abraham believed God, that's all he could do.”

I said, “True. But then God give him the order of circumcision, as a confirmation that He had received his faith.”

And if He has never circumcised you yet by the Holy Ghost, He hasn't received your faith yet. That's right. That is the circumcision of the heart and spirit. God gives the Holy Ghost as a confirmation He has received your faith. Now, if you stop believing, and scrumbling around; and just believe God, God will circumcise that heart. And that cuts off all unbelief, circumcises the world and all unbelief away from you; and then you stand, the Word alone. Jesus said, “If ye abide in me, and my word in you; then ask what you will, it'll be given to you.”

That's what's the matter with the church today. It's under emotion, it's under education, it's under creed. No wonder, it's smothered down! See? So we need a circumcision, to cut the whole thing away. Come back to God and His Word, and believe it the way it's wrote there, and don't argue with it. Just stay with it. God made a promise, God keeps His promise. He can't do nothing else but keep His promise, and remain God.

Now this unconditional covenant. Not “If you will, I will, but I will later on,” or something like that; “I have already give the land to you, and your seed after you!” Amen. See, already done it! It's a finished work.

You said, “To Abraham He did that.” Yes, not only Abraham, but his seed after him.

And if we're Abraham's seed, it's a finished product. “Those who He foreknew, He called; those who He called, He justified; those who He has justified, He has already glorified.” What you scared about? That's right. “And the antichrist, in the last days,” according to Revelation, “deceived all that dwelt upon the face of the earth, whose names were not written in the Lamb's book of life [since the last revival? No.] before the foundation of the world.” That's when your name was put in the Lamb's book of life, when the Lamb was slain. God spoke the Word; it was in His thinking, in His thought, He spoke the Word and everything happened just at that time. This is just God's seed materializing, that's all, His words coming down. Now, when the light of God flashes across that, quickly that seed recognizes it, because it's born of God. It's Abraham's seed, foreknowed by God. That's why the light flashes, is to catch that seed.

We've had a revival. Joel said. We fuss so much about latter rain, had movements called “Latter Rain,” latter rain, former rain, inner rain, outer rain. I was reading the other day. Do you know what “former rain” means in the Hebrew word? I can't call it right now; I never wrote it down, it skipped my mind. But “former rain,” the first rain, means “a rain of teaching.” The second rain is the Spirit that comes upon what's been taught, and produces the crop. Why is it we had such a revival? Pentecostal, Baptist, all the other trees put forth their buds, as Jesus said they would be. And what have we hatched out? The Baptists said they got a million more in '44. Look at the Catholic, how they increased. Look at all denominations. Look at Pentecost. What did we do? We sowed denominational seeds, we reaped the denominational harvest. Why, the church ought to be on fire for God right now, if there had been a Word seed sowed back there, there would be signs, wonders, miracles, and that church would be together, one heart, one accord, and marching toward Zion, for the rapture. That's right. What did we do? We had intellectual speeches instead of the Word. We had reasoning against the Word, and everything else.

We got to get back to the Word. And we'll do it! God said, “I will restore, saith the Lord, all the years that the cankerworms and palmerworms eat.” It's going to bloom out in the evening time. There will come forth one with a message, he'll restore the hearts, or the faith of the children back to the faith of the fathers. He promised it in Malachi 4, that he would do it, return them back again.

Now, that isn't Elijah that was talked of in the Bible; Jesus said in Matthew 11, “If you can receive it, John there was the Elias that was to come,” of Malachi 3. “Behold, I send my messenger before my face,” Malachi 3, you find that.

But remember, the Malachi 4, the message comes, “The terrible day of the Lord shall come and shall burn up the whole earth, and the righteous shall walk out upon the ashes of the wicked.” That never happened after John. No, if that was it, then the Scripture has lost its hold, it said something that wasn't so. We got two thousand years since then, the world hasn't been burned not at all. Neither has the righteous walked out upon the ashes of the wicked. But we're still waiting for that something that's going to take the faith, and restore the faith of the children back to the original Pentecostal tree that the cankerworm eat up, the Roman cankerworm, caterpillar. All their denomination and creeds eat it down. God said, “I will restore it again, in the last days.” It will be restored! God shall send the Holy Ghost in such a way, upon planted Word, that will restore. The Word of God is a seed that a sower went forth to sow.

Now, the covenant was give unconditionally! Now, Israel, the seed natural exchanged that, and lost it in Exodus 19, when they made that rashal thing to take away the grace, and accepted law in its place. What a rashal mistake that Israel made there!

Look! God, after He had made the covenant with Abraham, grace had already provided a prophet-deliverer for them down in Egypt, to carry out the word of Abraham. Remember Moses, under the bush, God said, “I have heard the cries of my people, and I remember my promise.” Before there was any law, grace provided it. Grace had provided a sacrifice for their guilt, a lamb. Grace had provided a covenant, circumcision, was already been provided, before it all. Grace had provided a pillar of fire to lead them, following a prophet, a security that the prophet had told them the truth, it was the Word that he was talking about. They knowed that God promised it, and here was the pillar of fire confirming it. What a double security! Amen. Grace had done that!

But they wanted something for theirself that they could do, have their own creeds and denominations, and what more, make Pharisees, Sadducees, and something they could do theirself.

Man is always trying to save himself. You can't do that! God has already done it. You just have to accept it and believe it.

Pillar of fire to lead them and guide them. To lead them in a way. A power, grace had provided a power to condemn their enemy and to make them free. The power had already been given. They crossed the Red Sea. They had smote Pharaoh. They'd done all these things with grace. And then they exchanged grace for a law, but that had nothing to do with the royal seed of Abraham.

The royal seed has tried to do the same thing, go back under some kind of a creed instead of taking grace and the Word, and believing it. They went back. But there will come forth a royal seed; we'll get that after a bit, little further on.

Let's go back now to Genesis 12. God called Abraham by grace. Not because he was a different person; he was just Abraham, just an ordinary man. Not because he was a priest or a dignitary; he was just a farmer. He come down from the city of the Babylon tower, with his father, and they had went to Chaldea, Ur of Chaldea. And there was a farmer, perhaps farmed in the daytime and raised his food. He had married his half sister, Sarah. And they had no children, and Abraham was seventy-five years old when God called him, and Sarah was sixty-five years old.

And God told Abraham when He called him, He said, “I am going to make you a father of nations,” and going to give him a baby by Sarah. Now, he was sterile. And she was, well, sixty-five, she was ten or fifteen years past menopause. He had lived with her since she was about sixteen or eighteen years old, his half sister. And he had been a husband to her all these years until he was seventy-five, and she was sixty-five, and then God comes down and said, “I'm going to give you a baby, by her.” And he staggered not at the promise of God, but believed it!

Could you imagine an old man, seventy-five years old, and a woman, sixty-five, going down, shaking, down to the doctor, and say, “Doctor, I want you to get the hospital ready now. We might call you any night, because, you know, we're going to have a baby”?

The doctor would say, “ Yes, sir, ... Uh, uh, uh!” As soon as they get on the phone, say, “Better go after him, there's something wrong.”

And everybody that takes God at His promise is considered by the world crazy. Paul said, “In the way that's called heresy, that's the way I worship the God of our fathers.” Heresy is “crazy,” we know. It's foolishness to the carnal mind. Faith is crazy to everybody but God and the one that's got the faith. That's right.

But God promised Abraham, and Abraham believed it. He never said, “God, how will it be?” He said, “All right, God, I believe it.” And I can see him go home, say, “Sarah, let's go down and get us several yards of Bird-eye, and get us some pins, and get us some booties. We're going to have a baby.” Oh, my!

First thirty days passed, or twenty-eight days. “How you feeling, dear?”

“No different.”

“Bless God, we're going to have it, anyhow!”

“How do you know?”

“God said so!”

Some of us can be prayed for one night, and sit in the meeting where the Holy Ghost is falling; the next morning, if we sound, well, solid ... “I'm still sick at my stomach a little bit. I can't move my hands anymore.” You, Abraham's seed, staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief?

Something come up in the church, the devil can get amongst a group of fine people and get in there and go to whipping that congregation around, the first thing you know, some say, “Huh, I'm going to leave this old thing, there wasn't nothing to it in the first place.” Abraham's seed? My, my! First little flaw the devil can show you, then you're through with it. It showed you didn't believe it in the first place.

Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a man took a net, and went to the sea and cast in the sea. When he come in, he had everything.” That's right.

That's what a revival catches. What is in a net? You got frogs, spiders, turtles, crawfish, snakes, and fish. It ain't very long till the turtle said, “Well, this is no place for me,” right back in the mud he goes. The old waterspider looked around, and say, “huh. I can't have a card game here.” So down into the mud she goes again, like a hog to its wallow and a dog to its vomit. That's right. And then Abraham's seed? Oh, my! Such a disgrace!

Abraham's seed believes God's Word!

Sit back there and say, “Yeah, bless God, I'm Pentecostal!” And somebody preach something on the Word, there it is wrote right out. “Hallelujah, I don't believe that. No, sir.” Abraham's seed? Huh!

Now, if it's some nonsense, of course, you don't believe it. But if it's the Word, it's the truth! That's right. Abraham's seed holds to that Word and nothing else.

Another month has passed. “Sarah, sweetheart, how you feeling now? You know, another twenty-eight days has passed, how you feeling?”

“No different, darling.”

“Glory to God! It's two months greater miracle than it was if it happened last month.”

A year passed. “Shall I lay these little booties away?”

“No, sir, you keep them there. We're going to have that baby!”

“How do you know you're going to have it?”

“God said so! That settles it.”

After twenty-five years passed. “How you feeling, Sarah?”

“No different.”

“Glory to God! There's twenty-five years more of a miracle now!” He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong, holding to the Word of God; and calling those things which were not, as though they were. Why? God said so! Oh, my!

Abraham's seed today, why, what we call Abraham's seed, is weaker than a broth made out of a shadow of a chicken that starved to death. Yes, sir.

God wants rugged Christians who takes God's Word, live or die. It's the same thing. Amen. “God said so!” That's Abraham's seed, born of the Spirit and the Word of God. That's what stands.

“Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never pass....” That's it. What God promised, God is able to do. God don't fail. He can't fail. There's one thing God can't do, and that's fail. He cannot fail, that's the only thing He can't do. But He can't fail. When God promised it, it's the truth. It's there forever. It's completely settled forever. When God speaks a Word, it's already settled.

This world was made by just a word of God. He just said, “Let there be,” and there was. Amen. The very dirt that you're sitting over tonight, the very wood that you're sitting on, is nothing but the Word of God made manifest. Hallelujah!

I feel religious when I think about Abraham, know that we can be his seed, the seed of Abraham with all these promises. Not only to make it sure, God held up His hand, swore by Himself, that He would do it. The oath is, always, the covenant is confirmed by an oath, and God swore by Himself 'cause there's no higher to swear by. He swore by Himself, that He would do it.

Now what the world.... What's the matter with us? Such a promise as that! A faith built around something like that, a faith built! A Word that promised these things in the last days, and here we see them happening right before us, and still stoop around. Abraham's seed? Oh, my! I want you to hold on to that, “Abraham's seed.”

Genesis 12, what God required of Abraham was a complete separation.

Now, today, they want mixers. “Oh, when we choose a pastor, he's got to have curly hair, and right out of Hollywood, you know, and can say ”ah-men“ so pretty, and wears the classiest of clothes, and drives a super-duper Cadillac, and so forth like that, and he's a good mixer. He does this. And he'll take a little drink once in a while with us, to be sociable. He comes to the old ladies' card party, and they stitch and sew, and sew and stitch, and talk about Miss So-and-so, and so forth, you know, and all like that. And they have to be that kind of a mixer.”

God said, “Separate Me, Paul, and Barnabas!” Amen. Separation! “Come out from among them and be not partakers of their unclean things!” God wants separation, total annihilation from sin. Separate! That's what's the trouble today, reason we can't be Abraham's seed, we can't separate ourselves from dogmas and creeds, and so forth, called Christianity, to the living Word. Separate yourself from your unbelief, and believe God's Word. God will make it manifest to you. Right.

Genesis 12, God said, “Separate yourself from all your kindred and from everything around you.” Oh, my, we can't separate ourself from card playing!

I went in a restaurant today, when Brother come in there. I watched some delinquent teenager come in there. And wife and I was trying to eat, and I thought, “Praise God! Let's hurry, honey, before somebody comes in.” And some teenager come in there, slurping around. I'd be afraid to meet that boy in the dark. And he put a machine needle in there, or a record, and begin to play that old boogie-woogie stuff, and standing there, going like this, you know, hitting himself like that. I said, “Goodness sakes, mercy!”

Meda said, “Don't go over there to pay that bill. You wait right here, let me go with you.” She was afraid.

Anybody in that, such things as we have today, a Christian nation, oh, what a thing! Separation! Ninety percent of those sing in choirs, a Elvis Presley, and a Pat Boone, and all that, and a Peabody Ernie, ever what they call him down there. Why, it's worse than Judas Iscariot! Judas Iscariot sold ... and got thirty pieces of silver; Elvis beat him, he got several fleets of Cadillacs and a lot of popularity. And because these little kids see all that carrying on, say, “He's very religious.” That's the devil! Absolutely! God don't tolerate such stuff as that. That's a blinder here in the last days.

Come back to the Word, “Separate yourself from all of the ungodly things, and touch not their things. I will receive you.”

The gospel—we need to handle it bare-handed! Not with some ecclesiastical gloves on, petting somebody on the back, that gets a nest full of rotten eggs again. Making somebody a district man, or a presbyter, a bishop, or something another. What does that.... How can you have faith when you got respect, get honor one from another? We look to God, and Him alone! Honor comes from God. He's the one. We honor Him by holding His Word as a torch, and walking like a man or woman before God.

[Blank spot on tape.] ... crossed over the river and went into the land, God said to Abraham, “I'll give it all to you now, but you haven't fully obeyed me.”

And the first thing you know, there come up a little fuss about the herdsmen, and amongst their cattlemen, in Genesis 13 (what happened?), the herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abraham. Watch Abraham, the brotherly act, he said, “Let there be no arguments between us. We are brethren.” Lot represented the lukewarm church. And he said, “Look out, take your choice. Whatever you want, you go ahead and take it. You go east, I'll go west, so forth. Or, you go west, I'll go east. You go north, I'll go south, and so forth. You take your choice.” And Lot already been down in Egypt and had got the eye on a little popularity, got a little money in his pocket.

That's where the church made its mistake. I say this with reverence, brethren. The Pentecostal church would be better off with a tambourine, out there on the corner, with the old-fashioned men and women, with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, than they would in these great big shrines and morgues they're living in today under all this tommyrot and stuff. That's right. They want to act like the rest of them. That's where we got it. Why didn't you stay the way you were, the way God started you out? The very thing you fussed about, you turned around and done the same thing.

That's the way Lot did, went down into Egypt and the first thing you know, he got his eyes on Egypt. And then he looked over and he seen Sodom, luxury, take it easy. And he went eastward toward.... Remember, went east instead of going west with Abraham. He went east because it was the way of luxury. He went on towards the east.

That's the way the church has did today, see, they went backwards. As I said last night, the sun rises in the east and goes west. And the Son of God visited the East first, and has went westward. They vended out, through two thousands years. “But there will be light in the evening time,” the prophet said. Instead of following the Son, they go back to where the Son was. Today you happen to speak something about divine healing, about prophecy about the nine spiritual gifts, or something; “Let's go back and see what Moody said, what Sankey said, what Knox said, what Calvin said.” They lived in the day when the Son was shining there; we are going on to perfection!

A French scientist said, about three hundred years ago, proved it by rolling a ball around the globe, he said, “If anybody would ever go the terrific speed of thirty miles an hour, gravitation would take them off the earth.” Scientifically proved it. You think science will ever refer to that? No, sir! They got them going about two thousand miles an hour, trying to get them to go farther. They don't look back to that.

But ministers, “We'll look back and see what Moody said, what Sankey said.” That's where the Son was. Here's where it's at today! It's on the West Coast, in the evening time, hallelujah, giving evening lights! Not back to Luther's justification or Wesley's sanctification; but we're at the last day, amen, when the evening lights are shining, when we're at the last time. Follow the Son.

But Lot went back because it was easy, luxury. Look at Mrs. Lot when she got back there. Why, she must have become the queen of the societies of the city. Lot became the mayor. Oh, brother, they had it made, why, I mean to say!

That's the way the people has took Mrs. Lot today. Look the way our people are acting today. Look at our people in churches, just look at it. Look at our women, look at them today.

I was in Hollywood the other ... or in Los Angeles, recently, I was waiting for Brother Arganbright to come up. And there stood a girl, come up there. I looked, and I staggered. I looked at her. I thought, “I'm a missionary. I've seen pellagra, I seen leprosy, but I never seen anything like that.” She had one of these waterhead haircuts, these ... you know, you know, what you call, looked like a waterhead, you know, the first lady, yeah, like a Jezebel, like that. And she had blue and green; and might have been a nice-looking woman; but all that stuff on her, she looked like some African Hottentot. I walked up, was going to pray for the woman. I thought, “Lady, if you don't mind, I pray for the sick. I never seen anything like that. Tell me what it is.” And then another woman got to talking to her, and she was the same way. Oh, my!

Oh, you say, “That was Presbyterian.” Pentecostal! Sure.

And the Bible said, “It's a dishonorable thing for a woman to cut her hair.” She does it, she dishonors her head. She dishonors the angel, the angel of light. The seven church angels, the one bringing the light will stay with the Word. Dishonorable! She ought to have hair on her head. My, such! It used to be wrong for them to do it. In first Pentecost, it was wrong. What happened? You did run well, what happened?

And some of our Pentecostal women dress in them dresses, look like a skin over a wiener, out here somewhere trying.... That's right! I'm not saying that for no joke. This is no place for joking. This is the pulpit.

Some woman said to me one night. I told them how they was dressing. Said, she said, “I don't wear shorts. I wear slacks.”

I said, “That's worse than ever. God said, 'A woman that will put on a garment pertains to a man, is an abomination in the sight of God.' ” Right!

Let me tell you something, lady, you, young woman, that dresses yourself out there, you're going to answer at the day of judgment for committing adultery.

You say, “I'm just as pure as a lily.”

Yeah, but Jesus said, “Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery with her in his heart already.” You might not have to do the act. “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, has killed already.” See, the only thing you have to do. And if that sinner looks at you the way you are dressed, all carried out the way you are, reared back, and pushed out, and pushed in, and them kind of a clothes on, then you go out. Now listen, that's not jokes! This is the gospel! And you do like that, and some sinner look at you to lust after you. At the day of judgment, when he answers for committing adultery, who caused it? You did. You'll answer for it because you presented yourself that way.

Why, you say, “They don't make any other kind of clothes.” They make sewing machines, and still sell goods. It's no excuse at all! It's because you've got away from the Word! That's not popular. That's hard.

Some famous preacher come the other day, and laid his hands on me, said, “I'm going to lay my hands on you and cast out the evil.”

I said, “What?”

“Talking about them women like that.” Said, “People regard you as a prophet.”

I said, “ I'm no prophet.”

He said, “They regard you as that, Brother Branham.” And said, “You ought to be teaching those people, them women, how to get great spiritual blessings. And keep telling them about cutting their hair and things like that. They ain't going to listen to that.”

I said, “I know it.”

Said, “Why don't you teach them greater things?”

I said, “How can I preach ... teach to them algebra when they don't even know their ABC's, not even the common decency?”

And you men that will let your women act like that, I got little respects for you being a Christian man, seed of Abraham. Amen! I better leave that alone, I'll make you all get up and go home. All right. One of these days you're going to fail finding something up there.

You say, “It don't make any difference.” It did to Paul. It did to God, in the garden of Eden. The Bible said that the woman should have long hair! And without it, where you at? Well, you say, “It don't make any difference.” The Bible said it does! Don't let the devil reason with you, and tell you, “It's modern, it's all right.” It isn't all right! You said, “I didn't know it before.” You know it now. Search it and find if it's right. I'll leave that alone, see. All right.

Genesis 13, modern, uh-huh; go back where the Son was, not where the Son is; where the Son was: Wife.... I imagine, Lot's wife, how she got in society!

That's the way that we got in society. That's the way we Pentecostals got into it. We become, set a little organization over here, and a little ... one against the other, and against this one, and you took in anything. That's exactly right.

What did Samuel say when Israel wanted to make a king, wanted Saul for a king? Samuel come to them, and said, “Have I ever taken your money for a living? Have I ever told you anything in the name of the Lord but what come to pass?”

Oh, they said, “Sure, you are God's prophet. You told us the truth, and what you said come to pass, but we want the king, anyhow.”

And whenever you started letting down the bars, and letting this and that, and everything else come in like that, you went modern. And the church is just like the rest of them today. What we need is a Pentecostal housecleaning! That's exactly right. Amen. It's a shame a Baptist has to tell you that, ain't it? But it's the truth. Right! I believe the Bible, I believe God's Word is right. All right.

Abraham.... Then Abraham took the ... in the 14th verse of the 13th chapter, after Lot separated himself, and Abraham completely obeyed God, then God come to him. Now He's ready to bless him.

And until the Pentecostal church gets away from all of its creeds and dogmas, and acting like the world and looking like the world, and talking like the world, and stay home on Wednesday night to watch “We Love Suzy” instead of coming to prayer meeting, and things like that. Paying your tithes out to some preacher out here on some kind of a radio program that makes fun of the very thing that you stand for, that's right, and all this kind of stuff that's carried on in the name of Pentecost, it's a disgrace!

I speak for the Christian Businessmen, internationally. There's many of them sitting here now. Here the other night, here about a year ago, it has been, I was in Jamaica. And they had all the celebrities of the islands in there one night, and these men getting up, testifying, Glory to God! I was a little businessman down on the corner. Hallelujah, I got four Cadillacs now. Glory to God!“

And I went back up there to the Flamingo Motel that night, stood there, I said, “I'm ashamed of you!” I said, “You men here to represent Christ, trying to tell a businessman how much you got, he's got more than you have or ever will have.” That's a whole lot different from the first Pentecostals. The first Pentecost sold what they had, and divided amongst the poor, and went and preached the gospel. Right!

Some little Swedish singer from Chicago, I ain't going to call his name. He's a precious brother of mine. He stood up, said, “Brother Branham, though you.... We believe you to be a prophet, but I'm going to tell you right now, you're wrong.”

I said, “Tell me where, brother.”

He said, “Well, them people sold what they had, and laid it at the feet of the apostles, and distributed it.” He said, “It was the worse act they ever did.”

I said, “Do you mean to tell me the Holy Spirit makes a wrong act?”

And he said, “It was wrong. I'll prove it to you.”

I said, “Why?”

Said, “Then when the persecution rose, they had no place to go. They wandered about, everywhere.”

“Exactly in the will of God, preaching the gospel wherever they went. They had no place to return.” God don't make no mistakes. Right! Oh, what a difference it is; Pentecost that was, and Pentecost that is. Yeah, there it is.

After Abraham separated himself from Lot, just exactly what God told him to do. “Separate every sin does so easily beset us, take everything out!” There, then God said, “Abraham, now you're heir of all things. Look east, look west, look north, look south, walk through the land, it's all yours!” Amen.

You separate yourself from sin, unbelief. There's only one sin, and that's unbelief. Committing adultery is not a sin, drinking liquor is not a sin, telling lies is not a sin; that's the attributes of unbelief. If you believed, you wouldn't do those things. Certainly. Jesus said in St. John 5:24, “He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has eternal life,” that “Zoe,” Holy Spirit, because he believes. Correctly. Now, until you receive that, you're make-belief, that's in that group. But when they really believe, separating themselves, then when you separate yourself from all your unbelief, and believe God, walk out strictly, carrying the commandments, doing everything that's right, then God will say, “Every promise in the book is yours.” Amen. “All is yours! Turn from Genesis to Revelation, it's all yours!” Amen. “If ye abide in me and my Word in you, you can ask what you will, it'll be....” What? You got to separate yourself, first, from your unbelief.

You say, “Brother Branham, you're making it awful close.”

Jesus said, “In the days of Noah there were eight saved. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.”

“How many is that, Brother Branham?” It may be eight thousand, may be eight million, I don't know what it is. But it's going to be in the minority. One out of every hundred thousand, or something like that, I would say. All right.

A psychic belief, mental belief, without a born-again experience, emotional, ecclesiastical creed! If the true genuine Holy Spirit is in there, it'll punctuate that Word; and that Word will live just exactly like it said it would, because it's the same Spirit spoke it, is speaking it through you. It has to live. Certainly, it is. Not you that speaketh, but the Father that dwelleth in you, He's the one does the speaking. All right.

Abraham, an heir of all things.

When I got filled with the Holy Ghost like you people did, I like to walk through, and ... like a big arcade, everything there belongs to me. I'm heir of every bit of it. And if I heired an arcade, I'd like to find out what I got. When I become a Christian, I wanted to know what I owned. So if I had an arcade, I'd go through, and pull a drawer out and see what's in here, and look over here and see what's in there; something seem to be a little bit high up there, I get me a stepladder and climb up to it. I'd find out what it was. Something seems a little beyond my reach here, I'd get on my knees and start praying till I rise up to it. It belongs to me! God promised it. Divine healing, the power of God, all these miracles and signs and wonders, He promised it.

Say, “Brother Branham, how does these things work?” By the promise of God. Amen.

Seed of Abraham! Glory! I feel good. I may look crazy and act crazy, but just let me alone. I feel better this way than I did the other way, see.

Fourteenth chapter, we'll go over there. Abraham, now we find out in the 14th chapter, what happened? The kings come down from the different parts of the country, and was confederate with the kings of Sodom, and went in and took Sodom, took Lot; Abraham's brother in the Lord, took him on out, he was lukewarm denominational brother, and went off with him. Now, remember, God had just told Abraham that everything in the land was his.

“And the meek shall inherit the earth.” Say we're crazy? Going to take the earth, what's on the earth! Sure, we fall heir to it.

Look at Satan, said to Jesus, “If You'll fall down and worship me, I'll give You this world.” All the kingdoms are all controlled by the devil, every one of them. Jesus said so. The Bible speaks it. Every nation and every kingdom is controlled by the devil. And Satan said, “I own these. These are mine. I'll give them to You if You'll worship me.”

Jesus knowed He fell heir to them in the millennium, so He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He knew that He was heir to it.

And today they talk about crazy people worshiping the Lord and being borned again. They're afraid of that, being borned again. They just don't like that idea, and they've substituted something for it. One of them has substitute a handshake; the other one, a little sprinkle of water; other one, stick out his tongue and take a piece of bread; the other one, dance around on the floor. It's a birth! As I said the other night, “A birth is a mess, I don't care where it's at. If it's in the pig pen or a hospital room, it's a birth, it's a mess.” And so is the new birth, it tears you up, but out of that mess comes new life. Amen. Yes.

Abraham knew that everything belonged to Him, so therefore when Lot come in, he said, “Now wait a minute.” Lot was taken out by cruel hands of enemy. He said, “That's my brother, and I'll go after him.” Now remember, there was about seven or eight kings there had went together, and come down and took everything and swept out with it. And when they went out, Abraham took his servants and went after him, to bring back his lost brother. That's real Christian, went after his lost brother! What did he do when he found him? He slaughtered the kings; and returned back, bringing his brother, after the battle.

Look, there was one king came out to meet him, coming back, Melchisedec. Melchisedec, what was He? He had no father, He had no mother. He never was born, He never does die. Without father, without mother, without beginning of days or ending of life. (It wasn't the Son of God; because He had Father and mother, both was born and died, and rose again.) But this man never had father nor mother, He's God! Certainly, it's the only thing that is eternal.

And He met Abraham after the battle was over, showing that to Abraham's seed; after we go after our fallen brother, and the battle is over. What did Melchisedec serve? Wine and bread, the communion. Amen. When the battle is over, brother! Come back, bringing his lost brother back home again, restoring him back. And when the battle was over, Melchisedec met him and give him the communion. Jesus said, “I'll not eat or drink the fruit of the vine no more until I eat it anew with you in My Father's kingdom.” Yes, sir. Now the battle was over, Abraham had come back, the 14th chapter; and the victor met him, when he was coming in with the victor.

Genesis 15 now, before we close, 'cause it's closing time now. Listen at one more thing before we go.

And I'll have to take this up tomorrow night again, 'cause I just haven't got to my subject, I get to my place yet, on Jehovah-jireh. I want to get it down there, if the Lord willing.

Now on the 15th chapter, I got here that the covenant was confirmed to Abraham, the confirmation of the covenant. In other words, it's when God oathed, and when God made the promise and confirmed the promise to Abraham. In the 15th chapter, we find out that the confirmation of the oath that God said.

Abraham said to God, “The heir of my house is still this Eliezer of Damascus.”

And He said to him, “But that is not your heir, for it's one from your own bowels is your heir.” And he promised him.

Said, “How will I know this?”

Oh, now, brethren, here's something that will wake you up! Watch Him. He said, “Go get me a she goat, three years old, a she heifer, three years old, and a ram of three years old.” And Abraham took them, and two turtledove... a turtledove and a pigeon.“

Now, the turtledove and pigeon has a representation; these three-year-old animals, and there was three of them. Now He's going to make the covenant, confirm the covenant. Now listen close, don't miss it. And then we'll pick up tomorrow night when He meets him here again, the Lord willing. Watch.

Now He said, “Take me a heifer of three years old, a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, a pigeon, and a turtledove.”

And Abraham went and got the animals, and he cut them in half and laid them, piece to piece; but the turtledove and dove, he did not separate the turtle dove and pigeon. Turtledove and pigeon is the same family. So that represented divine healing, which in both covenants it's by faith, see, that they're healed; just one to the other one. If the old covenant had divine healing in it, how much more has this one got! See, if the old sacrifice had healing, what about this one which is much better! See?

Now, but notice what he done here. He took these three animals and cut them apart, and laid them, piece by piece. And then Abraham got back. Now, that was the sacrifice. And he watched until the sun was going down. And fowls come down out of the air, on Abraham's sacrifice, vultures. And Abraham cast them out, shooed them away.

What's it the type of? Abraham's seed in the last day, casting out devils from the sacrifice, casting away from the sacrifice. God promised it, the sacrifice, Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever, and all them unbelieving spirits trying to devour it. The man of God, the Abraham's seed, stands there casting out the devils, away from it! Confirming the covenant now, the confirmation, showing that Abraham's seed in ... I mean the royal seed. Remember, the natural seed failed, because it accepted law in the stead of the Word of grace. And so has it in this rout about, in the Gentiles in the last day. But there is a seed, royal seed with the Word, stands true, casting out devils, doing great signs and wonders, getting all the unbelief away from the Word, keeping the sacrifice clean, keeping the Word holy, keep it reverenced; not put anything with it, add anything to it; just keeping it away, standing on guard, letting nothing touch it.

Now notice, there come a deep sleep upon Abraham, death. And after the deep sleep, he saw a furnace of fire, which is hell, smoking, that every sinner ought to go to. But before there went a little white light. Watch that little white light, went in between and separated these sacrifices. Went in between it, God making a confirmation that what through Abraham's seed He would do.

Now, the Jews always believed God was one. And God is one. But He was showing here, by these three clean sacrifices, that the trinity of God would be represented in one in the Godhead bodily.

Now notice in the old days, in the oriental days, when a covenant was made, here's the way they did it. Like, we come and we killed an animal, we split the animal in two, and we stood between the animal, and there we wrote a covenant. Now in China....

In Japan, when they make a covenant, they get some salt and they stand and make their promise, and they throw salt on one another. That's the way in Japan, they make a covenant, they throw salt. Salt's a savor, you see. And they throw salt on one another, that's a covenant.

Now in America, how we make a covenant, we go out and have a bite to eat, and shake hands, “Give me your hand, boy. Is it agreed?” “It's agreed!” That's a covenant.

But in the old times, in Abraham's time, the way they made a covenant was kill a sacrifice, and stand between this sacrifice; and then, when they did, they wrote out the covenant on a piece of lamb's skin, then they tore it. One took one piece, and one took the other. Now when this covenant was confirmed and brought together, there was no one could impersonate that. See, it has to dovetail, letter by letter, just exactly the way it was. That shows that the rightful owner of this piece has a part, this is the same covenant, that it'd have to come together and dovetail just exactly the same.

And God was showing there to Abraham, that through his seed, that God Himself would become flesh and then have to be separated at Calvary; where Christ, being God on earth, He was separated. God tore Him apart, the royal seed of Abraham, and took the life out of Him; and raised up the body, up to sit on His throne in heaven; and sent back the Spirit of Him upon the church, that the church has to have, the same Spirit was in Christ to make it come together, making Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever! Confirmation of the covenant, God confirming the covenant. God separating, tearing the life from Christ, His Son, taking the Spirit out of Him; as He cut these animals in two, standing between the animals. The light, God Himself, went between them, showing that He separated the body: the seed, the royal seed; and took the Spirit and sent it back upon the church. And the church of today that goes to meet Christ, will have to have the same Spirit that He had, 'cause it'll have to be letter by letter, word by word. And He is the Word! Jesus said, “He [personal pronoun] that believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also.” Confirming the covenant, the life that's in Christ will be in the church, the royal seed of Abraham.

A moment, brethren, on Pentecost. When they were in the upper room.... If you was ever there and seen the real diagram, the way it was drawed out, they went around a step on the outside and went up to the upper room. They had a little olive oil candles burning. They were up there for ten days and nights, with all the doors closed. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, it filled all the house where they were sitting. Cloven tongues like fire, forked tongues of fire, set upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, ran out into the court, speaking with other languages.”

Notice, what was this forked fire? Was the pillar of fire, the Holy Spirit, God, the angel that led them through the wilderness, the one that was made manifest before them. God had separated Himself and divided Himself amongst the people, the Holy Ghost, and together we are the church of the living God. The covenant! “Abraham and his seed after him, the royal seed.” The very life that was in Christ, in the church, doing the same works that Christ did. Amen. What a wonderful thing, friends!

It's just time, I just got to close this. Yes, I'm going to be too late. Can it be all right if I pick it up tomorrow night right here? I want to get to Jehovah-jireh so bad. But I want you to see that what it is, that the thing of professing to be a Christian, brethren, it's time the church got the.... If God made these promises, they are true. They must come to pass.

Let us bow our heads just a moment. This is rough and hard. It's cutting. I don't like to do that. This minister said to me, he said, “Brother Branham, why so-and-so, you do that?”

I said, “I haven't got television programs to be sponsored, radio. I just go like this, where I can go anywhere.” I said, “Who is going to tell them? There's got to be a voice somewhere say it.”

Now God is here, friends. If you've called yourself the seed of Abraham, and think that you.... Now don't.... Listen, it's your soul, friend. It's your soul. Don't take any chance with it, 'cause tonight may be the last time you get a chance to. If you're ashamed of your life, calling yourself a child of God, and living the way that you have lived; and you believe that the Word of God is true, and you are wrong, I want you just to pray for a moment, ask God to examine your life. Just pray.

Heavenly Father, this could be the last night for many of us. We think, a few nights ago in Los Angeles, an old woman seventy years old sitting there, and she walked up to the altar and gave her life to Christ. That night she died in bed. Grace of God, that last hour. After living all those years without knowing Him, then called her at the last hour. Amazing grace.

Father God, speak to hearts here tonight. You know the intention of this. You know, Father, it's got to come a time that something has got to be done. We see the condition, and the way it's getting worse all the time. And we realize that the Pentecostal church age, in the last days, is the Laodicean church age, the only one that Christ was put out of the church, standing, knocking trying to get back in. O God, be merciful.

And as I scolded our sisters tonight, Lord, let them know that back there in the beginning, when it started with, it was Eve. And here it is again. The gospel come in by the Word, and how that she did what she did (and look today) by reasoning; look at her mother, what she thought was different, the same Bible.

God, our brothers, I had to talk to them rough, Lord. I'm zealous, I love them. You know I do, Lord. I've put thirty-one years here for them, and You've confirmed Your Word, and everything. Lord, I don't know what else to do. But when I see the church that I love, the Pentecostal church, the one that stood behind me and supported me; God, it's Christian love that makes You cut the evil away from it. It's love that makes You do that, Father. You know it is. And I'm trying to tell the people, “Don't try to go out there, doing these things.” The bars has been let down, and we've got hatched out through our different creeds and things that we've brought into the church, and getting away from days of miracles, getting away from divine healing, get away from the way that people ought to act and dress.

And You made a covenant with Adam, and one with Eve; you put different covenant, and different altogether, and said it was wrong for the woman to act like the man. She should be feminish and not masculine. And today she tries to be masculine; the man, feminish.

Lord, and this right here at the last days, right here at the West Coast, right here at the end of civilization, we find the women doing exactly the corruption as they did at the first. And here it is, got in amongst our sisters. O God, that just ... that breaks my heart, Lord. And I know if it makes me (a sinner) feel that way, what does it do to You to see how that become a goddess. And this fabulous Hollywood glamour of sin! And it used to be wrong for them to go to picture shows, then the devil throwed it right in their house, and all kinds of uncensored programs, and vulgar on the street.

And, O God, it's an insane time. It's a neurotic time. It's a time when men won't stop and listen, and check up. And under emotions, and so forth, they still claim to be Abraham's seed. God, how You said it would ... the spirits would be so close in the last days, with impersonations, until they'd almost deceive the elected ones, if it would be possible. And here it is. God, don't let these people ... don't let one do that. Please, Father. I pray for them, each one. In the name of the Lord Jesus, grant it.

Now while we have our heads bowed. I'd do anything for you. And if I bawl people out just to be mean, God would never be with me; I don't deserve to be here, I deserve to be out yonder somewhere chopping wood or something. But, friends, that's true, search it and see if it isn't the Scripture. And it's supposed to be revealed in this last days.

Now are you sincere enough? Are you really, down beneath that crust of the outside, is there real genuine something about you, that you're willing to admit that you're wrong? While every head being bowed, every heart, and deep solemn consecration, would you raise up your hand, say, 'Pray for me, Brother Branham. I'm wrong. By God's grace I'm going to straighten out“? God bless you, you, you, you. That's right, put up your hand, He sees it. In the balconies, God sees you. Raise your hands. Are you...? That's it.

Now here is some of you women sitting here with short hair, and don't have your hand up. What's the matter with you? You are wrong! Don't you try to meet God like that. You'll be condemned as certain as I'm standing in this pulpit. You mean the Pentecostal church has got in such a shape that it's got so calloused till it's ashamed to admit it's wrong? Don't you do that. God be merciful to you.

Believe, have faith. Let me wait again. God bless you over there, honey. God bless you, sister. That's good. Put up.... God bless you. That's right. You might admit it now; in the morning may be too late, an hour from now may be too late. God bless you. That's sincerity. God bless you. Say, “I'm wrong.” It takes a real person to admit they're wrong. That's genuine something. God bless you, lady. God bless you, lady. God bless you. That's right. Yes, just keep praying. God bless you. If I miss seeing your hand, He don't. He knows every thought that's in your mind. That's exactly right. God bless you, I see your hand. That's good. God bless you, young lady. God bless you, sister. That's good.

God bless you there, young lady. Yes, at the turn of roads of life. Before these old things has calloused your young heart, turn to God now, honey. That's right, you do it. I got a little daughter over there about your age. God bless you, honey. God bless you. Yes, God bless you, sister.

What about you, brother? Shame on you, let your wife act like that, wear shorts, and dress like that and get on the street. Call yourself a son of God? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? God bless you. God bless you, sir. God bless you. That's right, admit you're wrong. If you....

“He that covers his sin shall not prosper; he that confesses his sin shall have mercy.” God bless you. Any more? Back in the balcony, up there in the balcony. He sees you up there. He knows every thought that's in your heart.

Now raise your heads just a minute.

I say there is somewhat fifty or sixty in this room put up there hands, young and old. Thank you. That's real lady and gentleman. I appreciate you. There is hopes for you when you're willing to admit you're wrong.

Before I make an altar call, I'm going to pray for these handkerchiefs.

Heavenly Father, these handkerchiefs represent sick people, mothers and father that's waiting, children. One time, we're taught in the Bible, that they taken from the body of St. Paul handkerchiefs and aprons. The people saw him, knowed that the Spirit of God was on him. Paul remembered that Elisha told the Shunammite woman, that told Gehazi, “Take this staff and go lay it on the child.” He knew that what he touched was blessed. Paul, they taken from his body handkerchiefs and aprons, and unclean spirits went out of people, diseases departed. Now, Lord, we're not St. Paul, but You're still God, the same God.

One day Israel was on its road, right in the line of duty, going to the promised land. And something cut it off from the promised land, the Red Sea. One writer said, “God looked down through that pillar of fire, with angered eyes, and the sea got scared, and it rolled back its walls and opened up a dry path for Israel to cross over to the promised land.”

God, when these handkerchiefs are taken to the sick and the afflicted, may the God of heaven look down through the blood of His own Son. May the devil, that's holding them sick people, get scared and move away when these handkerchiefs of tokens of this meeting tonight, where Word and truth has been brought to pass; sick and afflicted be made well; hearts that are broken up, and going down to the potter's house in a few minutes; grant that the devil will leave, and the people will cross over into that land of good health God promised them. I send these handkerchiefs, in the name of Jesus Christ, for that purpose. Amen.

God knows your heart. He knows your condition. Just to show; and let me tell you, there's a great bunch of people in here that did not raise their hand, that ought to have raised it. Now, if I'd call you right from this platform, say who you were, it'd hurt somebody's feelings. Now, you've seen me do that many times. I found out, Jesus said, “Let the weeds and the wheat grow together. The angels will come and bind up the tares and burn them, first.”

And it's binding time now. Every one of them going into the confederation of churches, all the denominations. That's right. That's right. World League, Council of Churches, every denomination pulling right into it, the big thing going on. All of them coming back to Rome just as He promised, “an image made unto the beast,” the power, the confederation of churches, just exactly what God said would come to pass. There they are, letting you go, and telling you it's all right to do this, and they're afraid to say anything about it, afraid it'd break a meal ticket somewhere.

Let me tell you something, my brother, sister, God reveal to you that I love you. It's not to be different; it's to be honest. Don't you take one chance. You wouldn't run a red light, because of your body. What about your soul? Don't you cross one of God's red lights.

Some of you is sick. Believe with all your heart. Somebody that's desperate in something, just have faith. I'll show you whether He really, whether it's the truth or not. Abraham, you remember the angel come to him and what He did? See if it's the same thing.

Here's a little lady sitting right here, right out here, she's got cancer. She's got a cyst, and she's up for an operation. She's looking at me now, them red beads around her neck. You're from Portland. But if you'll.... Yes, that's right, raise up your hand. That's right, see. I don't know you, we're strangers. But that's true. Now how can you sit there, with enough faith to touch the garment of Christ when that angel of light come over you like that, the grace of God? Accept it, lady. Believe it. Not only that, but believe the whole gospel.

Here sits a woman sitting right back here. Look here, lady. Suffering with colon trouble. Believe with all your heart. Yes, you're a stranger to me. Believe with all your heart, and get well.

There's a man sitting by you, he has to go home. He can't stay much longer. He's got trouble with his ears. He's got a trouble with a.... He's had a cold, that caused a cough. He can't get over it, it's kind of a lot of complications set in. That's right, sir. You work at some kind of a plant like missile or something like that. You got to go back to your work. I'm a stranger to you. If those things are true, raise up your hand. All right. If you got faith enough to touch the Lord Jesus why not be a real man and believe it with all your heart?

There's a lady sitting back there, she's got some kind of a skin disease on her hands. She don't even know what it is. The doctor don't even know what it is. She's had it for years and years. Oh, she's going to miss it, as sure as the world. Ms. Daniels ... McDaniels. There you are. Ida McDaniels, believe with all your heart. I don't know the woman, never seen her. But there is the light over her.

What is it? He knows you! And He knows that you're wrong! The same God that's speaking through me this a-way, is speaking through me through the Word.

Now, every one in here that recognizes the presence of God, and know that you've been wrong, let's come to the altar now. Come up here just a minute, let me pray for you. If you know you've been wrong, you want to confess you're wrong. You want to be a real Christian from now on, come on up here around the altar. I just don't want to call your name, it wouldn't be Christianlike. Up there in the balcony, come on down, this is your opportunity. Come down now! Come to the altar, say, “I am coming, Lord.” Sinner, you make your way to the altar, this might be your last opportunity. Won't you come now while the organ is playing beautifully, “I am coming, Lord, coming now to Thee.” All right, everybody sing now.

I am coming, Lord!

Coming now to Thee!

Won't you come? Come down out of the balcony, come down. Come up. What about you, you people that professing to be Christians, Abraham's seed? God bless you, women. God bless you, my sisters. Yes. God surely will honor it. You are honest. Maybe your pastor has failed to tell you that. Go home and get your Bible, and find out whether it's right, or not. You know it's right, before I even say anything. You Pentecostal women, you wouldn't wear make-up for anything. There's nothing in the Bible about make-up; only Jezebel, she made up her face and stuff, with paint and stuff. But there is in the Bible about you wearing long hair, It's an uncommon thing for a woman to even pray with her hair cut.

“To thee....” You want to get right with God, in the presence when He's here? Come on! Stand up, make a stand for Him! Stand to your feet and come down, say, “I'm coming. I'm going to make a showing. I want the whole world to know that I'm wrong, and I want to be right before God.” Come on now!

I am coming, Lord!

Coming now to Thee!

Wash me, cleanse me in the blood

That flowed from Calvary.

Again, everybody!

I am coming.... (Come. There's more out

there, remember. Yes, that's right.)

Wash me, cleanse me in the blood

That flowed from Calvary.

There's people still coming, just keep praying. Now, friends, I'm not much to persuade. I believe the Word does its work when it goes out there. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. It might be the last opportunity you'll ever have; I hope it's not. You know what it does to see you when you admit you're wrong? It says to me that there's something real there, that you really want to do right. Now just with the organ, slowly if you will, while I talk. Come on, people, just come right on. I want you to keep coming. Do you know what these people has done? Many of these are chartered church members, and they know I've told the truth.

Not me. Just like when Moses went down there to tell the people about the Lord; and the Lord, under that pillar of fire, confirmed the Word and showed that it was right. That same pillar of fire is right here with us. It's the same Christ, doing the same thing for the Gentile age, as He promised to do.

What does it make me believe? That you are genuine in your heart. What made you raise up to your feet? Because something was around you that said, “You're wrong.” Now that was God, because some of you feel embarrassed to stand here like that before the people, after confessing. But it shows that this genuine something that said, “You're wrong,” and it come with the Word, through discernment. Through....

What's these gifts sent to the church for? What is the first gift? What's the first thing? Apostles (which is missionary), prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. They're altogether for the perfecting of the church.

And where does the Word of the Lord come, to who? The Word of the Lord came to the prophet, always never questioned. Not a gift of prophecy; a gift of prophecy is on one, and then the other one. A prophet is born, predestinated by God. Jesus Christ was the Son of God, predestinated Son of God. Isaiah told John, John the Baptist, 712 years before he was born, he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness. God told Jeremiah, “Before you was even formed in your mother's womb, I knowed you and sanctified you, and ordained you a prophet to the nations.” And when you see prophets appearing, judgment is at hand.

Now, “Judgment begins in the house of God, with the people of God.” Now we're wrong! We've done wrong. And I believe that them sitting here tonight, that's Abraham's seed and really predestinated to the light of God to shine upon it; when the light strikes it, they'll stand. There's something has to happen, you're there! Now you're here, let's bow our heads and confess our wrong.

Sinner friend, if you're standing in this group here, which there is some, shame on you; but blessings to you now, you've accepted it, believe it with all your heart.

You Christians, you women that knows, I believe you're good women. God bless you. I believe that. God can express the feeling of my heart to you. I don't want to be mean to you, sister; I've got a wife, too, and two young girls. I love you as my sister.

And, brother, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, but sometimes a little shaking with the Word helps you.

Now, if we're wrong, let's say that we're wrong. And there is grace, abundantly, for us tonight. “He that will confess his wrongs, there's mercy for him. He that will hide his sin, will never prosper.” What is your sin? Your unbelief. If you hide it under, say, “Well, I'm just as good as the rest of them.” You're wrong. And you'll never move any further than what you move now. You'll stay that way, you'll never go any further till you cross that barrier and make it right. Remember, you cannot do it; you'll have to walk over the Word of God.

And as long as you live, you'll always remember this. The longest day you live, you'll remember tonight. Remember, I'm telling you “Thus saith the Lord!” I was sitting in the woods this afternoon, praying, He spoke to me about this here, said, “Say it and call it, and I'll do something for you.” And here it is.

Now let's pray.

Heavenly Father, reverently and sincerely stands sinners in this audience right now. They have got up from their seat and walked up here just to make a confession. There is Christians who has come, making their confession.

Here's precious little sisters that the light flashed across them, way down in their heart they knew they were wrong, they knew that the Bible teaches those things, and they're willing now to give it all up.

Here's brothers standing here, precious brothers, sons of the living God, who, through creed and lukewarm conditions, has wandered out into the world. They're coming back tonight, Father. They're coming back. Here they are.

Now, Father, we realize that when they stood to their feet, they broke.... All scientists, they say that you can't move up, you're held down. But when they raised their hands and walked this a-way, they proved that there was a spirit in them that could make a decision. They've made it for Christ.

Jesus, here is Your own words, and I'm just going to quote them to You.

I'm giving You these people tonight, as Your servant. I have done just as You told me to do, today in the woods, and here's just exactly what You said would take place. And there is witnesses of those things, standing here. To prove Your presence, You went across the audience, telling the people about who they were and where ... they've done, and so forth, knowing the people's names, and who they were and what they done, what's wrong.

And now You said in Your Word, that “He that will confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father and the holy angels. He that's ashamed of Me before men, him will I be ashamed of before My Father and the holy angels.” Now these sisters and these brothers have stood tonight in the presence of their members and their pastors, and their loved ones, to say that they're not ashamed of You, but they're ashamed of the way they've done. Now I'm sure, Lord, that You forgive them. You promised it. You said, “He that will confess his sins, has mercy.” And they are confessing it, and they shall have mercy. And You who can heal the sick, and say, “Isn't it as easy to say, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee,' as it is 'Take up thy bed and walk'?”

I claim these. I claim every one of them, Lord. I've tried to stand for You all these years, and Your Word. And they have stood tonight for You, and I claim them. I take them out of the jaws of the world, and I present them to You, Lord Jesus. They are the trophies of the message tonight, of the Word of God. Keep them, Almighty God, under Your holy power. May they grow, may the light of God flash up in their life. May those men and women, Lord, start growing in the power and strength of the Holy Ghost. May something take place that will change their whole churches and whole neighborhood where they're at. Grant it, Lord. I give them to You, they are Yours. They are the trophies of the meeting tonight, of the Word that's been preached. I claim their life, in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to meet them at the other side, when they're immortal, turned back to young men and women again, and be young and lovely forever. They are Yours, Father. They are trophies that God has given to His Son, Christ Jesus, by the power of His presence and the Word of God. They are Yours, Father. I give them to You, in Jesus Christ's name; and claim every life, every life that's standing here. Every confession is received, every sin is forgiven.

And everyone that's standing here, I pray for Holy Ghost strength in them, to carry out, to do that which is right, to help them in this dark hour when the world is so full of glamour. And, O God, help me tomorrow night, to bring it clean and clear to them, Lord; and cut loose from glamour of this world, that they might be ready to meet Christ at the time of His coming. Grant it, Father. We believe You now.

And while we have our heads bowed, each one of you that's standing on your feet, I don't believe you come for curiosity, because you've come under rugged, hard gospel preaching—cutting. But you believe that Jesus said that “No man can come to Me except My Father draws him, and all the Father has given Me will come.” Now that's a confirmed Word of God. He told Abraham, He promised and swore to the oath, and here you heard the voice of God tonight and come upon those basis. You've got to be forgiven! And all of you accept it and believe that God forgives you of your error, and from this night henceforth, by the grace of God, you'll live for Him the rest of your life, and do everything that this Bible teaches for you to do, and you believe that God gives you the grace to do it now, by forgiving you your past; raise up your hand, say, “I believe it with all my heart.” God bless you.

All of you Christians out there that's proud of them, say, “Praise God for them!” [Congregation says, “Praise God for them!”] Let's say it again. [Brother Branham and congregation says together, “Praise God for them!”]

Now let us stand to our feet, every one. I want a chord of:

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me;

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary.

Let's all together now, everyone sing it with our hands up. All right.

I love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me;

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Don't you feel real scoured out? Don't the Word kind of scrub you out and make you feel better? Doesn't it?

You don't believe me to be a fake, do you? Do you believe me to be the truth?

I'm watching right now that angel of the Lord who I watch over the people, has circled right around over this group standing right here in the form of the cross. God in heaven! The same picture you ... angel you see on that picture, is right here right now over this group of people, just moving around, I keep watching it, from place to place. I believe, even, that every sickness is standing in that crowd is gone. I believe it with all my heart, that every sin is forgiven.

Let's just shake one another's hands while we sing “I Love Him.” “I....” Say, “Praise the Lord!”

... love Him, I love Him,

Because He first loved me;

And purchased my salvation

On Calvary's tree.

Now let's just praise Him, say, “Praise the Lord! Thank You, Lord Jesus.” We thank You, Lord, for bringing the people, and for Your Word. It's sharp like a two-edged sword, but it discerns the thoughts of the heart. It makes sure. It circumcises the world, the flesh, the worldly things away from the people, and makes them new creatures in Christ. How we thank You, Father! We praise You with all of our hearts. Thank You for them, Lord. May they be filled with the Spirit! May the Holy Ghost just take them into His control, and may there break out an old-fashioned revival among these churches, Lord, that'll just sweep all out through the communities, everywhere on fire by the power of God. Send us real Pentecost, Lord, real power of the Spirit back into the lives of the people. Grant it, Father.

They're Yours. By the grace of God, they are Yours. They're Abraham's seed, according to the promise. Grant it, Lord. They believe Your Word; anything contrary, as though it wasn't. They believe the Word because they're Abraham's seed. They are Yours, Father, predestinated church to shine in the last day. Thank You, Father, for them.

I love Him ... (Raise your hands now

in praise to Him) I ... (way up

in the balconies, that's right.)

Because He first loved me;

And........................